FINDING What Not to Wear

FINDING What Not to Wear


I'm watching a What Not To Wear's episode about a girl (Courtney) who lost 170 pounds. I'm grateful that I have not had to lose that much. I hope that I haven't gone to the extremes that she did … but I do recognize some things. I used to search for a loose fit. When you weigh 270, not a lot is loose. But anything that fits, showed my rolls … REALLY icky.

Now that I”ve lost some of the weight, I do have an urge to make up for lost time. I keep having to remind myself that I'm 55. Somethings will look ridiculous. I purchased a couple of dresses/skirts that may be too short. Leggings would be one way to handle it, but do 55 year old women wear leggings?

Like WNTW pointed out, I do find it easier to get a good fit in dresses or skirts, than in pants … but for the opposite reason that Courtney experienced. She has a smaller waist than the rest of her body would indicate. I'm just the opposite – still thick through the middle.

In my 20s, I wore a lot of turtlenecks. I have a long neck and well … there was a lot of room in a B cup. Then, it looked good. My body now is different. Stacy and Clinton made some points about the slimming and elongating effects of an open or V-neck.

When Your FAMILY Doesn’t Recognize Your FACE

You know you’ve lost a lot of weight when your mother doesn’t recognize your pictures.

I sent pictures of the kids at Christmas to my sister-in-law to share with the western branch of the family. She commented on how much weight Eric has lost since she saw him last. He looks great. I mentioned that I’d lost 80 pounds and sent a picture. Mom didn’t know who it was.

I’ve told Mom several times that I was losing weight. I’ve always suspected that she didn’t listen, so this proves it.

It’s happened off and on for the past 2 years. People don’t recognize me till I speak. The voice is a give-away.

FINDING Resolution

It’s the resolution time of year … the season when every other commercial is on taxes, quitting smoking or (you guessed it) losing weight.

 

If you only need to drop a few pounds, it’s a good time to go for it. But for those people, like me, who allowed weight to become a real problem, you need more than a diet.

 

You need to change.

 

I’ve been trying to change for the past 2 years. In the process, I’ve lost 80 pounds and that’s good. But I wouldn’t say I have the problem licked.

 

My New Year’s Resolutions are

1. to drop the remaining 30 pounds,
2. to keep exercising,
3. and to work on not eating unless I’m actually hungry … not bored, depressed or all the other emotional reasons I turn to food.

Looking for Other FATTIES

I signed up for Google alerts on “diet” and “calories” ... just to see what else is out there. Everyone is trying to sell you something. I’m not.

I’ve lost 80 pounds. I’m trying to lose another 30. This blog is about how I’ve done it and … well, a lot of other stuff I find interesting. I don’t belong to any weight loss program. I don’t have a personal trainer. I’m just eating les junk and walking.

And since I’m miles from perfect (I used to weight 270 … so MILES from perfect), I’m also pretty open about my mistakes.

I’d like to talk to other people, like me, who want to feel better and weigh less.

Diet Quote from Totie Fields

I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is fourteen days. -- Totie Fields

Diet Quote from Jackie Gleason

The second day of a diet is always easier than the first. By the second day, you're off it. -- Jackie Gleason

FUNNY Tuesday: Your Jiggling Jog

Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000 per month.

My grandpa started walking five miles a day when he was 60. Now he's 97 years old and we don't know where he is.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there.

Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise', I wash my mouth out with chocolate.

I do have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

The advantage of exercising every day is so when you die, they'll say, "Well, she looks good doesn't she."

If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years ... just getting over the hill.

We all get heavier as we get older, because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Every time I start thinking too much about how I look, I just find a Happy Hour and by the time I leave, I look just fine.

FINDING a FOOD Opportunity

Image from http://www.worth1000.com/

I try to plan … really, I do. Yogurt plus fruit for breakfast = 200 calories. Mid-morning … a couple of cups of coffee with creamer = 100. Lean Cuisine for lunch = 300. Afternoon snack = fruit or a 100 calorie pack. That leaves 400 to 500 for supper and another 100 for an evening snack. That’s the plan.
Then life happens. This time of year, the break room is full of goodies … brownies … fudge … iced sugar cookies. The “have-one-and-then-stop” philosophy does not work for me. Once the taste is in my mouth, I think about it a lot ... too much.

I’ve tried avoiding the break room. On a busy day that works, providing I don’t get a coffee urge … and no one mentions it to me. If I’m out seeing clients all morning, the announcers may eat everything before I hit the office. They frequently start between 4 and 5 a.m. At 10 or 11 a.m., they get the mid-afternoon munchies.

I have very little resistance to temptation … particularly sweets. I do not have a good strategy for this, but next week it will be over.

FOOD at the Office Party

The owner’s wife is a great gal. She invited all the staff from her husband’s 10 stations and her son’s 2 over for dinner. We often don’t have Christmas parties … partly because it’s so crazy in broadcasting at this time of year … and partly because our local GM is just not a party-planning guy. That’s not criticism. Neither am I. I’ve tried, but I don’t have any fun at my own parties – a bad sign.

Jane did most (maybe all) of the cooking herself. There was a big buffet and I kept trying to remember the 15 Tips for Restrained feasting.(http://fatfamilyotherfwords.blogspot.com/2009/11/fifteen-tips-for-restrained-feasting.html ) I took a small plate. Tried to focus on fruits and veggies. Then I found people in another part of the house to talk to. Had a lot of fun and really wasn’t tempted, because I could not see the goodies.

... UNTIL the last half hour. Yeah, I had a little wine. Everyone was into deserts. I have a serious sweet tooth … so I went back. I wasn’t too awful, but if I’d left a half hour earlier, I’d be several hundred calories lighter.

Diet Quote from Jenny Craig

It's not what you do once in a while, it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference. - Jenny Craig

FUNNY Tueday: Diet Rules

1. If you eat something, and no one else sees you eat it, it has no calories.


2. When drinking a diet soda while eating a candy bar, the calories in the candy bar are cancelled by the diet soda.

3. When you eat with someone else, calories don't count as long as you don't eat more than they do.

4. Foods used for medicinal purposes NEVER count. Example: hot chocolate, brandy, toast, and Sara Lee Cheesecake.

5. If you fatten up everyone else around you, then you look thinner.

6. Movie-related foods do not have calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel. Example: Milk Duds, Buttered Popcorn, Junior Mints and Tootsie Rolls.

7. Cookie pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking the cookie causes calorie leakage.

8. Late-night snacks have no calories. The refrigerator light is not strong enough for the calories to see their way into the calorie counter.

9. If you are in the process of preparing something, food licked off knives and spoons have no calories. Examples: Peanut Butter on a knife and ice cream on a spoon.

10. Food of the same color have the same number of calories. Examples are spinach and pistachio ice cream, mushrooms and white chocolate.

11. Chocolate is a universal color and may be substituted for any other.

Diet Quote from Marilu Henner

It is now common knowledge that the average American gains 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. -- Marilu Henner

FINICKY

It never occurred to me that FINICKY might be good.

My parents believed that good children ate all their dinner. They lived through shortages during the depression and WW2. Wasting food was a sin. To hear my parents tell it, I didn’t have a lot of positive qualities, but I could clean my plate.

There are very few foods I won’t eat. Really hot seasonings are uncomfortable. Lima beans – more because of texture than taste. Frozen and fresh peas are fine, but the canned ones look icky. The outside split open and the insides squeeze out. I wrote a whole paper on why I hate peas in 4th grade. That’s about it. But I’ve been thinking. Getting pickier might be good.

Think of calories like money or closet space. There’s only so much. You can grab what comes along first … or hold out for the good stuff. Because if you try to eat everything … yeah, you’ll end up weighing 270 pounds. I know.

FUNNY Tuesday: Most Popular Diet Books of 2009

1. EATING DISORDERS by ANNA REXIA

2. HOW TO GAIN WEIGHT by ELLIE FUNT

3. ITALIAN FOOD by PEPE RONI

4. MEAT EATERS by CARNEY VORE

5. LOW-FAT HOG RECIPES by LENA BACON

6. CONTINENTAL BREAKFASTS by ROLAND BUTTER

7. HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT by X. R. Sizemore

8. LOSE WEIGHT NOW by Y. B. Phatt

FIFTEEN Tips For Restrained FEASTING

A new study shows that Americans gain only about one pound over the holidays. Fewer than 10% gain 5 pounds or more.  Here are 15 ways to be thankful ... after Thanksgiving.
1 - Don’t skip meals. You’d think skipping breakfast would balance a big dinner, but it doesn’t work that way. Starving yourself before a party only ensures that you’ll go overboard later.

2 – Indulge a little. Once the holidays are over, the goodies are gone. Instead of depriving yourself of everything, pick out a few foods you truly want. Do it ahead of time, when temptation isn’t under your nose. In other words, I’ll have the stuffing, but skip the potatoes. Try going for halves. Instead of taking as much as you normally would, take ½ as much. You’ll still get some, but you do less diet damage.

3 - Small plates. A big plate looks empty with a small serving on it – to both you and your hostess “Are you sure you don’t want more?” Grab a small plate and stop when it’s full. This works year round.

4 - Pick protein. Select lean protein and cut down on starches and sweets.

5 - Grab a garden. Fill up on fresh, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, but skip the high-fat dips.

6 - Less Booze. Alcohol contains hundreds of empty calories. If you’re tipsy, you may indulge in the things you would have avoided sober. Choose lo-cal options (wine and light beer) and have fewer.

7 – Don’t take a holiday from the gym. Continue to be active. More food and less exercise is not a good combination. Better yet, increase your routine. Add an extra day or stay longer. Weight = calories taken in plus or minus calories burned up. If that doesn’t work, park on the far side of the parking lot and walk to the stores on Black Friday. That’s the only place you’ll be able to find a spot anyway.

8 - Sleep. When you’re tired, you’re tempted to eat more to recharge … and it tends to be junk food.

9 - Relax. Stress is a trigger to eat more. You don’t have to do everything. It’s not a competition.

10 – Bring what you need. Bring a veggie plate to parties. Fill it with your favorites. This way you something that’s on your diet.

11 – Avoid temptation – literally. Stand as far away from the buffet table as you can get. Why make things harder on yourself? Out of sight. Out of mind.

12 – Wait. If you want more, wait a half hour at least. It takes that long for the food to reach the point in your digestive track where you feel full. Time is on your side. The longer you put of additional nibbling, the less you’ll do.

13 - Wear slightly tight pants. Pick something you look great in. Remember that whenever you’re tempted.

14 - Plan events that aren’t food focused. Have you noticed that so many holiday traditions center on eating? Go somewhere. Play games. Do something that’s fun, but not fattening.

15 – Avoid emotional eating. Happy. Sad. Lonely. These can all be reasons to eat. Beware of why you’re reaching for junk you don’t need. Food will not solve any problem but hunger.

Quote for 11/25/09: Irv Kupcinet on Holiday Eating

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. - Irv Kupcinet

Quote for 11/23/09: Erma Bombeck on Thanksgiving

What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?  -- Erma Bombeck in No One Diets on Thanksgiving

FACING FACTS: Hunger

TV. The Internet. Even the radio stations I work for. They are all full of ads promising weight loss without hunger and THAT”S CRAP!

Now I am not advocating slashing calories below 1000 or anything drastic. But you have to look at what hunger is. Our bodies are set up with warning signs. If you’re sick, you feel bad. That lets you know things are out of balance. If you’re not taking in enough calories to maintain your weight, your body lets you know. You feel hungry. This is not bad … a little uncomfortable, but not a big deal. You can not lose weight without taking in fewer calories than you burn up, so occasionally feeling hungry is just part of it. Man up and move on.

This is the lecture I’m giving myself. I was extremely overweight in the beginning – 270 pounds. I’ve gradually cut back and gradually lost. I haven’t been really hungry very often … until recently. Now I’m closer to a healthy weight, so I’m feeling hunger more.

FOOD: Acai Berries

I’ve been looking into Acai berries. I can use all the help I can get losing this weight, but I really don’t want to waste my time on scams. One site pretended to be a news story. -- http://www.theacaiberryexpert.com/  I really hate it when idiots try to scam me.

This site ( http://www.aprovenacaiberry.com/acaiberryland.php?t=487940878 ) said things about scams that made sense, but that doesn’t mean they’re trust worthy. And I still don’t know if the berries themselves are a good idea.

Then I ended up on Oprah’s site. She’d never knowingly pass on inaccurate information, so this is what I was looking for. A source I can trust. 40 different Acai concoctions say she’s endorsed their products … without her permission. ( http://www.oprah.com/article/health/nutrition/20090105_orig_acai ) This tells me there’s a lot of crap floating around the net. (Surprise. Surprise.) But before the scammers got involved, was Acai a good idea?

Then I found Dr Perricone’s List of 10 Super Foods. - http://www.oprah.com/article/health/nutrition/20090105_orig_acai  He spotlighted 10 foods that were “rich in either the essential fatty acids (EFAs), antioxidants or fiber, and as in the case of açaí—all three!” Every year it’s something. Red wine is suppose to good for you (Whoopee!). Tomatoes, blue berries, green tea … they’ve all had their15-minutes of fame. I have nothing against Acai, but I’d like to know more.

Then I went to the Personal Blog part of Oprah’s web site. Ok, I thought it would be Oprah, herself, on Acai berry. ( http://www.oprah.com/community/blogs/acai1berry ) I was wrong. “The Real Acai Berry Truth” is written by “acai1berry.” Apparently her name is “Janette J. Agustin.” She writes, “If you really want to Lose Weight the healthy way, then you must try this Acai Berry Diet Free Trial.” This is a sales pitch. I might buy the product, but first I need to be convinced it’s worthwhile. Inform and convince first. Then sell.
Finally, I found a video of Dr. Oz this time, talking about Acai berries. I’m starting to believe they have health benefits. However, after an hour of prowling around the web, I have found nothing credible linking Acai berries and weight loss.

FUNNY Tuesday: Celery

AFTER my husband asked me to help him shed some unwanted pounds, I stopped serving fattening TV snacks and substituted crisp celery. While he was unenthusiastically munching on a stalk one night, a commercial caught his attention. As he watched longingly, a woman spread gooey chocolate frosting over a freshly baked cake. When it was over, my husband turned to me. "Did you ever notice," he asked, "that they never advertise celery on TV?"