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In Snuggly Winters

No Such Thing as Perfect When Running the Weight Loss Marathon

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We don’t have to be perfect to create a lifetime weight loss for ourselves.

Hello Thrivers,

I hope this post finds you well. Would you believe that I got sick again? I think that whatever I have now is in response to my Christmas-flu. I’m calling the GP in the morning. For now, these are former pearls that I updated.

Pearl One

First a caveat, I’m so thankful for the self-help world; I’ve benefited greatly.

I’ve spent the last five decades reading self-help books, listening to cassettes (lol) and to podcasts these days. And I love a good TED Talk.

But through the years, I took in a subtle message that I needed high self-esteem before I could create something of value like taking back our health (losing and maintaining after 50). I thought that I really had to have my act together to move onto a permanent weight loss.

And yet I’ve known people who’ve been insanely successful in their work lives, but had a drinking problem.

Turns out, we don’t have to be heads and shoulders above the average. We can feel so-so inside and still produce incredible results.

Here’s what happened for me.

Back when I initially got serious about renovating my eating habits (mid-30s), my self-talk was lousy; my confidence maybe a C+ depending on the moment; and, my courage? Well, I can see where you might say that I was being semi-courageous in a situation or two, but on the whole, I freak out when I’m supposedly “being courageous.” Still haven’t mastered that “staying serene in a crisis” thing.

And yet – even with iffy self-esteem — I lost the fifty-five pounds and have maintained the loss. And I didn’t have to be perfect to create a permanent loss for myself.

Our Takeaway

I love that we don’t need the confidence of Oprah, the emotional strength of Brene Brown, or the brains of Sara Blakely (Spanx) to create exiting lives for ourselves.

So, good news: we can be an emotional mess and still lose and maintain after age fifty! ♥

Pearl Two

Last week my techie husband and I were driving to a new locale. At one point the GPS stopped talking, and my hub said, “Give it a second, it’s trying to get a satellite connection.”

I responded in a princess voice, “But I want my satellite connection nnnnowwww.”

As a culture we’re a bunch of speed-freaks. We love a good ‘overnight success’ story. We want our cars fast, and the car’s a/c to be even faster. We don’t want to wait long in the drive-thru, or if we do we’re likely to pull out of line — in a huff — to find a shorter drive-thru wait.

We like our light ‘at the speed of’ and we all carry a small computer in our hand bag that allows us to talk with anyone, anywhere, anytime with a lightning fast connection.

So it comes as no surprise that when diet-headlines and diet books have long promised, “Lose Belly Fat in Ten Days” we’ve had a tendency to believe them.

But if we’re to get down to bare-bones reality: cool, awesome and spectacular don’t arrive with Amazon speed. Nobody learns piano or a foreign language with a few months of practice. We don’t create a successful business in twelve months. And we definitely won’t lose anywhere near what the headlines have long promised.

And that’s okay because wrapped into the ‘lose belly fat in 10 days” is the message from the company: you need weight loss to be easy, and we need your money. Their underlying message: if it’s not easy, you can’t do it. Seriously condescending.

Don’t be swayed by ‘easy.’ Keep your cash, expect losing after 50 to be hard, and get annoyed at those proclaiming losing after 50 is effortless.

Because inherent in my message: We’re smart, we’re resilient, and we’ve got this. ♥

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Original Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): “The scale has only gone up.”
  • Thought: “Oh, no. I thought this time would be different, that I would really keep my weight loss off. And – per usual – I’m not.”
  • Feeling: Total anger, disappointment.
  • Action: I spend the next week overeating.
  • Result: The scale goes even higher, confirming that I can’t do this (maintain).

New Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): “The scale has only gone up.”
  • Thought: “Okay, instead of getting furious, I’m getting curious.”
  • Feeling: Resolved.
  • Action: I immediately head for my journal and begin writing. I ask myself what my habits are like? Am I still tracking? Have I given up evening desserting? Do I take a great book to bed? Do I still have the habit of seeing my eating life as “on a diet” or “off the diet?” If I’m still looking at eating as “being on” versus “being off”, how do I help myself let go of that old way of living with food? How do I help myself live on the Smart Eating Path? What do I start with first?
  • Result: I’m back to strengthening my habits and immediately shop for smart food. ♥

Pearl Four

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed is a phenomenal read. Absolute book-dessert.

Pearl Five

Successful people are successful for one simple reason: they think about failure differently.” — Seth Godin ♥

♥, Wendy

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.

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!!

I am not an expert, doctor, surgeon, nurse, dietician, or 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.

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In Snuggly Winters

The More We Learn About the Diet-Cartel, the Stronger We Become

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Make 2025 the year you embed the cold-tote habit

We have new people – and  welcome!! – I’m sharing five super important posts to read below. It’ll make these weekly posts a lot easier to understand. And if you haven’t received your Aunt Bea copy just write to me at: Wendy@theInspiredEater.com and I’ll shoot it right over.

Pearl One

Let’s be honest: losing weight is a trial at any age given that we’ve long been marinating in a culture where food-porn has run wild since the 1950s.

My thought is that until you and I recognize the force behind the Mad Men’s wily marketing campaigns — paid for by Big Food-Porn –, we won’t be able to go forward with a permanent lifetime-loss.

The last sentence might sound over-the-top, but hear me out. If we don’t acknowledge that our culture has played a significant role in our weight issues, then you and I are back on the merry-go-round and totally responsible for our weight issues. We return to the old standby: lose weight on a yo-yo diet for a short period of time, regain the weight and run back to the diet-cartel (who are happy to have us. After all, billions in profit is nothing to sneeze at).

The diet-cartel wants to “help us” lose the same thirty pounds over and over (and over) again. Have you noticed? They’ve never taught us how to preserve (maintain) a lifetime loss. And why would they? It would create a profit-loss tsunami headed straight for their business model.

Why does any of this matter to us? To create permanent success, you and I need to understand what we’re up against i.e. what we’re dealing with.

Every time we leave the house and are confronted by a vast landscape of fast-food drive-thrus, doughnut shops, and giant-portion sized restaurant meals — if we’re even a little bit hungry –, it becomes too seductive to succumb to all the alluring and convenient “food.”

But the instant the light flips on about how this game is played, we can figure out which smart tools to bring to the tango. Have I convinced you yet of the importance of always keeping a tote-bag packed in nutritious food by your side?

If you haven’t yet started to embed this tool, make today the day. I’m convinced that a lot of us overeat because we’re out of the house running errands and are too far from our healthy kitchens. Pack your cold tote in sliced apple, red grapes, chunked strawberries, peeled hard-boiled eggs, dried plums, a small yogurt, and hummus sandwich and so forth. If you haven’t yet seen the beauty of this tool, give it one week to behold its awesomeness. Just one week.

I wish I could share the tote I use, they’re out of stock: this one comes in the right size and has an adjustable shoulder strap, same tote but without cross body strap. I use a small tote made for the individual; anything large might make you like you’re lugging around a baby elephant. The last thing we want is that you get annoyed and give up.

Until food-on-steroids goes the way of la cigarette, our cold-tote will protects us from the blanket of calories across our globe.❄️

Pearl Two

Pearl Two is from a former pearl that I gussied up. This is the one smart tip that moved mountains for me. You might have noticed: Everything involved with losing/preserving our weight loss – buying the right food (at three different stores), chopping the right food, cooking the right food, bagging the right food — is a lot of work and a pain in the neck.

Early on when I was losing, I meta-noticed that I was grumping and grousing, and feeling “put upon” every step of the way. At the same time, I knew that somehow I had to make peace with the massive amount of work involved in losing weight/preserving for the long run.

And one day, it hit me. From this moment forward, I will think about all that’s involved with losing weight and preserving as my part-time job. And boom! No longer was losing weight practically an afterthought; by calling it my part-time job I shifted from thinking of the work as being “in the way” to understanding it for the most difficult undertaking that it is. In a funny way, thinking of the work as my part-time job made the whole endeavor a little easier and a lot more fun. ❄️

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

This sequence is from an experience my sister had and I’m pretending to be her:

Automatic Sequence

  • Knee jerk Situation (something very concrete): My sister Shelley and her Tucson husband hike what’s called the Grand Canyon “rim-to-rim.”
  • Thought: Nobody told me this hike included crossing the Colorado River on a swinging bridge.
  • Feeling: anger and intense panic.
  • Action: Ben was behind me so I couldn’t balk and turn back, even though I tried.
  • Result: I never want to do this hike again.

Conscious Sequence:

  • (something very concrete): My sister Shelley and her Tucson husband hike what’s called the Grand Canyon “rim-to-rim.”
  • Conscious thought: I’ve just done a grueling hike and now I need to cross the raging Colorado River on a suspension bridge? I’ve come too far to stop now; I’ll look ahead and not down because I can see through the bridge to the water and it’s so scary.
  • Feeling: Still scared, but then resolved.
  • Action: I put one foot in front of the other looking straight ahead and I made it.
  • Result: Pride in myself and what I accomplished. ❄️

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten. As you know, memoir is one of my most favorite genres. I love reading about super successfuls who’ve made it. I’m not even a viewer of Ina Gartner’s show and I haven’t read her books, but reading about people who “think big” and slay it is so inspirational to me. In her memoir she writes about her painful childhood and building the Barefoot Contessa’s brand. This phenomenal feel-good book can be read in a weekend. Five stars. ❄️

Pearl Five

“The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will’. Consider nothing impossible then treat possibilities as probabilities.” ❄️

Charles Dickens

My heart is with California. And Canada and Mexicos’ response was crazy impressive.

Stay warm and safe.

♥, Wendy

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.

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!!

I am not an expert, doctor, surgeon, nurse, dietician, or 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.

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In Snuggly Winters

A New Way I Relaxed My Grip on Perfectionism

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Let’s get wise to perfectionism’s grip on our lives: check out this new way of chilling out.

We have new people – and  welcome!! – I’m sharing five super important posts to read below. It’ll make these weekly posts a lot easier to understand. And if you haven’t received your Aunt Bea copy just write to me at: Wendy@theInspiredEater.com and I’ll shoot it right over.

Pearl One

It appears to me that while our culture — publicly — trounces “perfectionism,” in private it’s a whole ‘nother story. We drive ourselves crazy attempting to be perfect. We worry that if we’re not perfect, catastrophes (plural) will likely descend.

Perfectionism is dangerous because it enters our heart on stealth mode; we don’t realize what’s happening until perfectionism has become a way of life for us. (Like fish don’t recognize water.)

And getting a handle on our own perfectionism is no picnic. Our neighbors drive slick cars, gorgeous people are everywhere in shows and on social media; our homes look lovely (as long as nobody goes upstairs) and so on. I once knew a mom in our kids’ playgroup who wore her one-karat diamond engagement ring with pride. Until another mom moved into her neighborhood with a two-karat. So, guess what one-karat did? Yep, you’re right.

Given that our culture is oriented to showcasing a fabulous lifestyle by buying things and more things, it’s no wonder we’ve fallen into the perfectionism-quicksand. So, let’s not be hard on ourselves. The perfect (seeming) world is all we’ve ever known.

But when I feel ensnared in the grip of perfectionism, I write in my journal about the deal I made with myself around the need to be perfect. (A supervisor said, “I want to be duck gliding atop the water, and kicking my little legs underneath as hard as possible.”

In my journal I wrote essentially that some level of perfectionism could stay in my life. I’d only be allowed to bring my A-game to writing articles and our blog. I also stay on point caring for my darling kitty.

But the deal I made with myself is that I could only “go perfectionist” on one or two things. So with that in mind, Martha Stewart would give me a D in making my bed each morning (even though I love returning home to a made bed). She’d give me a B in keeping my car clean. At this point in my life I know I’d get an F for cooking (I cooked and baked for years and now that chapter of my life is closing). I’d give myself a B- for getting library books back on time.

You see? You can keep your perfectionism re: one or two things and then give yourself the gift of chilling out and allowing some things in your life to live at a C+.

Try this method using your perfectionism tendency to consciously choose what part of your life needs the A treatment and which parts are fine if they’re at a C-. Thinking about priorities like this, instantly gives you room to breath.

Let’s begin by pulling out our journal and asking ourselves strong questions:

  • When and where did I get the idea that I had to have my ducks in order at any given time?
  • If the overall plan is to decrease debilitating perfectionism, can you make a list of exactly when perfectionism enters the picture? (Ex: I wanted to be a perfect mom.)
  • Can you be outstanding at one passion-project, but a “C+” at other things?
  • Write five examples of the people around you now who seem to have perfect lives. (Ex: like an outrageously talented singer, your next-door neighbor who’s an airline pilot and drives to the airport in his silver Porsche; the blog mom who keeps a clean home, wears light make-up and still has time to take adorable reels of her little girls and then post them online.
  • What do you think might happen if you’re not at the height of your powers? (Ex: you’ll be passed over in some way?)
  • Write five examples of stuff that happened in your childhood and teenage years re: perfectionism.
  • What do you tell yourself when you don’t hit it out of the park?
  • Do you have one person in your life that seemed tethered to an authentic life and never seemed to think about perfectionism at all? (For me, it was my grandma.)
  • When you think about perfectionism now, how does it present in the current day?
  • If you’re going through a tough situation not of your making – lol, who isn’t? — where/how does perfectionism rear its head?
  • How can you talk to yourself so that you’ll help yourself chill out?  (I was getting paralyzed by a project I was working on. Perfectionism was bothering me so much, that I finally just told myself to relax and fun. And the message stuck with me. I wrote it down a couple of times on my calendar so I’d see it every day.

Perfectionism has no place on our Smart Eating Path. I didn’t lose and preserve the loss acting perfect. Quite the opposite actually. It’s funny, but we don’t need to hold the reins so tightly. Let’s consciously relax our grip; we’ll likely have a better experience relaxing as we continue to trek the Matterhorn (losing after fifty). ❄️

Pearl Two

I thought that researching the history of dieting meant digging back to the Middle Ages, and that is where I found an Italian named Luigi Cornaro. Cornaro lost 40-pounds on his own plan and when he turned 83 wrote The Art of Living Long. Would you believe that his book has been republished several times, in fact, just recently in 2010.

Cornaro advised eating 12 ounces of food a day and 14 ounces of wine. And would you believe that he lived to be 98?!

Later when I dove deeper into the history of weight loss, I discovered that wanting to be lean started way back when the ancients ruled the world.

My theory (best guess) is that before our era only the wealthy had issues with weight. Getting so heavy that one couldn’t ride a horse demonstrates the obvious plight: the struggle is real.

My point: it might not always feel like it, but our culture is the wealthiest the world has ever seen. But we’re struggling about how to have such abundance and have a healthy life without the coconut cream pie ruling our world. Does it help to know that the weight issue has been around forever? We’re in good company. ❄️

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Automatic Sequence

I’m writing from the POV of a long ago friend, Susan.

  • Situation (something super concrete):  My husband left me for another woman months ago.
  • Automatic Thought: I can’t live without him.
  • Feelings: shock, terror, despair, abandoned.
  • Action: I go into a kind of paralysis where I don’t eat or drink since he’s been gone. I can’t focus on books or shows. I work part-time which is heaven sent because I need private time at home so I can just stare at the wall.
  • Result: I’ve turned into myself. I go through the motions of life but barely.

If these sequences were actually happening to us in real life we’d need three or four bridge sequences between an “automatic” one and this new chosen sequence.

New Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (something super concrete):  My husband left me for another woman months ago.
  • Chosen Thought: I can be like the American woman who worked for Churchill as a spy behind enemy lines. After an accident she had as an adult, she had a limp due to a prosthetic leg. If that woman can limp around the Nazis with a prosthetic leg (and survive well to tell the tale), I can carve a new life out for myself, yes, even if it’s without Mark.
  • Feelings: Always sad of course, but I’m heading towards an acceptance of sorts with what happened.
  • Actions: I push myself to get out more. I’ve created a container garden on my deck that I’m really into.
  • Result: While I’ll always be sad about Mark leaving, I’m moving on. I have a new sense of my own competence which I cherish. ❄️

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

This book came out in 2008, but if you missed it this is one awesome read: Loving Frank: a Novel by Nancy Horan. This is a very well researched book that is based on an affair that actually happened between Frank Lloyd Wright and a married woman. It’s absorbing read whether you’re into Frank Lloyd Wright or not. The ending is astounding. If you want to get lost in a great book-dessert, go for it! ❄️

Pearl Five

Successful people don’t make excuses; they find solutions.” ❄️

Estee Lauder

Writing to you is one of the most fun things I do all week! In the U.S. we have a super cold front coming in so I’m off to clean my flannel sheets.

Stay warm and cozy!

♥, Wendy

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.

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!!

I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse, dietician, 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.

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In Snuggly Winters

As Baby Boomers: Let’s Tweak New Year’s Eve & Jan. 1 for Our Highest Good

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We have new people –and  welcome!! – I’m sharing five super important posts to read below. It’ll make these weekly posts a lot easier to understand. And if you haven’t received your Aunt Bea copy just write to me at: Wendy@theInspiredEater.com and I’ll shoot it right over.

Thank you for all of the well-wishes for my flu-fun. December 18 to current day. I’m still not 100 percent, but I’m getting there; your good wishes definitely helped!

Pearl One

I call no fair!! How did the party people hijack New Years Eve? Why do we associate December 31 with good drink, a sparkly evening dress and being at a party?

That said, back when we lived in California friends held a New Year’s Eve party for families where the clock struck midnight at (really) 9 p.m. Adorable. Now, that was fun. Thank you, Steph, for your out-of-the-play-pen thinking!

But back to reality. As you know, you and I are not spring chickens. We’ve all done the must-be-at-a-party thing. Maybe one time it was good, the rest of the time it was bad. Most (all?) of the adults I know today like to be in bed with a good book and asleep by ten. We’re the weirdos who get mammograms once a year and our teeth cleaned twice a year.

Let’s take back the holiday for our own mental health. Instead of feeling badly about not being invited to an a shindig (“what’s wrong with me?”), let’s make December 31 and January 1 spa days!

Visiting a fancy spa is super fun, but going-spa doesn’t have to mean spending money. Take a long shower or bath and hang out in your jammies. Put on a good show to stream (Wicked is available starting on 12-31-24) Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV among smaller streaming services (speaking of apples I highly recommend sliced apple to accompany you to Oz. ♥

Pearl Two

Staying on the Smart Eating Path is rooted in smart habits that I embedded over the years.

  • I broke my foot: stayed on my smart eating plan.
  • Bought a disaster of a house in CA (still regret buying to this day). I stayed on my smart eating plan.
  • Traveled a lot first in CA, later on the East Coast. Stayed on smart eating plan.
  • Two major moves. My smart eating habits came with me.
  • An amazing surgeon (Dr. Heller, Emory) fixed a bulging disc in my back, stayed on my eating plan.
  • Came down with Covid (2020). Stayed on eating plan.
  • Animals that I’ll always cherish passed on. Kept my smart eating habits.

You get the gist. ♥

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Automatic Sequence

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): My baby was born with Down syndrome.
  • Chosen Thought: What a beautiful, beautiful baby. It’s possible that this might work.
  • Feeling: I’m falling in love with this precious little person.
  • Action: I dress my baby in gorgeous clothes usually topped with a seriously adorable bow. We talk and cuddle her maybe too much? It’s actually hard to stop kissing her.
  • Result: You get the ball rolling in a positive, wonderful direction for your family. You start to feel sorry for families who don’t have a Down syndrome baby in their life. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy.

The winner of the three most rock-star dessert-books of 2024:

One

I was drawn into this story from the first sentence: “when people say ‘terminal’, I think of the airport.”

The two protagonists are thoughtful, funny, and wise. One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin is the book-dessert superstar fiction of 2024.

Two

I don’t get it. How does a boring title: Life After Life paired with a ho-hum book cover end up as one heck of a read? But enough of the bad news. The good news is that this story drew me within the first two or three pages (love, love, love when that happens).

I’m not alone in loving this book: Time called Life After Life “brilliant”, People “excellent”, and the Wall Street Journal “wonderful.”

This is the no-comedy, sophisticated version of Ground Hog Day, but set in England spanning the years of the two World Wars.

In 1910, we first meet baby Ursula born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, we know the baby passes because “darkness fell.”  But in the next chapter Ursula survives the cord and plays out a new timeline.

This is a can’t-miss book-dessert of the highest caliber think: book version of tiramisu cheesecake (made by someone who isn’t you).

Three

 If you loved A Man Called Ove, this is your book. It’s adorable and sweet and life-affirming. In The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick, we meet Arthur, a widower on the first anniversary of his wife’s death. One moment, as he’s going through her things, he finds a never-before-seen (by him) fine gold charm bracelet.

And that begins Arthur’s journey that takes him around the world (Paris, London, and India). As he travels, he starts to see that there’s still life to be enjoyed even if we’ve lost our darling.Curious Charms is the perfect read over a long weekend. ♥

Pearl Five

New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” ♥

—Lao Tzu

Here’s what I learned from enduring the flu at sixty. 1) Keep a hard piece of paper under your bed detailing the meds and supplements you take in morning and at night. When you first realize that you don’t feel well hand the list to your caregiver.

Everything else I learned did not involve a caregiver. So if you’re flying solo, I got you. One, keep a well divided morning and evening meds in a pill pocket that forevermore lives under your bed for when you most need it. Check out this adorable pill pocket: it’s not your grandma’s. (Use this adorable pill picket daily and maybe choose a more standard one for under your bed. Check the “under the bed” pill pocket on your birthday every year to update the meds. 2) Add a bottle of Ibuprofen. 3) Dehydration is no joke. This is what saved me: ice water in a no-leak, covered straw thermos. This guy was my friend, I keep mine in bed with me still. I also wished I’d stashed an at-home Covid test, thermometer, and bottle of stool softener (just saying) under my bed too. If you can think of anything else I’ve missed, will you share in the comments below (we all need tips).

Have a wonderful New Year’s Eve Eve and remember, we’re now in the season of spa-time (share below what you’re planning)!

♥, Wendy

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.

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!!

I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse, dietician, 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

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In December + Holiday Eating

They’re Doing What?! Why This is Not a Smart Eating “Strategy”

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We adults can take “a teachable moment” from the cutest among us.

Pearl One

I just read that some folks are going off their weight loss med in December – to allow for chowing over the holiday – but plan to re-start the med in January.

Oh, boy, but facepalm.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against the new medications (although I do hope that long-term side effects are minimal).

My concern is that the people going on and off the med aren’t learning anything. They want a magic pill to keep them in line and aren’t working to embed the muscles needed for a lifetime weight loss.

Thing is, whether we use a med, a stomach surgery or the old-fashioned method, everyone can learn how to preserve their loss for a lifetime. They only need curiosity and an understanding of the muscle’s importance in their life. It’s possible to lose for a lifetime, as long as we’re willing to put in the work.

As you know, I encourage us to preserve only during the Season of Calories, and spend December strengthening our habits. I always say, habits first and the scale will follow.

Like the folks going on and off the med, I’ve known people who had a gastric bypass surgery and went off the plan by “eating around their sleeve.” I found one woman throwing up at the dog park because her stomach refused the Chicken McNuggets and fries she was attempting to eat. Another – dear friend — had the gastric sleeve surgery, but continued to overeat and ended up making the surgery null and void.

Some might think, “Oh, what does it matter? So what if I stay on the med forever and only go off at certain times of the year. I mean, I can afford it. It’s the perfect solution!”

To that, I say this: you know how babies fall down over and over before they learn to walk and even when they do walk, they resemble “a drunken sailor?”

The baby had been a helpless newborn but then learned to sit up by herself and to crawl before taking on the Herculean work of learning to walk.

But what if the baby — after a few painful, frustrating attempts at walking — gave up thinking, “this is madness. Who needs this kind of frustration and pain? I’ll just chillax with my bottle; the adults seem to like carrying me around.”

And yet an entirely new world opens to the baby who sticks with the difficulty and learns to walk.

Well, what if it’s the same for us? What if we grownups are supposed to learn and grow as we face obstacles? Maybe we’re not meant to just kick back with our food-bottle anymore than the baby with her actual bottle. Truth is, if you find an easier way to lose weight — I say, go for it –, but when you’re ready to learn how to preserve for a lifetime, come have coffee with me. ❄️

Pearl Two

Preserve Your Hard work in December. Even if you won the cheesecake and pies at an auction for your grandson’s high school band fundraiser, don’t welcome the cheesecake and pie into your kitchen. These beautiful desserts are not your friend and don’t wish you well. (I’m sorry, but someone has to say it.)

Keep asking yourself our super star question: do I want to be a size 8 or do I want to eat the cheesecake? Gift the cheesecake and pies to the local police or fire station who will be thrilled to rescue you from the calories. ❄️

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Automatic Sequence

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): In Christmases past my grandma made special Italian cookies for us.
  • Chosen Thought: “I’m massively thankful that she was my grandma.”
  • Feeling: A little burst of “happy.”
  • Action: I want to bring Gram a little more into the holidays.
  • Result: I bring out her extremely old tins that were used for holding cookies and display them in a pretty way. (I already have a ton of photos out and I don’t have the cookie recipes.) ❄️

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy.

About halfway through Open House by Elizabeth Berg I recognized a scene that I’ve always remembered but hadn’t remembered in which book the scene took place. It was this one! (Kind of cool.)

Open House came out in 2000 and is about a a husband who wants a divorce, leaving his wife, Sam, to live in the home with their eleven year old son. We see an angry Sam going on a spending spree laying down $12,000 dollars at Tiffanys. It sounds sad, but it’s a total upper.

I really love that Berg’s novels aren’t behemoth-sized and get into the story quickly. I loved Open House — total book-dessert. ❄️

Pearl Five

The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I’m not going to let myself pull me down anymore.” — C. JoyBell ❄️

Gift alert for Kids! These true stories are ones that I read to my sons. All four of these books would make wonderful gifts for kids ages 3 to 9. Really you can’t go wrong with these four stories.

Fiction stories. Do you know the Henry and Mudge stories? They are the most heart-warming stories ever. I read Henry and Mudge aloud to my kids initially and later the boys used the Henry and Mudge books as they were learning to read. They are sweet times 1000.

  • Henry and Mudge a box collection made of the six first Henry and Mudge books.
  • This Henry and Mudge box collection holds every book of the boy and his dog.

Eight days and ten hours to lift off!

♥, Wendy

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.

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!!

I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse, dietician, 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.

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In December + Holiday Eating

How to Hack What the Movie-People Have Always Hacked

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Pearl One

Iron Man opens to “Back in Black.” Star Wars to its iconic opening’s symphony piece. And The Lion King to “Circle of Life.”

We even know a show’s name solely by it’s opening music: “I’ll be there for you” and “there’s this story of a lovely lady…”

The power of music. Hollywood and the ad guys have understood for decades how to use music to send chills of excitement up and down our spines, to set the scene, and to foreshadow what’s to come. (Think of the scary opening of Jaws. The da-da-dum was created with a piano and tuba. It’s a sequence we’ll never forget.)

Parents do it for babies and young kids when they sing lullabies. School House Rock used it to teach us about all kinds of things from grammar to the government.

Music is its own super power.

There are so many ways to use music for our highest good as we make this trek up the “lose after fifty” mountain. Let’s choose the right song to get through difficult days or difficult long-term projects.

We already use music for workouts, but we can also use it for any difficult moment. Why not play “upper” songs the next time you’re dealing with difficult family, or terrible red tape, or grief and sadness.

These are my go-to songs today that I wish I’d had as a teen: “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”, “Roar” and “Born this Way. When you have a moment, play with this idea of music as therapy. Create your favorite “mood” songs list and use it to support yourself through the toughest of times. ❄️

Pearl Two

Run, don’t Walk. Faux eggnog (I add the rum.) Tiny gingerbread men. Boozy Macarons. Yum-city. All three are found in Trader Joe’s. All three are way lower in calories than their regular counterparts.

The fun food I also love to have during the holidays: candy canes or popcorn drizzled in chocolate. If I really want something tasty, I’ll save it for tomorrow’s morning coffee. ❄️

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Automatic Sequence

I’m speaking as if I’m Susan.

  • Situation (something very concrete): I see the oncologist on Thursday.
  • Thought: Both Tracy and Jackie died of what I have. I’ll lose my hair.
  • Feeling: Terrified.
  • Action: I overeat.
  • Result: I wait with fear for the appointment and feel bad about my body.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): I see the oncologist on Thursday.
  • Chosen thought: I’ve gotten through hard times in the past and I’ll get through this newest battle now. I will focus on Groucho Marx who said, “patience is the art of finding something else to do.”
  • Feeling: Surprised. I hadn’t looked at it that way. (One does need a lot of patience when dealing with everything medical.)
  • Action: In finding something to do while I’m patient for the conclusion to my health issue, I’ve decided to adopt an older, small dog whose energy matches mine. I’ll likely fuss over her and take her to the small dog park.
  • Result: My rescue-dog is home with me and I’ve named her “Truffles.” ❄️

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy!

I’m just getting into Earth’s the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg and I’m wondering why I hadn’t found this writer sooner. She’s not only good, but she’s prolific too so we a lot to choose from.

This story just came out in 2023 and it falls under the genre literary fiction. I’m halfway into this one and it’s an excellent read. Five star book-dessert. I think you’ll like it. ❄️

Pearl Five

There is just no getting around that turning bad things into good things is up to you.” ❄️

Deepak Chopra

I’m thinking about doing a four-night cruise with friends in early 2026. I noticed how just thinking about the plans have given me a little jolt of happiness.

Have a great week!!

♥, Wendy p.s. I’m still looking for those who live with scarfers!

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.

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!!

I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse, dietician, 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.

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In December + Holiday Eating

Want to Feel Elated Come January? How to Strategize the Days of December for a Happy New-You!

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It’s “sweater-weather” if you watch SNL.

Pearl One

As beautiful and wondrous as December can be, it also delivers a wallop of calories, calories, and more calories.  It’s a difficult month for everyone; the “live a little!” vibe seems to permeate every corner of the season.

So, I figured what we need is a solid December-eating game plan that sees us playing offense rather than defense.

Pull out your journal for strategizing the holiday. For example, each morning let’s journal-write about where the obstacles will likely be for that particular day. Let’s write down the toughest parts of the day and then add a solution to each difficulty. Again, we’re making a new plan each morning.

Agreeing to write a new mission plan for each day in December encourages us to engage with our unconscious well before we go off course and eat willy-nilly.

So, in my journal tomorrow morning I might write something like this:

Tuesday December 12-3-24

Obstacle #1: I know there’s leftover apple pie in the fridge, but since Matt loves it so much I won’t squirt ketchup on it and throw it in the trash.

My game plan: I’ll wrap the pie slice and hide the visual from myself in the fridge. (I use my “out of sight, out of my mind” muscle every single day).

Obstacle #2: I have lunch with Julie today. She picked meeting at La Creama because it’s close to her office.

My game plan: first, before I leave the house, I’ll pull up the La Creama’s menu online. I will see quickly that this adorable bakery and lunch spot is calorie-central. I study the menu on my screen for a long moment – because the menu is brimming in high calorie food — and then finally pick the egg and bagel sandwich with cream cheese on the side so I can smear a little on versus the thick smears they may spread on the bagel. I specifically need to ask that cream cheese be placed on the side. (But if the sandwich shows up with cream cheese on the bagel, I scrape most it off and use just a little.)

As I’m perusing the menu I see in the kid’s section a “fresh berry cup.” I’ll order that too. (Occasionally I order from the kid’s menu because the portion size is so good. ) I write it all down so I won’t forget when it’s time to order.

Then I take a good long look at the menu and try to find a good Plan B if Plan A doesn’t work for some reason. Plan B will be La Creama’s oatmeal with blueberries along with the fruit cup. I write my game plan out and put the paper into my purse.

Once at La Creama I order the egg and bagel sandwich with cream cheese on the side and the fresh fruit cup. I notice how easy I’ve made restaurant-dining easier for myself.

La Crema is known for its excellent coffee so that’s where I put my focus for the lunch. I order my favorite latte.

I also consciously decide to pick a table away from the display case of gorgeous calories because I know that the food is meant to be alluring. I consciously remind myself why I’m at La Creama in the first place: to see Julie and catch up and not dig into the food-porn.

Obstacle #3: After lunch, I plan to visit a specialty food shop to get a Christmas gift for my son. The food shop will be a challenge because like La Creama, the place is brimming in stunning calories.

My game plan: If I’m getting a mite hungry, I eat the banana I brought in my cold-tote (placed in the side pocket) to take the edge off my hunger before I head into the store.

Why am I hungry after lunch? Julie and I talked a long while after we’d eaten. And since I never stuff myself, I’m often hungry about two hours later. Hence the banana. (I don’t play the I’ll-be-fine game.

When you wake up in December, write a new obstacle plan for yourself and remember December is all about preserving our current weight and taking what I call a “holding” break.. This month our priority is strengthening our habits. That”s it! ♥

Pearl Two

In my history, I was snacking too much to ever feel all that hungry. Looking back, I thought everyone left Mexican restaurants feeling Thanksgiving-stuffed. That was me: I overate and then went back to hardcore dieting. Overeat, then under-eat. Over and over the pendulum would swing for almost three decades.

Today I literally never overeat. My goal is to walk away from the table with my stomach on neutral. I don’t feel full or empty; my stomach loves to live somewhere in the space between hungry and full.

Let’s spend this holiday season never once stuffing ourselves or under-eating. This holiday season it’s all about preserving our smart habits. ♥

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from knee-jerk reacting to responding to circumstances. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Default Sequence

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation: My Husband makes fun of me and says that if I was going to lose weight it would have happened by now. He rolls his eyes.
  • Chosen thought: I’m an individual inside this marriage. Jack might not get the point of what I’m doing and that’s okay. He can have his own thoughts.
  • Feeling: I’m feeling proud that I had my own back enough to say, “we don’t need to eat the same way and we can a loving relationship.”
  • Action: Pulls out journal and starts writing about herself.
  • Result: Our girl stays on the Smart Eating Path and her husband eventually gets it. But most importantly she gets it. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy.

Hello Molly! by Molly Shannon saw me “making the conscious choice” to read past my bedtime thinking, “just one more chapter.”  This funny woman from Saturday Night Live opens with the car accident that killed both her mom and little sister when Molly was just four-years-old. It sounds sad which of course it is, but then Hello Molly! spins into the most amazing stories of her child and young adulthood.

She’s sixty, my age exactly. And the things she was doing in the 1970’s is unforgettable. (I might have “doorbell ditched” as a kid, but I never was as cool as Molly.)

Also, it wasn’t a hop, skip and jump to SNL for Molly. She graduated at age of twenty-two (give or take) and didn’t join SNL until she was thirty-five. Those thirteen years in between was Molly hustling like you wouldn’t believe. She’s the epitome of a go-getter to the core. If you love memoirs, Hello Molly! Is an outstanding book-dessert. ♥

Pearl Five

I already know what giving up feels like. I want to see what happens if I don’t.”

Neila Rey

Please join me this week in being imperfect and going for it anyhow.

And if you’ve enjoyed this post please send to a friend!

Just 22 days and 13 hours until Christmas! Yikes.

♥, Wendy

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.

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!!

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. ♥

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In November + Thanksgiving

How I Don’t Go Holiday Haywire with the Fun-Food

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Pearl One

People often have asked, how I’ve “done it.” No secrets at all about it. Here’s exactly how I’ve navigated challenging holidays like the week of Thanksgiving that we have coming up.

One: How I to Talk to Me

I remind myself, “Lady, Thanksgiving is but one day, not two or three or four. Actually? It’s just one meal”, I lean on this thought heavily throughout every holiday, but especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

If I’m feeling blue along the way as if I’m “missing out,” I gently remind myself of the fun I have to look forward to in 2025.

I’m never a drill sargent, I show a thoughtful respect towards myself. My attitude is that I’m important, and what I want is important so I’m definitely keeping myself on the Smart Eating Path this holiday week (with the help of a handful of smart tips).

Two: Create an “Exit” Plan for Leftovers

I mean who doesn’t love Thanksgiving leftovers? Come on. The leftovers practically have their own holiday. To all of us who grew up in the clean-plate-parent era. it’s been drilled into us that wasting food is awful-slash-ungrateful given how many are hungry in the world, or went hungry during the Great Depression.

But if we’re full enough, why does throwing food into our stomachs sound like a better plan than tossing food into the trash? Makes no sense. One of my mom’s friends used to say, “the food can go to waste, or it can go to waist.” Now, there’s some wisdom.

This year, build an “exit” plan for leftovers: in your mind — or better, on paper – detail who can take which leftovers with them. I suggest even buying these cute to-go containers that you’ll look forward to using, are inexpensive and super adorable. These are perfect for Thanksgiving and both of these for Christmas here and here. These are so fun I wish that I was having guests this year so that I could use these containers.

If your guests won’t take leftovers leave them at your – or your partner’s – lunchroom on Friday. And don’t forget the huge family in the cul-de-sac would likely love holiday cookies and half of a pie. Same with the single person who doesn’t have a crowd to cook for.

But the name of this game: get the calories out of the house! Your stomach is not a trash can. ♥

Three: Create Your Own Smart Jewelry

Just like wedding rings symbolize marriage and all that entails (love, fidelity, going thrifting together when a good pal can’t make it), this amazing tool comes to us from neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).

As you’re dressing each day during the week of Thanksgiving, pick one piece of jewelry and intentionally infuse the piece with meaning. Here’s what I do: I pick a ring, bracelet, scarf or manicure and tell myself that this ring symbolize my intent to stay on the Smart Eating Path for the week or the day of Thanksgiving.

I infuse into the ring how much I care about maintaining my Smart Eating Lifestyle and all that I will do to stay the course. I commit to the following. I will:

  • “eat before I eat” over the entire week of Thanksgiving. Curbing my appetite is key for me.
  • keep my portions sane (like the size of a fist).
  • plan to take a thirty-minute walk listening to my playlist labeled, “Please take my mind off food!” For me that’s Linda Ronstadt, Cher, Aretha, Whitney, Prince and all the gang!

The jewelry needs to be a piece that you don’t often use and one that you’ll be able to see on Thursday (in the U.S.) so earrings or tiaras are a “no.”

Think: a beautiful bracelet, a ring you don’t normally wear, even unusual nail polish; the idea is that every time you see the ring, bracelet or your index fingernail in pink when all the rest are in white, you’ll think, “Yep, I’m staying committed to the Smart Eating Lifestyle.” Having something external that’s in the moment with you is like having a little friend along for support.

The takeaway: in the hoopla of the holiday, infuse jewelry with meaning that reminds you of your main mission (making sure January first-you is thrilled because holiday-you didn’t go Cookie Monster on the holiday calories and throw her under the bus).

Four: the Magic of Micro-rewards

I make deals with myself: I tell myself that if I stick with my Thanksgiving eating plan, I’ll have a pedi the following Monday. Or maybe I’ll stick with smart eating plan and reward myself with extra hours to read a really fabulous book that takes me back to 1938 Manhattan (The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles).

We’re on an arduous trek: keep the fun, lose the calories. ♥

Pearl Two

Keeping it short and snappy: guys, want to hear what the thin people have always known? If the pie is their favorite food on Thanksgiving, they eat a super light meal — or no meal at all — and make pie their real meal!! Guess what I’m having for Thanksgiving? ♥

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Default Sequence

  • Situation (something very concrete): It’s Thanksgiving Day in just three days.
  • Thought: Scenario one thinks “I’m not doing anything or seeing anybody. I’ll overeat due to loneliness” while scenario two thinks, “I’m doing too much and dealing with a boatload of people. I’ll end up overeating out of sheer frustration and stress.”
  • Feeling: A little blue in the former scenario. Overwhelmed and scattered in the latter.
  • Action: Scenario one drives to the local Taco Bell and gets “dinner.” Scneario two attempts to delegate cooking duties only to realize that nobody knows anything about her kitchen. Result: Both scenarios see each person feeling sad and drained.
  • Result: In scenario one, “I sat on the couch, ice cream bowl in hand.” In scenario two, “I was exhausted by the end of the day and crawled into bed.”

Chosen Sequence

  •  Situation (something very concrete): It’s Thanksgiving Day in just three days.
  • Chosen thought: Scenario one thinks, “I need to remind myself over and over that I might be alone for Thanksgiving, but I have a great trip in April with my favorite girlfriend group.” and scenario two thinks, “I need to plan how the cooking of the meal goes so it doesn’t all fall on me. I need to keep this thought with me: “Don’t worry about being perfect. Make memories.” (Thank you to Nanen Hoffman for this gem.)
  • Feeling: Scenario one feels more included, less isolated. Scenario two feels a friendly calm descending.
  • Action: Scenario one spends the evening with a good book. Scenario two continues cooking and baking, but with more ease, not as frantic.
  • Result: Scenario one spends the evening reading a good book looking forward to the coming year. Scenario two chills long enough to enjoy her guests and all of the special food. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy.

Book-Dessert Alert! The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré is a coming-of-age novel by a powerhouse of a new writer. Her daughters encouraged her to write her first book and omg is it good. Daré has an MA in creative writing from Birkbeck, University of London along with other degrees. The woman can write.

And because every one loved her first book so much she wrote a sequel that’s also getting raves. And So I Roar is the amazing sequel. These two books paired together would make a fantastic gift for any reader (14+). Five thumbs up for this book-dessert. ♥

Pearl Five

A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.” ♥

Wade Boggs

One fun idea for the big upcoming holiday is a great movie. I’m hearing from people I trust that the new Wicked movie that just came out is AMAZING. As in, the movie knocks it out of the park which I’m so happy to hear. I took my sons when they were younger to see Wicked on Broadway and the live show was off-the-hook, so it’s wonderful to know that the movie can hold its own with the Broadway show. (I know of a mom and her daughter who see movies on the big holidays because they don’t have family nearby.) ♥♥♥

♥, Wendy

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.

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!!

I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse, dietician, 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.

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In November + Thanksgiving

The Art of “Holding” — This Is Not Your Mother’s Plateau

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Save yourself! This holiday season keep your cavewoman snoozing.

Pearl One

We’ve made it through Halloween and are speeding toward Thanksgiving (in the U.S.)  We’re headed into the Season of Calories and as I say every year: we don’t want to wake up our cavewoman! Let’s aim to preserve our hard work rather than try to lose weight right now. To force yourself to try to lose weight with all the merriment happening around us is not being supportive of our own selves and could possibly create an angry backlash (ie. our cavewoman waking up and going Cookie Monster on holiday).

Instead plan to preserve your hard work. Remember, plateaus are the good guys. Giving our body the time it needs to rest and adjust changes the whole weight loss equation. In November and December keep your cavewoman asleep by doing what I’ll be doing:

  • i stay on my eating plan.
  • i always eat before I eat.
  • I keep my cold-tote packed in healthy bites and by my side when I’m out of the house. I take opportunities to eat a tiny dinner by 6 p.m. and take a wonderful book to bed at 8 p.m.
  • If I’m still hungry and know I won’t eat, I have half of a banana and then lights out!
  • If I know in advance that at certain times I’ll struggle: I draw up a detailed plan about how I’ll handle each obstacle.

We’re “strengthening and holding.” We’ve so got this. ♥

Pearl Two

New Year’s Day-You

Let’s pretend that it’s New Year’s Day-you. Pull out your journal and ask New Year’s Day-you to write current day-you a letter: how does she feel when she wakes up that morning? What is she thrilled about (like you walked an hour all of Nov. and Dec.)? What helped her the most? She wants to thank you for ________________________. What does she wished you hadn’t worried about? What does she wished you’d focused on more? What does Jan. 1-you most want you to know?

Give a voice to your future self and capture in writing all that she has to say ♥

Pearl Three

Default Sequence

  • Situation (be very concrete): My sister and entire family plus the Grandma are going to Hawaii for two weeks in December.
  • Thought: But I want to go to Hawaii!! I especially want to visit Honolulu where we spent time as kids and show my sons Pearl Harbor.
  • Feeling: Bummed. Disagreeable.
  • Action: Huff and puff around for a while.
  • Result: Get very little done.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (be very concrete): My sister and entire family plus the Grandma are going to Hawaii for two weeks in Dec.
  • Chosen Thought: Wendy, you go on fancy trips for the articles you write. Be happy that Shelley is doing something wonderful in her life.
  • Feeling: Interested that I had such a strong reaction to Shelley’s trip that I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to see Hawaii again. Honolulu especially.
  • Action: I start looking up the cheapest times to travel to Honolulu. But then thinking that if our days of “laying out in the sun” are over beyond the first few days what will we do in Honolulu? I guess we should think about Maui or Kauai too. Plus is this really how I to want to spend money?
  • Result: I’ll keep the thought on the back-burner, but a trip to any island needs further thought. Ultimate result: I feel less green with envy and am back on track. ♥

Pearl Four

These three funny books come to you recommended via GQ magazine. I’ve dipped into all three and will finish The Idiot by next weekend! It was hard to choose the first one to read because every chapter of each book drew me in immediately with each having a wry, strong writer’s voice.

I want as much funny in my life as I can get. These three books all grounded in humor. The first is I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. The second chapter opens, “I’ve never met two people more afraid of the house burning down as my parents.” Highly recommend.

The Idiot by Elif Batuman, The story starts with the advent of email. Great story.

No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July. College kids at Harvard. The book was named one of “the top ten fiction books of 2007” by Time Magazine. Reviews say that it’s “laugh out loud” funny. I’m in.

Throughout the holiday season, I’m aiming for books with humor. These three books deliver.

♥

I started a book gift list two posts back. I know that finding the right gift is tough. I’m hoping my list helps:

This book is a perfect gift for a woman at any age (14+). It’s a true story about an American woman who spied on behalf of England behind enemy lines in France. 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. Review: an incredible read and you’ll never forget Virginia. ♥

Pearl Five

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” ♥

Choose one new supportive thought that you want to embed into your heart and plan how you’ll remind yourself (like keep a note at your desk, tape a note inside your kitchen cupboard, put a sticky on your steering wheel).

I’m still hoping those of you with a scarfing partner will email me! I’m writing about scarfers and how they can all be a little different. I want to address the different types. Wendy@theInspiredEater.com.

Have a great week!

♥, Wendy

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.

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!!

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.

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In Cozy Falls

Make Smart Eating More Convenient (how batching uplevels our productivity)

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Pearl One

Did I mention that I had twins in 2003? My great aunt Martha also had twins, but she had hers way back in the 1940s.

That first year with my babies, I walked around in a stupor often wondering how on earth Aunt Martha survived that first year with twins without basic conveniences: no dishwasher, no luxury twin stroller, no Diaper Genie?!”

Convenience. Big fast-food has stolen the very idea of “convenience food” and kept it as their very own, but it’s high-time we take it back.

Fast-food appeared on the culinary-landscape back in the Roaring Twenties in the last century.

Back then, nobody could have foreseen how family-owned hamburger-stands would morph into behemoth corporations that are today offering “meals” drowned in sugar, salt, saturated and trans fats, and processed preservatives.

By the 1970s fast-food became an integral part of our diet. What started as a novel meal to have once in a while, sprouted into 36.6 percent of us eating fast food on any given day.

Fast-food has turned into fatty-liver food.

How I Batch “the Work” & Make it More Fun

Here’s my plan for taking back convenience. Any Sunday afternoon (I block it out on my calendar), you’ll find me in the kitchen, glass of wine by my side, and Linda Ronstadt on the playlist doing the following:

  • Slicing apples (a little lemon on apples keeps them from browning), bagging red grapes and strawberries.
  • Cooking and bagging many servings of brown rice.
  • Hard boiling four or five eggs.
  • Bagging baby carrots in individual servings (it’s a habit to eat baby carrots when I run errands).
  • Baking homemade muffins (banana, pumpkin or apple).

Keeping easy to grab smart food at your fingertips is a key to a forever-loss. The whole idea is to adroitly side-step the endless fast-food drive-thrus that pepper our world and keep your refrigerator packed in healthy “easy to grab food. ” ♥

Pearl Two

You know the theory that says our bodies have a “set weight point” and that we can’t change it? My experience has been the absolute opposite. Here’s how I did it.

My theory is that when we lose weight quickly our bodies default into survival-mode (go cavewoman). To you and me we’re merely eating smart food and working to get down to our preferred weight.

But to our cavewoman – the one who kept our ancestors from being eaten many years ago – our very life is at stake. The cavewoman feels us “under-eating” and wakes up to save us from dying. Remember: she has one job and she’s superb at it.

The sure way to wake her up is to lose weight rapidly. To keep her snoozing pretend that you’re walking around on tiptoes allowing your baby to sleep. Our only goal is to keep our cavewoman blissfully unaware by losing weight slowly. We don’t want to panic her. Panicking her is where the problems start.

Let’s say you’ve lost ten pounds, but want to lose twenty more. Don’t get disappointed if the scale’s number won’t budge or you still can’t fit into the pants size you want. If you’re on the path to losing weight, your body simply needs time to adjust.

In the old days, “I’ve a hit a plateau” meant that we were doing something wrong or that the diet itself was a dud. Too many days of a plateau saw us “give up” and return to “eating normally again” (aka overeating).

It’s time to take back plateaus for the supportive angels that they actually are. I hit several plateaus when I was losing. I’m not sure where it came from, but something inside told me that a plateau was a valuable shift, not something bad, but something really good. I started to see plateaus as necessary because my body needed time to adjust to the new normal.

And, it’s not just our body that needs time to adjust: our minds do too. Say we have a woman who wants to lose thirty pounds. Our example goes to sleep weighing 180 pounds, she’s visited overnight by her fairy godmother who waves her wand and in the morning our example wakes up at 150 pounds. Problem is, in her heart she still “feels fat” and ends up eating herself back to 180 to keep her weight congruent with the thoughts about herself. She didn’t feel 150 and the number freaked her out. It’d be similar to having a baby one month and a high school teen the next.

So, when I was losing and hit a plateau, I’d tell myself, “I’m strengthening and holding, strengthening and holding, strengthening and holding.” I learned to be chill with plateaus because I saw them as proof that my smart eating plan was working.

If you’re in a plateau respect the time that your body is taking to adjust to your new size. When you next hit a plateau tell yourself, “I’m strengthening and holding, I can and am doing this.” (Print this pearl out and tape it on a wall near your scale.) ♥

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Default Sequence

  • Situation (something super concrete):  A dear friend ghosted me. I haven’t spoken with her in five years now.
  • Automatic thought: It was a friendship that I wanted to retain for so many reasons.
  • Feeling: Sad and angry at myself for not maintaining a quality friendship.
  • Action: Five years ago, I tried calling her several times and left messages but heard nothing back.
  • Result: Beating up on myself.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (something super concrete):  A dear friend ghosted me. I haven’t spoken with her in five years.
  • Chosen thought: people can outgrow each other. What felt right in the beginning can shift over time.
  • Feeling: more in the flow of things. The thought “normalizes” that my friend and I no longer speak.
  • Action: I give myself permission to feel better.
  • Result: I try to keep in mind that it isn’t always “all about me.” Sometimes, something else is going on in another person’s life that really has nothing to do with me. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

It’s so cool to find a new author to follow and I’ve found one in Small Pleasures: a Novel by Clare Chambers. Set in 1950s England a woman with a humdrum life finds excitement. Called a “literary tour-de-force” Small Pleasures has been long-listed for the women’s Prize for Fiction. I’m just now into Small Pleasures and highly recommend. I’ll read her second book next. ♥

Pearl Five

Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” Andy Rooney ♥

Question for you. Do you live with a scarfer and would you like to “talk” about it? I’m writing on the subject of scarfers and need “been there” stories. A scarfer can range from “delicacy eating” to huge portion-eating. If you have one of these, I hope you’ll reach out! Wendy@theInspiredEater.com.

Have a beautiful week!

♥, Wendy

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.

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!!

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.

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