The blame game

Flip Wilson, a comedian from the 60s (I think it was that long ago), had a favorite phrase that made audiences roar with laughter, "The devil made me do it". I sometimes think that is how we Americans are trying to take the onus off ourselves for our abundant weight--Blaming our eating habits on uncontrollable external forces instead of owning up to the responsibility.
Here are just a few of the excuses I've read about recently:
1. Restaurant portions are too large. (So. What's your point? If we ate intuitively, we'd still stop when we were satisfied and save the rest for later.)
2. Stress. (Are our lives more stressful than the bushmen's lives? Or the lives of Neanderthal man?)
3. Weight has gone up steadily since high fructose corn syrup has become ubiquitous in our food supply. (I've read the literature. I'm not sure how much influence HFC has had on our health but we shouldn't be eating those foods in great quantities anyway.)
4. We aren't an agrarian society anymore. (Hello? I do notice that farmers are pretty fat nowadays also so I don't think that excuse works.)
Those are just a few of the excuses. I haven't used any of them but the media uses them to explain our ever expanding waist lines.
What do you think? Individual responsibility. Eat until you feel satisfied and it won't matter how big the portion is. Breathe deeply and perhaps exercise because not only does it reduce stress but it also burns calories. It's okay to have HFC foods once in a while but they're not "whole" foods and those are the kinds of foods that should comprise the majority of our diet anyway. Yeah, we sit in front of the TV and we drive every place. But I notice that people who take the bus and walk and work long hours so they can't be sitting in front of the TV vegging out seem to be pretty hefty also.
Eat until you've had enough. Choose whole foods whenever possible. Exercise more. And stop blaming.

Comforting comfort food

It's comforting to know that my husband loves me. I am comforted by the attention paid to me by my faithful dog. Knowing that a damn smart man is in the White House now makes me feel comfortable even though everything still seems to be crumbling around us!
So what's all this talk about comfort food? Mashed potatoes, meat loaf, mac and cheese. Who decided these foods were comforting? And isn't that sort of pathological in some way to perpetuate the idea that food comforts us? The media loves the concept of comfort foods--that we Americans are turning to what appears to be pretty unhealthy foods in our time of stress over the economy. Creamy mashed potatoes (they're always mentioned in just about any article about comfort food) made with butter and cream. Meat loaf made with ground beef and topped by bacon. And Mac and cheese, all ooey gooey (and stinky) and calorific. So we're comforting ourselves with food that will add physical stress to our mental stress? Hmmmm.
And who decided that it was mashed potatoes that are comforting. Nope. I prefer the crunch of a french fry. And meat loaf? Not me. A juicy burger, the kind where the fat runs out when you bite into it. Mac and cheese? I don't think so. Not for me. I don't like cheese--icky poo. Cheese smells. On the other hand, a steaming bowl of gnocchi covered a pink sauce, studded with pine nuts. That might comfort me. Just a little. Hot fudge. There's got to be hot fudge in there some place or I will remain stressed.
Bottom line...People, food is not comforting. Having a savings account during this economic upheaval (DOWNheaval) is comforting. Having a job and health insurance and no outstanding bills. That's comforting. Food? It's something to eat. It tastes good (or it should). But don't drown your sorrows in calories. Go to the gym and sweat it out!

Laugh out loud food

A friend sent this blog to me today (http://thisiswhyyourefat.com). For some reason, the Krispy Kreme with Sloppy Joe made me laugh out loud. A lot of it actually looks pretty good to me. And some of it isn't that far out. Lots of avant garde restaurants are offering bacon flavored desserts. Chocolate covered bacon isn't far out any more. I kinda liked the chicken fried bacon with gravy. That has a certain appeal to me. I love bacon. I love breaded and fried food. I'm pretty sure it would taste good. I might stop breathing as soon as I finished the plate but I think I would die with a smile on my face! Oh, and the brownie covered with cookie dough and then fried, that has promise. I think I was supposed to be grossed out by the blog entries but I'm not!

Thanks to a friend

Just a quick thank you to Jenny Rough for mentioning my blog in her farewell post on one of her blogs. If you found me thru Jenny, hello to you. I hope you keep coming back. I don't post as often as I did when I was actively trying to lose weight. I guess I figured I was using up some calories smashing the keys on the computer so I posted often. Now that I'm back to trying to figure out what to do about my flab, I don't write as often. I did lose weight when I was posting often, though, so perhaps there's something to the calories I used up typing.....
Be sure to continue to read Jenny's personal blog (there's a link on my page to her web site...www.jennyrough.com...you can find her blog on her site).
Jenny and I met about four years ago at a writer's workshop. She has followed her dream much more ambitiously than I have. She's a great success because she's a great writer. And, no, she's not fat. In fact, she's quite slender! Maybe it's all that typing.......
I appreciate all of you who read my blog. I check my statistics on google about once a week. I'm elated when about five people read in a day and oh so sad when only one does. I know the one person who reads regularly is my close friend who is my booster (hi, there!).

Not just another diet book

How many times have you seen an ad for a new book that stated, "Not just another diet book". As though what was written on the pages was new and different. Earth shattering, secret information that might change your life. All diets and all diet books are the same: Cut out, cut down, move more. The cut out and cut down might be couched in language that makes you think you are going to be allowed to eat as much as you want of whatever you want. But read the small print. Read between the lines. You are going to be avoiding lots of foods and eating way less--or none at all--of the stuff you really love.
Losing the belly fat seems to be the mantra of the moment among the diet gurus. Even if it were possible to spot reduce (which we dietitians are taught in school, it is not possible), the diets are nothing more than healthy food plans recommending lots of high fiber foods like whole grains, fruits and veggies, lean meats and dairy. Duh. Oh, and don't forget to exercise.
Some of the books talk about cortisol and it's effect on abdominal fat deposition. Perhaps there's something to it. So let's just cut stress out of our lives so we can all have flat bellies. Why, even thinking about dieting causes my cortisol levels to rise. Yes, let's all cut out stress. It's as simple as that. So perhaps as the economy improves, all Americans will awaken one morning with flat stomachs?
A recent study reveals that it doesn't matter what "diet" you go on, if you cut back on calories, you'll lose weight. Really? Gosh, I thought I had to mix and match certain foods, swing a dead rat over my head four times and jump in place while rubbing my belly.
Dieting makes me hungry. Dieting makes me want to eat. Dieting makes me forget how much I would like to be slimmer because my mind becomes fixated on my next meal. When I am not dieting, I actually have a very active mind. I think about lots of things that have nothing to do with finding food, cooking food, eating food. When I diet, I can only think about FOOD. My next meal. While I am eating, I am thinking of how long it will be until my next meal and what I will have.
If only I had not gotten fat! But I did. I am. I am thankful that I am getting old. Too old to ever again have a flat belly. Too old to wear a bikini. Too old to be worried about some flab. Because I notice that my old friends, slender though they may be, have got some flab and a tiny bulge in the abdomen. There is justice!

Eat this not that--does it work?

I just read a post on the WW web site that details making little "switches" like fat free milk for whole milk in your lattes. The idea is saving a few calories here and there (and everywhere) to add up to enough calories saved to result in loss of weight. It's not unlike the best selling book, Eat This, Not That.
Fantasy, I say.
Sure, if the world stopped rotating on its axis and you never again added cream or whole milk to your latte and kept everything else stable (like your total intake, like your activity output) and you didn't age (because we all know that as you age, you have to take in fewer calories or you'll gain weight), then switching to fat free milk might indeed result in weight loss. It's doubtful, why it's down right ridiculous, to assume any of that. So the small changes that people keep recommending as sure fire ways to lose weight are fantastic (and I don't mean that in a good way).
Sure, a "regular" burger is a less caloric choice than a cheeseburger. But does that mean that eating a burger every day for lunch will leave you thinner at the end of the week? I suppose it could be possible. But I'd have trouble restraining myself from not adding a few french fries since I'd theoretically be "saving" all those cheese calories! And the few extra fries would require a couple of extra dips into the Ranch dressing. And, voila, there goes the calorie savings.
I don't think I'm alone in that perverted thought process. "Oh, I'm saving a few calories here so I suppose it would be okay to add a few more there".
There are reasons to switch from white bread to whole wheat bread and from whole milk to 1% (I don't think anyone should drink skim milk.....it doesn't taste like milk!). Those reasons are for health and not to lose weight.
I'm obsessed with weight....well, with body fat although I use the term "weight". I'm obsessed with how fat I am, have been and will be. I should be obsessed with how healthy I am. And if I were, then choosing whole grain bread and 1% milk would make me healthier if not thinner. And that is the reason I should be choosing those. Because even if you're thin, those are the choices you should be making.
So, Eat This, Not That and WW switches are for everyone. Not just for the weight obsessed.

Pizza Gluttony

I did it. I ate a 12 inch cheese pizza all by myself. With lots of red pepper flakes. Every slice. Every piece of stretchy cheese. All the delicious crunchy crusts. Every morsel. There's nothing left but the box. Why did I do it? Because I've been thinking about pizza from NYPD Pizza (a local pizza joint) for weeks. Sometimes when I'm getting ready to make my lunch, I'll think, "Maybe I should just go get a pizza". I always stop myself. But it had become a sort of obsession so that every time I was getting ready to eat, pizza would pop into my head.
Now the obsession has been resolved. The pizza has been consumed. It was delicious. Right now, though, I'm feeling kind of full. Like really full. Like bloated. Like maybe I should have stopped at half the pie? Or even left one piece over? Or, better yet, shared it!
Oh, well. It's done. Could have been worse. I could have also had some Pepsi....real Pepsi. I didn't. That's the perfect pairing. Pepsi and Pizza. Pepsi with sugar. Not sugar free. Yum. Perfect balance of flavors. For my palate. Instead, I drank a diet Sprite. Weird. The drink was just there to quench my thirst not to enhance the pizza the way Pepsi does.
I shall not think of this again. I'm over it. My belly. That's another story. My belly may be feeling the ravages of pizza gluttony for a while. Poor belly.