A blonde woman who was normally happy but secretly loathed how she looked was sick of feeling bad about herself. She didn’t want to look in mirrors anymore because her clothes were getting tighter and the stairs felt steeper. One day, she stepped on the scale and saw a number that scared her. She went to the doctor for help. She wanted to make a difference, but she didn’t want to keep track of every calorie or follow a rigorous diet.
The doctor, an older man who had been practicing for a long time and liked strange patients, sat her down and told her about a strategy he had tried with some other people before.
He wrote down, “This is what I want you to do.” “Eat every day for two days.” Don’t go crazy; simply eat what you usually do. Do not consume anything on the third day. You shouldn’t consume anything for a whole day. After that, eat normally for two days and then skip again. For two whole weeks, do it.
He looked at her with a serious look and said, “If you stick to this plan, you should lose at least five pounds.” You might lose even more.
She gazed back at him with big eyes, nodded with excitement, and said, “I can do that.” She smiled politely, took the note, and went, determined to make things work.
Two weeks later, she went back to the clinic for a follow-up visit. When she walked in, the receptionist was equally surprised. She didn’t appear like the same person. She looked a little tired, but her clothing were looser, her face was thinner, and she walked with more vigor.
When the doctor called her in and she stepped on the scale, he almost dropped his clipboard. She shed 19 pounds in under two weeks.
He was shocked and raised his eyebrows. He shouted, “This is great!” “You’ve lost almost four times as much as I thought you would.” That’s incredible! Did you do precisely what the instructions said?
The blonde smiled and nodded, proud. “Yes, doctor, I did what you told me to do.”
“But that’s a lot of weight in such a short time,” he replied again, still shocked. “What was it like for you on the fast days?” Did you feel dizzy or hungry?
The woman sighed and took a seat. “Doctor, I’ll be honest,” she remarked as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “I thought I was going to die on the third day.”
The doctor moved in closer, looking alarmed. “Because you’re hungry?”
She stared at him with big, serious eyes and said, “No, from skipping.”
There was a break.
He blinked. “Skipping?”
She agreed. “Yes!” You told me to eat for two days and then not eat for the third day. I missed every third day, and I missed every third day. I went around the kitchen. I walked back and forth down the hall for hours. In the street. For hours!
The doctor had to think for a second about what she meant before he started to giggle. It was a deep, warm, and uninhibited laugh. He couldn’t imagine that his patient would really forego meals during the fasting days. Not only did she get it wrong, but she was so serious about it that she worked out every three days.
And for some reason, it worked. It was clear that the result was caused by one or more of the following: eating less calories, doing exercises when they weren’t expected, or just having a lot of willpower. She took a misunderstanding and made a weight-loss strategy out of it that, surprisingly, worked better than anyone had expected it would.
The doctor grinned and remarked, “Well, I guess skipping has its benefits after all.” But next time, we’ll make the directions clearer.
The blonde grinned. “Honestly, I feel amazing. It was kind of fun to skip, even if I almost passed out a few times.
The doctor shook his head in bewilderment as she left the office. It was a lovely reminder that being determined and not fully understanding something may sometimes lead to very amazing things. And maybe the best thing of all is that she found happiness and laughter along the way, which is perhaps the best thing for her health.
