Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall...

By: Mary Alford-Carman

Weight came up in a discussion this week and as usual, I wanted to change the subject to anything other than that. Did I really need to be reminded that bathing suit season is just around the corner? For the past twenty-five years I have struggled with my weight. I was never tiny, but much of the time I was healthy. I look back on some photos and wonder where I ever got the idea that I was overweight. I'd give anything to weigh now what I weighed in quite a few photos I tucked away. I was active; I walked everywhere and rode my bike. I had a waist and when I looked down I could see my toes. I've tried every diet known to man and I have enough sizes in my closet to open a small boutique. Weight is an ugly word.

That said; I'm worried. I know how it feels to have a poor self-image and to constantly feel like the outer shell must be perfect for someone to get close enough to like the "real you." Now my thirteen-year-old daughter looks in the mirror and worries about her thighs, which are the size of small twigs. What's wrong with this picture? On TV you have trainers shouting at adults who are overweight and cutting into the core of their souls in the interest of ratings and "making them better." How does screaming at someone help them be better? How is this a good thing? Sure, sure, if the end result is that they lose the weight, then everything is hunky dory, right? No, nope, nada, zip.

Trying to be healthy is a grand thing, trying to fit a preset image is another. American Idol wants the entire package, fantastic looks and a voice combined and if you don't fit both…bye-bye. Where would we be if American Idol looked at Carol King, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Mumford and Sons, Amy Winehouse, or for that matter, Steven Tyler? The combined talent of these individuals could fuel a rocket to space and back times infinity, but that's not what the media, magazines and TV shows exemplify today.

I want my daughter to know it takes more than a pretty face, a carved body, and a size zero wardrobe to be a whole person, that youth and beauty fade, but the mind and soul quicken, bloom and enrich, that when you hold up the mirror of life, all those who look back at you with love and respect are what matter. Beauty is as beauty does…oh when will we learn? In the meantime I'll keep plucking away for a healthier me, and if I'm lucky, maybe I'll get around to cleaning out my closet.

7 pounds in 14 days...

On my return from Europe at the weekend I took the trepid step and climbed on my scales. At first I wasn’t sure if my waning old eyes were failing me further, or whether my scales had broken whilst I was away, but what was before me was worse than a national disaster. I had gained 7 pounds, yes 7 pounds. Apart from nearly fainting, the only other sign I was alive was the whimper coming from my lips. How on earth could this have happened? I mean, seriously, 7 pounds in 14 days, that’s a half a pound a day, or if you want it in real throw-up terms, seeing as 3,500 calories is equal to 1 pound fat means I ate 24,500 calories more than I normally do!!! So all the pasta, olive oil, pastry products, oh and don’t forget the wine, I consumed have now taken home in my fat store.

But the dilemma is what to do about it. Should I diet or should I not? Usually, I would immediately go on a crash diet, and as you know I am the GABY self-confessed diet freak. However, this time I am going to refrain from such drastic action and try to be rational about this. So, as one reader from our first issue and blog had inspired me to read the “Eat This Not That” book (I reviewed it this month), I am going to use this as my guru and see if my new wobbly lodgers can be shifted! I wonder, though, how come I never used to have this problem in my 20s and 30s--why could I eat and drink what I wanted without problems. I know you will all immediately say METABOLISM, but truly can it get that bad? If so, I am afraid to think what will happen next. Will I eventually put on weight as soon as I look at a pizza or take that second glass of wine? Will I be relegated to eating salads every vacation, or is there a more civilized way to overcome this little issue? Please help, any ideas and tips would be greatly received.

Yours,

Flabbier than usual,

Dawn (the GABY Diet Freak)

What Diet Works for You?

By Dawn Tolson

In my review of the Dukan Diet, I self-confess to being a diet freak. I listen to adverts on the TV with more than the normal interest; I scan the current magazines searching for new tips on losing weight; but in reality, there are many people out there who would tell me I'm crazy. For what reason, you may ask? Well, the reason is that I am 44 years old, 5’5”, 138 pounds and a size 6. Truthfully, in many peoples' eyes I shouldn’t even be on a diet, but the reality is I am 10 pounds over the weight I feel happy with.

Weight is a personal thing--my 10 pounds may be like 200 pounds to the next person. I own and literally wear my 10 pounds every day, and it is to me a baggage around my ankles or thighs actually. I have come to the conclusion that it is a personal search for what diet works for you and I am still searching. I have tried ones that tell me to drink only coffee, eat cabbage soup or even salmon all day, and still every time I have a limited amount of success, and then Bam! I am back to my larger size as soon as I start to relax and eat normally. Some people can choose a diet, follow it for 10 months and lose a load; some like me spend years trying different ones and never achieve success. I have to wonder what I am doing wrong, or is there not a diet out there that caters to my category?

Please tell me I am not the only one who thinks this way. What’s your experience dieting? Is there an alternative? Did it change once you crossed over the 40 mark?