Chasing
the Whale Tips the Scale: How to Lose Your Obsession with
Weight Loss Fads
I was
standing in line at the grocery store the other day and
saw a woman’s magazine with a headline that read:
“Lose
all the weight you want by tonight!” But suggesting
that it is possible to lose unwanted pounds by dusk seems
extreme even in a marketing world that has clearly gone
over the moon in its attempt to sell stuff (so
over the moon, in fact, that if it were up to me, people
who earn their living by promoting “instant”
weight loss would gain a pound and lose a hair each time
someone purchased one of their products).
Our
desire to achieve instant weight loss when we know losing
weight is a process that must be achieved over time is
a condition I like to call “Ahabitis.” Ahab
is the protagonist in Herman Melville’s classic
Moby Dick. His obsession
with capturing Moby Dick, the great white whale who ripped
off his leg, parallels the obsession many people succumb
to in their efforts to lose weight quickly. In Ahab’s
mind, the whale represents everything that is evil and
wrong with the world. Ahab is a tragic character because
he knows his efforts will be in vain.
And yet, he refuses to abandon his aim of conquering Moby
Dick. His intelligence and previous experience are not
sufficient to bridle his futile quest.
Ahab
is no different from someone who by all accounts is smart
and capable but who is so desperate to lose weight quickly
she is unable to resist the impulse to buy the latest
weight-loss gadget or begin the newest fad diet.
It seems that the harder she works, the more gadgets she
buys, and the more calories she counts, the more weight
she gains. The excess weight on her body becomes
more than fat and cellulite; it evolves into a symbol
of her failures and inability to control her life. Losing
weight thus shifts from being a goal to becoming an obsession.
Abandoning
Your Lose-Weight-Quick Obsession
In order to get a sense of your current state of Ahabitis,
ask yourself these questions:
• The last time you
made a resolution to lose weight were your goals realistic?
• Did the plan or program you followed
required you to severely limit your caloric intake or
drastically increase your activity level?
• Can you hear a clock ticking and a voice
inside your head telling you that you need to lose weight
quickly—because it’s now or never?
Fortunately,
Ahabitis is not a fatal condition. Simply
because in the past we have been driven by an obsession
with unrealistic expectations does not mean that we will
always fall into that trap. Many potent antidotes contain
strands of the toxins or poisons they were designed to
cure. That’s why the best place
to turn for insight on how to cure Ahabitis is Ahab himself.
Ahab’s
Four-Step Recovery Plan from Your Obsession with Weight-Loss
Fads
#1: Do a Reality Check
The
more negative beliefs we have about reality, the more
unrealistic our expectations are likely to be. Ahab
basically saw the world as an unfriendly place; consequently,
his life was unfair, harsh, and unfriendly, and he pursued
circumstances that reinforced his beliefs.
What is it that you believe
about weight loss that may be driving your obsession?
• Do you believe you deserve to be punished?
• Do you believe that
life is supposed to be a struggle?
• Do you believe
it’s not possible for you to lose weight?
#2:
Take Control of Your Life
Before we proceed any further, let’s review
these simple but immensely important facts:
• Excessive weight is not your problem.
• You are your problem.
• You can’t manage or control
your weight.
• You can only manage
and control your behavior.
• Fortunately, in doing so, the
weight problem will be solved.
Ahab
wanted to control the beast; that was his biggest problem.
In his attempt to control outside forces,
it made almost impossible for him to control himself.
This was the major irony
in the book: Ahab was a brilliant man; he should have
known better. But, it never dawned on
him to look inside himself for the victory he was seeking
over the whale.
If
you want to take a giant step toward ending your obsession
and reaching your goals then you must stop feeding the
whale. We feed the whale each time we listen to the voice
inside our head that says,
“If
you don’t lose the weight not, you never will.”
You
can stop the voice dead in its tracks by taking action
to prove it wrong. If the naysayer voice tells you, “You
will never lose the weight,” get up and go for a
walk.
#3:
Do a Personal Price Check
Whaling was obviously Ahab’s life; he
had been at it for forty years when Moby Dick opens. His
obsession with capturing the killer whale did not just
ruin Ahab’s life, it also impacted the lives of
his wife and. His obsession cost him a leg but his family
also paid a huge price.
Use these questions to do
a personal price check:
• Who are the people
in your life that have been hurt by your fad diet or lose-weight-quick
obsession?
• Over the past
two years, approximately how much money have you invested
in weight loss gadgets and products?
• In what ways could
you have better invested your money?
#4:
Lose By the Law
Moby Dick did not do anything wrong. He
did what killer whales do—they roam the oceans eating
and destroying whatever is in their path.
Unfortunately, for Ahab, his leg crossed Moby’s
path. If the whale had shown up in Ahab’s backyard
and ripped off his leg, then Ahab’s need for revenge
would make more sense. But,
Ahab knew what he was doing when he entered into the deadly
waters of the sea.
Ahab
ignored the warnings and basic rules of reason, and he
was forced to suffer the consequences. That’s just
how life is. Trying to lose weight quickly
flies in the face of the fundamental principles of weight
loss. That’s what leads to failure and frustration.
Chasing
the whale is a tempting but colossal waste of time. Implementing
Ahab’s 4-Step Recovery Plan is an effective way
to quash your obsession with weight-loss fads so you can
begin losing the weight you want to lose.
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Jackie
Stanley is an author, motivational speaker and weight loss coach. Her
work has been featured in Essence magazine and USA Today.
