Something I often hear from clients with weight loss goals is the comparison to their high school weight. Really, the response always begins with “Well, when I graduated high school…”
It’s a superfluous statement, but not in the manner you might think.
The ACE Handbook chapters on professional conduct mentions how to handle this, and all chapters must be read by those who are trainers under their organization, but I don’t rehearse that answer, as I have one that works better for me, but I would rather cover why.
How long ago was that? The time that has passed since you had been there is a huge factor. Your lifestyle tends to change, as you had become less active in college, (unless you play sports, which many of you don’t ), in response to your new study schedule, and you usually aren’t eating a clean diet in response to the new stress, and due to that stress you have started to produce more cortisol, the “stress hormone”, which will slow down your metabolism, and force it to store body fat where it hadn’t before. By drinking beer and eating those pizzas, and burning “the midnight oil”, you were wrecking that part of your brain that helped regulate your thyroid.
Now, if this wasn’t you, then I applaud your steel resolve. You’re a person of extreme discipline. The thing is, even if you didn’t gain the weight immediately, it still helped develop bad habits, and they will catch up to you.
Your body is going to change. Your metabolism will change as your body no longer produces the hormones it once did when you were at those peak ages, as that is a biological adaptation. You see, these were once peak reproductive times many ages ago, when lifestyles were shortened by a cruel environment, we had to continue our line to protect our families, tribes, etc. As society changes, so do our priorities, but our reproductive biology just hasn’t made that leap just because we can drive a Tesla now.
Why High School? The weight is simply a tangible embodiment of their nostalgia, A number they assign to a bygone time. I could run 5 miles on 4 hours sleep and hungover. I would never attempt that now. It was a bad idea. I learned it was a bad idea. I don’t long for it. Yeah, sure it all seemed so much simpler, but that was because I had few responsibilities. I also had to live by rules I didn’t set forth. Nothing was really mine, as I had not much to my name. I had to go do that myself.
You had struggled for nearly everything in your life that was to be called yours. Everything your body has endured was because you could as an adult. Your choices and yours. You may have had children, seen them born and begun their paths down the road you laid forth. You have bought homes, gotten jobs that you may love, left the ones you hated, seen historical events on your TVs, loved, lost, and mourned those that have gone on while we yet live. So much living done, so much left to go.
You’re so much better now. I have explained why, but that is my viewpoint. You will never be what you were, and that’s awesome. You’re smarter, you’re experienced now. This even goes for the former athletes who want that one last chance at the ol’ gridiron. Look at what those guys are enduring if they get to do it for longer. CTE, arthritis, numerous internal injuries, and you got your own unique experiences, as it just wasn’t going to be you beyond high school or college.
You won’t be your high school weight, nor will you ever be the person who was that weight. Instead, you will be the person you are now who just needs to regain control over their body, which they really didn’t have when they had that youthful physique. The body was treated irresponsibly, just with less consequences. You can do yourself one better by treating yourself better than you did then, by gaining that control, by taking that responsibility, and insuring that your experiences that much more valuable.
So, just don’t. Don’t say “Man, when I was in high school, I was about 165( That was my weight. It’s about 215 now.), and I could just …”
Don’t. You’re better than that now, and I show you, in time. You have plenty of it, as you have already seen, you must simply look at it differently, and be happy that you have gotten this far. You must simply redefine who you are now, and enjoy that process. Enjoy that “new you”, as it was there all along, just clouded by nostalgia. Where you are now is better anyway.
Thanks for stopping by.