To wonder when people say "I NEED to..."

[TrillianAstra]

Why is it that you need to lose a stone, or six pounds, or whatever?

What will happen if you don't?

Not a thread about a thread but a thread about a common title that I've seen a few times recently.

I assume they mean that to be the recommended weight for their height or BMI or whatever they NEED to lose x amount.
Maybe it's 'I NEED to lose a stone or I won't fit into this dress I bought... yes, it's the wrong size but it'll encourage me to lose weight so I can do the zip up.'

Because being overweight is unhealthy?

I think those kind of threads have a certain desperation to them. Maybe the poster has known for a while that they could stand to lose a bit of weight, and they might have tried half-heartedly, but something triggers a redoubling of efforts. Maybe a holiday or special occasion looming, maybe catching sight of themselves in a mirror, maybe a comment from someone. But it's sort of a lightbulb moment and you think "Right. No more fannying about. I need to do this now."

What they really mean of course is that they want to lose weight. Sometimes the timescales are a bit arbitrary (half a stone in 3 weeks or whatever), but OTOH it can also help to have a specific goal.

they'll still be fat?

I need to lose about 4 stone to be a healthy weight for my height

MissPenteuth I think you've got it - it's the strange arbitrary timescales combined with need that strike me as odd.

Or maybe not odd but, I don't know, like they are putting too much importance on that half stone.

You're right, what people should really do is say "I'm getting a bit fat. I shall stop eating rubbish for a while, exercise a bit more, and hopefully after an unspecified amount of time I will feel more svelte again."

But I think if you're desperate enough to start a thread on it, there's been some sort of trigger and you just want the weight gone now so you try to do it ASAP.

No-one needs to do anything that isn't a bodily function but 'I would prefer to' takes longer to say