It's January again! And the snake oil salesmen are out to con those desperate to lose lbs!

[pink-o]

It's the same story every year: we get lazy/apatheic/depressed/contented to sit around during winter, we eat all sorts of treats over the holidays to tip up the scales, then make unrealistic New Years resolutions to lose 50 lbs by the beginning of Feb! Next thing you know, someone else has a crazy diet, a magic pill, a new plan guaranteed to turn you into a supermodel. Only $59.95 and you'll be ready for that bikini by June!!

I used to fall for it. In my 20s and 30s, I think I spent half my wages on diet books or some suppliment that was supposed to build muscle while I sat on the couch with the clicker, but really only ended up turning my pee bright fluorescent yellow. Still, though I was desperate. I was hopeful I could find the one product that worked for me.

Then I saw a special on PBS in the early nineties, totally debunking the diet industry. Especially effective was an interview with this woman named Astrid, who was the spokesperson for some whole-grained bread company in England. She'd lost close to 100 pounds, and they flew her to the Bahamas where they filmed commercials of her frolicking in her bikini and all the guys on the beach watching her.

Flash forward to 2 years later. Astrid had gained back all the weight and then some; she had nothing good to say about fad diets and shortcuts. But she was a happy plus-sized woman who taught aerobics and had gotten a great bill of health from her doctor.

I was starting to realize myself that shortcuts and cutting out essential nutrients (like fat or carbs)would never help me achieve my weight-loss goals. And making and breaking the same New Years resolution only served to cut into my self-esteem: I was a fat pig and it was all my fault for not having proper will power. So eat a bag of potato chips and feel better!

Anyway, it took me until I was 37 to get off the merry-go-round and quit blaming myself. I believe I am an educated, resourceful woman who questions what she's told, but in this case I didn't look closely enough at a system that makes craploads of $$$$ keeping us fat and unhappy. I'm now 54, and I've learned a lot in the last 17 years. First and formost, FAD DIETS AND PROGRAMS DO NOT WORK. STARVING YOURSELF DOESN'T WORK. Maybe in the short-term you lose some pounds, but you gain back more and mess up your metabolism so you can't burn calories efficiently.

There is only ONE WAY to lose weight. It's not sexy and it doesn't happen overnight, but here's the bottom line: YOU HAVE TO BURN OFF MORE CALORIES THAN YOU TAKE IN. If you're a marathon runner, you can eat a few plates of pasta a day, if you work in an office and are sedentary, you have to reduce your portions. I'm a great believer in eating for nutrition and eliminating calories that don't repair your cells, but the key to consuming good food is loving how it tastes. I would actually rather eat a salad loaded with beans, spinach avocado and low-fat cheese, all covered in a balsamic dressing, than wolf down bland, greasy fried whatever. But it doesn't matter: if you don't like what you're eating, you're not gonna eat it. The end.

And as for exercise: If it feels like work, you're not gonna do it. My favorite thing in the world is running, but it's hard and injuries are frequent, so definitely not for everyone. I also LOVE cycling, because it's great transportation and I'm outside in my city, buying groceries, meeting friends, going for drinks while I'm getting a workout. But as the most self-indulgent person in the world, I can tell you I wouldn't bother with any activity unless I was passionate about it. Seriously, find something you love, otherwise you'll give up and feel terrible about yourself again.

I know this is long, but with life experience, you wanna pass it on so maybe someone won't be sitting alone feeling like it's their own weakness preventing them from reaching their goals. Remember, there are a lot of people out there who have a vested interest in keeping you fat and sad--not just McDonald's and the makers of processed foods, not just the Diet industry--whose business would actually go under if it was ever successful--but Big Pharma is just waiting for you when you hit my age. Oh, they have pills for cholestrol, diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure--all to bilk you of your hard-earned $$$. Don't let them take you, Guys! Don't listen to these people who say they have your best interest at heart, because the only interest that matters to them is what they make at the bank!!

So, to sum up, my road here has been a long time coming. But I made it, I feel healthy and strong (I did have a backslide last year, gaining 20 pounds, but I've lost it since last March). Here's me, since a pic is worth 1000 words!




Good luck on your journeys. I hope this can help!

Anja

[Longhorn]

1. Lots of good information in here.

Thanks for sharing! :woohoo:

And you look great! :hi:

[pink-o]

2. Thanx! I used to weigh close to 190 when I was in my mid 30s

And looking back, I'm so bloody sorry I wasted time hating myself for being larger than everyone else. (I'm also 6'1"). It breaks my heart to see Oprah so depressed because she gained weight--that woman has smarts, money, famous friends, millions of people who love her, and she basically gave us Barack!! But she feels less of a person because she's not a size 8 anymore.

It's a lot different for women since I was young, but we're still judged harshly on our decorative assets. You ever notice how men go into a clothes shop, try on half a suit and get it altered to fit THEIR bodies? We go into a clothes shop, grab a pair of jeans off the rack, and cry because they're not a size 4! We'll hurt ourselves to fit a standard, men expect the standard to fit them.

I've learned a lot from men, re food and exercise. Men don't put their entire soul on the line with everything they attempt, therefore if they aren't perfect it doesn't devastate them the way it does us. Men are more likely to put something positive in their lives (like exercise) as opposed to sacrificing something (like food) as women are.

But most of all, corny as it sounds, I realize we all have to learn (and we CAN learn) to accept ourselves for what we are. No Nutri-system, Jenny, Alli or other $$$$ sucking institution can replace that good feeling!

[justgamma]

3. So true, pink

Fads just don't work. Thanks for the information.

You look great!

[pink-o]

4. Thank you! It feels like I've spent a lifetime on a quest for the Holy Grail...

..when the simple answer was always right in front of me. That's the problem with fairy tales--they're just not true. Reality is far more banal, but far less complicated.

Good luck to all of you, hope you're all successful on your own quests!