Have you heard the latest? Your friends can make you fat. A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that indicated that friends (and family members) of obese people are more likely to gain weight themselves. Of course this study was quickly reported in the media, and variously analyzed, criticized, and applauded.
Of course these findings should come as no huge shock. It's a no-brainer that your social network will influence when, what, and how much you eat. How many women find themselves gaining weight when they are in a relationship or get married, as they adjust their eating habits to the more lavish appetites of a male partner? And friendships and social gatherings lend themselves to eating and snacking, as well as fattening foods such as movie popcorn, hamburgers, pizza, etc.
In the drug addiction treatment community it is well known that a drug user probably won't be able to maintain sobriety unless he or she disassociates from friends who use drugs and alcohol. "Lose your using friends" is a common mantra. Instead the addict is encourage to surround himself with clean and supportive companions, like those encountered in AA meetings and other support groups.
In theory, that would be a good solution for weight control instead. Eschew your pizza and popcorn friends, and hook up with salad and vegetable eating, exercise loving associates.
But as with everything in weight loss, it's not that simple. First of all, food, unlike drugs, is not something you can just give up. You need food to survive. Weight loss and weight control requires learning to make good choices in food consumption, not depriving yourself of food altogether.
Second, your food-loving friends and family are not law-breaking addicts who are going to lead you to a life of crime. They just like food. And food is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest legal pleasures one can consume.
Third, are we saying that everyone should ostracize obese and overweight people for fear that it might rub off? And what if I am an obese or overweight person wanting to be friends with a thin person (perhaps hoping that the thin-ness might rub off on me)? Should that thin person refuse to have anything to do with me in case my weight issues are a bad influence on him or her?
Furthermore, that thin person might not be such a good influence anyway. It is quite possible that this skinny friend eats just as unhealthily as your former fat friends, and would thus be just as bad an influence on you. Worse, perhaps, if skinny can't comprehend why you want to avoid pizza because it is just too hard to only eat one piece.
The real solution can only be social isolation. If I didn't go out with friends at all, or go to any parties, and spent all my spare time working out, then I wouldn't have any bad influences or temptations and I would get thin for sure. Well... that is true. My weight loss success is due in part to exchanging food-filled socializing for exercising, and limiting my exposure to fattening foods. I am able to refuse most invitations to go out to eat when it interferes with my commitments to running and working out.
But that doesn't mean I have isolated myself. I arrange the social events around the workout schedule, and judiciously allow myself a few occasions when I ditch the Y to hang out with friends. When I do go out I usually eat the foods I consider good for myself (and avoid most alcohol), even if my friends are having burgers and fries and yummy cocktails.
Maybe your friends will actively support you in your weight loss efforts, or perhaps they will subtly sabotage you by leading you into food temptation situations. It's up to you how you react. If you think your friends are going to damage your weight control, maybe you do need to question your association. But hopefully you can enjoy your friends' companionship while still making your own responsible food choices. Ultimately, having friends and social support can only be good for your mental, and perhaps physical, health. And who knows, maybe your good example will rub off on them!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Definitely back on track
Finally, I can legitimately say that I've lost the weight I gained on vacation. I've been hovering around 160 for a couple of weeks now, and although I would prefer to be lower, at least I haven't been substantially higher for more than a minute or two. Now, to move back to my low weight before the Whidbey half marathon - which was about 155 (154 on one brief, fleeting day). It is a little frustrating to be working back to the point where I was saying, just 10 more pounds to go... but it's a process.
I've done this by eating pretty clean, as I promised myself more than a month ago, although I have allowed a few treats back in. In order to accommodate the occasional treats, I have been faithfully writing down everything I eat in a little notebook (which I carry around in my purse), along with the calorie estimates, so I can keep track of how close I am to my goal number of calories (1400) as well as my maximum daily number (1600-1700), and frankly, I'm usually a lot closer to 1600 than 1400. Luckily, part 2 of my plan helps with that. Part 2 is working out daily and (most importantly) working out twice a day as often as I can (at least three times a week). Working out once a day seems to keep me at a maintenance level but I don't seem to lose much!
This is what I do. I run for an hour or more in the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, plus one day on the weekends. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings I work out at the Y (40 minutes on the elliptical). Monday through Thursday, and occasionally Friday (as well as some Saturday mornings), I also try to do about 40 minutes on the elliptical at the Y in the evenings. In between I go to Pilates on Monday and Wednesday nights (usually), and yoga three to five times a week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Tuesday and Thursday nights, and Saturday mornings. I also try to walk as many places as I can, like to the farmer's market on Sunday mornings, or to the grocery store to pick up a few things or get a latte.
Back in July I ran my second half marathon, up in Anacortes. My time on this one was substantially slower than Whidbey. I attribute this to a number of things. First, a few extra pounds slowing me down; second, a foot injury also slowing me down; third, a very steep hill that everyone walked up, but undoubtedly cost me several minutes extra time; and fourth (most importantly), sometimes you're just fast and sometimes you're slower. I would also say that I wasn't as well trained for this one. Although I was still in fine shape, I only spent a month on specific race training, as opposed to three months for Whidbey. I think I need two good months of training, with long runs and practice races, to be at top shape for a half marathon. I'll keep that in mind next time.
I've done this by eating pretty clean, as I promised myself more than a month ago, although I have allowed a few treats back in. In order to accommodate the occasional treats, I have been faithfully writing down everything I eat in a little notebook (which I carry around in my purse), along with the calorie estimates, so I can keep track of how close I am to my goal number of calories (1400) as well as my maximum daily number (1600-1700), and frankly, I'm usually a lot closer to 1600 than 1400. Luckily, part 2 of my plan helps with that. Part 2 is working out daily and (most importantly) working out twice a day as often as I can (at least three times a week). Working out once a day seems to keep me at a maintenance level but I don't seem to lose much!
This is what I do. I run for an hour or more in the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, plus one day on the weekends. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings I work out at the Y (40 minutes on the elliptical). Monday through Thursday, and occasionally Friday (as well as some Saturday mornings), I also try to do about 40 minutes on the elliptical at the Y in the evenings. In between I go to Pilates on Monday and Wednesday nights (usually), and yoga three to five times a week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Tuesday and Thursday nights, and Saturday mornings. I also try to walk as many places as I can, like to the farmer's market on Sunday mornings, or to the grocery store to pick up a few things or get a latte.
Back in July I ran my second half marathon, up in Anacortes. My time on this one was substantially slower than Whidbey. I attribute this to a number of things. First, a few extra pounds slowing me down; second, a foot injury also slowing me down; third, a very steep hill that everyone walked up, but undoubtedly cost me several minutes extra time; and fourth (most importantly), sometimes you're just fast and sometimes you're slower. I would also say that I wasn't as well trained for this one. Although I was still in fine shape, I only spent a month on specific race training, as opposed to three months for Whidbey. I think I need two good months of training, with long runs and practice races, to be at top shape for a half marathon. I'll keep that in mind next time.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Buckling Down
I have to face facts, I've gained weight and I haven't been able to lose it yet. In all, I'm about 10 pounds higher than my low point, and about 5 pounds more than when I left on vacation. I kind of know how I gained it, at least the vacation part of it--scones, clotted cream, biscuits, cakes, bread and cheese played a big part there. That in spite of running almost every day and walking all day long.
But why haven't I shed at least those vacation pounds since I've been home and back eating reasonably? (That is after the birthday and graduation parties--all involving cake--the first weekend or so that I was home.) Is it the sneaky little things that I've nibbled on just now and then--a cookie here, a piece of chocolate there, tortilla chips "just this once" at a Mexican restaurant? Or that work has prevented me from working out more than once a day? (Although, for goodness sake, one workout a day should be enough.)
Whatever it is, I'm nipping it in the bud right now. Today I started a strict monitoring of my food intake, including writing down everything I eat. Just for today, I checked out the calorie counts on the internet so I could get an idea of how many calories I am consuming. I learned that I would be in great shape today if it weren't for a lunch out that was double the calories of my dinner, despite how careful I was to eat sparingly and wisely.
I had the Mediterranean Ahi Salad from Claim Jumpers, no potatoes, dressing on the side, (and I didn't eat the croutons or any bread) and a side of plain grilled asparagus. Here's where the problems occurred. 1) There was probably too much ahi (although I can't be sure of how many ounces it actually was. 2) Avocado and goat cheese add up, plus olives are high in sodium and calories. A smart salad would have only one of those three high fat add-ons. 3) Although I didn't add any dressing, the vegetables on the salad were already tossed in dressing, so I have to account for that. I figure that all brings me over 700 calories.
The good news is, my normal homemade salads are much lower in calories, with lots of lettuce and vegetables, plenty of pico de gallo and salsa, and a few ounces of chicken, salmon, or other protein. If I stick to them for lunch and dinner, I should be back on track in no time.
My temporary mantra....
No sweets.
No bread.
No cheese.
No chocolate (for a while).
No nuts (for a while).
I did create a fun treat this evening, Splenda lemonade (squeeze plenty of lemon into ice water and sweeten with Splenda). Now, despite the overly fattening lunch of earlier today, I am going to have an evening snack of 1/2 apple with cinnamon, and cottage cheese or yoghurt (haven't decided which yet, but I'm leaning toward cottage cheese tonight).
But why haven't I shed at least those vacation pounds since I've been home and back eating reasonably? (That is after the birthday and graduation parties--all involving cake--the first weekend or so that I was home.) Is it the sneaky little things that I've nibbled on just now and then--a cookie here, a piece of chocolate there, tortilla chips "just this once" at a Mexican restaurant? Or that work has prevented me from working out more than once a day? (Although, for goodness sake, one workout a day should be enough.)
Whatever it is, I'm nipping it in the bud right now. Today I started a strict monitoring of my food intake, including writing down everything I eat. Just for today, I checked out the calorie counts on the internet so I could get an idea of how many calories I am consuming. I learned that I would be in great shape today if it weren't for a lunch out that was double the calories of my dinner, despite how careful I was to eat sparingly and wisely.
I had the Mediterranean Ahi Salad from Claim Jumpers, no potatoes, dressing on the side, (and I didn't eat the croutons or any bread) and a side of plain grilled asparagus. Here's where the problems occurred. 1) There was probably too much ahi (although I can't be sure of how many ounces it actually was. 2) Avocado and goat cheese add up, plus olives are high in sodium and calories. A smart salad would have only one of those three high fat add-ons. 3) Although I didn't add any dressing, the vegetables on the salad were already tossed in dressing, so I have to account for that. I figure that all brings me over 700 calories.
The good news is, my normal homemade salads are much lower in calories, with lots of lettuce and vegetables, plenty of pico de gallo and salsa, and a few ounces of chicken, salmon, or other protein. If I stick to them for lunch and dinner, I should be back on track in no time.
My temporary mantra....
No sweets.
No bread.
No cheese.
No chocolate (for a while).
No nuts (for a while).
I did create a fun treat this evening, Splenda lemonade (squeeze plenty of lemon into ice water and sweeten with Splenda). Now, despite the overly fattening lunch of earlier today, I am going to have an evening snack of 1/2 apple with cinnamon, and cottage cheese or yoghurt (haven't decided which yet, but I'm leaning toward cottage cheese tonight).
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Beautiful berries
A friend's blog asked the question, what are your favorite summer fruits? I replied:
Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries (in order of season, not necessarily preference). (I love them all the best when I am eating them.) Apples, always! (Sometimes I thirst for apples!) Blackberries picked off the vines that grow on the hillside at the beach. All dark purple berries—especially the tiny wild blackberries—baked into pies and cobblers (I know it's naughty, but you've got to have berry pie or cobbler at least once in the summer or fall!). Apricots, plums, peaches & nectarines when they are tree-ripened... and perhaps my favorite when it's just right, perfectly ripe canteloupe (so hard to find)—you can just feel the antioxidants rushing through your body as you eat it! (Although perhaps I am unusually sensitive to food-related sensations. I get the same effect with ripe mangos—just like Kramer on Seinfeld. I don't eat mangos too often though, because I have a sense that they are a more high-glycemic fruit.)
And I forgot to say, but will add now—cherries, which I am joyfully eating right now, brought in from a coworker's tree, and surprisingly low on the glycemic index, despite their intense sweetness (after learning that, I grabbed another handful). Of course they are priced like rubies, except in the very height of the season or if you are lucky to have your own cherry tree, or know someone who does.
Fruit is almost a controversial food in the world of weight loss and weight maintenance. It is, of course, highly preferable to most other sweet food, such as candy and cookies. It's non-fat, mostly lower on the glycemic index, and contains important antioxidants and other nutrients. My favorite fruits, berries, canteloupe, and apples, are among the "desirable" foods on the glycemic index, while bananas, mangos, pineapple and watermelon are less desirable.
But the calories can add up. Particularly in foods that you eat by the handful, like grapes and cherries. So generally speaking, I measure and limit my fruits just like I do proteins and grains. (Only vegetables do I allow myself to eat without restraint.)
I do have one exception to this, however, and that is for berries in season. Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries I eat by the handful, and handful again, as often as I want until the flat is empty. The fresh berry season is so fleeting, yet so wonderful, that I can't deny myself the opportunity to partake as much of it as I want. Happily, these berries are lower on the glycemic index and generally lower in calories than other, more high glycemic fruits.
Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries (in order of season, not necessarily preference). (I love them all the best when I am eating them.) Apples, always! (Sometimes I thirst for apples!) Blackberries picked off the vines that grow on the hillside at the beach. All dark purple berries—especially the tiny wild blackberries—baked into pies and cobblers (I know it's naughty, but you've got to have berry pie or cobbler at least once in the summer or fall!). Apricots, plums, peaches & nectarines when they are tree-ripened... and perhaps my favorite when it's just right, perfectly ripe canteloupe (so hard to find)—you can just feel the antioxidants rushing through your body as you eat it! (Although perhaps I am unusually sensitive to food-related sensations. I get the same effect with ripe mangos—just like Kramer on Seinfeld. I don't eat mangos too often though, because I have a sense that they are a more high-glycemic fruit.)
And I forgot to say, but will add now—cherries, which I am joyfully eating right now, brought in from a coworker's tree, and surprisingly low on the glycemic index, despite their intense sweetness (after learning that, I grabbed another handful). Of course they are priced like rubies, except in the very height of the season or if you are lucky to have your own cherry tree, or know someone who does.
Fruit is almost a controversial food in the world of weight loss and weight maintenance. It is, of course, highly preferable to most other sweet food, such as candy and cookies. It's non-fat, mostly lower on the glycemic index, and contains important antioxidants and other nutrients. My favorite fruits, berries, canteloupe, and apples, are among the "desirable" foods on the glycemic index, while bananas, mangos, pineapple and watermelon are less desirable.
But the calories can add up. Particularly in foods that you eat by the handful, like grapes and cherries. So generally speaking, I measure and limit my fruits just like I do proteins and grains. (Only vegetables do I allow myself to eat without restraint.)
I do have one exception to this, however, and that is for berries in season. Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries I eat by the handful, and handful again, as often as I want until the flat is empty. The fresh berry season is so fleeting, yet so wonderful, that I can't deny myself the opportunity to partake as much of it as I want. Happily, these berries are lower on the glycemic index and generally lower in calories than other, more high glycemic fruits.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Weight Loss Reading List
I am a voracious reader. I read for information, but mostly for entertainment. I read weight-loss and self-help books like novels.... and I read novels like weight-loss and self-help books. When I was losing weight—and still—I started seeking out and enjoying a variety of books with a weight-loss theme. Some were diet books, of course; others were memoirs; still others were novels with characters who have gained and/or lost weight. I found that reading these books not only entertained me, but also motivated me to stick with what I was doing.
Fiction
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
Bridget is a chick lit pioneer—and an early starter in the library of books about heroines with weight issues. Of course Bridget never really had a weight problem, except in her head. I never really figured out whether Helen Fielding actually thought that Bridget was legitimately chunky, or whether Bridget's obsession with her weight was meant to be ironic. (I also don't quite know why Bridget wasn't fat, with all the binging on chocolates and so forth that went on in the book!) When the movie came out, Bridget's character had gained about 10 pounds, so that Bridget as played by Renee Zellweger was a teeny bit voluptuous.
Jemima J by Jane Green
Now here is a book about a protagonist who really did have a weight problem. Jemima loved her bacon sandwiches, and it showed. Until one day she sent a computer-slimmed photo to a man she met on the internet, and finally gained the inspiration to diet and exercise her way to a truly slender Jemima. This is a bit of a fairy tale—there's a reason it's subtitled "A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans"—but in the end Jemima does learn a few truths (as well as achieve an appropriately happy ending).
Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
After breaking up with her boyfriend, Cannie is shocked and upset when he writes an article about "loving a larger woman." She decides to participate in a weight loss group, and through her experiences there—and a dramatic surprise—makes some major changes to her life and future.
The Next Big Thing by Johanna Edwards
The Real World meets The Biggest Loser in this novel about a woman who wins a spot on a weight loss reality show.
How to Be Cool by Johanna Edwards
This time the protagonist has already lost the weight. Kylie Chase, a weight-loss success story (and former geek), now teaches others how to be stylish and popular and cool. She is ready to make a splash at a long-delayed high school reunion, and being interviewed by a popular men’s magazine. But then her perfect world starts to fall apart….
Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer
Plus sized Maggie copes with her insecurities after childhood friend Olivia becomes svelte following gastric bypass surgery.
Eating Heaven by Jennie Shortridge
Eleanor writes about food for diet magazines, but in her own life enjoys food too much and too much food. But when her beloved Uncle Benny becomes ill, she transfers her food obsessions to cooking for him. This book is set in Portland, Oregon, and makes you want to go there immediately.
He Loves Lucy by Susan Donovan
This is a fun bit of fluff for everyone who wants and needs to lose a lot of weight. Lucy, a marketing executive, participates in a contest to lose 100 pounds and win a big cash prize. But maybe the real prize is her handsome trainer....
Alternate Beauty by Andrea Rains Waggener
Ronnie finds her job in a plus-size boutique in jeopardy—because she's too fat. Then one day she wakes up in an alternate universe where fat is the ultimate beauty and thin is despised. It's a dream come true—except now she's losing her appetite.
The Perfect Fit: Fat-Free Dreams Just Don't Taste the Same by Louise Kean
Sunny (who lives in Wimbledon, near London), has lost 98 pounds and now, as a thin, athletic woman, is able to save a child from kidnaping by chasing down the kidnaper. In doing this she begins the process of coming to terms with her own body and the idea of the perfect man.
Slim Chance (Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback)) by Jackie Rose
Evie becomes obsessed with losing weight to fit into a Vera Wang wedding dress, as the dress becomes more important than the wedding -- or the marriage -- or the groom.
Memoirs
All these books could have essentially the same description—“author tells the story of her weight-loss experiences”—but yet each is unique, interesting, and inspirational. (And isn’t it good to hear of so many weight-loss successes?)
Passing for Thin: Losing Half My Weight and Finding My Self by Frances Kuffel
Literary agent Frances Kuffel tells her story of losing 188 pounds and how it changes her life. Her story is gripping, even as it portrays her in sometimes less than sympathetic -- or likeable -- lights. Kuffel used Overeaters Anonymous, although her book does not necessarily promote this program over others.
I'm Not the New Me by Wendy McClure
McClure is a sharp-tongued—and funny—narrator of her efforts to lose weight and create her weight-loss blog. She is also a connoisseur of the ephemera of the old-style Weight Watchers program.
Tales From The Scale by Erin J. Shea
A collection of stories about several women’s weight loss experiences.
The Weight-Loss Diaries by Courtney Rubin
The author starts her weight loss project with a magazine assignment to chronicle her weight-loss efforts in print. Her bittersweet experiences include coming to terms with a bingeing disorder and stories of her successes and failures.
The Incredible Shrinking Critic: 75 Pounds and Counting: My Excellent Adventure in Weight Loss by Jami Bernard
Bernard tells the story of a two-year weight loss effort and success.
Scoot Over, Skinny: The Fat Nonfiction Anthology by Donna Jarrell
Another anthology of weight-related essays, although not necessarily weight loss stories.
Til the Fat Girl Sings: From an Overweight Nobody to a Broadway Somebody-A Memoir by Sharon Wheatley
Wheatley writes engagingly of her childhood weight issues and how they eventually impacted her career goals of becoming a Broadway musical actress.
Teenage Waistland: A Former Fat-Camper Weighs in on Living Large, Losing Weight, And How Parents Can (And Can't) Help by Abby Ellin
The title tells the whole story.
Diet and Self-Help Books
The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet by Nicholas Perricone, MD
Nicholas Perricone began his publication career by telling us how to stop aging and look younger by eating salmon and other anti-inflammatory, low-glycemic foods. Some of us (me included) found out that this plan also helped us lose weight! Apparently Dr. Perricone figured it out too, and hence this book. While the recipes are sometimes complicated, the plan, and concept, are are great! (Worked for me!)
The Forever Young Diet and Lifestyle by James & Joan O'Keefe
Another favorite for me, along similar lines as the Perricone plans.
Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover by Bob Greene
It worked for Oprah—the first time.
The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene
A kinder, gentler Bob Greene, with less of the boot camp approach. (It worked for Oprah—the second time.)
The Good Mood Diet: Feel Great While You Lose Weight by Susan M. Kleiner and Bob Condor
A new twist on the low-glycemic plans, focusing on how healthy, anti-inflammatory foods can also help improve emotional well-being.
Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Well-Being by Andrew Weil
Dr. Weil offers a whole life plan to care for your body and self.
Stop The Clock! Cooking: Defy Aging--Eat The Foods You Love by Cheryl Forberg
A great collection of recipes featuring anti-aging foods... Some of her recipes have been adapted for Dr. Perricone's books, and she has been a consultant for the Biggest Loser show.
Fiction
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
Bridget is a chick lit pioneer—and an early starter in the library of books about heroines with weight issues. Of course Bridget never really had a weight problem, except in her head. I never really figured out whether Helen Fielding actually thought that Bridget was legitimately chunky, or whether Bridget's obsession with her weight was meant to be ironic. (I also don't quite know why Bridget wasn't fat, with all the binging on chocolates and so forth that went on in the book!) When the movie came out, Bridget's character had gained about 10 pounds, so that Bridget as played by Renee Zellweger was a teeny bit voluptuous.
Jemima J by Jane Green
Now here is a book about a protagonist who really did have a weight problem. Jemima loved her bacon sandwiches, and it showed. Until one day she sent a computer-slimmed photo to a man she met on the internet, and finally gained the inspiration to diet and exercise her way to a truly slender Jemima. This is a bit of a fairy tale—there's a reason it's subtitled "A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans"—but in the end Jemima does learn a few truths (as well as achieve an appropriately happy ending).
Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
After breaking up with her boyfriend, Cannie is shocked and upset when he writes an article about "loving a larger woman." She decides to participate in a weight loss group, and through her experiences there—and a dramatic surprise—makes some major changes to her life and future.
The Next Big Thing by Johanna Edwards
The Real World meets The Biggest Loser in this novel about a woman who wins a spot on a weight loss reality show.
How to Be Cool by Johanna Edwards
This time the protagonist has already lost the weight. Kylie Chase, a weight-loss success story (and former geek), now teaches others how to be stylish and popular and cool. She is ready to make a splash at a long-delayed high school reunion, and being interviewed by a popular men’s magazine. But then her perfect world starts to fall apart….
Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer
Plus sized Maggie copes with her insecurities after childhood friend Olivia becomes svelte following gastric bypass surgery.
Eating Heaven by Jennie Shortridge
Eleanor writes about food for diet magazines, but in her own life enjoys food too much and too much food. But when her beloved Uncle Benny becomes ill, she transfers her food obsessions to cooking for him. This book is set in Portland, Oregon, and makes you want to go there immediately.
He Loves Lucy by Susan Donovan
This is a fun bit of fluff for everyone who wants and needs to lose a lot of weight. Lucy, a marketing executive, participates in a contest to lose 100 pounds and win a big cash prize. But maybe the real prize is her handsome trainer....
Alternate Beauty by Andrea Rains Waggener
Ronnie finds her job in a plus-size boutique in jeopardy—because she's too fat. Then one day she wakes up in an alternate universe where fat is the ultimate beauty and thin is despised. It's a dream come true—except now she's losing her appetite.
The Perfect Fit: Fat-Free Dreams Just Don't Taste the Same by Louise Kean
Sunny (who lives in Wimbledon, near London), has lost 98 pounds and now, as a thin, athletic woman, is able to save a child from kidnaping by chasing down the kidnaper. In doing this she begins the process of coming to terms with her own body and the idea of the perfect man.
Slim Chance (Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback)) by Jackie Rose
Evie becomes obsessed with losing weight to fit into a Vera Wang wedding dress, as the dress becomes more important than the wedding -- or the marriage -- or the groom.
Memoirs
All these books could have essentially the same description—“author tells the story of her weight-loss experiences”—but yet each is unique, interesting, and inspirational. (And isn’t it good to hear of so many weight-loss successes?)
Passing for Thin: Losing Half My Weight and Finding My Self by Frances Kuffel
Literary agent Frances Kuffel tells her story of losing 188 pounds and how it changes her life. Her story is gripping, even as it portrays her in sometimes less than sympathetic -- or likeable -- lights. Kuffel used Overeaters Anonymous, although her book does not necessarily promote this program over others.
I'm Not the New Me by Wendy McClure
McClure is a sharp-tongued—and funny—narrator of her efforts to lose weight and create her weight-loss blog. She is also a connoisseur of the ephemera of the old-style Weight Watchers program.
Tales From The Scale by Erin J. Shea
A collection of stories about several women’s weight loss experiences.
The Weight-Loss Diaries by Courtney Rubin
The author starts her weight loss project with a magazine assignment to chronicle her weight-loss efforts in print. Her bittersweet experiences include coming to terms with a bingeing disorder and stories of her successes and failures.
The Incredible Shrinking Critic: 75 Pounds and Counting: My Excellent Adventure in Weight Loss by Jami Bernard
Bernard tells the story of a two-year weight loss effort and success.
Scoot Over, Skinny: The Fat Nonfiction Anthology by Donna Jarrell
Another anthology of weight-related essays, although not necessarily weight loss stories.
Til the Fat Girl Sings: From an Overweight Nobody to a Broadway Somebody-A Memoir by Sharon Wheatley
Wheatley writes engagingly of her childhood weight issues and how they eventually impacted her career goals of becoming a Broadway musical actress.
Teenage Waistland: A Former Fat-Camper Weighs in on Living Large, Losing Weight, And How Parents Can (And Can't) Help by Abby Ellin
The title tells the whole story.
Secrets of a Former Fat Girl by Lisa Delaney
Delaney, a free-lance journalist who has written for health magazines, lost 70 pounds and has kept it off for 20 years. Her entertaining book offers good tips and motivation, though it does promote the rather disturbing idea that size 8 is not good enough (Delaney is a size 2 and weighs 115 pounds at 5'4").
Diet and Self-Help Books
The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet by Nicholas Perricone, MD
Nicholas Perricone began his publication career by telling us how to stop aging and look younger by eating salmon and other anti-inflammatory, low-glycemic foods. Some of us (me included) found out that this plan also helped us lose weight! Apparently Dr. Perricone figured it out too, and hence this book. While the recipes are sometimes complicated, the plan, and concept, are are great! (Worked for me!)
The Forever Young Diet and Lifestyle by James & Joan O'Keefe
Another favorite for me, along similar lines as the Perricone plans.
Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover by Bob Greene
It worked for Oprah—the first time.
The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene
A kinder, gentler Bob Greene, with less of the boot camp approach. (It worked for Oprah—the second time.)
The Good Mood Diet: Feel Great While You Lose Weight by Susan M. Kleiner and Bob Condor
A new twist on the low-glycemic plans, focusing on how healthy, anti-inflammatory foods can also help improve emotional well-being.
Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Well-Being by Andrew Weil
Dr. Weil offers a whole life plan to care for your body and self.
Stop The Clock! Cooking: Defy Aging--Eat The Foods You Love by Cheryl Forberg
A great collection of recipes featuring anti-aging foods... Some of her recipes have been adapted for Dr. Perricone's books, and she has been a consultant for the Biggest Loser show.
The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston
As diet books go, this is one of the best--sensible, low-glycemic, and it works.
DVD and Video
Frontline: Diet Wars
An excellent overview of various diet programs and theories, including Atkins and Pritikin, hosted by Stephen Talbot (Gilbert on Leave It To Beaver), who takes on the weight loss challenge for himself.
Scientific American Frontiers: Fat and Happy?
Alan Alda explores obesity and weight loss in America.
Scientific American Frontiers: Losing It
This sequel to Fat and Happy follows several subjects who try various weight loss methods (including Alda, who does a stint in Weight Watchers).
Scientific American Frontiers: Surgical Slimmers
This program examines surgical weight-loss solutions.
13 novices train to run the Boston Marathon.
Supersize Me
Completely engrossing documentary of Morgan Spurlock's experiment eating nothing but McDonald's food for 30 days. He wrote a companion book which is even more in-depth, Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America.
Why do they do this?
Is it sabotage or self-destruction?
When co-workers bring in goodies to work, knowing that you are trying to resist treats (and have a problem doing so), and knowing that said treats are absolutely no good for themselves or anyone else in the office, what is the motivation?
I know that 90% of the motivation is to do something nice for everyone, something that will make them happy. But I also believe that just a little bit of it is a set-up, a way of creating temptation for those of us who don't want the sweets, so that we will either succumb or make ourselves miserable by resisting. I know this is attributing very unkind attributes to people who are supposed to be our friends. But mostly I don't think they know that they have this motivation. It's subconscious. Buried deeply along with the mixed feelings they probably feel about those of us who have successfully lost weight when they have not.
I have tried, half-jokingly, to restrict the amount of unhealthy treats brought to the office. I have insisted on buying cheese sticks and 100-calorie packs and other less terrible goodies. Last week I brought some strawberries, but I think they were mostly eaten by me. Then inevitably, when I am not around, in come the cookies and chips and, today, doughnuts.
Lucky for me, I am much more able to resist doughnuts (and chips also) than I am cookies and candy. So as long as I don't succumb to "just a taste"—which would probably lead to more tastes—I am okay.
When I do criticize or try to restrict the "bad" food, I am accused of trying to deprive everyone else of what they want, what makes them happy. I admit my main reason for wanting to keep the stuff out is to protect myself from temptation, and I really wouldn't dream of trying to tell other people what to eat. (Maybe just passive aggressively suggest it.) But really, nobody needs this stuff.
Just for fun, I printed out several pages showing the calories in various Krispy Kreme doughnuts and taped them onto the boxes. They'll probably be furious at me. But if you're going to eat this stuff, you might as well be informed! The interesting thing is that one original Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut has "only" 200 calories (certainly less than a Starbuck's scone or other more wholesome sounding goodie). So, if you don't care about the sugar, carbs, and fat (undoubtedly trans fats), and can limit yourself to just one, then a doughnut isn't the worst thing in the world to eat. Information is power.
Now, I do have one more confession. I myself have been known to bring in cookies or chocolate on occasion when I either wanted to get them out of my house or, more often, just wanted to treat everyone. If I do it, it's okay. That's the little exception to the rule.
When co-workers bring in goodies to work, knowing that you are trying to resist treats (and have a problem doing so), and knowing that said treats are absolutely no good for themselves or anyone else in the office, what is the motivation?
I know that 90% of the motivation is to do something nice for everyone, something that will make them happy. But I also believe that just a little bit of it is a set-up, a way of creating temptation for those of us who don't want the sweets, so that we will either succumb or make ourselves miserable by resisting. I know this is attributing very unkind attributes to people who are supposed to be our friends. But mostly I don't think they know that they have this motivation. It's subconscious. Buried deeply along with the mixed feelings they probably feel about those of us who have successfully lost weight when they have not.
I have tried, half-jokingly, to restrict the amount of unhealthy treats brought to the office. I have insisted on buying cheese sticks and 100-calorie packs and other less terrible goodies. Last week I brought some strawberries, but I think they were mostly eaten by me. Then inevitably, when I am not around, in come the cookies and chips and, today, doughnuts.
Lucky for me, I am much more able to resist doughnuts (and chips also) than I am cookies and candy. So as long as I don't succumb to "just a taste"—which would probably lead to more tastes—I am okay.
When I do criticize or try to restrict the "bad" food, I am accused of trying to deprive everyone else of what they want, what makes them happy. I admit my main reason for wanting to keep the stuff out is to protect myself from temptation, and I really wouldn't dream of trying to tell other people what to eat. (Maybe just passive aggressively suggest it.) But really, nobody needs this stuff.
Just for fun, I printed out several pages showing the calories in various Krispy Kreme doughnuts and taped them onto the boxes. They'll probably be furious at me. But if you're going to eat this stuff, you might as well be informed! The interesting thing is that one original Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut has "only" 200 calories (certainly less than a Starbuck's scone or other more wholesome sounding goodie). So, if you don't care about the sugar, carbs, and fat (undoubtedly trans fats), and can limit yourself to just one, then a doughnut isn't the worst thing in the world to eat. Information is power.
Now, I do have one more confession. I myself have been known to bring in cookies or chocolate on occasion when I either wanted to get them out of my house or, more often, just wanted to treat everyone. If I do it, it's okay. That's the little exception to the rule.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Where have I gone?
To Whidbey Island and back, to England and back, to work and back (again and again and again)....
All these things have filled my time and kept me from writing and keeping up. (I feel like the 10-year-old apologizing to her diary for not writing for so long!)
The Whidbey Island half marathon came and went, very successfully, on April 15. I actually started to write about it but can't find what I wrote on my computer. I am stymied by technology. So all the intense impressions of the moment are now faded away.
My goal was to finish in under two hours (and I wasn't completely sure that I could). It's hard to get a good impression of how fast you are running at the time. I did keep looking at my watch at mile markers and constantly subtracting from the start time, and did have a sense that I was doing okay, around or maybe under nine minutes per mile.
I finally learned what "hitting the wall" feels like around mile 11. What it was to me, was the feeling that I cannot possibly run any faster than I am running at this moment (which was slower than I had been running for most of the race). I didn't feel like I had to stop, but I was stuck in that pace. Luckily I passed through that somewhere after mile 12 and as I was nearing the finish line, put on a burst of speed like I never have before. When I saw the clock it said 1:54 and I was determined to finish under 1:55... and I did. In the end my total time was just under 1:55 but my actual time (from crossing the start line to crossing the finish line) was 1:54:30, for a pace of 8:45 per mile. So much better than I had ever expected!
I was surprised but perhaps shouldn't have been, because I had followed my training plan obsessively, and could not have been in better shape for this race. The weekend before I had run the five-mile Tulip Run in Skagit County, and got an amazing personal best of 8:31 per mile (42:37 total). I also modified my eating plan and ate (gasp) pasta for dinner the night before each of those runs--and I actually think that might have made a difference! I didn't eat anything during the duration of the half marathon and I do wonder whether that might have made a difference in the moments of flagging near the end.
I had a fabulous mix of music on my ipod, which I had spent a couple of weeks putting together for the half marathon. I tested it on the Tulip Run and then tweaked it a little bit for Whidbey. I actually got so into making my playlist that I ended up with four hours of music--the first two and a half were running songs and the remainder was more of a post-run mix. I have put it onto i-tunes as a playlist, although about half my music was dropped off because I had originally downloaded it from another CD rather than i-tunes. However, there's still 154 minutes worth of songs, including my number one running song, "Don't Stop Me Now," by Queen (you definitely need this one). On the i-tunes version of my playlist it comes up about half an hour into the list, whereas I had it about an hour into my run, just when I really needed to pump things up! I had "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor at just about the two hour point, to push me across the finish line, but I had already finished by the time it came up!
Here's the modified version of my playlist, which can be found at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=258837320 .
The week after Whidbey I could feel my body needed recovery and I had some difficult moments running during the next few days. Let's just say my digestive system was all shook up and needed a bit of time to recover.
I also decided to try running just a little less to be kinder to my body. For the rest of the spring, and possibly during the summer, I am trying a running plan of running Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the week (working out at the Y on Tuesdays and Thursdays) and running one day on the weekend. That way I will generally never run more than two days in a row, allowing a day of recovery between most runs.
During May and early June I spent three weeks in England, where I did a lot of walking and also ran on the days I was in London and other cities (in the country I walk rather than run). Of course I also indulged in a lot of scones and cream and bread and cheese and cake and biscuits (cookies), which despite the constant activity and exercise, resulted in several pounds gained by the time I got home.
A birthday party and a graduation party, both involving copious amounts of cake (my favorite thing), didn't help things in the week after I got home. (I am about 10 pounds over my low weight, although 5-7 pounds up from when I left for England.) I have also been running and/or working out only once a day on most days, in an effort to devote some time to getting caught up at work and updating my travel blog. I do believe that balance is necessary in life, and I can't completely sacrifice my job in order to work out twice a day!
But for the last week I have been quite faithful about eating (pretty) clean, working out daily, if not twice a day (except for today, which is a rest day due to minor injury after a run yesterday), and I have run in two 5K runs (last Saturday and yesterday), so I think I am on a good track.
So, that's where I've been the last two months. We'll just have to see where I'm going from here.
All these things have filled my time and kept me from writing and keeping up. (I feel like the 10-year-old apologizing to her diary for not writing for so long!)
The Whidbey Island half marathon came and went, very successfully, on April 15. I actually started to write about it but can't find what I wrote on my computer. I am stymied by technology. So all the intense impressions of the moment are now faded away.
My goal was to finish in under two hours (and I wasn't completely sure that I could). It's hard to get a good impression of how fast you are running at the time. I did keep looking at my watch at mile markers and constantly subtracting from the start time, and did have a sense that I was doing okay, around or maybe under nine minutes per mile.
I finally learned what "hitting the wall" feels like around mile 11. What it was to me, was the feeling that I cannot possibly run any faster than I am running at this moment (which was slower than I had been running for most of the race). I didn't feel like I had to stop, but I was stuck in that pace. Luckily I passed through that somewhere after mile 12 and as I was nearing the finish line, put on a burst of speed like I never have before. When I saw the clock it said 1:54 and I was determined to finish under 1:55... and I did. In the end my total time was just under 1:55 but my actual time (from crossing the start line to crossing the finish line) was 1:54:30, for a pace of 8:45 per mile. So much better than I had ever expected!
I was surprised but perhaps shouldn't have been, because I had followed my training plan obsessively, and could not have been in better shape for this race. The weekend before I had run the five-mile Tulip Run in Skagit County, and got an amazing personal best of 8:31 per mile (42:37 total). I also modified my eating plan and ate (gasp) pasta for dinner the night before each of those runs--and I actually think that might have made a difference! I didn't eat anything during the duration of the half marathon and I do wonder whether that might have made a difference in the moments of flagging near the end.
I had a fabulous mix of music on my ipod, which I had spent a couple of weeks putting together for the half marathon. I tested it on the Tulip Run and then tweaked it a little bit for Whidbey. I actually got so into making my playlist that I ended up with four hours of music--the first two and a half were running songs and the remainder was more of a post-run mix. I have put it onto i-tunes as a playlist, although about half my music was dropped off because I had originally downloaded it from another CD rather than i-tunes. However, there's still 154 minutes worth of songs, including my number one running song, "Don't Stop Me Now," by Queen (you definitely need this one). On the i-tunes version of my playlist it comes up about half an hour into the list, whereas I had it about an hour into my run, just when I really needed to pump things up! I had "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor at just about the two hour point, to push me across the finish line, but I had already finished by the time it came up!
Here's the modified version of my playlist, which can be found at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=258837320 .
The week after Whidbey I could feel my body needed recovery and I had some difficult moments running during the next few days. Let's just say my digestive system was all shook up and needed a bit of time to recover.
I also decided to try running just a little less to be kinder to my body. For the rest of the spring, and possibly during the summer, I am trying a running plan of running Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the week (working out at the Y on Tuesdays and Thursdays) and running one day on the weekend. That way I will generally never run more than two days in a row, allowing a day of recovery between most runs.
During May and early June I spent three weeks in England, where I did a lot of walking and also ran on the days I was in London and other cities (in the country I walk rather than run). Of course I also indulged in a lot of scones and cream and bread and cheese and cake and biscuits (cookies), which despite the constant activity and exercise, resulted in several pounds gained by the time I got home.
A birthday party and a graduation party, both involving copious amounts of cake (my favorite thing), didn't help things in the week after I got home. (I am about 10 pounds over my low weight, although 5-7 pounds up from when I left for England.) I have also been running and/or working out only once a day on most days, in an effort to devote some time to getting caught up at work and updating my travel blog. I do believe that balance is necessary in life, and I can't completely sacrifice my job in order to work out twice a day!
But for the last week I have been quite faithful about eating (pretty) clean, working out daily, if not twice a day (except for today, which is a rest day due to minor injury after a run yesterday), and I have run in two 5K runs (last Saturday and yesterday), so I think I am on a good track.
So, that's where I've been the last two months. We'll just have to see where I'm going from here.
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