Go Public For Weight Loss Support And Accountability (Episode 48)
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Hello low-carbers! Welcome to another motivational episode of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore!”
In today’s episode, our host Jimmy continues to look at the importance of external support and accountability in our lives while we are working on our weight losses. This is an underappreciated, but oh so important aspect of any effective plan and should not be ignored.
For Jimmy, it all goes back to a local radio station’s weight loss contest in 2004. Have you gone public with your weight-loss goals? Please share your experiences!
LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 48:
- FREE Chapter of Jimmy’s Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb book
- Get your copy of Jimmy’s book–paperback or e-book
- Get encouragement from Jimmy’s blog
- Contact Jimmy Moore anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net
Did you miss something Jimmy said? Click through the following link for a full transcript!
Transcript of Episode 48:
Welcome back to Episode 48 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” as we continue the theme of accountability in your weight loss efforts that started in the previous podcast on Monday. While the subject of finding a support system to surround you when you are losing weight is one aspect of accountability that people absolutely need, there’s another issue that should also be considered. Do you make your weight loss well-known to all those around you or do you keep it a secret and wait to see if anyone notices? Lots of dieters these days are coming out about their weight problem and not being afraid to talk about their desire for weight loss in public. The most famous one has got to be Kirstie Alley who strutted her stuff on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” last year following her weight loss and stint on the reality television program “Fat Actress.” Of course, then there’s all those contestants on the hit NBC reality series “The Biggest Loser” and other such shows that literally shine the spotlight on people as they are in the midst of doing one of the hardest tasks of their entire life–losing weight permanently!
For me, I decided going public with my desire to lose weight was going to help me become the eventual success I wanted to be. That’s why I entered a local radio weight loss contest just one month after I started livin’ la vida low-carb. I share all the details about this experience in the Introduction of my book “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat To Sensationally Skinny In One Year.” Go to the show notes section at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com to access this chapter for FREE. It’s a pretty funny story actually about how I ended up winning that contest. It’s not what you think.
I can remember calling into the afternoon radio show every few weeks giving an update to the radio listeners about my progress and what I was doing to shed the pounds off of my formerly 410-pound body. You want to talk about accountability, that’s one way to do it. There was no way I was going to be ashamed of my performance in that contest and I gave it everything I had to win it. In the end, all of that hard work paid off.
But it does make me wonder, would I have been able to lose 180 pounds in 2004 had I NOT had that weight loss contest to hold my feet to the fire? There’s no way to know for sure because we can’t go back in time and repeat history (nor would I want to!). If I had to answer that question honestly, I would probably say that my weight loss in that one year probably would not have been as high as it was without the contest. The motivation for me was to lose as much as possible within the nine months of the weight loss contest.
The same could be said for the contestants on “The Biggest Loser.” Their #1 goal is to lose as much weight as they can. For fans of the show, you know there are weeks that can be challenging, including the week Season Two winner Matt went through when he lost nothing as well as a week he actually GAINED several pounds. And yet he STILL ended up winning the contest. If he wasn’t playing for all that money, would his weight loss result have been the same? Maybe, maybe not.
Having a wide-open weight loss can help some people attain success that they would not otherwise have. You can certainly put me in that category for sure because I don’t mind sharing with the whole world what I’m going through. While I didn’t start blogging until after my weight loss was finished, my blog has served as a way to keep me accountable in my weight maintenance. I have even shared quite openly about my slight weight gain struggles last year which allowed me to hook up with people who care about me enough to see me continue to succeed. That’s what it’s all about.
At the same time, some people don’t do well getting their weight business out in the open because they allow others to begin criticizing their efforts which then discourages them from trying as hard as they should. People who are sensitive to this kind of thing are what I describe as weight loss wimps. I call it the “American Idol” effect. You know what I’m talking about. Here are these 12 young people who have the pipes to make a professional recording contract today and yet they’ve got 30+ million people all critiquing, analyzing, and casting scorn and doubt about their ability to sing on that single missed note or “pitchy” performance. What right do they have to do this when most of these millions of dopes couldn’t even carry a tune in the shower?! Even Sanjaya could outsing most of these couch potatoes.
The same goes for weight loss. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, who hasn’t experienced what it is like to be fat and overcome that can EVER EVER EVER provide any kind of constructive or destructive criticism with any merit behind it in my book. You have to walk a mile in someone’s shoes to know where they’re coming from and you can’t possibly know what it’s like to try to lose weight unless you’ve done it yourself. Period. End of story. That’s why I get literally hundreds of e-mails a month from people pouring out their heart and soul to me about their weight struggles. They do that because they KNOW I understand and can hopefully help them with their own issues to become the same kind of success that I did. I do my best to at the very least encourage and edify EVERY SINGLE PERSON who e-mails me because that’s the least I can do to give back a small portion of this incredible miracle that has happened in my life.
Doesn’t it stand to reason that if you have a bunch of people observing you during your weight loss that you are going to try that much harder to prove to them that you WILL do this and see it through to the end? Wanna know something that might surprise you, though? PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS WATCHING YOU WHETHER YOU KNOW IT OR NOT when you are losing weight. It’s almost like some people want to see how fast you will fail. My friend from my book named Rodney, a former personal trainer at my local YMCA, said he was watching me as I was losing weight for about six months before he said anything to me. He later revealed to me how much my dedication and commitment to getting my weight under control inspired HIM! WOW! Never lose sight of the fact that there are some people who WANT to see you succeed whether they ever vocalize it or not. It sure is nice to hear the accolades for your weight loss, but you have to muster up your own kudos and accolades early on to keep you going. Most people didn’t begin noticing my weight loss until after I had lost 100 pounds. Yoo hoo, look at me people! I’m shedding pounds and NOBODY’S taking notice!!! Helllllooo? That all changed after I hit triple digits. Now EVERYBODY and their momma comments on my weight loss which helps me continue to keep it off. I even had a friend who I hadn’t seen in a few years see me recently and didn’t even recognize me. That NEVER get old!
While there aren’t any scientific studies on what impact going public with your weight loss has, I would hypothesize that it makes a tremendous difference. If you keep it to yourself, then what’s to say you’re not gonna get bored or discouraged with it and chunk your weight loss plans right out the window? When others are watching, it’s not so easy to just give up. Some believe it depends on the personality of the individual trying to lose weight whether getting your weight loss out in the open is a good idea or not, but I strongly disagree. Whether you are very outgoing or meek and mild, a wide-open weight loss journey will only beholden success in my not-so-humble opinion. You need people who love and care about you to stand side-by-side with you through all the ups and downs that come with weight loss and letting others know about it can make the ride that much better.
Even now, I tell people to keep watching me to make sure I don’t gain the weight back. I told them to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep me on the right path and to chide me if they see me going astray. It has worked for me so far, in part, because I have empowered all of these people around me to discipline me if I relinquish control and stop livin’ la vida low-carb for even a moment. But now I’m in such a habit of eating right and exercising that the accountability is almost unnecessary. That’s just the way I like it, too! With weight loss blogs emerging as one of the new things people are using to lose weight, I think it is great that people want to have that support system around them which I wholeheartedly endorse as a key plank in any successful weight loss plan. Don’t ever fall into the trap of thinking nobody around you needs to be bothered by your weight loss attempts. Believe me, many of them would be THRILLED to help you improve your health by losing the weight you need to lose. Of course, I am always available at my LivinLaVidaLowCarb.com blog as well as this podcast show to be a source of encouragement and hopefully inspiration to anyone and everyone who wants to lose weight. And if you start a blog or podcast show about your weight loss journey, then let me know about it by e-mail at livinlowcarbman@charter.net so I can send people your way who will keep you from going astray. Weight loss is definitely within your grasp if you first begin sharing your intentions with the whole world. Is anyone brave enough to announce their desire to lose weight beginning RIGHT NOW by leaving a comment at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com? I PROMISE you there will be nothing but loving support for you when you do that. Let me show you how wide open weight loss can propel you to become another low-carb weight loss success story just like me. Make me proud and go make it happen!
That’s it for Episode 48 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” THANK YOU for joining me yet again for low-carb podcasting at its very best. As always, we’d love to hear from you if you have any questions or comments about the low-carb lifestyle. Take care and we’ll see you again on Monday. So, until then, keep on livin’ la vida low-carb!
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From over 400 pounds to 230, Jimmy Moore is 
This is the first time that I have ever felt in strong disagreement with you. Your comment “At the same time, some people don’t do well getting their weight business out in the open because they allow others to begin criticizing their efforts which then discourages them from trying as hard as they should. People who are sensitive to this kind of thing are what I describe as weight loss wimps.” trivialises the pain that some are people feeling. Yes, you have done wonderfully. That doesn’t mean that because I don’t brag, that I am not doing wonderfully. I am having more succss now than ever because I decided not to tell anyone about my change in lifestyle. Most people are very unobservant and don’t notice what you are doing. They are too wrapped up in their own lives. I have lost nearly 66 lbs over the last 18 months andpeople are only now starting to notice. Nobody comments on what I eat, nobody tries to sabotage me, nobody gives me a hard time because, in their eyes, I am not succeeding. Why? Because they don’t know I am trying to lose weight. For the first time in forty years I am in control, I know what I am doing and I AM NOT TELLING A SOUL. And I am succeeding. The same way as you accept that low fat (heaven forbid) is ok for some then you have to accept that keeping it secret is ok for some. I am NOT a wimp.
I’m just the opposite -I tell everyone I’m doing low carb. If they want more info, I’m more than happy to explain. The naysayers I just ignore. People watching your back is helpful. I have great support at my local Curves gym. Monthly weighins/measurements keep me in check. I think either way-keeping quiet or yelling from the rooftops-as long as your livin the low carb way, just do it!!!
SeaKay,
GREAT RESPONSE! And I hope the use of the word “wimp” was not insulting. But you have these people who try to go it alone and think they’re gonna keep themselves accountable. Sadly, most cannot.
But, you are exactly right! It DOES work for you and I applaud your for your efforts to lose weight the low-carb way without telling anyone. I must say you are in the great minority because most successful losers (or winners, depending on your perspective) have strong support.
I’m proud of you and don’t want to take away anything from your success. CONGRATULATIONS!
It wouldn’t surprise me if some folks were sensitive about this particularly because it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that “going it alone” is the tougher, braver thing to do.
As my wife reminds me though, it takes a real man to be tough enough pull over and ask a stranger for directions when he gets lost (LOL)!
Hey, I’m not afraid to ask for directions. In fact, I usually have to do it SEVERAL times before I get to where I’m going.
Thanks for the information
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