Diet politics

A couple of weeks ago I overheard some women in my office discussing another co-worker’s weight loss.  They were gushing about her progress and how skinny she looked, and even though I didn’t know who they were talking about or which diet this newly skinny co-worker had been on, their discussion piqued my interest and I started eavesdropping.

Don’t judge. I think everyone in my office knows the panels that serve as our cubicle walls only provide the illusion of privacy.  Also, they were talking about weight loss, so duh, of course I’m going to listen.

It turns out the newly skinny co-worker had found success on the 17 Day Diet.  I had never heard of the diet, but apparently it’s big with Dr. Phil and The Doctors, two entities that should not be mistaken for one, especially since their separate endorsements were enough to get half the women in my office to start following the diet.

I work with many young women, most of whom have given birth within the past couple of years and are looking to shed those last lingering pounds of baby weight.  None of them have nearly as much weight to lose as I do, but I couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed.  Here I am, a woman who has been following the same program for a year and a half and who has lost nearly 100 pounds and they’re gushing over the newly skinny co-worker and her 17 Day Diet.

But like I said, these women do not have 200 pounds to lose like I do.  These are women who most likely never had to live with excess weight until after they had children.  Their post-pregnancy bodies are foreign to them and now and they’re looking for the quick results this 17 Day Diet promises-as much as 10-12 pounds after the first 17-day cycle.  Hell, even I would love to see those kinds of results.

My weight loss has been fantastic and I’m very proud of it, but I’ve found people aren’t that enthusiastic when they hear I’ve been following Weight Watchers. Just this morning my supervisor complimented me on my progress, and when I told her I’ve lost about 100 pounds, she was floored.  “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Weight Watchers,” I said.

“Oh…that’s a great program,’ she said and I could hear the disappointment in her voice.  She wanted me to tell her I rode my unicorn to the magical spring that spouts the skinny juice I’ve been drinking since October 2009.

Nobody wants to hear that I work out five days a week, plan my meals, track everything I eat and see an average loss of about five pounds a month.  Everybody knows I didn’t wake up one morning a hundred pounds thinner, but the significance of that loss is harder to register when viewed over the course of 18 months.  People really only get it when I show them this picture:

August, 2009

And then show them this one:

February, 2011

Only then are they able to see just how hard I’ve worked.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not slamming the 17 Day Diet. I completely support people finding out what works for them and should any of my co-workers read this, I wish every one of them the strength to make it through the diet and reach their goals. Their enthusiasm for the diet actually has me intrigued, so much so that I downloaded the book to my Kindle yesterday.

I have a feeling if I can get past phrases like “boob flab” and having a medical doctor ask questions like “are you ready to be a total hottie?” it may turn out to be an interesting read.

But just look at those pictures and tell me Weight Watchers isn’t also pretty fantastic.

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