Recent Letter to the ElderWisdomCircle™
SELF-IMPROVEMENT: Quitting Bad Eating Habits Original Letter Hello Elder. I'm Brenda and I'm 19 years old. To make a long story short: I was one of those insecure girls in high school who thought she was 'obese' (when I look back at pictures, I realized I was being INCREDIBLY hard on myself) and when I decided to 'lose weight' I did everything completely wrong (like not eating after exercising, being hard on myself for having half of a cookie, only eating lettuce, and compared myself to other people) which has come to bite me in the worst way. I ended up gaining up to 45ish pounds. Which is very bad for me because I'm not the tallest person. I've noticed my habits are extremely bad. One of my biggest issues is changing my mentality. When I try to take better care of myself I end up being really hard on myself thinking that I will never get back to being healthy. So I lack patience and have those negative thought of 'If only I knew what I know now then I wouldn't be this way.' How can I improve on myself? Elder Response We are a group of 6 Senior Citizens in a Retirement Community. Thanks for writing! All of us have felt the insecurities of high school, and with the pressures in our culture for a perfect self image, weight and personal care can be overwhelming. You said you wanted to ‘change your mentality’ and ‘take better care of yourself.’ We advise you to get involved with a fitness club or meet with a dietician so that he/she can advise you of a goal weight and a plan that is reasonable and effective. You may be able to start with your family doctor and get his/her advice as well as a referral to a dietician or a weight loss center (such as Weight Watchers among others) in your community. There are lots of ‘helps’ out there; you just need to find the one that works best for you. Take it one day at a time. Trust your instincts and do your best. We’re rooting for you! Best Regards, Young-at-Heart |
