Scram, Mr. Chicken Parm

I am just dis-GUSTED! That's my mother's comment of choice when she's unhappy with her weight. I know exactly what she means, which is why I have a teensy bone to pick with the weight loss industry.

I should preface this by saying that I am a member of Weight Watchers Online, which is a good program. It has worked before, and if I hadn't taken the attitude of "OK, I've fixed my weight problem now and can eat anything I want with a side of fries," it would have continued to work. Weight Watchers is basically a numbers game, which you win by eating healthier and exercising. All good. It's not the program itself that raises my blood pressure a notch—it's the marketing.

Ever seen that Weight Watchers commercial where this fit guy is rattling off the foods he can still eat? "GOTTA have my chicken parm!" he says with a smile. Chicken parm? As in chicken parmesan? Yes, he can have it. But depending on how it's prepared and how much he eats, it will cost him anywhere from a respectable 8 points to a whopping 40-plus points—way over a day's allowance for most of us. He'll be tapping into some serious bonus points or spending his waking hours in the gym if he's really gotta have that chicken parm on a regular basis.

Equally dander-raising is the commercial featuring an extremely toned, bikini-clad brunette who says she looks better than ever, thanks to Nutrisystem. Now, I'm willing to believe that she lost a lot of weight on this program, and I'm proud for her. (Or, as Mama would say, "I glory in her spunk.") But she didn't get those arms and abs by dieting. She got them by going to a gym, picking up heavy things and putting them back down, over and over again. Or through untold hours of Pilates. 

I've done my share of copy writing for PR and marketing departments. I get WHY they do this. But the end result is disappointment because there's absolutely nothing easy about weight loss, especially for women like me in that 50+ group I call Club M  (ladies, we all know what the "M" stands for, don't we:) The  truth is this: If you want to lose weight in a healthy way and keep it off after a certain age, you will have to give up some foods you love, or at least eat them sparingly. You will have to be aware of everything you're eating and drinking. You will have to exercise. I have friends who LOVE working out. My husband LOVES working out. I do not. I wish I did. I have, fortunately, discovered that I very much enjoy the pool and have concocted my own 40-minute routine that is making a difference in how I feel. I've even introduced myself to the Cybex machines, though we aren't exactly close yet.

This brings me back to Mr. Chicken Parm. What I wish all those commercials would say is something like this:

Girl, we hear you. That waistline you had back in the eighties must be in there somewhere, but it'll probably take a GPS and some sled dogs to find it. We're willing to hitch 'em up if you are. It'll be a journey—uphill, at that. And we can't make it quick. So just settle in for a long haul, be patient, and we'll do what we can.
By the way, you might wanna lay off the chicken parm.

[Image by Sleepylog @ Freerangestock.com]

Comments

[Kacey]

Club M and sled dogs! I am rolling. Thanks for the giggles with a genuine message.

[Valerie]

So glad I could send a giggle your way!