How not recognizing success leads to failure
This evening, I received an e-mail from a 52-year-old male patient distressed that he has been on the Nutrisytem diet plan for four weeks and has only lost 10 pounds. I thought that the advice I offered him was worth sharing. I have deleted all references to my patient’s identity and pasted the e-mails here:
Distressed:
Doc,
I am just trying to figure out why my metabolism is so slow . I am on nutri system for 4 wks and I am working out 5 days a week.
I promised myself I would lose 40 pounds by Christmas and I today I weighed 294 pounds.
I do not get it!!!!!!!
Doc:
Dear Distressed:
I looked at my records and before you started Nutrisystem you weighed 304 lb. That means, in your first month on the program you lost 10 lb., or 3.3% of your initial body weight. Listen up because I only want to tell you this one time; and what I am about to tell you is not meant to discourage you. To the contrary, I am giving you rational encouragement (as opposed to irrational optimism). First, an ancient Yiddish quote, ” Mench Tracht Und Gut Lacht” which means, “Man plans and G-d laughs”. In other words, only Santa Claus can make outrageous promises about what we get on Christmas. So, please drop the 40 lb. weight loss by Christmas goal immediately. Thank you.
Now a quote by a locally famous Yiddish Doctor from the little Village of Skokie; “The number one cause of failure in weight loss programs is people’s failure to recognize their own success”, which means exactly what I just said, so please read it as many times as you need to to fully comprehend it.
Now for the facts about weight loss:
< 40% of people on a diet program will ever lose 10% or more of their initial body weight.
< 10% of this group will keep the weight off for more than one year and most will gain back more weight than they lost
If we were to consider the entire population of the United States to be just one really obese person, and if this really obese person permanently lost just 5% of his initial body weight, there would be a 58% reduction in Type 2 Diabetes, which is the number one co-morbidity or complication of Obesity!
An person who permanently loses 5% of his initial body weight can reasonably expect to see a normalization of his blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels and a substantial reduction or even a complete remission of his Obstructive Sleep Apnea; not to mention he will simply feel better.
Among people who permanently lose 10% or more of their initial body weight, most of them lost just 3% of their initial body weight in the first three months of starting their diet and/or exercise programs.
In conclusion, my good friend and patient, you are two months ahead of schedule, do something to celebrate; doctor’s orders. Your success at losing weight hinges on your acquiring the right perspective, which I just gave you because after all, I love you man. I urge you to keep up what you are doing. I promise you that you are on precisely the right path!
Your friend and personal physician, Doc
End Post
Mitchell R. Weisberg, MD, MP
Founder-CEO
Internist-Psychopharmacologist-Personal Physician and,
Corporate Wellness Consultant at:
Optimal Performance MD
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