Ok, so we talk about how to get motivated to lose weight and how not to lose your motivation to lose weight, then how to regain your motivation to lose weight and finally, what to do when you feel absolutely no motivation to lose weight. Well today I have a new one ya:
Your motivation to lose weight is a lower ticket price for air travel.
Sound ridiculous? It’s not; right now in the airline industry they’re tossing about the idea of having airline passengers weigh in to determine their ticket price.
I saw this on tv a few days back (usually don’t watch the news but somehow I caught this) and on Twitter today a couple of my twitter friends Barbara Boser and Ari J. Greenberg brought up the topic of air travel and how photography equipment is being pilfered from checked bags in Philly and how the customary “one free checked bag” is starting to fall by the wayside (American charges 15.00 per bag and United followed suit today).
What’s It Have to Do With Weight Loss?
So we can see that the airlines are in trouble and they’re trying to recoup their losses over high fuel prices in any way they can. Well we can directly relate this to your motivation to lose weight because if they implement this plan (and why not, they weighed passengers back in the 70’s), what you weigh will determine your ticket price.
Can you imagine, standing in line and getting up to the ticket counter where you have to be weighed in front of everyone while your bag gets weighed right next to you? Or maybe they would be kind and put you and your bag on the scale together so it’s wouldn’t be so obvious how much you actually weigh.
The reason they’re thinking about weighing you is because it’s the weight of the plane that determines how much fuel it needs to take on board, and you already know how much it’s costing you to fuel your vehicle. If you multiply that by a gazillion, you can see why the airline industry is struggling and trying to bring in more money however they can.
Will You Fly If You Have To Weigh In?
So let’s say that tomorrow the major carriers announce that they are all requiring that you weigh in and they are basing your ticket price on the combined weight of your body and your bags. What would you do? If you are a frequent flyer will this motivate you to lose weight and get fit, or would this trigger your emotional eating because you feel angry about this turn of events?
What if you’re overweight and you frequently fly for business and your employer decides that you’ll need to either shape up or pay for the overage on your ticket (overage = amount you’re overweight). I don’t know if that’s even legal so let’s look at it like this: would you be motivated to lose weight for fear of losing your job if you’re a frequent business traveler?
Let’s say that your colleagues are all of a healthy weight but you could stand to lose 50-100 pounds. You know that your ticket prices are far above your colleagues prices so even though you’re the top performer at work would you be concerned about job loss and start a workout plan? No, you’re not supposed to get fired over your health but they could give you another reason.
Sound Too Far Fetched?
You might be reading this and think that I’m out in left field but it’s no secret what’s going on with millions of people in America today when it comes to unemployment. So, when you tie in your overweight and lack of health and fitness and relate it to how it could affect your job (and what about flying for vacation, you want to get out and have fun, too!), I think you can see that these thoughts could easily enter a person’s mind if the airlines do start charging you per your weight.
A Blessing or a Curse?
The way I see it if the airlines do start making you weigh in it could either help people get motivated to get fit, or it will bring in millions of dollars for the airline industry, or it will take money away from them because even more people will stop flying. I mean if you must weigh in, bring hardly any baggage and at the same time be looking around for suspicious characters on your flight, I think that more people might start driving, or just stay home.
What Do You Think?
Honestly, would this motivate you to lose weight? I’m especially interested in hearing from those of you who are frequent flyers. However if you have a regular routine of 1 or 2 vacation flights every year I’d also like to hear if weighing in would motivate you to lose weight, or if you would cut back on your vacations instead.
When I first heard about this move by the airlines I was quite surprised.
Women, especially hate getting on the scales. From personal experience, many factors come into play before I will get on a set of scales. What I wear, what I’ve eaten, how much fluid I’ve drunk are all factors.
I think alot of women will just avoid flying unless their own personal conditions are all checked off!
Also, many overweight people really are suffering emotionally. This sort of thing can be really hurtful and embarrassing and have the opposite impact. Rather than motivate it can force people further into their shell.
For someone like me who doesn’t have a weight problem and sees small changes in weight this won’t be an issue but I feel for those who aren’t in this situation.
Hi Sally,
Exactly, I definitely don’t think that this would be a positive in many people’s minds, especially those who are overweight.
I don’t know if you have issues with weight or food but if you did do you think this would motivate you to lose weight or would it have a negative effect?
Hi JoLynn,
I don’t have a weight issue but I doubt this alone would motivate someone to lose weight.
Perhaps this along with people’s negative experiences when overweight might impact their decision to try and reduce their size but I think many will just feel ever worse about themselves.
Sallys last blog post..Are you an organized or disorganized person?
Hi Sally,
Yeah, it’s kinda like the roller coaster ride – I hear a lot of success stories in which the person’s turning point was not being able to fit in the coaster seat, but that’s a positive outcome.
I’m sure you’re right that weighing in to fly could have a negative emotional impact on some – really makes me wonder if people would purposely avoid flying!
Thanks for your follow up to my question. 🙂
What does anyone’s weight have to do with how they transport from one place to another? Besides who are these airlines to decide whether or not my asz is because enough to pay $300 or $50? Airlines are already finding other ways to make people pay arms and legs to fly I guess they need the whole body mass too.
I think it’s a absurd idea and it wouldn’t motivate anyone because if shaming people made people lose weight no one would be fat.
I meant butt is big enough lol
Hi Michelle,
I completely agree that shame, blame, and criticizm do not help you lose weight, in fact if you indulge in them they help you gain weight if you’re an emotional eater and give into that emotional eating! 😉
Yeah, the airlines wouldn’t be trying to shame anyone but unintentionally I think a lot of people could feel like that. The reality is that an aircraft needs as much fuel to carry it’s weight so when it flys empty it’s a lot cheaper to fuel than when flying a full flight (of passengers and baggage).
If they do implement this change (which I wouldn’t be surprised if they do) I think it would be better to weigh people in private, but where would they do that? ….would make the wait at the airport a lot longer too, and you couldn’t avoid the check-in lines then…
Im still stuck in the REALLY? THEY WOULD REALLY DO THIS?! place but I think you’re right JoLynn that they truly might.
and in the land where we whip off our shoes and shove em in bins we’d be weighed RIGHT OUT THERE as well Id imagine.
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In this kind of situation, I’d refrain myself from flying, if possible I’d take another way to get to my destination! I mean, come on, who wants to get weighed like that?
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@M, yes, I think it’s very likely this could happen because of the rising fuel costs and the trouble the airline industry has been in ever since 9-2001.
@Phil, thanks for sharing how you would react to this. I think your reaction would be a good reason for them to figure out a way to weigh people “in private”….at least not right out there in front of the counter.
It will be interesting to see if flying really does come down to this and what the overall reaction is from the customer population.
JoLynn,
I agree with you that it’s all in our mind when it comes to health. A good health begins with a good mental health. I remember seeing a woman on Oprah talking about how she lost 200+ ponds by using power of positivity. It’s astounding. I love your blog. Needless to say, I’ve subscribed. Please visit my blog when time permits. 🙂
Shilpan
Shilpan | successsoul.coms last blog post..How to Live a Recession-Proof Life
Hi Shilpan, thanks! 🙂
Yes, I often write about the importance of the mindset when it comes to weight loss, it’s a main ingredient for success.
I didn’t see that Oprah episode, I’ll keep an eye out for it on the reruns, thanks for letting me know!
Of course, it’s obvious that if Americans would lose weight, their costs to fly would go down! How much? Well, the industry paid, on the whole, nearly $800,000,000 (that’s 0.8 Billion dollars!) in extra costs for fuel EACH year, because Americans are lazy, eat too much junk and are so pitfully out of shape. No, I’m not being hypercritical, but I’m a nutritionist and this is a fact: If Americans were not overweight, costs would go down dramatically for flying! It would also help if passengers were’nt so concerned with bringing so much “stuff” with them when they travel. On small planes, the results are often tragic. On large planes, it’s just most fuel costs!
I totally support pricing based upon weight. The industry just doesn’t want to start this because of the “backlash” that could result.
So, if EVERY overweight American that flies, were to lose weight, costs could go down, and dramatically! Sorry, but the laws of physics don’t change because facing them makes you uncomfortable (or because stating these facts is politically incorrect)! Instead, face these laws, lose weight, give up eating junk, fried foods, foods made with/from white flour/white sugar, beverages made with sugar, (like soda and other fruit “drinks”), etc. It would also help if Americans were to eat a LOT more fresh fruits and vegetables. (Know any fat vegans who exercise regularly?)
Let’s face these uncomfortable facts: Fuel costs are too high because we not only use too much gasoline in our cars (which decreases supplies), but because we eat too much food–and too much of the wrong KINDS of foods. Let’s all endeavor to lose any excess weight within the next 12-18 months! Then, costs to fly will go down. Costs will also go down FAR MORE than from “power washing” those big airplanes! Tom, Nutritionist, http://tompetrie.net