Weight a Minute! Getting a Life Coach

I’ve frequently heard of celebrities and other rich-type people hiring personal trainers, personal stylists, personal dressers, personal assistants—all these persons who personally see to their every need. In some ways, that sounds fabulous. I could use a maid, a cook, a nanny, a driver, a gardener . . . well, okay, I don’t really have a garden, but I have a flower bed, and I think that counts. What I really need, though, is a life coach. Someone who can take a look at my life and clearly see what I need to do to get where I need to … Continue reading →

Weight a Minute! Body Image

Self-esteem and body image are worlds apart. I think I have pretty good self-esteem. I consider myself to be funny, kind, possessed of a certain degree of intelligence, and I’m a good listener. But when it comes to my body image, I can tell you, I have pretty eyes. And that is about all I can say on the subject. I don’t look in the mirror very often. I get dressed and make sure that all my seams are where they should be, I fix my hair, and I put on my makeup. Unless I’m going out somewhere, that’s the … Continue reading →

Weight a Minute: I’m Still Fat

I hate to tell you this, because I know you love me and you only have the highest regard for me, but . . . I’m still fat. Those of you who have been reading about my weight loss journey for the past year know that I’ve had a lot of breakthroughs. I “get” the reasons why we should eat protein. I “get” the importance of exercise, of water, of cutting back on sweets and carbonation, of increasing our fruit and vegetable intake, of being gentler with ourselves in our self-talk and criticism. But even with all this valuable information … Continue reading →

Weight a Minute! No Secret Ingredient

Caution: This blog contains movie spoilers. But it’s all for a good cause. Last week, I blogged about “Kung Fu Panda” and the lessons I learned from Po, the cute, overweight star of the show. I wanted to save the most important lesson for last and give it a blog all of its own, and here it is. Toward the end of the movie, when Po finally gets his paws on the Dragon Scroll, he opens it to discover that there’s nothing written on it. He’s discouraged and feels let down until his father lets him in on something else … Continue reading →

Weight a Minute! Lessons from a Panda

Caution: This blog contains movie spoilers. But it’s all for a very good cause. Friday night, my husband and I went to see the film “Kung Fu Panda.” I couldn’t help but identify with the loveable and yet large star of the show, an oversized panda named Po. As we came away from the film, I thought about the messages imbedded in the plot, and realized just how much they related to weight and self-image. 1. Po has a dream, that of becoming a kung fu master. Each night when he goes to bed, he sees himself as being sharp … Continue reading →

Weight a Minute! Water Gain

“I lost two pounds!” she said, her eyes alight with excitement. “But it was probably just water weight.” Her happy expression disappears and a glum note crops up in her voice. Why is that? A loss of two pounds is great! Why did she become so sad all of a sudden? Because it’s just water weight. And she knows it will probably come back. That’s the amazing thing about weight loss – it fluctuates so much from day to day. As a larger woman, I’ve got a whole lot of fluctuating going on – the more you weigh, the more … Continue reading →

Weight a Minute! Dressing for My Body Type

Being a large woman, and living with the mindset that I’m going to lose all my weight someday, I’ve never wanted to spend money on clothes. In the first place, it’s disheartening to shop for clothes that are labeled several sizes higher than what you really want to be, and in the second place, who wants to spend money on fat clothes? So for the last few years, I’ve spent very little on myself, having a few nicer outfits for church and business, and the rest of my wardrobe consisting of T-shirts and knit pants. Hey, I’m a mommy – … Continue reading →

Weight a Minute! Obsessing Over the Scale

I have a love/hate relationship with my bathroom scale. Okay, let’s be completely honest – I have a resignation/hate relationship with my scale. I have gained back eleven of the pounds I lost a few months ago, and there are days when I’d just as soon throw my scale out the window than step on it. Although, depending on my self-esteem on any given day, I admit that standing on the scale is pretty good punishment for it. Take that, you scale! However, despite the fact that the numbers are higher than I would like, several people over the last … Continue reading →

Weight a Minute: Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch

When last we saw Tristi, she had just given up sugar. (Cue melodramatic music) A sugar addict for most of her life, she had come to a point where her dependence on sugar was making her incapable of dealing with life’s challenges on her own terms and with her own strength. How has our heroine done? Did she conquer the savage beast, or did she succumb, sinking back into her pit of despair and despond, a box of donuts clutched in her arms? Sounds like a soap opera, but you know what, that’s not too far off from the truth. … Continue reading →

Weight a Minute! The Hair of the Dog

When someone has a hangover and drinks just a little more whiskey to help them get over it, they’ll sometimes refer to that as “having some of the hair of the dog.” The full expression is “the hair of the dog that bit me,” hearkening back to days when you’d take a hair from your enemy and create a potion to destroy them. Essentially, what they’re doing is slowing the cleanse enough so they can handle it. Well, as you’ll recall from last week’s post (you did read last week’s post, didn’t you? Well, go do it!) I’ve gone off … Continue reading →