Stop Whipping Yourself!!!

I’m standing in line at Starbucks when a morbidly obese woman orders some HUGE multisyllabic coffee drink WITH WHIP!!! Diana and I watch the barrista prepare her drink and finish it off with an enormous pile of whip cream. I look at this poor lady and I can see the whip cream hanging off the backs of her arms, it’s hanging from her face, it’s hanging over her beltline, it’s pressing through the seams of her jeans – her jeans are BEGGING for mercy.

I bet this poor gal has been on a multitude of diets like a lifelong rollercoaster, trying to lose those stubborn extra pounds. I bet she has spent a ton of money at weightloss centers or on nutritionists and trainers. And I bet she has said to all of family, friends, doctors, nutritionists and long list of trainers what I hear so often when my clients lie to themselves, “But, I’m trying!”

Let’s get real!
That extra whip cream is KILLING HER!
I want to yell to her,“STOP WHIPPING YOURSELF!!!”

Some of you might be thinking, “But Dave – it’s not just the whip cream. Obviously, she is eating other unhealthy foods!”

Absolutely! If we followed her through the entire day, I’m sure we would see a host of other amazingly bad dietary habits. And I bet we’d also see her drink an occasional diet soda because… “She’s trying!”
The whip cream is just a metaphor.
Sure it’s 50 calories per tablespoon.
Sure it’s a WHOPPING 94% fat.
Sure she has at least 4 to 5 tablespoons on just this one drink!
(Do the math and then multiply that by at least 5 days a week!)
Once again, the whipcream is simply a metaphor.

In my 20 plus years of experience, people are not obese simply because of what they’re doing to themselves nutritionally. They are obese because of what they’re doing to themselves emotionally. (I refer once again to my license plate: YRU FAT) In the case of this poor gal and many obese people like her, she’s fat because SHE’S WHIPPING HERSELF!

It’s an open-case of self-flaggelation. Somewhere along the way, people told her that this is what she deserves. Her own voice has joined the chorus of so many other abusive voices. She now tells herself, “I’m fat and this is what I deserve for being fat!” It’s a very sad downward cycle. The truth is at different points in our lives, the majority of us suffer through varying degrees of self-abuse in it’s various forms. How many times have you ever sabatoged a relationship that was going really well or a business plan that was on the verge of success or a financial strategy that was going too well not to be spent? We have all self-imploded because some small voice in our head said, “I don’t deserve to have it this good!”

Stop whipping yourself!
We all deserve our very best!

Stay tuned for my next blog on productive self-talk.

By the way…
Nutrition Facts for Whip Cream
Serving Size 1 tbsp

Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 50 Calories 52%

Daily Values*
Total Fat 5.55g 9%
Saturated Fat 3.455g 17%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.206g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.603g
Cholesterol 21mg 7%
Sodium 6mg 0%
Potassium 11mg
Total Carbohydrate 0.42g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 0.02g
Protein 0.31g
Vitamin A 4%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 1%
Iron 0%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Nutrition Values are based on USDA Nutrient Database SR18