One of my favorite sports movies is “League Of Their Own” starring Tom Hanks and Gena Davis. Hanks played a manager, Jimmy Duggan, of a women’s professional baseball team when men’s major league baseball was cancelled due to World War 2. Here is a memorable exchange between Duggan and his star player. Dottie Hinson:
Jimmy Dugan: S–t, Dottie, if you want to go back to Oregon and make a hundred babies, great, I’m in no position to tell anyone how to live. But sneaking out like this, quitting, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Baseball is what gets inside you. It’s what lights you up, you can’t deny that.
Dottie Hinson: It just got too hard.
Jimmy Dugan: It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.
So, let’s bring this back to the weight control arena. Is losing weight/maintaining that healthy/happy weight easy? Well, if it wasn’t hard, 70% of Americans would not be overweight/obese. Clearly, it is VERY hard to keep vigilant on your weight control efforts. What is “easy” about giving up the fun foods/drinks that provide immediate gratification? What is “easy” about getting up 30 minutes early to exercise as opposed to staying in bed? What is “easy” about being around a bunch of people at an event and not joining everyone else in a carb-eating/alcohol drinking fest? All of the necessary steps for successful weight control are hard, at least in the beginning.
Well, back to Jimmy Duggan’s line: “The hard…is what makes it great.” Well, what is “great” is reducing the risk of serious diseases such as diabetes/heart disease/cancer/hypertension, getting off of medications, looking years younger, regaining energy, fitting into your beautiful clothes and reducing the risk of a serious outcome if the Covid virus is contracted. All of this “great” stuff comes from successful weight control.
So, let’s all dig deep, take on “the hard” and then enjoy the “great”. And, to steal another quote from Hanks in the movie: “There is NO crying in weight loss! (oops..I mean baseball)”