I don't know where or when I learned that fad dieting is bad, but at some point I did. I've never had body image issues or dysfunctional eating habits, and I've been very lucky. Maybe my mom's love of Richard Simmons helped.
At some point in the last several years I got fat and didn't even know it (that's how unaware of my body I was). Now I've lost several pounds, partially due to the lack of easy to make, fattening foods around here. Now, I have to actively make the fatty foods myself.
What has inspired this post is the latest fad diet that the ladies of the local forum I belong to have bought into: The Dukan Diet. It's the same low and no carb bullshit that rich white men have been selling desperate women since the 1800s (that's when voluptuous women stopped being desirable and started being fat). The Dukan Diet is one of the worst diets of 2011 according to the British Dietetic Association, but still these women buy the book, throw out anything forbidden, and follow his words as if they were handed down from a deity, and no criticism will they allow. Well fine, I criticized the diet, got called out as a meenie, and that's that. Here's my take on dieting:
There is no skinny person living inside me. Instead, there is a chronically obese person who wants to eat nothing but carbohydrates and surf the internet. I have to live with this person, so we make compromises. I don't drink soda at home, but I'll have a Coke when I'm eating out. I can surf the internet for hours, but I still have to hit the gym at least three times a week. And sometimes, even that goes out the window and the fat person inside me (who I've named Edith after Lot's wife who was turned into a pillar of salt, and Archie Bunker's wife) wins. That's OK. It's not really cheating because there's nothing set in stone (or in a book that's costs $12.95 and is available everywhere).
I don't fool my body with low fat foods or fake sugars, and I think that helped get rid of the pounds I've needed to lose. My body didn't know it needed to hoard calories because I've never deprived it before.
So far I think I've lost about 40 pounds. That's a helluva a lot considering I didn't know I was fat in the first place. My understanding husband never said a word. I don't have a goal. I work out, eat junk when I want, and just kind of go with the flow (the flow is made of Lipton Forest Fruits iced tea). Edith and I are getting along fine. The poor saps who listened to this jerk who claims school chidren should get graded on math, spelling, and fatness, are blaming themselves for "cheating" because of the holidays, vowing to get back on the horse, and tossing real pasta for some weird stuff made out of mushrooms. I have three words for that, and two of them are inappropriate for a family blog.
You don't need a book and holy man to lose weight. You need support and willpower. And you have to remember that it sucks. Exercise is hard, Cheetos are delicious, and snake oil salesman are very persuasive.
What's not to love?
At some point in the last several years I got fat and didn't even know it (that's how unaware of my body I was). Now I've lost several pounds, partially due to the lack of easy to make, fattening foods around here. Now, I have to actively make the fatty foods myself.
What has inspired this post is the latest fad diet that the ladies of the local forum I belong to have bought into: The Dukan Diet. It's the same low and no carb bullshit that rich white men have been selling desperate women since the 1800s (that's when voluptuous women stopped being desirable and started being fat). The Dukan Diet is one of the worst diets of 2011 according to the British Dietetic Association, but still these women buy the book, throw out anything forbidden, and follow his words as if they were handed down from a deity, and no criticism will they allow. Well fine, I criticized the diet, got called out as a meenie, and that's that. Here's my take on dieting:
There is no skinny person living inside me. Instead, there is a chronically obese person who wants to eat nothing but carbohydrates and surf the internet. I have to live with this person, so we make compromises. I don't drink soda at home, but I'll have a Coke when I'm eating out. I can surf the internet for hours, but I still have to hit the gym at least three times a week. And sometimes, even that goes out the window and the fat person inside me (who I've named Edith after Lot's wife who was turned into a pillar of salt, and Archie Bunker's wife) wins. That's OK. It's not really cheating because there's nothing set in stone (or in a book that's costs $12.95 and is available everywhere).
I don't fool my body with low fat foods or fake sugars, and I think that helped get rid of the pounds I've needed to lose. My body didn't know it needed to hoard calories because I've never deprived it before.
So far I think I've lost about 40 pounds. That's a helluva a lot considering I didn't know I was fat in the first place. My understanding husband never said a word. I don't have a goal. I work out, eat junk when I want, and just kind of go with the flow (the flow is made of Lipton Forest Fruits iced tea). Edith and I are getting along fine. The poor saps who listened to this jerk who claims school chidren should get graded on math, spelling, and fatness, are blaming themselves for "cheating" because of the holidays, vowing to get back on the horse, and tossing real pasta for some weird stuff made out of mushrooms. I have three words for that, and two of them are inappropriate for a family blog.
"Trust me, I'm a doctor."
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