“So…how did you lose the weight?”

Posted June 4, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Martinique Haller

Section: Her Health, Body Image, Her Nutrition, Diet Myths, Healthy Eating, Weight Control

What should you say when people ask how you lost weight? I lost thirty pounds on Weight Watchers, but I didn’t really want to tell people that. I’ve discussed some of the associations I had with Weight Watchers. It seemed like a ‘diet’. Even worse, it seemed like a haven for self-obsessed suburban moms and perpetual dieters.  I thought that only superficial people or insecure people were open about intentionally losing weight.  I thought I should be happy with myself as is, or at least lose weight accidentally by eating healthy and exercising.

The problem with that was that I was already eating healthy and exercising.  I never ate like your average American; no soda, no big sweet tooth, no fast food, no penchant for potato chips or buttery popcorn at the movies. And I loved to run and ride my bike. Despite this, I was a little bigger than I wanted to be.  Admitting that to myself was a big step.  Admitting it to others was a step I wasn’t sure I wanted to take.  If I had been that judgmental, how would be people judge me?

I didn’t make a sweeping decision to tell everyone I knew.  The decisions I make about my health are my business.  But then I read an article online about Tina Fey losing thirty pounds on weight watchers in her late twenties, and it goes without saying that Tina Fey is cool.  That’s an objective, inarguable fact – she just is.  So, if Tina Fey can be out about her weight loss when it makes sense to be, then I figured so can I.  My other motivating factor was a desire to help other people.  When someone asked me how I lost weight, or confessed that they had a desire to, I outted myself.  I wanted people to learn what I had discovered; that it’s not really a diet as much as a way of making sure you get the fruit and veggies you need and help with portion sizes.  I am matter-of-fact about it now.

I hope that people come to an opinion about me that involves more than the fact that once in my life I decided to slim down on purpose.  If they judge me only on the fact that I joined Weight Watchers at one point, and care to assume I’m insecure, or superficial, or a sad victim to the media, then they are free to think this.  But I’m no size 0, I’m not hyper-aware of what I eat, and I enjoy myself. I still drink beer, eat pizza, and bake. I still go to Europe and eat croissants; I still miss a workout sometimes or take the train to work on a day that I could ride my bike. But I also love veggie stir-fry and Gala apples, running, and riding my bike. And I don’t need to obsess over what I eat or how much I exercise because I have a sensible, realistic outlook on what I eat. I want to be healthy – and reap all the benefits of it. I like how I look, and I love how I feel.  I think that’s something to be proud of. I look and feel the way I do because of decisions I make and I’m finally able to share that with anyone who asks.