Beautiful holiday dress and photo by Amordress.

We made it to Friday!! Go us!

Pearl One

Once Upon a Time the powers-that-be thought they knew the truth. (It would be a cool story, if people hadn’t actually died.)

Our “Happy Ending” begins.

Do you remember when ulcers were thought to be caused by stress? It was a common refrain, “I’m so stressed I’ll end up with an ulcer.” But then in the early 80’s two Australian doctors traced ulcers to a bacteria.

They discovered that ulcers were a simple infection; easily cured with antibiotics.

Did the medical world throw confetti and party-hardy?

Nope.

The experts completely dismissed the young doctors’ discovery for about a decade. Finally in ’91 the medical world conceded, and eventually the Australian docs shared the 2005 Medical Nobel Prize. See? An all is well, ending.

My point:  nobody believes me when I tell them about a vital skill that I learned as I was losing weight with a forever-mindset.

Intermittent-maintenance.

As I lost weight slow as molasses while plateauing several times, I’d tell myself at each plateau that I was “holding.” I’d remind me that my body needed time to adjust to its new weight. My plan was simple: don’t wake the cave woman brain that assumes a quick drop in weight means that starvation is around the corner.

The slower we lose — with plenty of breaks for plateaus — the deeper our cave woman snoozes in her cave unaware of our ultimate plan.

We’ve proved through the decades that losing weight quickly, is a disaster, so instead I tried the opposite and lost slow as a sloth.

It worked.

Join me in believing the truth behind a forever-weight loss. ♥

Pearl Two

You know the most annoying part of losing after fifty? Losing a lot of weight only to have my tummy go all pot belly on me.

Here are the pot belly fixes I’ve considered:

CoolSculpting. I thought long and hard on this idea until a super model popped out of the woodwork to sue someone for her CoolSculpted face that she didn’t want to show in public. My review: Not enough research on this one, so no.

The Mommy Tuck. My cupcakes don’t really need work, but I sure could use a tummy tuck. Thing is, anesthesia is no joke. Like most of us, I’ve had major surgery but for serious problems none of which included snipping off my kangaroo pouch. Not to mention the money!! Review: No again.

Tummy spot exercises. Everyone seems to agree that spot exercises aren’t a thing. Also one can do 300 sit-ups a day, but if loose fat continues to embrace the stomach muscles, the muscles won’t show. Review: Phew, I didn’t want to do 300 sit-ups a day anyhow.

Spanx. Review: yes.

Peplum. Whether we’re talking cute tops or bathing suits anything peplum is a life-long friend to a pot belly. Review: truly stylish.

Camouflage, no, not that kind of camo. I don’t have a fancy life, but if I did, this is how I’d camo my tum: I’d paire a tulle skirt with a fun tee and statement earrings to draw the eye up. Review: creativity brings camo to life.

Embrace age. One of the best parts of being not 22, is that you and I largely don’t give a hoot what someone thinks or doesn’t think about our tums. Review: A keeper.

My babies. When I’d lost the 55 lbs. I looked down and thought, why do I still look like I’m carrying twins? Over time, I came to think of my pouch as a leftover souvenir from my darling boys. My kids are in college now, but I’ve trained myself to see my tum and remember my darling babies.

Review: best thing that ever happened to me. ♥

Pearl Three

The Self-Sabotage Department.

Truth be told, I procrastinate. I’ve often assumed that procrastination might be part of the human experience because so many of us do it.

But then I began family travel writing.

I never procrastinated writing my travel articles. Why? Because I knew first-hand what it’s like being a traveler with very little money, and not having a clue about how to approach a region.

And kids along for the trip meant the stakes were super high. Traveling parents have a limited amount of money, time and energy. Friends would ask, “Do you procrastinate writing the articles?” I’d answer emphatically, “No, I care about the parents too much.”

I wanted to tell parents everything they’d need to know to have a wonderful family travel experience. No way would I procrastinate when it came to families making memories.

And that’s when it hit me: I don’t procrastinate when I genuinely care.

Interesting, right?

These days I’m taking a hard look at how I handle my life: do I create Christmas-fun well in advance (freeze sugar cookies, buy presents early etc.) so that I’m not running around crazed trying to get everything done in the same week? Do I let my hair get pretty shaggy and then call my stylist at the last second hoping she can squeeze me in?

Yes, to both.

Bottom line: I procrastinate big-time when it comes to myself. And I’m betting you do too. We give and give and give, and then attempt to soothe ourselves with food.

Why not put ourselves at the top of the list for a day, a week, or a month? Let’s show ourselves what we can do when we care about our own needs and wants. ♥

Pearl Four

I’m a huge fan of sweet potatoes. I clean a medium-sized sweet potato, place it on a paper towel, pierce it with a fork several times, and nuke it the microwave for two minutes (maybe more) on each side. Yum.

I add olive oil and black pepper. Or a few baby marshmallows and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Yum again. ♥

Pearl Five

“Seeing Is believing, but, sometimes, the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.” — Conductor, The Polar Express ♥

Love to you and yours including, of course, the fur-darlings!

♥, 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. ♥

You see the problem.

Happy Friday! We have a lot of new people, so consider some pearls to be an awesome refresher. 🙂 And don’t miss Pearl Four. Yum-city.

Pearl One

What if everything happens for us (rather than to us)?

Kind of a mind-blower, right?

I keep this jewel of a question in mind when facing the difficulties we all stumble through in life. I try to remember to ask myself: what if a, b, or c is really a lesson wrapped in annoying, time consuming, or tragic circumstances?

I’ve used this question for so long, I’ve forgot who first said it. I googled and, turns out, Tony Robbins. (Shocker.)

As an example, let’s take how successful I am at maintaining a regular workout routine. Which, of course, is not at all.

I once developed a strong habit for over two years taking yoga and mat Pilates classes every week. Then the owner moved her business and my good habit tanked.

Now’s the time I need to ask myself: what if my reluctance to workout has something to teach me? Sadly, I’m big on excuses. My favorite: I can’t do regular yoga/Pilates classes. Too pricey!

Generally, the problem we start with – being unable to maintain a workout schedule – is really an emotional wound that needs our attention.

Take a few moments to journal about your current circumstances and how you respond to them. You’ll be amazed at all that your unconscious produces. (She loves to be listened to too.) ♥

Pearl Two

Live the holidays for January-You.

You know I’m big on setting future-me up for success. Let’s take the Christmas holiday as an example. About a week or more ahead of time I’ll journal from the perspective of January-first-me writing a letter to current me (btw, this works on any holiday).

I imagine January-first-me will be stunned, but then ecstatic that I didn’t overindulge all of December.

January-first-me is likely incredulous that I maintained my workout schedule along with taking a pass when the family’s cinnamon roll-extravaganza commenced.

I journal in detail. I ask myself: How will I navigate early, mid-, and late-December? Not to mention the Big Day of? I’ll write about the special foods I’ll buy and hide in the fridge, I might even use micro-rewards to keep me on the straight-and-narrow.

There’s no doubt that it’s a skill: staying present in the fullness of the holiday-moment while at the same time staying true-blue for January-first-me. But that’s the thing, our amazing brains can absolutely track both.

Show yourself what you can do this holiday season. ♥

Pearl Three

The Self-Sabotage Department. Let’s see, there’s so much to choose from. Here goes: I’m at my best in the mornings so I keep my schedule totally open until noon so I can write (alone).

Problem is, I sabotage myself by frittering away my most energetic hours. I write on my laptop that — of course — has access to the internet. I allow myself to be lured into checking the weather, “talking” to people on a great forum, googling my symptoms to see what disease I might have, and so forth.

Habituating my brain to only writing in the morning is my aim. Sixty-six days is the amount of time needed to embed a habit. Tomorrow is day one. Wish me luck. (A year later I can report that I feel much more in control of my mornings and keeping them for writing only.) ♥

Pearl Four

The best part of the holiday? I mean, eggnog, right? And do I have an awesome product to share with you.

First, a funny eggnog story. I once heard about an office Christmas party that had a huge spread of food with an eggnog fountain as the centerpiece.

An eggnog fountain where eggnog fell onto vanilla ice cream. At the bottom of the fountain guests ladled the yum into their party mugs.

Yeah, the days of going hog-wild on the high fat and calories of eggnog are in my last lifetime. But I found an awesome work-around. Today, thanks to the various brands of faux “milks” on the market – almond, oat, coconut, soy – the same companies are also producing fake eggnog. The delicious faux-eggnogs appear in the refrigerator section of Kroger, Trader Joe’s, Publix and Whole Foods every November.

The faux-eggnog calories are ridiculously low making them an incredible addition to your holiday season. I wrote about the various eggnogs and seasonal drinks last year here: Ultimate Guide to my Favorite Holiday Drinks (hold the sky high calories).

Please run, don’t walk: These egg nogs are popular, so you might want to skedaddle. ♥

Pearl Five

What seems like the right thing to do can also be the hardest thing.” ♥

As we head into the season of a-lot-of-food, I hope you’ll go easy on yourself. Meaning that maintaining throughout November and December is the kindest thing you can do for your mental health. Telling yourself that you “have to” lose during the holidays is mean. Work on maintaining your smart habits and finding ways in the season that touch your heart, and are also calorie-free.

Hugs,

♥, 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). 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. 🙂

Gorgeous dress and photo by Art4Apparel

Pearl One

Are you okay with being different? I sure wasn’t. We moved enough when I was young, and I was terrible at being the new girl in class. Breaking into cliques wasn’t my forte, so I’ve found myself with a lifelong feeling of wanting to blend in.

But the way I see it, we’re the first generation of women over 50 who are taking our food-porn culture by the scruff and telling it, “You’ve done enough damage, we’re taking back our health one smart, ingrained habit at a time.”

Thing is, you have to make peace with being different.

• Different is telling an eating-buddy that you can’t meet her anymore at the cute bakery because you know you’ll overeat the “muffins” (basically cupcakes minus the frosting) in the glass case.

• Different is putting your foot down when someone tries to schedule an activity during the day, time you’ve set aside for your Pilates class.

• Different is asking the server “too many” questions about the ingredients in food at the restaurant and getting the side-eye from your partner.

I’ll say it again: we are the first generation of over 50s who can – and are – taking ownership of our health and our bodies. We determine our weight-fate, not Ben & Jerry’s.

And this requires swimming against the tide.

We can learn to navigate our culture’s gazillion calories, but it’s very unfamiliar territory. It requires entirely new ways of interacting with food, new ways of eating with friends and family, and new habits to establish.

There’s nothing special about me. If I can do this, you can too. ♥

Pearl Two

Do you take notes on your experience as you lose?

I’m not suggesting this lightly. I’m serious. This technique is awesome. Just a paragraph, three or four times a week will do it.

See a person in your mind’s eye as you write and tell her or him how losing after 50 can be done:

• What has been the most helpful to you as you lose: The kids being away at college so there’s less junk food in the kitchen? Your husband behind you one hundred percent because he wants to create a healthier lifestyle for you both too? That kind of thing.
• What structured eating plan are you using? Why do you like it?
• How much money are you saving by not buying junk- and fast-food?
• What has been the hardest part of losing (give several examples)?
• What scares you about losing after 50? Am I wasting my time? Will I be disappointed again?
• How are you navigating the naysayers?
• What have you substituted for desserts in the evenings?
• How do you rid your kitchen, car or cubicle of “trigger” food?
• What progress have you made that you’re most proud of?

As you lose and change your thinking around food in our culture, take notes. One day, someone you love will blurt, “You’ve lost so much weight. I can’t have surgery until I lose 30.  Please tell me how you’re doing this!”

And you’ll respond, “Give me a second while I print out my notes.” ♥

Pearl Three

I wouldn’t leave the house without my purse and phone, and I never leave the house without food either.

If I’m planning to be out for a while I bring my cold bag with an ice pack and fill it with half an apple, a baggie of petite carrots, a baggie of chopped, cooked broccoli that I eat cold, and a cup of Chobani yogurt.

But in an emergency I’ll break the glass and eat half of the Clif Bar that I always keep stashed in my purse. Yes, Clif Bars are big on sugar, but I only eat half which holds me for a good hour or so. If you don’t like Clif Bars, find something that won’t spoil and always keep it handy.

These days I’m good at navigating the food scene, but back when I was losing being very hangry (yes, I said hangry) meant all bets were off.

It’s a vital tool: keep yourself moderately full throughout your day. ♥

Pearl Four

From the self-sabotage department: where great ideas go to die.  

What I heard this week: this is taking too long!!

My push-back voice: I recently read that truly amazing “overnight successes” took five years of solid 24-karat work.

Then I hear: But I’m so tired. Ice cream would really make it better.

My push-back: Go to sleep, you can have ice cream in the morning. (Happily I never want ice cream in the morning.) ♥

Pearl Five

“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.” — Thomas J. Watson ♥

What does your self-sabotage voice say to you? Please share in the comments below. 🙂

Happy middle of October!

♥, 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. ♥

Cupcake-topper witch legs and photo are from SillyLittleSquirrels.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Pearl One

Waiting for my husband in Costco’s food court, I was being nosy checking out each cart as they rolled by.

At first, I was thinking, yum! Wish I was going home with that family. But then a cart went by with a lot of “clean” eating staples like eggs, leafy greens, apples and apples.

That cart got me thinking. We can use Costco in a way that doesn’t support our smart eating path or we can use Costco as yet another tool in our collection to support us in losing after 50.

This is how I use any food store, but I’ll specifically talk Costco here. Before going in, I eat something super filling. Shopping hungry is a dangerous game. Here’s what I typically do at Costco:

• I pretend like the candy and cookie/cake sections simply don’t exist. I never go near them.
• In their freezing cold room I get their bagged kale, baby carrots, and spinach (that I add to my green smoothie).
• In the right seasons I get a lot of fruit. The red grapes are especially good.
• I don’t buy eggs at Costco, but I’ve read that they’re a great deal.
• I often throw coffee and their tasty peanut butter into my cart.
• In the cold case in the middle of the store I buy a bag of frozen blueberries, a bag of frozen strawberries, and a bag of frozen veggies for stir-fry.
• I get their single-serving hummus cups. They come in 24 cute little cups that help me not overeat one of my favorite foods. My son loves them too.
• I haven’t tasted these yet, but I hear they’re good: Garden Lites Spinach & Egg White Frittatas.

In a regular grocery store, I do about the same. I stay out of the middle of the store that’s home to the cookie, chip, cracker and candy aisles.

I’ve always heard that it’s smart to shop around the perimeter of the store and that the overly processed junk food is in the center.

The one thing I do grab which isn’t probably the healthiest is Lean Cuisine cheese pizza but yum.

How my Mom Drew a Red Line for my Dad.

In 1976 when we moved from Reno to a house outside of San Francisco, my mom told my dad, “If you want to smoke, you have to do it outside. No smoking in this house.” The world was just catching on to how dangerous second-hand smoke is to our bodies.

Here we are 45 years later and we haven’t quite made the same leap that excess weight leads to serious health problems too.

If you’re shopping for another adult, take a page from my mom: have a long talk with your adult and stress that you’re shopping for fruits, veggies and the like from now on. Long ago, I told my scarfer-husband that if he wanted junk food, he’d have to shop and buy it for himself (and then hide it from me).

So far, so good.

The Real Takeaway.

Are you a good or a bad witch is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying, are you using your shopping trips to support your smart eating lifestyle? Or do you toss in “escape” food that you’ll inevitably overeat?

When we’re losing after 50, finding escapes that don’t involve calories is one of the secret sauces for success (good TV, great book, awesome music, a sweet animal are all zero-fat and zero-calories).

I encourage you to take a hard look at how you use your food stores. Write about food shopping in your journal and answer these questions:

• What do I do that’s really smart when food shopping. . .
• What could I improve . . .
• My obvious problems with smart-shopping are. . .
• A new habit I can work on adopting for smarter shopping is. . .
• A better way of shopping would be. . .

Losing after 50 is brutal enough, have your own back by embedding brainy shopping habits into your life. ♥

Pearl Two

Brides do it. People in boot camp do it. And parents of babies definitely do it.

It’s called immersion.

Often readers tell me that they “blew” their eating plan because family visited for a long weekend. Or they were on vacation. Or they had to drop their husband at the airport at 0-dark-thirty. There really are decent, perfectly understandable reasons for overeating.

And none of them matter when it comes to our smart eating path.

Immersion happens when we absolutely marinate ourselves in the world of smart eating after 50.

If you continue to attempt losing after 50 halfheartedly, you won’t eventually adopt the necessary habit changes for a successful loss and an even better maintenance.

When I lost my weight, I immersed myself in the world of healthy eating. I stocked the fridge with healthy food that I really like. I didn’t eat in restaurants much. I always had a healthy snack in my purse, a cold bag with food in the car, and plenty of healthy food in the fridge that I could quickly grab and eat.

I immersed myself.

My priorities were: my kids, my husband, our animals and my smart eating path. Nothing else got in the way. Or, I should say, I didn’t let anything else get in the way.

When you’re immersed in a world of smart eating, you can’t “blow” your eating plan. Really. When I overeat junk food I just think: huh, that wasn’t such a great idea. And then I go right back to my smart eating path.

Successful people do not ditch their plan because of a mere donut-frenzy. ♥

Pearl Three

My self-sabotage moments.

It’s too hard. It’s not worth it. It’s driving me crazy. Negative thoughts appear to be just a normal part of being human. And yet some people succeed outside of their wildest dreams. We’re stunned at their success, we wonder how did they pull it off?

My take? Those “lucky” few are able to turn down the volume on their self-sabotaging thoughts and get on with bringing something amazing to life. See Jeff Bezos, JK Rowling, even the Kardashian outfit.

Who would think that selling books online would lead to Amazon? That one book rejected by twelve publishers would become the Harry Potter franchise? Or that a sex tape — of all things — would create multiple gazillionaires in one family?

Turning down the volume on our self-sabotaging thoughts takes us towards our own wildest dreams. ♥

Pearl Four

Broccoli. It’s considered one of the superfoods and I’d always been taught to steam it. Which made it kind of soft and not tasty.

But I heard about searing cut-up broccoli in a pan with a teaspoon of olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. And omg, much, much tastier. Crunchier too.

My new system is to eat a cup of broccoli every day. On busy days I’ll pack the seared broccoli into a baggie and add it to my cold bag that I eat from while doing errands. I eat a lot of veggies waiting at the stop light. (For safety, be careful to eat small bites and chew really well.) ♥

Pearl Five

“What makes your heart smile? Yeah. Do more of that.” – Anonymous

The holiday season is near and personal me-time tends to disappear from the to-do list. Fight the full plate. Establish routines now that will support you when the world goes a little crazy in November and December. 🙂

My heart smiles for animals, good books, a clean car, a beautiful living room, kitchen, bedroom and so on.

What three make your heart smile? ♥

I hope you’re loving this gorgeous fall we’re having!!

♥, Wendy

p.s. Are you from TWTM? Thank you for visiting!! I highly recommend reading the Aunt Bea post (you’ll find her to the right on this page under my short bio.). My posts don’t make a ton of sense if you haven’t first read Aunt Bea.

Some links may be affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. Of course you incur no additional cost.

I’ve written about “Why Pretty Matters” for ourselves in this post here.

But today we’re talking why pretty matters in our surroundings.

When we’re over 50 and attempting to lose weight, we haven’t chosen a gentle path. Let’s be truthful with our own selves and remember: when losing after 50, we’re trekking the Matterhorn.

There’s no other group who has such a hard time losing and maintaining than women over 50. Being upfront with ourselves can bring a deep sigh of relief as in, phew, it’s not just my imagination, it really is hard to lose after 50.

Therefore every tweak we make to our own minds – i.e. habits — gives us crucial tools to stay confidently on our path of smart eating.

Pretty Backdrops to our Lives.

Embrace these tools that I’m about to detail. Remember what we’re shooting for: more support for ourselves as we lose after 50.

Beauty Tool One.

Two Christmases ago, I bought a gorgeous pink mug for myself and three friends. My hope was that we’d think of each other when drinking morning coffee.

That said, what do you eat on? Do you get a burst of happiness at using certain plates, cutlery and mugs? Dining on beauty is a hugely important tool.

If you don’t get a little thrill from a certain plate or mug, buy something special for just you. Let the family know: these are mine. If you’re on a tight budget, you’ll find gorgeous tableware for a song at a thrift store.

Beauty Tool Two.

Your bedroom. When you walk into your room does your heart beat, ooh, pretty? Or is it more like, this carpet needs cleaning.

Make your bed beautiful and/or cozy. And if you need to get your carpet cleaned: get your carpet cleaned.

Last winter I dove deep into cozy and bought an electric blanket and extra pillows for my bed, I also spread my grandmother’s knitted blanket on top. My bed might not make the pages of House Beautiful, but it screams comfort and happiness to me.

A friend bought beautiful new sheets for her bed. Smart.

Uplevel your bedroom, it’s an investment that pays off daily.

Beauty Tool Three.

These day a lot of us work from home. What is your desk situation? Is it pretty? Does it make you want to sit down and get to work?

My desk is in the living room. I know that sounds crazy, but if I were upstairs working in a bedroom office I’d never see my teens. They’re barely around as it is.

Here’s what I’ve done with my desk: I clean and tidy it daily and I put a vase of twinkle lights on as décor in place of a plant or flowers (that the cat would knock off for fun). My desk is also at the window that showcases the wild birds eating the seed I put out every morning.

Beauty Tool Four.

Your car. Is it clean? If not, join me in taking your car to get a bath every other month. At first the cost freaked me out, but in just one visit I understood the importance to my mental health. Lol. In alternate months, I clean it myself. And I de-trash it daily.

Beauty Tool Five.

Holiday décor. Might sound obvious, but every time I see something beautiful for the season like a pretty pumpkin, a Thanksgiving mantle, a lighted deer I get a jolt of happiness.

Beauty Tool Six.

Sounds kind of silly, but I have a pink ipod. I use it daily to listen to podcasts and I figured why not get a pink one? I’m not suggesting you buy expensive tech. But I am saying that beautifying the items you most use isn’t silly it’s just one more way to layer pretty into our lives.

The Real Agenda Behind Beautiful Surroundings.

Making your life beautiful isn’t frivolous. It’s required. When you choose gorgeous plates and mugs, when you create a cozy bed, when you make your world beautiful: you’re signalling to yourself in no uncertain that you are important and matter. (And sadly, the opposite teaches the opposite.)

Remember, we can do hard things. Beautifying our lives gives us a beautiful view as we trek losing after 50.

If you like this piece, it would be awesome if you’d share it with someone you love.

And if you’re on Instagram, I’d love a follow: @TheInspiredEater.

Have a wonderful week, 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). 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!

Photo, gorgeous phone case, (& more bejeweled pieces) are by celdeconail.

Pearl # 1

Full disclosure: There is a wrinkle to losing after 50.

 Back when I was “well-insulated,” I never had dark circles under my eyes.

Ever.

My face was a blown up balloon: smooth, no wrinkles, and definitely no dark circles.

When I took off the final pounds, several stayed poofed on my face. Then menopause hit.

When that thrill ride was over, I emerged a raccoon.

I tried everything: concealers (Shape Tape and the popular Maybelline one) and a rainbow of color correctors. I even tried carefully dabbing zinc sunblock under my eyes (just to see what would happen). 

Nothing happened.

And therein lies the adage women have heard for ages, “You need to pick: your fanny? Or your face?” meaning if you lose too much weight your face deflates like a balloon.

When I first caught sight of my dark circles, I was not happy and decided to gain five pounds. Still nothing. I kept the five pounds on for six months to see if anything would improve.

Nothing improved.

My Takeaway

At 67, Oprah looks fantastic. Sure, she’s a a billionaire and so forth, but partly her looks are due to not over-losing in her 60s. Keeping some weight on keeps her face filled.

In retrospect, I likely needed to gain ten to fifteen pounds, and then let them hang around forever to really impact my dark circles. But jeans, nicer clothes, undies, everything I had were in a specific size and blah, blah, blah.

Don’t make my mistake.

As you slowly lose – giving your body generous amounts of time to adjust and stabilize along the way – ditch the idea of getting down to your college or pre-baby weight. Shoot for a happy middle between your fanny and your face.

Because not only can’t we eat like when we were young, turns out we can’t lose like we’re young either. ♥

Pearl # 2

You know, “calories in, calories out?” Well, I’m no scientist, doctor or nutritionist, but I think one day they’ll arrive at the idea that there’s something to the timing of calories rather than just the amount we take in.

I’m not talking about intermittent fasting. Or maybe I partially am. I’m talking about eating the “fun” calories for breakfast, having a moderate lunch, a small snack in the afternoon and a tiny plate at dinner. By 6:30 p.m. I’m done eating for the day. (If I eat breakfast at 8:30 a.m., a 14-hour intermittent fast isn’t bad.

I started this eating plan in January and have been surprised at how chill it’s made me re: healthy eating. I  haven’t been struggling with staying within my preferred one to three pound range.

I wrote more about success with this type of eating here and here. ♥

Pearl # 3

Welcome to my mind on self-sabotage where every incredibly awesome idea comes to die.

This week I had self-sabotage thoughts on a constant-loop. I wish that we could surgically remove these Eeyore thoughts. This is what I heard this week:

•  “All your effort won’t do much and you’ll feel like an idiot again.”
• “You’re spending too much time on this. You’re stealing from your family!”
• “Your life is good, you’re nuts not to kick back with Netflix and chill.”

Here’s what I do with these thoughts. If they happen after 6 p.m. I remind myself not to listen to them at all. I pretend they aren’t there and grab a good book to quiet them down. If they happen during the day, I listen closely. Maybe they have a point. I give their ideas serious thought, and then implement fifty percent of what they’re pushing for. Our ultimate plan: identify self-sabotaging thoughts as the life ruining wet blankets that they are. ♥

Pearl # 4

Best Hack in the World Alert! I was late to the cell phone party, so you might already know about this hack.

I’ve never been a fitness enthusiast. The best I’ve ever done is almost three years of weekly yoga/Pilates classes, but my instructor moved. (Lamo reason for not finding new classes, I know.)

Motivating myself to use my indoor recumbent bike has been a massive fail.

But here’s what I figured out: I put the Netflix app on my phone and told myself that I can only watch a show when I’m pedaling the bike. I know!! Brilliant, right?!

I went from thirty to fifty minutes on the bike. I can’t wait for my endurance to build so that I can binge-watch. ♥

Pearl # 5

If you’ve gotten an idea from this post to use in your own life, awesome!! Let me know what you liked, or what you’d like more of for October posts. The holidays are galloping our way, I’m betting you have questions re: maintaining or losing after 50 during the holidays.

And trust me, it’s not your imagination. Health is hard.

♥, 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. 🙂

One morning long ago, my husband practically pranced into the house with a pink box, opened the lid and asked, “Want a donut?”

At the time, I’d lost the remaining pounds, but was still on Bambi-legs adjusting to my new normal: maintenance.

“No. None for me, but thanks.”

He replied kindly, “Oh, live a little!”

He wasn’t food-pushing. It was more seeming pleased that I was “all-in” on smart eating and not back to my usual yo-yo plan.

Plus, of course, he wanted the box to himself.

No, But Seriously.

Saying no thanks. Why is it so hard?

Here’s my thought. Saying no to food is brutally difficult when we haven’t yet shifted from an external locus of control to an internal locus. (Locus is just a note away from the word “focus.” Locus in therapist-speak means “the place we come from.”)

People with an external locus allow their eating-lives to be determined by events, people and any luck that happens their way. For example:

• She walked in with stacks of pizzas for the meeting that turned into a total snooze. I couldn’t resist.

• Who isn’t stuffed after Thanksgiving ? Come on! It’s tradition!

• The Christmas holidays are my greatest weakness. Everyone goes crazy with food and drink! How can you not?

Those of us with an external locus explain results by saying that something outside of our control happened to us like a holiday, a season, a person or people, an unusual event like a wedding and so on.

You can easily see it in children. Kids are all about the external locus like when they say, “He made me do it!” (Even if parents don’t have a name for it, they work diligently to teach their little people how to come from an internal locus.)

You get the idea.

But great news: we’re not born with a tendency to be one or the other. We decide for ourselves whether to live from an external or internal place.

Saying No 101.

Most of us begin with an overcooked, limp noodle of a no, but with perseverance we can strengthen it into becoming a part of who we are as people. Yes, our land is blanketed in food-porn, but our culture is easier to navigate when we keep our “no-tool” with us at all times.

Think of it this way: the more you use your “no-tool”, the closer you are to becoming a person who lives from an internal locus. Meaning you get the say over what weight you feel best at; not Kroger, not your favorite Mexican, and definitely not Dunkin’ Donuts.

When I Say No.

I say no a lot. I say no when we’re on vacation (cruise ships are calorie ships), on holidays, eating out, and with family and friends. Even myself (as in: no, you cannot have the leftover Halloween candy: get it out of the house etc.).

The Habit of No.

Begin saying no every single day for forever. You want it to become second-nature. I know this might sound funny, but keep a sentence-a-day journal chronicling when you say no, like this:

9-12-21 – Your sister invites you out for Mexican. You say, “no, not tonight.”

9-13-21 – Your mom is always telling you to lighten up just before she offers you a chocolate croissant and you reply, “No, but thank you.”

9-14 –21 – Your husband makes pancakes for the kids every Saturday and asks if you’d like some. “No, I’m good. None for me.”

Watch as your no-muscle gets stronger and stronger every week, every month, every year. And eventually the people in your orbit will stop asking. (Which I really love.)

Is shifting to an internal locus easy? Sadly, nothing awesome is easy on this planet, but this is the moment when we remind ourselves that we can do hard things.

I’d love to hear your “no” stories. Feel free to share in the comments below. ♥

I mentioned in an earlier post that I love early fall because I take my shepherd to three end-of-summer doggie swim events. Below (under the purple text) is a picture of one very happy dog and his mom. Look in your area for these popular doggie swims too.

Remember you and I are forever beautiful works in progress.

I try to remember this thought throughout my day. Let’s remember it together.

♥, Wendy

P.S. Have you read Buh-Bye Aunt Bea Bod: 13 Tools to Lose Weight & Maintain a Forever Loss?

I packed Aunt Bea with every essential method I used to lose fifty-five and still use today.

Remember getting your driver’s license? How learning to drive wasn’t a “one and done” thing? Same with Aunt Bea. The Aunt Bea post is your ride to embedding Smart Eating habits into your life, habits that will have your back forever.

You can find Aunt Bea on this screen to your right. Just add your email and click the pink button. You’ll be sent an Aunt Bea email. If you don’t see an email within thirty minutes, check your spam. And always feel free to contact me: Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com.

Or better yet, click Begin Here. ♥♥♥ Print Aunt Bea, and tape her inside a kitchen cupboard, on your car’s dash, under your pillow, and so forth.

Apply to life as needed.

Pearl # 1

I realize I might sound like a weirdo, but I love thinking about self-sabotage. It’s so interesting to me how insidious self-sabotage thoughts can be in our lives. We listen to them like they’re real. When they’re not at all.

The self-sabotage voice sounds so common sense-ish when he whispers in our ear:

• You don’t have time to work out tomorrow morning; you really need that extra hour of sleep.
• Your family is rarely together all at once. Eat, drink, and be merry, you can do the smart eating thing on Monday.
• Sure, Christmas is four months away. But no worries about saving, buy the cute handbag and Christmas will sort itself out. It always does.

See what I mean? The little voice sounds like it has our back and all is well in the world.

But here’s the problem: we can’t – in today’s vernacular – live our “best lives” if we don’t catch on when the self-sabotage monster is calling the shots.

We all engage in self-sabotage in one way or another. Some do it in a giant way like a friend who gets this close to earning an important degree, only to bail at the end because her mother’s sick and “needs her.”

Or some of us do it in little ways like we “forget” to do laundry and wake up the next morning with nothing to wear.

My self-sabotage voice is at its most blaring in the evening. It tells me with utter confidence:

• What you’re trying to do is too hard. If it were meant to be, it would be easy.
• You’ll never get a handle on ABC, just half-ass it like you’ve done for decades. You’ll be fine!
• Don’t reach out to so-and-so! She’s renowned in her field, she won’t have time to respond to you.

How to Spot the Monster In A Second.

Here’s how to flush out your self-sabotage creep: his thoughts always screw Future You.

Always.

The self-sabotage voice is always pushing for the cushiest deal he can possibly negotiate for today. He doesn’t think long-term. Ever.

A Challenge

Begin to notice what your self-sabotage monster sounds like. Also notice when he’s most likely bothering you (morning? Evening?). Then write down every self-sabotage thought that presents itself.

Trust me, once you’re looking for these terrible messages, it becomes easier to spot them. I’ve gotten decent at noticing when Mr. No-Help is on the scene. I think, oh it’s the self-sabotage guy again. And I refuse to listen.

Because I refuse to screw Future Me. ♥

Pearl # 2

Years ago I was seeing a therapist who casually mentioned that “feelings are like clouds, they come and they go.” She made the comment off-handedly, but I’ve embraced those words as if they were water to a dying woman.

I took her words and applied them to food cravings. I noticed that cravings come and go just like the clouds.

Cravings present, hang out for a bit and then move on.

Huh.

So that said, I only needed to find a way to wait out the craving with a hot shower, good book, an evening walk and so forth.

My mantra: feelings and cravings are like clouds.

They float on by. ♥

Pearl # 3

The headlines have long screamed, “Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days!” Or “Meet a Mom Who Lost One Hundred Pounds in A Year!” We’ve been somewhat brainwashed into thinking that fast weight loss is good and safe and totally do-able.

We’ve been taught to think of Smart Eating as something outside of our “real” lives.

And that’s just the way the Big Food guys want it. Kraft, Hostess, Frito-Lay, The Coca-Cola Company, Big Ice Cream all see little profit if we rarely partake of their “food.”

Shifting from thinking that weight loss/maintenance is a short-term activity to it’s more like a long race, will support us through the years.

Eating well is not something we start on a Monday or at the “beginning of bathing suit season.”

Instead Smart Eating becomes who we are as people. We drive around with baby carrots and cut-up apples in a cold bag. We stop eating at 6 p.m. each night. When we want fun food, we eat it in the morning with our coffee.

Over age fifty, that’s just how we roll. ♥

Pearl # 4

Do you go “all-in?” It’s the saying of the moment, and I love it. I plan to use it forever.

I know a woman who finally left the rat race to open her own boutique. I watched this person go all-in. She chose a group to create her beautiful blog. She hired a social media coach. She just put pedal-to-the-metal.

I was blown away.

I tend to nickel-and-dime myself when I’m reaching for a dream. Well, let’s see – I’ll think – I want to start taking yoga and Pilates. Hey, here’s the most inexpensive place in town!

In that particular example, I found a fabulous yoga studio, but you see my point.

When you identify what you really, really want in life, go all-in.

The results will astound you. ♥

Pearl # 5

“Self-sabotage is when we say we want something & then go about making sure that it doesn’t happen.” Alyce Cornyn-Selby ♥

We made it to the last week of August!

I love September for an unusual reason: communities around Atlanta close their pools, but open them to the dogs for a weekend of doggie swimming!

It is a blast! I’ve found five pools that host the Doggie Swimming Bash and I buy my sweetheart slots on Saturday and on Sunday.

What are you looking forward to in September? I love comments and questions!! 🙂

And remember, it’s not your imagination: Health is hard for all of us!

♥, Wendy

Every Friday I share “five pearls” for our weekend. 🙂

Pearl # 1

A childhood friend was visiting from California. Because she’s a workout-lover I was excited to show her the new fitness club I’d joined (back when apparently I thought I had money).

We were having fun until we entered the changing room decked in high-end lockers, rolled towels, a steam room.

And a scale.

I’m always working on maintaining good eating habits and at the time didn’t have a scale so I said, “I need to weigh myself.”

At that, Clara said loud and forcefully, “It doesn’t matter what you weigh!! A number shows nothing!!”

She was ticked.

About a scale.

Thing is, I’ve done it both ways and both are fine. When I was losing the fifty-five, I loved not having a scale because it forced me to establish smart eating habits. My mind was where it needed to be: on choosing a bowl of cherries over the family-size box of Cheez-its.

But once I entered the maintenance stage, I wanted a bathroom scale. I mean, one here, one there. Pounds are sneaky. But I want to emphasize for the first few years I worked solely on establishing strong habits.

A scale is a feedback device. If we want to drop from 200 to 180, the scale will tell us how we’re doing in the food department.

At the same time, too much focus on a scale when we’re working to establish rock-solid habits, takes us to the wrong state of mind.

For example, say we eat a slice or two of strawberry cheesecake one evening and when weighing ourselves the next morning cross our fingers and pray that the scale won’t notice. So when the scale says, “look at you! You fooled the calorie gods! You go girl!” you’re getting the wrong message. And if you gained? You’re grumpy, aggravated and getting the wrong message.

Like Brushing Your Teeth.

Take the power away from the feedback device. No need to live by it. No need to die by it.

Go cold-turkey with your scale for a week –a month is better — and work only on establishing strong habits. (Have a green smoothie and a handful of unsalted nuts for breakfast, run errands with baby carrots in the car, have a tiny dinner and stop eating at 6 p.m.)

The scale has a place in our lives, but as we lose we want our mind, body and soul focused only on one thing: embedding super smart habits into our lives.

You’ve tried it your way for decades. Try it mine for one week. ♥

Pearl # 2

An oldie but a goodie: the Green Smoothie Recipe.

This is tasty:

• One cup of ice into blender
• One serving of vanilla protein powder (plant-based if you’re vegan; Costco’s is great)
• One cup of almond milk
• A cup or two of coffee (optional)
• A large handful of spinach
• Another cup of ice especially if you poured in hot coffee
• Sometimes I also add a cup of frozen blueberries

Blend really well. I let it blend for at least a minute.

Yum. ♥

Pearl # 3

If you haven’t yet read these two powerhouse books on habit-formation, order from the library or Amazon today: Atomic Habits by James Clear and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

Also, I’ve heard that the audio version of Atomic Habits is outstanding. ♥

Pearl #4

I learned this tip from a Tim Ferriss’s podcast. Tim essentially says that if we make a decision to not eat — let’s say — bagels never again, it automatically constrains our choices. Which is a good thing because in our modern world we’re all suffering from decision-fatigue.

I know of a woman who buys clothes only at The Loft. She likes their clothes, they fit her well and she doesn’t want to be faced with the millions of clothes choices available to women.

The idea is this: Make one big decision once, and avoid making a gazillion little decisions throughout the year. On a beloved forum my name is DogsPizzaBooks. That’s how much I love pizza. So you’ll understand that it was no little thing to give up pizza for a year.

But I’m doing it this year.

Start small so that your brain doesn’t freak-out and blow up the plan. ♥

Pearl # 5

Don’t be pushed by your problems; be led by your dreams.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson