Transcriber: Robert Tucker
Reviewer: Denise RQ Did you know that the average
caveman in the Stone Age spent five times as much energy
on physical activity as the average American adult today? And I mean our average caveman
in the Stone Age had to walk for up to 16 kilometers a day, had to chase his prey for days on end, so then when he finally made his kill, he could rightfully stuff
his face with meat and eat as much as he wanted. However, nowadays,
overeating is a global problem and the cause of many
severe health threats. 44% of the diabetes burden,
23% of the ischemic heart disease burden, and up to 41% of certain
cancer burdens are linked to obesity. So, these numbers are the things
you learn from text books, the facts everyone
can look up on the Internet, but once I started working
in the hospital as a junior intern, and met people
who were struggling with obesity, I realized that it's often not
these physical consequences that seem to matter most to those
who are overweight themselves. Let's take a look at the picture
of this girl as an example. The quote that came to my mind
when I saw this picture was: "To lose confidence in one's body,
is to lose confidence in oneself." Because the girl you see
is only 15 years old, but already weighs over 100 kilograms, and tonight she's going
to her high school's prom, and you can see she's all dressed up,
posing for a picture, probably taken by one of her parents. And yet, in spite of the brave smile
she's putting up, you can also instantly
sense her insecurity. You can see she's not really
looking forward to the night. Only 15 years old
with a whole life ahead of her, and already she has
lost confidence in herself. This is only one example of people
who are severely unhappy in their body, but still can't manage to lose weight. And it made me wonder why because there are stacks of books
on how to lose weight, web pages full of tips and tricks, and plenty of experts to guide
you through the process. So, if it's not for a lack of tools
then why is it so many of us can't manage to lose weight
or keep the weight off? And I ask myself all these questions, and then, as we are taught
within the problem-based learning system here at Maastricht University, I realized that the best way to find
the answer was to go look for it myself. And so I stumbled upon some research
on the science of complexity by two professors
at York University in Canada. And I found their theory
surprisingly applicable to the process of losing weight. You see, they proposed there are
three types of problems in the world: the simple, the complicated,
and the complex. So, simple problems are
the ones like following a recipe. You need some basic techniques
and perhaps a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, following the recipe has
a very high chance of success. Complicated problems cover problems
like sending a rocket to the Moon, which does sound pretty complicated to me. However, complicated problems
can often be broken down into a string of simple problems. So when coordinated well, these complicated problems
still carry a high rate of success. Finally, complex problems
are the ones like raising a child. There is no recipe for success. And while raising one child
may certainly provide experience, it doesn't guarantee success
with the next child because every child is unique and may require
an entirely different approach. So, our cavemen in the Stone Age didn't have any notice of complexity,
his life was simple, and basic, and as simple pretty much as it could be. But, nowadays, in our modern time, the process of losing weight definitely
seems to be a complex problem, there is no recipe for success. And certainly there may be
some basic ingredients, eating differently,
changing your exercise pattern, but there are no standard tools to use, and no definitive order
of steps to follow. The remarkable thing is that many things
in our environment suggest that losing weight is, in fact,
simply a matter of following a recipe. Drink these shakes, eat
these protein bars, skip all carbs, drink gallons of water, avoid all sugars,
and you will lose weight, and you will be happy forever, and you will never feel insecure
in your life anymore, ever, right? No. I'd like to take you back to the picture
of the girl we saw at the beginning because the next picture is
the same girl one year later. And seven years later,
she's standing here right in front of you sharing a story that appears to be now
about as personal as it gets. And five months ago I told my story for the very first time
at the TEDxMaastricht pitch night. I showed the audience
the same two pictures leaving the second one
to right before the end. When I told them that it was
the same girl as in the first picture, an audible sigh of genuine surprise
went through the public because they realized, as you do
by now, that that girl was me. And what struck me most
after the pitch night were not the kind words from my friends, and not the compliments
from strangers in the audience. No, it was that audible sigh
of genuine surprise that I had heard
when showing the second picture that quite confused me. You see, I had never expected
that anyone seeing that first picture wouldn't immediately recognize
the girl to be me because whenever
I picture myself in my head, I still look that way. Seven years after physically
losing 40 kilos, I still struggle to recognize
the way my body looks now. And it confused me
because I'd always thought that losing weight was as simple as,
well, losing the weight. So, only a moment ago, I told you about
how losing weight is a complex problem, that there are no standard tools to use and no definitive order
of steps to follow. But most importantly,
that it's a personal problem requiring a personal solution, it's a matter of compiling your own
personal recipe to losing weight. So, have I found all the ingredients
to my recipe of losing weight and keeping the weight off
and being happy with my new body? I think that in past few years
I have found out about quite a few things that work for me, but it's the final seasoning of the dish
that's still a bit of a struggle. You see, it's scary as hell to admit
that sometimes I'm still feeling fat, and that when I look in the mirror
I struggle to recognize the same image other people
see when looking at me, and that sharing my story with you today, means overcoming one of my biggest fears. Because what I'm scared of most is not that I stumble on words
or forget my lines; what I'm scared of most
is that when I leave this stage, you will look at your neighbor,
raise an eyebrow, and say: "I don't get why she's on stage;
she's still fat." But I also know that that fear is
irrational, as are many fears, and I no longer want to be scared
because a great man once said that: "Courage is not the absence of fear
but the triumph over it," and that: "the brave man is not he
who is not afraid, but he who conquers that fear." And maybe, the triumph
over one of my biggest fears is that final seasoning my dish needs, my final step to completing
my recipe to losing weight. So, as long as I'm still scared,
I will continue to conquer my fear, and I will continue to tell my story until I no longer need
to summon up any courage to tell people that I used
to be fat, but no longer am. And I hope some of you may
find comfort in this story, knowing that losing weight
and being happy with your new body is not always as easy as
our society makes you think. And I hope you will find
your own ingredients and compile your own recipe. And do remember, that, in the end,
it's only one person that has to be satisfied
with the taste of the final dish. And that person is you. Thank you. (Applause)
