Tuesday, January 21, 2014

10 Signs It Is Time To Lose Weight and How To Do It

Hubby has lost almost 20 pounds in the last two months.

I find that inspiring, but I have known for awhile that I need to go on a diet.

How do I know?

Here are some signs that it's time to lose some pounds:

  • When you reach up into the cabinet over the stove, you burn your stomach on the pot simmering on the hot burner (This can happen. I have the scar to prove it).

  • Your bathroom scale has cobwebs on it.

  • You not only can't zip up your jeans, when you look down, you can't see your shoes.

  • People ask you when the baby is due, despite the fact it would take an act of god for that to happen

  • You get winded going out to the mailbox for the mail

  • You are pen pals with Lane Bryant

  • If someone parks too close to you, you can't get out of the car.  Heck, the other car doesn't even need to be that close.

  • Your earrings are the only things that fit

  • When you order two scoops of ice cream the pimply faced teenager asks, "Are you sure you want two?"

  • The dogs refuse to go for walks, because they don't want to be seen in public with you.

So what will I do to lose the weight?

Diet tips from the professionals seem to include:

Eat breakfast
There is actually a difference of opinion on this.  Some diet books say breakfast is a must and others say don't worry about it. This is a hard one for me.  Number one, I am not hungry in the morning (I am not a morning person - just the smell of breakfast being made makes me bilious), and number 2, I have always felt once I start eating the floodgates will open and I won't stop.  I know that's not really true, but old habits die hard.

Drink lots of water
Some diet experts say that when we feel hunger, we are actually thirsty.  But I'm telling you, when I am hungry for a bowl of ice cream or a hamburger, water just doesn't cut it.

Cut down on nighttime snacks
Well, here is my Achilles heel.  I can go all day without eating but at night?  There is nothing like a nice bowl of popcorn or a glass or wine (or two) while watching "The Bachelor."

Avoid eating out
Again, a toughy.  For someone like me who is working her way through Seattle's fine dining restaurants from A-Z, it's difficult to eat leftovers at home before heading to the theatre or music venue.

Be physically active
I try to walk 10,000 steps per day, but I also like to watch TV.  Maybe I should watch TV while running in place.

Keep a food diary
I would do this if I could remember to do it.

Follow a prescribed diet
I have probably read every diet book ever written. 

The Adkins diet, originally popularized in the early 1970's, and touting cutting out almost all carbs, seems to be popular again.  I think I first tried this when was 12!

Other popular diet books include:

The Dukan Diet

I have several friends who have lost weight on this one.  Princess Kate used it before she married Prince William. (Like she needed to lose any weight.  Sheesh).  It's a low carb, low fat diet that is very restrictive early on, then morphs into one where you have "celebration" days. 
Since I like celebrating so much, I would probably overdo the celebration days.

Paleo Diet

This one is in vogue now touting the idea that if you eat like the caveman (or woman), you will be a slim and sexy caveman (or woman).  You can't have anything that wasn't available in prehistoric times. 
Do you think they had Haagen Dazs?

Flat Belly Diet

Those days are behind me, if you know what I mean.

Crazy Sexy Diet

Now you're talkin'! 

Skinny Bitch in the Kitchen

This is what I strive for - to be a skinny bitch.  Some might contend that I have the bitch part worked out already.  But if not, eating vegan would definitely do it.

French Women Don't Get Fat

Bully for them!  Talk about skinny bitches!

Gluten Free Girl Every Day

Originally designed for people who can't tolerate wheat, gluten-free eating has become a fad.  I don't like fads.

Neris and India's Idiot Proof Diet

This one looks promising considering it's audience.

All in all, I think the real key is finding a diet that becomes a way of life. 

If you give up everything you really enjoy, you set yourself up for failure.

Hubby is adhering to a modified Atkins diet and cutting out the booze on week days, which seems to work for him (though I will say, it's been my experience that men can lose weight more easily than women).

I will try to eat something in the morning to get my metabolism going (or just stay in bed until it's lunch time), cut down on empty calories such as wine (I can't tell you how difficult it was for me to break that to the wine-guzzling poodle), get some exercise every day and watch my portions.

And try not to beat myself up too much. 

After all, I should be grateful for this old body that has gotten me this far, even if it's less than svelte. 

Want to give me some diet advice?
Share your tips, successes
 and favorite diet books.

See you Friday for the Week in Reviews.

Thanks for reading!
Check your local library for the books mentioned.


  1. You just can't get around the basic facts---eat less and exercise more!! Personally, I don't like either of those but every now and then I have to go back to the basics!!! Damn!

    1. I know. And I exercise quite a bit so I think it's more don't eat very much. I have a friend who doesn't exercise at all and has lost quite a bit of weight. But if I didn't exercise, I would probably look like a Mac Truck!

  2. Rosie, I found that using an online site really helped. I use SparkPeople.com, and attribute it largely to my recent weight loss success. It offers anonymity, tracking, community, information, and lots of other features. Plus it's free!

    The biggest shift is the one in our head, and it's tough. I only set out to lose 18 pounds, but it was as tough of a mental challenge to let go of bad habits as any physical challenge I've ever done.

    1. Thanks, Tamara. I will check out that site. I have the Lose It app on my phone and should do that. I lost 50 pounds about 8 years ago and managed to keep half of it off. If I could lose that other half again, I would be just where I want to be but I would be happy with 10! And you are right, losing weight and keeping it off is one of the great challenges of life for those of us who love to eat. I have nothing but compassion for people who are fighting that battle.

    2. It kind of comes down to this, which I know, but set aside to my detriment the last couple of years:

      You can eat whatever you want if you don't mind not liking how you look and feel.

      Or . . . .

      You can accept the limitations of your metabolism, and get your sexy back.

      I love being able to like the way I look in skinny jeans, and I like getting the occasional admiring glance more than I really like diving into a bowl of ice cream. Yes, the ice cream seems like my friend at the moment, but it's really not. It's really out to get me. :-)

    3. My sister was the thin one in the family and I remember her saying she didn't live to eat, she ate to live. I pondered that looking at her plate with half of her sandwich left while I wolfed mine down. I need to find the balance. I certainly don't eat everything I want, though I will say a couple of days ago, after one of our epic stair walks, I enjoyed every bite of a Molly Moon salted caramel ice cream cone. Molly Moon is THE ice cream place in Seattle. I swore at that moment I would enjoy REAL ice cream from time to time instead of the no sugar, no fat stuff I sometimes eat to ward off the ice cream demons. And, Tamara, I am impressed you still get the admiring glance. That gives me hope. I thought those of us of a certain age become invisible no matter how good we look!

    4. Rosie, I meant the generic 'you' in my post reply above . . . not 'you' as in you! So sorry if it seemed otherwise, as i would never point my finger at someone else about a battle I myself still fight!

      Mea culpa! :-)

    5. No worries, Tamara. I knew you didn't mean me. :)

  3. Well, as a real, average sixty something boomer who lost a hundred pounds, I did only about half of these, and I would do what works for you. That said, my advise may take more than one reply, so..........

    First, let me say that I will never be skinny, and skinny is surely not required to be sexy for heaven's sake. I have that directly from the voice of my husband as well as others ( a guy who lived to eat and weighed one thirty at six feet no matter what he ate). I will always have a D cup and think that's just peachy, and have the butt to match. Sexy is a feeling and an attitude, not a size.

    I am a woman who lives to eat and admits it. Always have, always will. I've eated my way through every country in northern Europe and a few in north Africa as well as parts of the US (Anthony Bourdain is my hero). Then I married a man who in my early marriage was the manager of a private club with a starred chef and then I moved back to Europe to eat my way through the city again. I am counting the days until restaurant week. My point here is that eating good food does not mean you have "food issues" as such. Some people do, and there was a period of six month after my husbands death when I ate and spent out of boredome and lonliness. Generally, I eat because I like food. period. I only mention this cause that may affect how you handle your diet in terms of only sites, support, or joining a group.

    On to the diet stuff

  4. Now, as to that diet thing. I DO eat breakfast every day, just not as soon as I get up (the advantage of not working). If you don't eat breakfast now, and it makes you ill, live with it. I do drink water, not as much as I should but it is a general health thing, not a diet thing. I especially drink right before bed, even though it might make me get up at night. Studies show water at bedtime can prevent stroke and heart issues.

    I joined a diet plan (jenny Craig) went for two weeks and then went on my own (I refused to pay 130 a week for their food and still have to buy produce and dairy items each week).During the first half of my dieting experience I ate seventeen hundred calories a day. I denied my self nothing (there are books about eating out), and did measure out all my food (that was where it was helpful) I I need to say that I lost much more weight when I did less exercise than with more. I exercise for health, not to lose weight. I understand that everyone has different experiences, but when I was swimming an hour and a half in the morning, I was eating like a proverbial pig. The other thing I have always done is eat a huge salad (or leafy vegetables, a good couple cups) before both lunch and dinner. I also love soup so often have local soup (home made) as an appetizer. I do have nighttime snacks, and when I was dieting (I no longer am) I allowed myself milk and a sweet at night. I also had plenty of support for healthy eating around me (my daughter is a holistic nutritionist who loves to bake). People who have less may want the support of a weight watchers or other group.

    I don't keep a food diary. When I did it was on my fitness pal.com. My personal experience is that people who do the best strive for "healthiness", rather than "skininess". A friend simply added a salad and two servings of fruit to her diet and starting walking for health. I believe that if you try to simply be healtheir (my next blog post by the way, I expect). you will have more success.

    I no longer diet (although I still lose weight here and there. I count carbs (200 max per day), and I try to move a half an hour a day in terms of walking, walking in the pool or seated exercise. One of my dining strategies by the way is to eat an appetizer, a soup or a small entree and then dessert. this evening I had stuffed mushrooms, a cup of sherried lobster bisque and a salad and key lime pie.

    If you are beginning your research, I would work with a dash based mediterranean diet. Much easier than many to accomodate to restaurants and entertainment, believe me...

    1. Great comments, Barb. Thanks. I think you have it all together. And I LOVE Tony Bourdain too!

  5. #11 - when you unzip your pants and zip your fat

    1. You got that right! I've hurt myself that way many a time! Thanks for your comment!