What do the experts know?

My anthropology class is wonderful. I really think every person in the world should take it. The whole class just underscores the fact that you simply can NOT help anybody unless you understand that person or society. I would just love to lecture to the world's dieticians/weight loss "experts." I think they know about 5% of the problem. It's a crucial 5%, but it's still just 5%.  For example. Exercise is beneficial. Great. Wonderful. And maybe they have great ideas about what exercises will be best. Again, great. But all the knowledge in the world doesn't mean a thing if they can't get the person to DO the exercise.

That's where knowledge of the patient comes in. They simply don't know why the patient is unmotivated to exercise. Maybe the patient herself doesn't know why she's unmotivated, but THAT's what the specialist needs to concentrate on. They can throw out an idea like, "find a friend to exercise with." But unless they've taken the time to listen to the patient, it's like they're throwing random darts in the dark.

Why this bothers me so much is that I've wrestled with this problem all my life, and it's taken far too many years for me to realize that the "experts" don't know much. It's a difficult thing to realize. After all, they are thin, and I am fat so obviously they know what to do to be thin and I should listen.

Sort of. They know what THEY need to do to be thin.  They have NO IDEA what I need to do to be thin. What obsticles do I need to overcome to be able to live a life similar to theirs? The infuriating thing is that they seem to have NO notion that they are lacking the most important information of all!!!

Ok, just needed to get that off my chest apparently. Today, I feel slim, my pants are fitting better and I feel encouraged. I also feel sick. I'm finally coming down with the cold that flattened Dave a couple of weeks ago. If it kills my appetite, that would be great. Today is 1500 cal. Those extra 200-300 cal on other days sure do make the world of difference. My good intentions were to ensure that I had snacks today, but I good derailed by the siren song of a reeses egg.  I threw in some carrots for a snack and am calling it good enough. Actually, my whole lunch is snacky. Oh well. It's what I want, and I'm telling myself that I wouldn't want it if my body didn't need it. That's interesting that I can sincerely believe this despite a lifetime of evidence to the contrary.  The food is healthy--just not too plentiful.