Vigilance

This is about part of the "let's give up on our New Year's Resolutions on day one" conversations that were on Facebook on Tuesday. "It's effectively impossible to keep lost weight off because of the biological changes caused by the dieting itself. Of course if you buy into hyper vigilance as an acceptable lifestyle to remain thin, that's fine." I'm not sure what the person meant by hyper vigilance, but I think anything to do with our health is something that we should be vigilant about.

I would say that the difference between being cautious and protective of our health and weight and being overly cautious is in the eye of the beholder. If you're a person who eats whatever you want with no thought of calories or nutritional benefit, reading food labels may seem hyper vigilant to you. I think that reading food labels is something every person should do before buying something. I do it because I don't want to consume any sneaky pork or beef fat. To me, it's part of being a smart and well-informed consumer. I believe that two hours of cardio/fitness/exercise a week is a good level. To someone who doesn't move very often, that can seem like a huge time commitment.

It is true that maintaining any weight loss will require some level of effort for the rest of your life. However, this is your life. Wouldn't you rather put that effort into making smart food choices and some physical activity than whining about how you can't lose any weight? A better, more positive way of looking at the life-long commitment that maintaining a weight loss requires comes from Lynn Haraldson, "I've been up and down the scale so many times, always thinking I can go back to 'normal,' but I had to establish a new normal." The "normal" that brought her to a point of being unhealthy and overweight can't be the normal of maintaining a weight loss. That new normal has to involve awareness of food consumption and a dedication to remaining physically active.

Weight loss can happen and can be maintained, but it won't happen through apathy and laziness. It will involve some effort, but I believe it is something that everyone can and should do.