I decided the “food diary” phase of my weight loss journey is over. I did it fairly loyally for about a year (longer than I would have thought it would last.) I believe it has served its purpose, in that I am now more aware of what I eat and exercise better portion control. I have lost 15 pounds since this time last year (per my doctor.)
But now that I have my elliptical, I feel I’d rather bump up exercise and not worry so much about what I eat. I can’t see keeping a food diary the rest of my life anyway. I will try and maintain a handle on my portion control and keep cooking with healthier ingredients, but lately it is practically impossible for me to stay under 2000 calories a day, especially given my propensity for mid-night hunger and my child’s erratic sleep schedule (she keeps me up, and when I’m up, I eat more.)
Also, frankly, I miss being able to eat what I want, when I want. I love night snacking. My metabolism is 30, though, and my stomach still wants to be 19. So here’s to you, Chili Cheese Cheetos and mesquite BBQ kettle chips. I’m still determined to drop a little body fat and lower my blood pressure, but have no fear; my role models are Bettie Page and Tura Satana, not Olivia Wilde and Kate Moss.
Tura Satana (Faster, Pussycat! Kill, Kill!)
Bettie Page
Incidentally, I came across a blog just now that ranted about “real women’s” sizes and claimed that this:
is what a “real” woman looks like, and fashion designers should make an effort to make more clothes for large and even “obese” people. While I applaud people who are truly happy with their size and weight, and agree there should be more clothes for women of “real” sizes, a lot of people seem to be suggesting lately by their attitudes that since being overweight is the new American “norm,” it should be acceptable to “embrace” that. It brings to mind the phrase “Me thinks [she] doth protest too much.” In other words, you don’t need to try to convince me your weight is “normal” and you are “happy;” you probably need to convince yourself.
The fact is, from a medical standpoint, the woman in the above photo is not a “healthy” woman. She’s an overweight woman. If she is happy with her weight and body image, that’s great! But the reality is, she is probably well over her acceptable BMI and percentage of body fat. This puts her at risk for more than just tight-fitting clothes.
Maybe, instead of looking for more designer clothes for “obese” women, obese people should be trying to get healthy. Not THIN. HEALTHY. I’m 5’2 and 132 pounds. I am not thin. I’m 31 and I wear a size 7 (I like juniors jeans better than traditional womens, and they are all in ODD sizes.) I’d like to reiterate that my role models are full-figured women like Bettie Page and Tura Satana, so you can see, I am not unrealistic about what women’s sizes are.
Just this humble woman blogger’s opinion…
Edit: 6/2017
It is interesting (and sad) to note that I have gained weight back when I stopped watching calorie consumption. I have since gone back to counting calories with MFP. I finally learned the valuable lesson I was doing my best to ignore for all these years, and that is:
I will never be able to not watch what I eat if I want to maintain a certain weight, because you can’t out exercise a poor diet. And I, personally, will always be able to out-eat any exercise I do! I just like to eat, and I eat a LOT. That said, I have incorporated lifting into my routine. I LOVE it. I weight more than I did before, naturally, but I am more fit, stronger, and more confident. If you are still struggling with weight, I highly recommend giving lifting a chance. It’s a slower path, as your body is basically recompositioning, but the benefits are worth the time. Best luck!
alienredqueen 