Yesterday, I wrote about my dental hygienist who was struggling with losing weight.  She needed to lose 100 pounds, she said.  Also, she reported being on a severe weight loss diet.  After speaking a little while about the diet, and what she was eating to lose weight, or rather not eating to lose weight, we got to the point.

When I first sat down in the dental chair I remember her saying she “was so unhappy.”  Then, after only a few minutes, we got to the source of her unhappiness.  She was the sole provider and caregiver for her son, and her elderly parents.  She had no relationship herself, having been divorced years ago.

“What should I do,” she asked.  First, seeing that she was giving a lot of care, I suggested she get some care for herself.  I asked about her spiritual practices.  She told me she believed in God, so I suggested she get re-connected to a church or spiritual group.  She wasn’t all that comfortable with organized religion, so I thought a good 12-Step group, such as Overeaters Anonymous might help.  There, she could talk about her feelings, challenges and problems.  She would find people who believed in a “Higher Power.”  There would be people also trying to lose weight.  She could make some friends, and take some good time for herself, too, and share her problems and receive some love and friendship.

Most importantly, I suggested she ask God for help, in the way she believed.

Then, I also recommended a super-healthy structured food plan (like one found in my book, “The Joy of Weight Loss”).  Not a commercial pre-packaged junk food “diet.”  But a really great, fresh-food, healthy routine that included all the food groups, in proper balance.  I recommended she go talk to a registered dietician.  “But I already went to a nutritionist!”  I asked her to elaborate.

She said it was “weird, and he was strange.”  She said she didn’t like him or feel comfortable the second she met him.  I suggested she pay attention to her first impressions!  He put her on a very stark, rigorous diet that consisted of only 4 types of fruit and egg whites, and only two meals a day.  She had to go over 10 hours a day with nothing in her stomach.  She’d done that for a whole year, lost 65 pounds, but they immediately came back when she stopped.  He’d been charging her $500 a month to be part of the group.  Furthermore, this guy had his clients strip naked every week and get photographed.  Whew!  Obviously not a good situation.

That’s why I recommended a registered dietician.  People trained and licensed don’t do such wild things.  Or they’d be arrested or disqualified.

I then asked if she walked, danced, or went to a gym or did any physical recreation.  She said, “no,” in a word.  So I suggested she walk at least 15 minutes a day, to start.  I explained that would help her feel better, and get some self-quality time too.

So, the moral to the story is: take care of yourself, get eating, physical, emotional and spiritual help from qualified, trustworthy groups and practitioners.

Have some similar experiences?  Suggestions or comments? PLEASE POST BELOW FOR ALL OF US TO SHARE.

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