Probably the saddest part about the weight loss industry is the fact that overweight or obese people, who are unhappy with their body shape, are humiliated and laughed at just because of their size. It’s an unfortunate truth of this world which is largely due to ignorance.
For a person of normal stature, it can be so difficult to understand how someone could get to such a large size in the first place. I mean, eating healthy and exercising seems pretty easy right?
I was in a discussion with a friend of mine who was speaking to me about the personal training industry. He asked me “How on Earth could you gain 50+kg without realising it? It’s not like you just wake up one day and are obese.”
It’s true – you don’t wake up one day and find yourself overweight. But what many people don’t understand is that there are often other issues that can affect one’s body-shape apart from just “being lazy”.
Sometimes it may be medically related. There many medical conditions that can inhibit weight loss – even in those who eat a relatively healthy diet and exercise regularly!
Other times, it may be psychologically orientated, which may be related to life experience, lack of self worth or self esteem, depression and so on. Food is often used as a means to self medicate because eating in excess, in the moment, can feel really, really good.
Even though I have written countless articles on how to lose weight through exercise and nutrition, it is so important to understand that for many people that struggle with their weight, it is not just about developing healthy eating habits and exercising regularly. Looking at weight loss from such a superficial point of view does not explain why many people are grossly overweight.
One of the things that the personal training industry has taught me is that everyone is completely different. You cannot look at a group of obese people and apply a blanket statement to every single one of them like “they are lazy” and that they should just “stop feeling sorry for themselves and get over it”. When you sit down and talk to someone, you often find out that there is far more to it than the obvious “exercise and diet”.
Over three years ago, I wrote an article entitled “My Transformation – Exercise and Diet Just Isn’t Enough“. I was never obese, but I was certainly overweight. In that article, I briefly touch on my personal experiences and what was going on behind the scenes.
Everyone is different and what I experienced will probably be completely different to the next person. My goal in writing this very brief article is to try to encourage compassion and understanding, whilst pointing out that nutrition and exercise does not always explain every piece to the puzzle.
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