Weird...

Saw a thing on AOL yesterday that claimed several factors in why people gain weight. These included:
-wearing baggy clothing (the thinking is, if you wear loose clothing, you're more apt not to notice the weight gain, as opposed to someone who wears tighter-fitting clothing.)

-eating in a group, as opposed to eating by yourself or with one other person (groups linger over meals and order dessert. Hello....I still order dessert when I'm by myself!)

-friends who are overweight (what???)

My thinking is, why do we care? I wear clothing I feel comfortable in, not because I feel obligated to squeeze into a number.

I prefer to socialize with friends over meals.

I didn't choose my friends based on their looks or weight.

So why do psychologists care HOW we gain the weight? Do they not have anything better to do? I know exactly how I gained it, and it wasn't any of the factors mentioned. I simply forgot my metabolism had slowed and I could no longer consume large quantities of a certain cereal and not expect my butt to expand.

Here's a sample of my denial of the problem:

"Dr. S, why have I suddenly packed on the pounds?"

"Have your eating habits changed?"

"I've developed a fondness for Frosted Mini-Wheats...I open the box in the morning and eat a bowl...snack on it all during the day...eat another bowl at night, and throw away the box."

"Are you exercizing?"

"My house is 80 feet long...and I make multiple trips to and from it every day. But other than that...no."

Dr. S put down his clipboard. I can tell he's trying hard not to laugh at me. "Let me get this straight. You eat a box of cereal a day; you're not exercizing; and you're asking ME why you've gained weight?"

I smile guiltily. "Well, when you put it THAT way, it makes sense!"

I ended up going 'cold turkey' from the cereal, and when I do ever get another box, I'm careful to only eat 1 or 2 bowls a day!

And I also take it easy with the Chex Mix...