Oh no! Not Again!

One of the very few advantages of having my long history with the diet world is that I can see the patterns perpetuated by the diet industry.

For instance, my first diet was Atkins but not the recent round of that high protein diet. I was on the original diet when I was 10 years old! (Looking back, I was not overweight but my mother was, and she put all of us on a diet to keep her company.)

I’ve lived through various rounds of low fat, high fiber, low calorie, high protein and high carb diets. Tried them all, and felt the impact as they all failed, time after time.

So, what’s next in diet world?
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Yoga and Weight Loss

The debate over yoga and weight loss persists today with “fitness experts” often arguing that yoga doesn’t burn enough calories to be considered “exercise” and yoga practitioners adamantly testifying to its benefits.

YogaReach

As a veteran of long-term sustained weight loss and a yoga devotee for eight years, here’s my perspective on yoga for weight loss.

There are many different types of yoga, all requiring different energy (calorie) quotients and physical capability. Some yogas (vinyasa and flow types) require students to move quite a lot throughout a yoga class; others increase demand through heat (Bikram, Forrest); and some are quite gentle and slow (yin, restorative).
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Traveling from Compulsion to Choice

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and look at what’s on my desk!

ChristmasTruffles

These are beautiful truffles from a party I gave right before Christmas. I used them as decorations at each place setting at the table.

So why are they sitting on my desk? Well, they are there because they were left over.

Now, there was a day when a leftover chocolate of any kind had NO SHELF LIFE within a 50-yard radius of Pat Barone!

With complete embarrassment, I admit I was that guest at the wedding (more…)

SQUUUEEEAAAKKKK! What’s that sound?

I popped in to the crowded grocery store today. There weren’t many carts but one stood all alone near the cart corral… just for me! I zoomed through the store because I don’t like to spend a lot of time there… I had a list and knew exactly what I needed to buy.

Whole turkey breast … check
Brown rice pasta … check
Organic milk … check
100% whole wheat bread … check
Bottled water … uggggg

I lugged a 24-bottle case to the cart and popped it in and took off.

ShoppingCart

All of a sudden…

SQUUUEEEAAAKKKKK!

The most awful screech rang through the store. I tried repositioning the water to no avail. I just needed a few more items and it was a long way to the unused carts, so I decided to live with the sound. No wonder no one had wanted that cart!

“Oh, my god, I couldn’t keep on shopping with that noise,” one woman said.
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Rotating Addictions/Carrie Fisher

The first of the year always brings energy to weight loss. The gyms get busier. Stores stock diet products and push them in our face. Advertising proliferates.

Now comes the news that Jenny Craig has a new spokeswoman, Carrie Fisher.

This news really hit me hard. It made me very sad.

carriefisher

I wasn’t sad because we’ve got yet another famous face attempting to glamourize temporary weight loss. I wasn’t sad because we are once again NOT TALKING about sustainable change. I wasn’t even sad because we have to watch another public “slim down” and rebound.

The fact that our society spends untold amounts of energy circling the real reasons for our addictive behavior and instead plays bullshit games with destructive dieting is always sad to me.

I was really affected by this because I think Carrie Fisher is a remarkably talented woman. (more…)