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In Endless Summers

You Don’t Need More Willpower. You Need This.

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Pearl One

You’ve done the hard work. You lost the weight. You made it stick but now, in maintenance mode, you’re running on empty — and willpower alone just isn’t cutting it. Willpower fatigue is real.

In the past nobody talked about the elephant in the room — maintenance — because if one regains all the lost weight we ended up blaming ourself. Plus, nobody makes money by teaching the masses how to maintain. The only real push we got from the diet culture of old was to “be stronger,” but white-knuckling for eternity leads to burnout and nowheresville.

Here’s the truth: you don’t need more grit, more grind, or more “just say no.” What you and I need are new strategies — ones that actually work. Habits. Without them we’re like a car that doesn’t know the rules of the road. Embedded strong smart eating habits will have our backs every time.

The eating plan you originally chose will now act as the frame for your life. I essentially live on my eating plan and deviate here and there. A two-pound weight window is not enough, I encourage a four-pound weight window to keep your weight within.

Let’s talk about what really sustains a forever-maintenance after age fifty. When I lost all of my weight by my early forties, I had no idea how to maintain, I only knew those pounds weren’t coming back. Like Taylor says, “We Are Never Getting Back Together. Like, ever.”

Roll these three concepts into your maintenance life.

Number one: Build a strong maintenance go-to attitude and strengthen that attitude every chance you get, say to yourself: no way, no how am I gaining back my lost weight. Not on my watch. Hell, no and the like. And just know that working daily on what we tell ourselves is a forever thing. Nineteen years into maintenance I still hear myself say, no ma’am, that’s not for you. I live in Georgia.

Number two: Appreciate your Bambie-legs. You know how a baby grows in the mom for nine months? Well, we’ll call the pregnancy part: you and I losing the weight. Once the baby hits the light of day and the umbilical cord is cut, the baby begins her new life and that’s you and I beginning our forever-maintenance trek. Do you see that the birth is the beginning for the baby and it’s the beginning of a lifetime of maintenance

Number three: Embrace all of your feelings. Yes, you can take your moment of happiness at getting to your goal weight, but once you’re done celebrating, allow plenty of room for the inevitable fear that sets in. It’s normal to be freaked out about how to maintain because nobody told us how to maintain in our food-porn world. Food is at the center of almost everything we do. I once noted that food isn’t at church or the dog park. Everywhere else: food galore. Even the library keeps a well-stocked vending machine. Food-porn. It’s everywhere.

Maintenance isn’t just a phase — it’s a whole new life. It takes a fierce mindset, daily self-talk, and kindness for those Bambi-legged moments. Remind yourself often: Not on my watch. You’ve done the hard part—now it’s time to grow strong in your forever-trek, one steady step at a time. ♥

Pearl Two

The writing prompt pearl

  • What does your personal “no way, no how” mantra sound like? Write it down, say it out loud, and describe how it makes you feel when you use it to guard your weight maintenance.
  • When you catch yourself thinking in your old “diet brain”, how did you redirect yourself with a new, more supportive message?
  • Write a letter from your future self—ten years into maintenance—encouraging your today-you to keep going. What does she thank you for? What does she remind you to stay strong about?
  • What do you want to tell yourself on hard days?
  • Finish this sentence this sentence three times: “I am not gaining the weight back because…”
  • What feels shaky or wobbly in your maintenance right now (like Bambi legs)? How do you stay steady when you’re feeling unsure?
  • In what ways are you stronger than you were when you first started losing weight? How have your “muscles”—mental or physical—grown?
  • Write a pep talk to your “Bambi self.” Be loving and wise, like a mama deer to her fawn. What does she need to hear to keep going?

When you’re scared that you won’t end up being succeful at maintenance, what will you tell yourself? ♥

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. Apply to your own life.

Automatic Sequence:

  • Situation: (be super specific like, yes that is an apple or yes he is in the hospital): Elaine doesn’t look forward to her adult step children’s visit. She knows they barely tolerate her presence and she’s afraid that her relationship with their father is being undermined.
  • Knee-jerk thought: Elaine thinks that his kids won’t accept her and that it’s undermining her marriage.
  • Feeling: Terrible fear and of being unwanted.
  • Action: Days before they arrive Elaine cleans house like a wild woman. In a frenzy she plans Pinterest-worthy snacks and meals for dinner and breakfast the next day. Elaine is so thankful that she thought to buy a new tablecloth.
  • Result: As she’s cleaning, she realizes that she’s fairly sweaty. Once the kids arrive, Elaine walks on eggshells, never feels part of the conversation and goes to bed worn out and disappointed.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation Situation:: (be super specific like, yes that is an apple or yes he is in the hospital): Elaine doesn’t look forward to her adult step children’s visit. She knows they barely tolerate her presence and she’s afraid that her relationship with their father is being undermined.
  • Chosen thought: It’s natural that Paul’s children are rather cool and dismissive. The adult-kids don’t see me, Elaine, they see me as the one who married their dad. The hard feelings are just part of marrying a man with adult children. They’ll come around. It’ll take time but they’ll come around. I can do this.
  • Feeling: Sadness for everyone involved. Understanding. Empathy.
  • Action: In September Paul’s kids were on the calendar for a visit so Elaine planned a long weekend at a nearby spa with friends. Her intent was to give Paul’s kids time to be alone with their dad. She arrived home just as they were packing to leave. With a smile Elaine asked the room, “did you all have fun together?” She pulled Laura to the side and said, “next time you’re coming for a visit let me know if you’d like alone time with your dad. Here’s my cell number, just text me.”
  • Result: Elaine’s fear floated away. She felt and acted more confident around Paul and his kids. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love and want us to be happy

I’ve written about this book once before, but I want you to see the title again. To call Virginia Hill a badass barely scratches the surface about Virginia Hill and she did for the world.

Her story, A Woman of No Importance the Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell left me floored. This book is an unbelievable story in the hands of writer and researcher extraordinaire. Purnell knocks it out of the park wrote the book in such a way that you can almost feel the Gestapo just steps behind Virginia as she flees France. Only downer: the author never mention how Virginia slept at night.

Comparably my problems seem smaller. Yes, we need to honor the challenges in our own lives, but Virginia for her true heroics idn’t even receive certain medals once the war was won. Her opinion was, to paraphrase, “none of us did any of it for medals.” Virginia’s story would make an awesome Christmas gift for a young woman 13+. ♥

Pearl Five

Your body hears everything your mind says. Everything. ♥

If you enjoyed this post, I’d love it if you’d send it to your doctors/and or surgeon and of course nurses. They’ ‘d appreciate info. they could give patients. Thanks for spreading the word!

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, 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 Endless Summers

Earning Your Own Trust: The Daily Actions That Make Maintenance Possible

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As we take baby steps into lifetime maintenance we need to find the fun everywhere.

Pearl One

You’ve likely heard women say that reaching their goal weight didn’t make their problems disappear. While they did achieve the number they were aiming for, many emphasize, “Life is still the same at my new weight—I’m just thinner, but my challenges remain.”

Okay, kind of true, but hasn’t been my experience.

From deep in my core, I appreciate every single day that my body feels lighter and that I’m finally in control of my eating—especially in our food-gone-wild world. I never take it for granted. I spent decades overweight and miserable before I finally cracked the code on food and weight. For the longest time, it drove me nuts—why could I figure out so many other challenges in life, but not this one?

So nowadays I’m indebted to past-me who began to embed smart eating habits years ago. Occasionally, it still sneaks up on me — that jolt of joy knowing the weight is gone for good. I’ll be unloading the dishwasher or stuck in traffic, and suddenly think, wait — I did it. After years of yo-yoing, doubting, and starting over every Monday, I cracked the code. The weight’s not just gone — on my watch, it will never come back.

Since I started writing about my weight loss and maintenance trek, I’ve become hyper-aware of how differently I do life now. One thing that’s crystal clear: strong, supportive self-talk is the starting line. Every day, I notice the full range of benefits—from tiny wins to major shifts—that come from keeping the weight off for good. I also speak to myself with kindness. Like when I’m reaching for a cookie that’s not on my plan, I’ll gently say to myself, “No ma’am.” (Lol. Clearly, I’ve been in the South too long.)

Strong & Supportive Self-Talk

Lifelong maintenance begins with one powerful shift: choosing to speak to yourself with kindness.

I intentionally shifted my self-talk in a more positive direction—day by day, moment by moment. I start by noticing something great about being thin, then I turn that observation into uplifting inner dialogue. Here are a few examples:

  • What I notice: When a season is over, I don’t worry about whether my clothes will fit for the incoming season.
  • What I tell myself: Oh, it feels so good to slide into jeans that fit. Will I ever get used to this amazing feeling! No, I never will.
  • What I notice: Tempting food isn’t a problem because I know exactly how to curb my appetite.
  • What I tell myself: Heaven. It feels heavenly to know (in my bones) how to walk by the food-porn. This is so exciting!
  • What I notice: I wear white jeans now.
  • What I tell myself: this is SO COOL I’m actually making smart eating work for the ultimate pay-off: white jeans! I just have to hang in there until my habits are fully embedded.
  • What I notice: At the doctor’s office I never hear, “your back is hurting possibly from the extra weight you’re carrying.”
  • What I tell myself: Doctors can’t blame health problems on my weight. I love it!
  • What I notice: I don’t have the constant drumbeat in the back of my mind hammering I’m too heavy, I’m too heavy, I’m too heavy.
  • What I tell myself: Do I have a drumbeat at all in my head these days? Maybe if I have one, it’s more, let’s go on cruise, let’s go on a cruise, let’s go on a cruise.

Seth Godin says we “earn trust through action.” When it comes to developing lasting, smart eating habits, that means earning our own trust—day in and day out.

Show yourself you mean business by making small, intentional choices. For example, make a book-dessert a regular thing in your life, call fruit your dessert or save your dessert for the next morning to go with your coffee. (more on desserts for breakfast here.) And play your favorite music—whether it’s The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, or Cher — for some reason, when the music’s on, food becomes less important. Ultimately, shifting your self-talk toward kindness and positivity, minute by minute. It’s these daily choices that build the foundation for lasting success. ♥

Pearl Two

Writing prompts for your journal

  • How do I identify myself? I see myself as someone who . . .
  • What scares me the most about being in maintenance. . .
  • If the fear somehow drifted away, it would mean that I could . . .
  • What emotional triggers make maintenance feel shaky? How do I handle them now?
  • How do I bounce back after a slip? What’s my process for returning to the Smart Eating Path?
  • What triggers a slip?
  • What patterns from my old life try to creep back in—and how do I push them away gently but firmly?
  • What does “compassionate self-discipline” look like in real life for me?
  • If I imagined maintenance as a daily act of self-respect rather than a burden, what would I do differently? ♥

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. Apply to your own life.

Automatic Sequence

  • Situation (be specific): Claire has just left the doctor’s office after getting a cancer diagnosis. The doctor asked her to choose between surgery and lifestyle change with medication.
  • Her automatic thought: I’m not ready for this. This happens to other people, not me.
  • Feeling: Rattled from all of information that comes with a diagnosis, but mainly fear.
  • Action: Claire gripped the steering wheel and her fingers went white. She drove home and had glass after glass of chardonnay.
  • Result: Claire doesn’t have experience with self-soothing during terrible times and her fears compound as she moves forward.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (be specific): Claire has just left the doctor’s office after getting a cancer diagnosis. The doctor asked her to choose between surgery and lifestyle change with medication.
  • Her chosen thought: Okay, this is where life gets real. She breathed deeply. I have to own this.
  • Feeling: She feels more confident about making what can be a life-or-death situation.
  • Action: She gripped the wheel, not out of fear, but focus. She drives home and cuddles with her rescue-kitty and orders books from the library.
  • Result: She’s able to manage the complexity of handling such a difficult diagnosis. ♥

Pearl Four

The book-dessert pearl

What a great memoir I’m sharing with you today. I highly recommend this sweet read called The Boys: a Memoir of Hollywood and Family by Mr. Opie Taylor (sorry) by Mr. Ron Howard and his brother Clint Howard. Both were kid-actors and for once the origin story isn’t tragic. Malcolm Gladwell summed it up, “I have read dozens of Hollywood memoirs. But The Boys stands alone. A delightful, warm and fascinating story of a good life in show business.”  Much like The Andy Griffith Show itself, this memoir radiates kindness, simplicity, and decency. You’ll love it. ♥

Pearl Five

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.
–Albert Einstein (1879-1955) ♥

Share the Love! If this post helped you, please send it to your doctor or anyone in the healthcare field They might not know anything about weight loss/maintenance after age 50 — you could help them help others. Thanks for spreading the word!

Make it a smart eating week! And I hope to see you on Facebook.

♥, 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 Endless Summers

Maintaining Weight Loss Without Getting Bored to Death

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Pearl One

Welcome to a five-week focus on maintenance (or what I call “preservation” (I’ll use both terms interchangeably until we all get used to the new word). Today in our first week we’re talking about how I’ve preserved weight loss for eighteen years to date.

So, you’ve done the hard work — the weight’s off, the jeans zip, the mirror gives a wink. But now comes the part no one talks about, the part where our eating plan gets boring, routines get stale, and you wonder if “forever” is really doable. Here’s the truth: weight loss maintenance doesn’t have to be bland, joyless, or rigid. In fact, it can sparkle — if you let it.

Maintaining Feels Like a Forever Job with No Excitement

I’m the first to say that one of the best habits I ever established was becoming super dedicated to tracking what I eat in a day. The habit is embedded into my heart and soul. I track on Christmas and on my birthday and on all travel. At the same time, I completely get that daily tracking, measuring, and looking for doughnut-substitutes over time becomes a major blah. Food can easily go from pleasure to tracking math to just giving up.

So let’s say that you’re now on the maintenance path. But once you’re well into your third month, the effort of maintaining feels boring, flat and pointless. I mean, who wants to preserve a thirty-pound weight loss?

(Yawn.)

Instead, it’s important to know that in our new, still young century we’re doing maintenance very differently than the last century where maintenance wasn’t even discussed.

I’ve learned that the most important part of preserving our original loss is making maintenance meaningful. We need to establish habits that feel natural to us, not performative. And to find ways to celebrate ourselves that feel enriching versus silly. Let’s build purpose and fun into our preservation-life. How to do it? The answers are inside our pen through journal-writing (see prompts in pearl two).

An example from my life: maintaining my weight loss became a done-deal after I had my babies. I knew that I didn’t want to go to the beach worrying about how I looked in my bathing suit and feeling uncomfortable the entire time because my jeans were cutting off my airway. I wanted my focus to be on my kids. The babies gave me purpose.

Today, I maintain for my one-day grandchildren, grand-dogs or grand-cats (a grand-bird would be wonderful too). I want to be fit and healthy enough to really be in their lives and not just watch from the couch. I also want to pass on to them how to deal with our food-gone-wild culture.

Maintenance isn’t about being perfect or having abounding willpower — it’s about being consistent, kind to yourself and curious. Some days you’ll feel like a rockstar. Some days you’ll just make it to bedtime. In either case, just continue on your Smart Eating Path. ♥

Pearl Two

The writing prompt pearl

The reasons for journal-writing are many but you’re looking to engage with your subconscious, to learn about new nooks and crannies inside of you, to examine your day-to-day and see what takes form. Based on pearl one, here are today’s writing prompts.

  • How have you engaged with maintenance in the past? Be as specific as you can.
  • What do you think about looking at maintenance from a new angle and a new century? Nobody talked about maintenance decades ago because nobody knew how to do. it. How do you think that impacted you?
  • A successful maintenance is about using the strength and flexibility of our minds to preserve our original loss. It was never about running ten miles every other day or eating only salad, it starts in our minds. What does this mean for your life?
  • How do you plan to manage the emotions that come from maintenance? Meaning how do you infuse purpose into your daily? How do you create an umbilical cord from your heart to your value system? ♥

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. Apply to your own life.

Automatic Sequence:

  • Situation (be super concrete): I’ve gained five pounds after losing thirty.
  • Automatic thought: I can’t believe it but here I go again. What is wrong with me?
  • Feeling: irritation and hopelessness.
  • Action: I react by overeating.
  • Result: I always will be back and forth on my weight. It’s my own fault.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (be super concrete): I’ve gained five pounds after losing thirty.
  • Chosen thought: I’m fine. I’m doing something totally new here. There will be no drama, just curiosity. This is what Wendy says is part of the lifetime maintenance process.
  • Feeling: empathy for myself and an interest in diving into what’s working well and what needs help.
  • Action: I take time to read carefully through my tracker that I keep in the kitchen.
  • Result: It takes two weeks, but I’m back inside the four-pound weight window I established for myself. ♥

Pearl Four

The book-dessert pearl

As I’ve mentioned I love memoirs, I joke that it’s because I’m nosy, but it really is more to do with feeling connected to others. The funny thing about Sally Field’s memoir In Pieces is that as the reader we get to know her better, but it soon becomes clear that the author has long valued privacy. In her story, she starts at the beginning with the women who raised her. She is open and vulnerable. I mean, who knew that an actress of her stature would have to go out on a limb to play Mary Todd in the movie Lincoln? In Pieces is a rich, lovely book-dessert. ♥

Pearl Five

You do not find the happy life. You make it.” — Camilla Eyring Kimball ♥

It would be wonderful if you tell your doctors about our site the Inspired Eater.

Let me know in the comments below what you’d to more of: maintenance? Getting started? Dealing with the messy middle? I would love to hear from you.

Make it a fun week! And I hope to see you on Facebook.

♥, 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 Endless Summers

Great News! Being a Goofball is No Reason to Stop Losing Weight After 50

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Pearl One

First a caveat, I’m so thankful for the self-help world; I’ve benefited greatly. So please don’t think I’m dissing self-help. Not at all.

Given that, 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. I also became a licensed therapist in CA for a few years.

But somehow I took in a super subtle message – just lightly layered into the self-help vehicles – that high self-esteem is essential before we can create something of value (in our case, taking back our health; losing and maintaining after 50).

And yet I’m proof that the theory is completely wrong! I lost 55 lbs. and have kept them off for nineteen years now, and I’m a total goofball.

Turns out, we don’t have to be heads and shoulders above the average. We can feel so-so inside and still produce massive 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 a time or two, but on the whole, I utterly freak out when I’m supposedly “being courageous.” So, not sure that counts. (Still working in a “staying serene in a crisis” thing.)

And yet – even with iffy self-esteem — I lost the 55 lbs. and have maintained the loss for nineteen years now.

Our Takeaway

We don’t need the confidence of Oprah, the emotional strength of Brene Brown, or the brains and stamina of Sara Blakely (Spanx).

We can be an emotional mess and still lose and maintain after 50!! Isn’t the best?

Isn’t that the best?! Doesn’t that just open up the whole world to us? We don’t have to “have our act together” to get out there and make it happen. We’re messy and that’s okay.

My new mantra, please join me: we can be mushy on the inside and still create amazing lives for ourselves.

Because remember: I’m you.

Let’s take our messy paths together. ♥

Pearl Two

Writing prompts for you and your journal:

  • What does “having it all together” actually mean to me? Where did that idea come from?
  • What parts of my life are working well right now, even if they’re small?
  • What strengths have I developed because of the mess, not in spite of it?
  • When was a time I moved forward without a perfect plan—and it still worked out?
  • If I waited until all my ducks were flying in formation, what would I miss out on?
  • What would “progress” look like today if I gave myself permission to be imperfect?
  • What am I afraid people will think if they see I don’t have it all together? Is that fear really mine—or something I’ve been taught?
  • How would my definition of success change if I valued resilience over polish?
  • Where am I underestimating myself right now? What would I try if I trusted myself more?
  • What does showing up anyway look like for me this week? What one bold move could I make—even if I feel shaky doing it?What do you think about crazy-wild success like a Jeffrey Bezos? Or even Kris Jenner?
  • People who are super successful are . . .
  • I wish that I were more. . .
  • Do you think of yourself as a food-binge or an over eater in general or both?
  • The root cause for you seems to be. . .
  • It’s hard for me to believe that women over 50 can. . .♥

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. Apply to your own life.

Automatic Sequence:

  • Situation (be super concrete): My 22-year-old has my hair – if it gets “long” I look like a cavewoman – and he’s growing his.
  • Default thought: He looks like a caveman. Why in the world is he choosing to look like a ragamuffin?
  • Feeling: perplexed and annoyed.
  • Action: I say nothing.
  • Result: Nothing improves.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (be super concrete): My 22-year-old has my hair – if it gets “long” I look like a cavewoman – and he’s growing his.
  • Chosen thought: Part of maturing is trying out different hair and clothes styles.
  • Feeling: Empathetic to his position as a young person exploring what he likes and doesn’t like.
  • Action: I say nothing.
  • Result: I talk to myself about my son being a separate person from me. And that he’s pushing back and my tolerating is what being a “good enough” mom is all about. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

The River Is Waiting: A Novel by Wally Lamb (yes, that Wally Lamb, but apparently Oprah’s made peace with the author because I found this book on her book list). I’m just now diving into the story. It was on the lists as one of the most awaited books of 2025. ♥

Pearl Five

“One thing I have come to notice in my life is that recovery for me has not been linear. It’s more two steps forward, three back, five forward, two back, so I’m always improving but there are setbacks within the improvement.” — Jonathan Van Ness ♥

Rather than telling friends or family about my site, it would be awesome if you would tell your doctors the Inspired Eater.

Make it a beautiful week! And I hope to see you on Facebook.

♥, 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 Endless Summers

Vacation Eating! 10 Smart Tips to Travel Without Gaining Weight

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Pearl One

One

Make a contract with yourself. About two weeks before a trip, the first thing I do is have a writing conversation with myself using my journal. I write about how I see my vacation unfolding and what I most want to experience in my getaway. I include “time at the pool” or “dinner at Max’s”, and I always include “planning how to not gain weight on vacation.” The goal is to not allow my stomach to get so crazy hungry that I’m likely to go Cookie Monster on vacation food.

I note which days of my trip will likely be challenging. For example, if on day one I have a five-hour flight, I plan to have a PB&J sandwich in my purse. Two if necessary. I’ve also gotten a lot of mileage out of cheese sandwiches. And sliced apples are always a good idea. (Apples are amazingly filling.) Getting hungry at the airport and on the plane? A thing of the past.

Two

Two weeks before the trip, I consciously eat really well. I basically eat to be at the lower part of my four-pound weight window. I give up wine, breads and amp up the fruits and veggies.

Three

Motivation. In the days before we leave, I pump myself up by journal-writing about what really matters most to me on this particular trip (my responses usually have nothing to do with food).

I tether myself like an umbilical cord to the what-matters-most thought. Here’s how: I “put” the thought into a bracelet or ring and tell myself that each time I look at the bracelet or ring I’ll remember what it’s representative of i.e. you’re building smart eating habits and you no longer confuse food-porn with a blast of a vacation. Lusting for food-porn is merely a sign that you need food-food.

Four

More motivation. Music! Pick only one song to use for your trip-song. Might I suggest Tom Petty’s song “I Won’t Back Down” (“they can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won’t back down”); Katy Perry’s “Roar”; and Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What doesn’t kill you”). Adopt one song that you “hear” in your head and carry with you on your trip. Use your song as needed and share in the comments below which song you chose!

Five

How I eat. I know with the fad eating styles out there, it might be hard to hear what sounds like one more, but the eating style that’s worked for me: breakfast like a king, lunch like a princess and dinner like a pauper with two afternoon snacks included. Science backs my personal experience with this study here.

Six

Small is big. I was in the fancy concierge lounge of a cruise ship recently and marveled at the beautifully prepared small sample-bites the staff laid out. Sometimes we’d find savory bites and sometimes sweet, but it was always just two or three-bites worth of food. And just those few bites really filled me up. Color me blown-away. When I’m pondering a second scoop of ice cream or more lasagna, I default into remembering how filling three bites can be.

Seven

I always do this. Always, always. When I come across desserts in the evening or even cookies in the afternoon I save the treat to eat in the mornings only to have with my coffee. Read more about how sweet breakfasts work here: Brownies for Breakfast.

Eight

Adjusting. Be real about what you “have to” taste at your destination. If something is so iconic that you “have to try it” like Italian ice cream in Italy, just plan for it. For example, if I eat a large breakfast and medium-sized lunch, I might have two scoops of gelato around 4:00 pm, but then not eat dinner on top of the gelato.

Nine

Staying full. I keep fiber and/or protein bars in my purse at all times so that I never get too hungry to make smart food choices. Again, hunger is not a friend at least for now. Letting yourself get hungry is the exact path to careening off the Smart Eating Path. So keep bars in your bag.

Ten

Smart. I keep a running log on my phone about what I’ve eaten and count the calories or points for each food. Tracking our food has been studied and the most successful at weight loss and preservation are the trackers.

Planning and tethering to “what matters most” in a trips is what let me return home at the weight I choose to be. ♥

Pearl Two

Grab your journal and write to these prompts:

  • What could I do to mess up my trip?
  • What can I do to set myself up for solid success?
  • How do I usually eat when I’m on vacation?
  • If your trip eating habits start off well, but then peter out what can you introduce into the equation to achieve success?
  • Is it not a fun vacation if you don’t “eat and drink” big?
  • If yes, then ask yourself what will take the place of “eat and drink.”
  • If you’re following Pearl One, does all the work involved feel off-putting?
  • What are your thoughts on this topic: “I take my smart eating habits with me on trips just like I bring my prescription medication.”
  • Go through the ten tips in Pearl One and write about each topic and include what doesn’t worry you and what very much does worries you.
  • Are there solutions to address what does worry you?

Does the idea of planning and prepping seem like an excessive amount of work for a one-week trip? Over time, you’ll embed smart travel eating habits and it’ll be far easier to take habits on a trip. While it’s not easy, there’s nothing like returning home having gained all of six ounces. ♥

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

This sequence is about me in my high school years.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (be super concrete): I have a memory of being in the quad and complimenting one of my favorite teachers and she replied, “Wendy, you’re being a brown-nose.”
  • Chosen thought: Mrs. Harris deflected my compliment because she felt too in the spotlight.
  • Feeling: empathy.
  • Action: While I didn’t know as a teen how to create better sequences for myself, I’ve since learned to compliment others.
  • Result: I had to re-learn a long time ago that everyone loves to get an authentic, from-the-heart “nice boots” every day of the week. Or as Mark Twain said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.”

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to happy.

I have a great memoir for you today. It took a second or two to get into but The Next Day, Transition, Change and Moving Forward by Melinda French Gates, is worth it. NPR calls it,”Deeply personal… [Gates] takes readers inside the moments that have defined her.”

She writes about her values, and children and divorce. I loved this memoir. ♥

Pearl Five

Every small step you take is a promise to the part of you that still believes.” ♥

Anonymous

If you enjoyed reading this post, I’d appreciate it so much if you’d share it with others.

Make it a beautiful week! And I hope to see you on Facebook.

♥, 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 Endless Summers

Is Weight Loss After Menopause Possible? Here’s the Truth

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Who doesn’t love a pudgy baby?

Pearl One

As a kid, my mom would tell me that I should lose weight while I was still young because “it only gets harder to lose when you’re older.”

When I was in my twenties and early thirties I used Weight Watchers (on and off) before finally getting down to business and creating a forever-loss for myself. As you know, I took off fifty-five pounds by my early forties with a twin pregnancy in the middle of the hoopla. Once nobody was inside of me, I left one baby with The Scarfer and took the other baby to the Weight Watchers meeting with me.

As I got older, I paid close attention to the senior women at those WW meetings and I noticed that they weren’t having an easier or harder time of losing weight than the rest of us. In fact, they seemed to be just like us younger folk. No different at all.

Turns out that it was much easier – for me at least — as an adult to lose weight because adults have a car, car keys, shopping power and the agency to set her own eating schedule.

Kids don’t have any of that.

I recently stumbled upon a study out of England in 2020 that studied 242 patients who were being treated for obesity at a university hospital. Long story short, they concluded that those of us over sixty can lose just as much weight as the youngsters; that, in fact, “age didn’t present a problem.” I love when science backs up what I’d noticed anecdotally.

So – great news – if it feels really hard to lose weight: you were right! It is really hard to lose and maintain, but thankfully, none of us have to make this trek alone! In fact, just a thought, but everyone who feels alone and wants to interact, click on my Facebook Page and let’s get to know each other. ♥

Pearl Two

Thank you to MW for nudging me in the right direction. This blog is better because of this wonderful engaged group.

Like MW, several readers wondered what they should write about in their journals. Great question. I love addressing journal-writing because I think it’s the most powerful therapy that places the trust in our own brain and inner workings, and is both affordable and accessible.  So, we’ll dedicate Pearl Two to writing prompts based on Pearl One’s topic like these for today:

  • When you were a kid, what did you think about your body and weight?
  • What were you told as a child? As a teen?
  • Was there trauma around the scale? How did it leave you feeling?
  • If you tried to lose weight as a child/teen how did it go?
  • I grew up feeling. . .
  • I remember thinking…
  • I was jealous of. . .
  • If food became a comfort for you, how did that play out?
  • What did you hope for re: your body and health in your twenties?
  • Same question in your thirties?
  • And in your forties?
  • Now that you’re over 50, why is staying on the Smart Eating Path important to you?
  • What do you think of “the Big Three: Big Fast-Food, Big Grocery Store Junk-Food and Big Portion Sizes?”
  • What do you think of your own abilities to persevere during tough times?
  • Can you form an affirmation for yourself like “I eat well before grocery shopping.” ♥

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

This story is an amalgamation of moms I’ve known.

  • Situation (be very concrete): I have a newborn.
  • Automatic thought: I adore my baby, but the house is a mess.
  • Feeling: irritated.
  • Action: I clean around caring for my baby.
  • Result: I got few things done.

Bridges in-between.

  • Situation (be very concrete): I have a newborn.
  • Chosen thought: Everyone wants the pretty-picture including me. But I’m running with the advice to sleep when my baby sleeps and cuddle and feed him when he’s awake.
  • Feeling: Less embarrassed at how my house looks, and reminding myself that my son will speed through his baby years and I can clean the house then.
  • Action: I focus on one thing which is handling the dishes, otherwise I belong to my baby.
  • Result: My house is messy, but it’s  the most adorable home on the block. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

I was immediately drawn into An American Marriage (Oprah’s Book Club): A Novel by Tayari Jones. About the book Barack Obama called it “a moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple.” Not what I was expecting from the title, but at the first page I was engrossed. The book’s vibe reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird (if you’ve never read, I highly recommend).

I wouldn’t call either book “a beach read,” but both would be great on a flight. ♥

Pearl Five

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” — Lao Tzu ♥

If you enjoyed reading this post, I appreciate it so much if you could share with others.

Make it a smart eating week! And I hope to see you on Facebook.

♥, 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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Finding a Jewel in a Tough Moment When We’re Losing After Age 50

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Habits are where the rubber-meets-the-road reality.

Pearl One

I resisted sharing this information, but my husband (aka The Scarfer) kept saying “Tell your readers.” My first thought was the last thing my readers want to read is this particular problem, but then I realized that there’s an awesome lesson for everyone in the last months of being sick.

You may remember that I had the flu last December – I had to be told that it was Christmas Eve — and just as I started to improve, I felt hit by the flu a second time in January by either my original December-flu or a brand-new flu, I’m still not sure. I never tested so I don’t know what I had. I only knew that I’d planned to begin a new time-sensitive project on February first and didn’t get to didn’t start until March first. I didn’t feel fully like myself again until likely May.

This flu story pertains to you, I promise.

When I first got sick last December, I stopped weighing myself and didn’t start again until sometime in the Spring.

You guys, when I first got on the scale. I was shocked. My weight was twelve pounds under my weight window’s lowest weight.  You know I’m not bragging. I believe smug goes right before falling down a stairwell.

The weight loss did nothing for me. I looked frail (and old.)

Your Takeaway

My point is let’s take a moment to applaud the power of habit. Even on my sickest days when I wasn’t consciously maintaining smart eating habits, the habits just kicked-in on their own volition. In the old days when I was sick, I might have lost five-pounds of water weight which always came right back on. as soon as I returned to my regular life of overeating.

I remember times when I’d even gain weight when I was sick much like a guy I know of who said he gained eight pounds during his bout with whooping cough.

Habits are not woo-woo like “let’s do your chakras!”

Habits are where the rubber-meets-the-road reality.

Keep Atomic Habits front-and-center in your life. Re-read a chapter or even a paragraph each day and then remind yourself that we live in the junkiest junk-food world womankind has ever known. It’s not a time to beat up on yourself, it’s a time to look around our culture and think, yes, no wonder I have such a hard time. There’s opportunity to overeat food-porn everywhere.

We decide what we’ll weigh, not the you-only-live-once-brigade. ♥

Pearl Two

Onto cookbooks.  My thought about cookbooks the diet-houses have long encouraged us to buy is that losing and preserving for a lifetime is based on embedding smart eating habits and working with yourself for engaging with food in a new way.

There are so many hurtles to losing/preserving for a life-time the last thing we need is more things to do.

Yes, I gave you my smoothie and whole wheat muffin recipe, but that’s where my recipe-pushing ends.

We can establish smart eating habits that do not include learning new recipes. Losing weight is hard enough given our world and we need to focus. Instead of whipping up a less sugar version of apple cobbler, have an apple. The focus needs to be on you like the following:

  • Eating a snack, and then shopping for your favorite smart foods so that they’re readily available.
  • Packing and taking your cold-tote with you everywhere.
  • Getting back on the horse every single time.
  • Tracking what you eat in notebook by fridge.
  • Planning for success.
  • Writing in your journal. ♥

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 story is about a friend from decades ago:

Automatic Sequence:

  • Situation (be super concrete): My credit card is maxed out. I bought new clothes this week and my husband saw the credit card bill.
  • Thought: Darn. I was hoping he wouldn’t see it.
  • Feeling: Guilty and stupid. I feel like having to defend my buying decisions.
  • Action: I open a new credit card.
  • Result: I’m approved!

Many bridges between the first and last.

Chosen Sequence

  • Situation (be super concrete): My credit card is maxed out. I bought new clothes this week and my husband saw the credit card bill.
  • Chosen thought: I seem to have a problem with overbuying and it’s become a real financial problem.
  • Feeling: I feel relived because I know I’m finally addressing my problem.
  • Action: I’m journal-writing asking myself questions to figure out what the heck is going on with me and buying clothes.
  • Result: I’m less defensive, have a clear conscious about bills, and now shop at a thrift store. I’m also working on being less sneaky with my purchases. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

From the author who brought us the following titles:

  • A Man Called Ove – loved!
  • My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry – loved!
  • Britt-Marie Was Here – Loved!
  • Beartown – I had a hard time getting into this one, but I’m very much in the minority.
  • Us Against You – Same review as above,
  • The Winners – These last three books are a trilogy. Enjoy, I’m the outlier for sure.
  • Anxious People – loved!

Mr. Fredrik Backman has brought another book into our lives titled My Friends. I’ve only just started, but I can tell you that the book came out in May 2025 and already has 4.5-stars from over 5,000 Amazon readers and 4.5 on from over 35,000 on.Goodreads.

We’re in good hands. ♥

Pearl Five

I am not what happened to me. I am what I wish to become.” — Carl Jung ♥

I hear you. Groceries are expensive. But if you’re actively losing or preserving, buy your favorite produce anyhow. And since you’re not dining out as much because the enormous serving sizes are not your thing anymore. Use the saved eating out money on red grapes, cherries and watermelon. Get your favorite yogurt flavors. Make this as easy on yourself as possible.

Have a great week everyone!

♥, 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 Endless Summers

The Granular on Extinguishing Your Sugar Habit For Good  

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Pearl One

We’ll do it differently and begin with our journal today. The following is exactly what I did to put desserts in their place. You’re in charge of your health, not the candy companies.

Take a few moments to write to the following prompts:

One

What change would you most love to make in your day-to-day eating? Remember to set yourself up for success, by keeping your change small and manageable. I’ll use myself as an example: A couple of years back, I wanted to eliminate eating sugar in the evening. I told myself repeatedly that if I wanted cheesecake in the evening, I’d plan to have it the next morning. More on morning-eating here: Brownies for Breakfast.

Two

Remember, that to establish a new habit I had to give up evening sugar for sixty-six days (time it takes to establish a habit according to my favorite ’09 study out of England). I know that sixty-six days sounds overwhelming, but it’s only the first sixteen days that require a full plan to be written each morning.

That said, when you’re ready to change a bad habit, plan the date you’ll begin. Put thought into it. Don’t try this on the spur of the moment. You’re developing a new habit around your favorite helper/entertainer/caregiver: food. So be respectful of what you’re attempting to do. For the first sixteen days in the morning write a plan only for that specific day and note where the challenging parts of the day lie. Ask yourself, why the challenges come up when they do (ex: I’m tired from my long day at work or I think the boss is probably mad at me etc.). And write a smart eating plan for those tough times.

For me, I overate in the afternoons and well into the evenings taking in mass quantities.

Here’s how I plan in the morning, to contract with myself exactly how my evening will look.

5 pm: If I’m already hungry, I eat a small snack — like half of a banana and read a positive book until dinner. I then listen to a super positive podcast.

6 pm: I’ll have a small dinner like half a cantaloupe and cottage cheese or a scrambled egg with cheese (in moderation). I call cheese a spice.

6:15 to 7 pm — I’ll listen to really great music like Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, Tom Petty, and Prince (music reliably takes me to a better place). The science world is taking note and studying how music affects our brains. For example: “JUST TAKE THOSE OLD RECORDS OFF THE SHELF. . .” You know the next line. See how a fun song is electrifying and does a body good?

Music is a serious game changer. Use its power.

7 pm: I’ll take Summer on her walk tonight.

8 pm: I shower, brush my teeth, put on my jams and get to bed early with a book-dessert

You get the idea. As I list ways that I can support my “no evening sugar” plan, it’s important that I only list ways that are fun to me. Can’t be lamo.

So plan to get what you need: an upper podcast, great music, a book-dessert, and smart food that you love (grapes and yogurt). In other words set yourself up for success.

Three

How will you record your daily results? Peter Drucker said, “What gets measured, improves.” I keep myself on track by measuring lots and lots of things: like my food (with measuring cups), my daily weight (on my laptop) and so forth. Tracking my food is crucial for the right outcome. I keep a notepad next to the refrigerator. I’ve tracked food for almost two decades now. I still see it as so important,

Goodbye Sugar!

I’ll be honest, the first couple of weeks of no-sugar were hard. I read a lot of great books, listened to awesome music, and got a lot of sleep. lol. But by week three the sugar cravings died way down. I’m on Day 128 of no-sugar, the cravings are gone, and I’m treating this hard-won habit like the crown-jewel that it is.

Update: on 9-26-21: I’ve been sugar-free after dinner for nine months now. Today I won’t risk the successful months I’ve accumulated by eating ice cream at night.

Update on 6-9-25: I have full control of evening and morning sugar. Was this difficult? Well, of course. Do difficult anyway. ♥

Pearl Two

Do you mind another James Clear quote? In Atomic Habits James writes that “the greatest threat to success is not failure, but boredom.”

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve done a ton of dumb stuff in my life merely because I was bored. And – as we all well know — eating fun food is surefire way to pinball us straight out of boredom (at least for the moment). Fun food is cheap, fun food is a breeze to attain, and fun food is sanctioned by the world.

When fun food calls to me it means one of three things. I’m either hungry, tired or I’m bored. If I’m all three, I’ve really entered the twilight zone.

Getting un-bored with our new habit isn’t a walk on the beach. The smartest way to give our subconscious a way to “talk” to us is through journal-writing.

Pick up the pen – or keyboard- and discover what makes you sparkle and come up with creative ideas to bring the sparkle to life. ♥

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

  • Situation (be super concrete): When I have any problem on my laptop, I call for IT guys in my family to help.
  • Automatic thought: I’m a dingdong and am not good at technology.
  • Feeling: Mad and sad at family members who get upset with me for needing help.
  • Action: I continue whining and coming across as hopeless/helpless.
  • Result: It’s a pain to get what I need done on my laptop. I’m always begging.

Chosen Thought:

  • Situation (be super concrete): When I have any problem on my laptop, I call for IT guys in my family to help.
  • Conscious thought: I’m starting today to google problems I might have on my computer.
  • Feeling: A sense of pride and happiness at being able to fix the computer without bugging somebody.
  • Action: I’ll google for answers until I can’t find one, and only then will I request help. I rarely need help on the computer anymore.
  • Result: Happier, more confident me! And the IT guys in my family seem to know that perpetually asking for help. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

We’re almost half way through the year, so I thought I’d share my three favorites so far.

Loving Frank: a Novel by Nancy Horan.

My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern: A Novel by Lynda Cohen Loigman ♥

Pearl Five

But patience can’t be acquired overnight. It’s just like building up a muscle. Every day you need to work on it, to push its limits.” —Eknath Easwaran ♥

Do you remember the book-dessert pearl from last week? Well I finished Chelsea Handler current book — I’ll Have What She’s Having — and was absolutely blown away at how good the book was. I’d read the first half before I wrote the post. And it was what I’d expect in a great book by Handler. But over the weekend I read the second-half and was floored. Describing the process that Handler went through was big-time inspiring for me. I never reread books, but I’m going in for my second read right now.

Handler has had six of her memoirs on the New York Times best seller list. Plus she loves dogs and I love that. This an easy-to-read book (although it’s substantial in size) perfect at the beach, plane, long afternoon alone. But fair warning: You’ll well up and your mascara won’t stand a chance. Really thought provoking..

And a word about politics. We don’t have them on here. Handler is a devout progressive but meets up with a former Republican president. It’s a sweet, super kind story. I might recommend Michele Obama’s Becoming and a week later Hillbilly Elegy.

Have a wonderful 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, 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 Endless Summers

5 Concepts to Embrace for Losing Weight & Maintaining After 50

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Pearl One

A lifetime weight loss doesn’t just happen like one day we instantly find ourself on a Hawaiian beach. We know that a ton of planning goes into any trip. These five ideas are “must Journal-write about” prompts.

Take a close look at five ideas that has had my back.

Eating.

Write a daily mission plan that includes eating a big breakfast, a medium-sized lunch and a tiny dinner with two small snacks during the day. By “tiny dinner” I mean a cup of brown mixed with my favorite veggies (Costco’s Stir Fry in frozen next to strawberries. I add a smidgen of salt and low-salt soy sauce.) Then I take my book-dessert upstairs for a good read. If you find yourself struggling because you’re legit hungry have an apple or a banana. The whole “tiny dinner” thing takes time to establish. Remember the study that said it takes sixry-six days to establish a habit.

Plateauing.

The new plateauing is called “holding” and is — in modern times — considered crucial for lifetime maintenance.

Self-sabotage.

Did you know that if a newborn has hair he might pull it hard and scream at the same time? It’s all the caregiver can do to get the baby to release its iron-grip fist pulling his own hair. We can see the self-sabotage with the baby, but less so in our own self. A question for your journal: how am I pulling my own hair? Revisit this topic on the regular in your journal.

Recovery.

How do you pull yourself back onto the Smart Eating path? Everyone slips up. It’s just how human beings are built. We live in the land of massive junk-food and so, of course we might “slip” and overeat or eat trigger foods that send us into an overeating-mode for weeks or months to come.

Have a plan in place for getting back on the path.

A story about habits.

I know about a man who had an awesome habit of going to his fancy gym five or six times a week. Something happened health-wise and he couldn’t go in for two weeks. So, you know what he did instead? Every day he would drive to the gym and hang out in the parking lot for 15 minutes or so thereby maintaining his workout habit. Love this. His response to “two weeks off” was to show profound respect for the habit he’d taken time to embed.

I tell myself that I learn as I go. You and I are works in progress. ♥

Pearl Two

How should it look? Somewhere within our fad-diet culture we accepted the idea that weight loss should unfold in a linear style. You start at 200-pounds and get down to 130 in a couple months.

We’re accustomed to our world being somewhat A + B = C. We start college as freshman and finish as seniors four years later (hopefully). The December holidays follow Thanksgiving that follows Halloween (in the U.S.).

And that’s how we want our Smart Eating Lifestyle too. Picture-perfect, pristine, and — above all — linear.

Not only that, we demand that it be so. And if our experience isn’t linear, we beat up ourselves for not doing a better job. We have no willpower (nobody maintained a forever-loss on willpower.)

Having maintained a 55-pound loss for 18 years, I can assure you that it did not come off in a linear fashion. It was a small win among many fails. It helped that I’d embedded the habit of getting back on the horse.

It often comes down to instilling the right food habits. ♥

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 (be super concrete, something we all agree is true): My weight is stuck at 160 pounds and I can’t seem to nudge it.
  • Chosen thought: My weight isn’t dropping but I’m cool with the idea that I’m plateauing (or “holding”) and this is a good thing.
  • Feeling: I feel a little amped up thinking I can do this.
  • Action: I remind myself throughout the day that I’m in the holding mode and that is a wonderful place to be. My body is adjusting to the 160 weight which is important. If I drop weight too quickly, it’ll pile back on just as fast.
  • Result: I work on my habits. I’m currently embedding the habit of eating a small dinner around six o‘clock and taking a book dessert to bed. ♥

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

I think this woman is hilarious and apparently, she knows how to write too. Unless I’m mistaken, Chelsea Handler’s debut book was My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands back in 2005 And it was such a hit that she went on to write many more.

I’ve read all of Handler’s prior books because she’s brutally honest and so open about her own life. She loves making money and loves and sharing it with her siblings and friends so that they’ll travel with her. Her latest book out is I’ll Have What She’s Having (2025).

Note: this is my time to say this website is very much NOT political, If a book works as a book-dessert it’ll be included as one. One Monday it might be Michele Obama in On Becoming, other Mondays it could be Hillbilly Eligy by JD Vance. Both are phenomenal reads.

Rather than political stance, I look for does this human love animals and which ones were their favorite? Or does this person like books? Or what is the person’s stance on pizza?

These books make for a light and fun summer of reading:

These books would a riot for the beach, the pool, the living room couch, plane and the like. ♥

Pearl Five

When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven’t.”
Thomas A. Edison ♥

Welcome to summer!! I remember summer sunburns and how hard it was to get sleep at night as a kid in the summer even with open windows and a good floor fan. Oddly enough, sunburns and floor fans are my fond memories.

What are some memories from your childhood? Share in the comments below.

Have a great week everyone!

♥, 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 Breathtaking Springs

There’s Another Depression Out There: Could this be the One standing in Your Way?

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Let’s crack-open the therapists’ bible: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and comes with a number: reflecting updated new material.

Pearl One

A friend who’d survived childhood trauma cant shake it. Princess Diana likely had it especially during her bulimic years. And at my heaviest, I definitely had it.

Called the dumps, the blues, or not feeling one hundred percent on any on given day.

The therapy world calls this “dysthymia,” it’s the diagnosis given to someone who lives life with persistent long-term blah” depression.

Unlike major depression, those with dysthymia will:

  • open the curtains every morning.
  • shower and soapup right after coffee.
  • texts Jane that she’d love to meet at the pool tomorrow afternoon.

These high-functioning people look great on the outside. She wears smart outfits, goes out to lunch with friends; and vacations somewhere tropical when she can.

And yet she feels blue most of the time. And unless she confides in you, it’s unlikely you’d guess at how she’s feeling. She tends to numb the mild depressive with wine or food or — my favorite — both.

My point: losing for the long-run means addressing trauma at its roots. When we try to fix our eating issues by only examining what we put in our mouths, we’re missing the opportunity to make significant change in our lives; to invite meaningful growth into our world.But here’s the thing, we might have had dysthymia as kids, or teens or young adults (or all three). But today, let’s say that we no longer feel “stressed” Today we’re very much looking forward to our upcoming Hawaii trip, to seeing our grandson graduate Kindergarten, and planting bulbs for a spring backyard.

Life is pretty good.

So then why do we continue to overeat and feel blue? I like to see it this way: maybe we developed the eating habit in our childhoods. Back then, food was our portal to love. But today overeating has become a problem

Pearl Two

Thankfully I figured out that stomping the smug thought was vital, and instead thinking, I’m always learning. I’m always discovering. I slip and that’s okay. I’ll just meet the new day and go for it again. Over and over and over That sway what I did guys.

I know that a lot of Thrivers are having amazing success. And don’t get me wrong, I love hearing about the awesome strides everyone’s making, but consider nestling this phrase into your heart forever. A

♥ I’m not smug about losing.

♥ I’m not smug about losing.

♥ I’m not smug about losing.

If you’re having what anyone would deem “victory!!,” don’t be lured down the smug-pathway. It might seem like allowing ourselves to feel a tiny bit smug is the pinnacle of “success”, but it’s really the precursor to a downward spiral back into overeating-land. ♥


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 thoughtfully responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Autonomic Sequence

  • Situation (be very specific: state something we can all agree on): I eat three cups of ice cream every night.
  • Thought: What is wrong with you!
  • Feeling: Extremely irritated.
  • Action: Even though I try each night, I have zero possibility of getting to my personal weight if I consistently eat I cream before be.
  • Result: Clothes still don’t fit.

Chosen Sequence

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy

I’ve had this book on my TBR list for eons, and I only finally opened it two Fridays ago. Somehow, I missed the memo that said this is the greatest book of our generation. My sister loved it so much that now she buys every book the author writes. The Pillars of the Earth: by Ken Follett came out in 2007 when I was still raising the cutest set. So, if like me you’ve bypassed the Pillars of the Earth too, lets do this!

Pearl Five

“Celebrate progress, not perfection.” — Anonymous ♥

♥, 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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