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Some people decide by the number on the scale. For others, it’s the recognition that their thighs are rubbing together, their boobs feel like over-cooked matzo balls, and the reluctant realization that their fat jeans are well on the way to becoming their skinny jeans.
Monday December 29th, was my day of reckoning. I met three out of my four personal diet determinators,and that was it. No more pretending I could eat what I wanted without consequences. I was looking at the consequences.
Dieting is a path I have been on many a time before. It began at age 14 when to my horror I got on the scale and saw the big 140. Prior to that I weighed 123 pounds (I’m 5'7") -- oh and I thought I was too fat at that weight.
After six weeks of eating a Carnation Instant Breakfast, Metrical cookies and an apple for lunch, and a Greek salad and diet Jell-O for dinner --everyday (my mother was/is a diet enabler) ---I was back at 123. But not for long.
Did I mention I was starving the entire six weeks of this ordeal? Starving. Light-headed and cranky. Very Cranky. But I was thin.
And so it began. The irreconcilable differences between the weight my body wants to be and the weight I want my body to be. We have never come to terms. We have never lived in peaceful co-existence for very long.
At times I let well enough alone and repeat the mantra that I eat healthy, I work out, and there are worse things than being 30 pounds heavier than I want to be.
But that attitude is short-lived and then my War of The Roses begins again with a renewed vengeance.
Truth be told I believe I deserve to be thin. I work at it--most of the time. Except for the past month when I didn't work at it.
Now, I absolutely have to lose weight, just to get back to the weight my body likes, even though that weight is not anywhere an acceptable weight for my preferred image of myself.
My rebellion against my genetic predisposition to provide fat cells shelter from the storm is predictable and frequent. I have done many DIY diets, the Scarsdale Diet, the low-fat diet, the Atkins Diet, and Weight Watchers.
I actually enjoyed them all as long as I was losing weight. And that has always been the problem. Sooner or later, sooner than I want, my body just stops losing weight even though I am SOP-still on plan.
Without the enticement of lower numbers on the scale or actually more important to me, looser clothing, I become discouraged and defeated. Until I am ready to do battle again.
I am now armed and ready. While I may not have any real illusions that I will ultimately succeed - hope runs eternal and there is a part of me that says, "Maybe this time."
Whether you struggle with fat back, a muffin top, thunder thighs or a big booty, weight loss companies are focusing on you. The first quarter is to the weight loss business what November - December is to holiday shopping.
The question the weight loss companies are asking -- Will the economic downturn decimate sales the way it did retail sales?
According to Elaine Wong, writing in BrandWeek 2009 may be a disappointing diet season.
"In this economy, consumers are not going to indulge in delusions of sticking to diets that require extended financial commitments," said Denise Lee Yohn, who runs a brand consulting firm in San Diego. Instead, "We'll see people opting out of expensive programs and looking for more do-it-yourself options,"
Marion Nestle, a nutrition and food studies professor at New York University, agreed: "Everyone is facing bleaker sales. The only things that are doing well are comfort foods—huge portions for [less] money."
Surviving Fitness is definitely the target audience for weight loss companies.The blog is written by a 40-something woman who once ran marathons and now finds herself 50 pounds overweight.After five years of DIY dieting programs,she wants to do the Medifast program but is concerned about the cost. She posted a question on their forum asking people how they were personally paying for the food. She says the real answers came in private messages.
“Hi. I’m a single mother of five and I can’t afford to buy Medifast. I have research all their products and
