The DIET series: #1

To go on diet or not to go on diet: That is the question!
I was reading Beth story on her battle to lose weight posted on her website/blog: www.theplussizemommy.com, sad but oh so common.
Since then I started to reflect on who do I know who have been on a diet (every single person I know!) and who has kept the weight off (nobody I know!)
Quite puzzling, indeed! (I love this word in English, indeed)
Are you like me? Each time I see an add to encourage us to lose weight I get skeptical. Especially those with pictures of a dieter taken before and after. I can't help to look really close to make sure the "before" and "after" person look alike (never too sure) and always wonder if they are still like the "after" or since then went back to the "before". Who knows....
As I said nobody I know as kept it off.
Well... there is actually 3 people who have lost weight that I know or that I can easily verify if they are for real and still on track, which might give us our 3 ways (no magic, sorry!) to lose weight:
- my friend Chantal has gone through bypass surgery and has lost a lot of weight. (I'll try to get from her the "before" and "after" pictures).
- Roslyn Franken (www.roslynfranken.com) offers counselling services based on her own experience(pictures of her "before" and "after" on her website), "Helping you make realistic, attainable AND sustainable changes for Healthy Eating, Postive Living and Effective Weight Management." (I can easily verify that she has kept the weight off, she lives in Ottawa).
and
- Louise' programme (in Vancouver area) at The Body Exchange is all based on.... Fitness (Louise runs bootcamps for plus size people in various locations in and around Vancouver, BC) and her last newsletter features Martin Hill who has lost 85 pounds! (I will tell you later if he kept it off)
Told you, no magic there, it's a lifetime battle and we, deep inside, all know it. Sorry Beth. But interestingly enough I guess a little bit of the 3 solutions used together would probably be ideal.
Ain't you excited? I have found the solutions that will solve our problems...
Okay, I know what you think: no energy to go ahead and do it! Yep that's the first part of the problem. We kind of know that there is solutions out there, that it won't be easy, that we'll have to work on it forever, BUT YET, most of us don't jump on it. WHY? why not take the chance?
Stay tuned, I'll address all that in the following articles.

This is my story of the day.
Catherine LG
Ottawa, June 25, 2009

The Two Rising Suns

Here is a text that I wrote a while ago, but after a discussion with a PS lady, it reminded me that it could be still useful.
Enjoy!

Recently, I received an email that outraged me!
A lady I know shared with me that she is always struggling with her body image.
AND GUESS WHAT? SHE IS NOT EVEN A PLUS SIZE!
In my Plus Size mentality I had never imagined that the “other” women were struggling too! Okay I am naive.
So that’s it, I AM AT WAR.
AT WAR with what we think about ourselves.
AT WAR with our self “Bad Mouthing”.
AT WAR with this idea of perfection.
I wish I had a perfect body too, believe me, whatever it means...
But ladies, today I have looked around and here is what I saw:
On each body I looked at (ladies of course), there was something that I would have exchanged: Too skiny, butt too small, nose too long, boobs too small, boobs too big, nice body but did not like the face, etc.... And yet, the lady with the too small boobs might think that only her nose is too long!
WOW that gets complicated!
Do you get the point?
Okay so stop for a minute and think: What if you had just moments to live and all those moments would form your life.
What it you were wasting all this precious time with your unhappiness.
Remember, as far as we know, we only have one life to live.
So here is an exercise:
Get in front of the mirror (a big one), lock the door and get naked.
I am not joking.
Then just PRETEND that you have the PERFECT body. No don’t close your eyes. Look at YOURSELF and BELIEVE that you have the PERFECT body.
Don’t we usually say that to be loved, you need to love yourself first?
What if all we needed to be loved and desired was to BELIEVE that we are BEAUTIFUL.
If it doesn’t work, go by pieces. Discover which part you really like and let go of others.
And BELIEVE that someone somewhere loves this part of you.
You don’t think so?
Listen to this:
When I was younger, one of my friends already had a lot of stretch marks on her butt. And you know what her boyfriend said? They look like two rising suns....
That was my thought for the week.
Catherine LG