January 27, 2010

Are You An Outlier?

out-li-er, noun
1: a person who lives away from his place of work
2: an extreme deviation from the norm

I went to the doctor today because I've been having some weird pain behind my left knee. While he was poking and prodding, we got talking about what I'm doing for my health. He noticed, bless his heart, that I am down 10 pounds from the last time I saw him, so he wanted to know how I did it.

I just love these kind of doctor visits, don't you?!

So, I told him I've been visiting different places, namely the gym, and dining with different folks lately ~ vegetables, protein, water and a lot less carbs, quickly adding in "usually, but not always cuz I'm not perfect." And, he said to me "That's great! Most people can't do that." He actually said it twice.

And, in that moment I felt like an outlier, someone who is doing something extraordinary, and living so counter-culture so as to actually be an extreme deviation from the norm. I felt proud to be among such an elite group of people, happy to have the opportunity to join them, and day after day earn my membership status.

It's true you know. Those of us setting out to lose more than 10 or 20 pounds have to have some kind of bent toward rising to remarkable challenges. It's not that it's so hard to eat vegetables, protein, water and a lot less carbs, but rather what we won't be eating that is plastered all over the television screen, magazines, our mail box, and the menu at the average American restaurant. (Just try to remember that the food almost never tastes as good as the pictures look!)

It's the stuff that gets brought to work and is left in the break room for your "enjoyment".

It's the parties we go to where a celery stick might be the only healthy thing around but it's stuck in a cocktail.

It's like an alcoholic being constantly offered a beer.

We're not having any of that, at least not usually.

So yeah, my doctor is right. Most don't make it.

I don't know about you, but I like that kind of challenge! I like the fact that I am doing something that most can't do, that I stand out from the crowd, and that as my body fat dwindles away and my muscles and bones emerge in all of their beauty and form, that I am doing something truly remarkable.

Cheers to all my fellow outliers!
Cheryl

4 comments:

  1. Hi, Cheryl. I'm new to your blog...followed you over from Making Over Me yesterday. I really like this idea of being able to do something that so many others can't (or won't) do. That puts much more of a "challenge" spin on it than the typical "deprivation" spin it usually gets...and I like a good challenge.

    I'm working on losing 95 lbs. When I succeed, that's definitely going to put me in the minority, which, in this case, is going to be a very nice place to be.

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  2. @Bee: {clanking glasses} Big smile!

    @Weird Unsocialized Mom: Welcome! You're right, there's no need to make this all negative. What great opportunities we have in front of us to do something significant for ourselves and encourage a ton of people in the process!

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  3. Cheryl. You are so right! To be honest I never saw it as an outlier, but one who wants to conform. You are so right! (I said it twice) Thanks for the good thought. I am an outlier...and I love it! Can't wait to fit into those little jeans in my closet. Then I can feel like I conformed, but in my mind, I know...I am an outlier! :o)

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