Only 20 per cent of people can maintain their new weight after a year of weight loss, reports Vancouver registered dietitian Desiree Nielsen, adding that some will regain 70 per cent of that lost weight within the first two years.
It's interesting to see what some well-known people have to say about the convoluted, difficult subject of losing weight, keeping weight off, staying healthy, being a perfectionist, caring for ourselves, and having body positivity.
Melissa McCarthy: "My weight? It is what it is. It's about being content. And sometimes other priorities win."
Serena Williams: “Since I don’t look like every other girl, it takes a while to be okay with that. To be different. But different is good.”
Oprah: “Step away from the mean girls and say bye-bye to feeling bad about your looks. Are you ready to stop colluding with a culture that makes so many of us feel physically inadequate?”
Meryl Streep: “Don’t waste so much time thinking about how much you weigh. There is no more mind-numbing, boring, idiotic, self-destructive diversion from the fun of living.”
Kate Winslett: “As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, ‘I love my body’. Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend.’ So I make sure to say it to my daughter because a positive physical outlook must start at an early age.”
Jennifer Lawrence: “You look how you look. Be comfortable. What are you going to do? Be hungry every single day to make other people happy? That’s Just dumb.”
Jada Pinkett Smith: “You always have to remember to take care of yourself first and foremost. Because when you stop taking care of yourself, you get out of balance, and you really forget how to take care of others.”
Lucille Ball: “Love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”
Bené Brown: “Perfectionism is a self-destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgment, and blame.”
Nayyirah Waheed: “And I said to my body softly, ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath and replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this.”
My partner noticed there were no guys in my above list, so for balance:
Orson Welles: “My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people.”
One of the reasons TOPS is still going strong after 74 years is that the weekly meetings tend to support people in slowly and steadily reaching their weight goals and maintaining that weight. We’d love to see you at our meetings. We meet every Wednesday morning at the Community Centre, from 9:00 to 10:00. We’re a low-cost, enjoyable, international self-help program that welcomes everyone. If you want to join us, please call.
Submitted by Amber Harvey
All quotes can be found by consulting Google.