“Waiting for the end to come. Wishing I had strength to stand. This is not what I had planned. It’s out of my control.” ~Linkin Park
When I was a young girl my mother was always dieting. I grew up watching her go through the latest fads in diets: The low carb (or, eat all the bacon and eggs you want) diet, the grapefruit diet, the pineapple diet, the “diet pill” (amphetamine) non-diet and everything in between. My mother was not very overweight at all. In fact, she was what I would call “normal” for her time. But no matter how “normal” in weight they are, women diet. That is what we do. Weight loss trumps all.
Being surrounded by dieting for so long (and being a serial dieter myself with my own body image issues), I learned all about what to eat – and what not to eat – to lose weight. To put it simply, in the world of dieting all the foods that taste fabulous are bad you, and all the foods that do not tickle your taste buds are good for you. Don’t eat bread, don’t eat fat, don’t eat sugar, don’t eat fruit, don’t snack, don’t eat solid foods..we are surrounded by “dont’s.” So, why, then are we still fat?
Because there are no “do”s.
Continue reading ‘Why Diets Don’t Work: Goodbye to Atkins, 4 Hour Body and More’
This is a moving guest post by Deborah Nicosia. It will resonate with all of us who have struggled with our weight. Look for more from Debbie in the future if I can convince her.
So, yesterday I had a typical “diet fail.” My intentions were good as I started the day…they usually are. I got my coffee and had four scrambled egg whites with one yolk.
Off to a crazy Saturday at work. I work five hours with a 15 minute break, so there is no time to walk upstairs, stand in line and get lunch. There was nothing at home to bring for lunch, because I forgot to plan for myself. I had been taking care of sick kids all week…..and forgot about me, as usual.
No time to venture upstairs at work and only a dollar in my pocket. This meant getting two hot dogs quickly, and go back to work. Cheap, quick, and I’ll be full!
When I got home I was totally exhausted. My feet were throbbing, and I was starving. It had been four hours since I ate the two hot dogs. My husband arrived home 30 minutes later with three egg rolls in hand. I devoured all three of them. I was satisfied after two, but…they tasted so good I didn’t stop until they were gone.
Continue reading ‘Failing with Dieting’
“Wind me up and watch me go, where she stops nobody knows. A good excuse to be a bad influence on you.” ~Pink
I used to be an avid weight lifter and hated anything cardiovascular. I would run, sure, but despised every minute of it. Sometimes I would ride my bike to school but only out of necessity because I didn’t want to take the bus. For the thrill of it, the power of it, the invincibility of it, I would always lift weights. Nothing beat the feel of cold, hard, heavy steel in my hands.
Now that I’ve gotten older I have switched teams and am a die-hard cardio fiend (in the form of Spinning® and cycling). How and when this traitorous change happened I am not sure. All I know is that I’ve played on both sides equally and aerobic exercise is now my drug, I mean exercise, of choice.
This is the question debated hotly back and forth in the fitness world: “Which type of exercise – cardio or strength training – is best for weight loss?” Trainers and group exercise instructors fight over this at length. Both camps claim that “mine is better than yours,” with trainers leading the weight lifting charge and class instructors flying the cardio flag.
All the while, Pilates and yoga gurus probably stand quietly and Zenly by, with their tight cores and neutral spines, laughing at our inability to come to an agreement.
Continue reading ‘What Type of Exercise Is Best for Weight Loss?’
