How expensive it is to lose weight and what’s worth the investment
I hate that it costs more money to take care of your body than it costs to eat junk. It’s way cheaper to go through the McDonald’s drive thru and spend $5 on a meal with fries and a drink than it is to buy a bottle of fish oil capsules.
Before losing 75 pounds and 75 inches, going from a plus size 2x to a size medium in the last two years and keeping it off (a few come back on), I was a regular in the drive thru. Sometimes multiple drive thrus…for one meal.
It’s not fair that sugary, salty foods are cheap and convenient, and whole foods that heal your body are expensive and take planning.
Before I could really take on my weight and horrible habits, I had to face reality that losing weight is expensive, but being overweight ends up being more expensive.
As I worked with my nurse practitioner on the elimination diet, we also tested for other health and weight indicators — cortisol, thyroid, insulin, lipids, and a bunch of other tests. In addition to cutting out foods, I had to add in supplements.
This made me so frustrated because I was already spending money on single ingredient, whole foods, and now I was dropping more money on supplements. Logically, I understand why, but emotionally, there’s no fun in supplements. With healthy, expensive food I could enjoy meals. No one gets together after work for supplements. At least no one you and I should be hanging with.
Fast forward one year and my insulin value went from 10 (bad) to 4 (good). That’s big time, and I’m really proud of that one. Especially because type 2 diabetes is one of the scariest diseases I’ve ever seen. So I know the tests and supplements, plus all the other healthy habits, really work and are worth the investment.
If you or someone you know is trying to lose weight, please learn from my lessons. To lose weight long term, you have to understand your body. If your gut is leaking, or if you have food sensitivities or if your hormone levels are out of balance, you are going to be frustrated because your efforts won’t yield the results you want.
Yes, it’s frustrating that insurance doesn’t cover healthy supplements and restaurants sell crap food on the cheap. To really address your own weight, you have to dismiss all of the frustrating things around you, and focus on your body.
The first step is understanding how you process foods and what’s going on with your counts and levels. If you don’t understand these two things, you are wasting time, energy and money. Don’t do that.
If you know someone who needs to take this step, please share my story with him or her. Being overweight is so frustrating, especially because so many successful people struggle with their weight. I did, and I still struggle with it. But I don’t feel alone anymore, and you don’t have to either. We’re all in this together.