Pearl Three: shhh! Don’t awaken the cave woman. Photo by Raphael Lovaski on Unsplash
Pearl One
Forty-two years ago, the Tahoe slope that morning was practically empty. I’d skied a bit further ahead of my (first ever) boyfriend, so I stopped to wait for Mike (names have been changed to protect the skinny). While waiting, two guys on a chair lift hooted and hollered in my direction.
Pleased, I thought, wow I must look pretty cool. After lunch Mike and I were on the chairlift with the same guys two empty seats back. One said quite clearly, “Oh. She’s big.”
I was mortified, because one, I was a teenager so of course and two, my new boyfriend was in earshot. I hoped Mike hadn’t heard.
Mike heard.
And that ski-memory pretty much sums up the first thirty-five years of life. My younger sister? Boy magnet. I was Roseanne to her sister Jackie. Alice to Mrs. Brady. Fred to Lucy Ricardo.
Some would say “oh, cry me a river” there are real tragedies unfolding across the globe. Okay, but here’s the thing: these days, our culture would never tell a smoker, an alcoholic, or someone addicted to drugs to stop whining and get on with it.
But they tell heavy people just this daily. We don’t stop to think that overeating is a sibling to the other addictions and just as dangerous.
For example, we understand that anorexia or bulimia can result in death, but we largely ignore the reality that too much weight can lead to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain cancers among other diseases (hsph.harvard.edu).
My Point
It’s vital that you and I take wanting to lose weight seriously.
- No more apologizing for eating differently than everyone else.
- No more minimizing that we, in fact, are super serious about our health.
- No more politely eating something when we actually wanted to say, “no thank you.”
At first we might think that we’re losing weight for vanity purposes only. (Maybe you want to look great at your high school reunion.)
But dig deeper and you’ll find that something inside of us knows that too much weight — just like cigarettes, drink and drugs — can be a precursor to serious (and sometimes fatal) health problems.
What the “cry me a river” crowd doesn’t get is that what you and I are steadily pursuing and protecting — our smart eating lifestyle — is just as significant an endeavor as extinguishing any other addiction. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to say “I’m sorry” anymore. ♥
Pearl Two
Have you ever noticed that high calorie, high fat food is often soft, easy to eat, and disappears in a flash?
Because I sure have.
Take the world of cream filled cupcakes. They’re so soft, I could wad up the cakes into a little chocolate ball in ten seconds flat.
In fact, I think my waded ball invention applies to all snack cake products both “chocolate” and “golden cream” filled cakes along with those pink coconut breast-like looking things.
All wad-able.
And our culture is packed in wad-able items: birthday cake, brownies, pancakes and waffles, donuts. You get the idea.
Admittedly ice cream, crunchy cookies, and sticky pies would be tough to wad. Ice cream is cold, cookies crumble, but I think with perseverance I could wad up a pie slice in ten seconds too.
The foods our bodies really need aren’t wad-able and can take forever to eat like salads, large crunchy sandwiches, smoothies, all fruits, all veggies, and most food items that come in the “whole wheat” flavor.
My point? Go forth and wad up those “snacks”and practice slam dunking them into the trash can. And when you wonder whether a food is healthy or not, give it the wad-able test and you’re good to go! ♥
Pearl Three
Pearl Three is our slot to talk about the Holiday Healthy Weight Challenge. We have 11 weeks until Thanksgiving.
I won’t win any popularity contests for saying this, but losing two pounds a week – the number that’s long been touted – is much too fast. We have 11 weeks to Thanksgiving. If you goal yourself to lose one pound a week, you’re doing a spectacular job. (Any faster and it just piles back on.)
Always remember that losing too fast wakes up the cave woman in our brain who assumes that we’re starving. Which is why most can’t maintain longer than two or three years. You’ve heard “the body’s set-point” theory? Well, I don’t happen to agree with the idea that our bodies will always want to return to a “set-point.” I think that what the researchers are actually seeing are people who lose weight quickly thereby waking up the cave woman who proceeds to take them back to “the set-point.”
To lose and maintain, we need to take off the weight nice and slowly to avoid triggering the cave woman.
So, 11 pounds in 11 weeks. That’s a bit faster than I’d recommend. Lose and maintain. Lose and maintain. Lose and maintain. I honestly think that’s why I’ve had success in maintaining my loss: I went super slowly in the first place. ♥
Pearl Four
Our food slot. There was a time when hard boiled eggs weren’t on my radar except at Easter, but I’ve rediscovered what a great “food-tool” these babies can be.
On Sundays I make five to six hard boiled eggs with a goal of eating one a day (give or take). I mash one egg with pickle relish, a tiny bit of ranch dressing, and a very light sprinkle of salt and spread over toast.
The best part about boiling and bagging five or six eggs on a Sunday means that I’ll have an easy-to-grab smart food that I can toss into my cold-tote in a flash. ♥
Pearl Five
Don’t give up on the person you are becoming. Stay focused and give it all that you’ve got.” — Anonymous ♥
“Give it all that you’ve got.” I love these six words for any and every endeavor. I’m keeping them on my screensaver to motivate me daily.
Hope you’re headed towards a beautiful veggie and fruit filled weekend!
♥, Wendy
P.S. Are you new to the Inspired Eater? Welcome!! This blog won’t make much sense until you first read the Aunt Bea post (and you’ll find Aunt Bea on this page to the right under my short bio). On your cell you’ll see it immediately following the first post. After you enter your email address, the Aunt Bea article will be sent to your email’s inbox. If it’s not there, you might check the spam folder. And always feel free to email me at Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com and I’ll get Aunt Bea right to you!
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I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse or a nutritionist: the information within TheInspiredEater.com is based solely on my personal experience and is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. ♥
15 Comments
I saw my primary physician this morning. He was THRILLED with my weight loss, BMI rating, and blood pressure drop! Of course, he wanted to know how I did it, so I told him (in 25 words or less). Thanks so much for your support in maintaining! I have never kept the weight off for this long before and I am beginning to identify with eating differently for life. Thanks!
LOVE that you pointed out that overeating is as much like an addiction as overdrinking or smoking. I’m so grateful for all your advice, and it’s so inspiring that you’ve actually used these tecniques yourself to do the very thing we want to do! Thank you!
Thanks Barbara! The fast-food industry’s paying scientists to make melt-in-your mouth treats. It freaks me out for us and children who are getting hooked on it early.
Wendy
I really loved all of your pearls this week! And the point about losing SLOWLY, I believe is key. I have lost 5 pounds in the last year. And that seems to be the perfect pace for me. I’m currently working on the next 5! Yay me!
You nailed: lose slowly. I worry that people don’t believe me!
W.
I cringed and felt your pain and humiliation when reading what that guy said. It seems that food addiction is okay to tease and pick on, while other addictions aren’t, and that is disgusting. I never thought about those soft foods being easy to wad! And of course, the quicker they go down, the easier they are for us to “forget” we ate them or exactly how many we ate. Add that to the fact that sugar is so addicting, and it is the perfect storm for eating way too much of that easily wad-able food. Another fantastic post filled with lots of good information and just plain common sense that I know I need to hear often. Thank you my sweet friend.
SO many good points here! And, YES to the hard boiled eggs! They have been a real factor in my recent weight loss. They quell my hunger really well. I’m so sorry about your ski trip incident. It’s hard to forget those. I went through a chubby phase when I was in the 6th grade. I was at our city’s baseball stadium, and I was so excited to be there. Then, I heard a pig snort sound, and I realized someone was directing that at me. It was such a mortifying feeling. In the next couple of years, grew several inches taller and got really skinny, but that feeling that I was fat stuck with me. I went through a period of what I think was body dysmorphic disorder, for several years, even through my early twenties. I was tall and skinny, but I thought I was fat. I have my old journal from high school, and I was constantly writing that I needed to lose weight! I was 5’9′ and weighed 125 pounds! I’m now struggling to get within 50 pounds of that. 🙂
Love all of your points! Glad you are going to do this slowly. I was a chubby girl as well and have bad memories too. I exercise a lot more now but need to be more conscious of my food choices so thanks for the inspiration!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
I know, I think slowly is the secret sauce.
Your blog is so beautiful!!
Thank you for writing!
Wendy
Such wonderful advice! I always save your posts to my Pinterest “Nutrition and Health” board. Thanks for the information and inspiration.
Thank you for participating in Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 34.
Carol
http://www.scribblingboomer.com
Thank you again! I have to learn Pinterest. About ten years ago I really understood, but they’ve made so many changes
W.
Wow, thanks for pinning!! ♥♥♥
Wendy
Slow and steady is definitely the way to lose weight – it has to be achievable, otherwise it just leads to giving up. I’ve experienced the cave woman response when I’ve been ill or tried to lose weight too quickly. My mum has been ill and didn’t eat much for weeks – now she’s starting to feel better her appetite has come back with a vengeance! I keep telling her it’s her body’s way of making up the deficit. Thanks for linking up!
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
Thanks for writing Emma. You always look so beautiful in your blog!
Wendy
I’m so sorry to hear you had to endure such cruel comments.
Thanks for linking with #pocolo