I’ve grown weary of the opinions that are stated by all of the various Diet Experts… including those who are in the medical profession.  Every single one of them has some type of personal marketing agenda which is designed to provide THEM with money or recognition or both. They want to Help Themselves, by getting me to believe and accept their claim that following their advice will help ME.

To make myself clear, when I say,  “Weary”, I mean:

burnt-out, done-in, fatigued, played-out, spent, tapped-out, tired, wiped-out, worn-out, bored, fed-up, jaded, sick-and-tired, glutted, apathetic, demoralized, discouraged, disheartened, dispirited, drained, exhausted, annoyed, exasperated, frustrated, irritated, disgusted, and repulsed.

I’m weary of what Diet Experts tell me.  Things like: 

• Eat more food.
• Ignore Calories.
  
• Fast intermittently. Cycle periods of fasting with periods of eating.
• Follow a carefully timed eating schedule.
  
• Lose all the weight you want fast, fast, fast.
  
• It worked for me.  It will work for you.
  
• Thousands of my patients are proof my plan works.
  
• Lose up to 10 pounds in 2 weeks.
  
• Lose up to 40 pounds in 2 months.

Often “diet experts” want us to believe there are no restrictions on foods you can eat on their plan.  But, there is always a “but”.  For their plan to work, …. at least some of the time … we must omit, avoid or restrict at least one of the following:

• Fats
• Fruits & vegetables
  
• Legumes
  
• Proteins
  
• Carbohydrates

Diet experts start with claims that appear reasonable, and possibly correct, but then, unsatisfied with simple, basic, and verifiable truths, those “experts” then go on to spout additional information which is based solely on their own individual Pseudo Science beliefs. Even the most knowledgeable medical diet expert tends to express opinions which are ... at the most ... only about 80% Fact, with the remaining 20% merely Guesswork based on wishful thinking.
...

What Size are You, REALLY?

.....It Depends....

In what Store?
In what Style of clothing?
In what Brand of clothing?
In what Year of Time?

I’ve been a female wearing clothing all of the years of my life. 

I was born in 1944, and it is now 2017, and during those many years, my body has fit into many different sizes of clothing.  Sometimes this was because I was fatter or thinner, and sometimes it was because of the extreme size variations involved in manufactured clothing.

I’ve spent the past 60 years dieting, and hanging around other dieters, and am very familiar with how women use the size of an article of clothing to track their weight progress.  Frequently, I've heard women about 5’4” tall, age around 50, weighing about 185 pounds say:  “This is the first time I’ve been in a size 10 pants for years.” 

I shake my head, remembering ….. It was 1959. I was 5’2” tall, 14 years old, weighing 113 pounds, and was incredibly excited because I was able to find a pair of size 10 slacks that my body fit into.

Using clothing to track weight-loss is a very subjective method. It concentrates on how we feel.  This method relies heavily on our opinions of ourselves.  Our opinion of how we look often changes from day to day, regardless of how much weight we have lost or gained. A shirt that we love one day may seem either too long or loose … or … too short or tight on another day. 

Another problem is that sizes are often different depending on the store.  What is a size 0 in one place may be an 8 in another. The article below gives some fascinating details about this.


The Absurdity of Women’s Clothing Sizes
                by Christopher Ingraham, Aug 11, 2015, The Washington Post.

Here are some numbers that illustrate the insanity of women's clothing sizes: A size 8 dress today is nearly the equivalent of a size 16 dress in 1958. And a size 8 dress of 1958 doesn't even have a modern-day equivalent — the waist and bust measurements of today’s era size 8 come in smaller than today's size 00.



These measurements come from official sizing standards once maintained by the National Bureau of Standards.

Centers for Disease Control and Preventio...

I will never be 100% satisfied
with the way I look.

In general, I like the way I look, but in reality we all have an ideal picture in our heads of what “thin” should be.  No matter how successful I am on any diet, my individual body will never match that ideal image.

The truth is that women come in all shapes and sizes, and women of all shapes and sizes can be attractive.

However, we have developed unrealistic expectations from a lifetime of being continually told, and shown, the type of body image we are supposed to strive for. 

There is an enormous discrepancy between our culture’s recommended fantasy, and bodies that actually exist. 

If we buy into the idea that the perfect body is based on the average fashion model, a perfect woman would be about 5’10” and weigh less than 120 pounds.  However, the average American woman is about 5’4” and weighs about 169 pounds.

Our culture’s current female ideal body is a D-cup breast, tiny waist, sculpted abs, big butt and thigh gaps inches-wide—all in one.

Of course she should also look young and somewhat athletic with no visible flaws or physical disabilities, but as long as she is physically attractive, she doesn’t need to be very smart.

Many people discredit their weight-loss progress because of loose skin, stretch marks, or other features they don’t like. 

I’ll admit that I’ve been strongly influenced by a lifetime of exposure to our culture. Many times I’ve wished my body looked like the body of a Victoria’s Secret model. 

I didn’t look anything like that image at age 16, and I resemble it even less here in my 70s; but I’ve worked very hard to get the best body I can have. 

I appreciate the body I now have, including my wrinkles, scars, loose skin, and current size.  Even if plastic surgery were painless and inexpensive, it would not be a option of interest for ME, personallly.

No … I’m not 100% satisfied with how my body looks all of the time, but it’s okay to live in that space of semi-dissatisfaction.

While my body isn’t as attractive as I wish it were,  I remember how my body used to be when I was super morbidly obese, and I’m grateful for the size it is now, and the way it looks now.