Weighing it Up

I realised yesterday, my attitude to food is incredibly unhealthy.

I was wandering around waitrose (after nipping into John Lewis and spending twenty quid on this little lovely) and trying to pick something for dinner.  My Dad has been having a particularly difficult time with work of late and so I thought I'd make something he liked.  An eternity later, I can't really decide and opt for spaghetti bolognese.  On my walk home I realised that the chances are, a nice meal isn't going to make him feel much better about things.  Therein lies yet another difference between men and women.  For men, or the majority at least, food = fuel.  For women, again I'm generalising a bit, food = comfort.

Over the last few months, namely since the ex moved away, my diet has been far from exemplary.  It wasn't good before, but it got considerably worse.  I've put on weight.  Not much, but enough to push me to the high end of my dress size and I'm not about to start buying clothes that are one size bigger.  The weight seems to have gone to my thighs and stomach, which is the norm for me.  It never goes to my chest, which is really the only part of my body I'd like to gain a little mass.  I've also been feeling increasingly lethargic.  I am working harder at the moment, but if I was treating my body better it wouldn't be so difficult.

We all know what that means.  Diet.  Exercise.  *shudder*

My mindset is sufficiently unhealthy that I'd actually rather not eat at all than have to eat boring, tasteless things I don't like.  Of course I know that if you starve yourself you won't lose any weight and ideally you need to eat every 3 hours.  Its just so damned difficult.  The second I say to myself "you shouldn't eat that really.." I want it.  I could go weeks without eating chocolate when I'm allowed it, but if in my head I'm telling myself I'm not, I may as well have a case of Dairy Milk melted down and given to me intravenously (I'd rather have fruit and nut, but it'd cause some problems with circulation).  But because I'm an all or nothing sort, if I'm allowing myself some chocolate I want the whole bar.  I'm not sure how I'm going to get around that bit.

Next week I'm starting.  I'm going to make a concerted effort to eat better and I'm going to exercise at least 3 times per week, not including the 50 minutes spent walking to/from work and the 30 minutes spent walking to the shop on my lunchbreak each day.  I'm finally going to use some of the hundreds of pounds of fitness equipment I already have and try to resist the urge to buy any more.

Any tips/support/recommendations for a cheap plastic surgeon so I can have lipo and not do this are most welcome!

Comments

[Dandelion]

My mindset is sufficiently unhealthy that I'd actually rather not eat at all than have to eat boring, tasteless things I don't like.

Me too! And actually, you do lose weight this way, if you keep it up for long enough.

[Jen]

I 100% agree with the whole 'rather not eat at all....' line Beth.

I've been ashamed at my eating habits recently, I don't think I'm getting any nutrients whatsoever, how bad is that.

But I'm stuck in the 'must eat junk' frame of mind :(

I actually like vegetables and salads and healthy things etc... but I'd *rather* have a packet of crisps!

Good luck, and know you're not alone in this xx

[peach]

It's a total bummer that weight goes to our thighs! Why can't it go to our brain or our boobs or make our legs longer??????!!!

Think if you can get to doing the exercise stuff that should mean you can eat what you like... I've been boring about this but bikes are cool - buy a bike?

[David]

You know, they say Ben Affleck decreased his eating habits by chewing gum. Yeah. Of course, he's also a millionaire and can afford a private instructor as well as a personal chef, so who knows if it was just the gum. My recommendation would be those paprika pills. They say that the burning sensation helps decrease appetite and increases metabolism. I havent tried it, but they say it works. I guess I really shouldnt be giving diet advice, especially when it's only word of mouth, but I just dont know if my foolproof method of drinking syrup of ipecac would work for you.

[brandy]

I hate to say this, but my weight goes to my boobs first. Which, is a pain in the ass. I know it doesn't sound like it would be, but it is. Because it's also the first place I lose weight too. Ugh! Anyway, congrats on deciding to make a change for the better. Here's hoping that it goes exactly as you want and that you find yourself craving all the things that are good for you and none that aren't. (And if you DO figure out how to manage this, let me know!)

[Deb]

It is so hard to find a way to do this. We need food to live and well, it's just so hard.

How's that for an eloquent response?

[Beth]

Dandelion - Thanks for your comment. I'm going to try and avoid the starvation/eating disorder route in favour of something a little better for me!

Jen - Thank you, I appreciate your words. I was wondering, as I'm not alone in this could you diet for me? Please? :)

Peach - I'm good on the legs front (6ft, me!) but the breast area could totally use a boost. Good suggestion about the bike, although I'm not much of a cyclist. I've got one of those mini trampoline things that I'm going to make a start with, so fingers crossed that'll have some effect!

David - I saw the episode of Family Guy where Peter, Chris, Brian and Stewie have a contest involving Ipecac. Basically they all have a bottle and the person who can go longest without throwing up gets the last piece of pie. I laughed harder than I had in a *long* time when I saw it, but puking is so not me. Maybe I'll try the gum thing. Sugar free, of course.

Brandy - I happened to stumble across a diet plan that just might work. If it really comes down to it, the company I work for has a sports nutrition business linked and I sit no more than 10ft away from a guy who as well as working for us, is a competitve bodybuilder (natural at that, no steroids) so I could ask him for tips. Or maybe just get him to threaten physical violence if he sees me go to the fridge!

Deb - That was fantastically eloquent, thank you!

[Girl*Next*Door]

Oh don't, I am terrible with food which isn't healthy because I don't carry much weight anyway & I end up not feeling too well, not good.
Love the Smashbox gel, it's fab & well worth the price :)

Long time lurker but first time of commenting :)

[steppingoverthejunk]

I'm the same way. I have terrible eating habits and will just not eat for a few days and then suddenly decide on a large slab of steak and a beer...and then the next day just eat icecream. Ugh.

[Beth]

I am a terrible eater, too. Um, for breakfast yesterday, I had ice cream. But I was on holiday so I felt it was somewhat justified. I know a lot of people have had excellent results with Weight Watchers. You get to eat a lot of food. I tried it once, but I didn't do so well. I couldn't eat all the food and calories that I was supposed to be consuming every day. It was just way too much food for me. I think I'll just stick to to my ice cream diet!

[peach]

make sure you wear a good sports bra on the trampoline then or your poor boobs will suffer!

am dead jealous about your height, I'm 5'5 - which is really 5'4.5" but I walk tall and er, have big high heels....!

[Beth]

Girl*Next*Door - Welcome! I'm glad you decided to comment :) I've done v badly with the eating this week. I've switched to diet coke though, so its a start. I totally agree on the Smashbox gel. So far, I've loved every product of theirs I've tried - especially the eyeliner palettes - gorgeous! I look forward to seeing some more comments from you in the future.

Stepping over the junk - Its probably not the healthiest diet, but my god that sounds fantastic. I could SO eat a steak right now.

Beth - Ice cream for breakfast is perfectly acceptable when you're on holiday. I've done that when I've not been on holiday - eating an ice cream cone while walking to work at 7:30am. In winter. I've tried weight watchers myself, but I find that if you give me an inch I'll totally take a mile.

Peach - Tall isn't that great. I'm freakishly tall if I wear heels (which I love), not that I mind though! As for the sports bra thing, sadly for me its not much of an issue. I'm pretty lacking in the chest-al region.