I made this card, and sent it to friends and relatives, sometime in 2001 or 2002. A health crisis that occurred on June 27, 2000, when I was 42, precipitated a weight loss effort that eventually resulted in a 150-pound reduction.
So what happened? A lot of things. We moved. I got a new job -- a job with insane, irregular hours, a lot of time in the car and a lot of meals (can you say Filet-O-Fish?) in the car. Access to affordable fitness facilities was almost non-existent; but even free walks, on the lovely trails in the community where I worked, were too infrequent because of my work demands.
The moral of the story: There is no guarantee, NONE, that a successful weight loss will be sustained. In fact, a health quest like mine is often not sustained, or sustainable, over the long haul.
If you don't believe me, ask many of the contenders on the so-called reality show, "The Biggest Loser." A study of "Biggest Loser" contestants showed most of them regained much or all of the weight they lost, largely because their weight loss affected their resting metabolism, and maintaining the loss required something that was, for many of them, impossible -- continuing and increasing the vigorous activity level that helped bring about the loss in the first place.
There are psychological factors, too. One insensitive comment, from an acquaintance, a stranger or (all too often) a doctor. One party or gathering, where the host pushes food and booze and won't take "no, thank you" for an answer. One activity-curtailing injury. One wrenching life crisis. And, as was true for me, one big change in scenery, routine, lifestyle, etc.
Is my current weight loss (at 125 pounds and counting) destined to be sustainable in a way that the last one was not? I wouldn't have bought a bikini if I didn't hope so.
But I don't know.
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