I am 23 yrs old. I have a three yrs old son. Since I had my son I have gained over 100 lbs. Now my self esteem has gone to 0. I hate to go out. I hate how I look. My whole life has just changed for the worst. I have tried pills. Crash diets. Just name it. I have tried it. And when I go out my neighbor would say I look like I am putting on more weight. I really need help my son is autistic and its hard keeping up with him. Some times he wants to go to the park but I wouldn’t go because I worry about people making fun of me. I need some sort of strategy to lose weight fast. Please help me. I cant take it any more. Iana. [via Ask Questions]
What I am about to say will probably sound a bit radical and counterintuitive, but here it comes: Instead of focusing on the negative and what you do not want, you need to turn things around – that is, celebrate your weight gain and focus on the positive aspects of it. Yes, celebrate your weight gain! Throw a party for your friends, order your favorite food, and tell everyone how happy you are that you have gained 100 pounds. Oh, and do not forget to invite your mean neighbor to the party.
As for a weight loss strategy, first of all, diet pills and crash diets never work – do not ever try them again. Second, the following should get you started in the right direction, read How Do I Lose Weight? and or The Weight Loss Rules.
Why would you want to put your weight gain out there? Well, if you think about it, there is absolutely no value in focusing on the negative aspects of your weight gain. If you continue to do so, you will only attract more of the same. But if you focus on the positive, your self-esteem should actually increase.
What are the positives? There are plenty, but here are some that immediately come to mind.
1. You have learned a valuable lesson – that is, as the saying goes – garbage in, garbage out. In other words, you cannot treat your body as a garbage can and just throw in it whatever food you like.
2. The process of losing weight will teach you how to eat healthy, how to give your body the nutrients it needs to be healthy.
3. Once you lose weight, maybe you will share your experience with other people that are in a similar situation as you are right now, which will help them get back to a healthy weight.