Why Diet?

Losing weight, especially a lot of weight, is hard work. Months of depriving myself of things I enjoy, and forcing myself to ignore primal urges. Then, if I manage to lose the weight, my reward is likely to be a lifetime of dieting in order to keep it off.

So why bother?

Not because my wife wants me to (though I'm sure she doesn't mind). If anything, pressure from someone else would probably make me less likely to diet because I can be a contrary old cuss.

Not (surprisingly) for health reasons. I've never experienced any significant health problems (yet!), and aside from my weight I'm generally quite healthy and reasonably active. Don't smoke, don't drink, heck, I'm practically a chubby Mormon.

I have many reasons why I diet, but it basically boils down to the fact that we don't live in a world which is especially friendly to 300-lb guys:

• By contemporary standards, I'm not physically attractive. I'm used to it, but I'd like to look better. Not because I'm looking for a mate, but hey, it would be nice to know I could if I wanted to.


• Airline seats are torture. Since I no longer travel enough to get free upgrades, every business trip means hours of sitting in a cramped seat with a seatbelt I have to inhale to buckle.


• Buying clothes is hard. It could be harder: right now I wear size 46 pants, which is the largest size most retailers stock. Even that is a squeeze on bad days, and when I buckle my belt I get this funny pinched-in-the-middle look.


• Getting my drivers' license renewed (and having to write down my weight to get it imprinted on indestructible plastic) is embarrassing.


• I get a lecture every time I go to the doctor.


• I'm a private pilot, and overweight pilots ensure a special humiliation. Because small planes are very limited in the weight they can carry, the pilot has to calculate the takeoff weight for each flight. Every pound of me is a pound less fuel, luggage, or other passengers I can carry.

In short, every day there are a zillion little reminders that the vast majority of people around me are much skinnier than I am.

If I'm going to stick out, I'd like it to be for something I've accomplished, or my intelligence, or even (one can dream) my striking good looks. Being visibly overweight is just....uncomfortable.