Posted on 07/22/2003 2:25:53 PM PDT by Timesink
Edited on 07/22/2003 2:45:12 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Women and girls are bombarded with messages about thinness, ideals of beauty, and ways to lose weight. The average woman sees hundreds of commercials a week, and a Brigham and Women's Hospital study in 2000 found virtually all commercials aimed at girls and women focus on physical attractiveness. A series of studies of media in 1986 led by Brett Silverstein, Ph.D., found diet food advertisements targeting women outnumbered those to men by 63 to 1; and articles dealing with thin body images and diets appeared 96 times in women's magazines to every 8 times in men's.
But then again, I know of a number of people who have told me that they are having trouble losing weight, and when pressed, they will admit that they cheat. Well, that's the problem there. The first step in losing weight is to learn to say "NO" to yourself! It's not that hard, especially if you really want to lose weight. But the key is that you really have to want to lose weight.
I could list lots of examples, but I think that I can get away with just a single example. A few weeks ago, I went to visit a friend in Oklahoma City, and as a gift, I decided to stop by her favorite restaurant here in KC, The Cheesecake Factory. I picked up a whole "Tuxedo Cheesecake" for her as a gift. It made it all the way down to OKC, untouched. And when I left, 4 days later, I still hadn't tasted even a morsel of the cake. To put it bluntly, I want to lose weight, so I "just say no."
While that may not guarentee that I'll lose weight, it's certainly the first step in losing weight...
FWIW, to all my "diet buddies" on FR, in 10 weeks now, I've lost 38# and 8" around the waist! Only another 85# to go! To all of you, good luck, and keep up the good work. "Remember, when the aliens come, they're going to eat the fat ones first!" LOL!
Mark
Oh!!! You're in trouble now! Saying such things about a Super Hero!!!! The only thing "broad" about Xenalyte is the broadsword she occasionally wields! I'd duck if I were you!
FWIW, in addition to being a very nice lady, she happens to be a very serious babe!
Mark
Makes sense. It would explain some of the weird getups that some women purchase, also.
I like a lady to be dressed in jeans and a white shirt, or T shirt. It just looks good to me.
Now don't get pulled over by the cops as you're driving home in full costume. :-)
I wholeheartedly agree. I've made half-hearted attempts in the past to "take off some weight" but I never wanted to give up my culinary pleasures or my sedentary lifestyle. Whenever I exercised or ate less, I always saw it as a "temporary" thing. Of course, each of those efforts were doomed to failure.
Sometime around the end of March, something triggered inside my brain to make me want to lose weight. All you need for success is a good plan and I put one together. I would wake up at 5AM every morning and walk. I would then walk at lunchtime. I cut out all processed supermarket foods and started eating only "whole" foods like meat, fish, nuts, vegetables, fruits, cheese, eggs, etc. Yes, wine and beer are included. This isn't the Atkins plan but actually isn't that far from it. I've seriously cut back on the sugar and carbs.
And it works. I have lost 57 pounds since April 1. It's not been easy. It takes real discipline to make an aggressive plan like the one I made and stick to it. But I haven't wavered yet. I haven't slept past 5AM yet. I haven't had so much as a single M&M or a cookie. I will watch others around me eat that stuff and I'm not even tempted to partake. This is because I have made the decision to lose the weight and I will allow nothing to get in the way of that goal.
I don't want to make anybody else who is trying to lose weight feel bad. But honestly, if you want to lose weight, you have to want to do it. Really want to do it. And then you need to make a plan, a realistic plan, and commit yourself to keeping to it. Day after day after day. It's sort of like an alcoholic who goes sober - take it one day at at time and before you know it, you will have months and then years behind you. And your new lifestyle will get easier.
I realize that I have only been on this plan for about four months and I haven't exactly earned bragging rights yet. I figure if I can do this for a whole year, I'll then be home free. The next eight months are still going to be tough.
Many years ago, when I worked at a 7-11, there was a couple who would routinely come in and fill a shopping cart with nothing but junk--sodas, Hostess cakes, cookies, etc. Nothing we regard as nutritious ever seemed to go into the cart. They were both rail-thin, and looked like a day or two without food would do them in. I don't know what problem they had.
I also read about a woman who had a metabolic disorder that all but prevented her body from utilizing food. She had to eat about 30 bags of groceries every week.
While I wish I could eat more--because if I eat very much at all, I gain weight--I wouldn't want to be at the other end of the spectrum, where people would have to eat all the time. I wonder if the virus that woman you mentioned had could be weakened just a little.
So, what causes it? Bacteria, virus, fungus, prion, mycoplasma?
And I'm 5'4" and get made fun of for being short. Until Jr. high, I was always the shortest one in class. I like having tall people around; it saves me the trouble of having to go get a step stool or climb on the counters. We should all be happy with the bodies we were born with (except, maybe, if those bodies get too fat--but that's what these threads are all about).
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