The Essential Difference Between People Who Stick to a Diet and Those Who Don't, Honestly Told by an Occupational Therapist Who Went from 106kg to 77kg

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I wanted a girlfriend.

For that reason alone, I started going to the gym.

There was no noble motivation. It wasn't for my health, nor was it out of a sense of duty as a medical professional. It was just a matter of thinking, 'Maybe something will change if I lose weight.'

One year later, my weight had gone from 106kg to 77kg. I had lost 29kg.

Today, I want to talk about that realistic story.

I will honestly tell you why I was overweight

I had been playing tennis for over 20 years. It wasn't that I hated exercise.

But before I knew it, I was 106kg.

It was when I was working as an occupational therapist at a day care center. Work stress, an irregular lifestyle, and indifference toward my diet. Before I knew it, my body had become like that.

Even when I entered tennis tournaments, I lost because I ran out of stamina. I didn't have the stamina to fight through multiple matches. I disliked myself a little.

The first thing I did: My knees hurt and I couldn't run

The first thing I did after joining the gym wasn't running.

It was walking in the water.

As an occupational therapist, I knew about the body. If I ran at a weight of 106kg, the burden on my knees would be immeasurable. In fact, I couldn't even run for 5 minutes.

So I started by walking in the water. Buoyancy reduces the burden of body weight. There is less strain on the joints. It is also quite effective as aerobic exercise.

At first, I just kept walking in the water for an hour.

I brought a Sony waterproof Walkman with me. When I listened to my favorite music, time passed in the blink of an eye. Before I knew it, my routine had become 10 minutes of strength training followed by over an hour in the pool. Even though I could only swim 50m at first, I became able to swim crawl for over an hour without stopping.

The wall of a plateau

In the second or third month, there was a period where my weight hardly moved.

I was going to the gym every day, but the number on the scale wouldn't change. It was mentally tough. The thought, 'Is there even any point in continuing like this?' crossed my mind many times.

But I didn't quit.

You could call it sheer willpower, but in the end, it really just came down to 'continuing without taking a break no matter what.'

In reality, rest is necessary for a diet. As an occupational therapist, I knew that rest is essential for physical recovery. But at the time, I had a fear that 'resting equals an excuse to quit.' So, I kept going.

A plateau is a sign that your body is trying to adapt to a new weight. It's not a bad thing. But even knowing that intellectually, it was emotionally exhausting.

What I did with my diet: I didn't aim for perfection.

My dietary restrictions were simple.

I only ate rice for breakfast and lunch. At night, I focused on low-GI foods like soba noodles and tofu. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of vegetables, so I didn't force myself to eat them.

I decided not to eat anything after 7:00 PM.

There were times I felt hungry. But I was tired, so I would fall asleep around 10:00 PM. If you're asleep, you don't feel hunger. As it turned out, this worked in my favor.

It wasn't a perfect diet. But I think the fact that I continued within a 'sustainable range' is what led to me keeping it up for a year.

The 'dialogue with the body' I discovered as an occupational therapist

While continuing my aerobic exercise, I noticed a certain sensation.

It wasn't hard training, so it wasn't visibly grueling. But my body was constantly feeling fatigued. That's because it was constantly using calories to burn fat.

While honestly facing that fatigue, I adjusted the intensity of my load. I didn't coddle myself, but I didn't push too hard either.

As an occupational therapist, I have always asked my patients, 'How is your body feeling today?' I was able to turn that perspective toward myself.

A dialogue with the body. I now believe this was the essence of continuing my diet.

The essence of dieting that Adler taught me

When I read 'The Courage to Be Disliked,' I thought about dieting in this way.

Could it be that people who fail at dieting are choosing to fail because they have an unconscious purpose in gaining some kind of benefit from 'not dieting—that is, staying at their current weight'?

This might sound cold.

However, when viewed through the lens of Adlerian psychology's "teleology," people unconsciously make choices that are convenient for themselves. It is the perspective that you are not "unable to lose weight," but rather "choosing not to lose weight."

I didn't want to be that way back then.

Don't make excuses. Don't blame your environment. Take full ownership of your own goals.

That might have been the biggest reason for my weight loss success.

The Results, and What Followed

I lost 29kg in one year. I was able to win a tennis tournament. I gained the stamina to play multiple matches. And, I met my wife.

I am 80kg now. I rebounded a little. Since my child was born, I stopped going to the gym, so the routine I had back then became difficult.

But my wife tells me, "You're fine the way you are." So I don't worry about it that much. However, health is important, so I make sure to go for a walk for about an hour at night after the kids are asleep.

My motivation has changed. From "I want a girlfriend" to "I want to stay healthy."

Even if the motivation changes, I believe the essence of continuing remains the same.

What I want to tell you today

Dieting isn't just about willpower. But there are moments when willpower is necessary.

You don't need perfect dietary restrictions or intense daily exercise.

I think what's important is "continuing within a range you can sustain" and "being honest with your own body."

And one more thing.

Why do you want to lose weight? I want you to ask yourself that motivation honestly.

If your motivation is genuine, you can overcome even the plateaus.

Just as I did back then.

Occupational Therapist, 15th year. Working at a special nursing home. HSP/ISFJ. 106kg -> 77kg -> currently 80kg. I'm out for a walk again tonight.