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  #1   ^
Old Sun, Feb-05-12, 08:37
Demi's Avatar
Demi Demi is offline
Posts: 26,664
 
Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: UK
Default Apart from your size, what else changes when you lose weight?

Irene Rubaum-Keller is a licensed psychotherapist with over twenty years of experience helping people lose weight, keep it off and recover from food addiction. She has maintained her own fifty pound weight loss for twenty years. She is also the author of Foodaholic: The Seven Stages to Permanent Weight Loss, and a blog at The Huffington Post.

As you can see from the following article, she is planning over the next few weeks to highlight people who have lost a lot of weight and talk to them about what else changes besides their size:


Quote:
Does Your Personality Change When You Lose Weight?

When you lose weight, your size is not the only thing that changes. There are many other things that change as well. When I lost weight the first time, I was in college. I had a good male friend, Jimbo, who I would hang out with all the time. He was goofy and fun and we got along great. Over summer break, I lost a lot of weight. When I got back to school, my good friend Jimbo hit on me. I was so upset. At that time I felt like I was the same person I had been heavier and was very angry that at that weight I wasn't hit-onable. Twenty-five pounds less, and now I'm attractive enough to want to sleep with? It made me so uncomfortable that I gained the weight back.

That was a long time ago. I have come far since then and my views on weight and what changes when we lose it have as well. I am maintaining a 50-pound weight loss and I am a different person than I was at my top weight.

In this blog we are going to be focusing on Eddie Brill. Eddie is a very talented stand-up comic and the talent coordinator for The David Letterman Show. Eddie has lost 130 lbs. and would like to lose another 40 lbs.

Here is what Eddie looked like before:


Here is what Eddie looks like now:


I asked Eddie some questions about what changed for him, and here is our interview:

Q: Do you think people treat you differently now?

A: Yes. Most of the people around me are incredibly happy for me. A lot of people treat me differently. Many because of surface-y reasons. We live in a world where we treat people based on how they look on the outside as opposed to finding out who they truly are. Also because I have the powerful nutritional knowledge and the much-desired results... Some people treat me with a little anger. It appears they are projecting their fears onto me. We are brainwashed by a greedy, non-compassionate society who prefers money over people. They are very good with their propaganda and their money reaches far and deep. So most of the world, including me for my whole life until now, believe the lies and pays the price. And that helplessness is depressing.

Q: Do you feel like a different person or the same person with less weight on you?

A:
I feel different. Without the fat to protect me I am more vulnerable. Forcing me to deal with the issues that got me to overeat in the first place. And numb myself from the world by eating. I know that food will never fill that kind of hole. So now I eat food consciously and it is much more delicious and it really fuels my body and my emotions. I am dealing with my reality and owning it... And it has made me a stronger person.

Q: What made you decide to lose weight?

A:
Friends of mine were getting very sick and I was sick of feeling the way I was.

Q: How did you lose it?

A:
I went to the Hippocrates Heath Institute in West Palm Beach, Fl. and got the education of a lifetime. Its all about nutrition and attitude. It's about taking control of your life and enjoying the ups and downs of the ride. If we don't take risks... We are flat-lining... And we might as well be dead.
I detoxed from all sugars for 90 days. I changed my diet to a plant-based diet where all of the food is alive and has all of the nutrients and enzymes and proteins I need. I now refuse to put toxins in my body... And it shows. My skin is amazing. My libido is through the roof. I exercise now. I also do a lot of energy work. I get craniosacral therapy, lymphatic drainage and visceral work and the results of those modalities get the blood and the organs in my body working in concert. My energy is better than it was 20 years ago. I am sharper and I feel so good. I wish everyone could feel the way I do. The problem is... There is so much to unlearn!

--

So, as you can see, Eddie has changed in so many ways. For the next few weeks I will be highlighting people who have lost a lot of weight and talking to them about what else changes besides their size. Please join in the conversation!

Congrats on your success, Eddie!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/irene..._b_1181322.html
I thought that it would be a great idea if we also joined in the conversation by posting our own thoughts and experiences here!
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  #2   ^
Old Sun, Feb-05-12, 10:59
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Thanks for posting this one Demi!
I def have a lot to say on this topic! oy....where to begin?!
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  #3   ^
Old Mon, Feb-06-12, 09:35
colipdx's Avatar
colipdx colipdx is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 148
 
Plan: Atkins, hCG Diet
Stats: 168/120/120 Female 64 inches
BF:30%/25%/23%
Progress: 100%
Location: Oregon
Default

Great topic! I have lost 30 pounds (started at 168, 3 months after delivering my second child and am now at 138) since 6/20/2011 and have struggled with being 20-40 pounds over my ideal size for well over a decade. I can tell you I feel different on many levels now that my weight is lower. I still have ~10-15 to go so I am not done but the positive effects are here and I enjoy them daily.

1. I don't have obsessive thinking about losing weight. It was a never ending dialogue running in my head and it was no way to live.

2. I feel wonderful when I put on my size 6 cool jeans. I feel like my old self but wiser. I actually appreciate it now.

3. I don't feel uncomfortable sitting in public. I would constantly shift in my clothes and seat, trying to get that fat middle section to somehow appear smaller with posture etc. Oh, it makes me sad to think about how inadequate I felt due to my extra weight.

4. My sex life is more satisfying as I don't have the negative dialogue running about "how fat I must look" and feeling all the jiggling. My husband says he never noticed but I sure did.

5. I now have the mental space to work towards other goals! Go figure - there is more to life than trying to lose weight!
I still have 10 lbs to go but I know that the LC lifestyle will get me there SLOWLY and I just keep the faith and work on acceptance of me in the here and now.

I am actually in worse cardio/muscle shape than I used to be at 160 but I am MUCH happier. I do plan on working out again now that the diet is settled and I know what works for me. Maybe this time the muscles will show!?

Make no mistake - all of my life problems did not magically disappear when I dipped below 140. On the upside, I have a bounce in my step now and look forward to seeing people I have not seen in awhile verses dreading it. Not eating carbs is a small price to pay for all the relief I experience daily. I thank this forum and reading Good Calories Bad Calories for my success and of course me as I did all the hard work that goes into meal planning daily and staying the course. It takes a lot of consistent work to set ourselves up for success!

Good luck everyone.

Last edited by colipdx : Mon, Feb-06-12 at 10:59.
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  #4   ^
Old Mon, Feb-06-12, 09:44
Seejay's Avatar
Seejay Seejay is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,025
 
Plan: Optimal Diet
Stats: 00/00/00 Female 62 inches
BF:
Progress: 8%
Default

I did have people treat me different when I was thin versus when I was fat. I can second that one.

I flipped on my understanding of the the whole idea that I eat to numb feelings or for protection from vulnerability - now I think that's backwards.

If I start to feel like a cringing fearful thing that needs comfort and every little hurt is magnified, I know my food is off. Usually not enough fat and I reach for protein or carbs for the energy. It's what I'm eating, not what's eating me.

That poor guy - a plant based diet?
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  #5   ^
Old Mon, Feb-06-12, 09:57
Jonahsafta Jonahsafta is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,304
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 248/149.2/148 Female 69 inches
BF:
Progress: 99%
Location: Las Vegas
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This really has made me think..
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  #6   ^
Old Sat, Feb-25-12, 03:51
Demi's Avatar
Demi Demi is offline
Posts: 26,664
 
Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: UK
Default

Quote:
The Weight Loss Master

Irene Rubaum-Keller


This is my ongoing series on people who have lost weight successfully and are keeping it off. The fascinating thing about this is that even though all the people I have worked with over the years, have interviewed for my book Foodaholic: The Seven Stages to Permanent Weight Loss, and that I'm featuring here are taking in fewer calories and/or burning more than they did at their top weights, their methods for doing that are quite varied.

The thing that allows these people, myself included, to keep weight off is that we continue to do the behaviors we did to lose the weight. None of us went on a diet, and then went off it. We all made permanent, lasting changes. That is the only way to successfully lose weight and keep it off. Going on and off diets never works long-term.

Today I am featuring Christopher Hopkinson. His is a unique and inspiring story of how his weight loss was a side effect of a new found passion for Zumba.

Here is what Christopher looked like before.



Here is what Christopher looks like now.



1) How much weight have you lost?

I have lost a total of 56 lbs without even intending to do so. The first 40 lbs came off in around four months. I note my weight on a calendar everyday and it is really inspiring to see the weight drop little by little.

2) Do you think people treat you differently now?

I have witnessed a number of changes in the way I am treated as a result of my weight loss, not all good. First the bad, my wife became extremely jealous of my ability to dance Zumba and of the weight I had lost. She hated me for it and could not understand why she as a Latina could not do Zumba and me as a male English guy could. She said I now made her feel uncomfortable in her own appearance. She said I was too thin. Stopped hugging and all physical contact. We were already having a tough time in our marriage but now she simply wanted out. We filed for divorce recently.

My work colleagues tell me I look 10 years younger and how much better I look. People look up and pay more attention to me when I speak. I have more of a swagger about me. I am confident and proud of the way I look and I think people pick up on that.

At the age of 47 and for the first time in my life I have actually been approached by at least 12 women recently who have told me that I look "hot," whatever that means. That has never happened before.

I have even seen jealously from other men because of the way I can dance, the way that I look and the way that ladies enjoy dancing with me. In one case this brought out insecurities in one husband who questioned if his wife had been unfaithful because we had become such good friends. Needless to say she was faithful and so in love with her husband. However it made me stop to think what people may think.

3) Do you feel like a different person or the same person with less weight on you?

There is no doubt that my physical appearance is completely different. I am not a different person. I am me and have always been me. It's just that a new chapter in my life has opened up and this is now a part of my life story. My fundamental beliefs and values are still the same and the way I conduct myself is pretty much the same. I know my mental state has changed. I know I am able to cope with life's stresses better, I know I smile a lot more, I feel healthier, fitter and happier to be slimmer than I was.

4) What made you decide to lose weight?

For me, it was not a decision to lose weight. It was a decision to follow a new pastime called Zumba. This became a desire that turned into a passion, which turned into a way to have a positive impact on people's lives. That has always been one of my goals in life and Zumba is a vehicle that allows me to do this. The weight loss was a real bonus and such a benefit.

5) How did you lose it?

In May 2011, my then sister-in-law opened a dance studio, iDanze Studio Orlando with a business partner. Zumba was their main activity. She had tried to get me to go to Zumba so many times with her over the previous couple of years and I had always side-stepped the invitation. Well now it was a question of supporting her new business and of course I had to do that. I did the first class, was completely lost but absolutely loved the energy and moves that I could see and feel around me. I decided that this was going to be my replacement for all the ball sports I had played, and committed to learn the dance moves. I started attending classes and now go pretty much everyday. Weight loss was not even a consideration.

I enjoy Zumba so much and in November of 2011, after only dancing five months I became an instructor and love getting on stage and leading a group of people through different dance routines. At Christmas I was one of eight who represented our studio in an exhibition of Zumba to a group of over 350 people. I have been involved in leading songs in a number of master classes and have been featured as a guest Zumba instructor at local keep fit centers. This year I will have my own class.

It takes hard work, commitment, dedication, passion and sacrifice at times if you are to reach your goals in life. I believe that sometimes, no matter how hard you chase something, it always managers to elude you. So you have to try a different approach, come at it from a different position. It reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite movies, Under the Tuscan Sun. One of the ladies is saying that as a little child she loved butterflies and would chase them around the meadow for hours with her net trying to catch one but never did. One day she fell asleep in the meadow and woke up covered with them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/irene..._b_1260178.html
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  #7   ^
Old Sat, Feb-25-12, 03:57
Demi's Avatar
Demi Demi is offline
Posts: 26,664
 
Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: UK
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Irene Rubaum-Keller
The thing that allows these people, myself included, to keep weight off is that we continue to do the behaviors we did to lose the weight. None of us went on a diet, and then went off it. We all made permanent, lasting changes. That is the only way to successfully lose weight and keep it off. Going on and off diets never works long-term.
If you ask all the maintainers on this forum, myself included, I am sure that we would all agree with what Irene Rubaum-Keller is saying here. Weight loss maintenance is IMPOSSIBLE without making permanent and lasting changes to our attitude, habits and behaviours. Once you realise and accept that, then you are on the road to success.
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  #8   ^
Old Thu, Mar-22-12, 05:54
Enomarb Enomarb is offline
MAINTAINING ON CALP
Posts: 4,838
 
Plan: CALP/CAHHP
Stats: 180/125/150 Female 65 in
BF:
Progress: 183%
Location: usa
Default

I am still thinking about this thread, Demi. I am sort of oblivious to how I'm treated by other people I guess. I am in my mid 50s, so that could be part of it too(lol).
I will say that women who are thin and who never had much to do with me now talk to me - and comment on my food!- but I'm not too interested in them. I am married and NOT interested in flirting, so don't really notice men treating me differently.
I feel much more comfortable in my own body. Outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking are easier- like fitting in the boat- than when I was bigger. Shopping is MUCH easier- lots more choices. I think I look younger- my face is not red and inflammed looking. One of the biggest changes is that I have lots more energy. How much of this is from eating LC vs losing the weight- I don't know.

Agree you have to keep working your plan to succeed longterm.

thanks for the posts and links Demi!
E
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