I never had a weight problem. I had a weight solution.

12 months ago I was given an opportunity to deal with the problem I’d solved with a 50kg protective layer.  It’s a private matter, but forgiveness, love, and a commitment to just let the fucking past go was a big part of it.

With great trepidation, but an equal amount of determination, I decided the time had come to lose the weight and become ‘me’ again.

But how?

I’d lost weight previously. In the 1980s I lost about 10kg in 6 weeks on the Beverly Hills Diet. When the six weeks was up I was as skinny ‘as’ but starving!!!! I literally wolfed down a hamburger on the final day of the diet and didn’t stop eating until I put it all back on …

In the 1990s I decided that ‘fat makes you fat’ and I lost another 10kg by virtually eliminating fat from my diet. Combined with exercise it worked. But, it wasn’t sustainable. At the first hiccup in my life, the diet and exercise stopped and the weight went back on – plus another 30kg!

When you’re that weight losing weight seems pointless. I figured that even if I lost 20kg I’d still be fat so, really, why bother?

It wasn’t until I met some ‘real people’ – people I knew – who had lost 30-40kg that I began to realise that extreme weight loss was possible; that you didn’t have to have your stomach stapled, spend 12 months at a weight loss facility in China, or sign up for The Biggest Loser to shed that kind of weight.

And, having embraced skepticism, I knew that if I was going to lose weight I was going to do it skeptically.  I knew that the weight loss industry was a massive scam, and my ‘gut’ instinct was that the secret to weight loss was Keep it Simple Stupid. Still, I did some research and discovered that losing weight is about maths, not myths.

So, I applied some common sense but not particularly radical changes to my lifestyle and eating habits and, voila, we’re less than 12 months down the track and I’m 50kg lighter. I’ve gone from a size 24-26 to a size 12-14. My doctor calls me “The Incredible Disappearing Woman”.

Next weekend, I’ll be speaking about this rather thrilling achievement at Brisbane Skepticamp in a speech entitled, “Weight a Minute. That’s Bullshit!”

The event begins at 1pm on Saturday, 19 July at the Hamilton Town Hall, Brisbane. I’m scheduled to speak at 6.20pm (but it might be a bit later or earlier depending on how the day goes).

If you’re in or around Brisbane and interested in weight loss (or in other skeptical issues – I’m not the only speaker!) it would be great to see you there. The event is officially sold out, but you can email the organisers if you roolly, roolly want to come and they’ll see what they can do. Drop my name. It will make no difference at all, but I enjoy being dropped.

If you can’t make it but you’re interested I’ll be writing more on this subject soon.

I’m not advocating that anyone loses weight. My weight served me well. It kept me alive. But, for those who want to lose weight and think they’re ready to deal with the reason why they got fat in the first place, the solution lies not in expensive diet programs, miracle foods, eliminating food groups, food combining, or other fad diets. It’s simple, easy, achievable and sustainable. Maths. Not myths.

Chrys Stevenson