Real and Imagined Audiences

Eventually I'm going to have to tell people I'm doing this diet. I imagine people falling into three basic groups.

1.   The Sympathizer/Empathizer Who Gets It and Has Been There:  This prototype is based on my friends and family members who have had life-long struggles with weight. They know what it is to feel desperate and lost and out of control. I imagine them reading along and nodding vigorously when I talk about the shame I feel about my weight. I imagine them tearing up in recognition as I share stories of comparing my weight to professional athletes. Comments I imagine getting from them when I tell them about this diet are things like “it sounds like you have thought about it, and this diet seems like a perfectly reasonable way to tackle this weight problem at this point in your life.”

2.   The Supportive but Skeptical Skeptic: This persona is based on people who don’t really think this is wise or likely to work and/or who don’t personally relate to struggles about weight, but who are willing to accept that someone who does struggle with weight might, at times, choose surprisingly radical means. Comments from this group will be things like “I think it would be better to do this another way, but I know you think this will work for you, and I hope it does.”

3.   The Haterz: This group is absolutely certain that the best way to lose weight is through a responsible and healthy regimen of reduced calorie intake done in conjunction with reasonable exercise. This group doesn't get the deep emotional scarring and pain that weight can cause for some of us, but they think they do, because they have at times been 5 or 10 or even 20 pounds overweight. They have always found that reasonable dieting results in weight loss and simply cannot relate to those who lack the strength and will power to succeed with more traditional methods. This group will probably say things like “I just don’t understand why you’re doing this. I think it is dangerous and insane. Have you thought about adding jogging to your weekly regimen instead?”

Although I am only sharing this blog with real-life friends from group 1 and select people from group 2, I imagine my ethereal, imaginary interwebz readers to fall into these three major categories as well. Am I missing anyone?