There is a fortune to be made in the field of Waist Removal.
Jim Cathcart age 28 at 200 lbs.
We’ve needed garbage men for centuries, ever since we became aware of germs. When I was a kid, we put the weekly garbage in a paper grocery bag (or sack, depending on where you were raised), and placed it in a garbage can out by the alley behind our home. Each week the garbage truck would park at the end of the alley and the g-men (ours was a nice guy with a red hat named Sam), would carry the cans to the truck and return them to us. The “recycling” waste was burned in our backyard incinerator, a large metal barrel. Everyone had one.
Now I’m the grown up who has to deal with all of this. Each week we discard amazing amounts of packaging material, boxes, plastic, paper goods, aluminum cans and some glass items. Two of us produce more waste than my family of four produced each week. There is a LOT of waste going on in the world today!
So, of course, there would be opportunities in the field of Waste Removal. But there is even more financial opportunity in Waist Removal.
Qsymia, Wegovy, Adipex-P, Alli, Saxenda, Contrave, Zepbound are names of medications being sold in the millions of dollars all for the purpose of Weight Loss. I have some experience in that arena. As a young adult I was chronically overweight. Not really a “fat guy” but definitely overweight. I’m 5’9″ tall and my ideal weight in good health should be around 150 lbs. At age 28 I weighed 200 lbs. To make it worse, I smoked 2 packs of cigarettes each day and did not exercise, nor eat wisely.
Each year from high school forward I would go on a diet. They always worked. I’d follow the regimen for 6 to 8 weeks and lose about 20 lbs each time. I did “Stillman’s Water Diet”, a protein diet, a “no white flour nor sugar” diet, an Ice Cream Diet (really), and a couple of times I took “diet pills” prescribed by our family doctor. Amphetamines : Dexamyl and Eskatrol. Both of those drugs were taken off the market in 1981-2. But I lost the weight. I also always gained it back.
Then in 1976 I made an amazing discovery. I had the wrong goal!
I was focused on losing weight. Of course I could do that, I always had. But what about the larger problem of unhealthy living? Well, I’d get to that later. For now, I thought, I just want to be more attractive. Then I made a discovery that changed my life. My primary “enemy” was the extra fat around my midsection. I had a Waist Problem. Not a weight problem, a girth that was too big.
I set a different goal. I decided to Become A Slender Person. I wrote it as “I am healthy, fit and agile. I move easily without pain. I weigh 170 lbs.” At the time 170 seemed appropriate. It was easy to change my diet, I had tried lots of plans. But I needed to CHANGE my dietary habits, not just alter my intake for a season. So I devised a diet I could stick with.
My initial program was an elimination of white foods: No sugar, no white flour (breads), no potatoes (more on that in a moment), and no second helpings. The commitment I made to this diet was for five years. Breathe. Yes, I said five years. It was a life changing program, not a weight loss diet. I knew I had to change if this was going to become the new me. The old me would’ve just become temporarily less fat. The new me wouldn’t have to worry about weight ever again. After all, I was becoming a slender person. Read that again.
What’s the big deal about “Becoming A Slender Person”? That is the key to the whole concept. It’s not about the diet, it’s about the life patterns. It’s how you think about yourself, food and life in general. Slender people don’t fight their weight. Nor do they have three full wardrobes of clothes for their varying body sizes. They don’t buy pants that are too small as a motivator to lose weight. They don’t look for easier paths, they welcome struggles and resistance. They take the stairs, they park farther away, they get outside and move and they learn to love and crave physical activity.
To aid my health renewal I took up jogging. All my unfit friends told me why jogging wasn’t good for my knees, or some other excuse. But none of them were active! I didn’t listen to non-practitioners. Jogging hurt at first and so I just decided to show up each day. Put on my running shoes and step outdoors. Every day no matter what the weather, I did just that. Some days I came back inside and took off the shoes. But most days I went for a walk or a short jog. Then a longer one, then a mile non-stop. In a few months, by merely showing up outdoors with shoes on, I became a jogger. I was soon running five miles non stop. Wow!
My weight slowing changed in my new program and I lost not just the intended 30 lbs but 52 lbs!!!!! I got down to 148. Now others were calling me the skinny guy and they saw me as an athlete. Whaaat? Me? Yep. I had become a slender person. I was healthy, fit and agile. I loved exercise and I ate wisely. Yes, I literally stayed on this program for five full years and now 50 years later, I weigh 154 lbs and I’m fit and agile. You can do this too.
My new big insight that occurred today is this one: We aren’t concerned about Weight, nor about Waste. We are obsessively concerned about WAIST. Our own girth is the primary location of our sexual identity and self confidence much of the time. When weight loss and fitness trainers put their emphasis there, breakthroughs will happen. Would you rather weigh less or have a six pack abdomen? Me too.
At 200 lbs my waist was probably about 40 inches. Today I wear pants with a 30″ waistline. That’s small. But my “muffin top” condition just above the belt line is probably 34. I’d love to easily sustain a 30″ waist but, now in my late 70s, I give myself permission to relax a bit. Still fitness matters to me and I am eager to get back to the hiking trails and workouts.
If you don’t like the size or shape of your Waist, here is a simple approach to follow.
- Never Waist Food when you can Waste it instead. That’s considered a sin in poor families, but they don’t have a waist issue. All food on Earth goes to waste or waist. If you have extra food lying around that tempts you to snack, get it out of sight! If it is junk food, never keep it in the house overnight. Put it in the garage or throw it away. Place it where it takes effort to retrieve it. When you are content with your meal, Stop Eating! The rest of the food on your plate should go to Waste not to your Waist. Never, repeat never, eat what is left so that it doesn’t go to waste. If you do, it will go to Waist. You aren’t saving starving people in other countries by cleaning your plate with your tongue and belly.
- Stop Serving Such Big Helpings. You are not “showing love” nor “helping” anyone. You’re just creating a caloric overload with implied guilt if the person doesn’t finish it all. Don’t let food be a source of shame. Get over the way you were raised to think about food. Become a Slender Person.
- Give away your Vanity wardrobe. I’m talking about the clothes that you hope will still be in style when you get back to your ideal Waist. Start fresh. Other people need those clothes. When you trim down, buy some new current fashions and enjoy the Waist. But get rid of your “comfort” clothes and your “I’m back” clothes. When I lost the 52 lbs. I had to replace everything. Even my wedding ring had to be resized! I got by at first with 3 pair of pants that fit and one suit coat.
- Never refer to yourself as fat or chubby or whatever excuse word you used again. Never again. That was the old you. You are a Slender Person with a body that is conforming to the new reality. I used to say, “Not bad for a fat kid, eh?” I never say that now. You do not have big bones nor a family fat pattern, you have a faulty lifestyle. That wasn’t “baby fat”, it was overeating. Stop being fat in your mind and words. Your body will follow.
- Do not try to lose weight. Either become slender or stay fat. Choose. One is more enjoyable and the other is easy. Don’t say “I’m trying to cut back, or trying to take off a few extra pounds.” Just Become A Slender Person!
- Find and Eliminate your Culprit Foods. There are certain foods that are your go-to poisons. Wine is a common one. One glass of wine with dinner is OK, but when you add one while preparing dinner, or one as a dessert after, then you have a drinking problem. You may not be an alcoholic but you sure have the patterns of one. And every second or subsequent glass reduces your resistance to temptation. That equals more intake and more Waist. Maybe your culprits are chips or nuts or treats easy to access. Maybe it’s syrup on pancakes, gravy & biscuits, a popsicle after dinner, one little beer…. You know what they are. Drop them. Get them OUT of the House!
- Rethink your relationship with Potatoes. One of my “culprits” was potatoes. Upon examination of my life patterns, I found that I never was “really in the mood for a potato.” Potatoes were always companions to whatever else I was eating. We never said, “Let’s go out for French Fries.” We said, “Let’s go get some Burgers.” And then we always ate Fries too. Do you go to a Steakhouse or a Potatohouse? Hash-browns without eggs? No. You may argue, and many have, “Potatoes are good for you.” Is frying them good for you? Is adding sour cream, bacon and butter good for you? Are cheesy Augratin potatoes a healthy alternative? How about waffle cut fries? Sweet potato fries? Steak fries? Mashed potatoes with butter and gravy. Our society has made potatoes a must add item to some pretty robust meals. Hundreds of extra calories just to keep your main dish company! Stop eating potatoes until you have full control of your Waist. The steak, burger, or other entree plus a green veggie will serve you fine. And don’t listen to those who say you “need” the carbs! You are already getting those every day.
- Hold a Peace Summit with your Family Members over food habits. Others may not share your desire for Waist Control. Their habits may make your changeover more difficult. Do NOT wait for them to come on board with you! This is your plan, your life, your waist. Just find compromises that they can live with. At least gain some sympathy from them.
- Take Full Responsibility for your Waist. Don’t wait, nor defer to others, nor delay till “after” something happens. Just decide. Choose: Fat or Fit? Blender or Slender? Now is your time, this is the place, you are the one.
Time’s A’Waisting!
Jim Cathcart on the trail at age 73
Don’t congratulate me on my fitness, that’s not the point here. This is about proving to you through first hand experience, that I know this can work for you too.
Over the years there have been times when I’ve added weight. When that happens I go on a short tune up diet.
Here is my short term tune up diet. I call it the FABS diet:
FATS: no animal fats, nor obvious fatty foods except as a tasting sample
ALCOHOL: no wine, beer or liquor
BREAD: no white bread and very little other bread
SUGAR: no refined white sugar ever, no candies, cakes, pies, ice cream, soft drinks, etc.
Do this for a minimum of six weeks and your weight will change. Put the start and end dates on your calendar. And don’t celebrate at the end by reverting to your old indulgences. Don’t have beer, barbecue, ice cream and biscuits to reward yourself. Save those for once or twice a year. Reward yourself with new workout clothes or a membership in a gym, or a personal trainer. Congratulations Skinny, you look great in your new jeans!