Enjoy the fruits of losing weight

There is a danger of becoming very smug when you lose weight.

I was at a meeting yesterday and a colleague I hadn't seen for a while remarked on my changed appearance. This is an amazing ego boost. I have to say it's not the first time either. I have overcome the initial shock I used to experience when this happens and now have a response ready. I recount briefly what I've done, how long it took. The replies I get are always positive, although some people assume I must now be living an ascetic life, like a hermit in the desert, deprived of all the enjoyment of food. I quickly reassure them that this is not the case. 

Then they say that they have been thinking of doing something about their own weight. Maybe it's a factor of my age or some latent sexism, but I'm always surprised when these conversations are with men. I usually do not immediately tell them all the detail of what I did, just the overview, but I offer to explain more if they want. 

It is very clear that men are becoming more concerned about their health and their appearance. I would be very surprised to learn that my father's generation had the same conversations when they were in their thirties and forties. There are two reasons for this: they didn't worry about their appearance in this way (they kept their hair tidy, washed and shaved, wore their trousers pressed properly and polished their shoes, but did not worry about their physical appearance beyond this); the second reason is they had less need to worry about their weight. They had grown up leading more physical lives and expected to do more things by the power of their muscle. They also grew up without the luxury of the abundance which surrounds us. They were not usually fat. I'm talking about the generation born in the 1930s and 1940s. This is the last group that would have had to do National Service in the UK. The last people who knew what it was like to eat food limited by rationing. By the time we get to the people born in the postwar period - the late forties and 1950s, who are too young to be my parents - life was very different. 

Don't take me for a crusader! I don't want this to take over my life completely, although food and eating a good balanced diet is fundamental to a happy satisfying life, so it needs to be in its proper place. So I am now pleased to hear men interested in taking care of themselves, and where I can I like to help.

Please keep reading and thinking about your own weight. It is a great feeling to be told you look good. It is a real surprise when people, especially other men (if you are a man!), are sufficiently impressed to comment. If you are not sure about taking the step into dieting, think about how your ego will be boosted when you are receiving compliments, especially if, like me, you had spent many years assuming people thought the opposite. They probably didn't give me a second thought; now I get noticed for the right reasons. By some people at least...