Success is wonderful, but remember: Smug goeth before a fall.

Pearl One

I’m hearing from so many of you guys that you’re about to or already have reached your preferred-weight!!

Congratulations and confetti to your success!!

I know, it feels amazing to be at the number you most want to see when you look down at the scale.

In our past this was the moment to party! Chips and margaritas, here I come!

But this is not our present or our future.

Look at it like this: getting to your preferred weight is like the house falling on the Wicked Witch of the East.

Like Dorothy, you’re at the beginning of the yellow brick road.

So, give yourself a high-five or even gift yourself something that will remind you of this day like jewelry or planting a tree in your yard.

Then get back to it like this:

Your part-time job is preserving your loss. It’s important to continue to call it a part-time job because it elevates preserving your loss as one of your top priorities. About ten years into preserving my loss, I started calling the work and mind-sets involved “my hobby.”

Strengthen your smart eating habits. Journal-write about which habits are the strongest and which the wobbliest? What can you do to strengthen your wobbly habits? Be honest with yourself. If you write, “I rarely use my cold-tote. If I’m out doing errands, I’ll stop for a Big Mac and fries. What’s the big deal? I’m at my preferred weight, a Big Mac won’t be the beginning of the end for me.”

Tough love: yes, it will be.

If the cavewoman in you gets French fries one time, you’re starting the downhill toboggin ride. Hope you brought your helmet.

So, make the habit of packing your cold-tote the night before so it’s easy to grab in the morning. (A habit requires 66-days to embed, but only the first two weeks are rough.)

Have a daily talk with yourself. I gave myself a loving, but strict order to never, ever get smug thinking, “I’m on fire. I’ve so got this.”

I said it to myself every single day: don’t be smug (about your amazing weight loss). Reestablishing bad habits is right around the corner for those of us that succumbs to being smug.

Stay committed to your eating plan. For years after I reached my weight-window, I continued to live on my eating plan; I continued asking my husband to hide food so that it wasn’t staring at me, I always ate before I ate and so on. And I discovered the age-old eating plan of breakfast like a king, lunch like a princess and . I was sold. Ate ever since.

I’m on my eighteenth-year of preserving my original loss. But I remember the first year of preserving I colored within the lines. (Not to be annoying, but I helicoptered my eating for a solid ten years where I might have a bite of donut, but never went beyond that.)

My thought is that there are stages to preserving our loss. And together we’ll figure out what those stages are!

So please email me Wendy@theInspiredEater.com or leave a comment below. I’d love to hear how many months or years you’ve been preserving. What didn’t help? What did help? How quickly did you adopt the habits? Do you have a favorite?

Keep daily notes on living on the Smart Eating Lifestyle, because one day somebody will say to you, “what are you doing to maintain for so long?”

And by sharing the ins and outs of smart eating, you’re illuminating a very dark path for someone else. ♥

Pearl Two

I’m turning the big 6-0 soonish so I’m using Pearl Two as an example of sequencing in my own life.

Default Sequence:

• Sequence: I was born in July, 1964.
• Thought: a huge part of my life is over. My dad is gone, my Mom has Alzheimer’s and my sister sold our family home.
• Feeling: Very down, very blue.
• Action: I get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes and I can’t see my laptop’s screen anymore.
• Result: I eat sherbet if we have any. (Two big bowls.)

Responsive Sequence

• Sequence: I was born in July, 1964.
• Thought: Turning 60 is great given my blog’s topic. Now I can say that women over 60 absolutely can lose weight and maintain the loss. For a lifetime.
• Feeling: happy, enthusiastic
• Action: I recommit to this blog, the Inspired Eater.
• Results: A better, more in-depth blog for you, the thriving reader. 🙂

I didn’t use a “bridge” sequence because having done them forever, can usually switch from old to new fairly quickly, but I’ve written sequences for years. ♥

Pearl Three

In March I’m keeping pearl three for something fun that I want to share

The hearing aides came in the mail!! I’m wearing them now to see how well they work. I’m not sure how many feet the aides extend in helping to hear, but they’re wonderful for conversation and hearing the TV. And – you might want to sit down – they cost $349 total. The landscape of hearing aids costing your first born are over!! The company: Ceretone. ♥

Pearl Four

In pearl four, I’m not reviewing books, I’m recommending reads that I’ve read and loved. We all need the power of a great book to counteract the lure of nighttime eating.

“Masterpiece . . . Such masterful strokes seem to qualify Small World as the quintessential great American novel, as Evison eloquently shows that perhaps the most authentically American ideal is the ongoing, blended palette of stories.”—Booklist (starred review).

I literally had to leave this book downstairs so that I wouldn’t stay up so late reading.

One way I rate whether a particular book can be called a “book- dessert” is whether I get pulled into the story fast enough. This book had a slowish start, but by chapter two I was loving every minute of it and I stayed up reading this one late into the night totally messing up my sleep schedule.

It has multiple story-lines with one theme being wanting to escape a certain situation. Super great.

Authors who can write like this author just seem like aliens to me.

Small World: A Novel by Jonathan Evision. ♥

Pearl Five

You must have a level of discontent to feel the urge to want to grow.”
― Idowu Koyenikan ♥

If you’ve liked this post, I would love it if you’d share it with fifty of your closest friends. Word of mouth is the best way to grow and and thank you!

♥, 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!

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

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. ♥

Hi Thrivers!

The time-change hit me harder this year. My sleep schedule is way off.

Let’s go:

Pearl One

At this moment, there are four different kinds of ice cream in our freezer.

You see my problem.

Back when I ate right along with my scarfer – and ballooned to my highest weight because of it – I had to put serious planning into how to coexist with someone who eats like a fifth grader.

I often think about Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s grief scale.

You can use her scale on large sweeping topics like overeating:

Denial

It’s fine to eat two chocolate croissants. There’s no problem. Everything will work out in the end.

Anger

I was angry with him for not being willing to change his scarfer-ways.

Bargaining

I tried to talk my scarfer into joining me on the smart eating plan If we were both into smart eating our kitchen wouldn’t be full of junk-food.

Depression

I’m fat and ugly and I cannot seem to make living with him and his food habits work for me.

Acceptance

Acceptance isn’t about liking the reality; it’s about coming to terms with what-is. Its when you realize that he’s committed to the scarfer lifestyle and isn’t going to change any time soon.

I understand that as I go further into the smart eating world, my scarfer won’t be joining me. In fact, he’ll always have junk-food at the house. That’s just how he rolls.

Or you can apply her scale to just one food item like ice cream.

Denial: I don’t each too much ice cream. Just a little at night. It’s all good.

Anger: WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! Every morning, I wake up disgusted with myself because I overate ice cream last night. Ugh.

Bargaining: I overeat ice cream, but I work out like a wild-woman!!

Acceptance: It’s a high fat, high calorie, high sugar food. Most importantly, ice cream is at the very top on the “soothing” scale. Ice cream is a comfort-food. Nevertheless, I need to figure out how I’ll manage when my scarfer brings ice cream home.

In the beginning I asked my scarfer to buy flavors I didn’t like. And also asked him to put the ice cream on the bottom shelf – in our freezer, it’s kind of dark and I don’t tend to bend down low – maybe wrapped in a brown bag or something like it.

Some women ask their husband to keep the ice cream out of the house, and eat it on his own time.

Eighteen years into the maintenance/preservation stage, I still ask my scarfer to keep it as out of sight as possible.

But I can still be lured so even now, I insist that the ice cream stay at the bottom of the freezer towards the back! Wrapped in a brown paper bag. ♥

Pearl Two

Speaking of ice cream, in the last few days I’ve struggled with, “oh, a bowl of ice cream sounds good right now.” (Say it in a whiny tone to really immerse yourself in my experience.)

In response to finding that I was looking long and hard at the freezer door, (yes, it happens). I realized that I needed a new reframe asap. One day it just magically appeared. I know where milk comes from, but when I said to myself that milk and all milk-products – ahem, ice cream? – are meant to fatten baby cows, now you’ve got my attention.

I love baby cows. I just don’t want to look like one.

Been using it all week: works like a charm. ♥

Pearl Three

The upkeep on this 59-year-old body is getting kind of pricey. Either that or I’m falling apart faster than everyone else. Yesterday I went to an ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor), but before they’d do my audio test, they had to first clean out my ears. Which sounds gross, but apparently everyone needs their ears cleaned.

It was scary when the doctor started sticking things into my ear, but happily no pain. So, guess who needs hearing aids? No surprise there, my hearing has nosedived over the last two years. I’m so tired of saying, “excuse me, can you repeat?” all of the time.

I have to keep reminding myself, “We are not our bodies. We have a body” and we need to take care of her.   

As you go forward remember: never starve your body. Don’t call yourself mean names. And don’t put off the important health appointments (she writes as she puts off her mammogram and colonoscopy.). ♥

Pearl Four

All the Broken Places by John Boyne (love this author) details the lives of a mother and older daughter, Gretel, fleeing Germany immediately after WW2 ended.

The high-ranking SS husband/father has already been hanged.

In the beginning, we meet Gretel at the age of 91 living in a tony end of London in current times. In a parallel story we see a young Gretel who at aged 20 is trying to come to terms with feeling complicit in the war crimes. While her mother seems to have learned nothing, Gretel was waking up to the horror that, was their lives.

This is the same author who wrote, Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Perfect book-dessert. This is an amazing writer not to be missed. ♥

Pearl Five

“The most common approach is very seldom the most effective and most efficient.” Tim Ferriss ♥

If you missed last week’s post it’s right here. And I’d love a follow on Instagram and Facebook.

♥, 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!

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

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. ♥

Art flourishes when we live out of the box.

Hello Thrivers!

Let’s jump right in!

Pearl One

Every year my town center displays the most beautiful Christmas tree I’ve ever seen. It’ s made from various-sized, all white-lit globes with the largest globes sitting at the bottom, getting smaller as they ascend into a traditional shape.

It’s a work of art. Every year I’m surprised to see the tree because — in my mind — a bureaucracy is about long lines, initialing twenty-thousand forms and hearing, “we don’t do it like that. Next!”

But turns out, my assumptions about government weren’t keeping with the times. I forgot to factor in the baby boomers who’ve – in my town’s case – installed wondrous and/or super cool art in all five parks. These are some forward thinking people. And I know that other towns and cities are going all-in on art too.

Photo courtesy City of Suwanee

Why Group-Think is a Liability

I don’t know how I knew, but something inside told me that (in this case)the herd was wrong; a slow weight loss – a pound here, half a pound there — took me to my preferred weight. Keep in mind that I only weighed myself when I had the boys at the pediatrician’s office.

Otherwise, I put my scale away and focused only on building strong habits.

Funny enough as you begin to notice more of our culture’s “truths” about weight loss and develop your own, the quicker you’ll actually lose weight.

Keep your eyes peeled for the automatic assumptions that are rife in the weight loss culture. ♥

(p.s. I know that many, many women love decorating their Christmas tree creating their own works of art. I was using the white tree as an example.)

Pearl Two

To engage with your unconscious, journal-write to these questions:

• what do I automatically think when I hear, “tiny wins really do add up?”

• How can I break though this vintage thinking and give “lose slow” a try?

• What worries me about thinking differently about weight loss?

• Has the herd’s understanding of weight loss impacted my success?

• What are my automatic assumptions around weight loss? (You may need to journal-write to this question a lot: it’s hard to see our assumptions.)

• How can I reframe old assumptions into fresh and new thoughts and habits.

Consider that the “experts” in weight loss don’t really know why one woman is 20-, 60-, or 400-pounds over a healthy weight. (Although they’re certainly trying.)

You know how some people are the “but why” folks? And no matter the situation they’re usually playing devil’s advocate?

Well, you and I need a bit of their fairy-dust starting with: weight loss only works with a scale and at a fast clip loss.

A great example of vintage thinking. ♥

Pearl Three

I’m keeping pearl three for something fun that I want to share

Have you heard of a “food-puzzle” for cats? Omg, I love the food puzzles!

Max is – let’s just say – well-insulated. The vet gets on my case about his weight every time.

We use two food-puzzles: a puzzle-ball that Max rolls around to get food to appear.

He also has what they call a Tower food-puzzle which Max loves too. Like the ball-puzzle it slows down his eating. ♥

Pearl Four

Pearl four is where I share phenomenal finds to keep book-dessert present and vibrant in your life

I know that I’m probably one of the last on the planet to read this marvel of a book, but I finally got to The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This book spent ten years on the New York Times best seller list who called the book, “brilliant. . . it can be the type of book that’s life-changing.”

It’s set in 1939 and we meet a very poor German family. I tried to skim-read the conclusion so that I could recommend all of it to you, but every time I tried skim-reading, the book wouldn’t let me. I kept getting drawn into the story.

If you love historical fiction, you’re probably already read this book. But if Nazis and concentration camps upset you, there’s not a lot of typical Nazi stuff here. The relationship of the characters with each other makes it work so well.

Loved this book. Total Book-Dessert. ♥

Pearl Five

There was a calling to my life and I responded to the call.” — Oprah ♥

If you missed last week’s post it’s here.

If you have family and friends who might like the Inspired Eater, it would be wonderful if you’d send them my way.

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone!

♥, 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!

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

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. ♥

Our habits are so valuable they’re like jewels

Pearl One

Hello fellow thrivers!

Several thrivers have let me know that they’re at their preferred weight and now what?

Well, in the bad old days, our default would’ve been, “I’ve lost all my weight! I’m officially off the diet! Bring on the weekend’s pizza and beer party!!”

But in 2024 we know better; because there is nothing “to go on” or “off.”

This is the moment when I stay super real with you: maintenance/preservation for me means checking my scale in the mornings to see if I’m staying within the four-pound window I’d set for myself when I first started preserving.

I had a friend who would stay on the WW’s points plan during the week, but allowed herself “to pig out” as she put it, on Saturday night. Her thinking was black and white.

But in our new default; there’s no “good” or “bad.”

There’re just choices: some better than others.

Here’s what I put into place for my first ten years of preserving:

First

Choose a four-pound weight-window that feels comfortable to you. Weight naturally fluctuates so be kind to yourself when you pick your range.

Second

Work with yourself gently, but consistently to breathe in about eight times a day: “I’m at my preferred weight and it’s okay. I can do this.”

Here the prefrontal part of your brain is soothing your inner cavewoman. You’re overcoming many years of unconsciously and consciously thinking, “I’ll always be fat and ugly.” So, breathe in: “I feel really comfortable at my new weight” often. I can’t underline this step enough.

Three

Habits are like precious jewels: lose one and it may be lost forever. You wouldn’t toss a ruby or emerald into the bushes. Revere your habits, they are valuable.

No matter what, don’t say to yourself, “oh, just this once.” “Just this once I’ll throw this diamond, it’ll be fine.” Cherish and keep your habits safe.

I learned this the hard way when I lost my giant-salad-for-lunch habit because of my new braces. It’s been difficult getting that salad-habit back in place. (I’m working on it, I’ll get there.)

Four

Make peace with the truism that staying on your eating plan is how a forever-loss works. When I first started maintenance there was no way I’d let myself (my cavewoman) ruin all my hard work (prefrontal). So, I stayed on my eating plan and just deviated a bit here and a skosh there.

Make your new mantra, “a bit here and a skosh there.”

Small bites work.

Of course today I wouldn’t eat a skosh when in a Mexican restaurant, but I’d take half of my Mexican plate home in a doggie-box. Re: the chips. I literally eat five or six. My habits are strong enough to eat only half of the meal, to eat just a few chips. If there are certain foods that you’ve learned trigger you to overeat, steer clear. Even in preservation-mode: steer clear.

I’ll write more about preserving/maintaining. These are the four pillars that I’d journal write about. Explore your feelings, thoughts and assumptions around these four ideas for preserving. And congratulations!! ♥

Pearl Two

As I head into my eighteenth year of preserving my loss, I should tell you that I talk to myself all day and evening long.

Drench yourself in these powerful thoughts.

“This time I’m protecting and preserving my loss.”

“Oh, hell no! I won’t eat so much that I’m outside of my weight-window.”

“Do I want those cookies or do I want to fit into a size-eight jeans?”

“Food is not my entertainment.”

“Great food choice!! “(When I choose smart food.)

“No ma’am, that food is not for us.” 

And of course, “a bit here and a skosh there.”

I love in Miley Cyrus’s song Flowers she has a line, “talk to myself for hours, say things you don’t understand.”

See? Talking to yourself is super power! ♥

Pearl Three

I’d love your input. And that’s not just blog-talk; I’m actually wondering how I should go forward. It appears as if Oprah and WW are cutting ties because she said in a People Magazine interview that the new “diet drugs” are good for maintenance. I guess that didn’t go over so well with WW.

It’s my thought that the new meds treat the symptom and not the cause. But I know how much we want to be slim, and I wouldn’t blame anyone wanting to give the med a try (to be clear, I’m not recommending meds). I mean, back in the day at my heaviest, I’d have taken out a small loan to try these new weight loss meds. (That said, I’ve of some really awful side effects, so proceed with caution.)

I’d love to hear what you think: in the comments below or to Wendy@theInspiredeater.com. And thank you! ♥

Pearl Four

I don’t mean to brag, but I’m getting much better at finding a rock-star book to recommend. Today’s beauty of a book is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. I’d seen Yellowface on lists and Goodreads etc, but for some reason I thought it was sweeping epic type book.

Boy, was I wrong. I opened Yellowface, and was immediately pulled into the story. Two women go to Yale and both exit college planning to create a huge earthquake of an appearance into the literary world. One soars to the stars and lands on the best-seller lists, is showered with awards, Netflix deals and money. The other one tanks. The tank is jealous of the star and the story proceeds from there. Super good, you have to read it.

Yet another exceptional book worthy of book-dessert status. ♥

Pearl Five

Patience is waiting. Not passive waiting. That’s laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow — that is patience.” — Leo Tolstoy ♥

If you missed last week’s post it’s right here. And I’d love a follow on Instagram and Facebook.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

♥, 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!

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

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. ♥

We customize our lips: I wear a pink lip. You’ve always looked awesome in red.

Hello Thrivers!

I emailed a friend, “I’m pet sitting alone this weekend (two darling snickerdoodles).

She wrote back, “ALONE?!! Heaven, pure heaven.”

She gets it. (Most of us do.) ♥

Pearl One

I love my eating plan, but it’s different from the one you prefer.

I count old – I mean, really old — WW points, you count calories.

I journal-write on my laptop. Others swear that handwriting is far superior.

My triggers are cake or ice cream. Yours is chips and crackers.

I’m a library-fanatic. You love to buy books, underline your favorite passages, and keep your friends on the nearest shelf.

I light up when my smart-list reminds me that I have (homemade) whole-wheat banana muffins in the fridge. You’d rather have a cup of yogurt (especially sprinkled with a bit of Grape-Nuts for crunch).

Podcasts energize me. Podcasts put you to sleep.

I’m an early bird. You get the most done at night.

One size does not fit all. Make smart choices as you tweak your smart eating plan to make it better for your lifestyle. ♥

Pearl Two

I found the day-in and day-out, the decade-in and decade-out of being heavy to be seriously no fun. When I’d go to any event – like a day at the beach or a night of fireworks – I was focused the entire time on my jeans cutting me in half, and planning (silently in my mind) how I’d start a new diet on Monday; the second I got home, I peeled those jeans off and climbed into comfy jam-jams.

There was another part of being heavy that I detested; I showed up at every event or activity actually hungry or on the precipice of hunger.

I didn’t know about Eating Before You Eat. I thought that sticking to my eating plan meant being really hungry.

I hadn’t learned to pack my cold-tote and take it with me everywhere; I didn’t yet have the habit of always keeping a Cliff bar in my purse.

It didn’t occur to me that arriving somewhere hungry would wake up my cave woman who’d take immediate control and begin her search for the highest calories around.

I didn’t see the connect between hunger and a natural drive not to look for an apple, but to head for whatever “full-bodied” dessert I could get my hands on.

Nobody told me that – when away from home — a banana can fix everything. ♥

Pearl Three

Pearl Three’s topic of the month: revisiting Atomic Habits by James Clear

James writes in chapter two’s summary,

“There are three levels of change: outcome, changes, process change, and identity change. (Our goal is identity change. ‘I’m not a donut-eater. Even one leads to four.’)

The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achiever, but on who you wish to become. (‘I’m not someone who eats random food, I much prefer the smart food in my cold-tote.”)

Your identity emerges out of your habits. Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. (I know that every time I dive into my cold-tote, I’m reinforcing the behavior.’)

Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity. (‘I don’t even look twice at fast-food when I’m running errands, my cold-tote is becoming my best pal.’)

The real reason habits matter is not because they can get you better results (although they can do that), but because they can change your beliefs about yourself.” (‘Holy cow! I AM a person who uses her cold-tote for my highest good!’) ♥

Pearl Four

I love memoirs. I could joke and claim to be nosy, but reading memoirs really drives it home that I’m not alone in life with struggles, diagnoses, embarrassing moments, difficult family members and so on. And I love reading about how the hero or heroine triumphs in the end.

I came close to not sharing this book because it’s an extreme version of someone’s life.

It’s about a psycho stage mom in Southern California who made Gypsy Rose Lee’s mother look like Mrs. Brady. The mother turns our heroine into a Nickelodeon kid-star thereby ruining her daughter’s childhood. Jeanette spent her formative years making bucks and working like an adult on iCarly and Sam and Cat. (If you hadn’t heard of the shows, neither had I.)

The title – I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy – sounds awful (or like parody), but when you read her story the title will make sense.

My review: a super absorbing read and once I was three or four chapters in, I put everything aside to finish this book. (Other favorite memoirs: Kevin Hart’s, Linda Ronstadt’s, Gabrielle Union’s, and Can’t Hurt Me, just for starters.) ♥

Pearl Five

“You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way as you select you clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That’s the only thing you should be trying to control” — Elizabeth Gilbert ♥

If you haven’t yet read Aunt Bea, just shoot me an email: Wendy@WendyIrvineWriter.com! 🙂

♥, 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!

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

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. ♥

Okay, I’m down to the wire. If anyone tells you that writing a book is a breeze, they’re off their rocker.

So Easter is Sunday and my boys’ birthday is Monday. My minimalist-hairy man wants nothing, my the-more-the-better kid wants the birthday hoedowns that I produced when they were kids. Sheesh. ♥
 

Pearl One

It’s 1923, your family lives in New Mexico, and there’s no money for anything but food. Your mother has tasked you with cleaning the dirt-floor.

You use the broom, but couldn’t get it as clean as you wanted, so you pick up floor-clutter by hand.

Now it’s 2023 and you’ve tasked yourself with cleaning the floor.  If you’re one of the fortunate, you remind yourself that the cleaning crew arrives tomorrow.

Not that fortunate to have a house cleaner? Well, maybe you’re lucky enough to own a Roomba so you switch it on and let the darling go to work.

But, fresh out of cleaning crews or Roombas, you do have a wondrous cutting-edge vacuum cleaner. You turn that baby on and roar through each room leaving clean floors in your wake.

The right tools matter.

Attempting to lose weight – and protect your loss – after age 50 requires the right tools. You’re not part of a poor family living in a dirt house.You have the money to buy a cold-tote, amazing book-desserts, smart food that you love, beautiful measuring cups and spoons, gorgeous tableware (found for a song at a thrift store), new muffin pans if you need them and so on and so forth.

This is not the time to be stingy with yourself. Get the tools you need for this rigorous trek we’re making up the Matterhorn. ♥

Pearl Two  

It’s my belief that we live in the loneliest time in history. Not so long ago, we lived in groups. Human beings weren’t built to be loners living in cabins deep in the woods.

Today’s version of “a cabin deep in the woods”, is not leaving the house, Netflixing for hours, and making constant trips to the kitchen. I mean, we have friends. On Facebook. We stay engaged with life. On Instagram. We get amazing advice from others. Podcasts.

They’re calling it the Loneliness Pandemic and it was alive and well in our world long before Covid. Here’s my take: it wasn’t so long ago that we lived in tight knit groups like villages, and before villages, we lived within a band of cave people working together to stay safe and find food.

For all of the downsides of caveman-life, the upside was belonging.

The phenomenon of “it takes a village” came so clearly to me when my parents were first moving into their assisted living home.

As they were moving my dad in text said to me, “We come from a generation that try our best not to rely or depend on our kids or interfere with their lives as we grow older.”

I responded, “yeah, but think about it. All ages once lived together: grandparents, moms, dad, kids, babies. And everyone worked together. Maybe not your generation but the gazillions that came before your group.”

At the time my sister and aunt were working hard to help my parents and I was trying to point out that family helps family without saying, “Stop being so proud and take the help!”

But – per usual – I agree with me. Our culture is lonely. That elderly man on Monday who wanted to chat about cantaloupe at the grocery store? He lives alone and hadn’t spoken with anyone all weekend.

The 50-something year old woman who shows up at the dog park every day like clockwork? The outing with her dog is the one time she sits down and has long chats with anyone IRL.

And from long ago, I remember Lucille Ball talking about being on a plane and looking down at the zillion of tiny homes below thinking, “Any one of those houses would welcome me in with a red carpet, and yet – I’m paraphrasing – “I don’t have one person who really knows me to go home to.”

So, you know how I recently wrote about the Perfect Storm of Weight Gain being the result of a food-porn culture, the powerful diet-cartel, along with our own wobbly self-esteem? Well, we can add a fourth storm to the mix: the age of loneliness in which we currently find ourselves.

This is my point: we buy the coolest looking car, purchase a gorgeous home that sits on a hill, pack our wardrobes in the prettiest of clothes and we still know exactly what Lucille Ball was talking about.

I’m not suggesting that if you take your therapy dog into the children’s home every week your eating and weight problems will dissolve. You’ll never hear this sort of thing from me.

That said, if we’re feeling crushed under the tonnage of loneliness the brownie fudge ice cream in the freezer will continue to call our name every evening.

Consciously write in your journal about how you’ll begin — in detail — to make it a habit to increase how deeply and often you engage with others. ♥

Pearl Three

In April we’ll take a deep dive into Atomic Habits by Mr. James Clear. Today we’re looking at – one of my favorites because duh — The Law of Least Effort.

James Clear writes, “Energy is precious, and the brain is wired to conserve it whenever possible. It is human nature to follow the Law of Least Effort, which states that when deciding between two similar options, people will naturally gravitate toward the option that requires the least amount of work.*  Out of all the possible actions we could take, the one that is realized is the one that delivers the most value for the least effort. We are motivated to do what is easy.

*James says in the asterisk, “This is a foundational principle in physics, where it is known as the Principle of Least Action. It states that the path followed between any two points will always be the path requiring the least energy. This simple principle underpins the laws of the universe.”

My point: if you bring home the Ho-Hos and place them in an easy-to-reach cupboard, the principle of Least Action tells us that no doubt what you’ll do next.

However, when the Ho-Hos first hop into your grocery cart, just throw them like a major league pitcher back onto the shelf, and then the Ho-Hos won’t make it into your home.

Because you have no intention of driving to the store to hunt down the Ho-Hos, you end up having the cut strawberries — already in the fridge — with a whipped cream hat for dessert,

You see, the Law of Least Effort loves us and wants us to be happy. ♥

Pearl Four

They say that this woman was a badass, but the word barely touches who Virginia Hill was to the world.

Her story, A Woman of No Importance the Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell left me absolutely floored.

This book falls into the historical non-fiction genre and the author knocks it out of the park having researched and written the book in such a way that you can almost feel the Gestapo just steps behind Virginia as she flees France.

Due to this book I will never again say, “but I caaaaaan’t, my foot hurts” or “I’m too tired to do such-and-such.” Yes, we need to honor the challenges in our own lives, but the woman didn’t even receive certain medals once the war was won. Her opinion was, to paraphrase, “none of us did any of it for medals.”

This book will make you proud to be a woman and bonus: you’ll look at your own problems in a new light. ♥

Pearl Five

“We must remember. There is no easy way.” – Ryan Holiday ♥

Have a wonderful weekend, All!

♥, 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!

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

This breathtaking wreath is from the 5-star Etsy shop called TwoInpsireYou.

Hello Thrivers,

First, have you read the Aunt Bea booklet? You’ll find her to your right in the box under my circle bio. She should land in your email, but sometimes she prefers spam. If you lost her, just say: Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com and I’ll shoot her right over!

I hope these pearls find you immersed in beautiful spring weather.

Pearl One

May I talk you down from the Easter candy?

Only if it makes good sense?

Got it.

One of the ways those of us addicted to chocolate cake con ourselves into overeating is by claiming the holiday presents a “once a year” experience.

Thing is, we have access to Easter candy year-round. Here’s what I mean.

This is new in our lifetime, but the candy giants mold grocery store candy into adorable shapes at every holiday. For example, Reese’s Pieces (Easter Eggs Mini Carton), Twizzlers (small red bunnies), Butterfingers (Nesteggs), Starburst (jelly beans), Tootsie Roll (eggs), and so forth. Nothing new.

Same flavor all year long but now Easter-shaped (soon to be Halloween-, December-, and Valentine-shaped too).

So, don’t let you deceive you!! Throughout the holiday weekend continue to ask yourself: do I want to be a size 10 or do I want to inhale calories all weekend? Keep this question handy; it will always have your back.

A tip for this beautiful holiday. There’s more to Easter than eating. There are stunning floral displays (both nature and woman-created) to behold; there’s squealing children to squeal with (not to mention too-cool-for-school teens who stash their attitudes for the day to hunt Easter eggs; some maybe filled with cash); and there are church services to attend. However you celebrate the holiday, stuffing ourselves has nothing to do with honoring this special weekend.

One more tip for the next three days: ask yourself how you want to feel come Monday morning. Do you want Monday-you to bound out of bed having eaten well and worked out? Or. . . do you want Monday-you slightly peeved?

It’s our choice. Join me in doing the former. ♥

Pearl Two

I hear you. This pearl has nothing to do with weight loss. And yet, it sooo does, here’s why.

I’m the last to say that being happy is the magical elixir that sees the weight falling off. Forever, I’ve had ecstatic experiences in life, but have never lost weight because of it.hat said, it’s somewhat easier to lose if we’re, in fact, feeling pretty good about life.

Here’s one way that more than fills my happy cup: TrustedHouseSitters.com.

Want to travel but the hotel prices are – cough-cough-choke – way outside your survival zone (hmmm, healthcare for the year or a night at the Hyatt?), then take a look at this beautiful deal.

(Note: I’ve written about these guys before, but I’ll always put the word out before summer especially.)

Here’s how it works.

1 – To begin, this is not a “swap houses deal.” You don’t swap anything.

2 – Go to the TrustedHouseSitters.com site and click “find a house sit.” When it asks “where do you want to go?” just type in the city, state or country you want to visit. The site is headquartered in England, but has housesitting opportunities – mainly pet sitting opportunities – all over the world.

Take Paris, France. Let’s say that a Paris apartment-dweller needs someone to care for her kitty for a month when she goes to Italy, so you send her your House Sitter profile detailing how wonderful you are, and our Paris apartment dweller and you connect through email, the phone, maybe a Zoom call and so forth.

She needs to assure herself you’re wonderful, and you have to make sure that when she says “cats” she doesn’t mean 17.

The Paris apartment dweller gets free babysitting for her kitties, and you get to stay for free in the dweller’s apartment for as long as she’s gone.

Isn’t that brilliant?! As I type there are five active opportunities in Hawaii. Several in Honolulu. One on Hilo and so forth. There are several more housesitting opportunities in Hawaii without hard dates because the various home owners want to get to know you before they commit to travel.

3 – I pet sat for a family in Virginia going through TrustedHouseSitters and it was one of the best experiences of my life. So, so, fun. I stayed in a gorgeous five bedroom/four bath home for free and I had two darling dogs and two kitties to keep me company. I loved it.

So, if you want to travel without demolishing your bank account, you might give Trusted House Sitters a go! ♥

Pearl Three

In April we’re talking: “Let’s live differently!” And of course nothing good or great can happen until we first learn to think differently.

Have you heard about skinny-fat people? Welp, I’m pretty sure that’s me. I definitely have the losing weight and maintenance part down.

But I’m not exactly fit, I’m thin. To look at me, you’d think oh, she’s healthy. But inside you’d find that I’m a like a marshmallow that’s been roasted over the fire for s’mores. All mushy and dripping goo.

So here’s my latest fitness attempt: I’m trying HIIT. If I understand the HIIT program correctly – and that’s up for debate – I’m supposed to work out three days a week on my indoor bike. The idea is that I should ride about a minute to warm-up and then ride moderately (level five) for 20 to 30 minutes only interrupted by “riding up a hill” when I push the levels up to a nine for 20 seconds.

I’m supposed to “ride uphill” three different times.

Here’s why my attention was grabbed. By the time my twins were three-years-old I had the best arm muscles of my life. I’m not kidding, Thrivers, they were something.

And it’s not like I lifted the babies as you would a dumbbell. I never pumped the babies up and down and up and down for thirty reps.

Do you see my point? I’d pick one baby up and put him in his highchair, bath, crib, or whatever. All day long.

So the idea of moderate, moderate, HARD!! moderate, moderate, HARD!! speaks to me. Read more about HIIT here.

And if you’re sold on the HIIT program, I hope you’ll share in the comment section below. I believe so strongly in supporting each other as we trek losing after 50. ♥

Pearl Four

Our food slot! Over the last few years I’ve learned to talk to myself rather than listen to the perpetually frightened cave woman inside me.

Which brings me to “fuel-food.” It took time – everything of value does – but I slowly embedded into my thinking that 95 percent of the time the food I eat needs to be real food and not s’mores, Easter candy, or ice cream. (Or even wacko amounts of real food like lasagna, pizza, or enchiladas.)

You and I both know the difference between “fun-food” and “fuel-food” Ask yourself this question two or three time a day: am I pursuing fuel for my body or fun for my mouth? ♥

Pearl Five

To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” 17th century French author François de Rochefoucald ♥

The challenge for the holiday weekend: stick to your Smart Eating Path and get in a solid thirty minute walk, bike ride, run or whatever most calls to you.

Here’s my fitness plan:

• Today, 4-15 – I’m riding my indoor bike using the HIIT plan. Total: Twenty minutes.

• Saturday, 4-16 – I’m riding outside on my recumbent trike. Total: Likely about an hour.

• Sunday, 4-15 – I’m taking a long walk. (Thirty to forty minutes.)

Like most of us, I get bored easily so doing different work outs each day really makes a difference. Also, if you’re wondering, I lift arm weights and do stomach work each day on my bedroom floor.

Have a wonderful weekend, Thrivers!!

Make it a sweaty one!!

♥, 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!

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

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. ♥