I interviewed a man the other night in his home and the topic of our conversations was eating habits. He told me that his eating habits had changed rapidly in the past few months and of course I had to ask him how they have changed. He told me that since April he had lost 80 pounds (and he was by no means small).
He did it under the supervision of a doctor and ate in such a way that his body was living off of stored fat. He also started running and biking.
His goal is to have a 36 inch waist; something he told me he hadn’t had since 8th grade when he was more than a foot shorter than he is now.
He has his mind set on a goal and is letting nothing get in the way of his achieving that goal. He has a very supportive wife who has also lost a significant amount of weight. I was thinking to myself, “what could the impetus be for losing this weight now?” Moments after having that thought the question was answered as a three year old boy decided to join our conversation.
I sometimes forget in this job that the people I speak to and elicit insight from are more than just consumers; they are people. They have families, hopes, dreams, motivations, and plans for the future. All of these things impact our attitudes towards products, categories, advertising, and our own behavior. Just something I am going to keep in mind as I continue to talk to people for a living.
Sorry for the deep thoughts, I promise to be funny again soon.
