Never Take Advice…

“Never take financial advice from a poor person and never take diet advice from a fat person.”

When I first remember hearing that, a friend and I were having a rather heated discussion about the best way to lose weight. He was arguing the “calories in / calories out” theory and I was arguing the “carbohydrate drives insulin, insulin drives fat” theory. This is when I realized that it was time to put up or shut up. I am a fat person giving diet advice and willing to argue about it. The irony is not lost on me.

I have been mostly following my newly chosen lifestyle but allowing way too many “just this once” bites and meals. I absolutely do not look like anyone who knows what they’re talking about when it comes to nutrition, health and weight loss. It’s a wonder anyone has listened to me up to this point, including my own mother who is off the bloody statins and experiencing her own successes. I am happy about that and not one bit sorry for pestering the crap out of her to dump that poison. It’s not me who has convinced anyone of anything, though. I’ve shared links, studies, books and movies from others more knowledgeable than I who are better at communicating. Those experts have done the educating and motivating of my friends and family to make healthy changes to their lives.

Today I had to get some help from a co-worker I don’t particularly enjoy being around (I’m quite sure the feeling is mutual). He proceeded to tell me how he has lost 15 pounds and what he’s doing to lose weight in a tone that insinuated he was trying to help me lose weight. It’s naturally not anything I haven’t tried before; I have tried every diet known to man and am probably the only person on the face of the earth who actually gained weight on the cabbage soup diet. Furthermore, I did not ask him for advice.  I ended the conversation by telling him I was happy he found what worked for him but it’s not what I wanted to say to end the conversation.

I was beyond irritated and getting angry. Then I recalled how many people I’ve shared my new learning and adventures in nutrition with such as the aforementioned “discussion”. Pot, meet Kettle. My brother’s words rang in my ears on the way to the gym while I fumed over the unsolicited advice.  He says the things that irritate us most in others are usually those things in ourselves that we most hate or need to change. Ouch! Touche, mon frere. I suppose that means this blogging thing is a good idea for me. I can share what I’m learning and what I’m doing while keeping my own unsolicited advice to myself unless someone asks.

Now it’s time to step it up a notch so that I do look like I know what I’m talking about and have more chances to share what I’ve learned because someone asks. Thankfully, this will be relatively easy since most of the office is stepping it up with me. We hold each other accountable and support one another as we continue to make great strides in our health. There are some awe-inspiring successes from incredible amounts of weight loss to, more importantly, improved health markers in so many ways among us.

The support is important.  It’s fun!  We inspire each other. My co-worker, Steve, decided that he wanted to go hard-core for 30 days and follow the Whole 9 program.  Five of us in the office have agreed to jump on board with Steve which is what spawned this blog. After discussing upcoming events and temptations, we plan to start August 15. I’m nervous and excited about this new adventure.  This will be 30 days with no wine or dairy – both of which I love dearly. It also means I quit the hypocrisy of eating healthy and working out while polluting my lungs with cigarette smoke.

The countdown begins!