Category: Weight Maintenance

What Does “Too Thin For Her” Even MEAN?!

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I admire Jennifer Hudson and her remarkable recent weight loss.

Coming off the most impossible of years, she looks fitter, healthier and happier than ever, and I’d give anything for that girl’s pipes!

In this week’s People, she says she is happy and doesn’t want to lose any more weight.

But reading the comments below the article, there are certainly mixed feelings. Some readers think she looks wonderful. Some think she looks “too thin for her” and others implied she hit a plateau and that’s why she is done losing. (To that I say “Whatever! The girl’s teensy!”)

My take? I think she looks great. She’s clearly thin and lean, but not bony or “scary-skinny.”

But I do think (and this isn’t necessarily a negative) that she looks very thin “for her” — in the same way at one point I probably looked very thin “for me” back at goal in 2004. Continue reading “What Does “Too Thin For Her” Even MEAN?!” →

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Numbers and Numbers

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Today I had my wellness exam at work and I concluded one thing that should be obvious but, given my track record, isn’t glaringly so:

Sometimes what’s going on inside our bodies matters much more than how they look on the outside.

I’ve apparently been doing something right, even if I’m not losing any of the weight I’d like to lose, as my wellness exam went incredibly well.

All my numbers were excellent:  a super-low resting heart rate, *awesome* cholesterol, super-low blood pressure, super-low blood sugar, and my waist-to-hip ratio is under 0.8 (i.e., desirable!).

Interestingly, my weight was actually the same as last year … which kinda surprised me since I keep saying “I’ve gained” but really, I’ve been this weight range for a while now. Continue reading “Numbers and Numbers” →

“…But I Don’t Have Time …”

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This is my latest post over at WeAretheRealDeal (that I forgot I’d written earlier this week, til it appeared in my Google Reader this morning!)!!! You can read it here or after the jump.

Continue reading ““…But I Don’t Have Time …”” →

National Wear Red Day!

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“The sweet spot = when your personal and professional worlds not only intersect, but exist symbiotically.”

This has become my mantra lately, and it’s even scrawled on my Facebook page.

At work recently, I’ve been able to combine my off-the-clock passions for healthy living/fitness/nutrition and social media as I’ve become involved in our work for the American Heart Association. Continue reading “National Wear Red Day!” →

“You Don’t *Look* Like You Weigh That Much”

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Ever heard this line before?

I used to hear it all the time when I was heavy; it always made me feel better about myself … like “yea, I’m heavy, but I can carry my weight well.”

Or maybe, thanks to my mom’s guidance during my teenage years, I just knew how to dress to accentuate the “positives” of my heavier, hour-glass frame (a small waist, relatively flat tummy) and dampen the “negative” (broad hips and thick thighs).

When I lost weight, my figure changed pretty dramatically.

Yes, I was still curvy, but there wasn’t nearly as big a difference between my hips and waist like there used to be  — and now, since gaining a little weight over the past few years, this lack of difference has made me feel particularly “thick.”

Once again, I feel self-conscious about my weight. Continue reading ““You Don’t *Look* Like You Weigh That Much”” →

Today’s the Day

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FYI: This post also is running at WeAretheRealDeal.com.

February is just around the corner, and aside from being known as the month that includes Valentine’s Day, it is also American Heart Month.

As body image advocates, we know that when we take good care of our bodies – in particular, our hearts – we, in turn, feel good about ourselves. It’s a win-win scenario.

And while the topics discussed here at WeAretheRealDeal run the gamut from diet and weight loss to size acceptance, one thing I think we can all agree on is that we want every woman to feel good in her own skin. Continue reading “Today’s the Day” →

Too “Fat” to Graduate?

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Wow, just … wow.

I have nothing to say here except to share this article and see what you think about it. Per the article, “Students at Lincoln University with a body mass index of 30 or above, reflective of obesity, must take a fitness course that meets three hours per week. Those who are assigned to the class but do not complete it cannot graduate.”

Can you imagine?! As if body image issues aren’t a big enough deal for college students, now they might not graduate on account of being overweight?! WTF?!

People go to college for an education … not to enter a beauty contest or begin a modeling career where appearances matter.

While you know I’m all for promoting physical fitness and advocating good health … come on … how can this be for real!?

How about you? What do you think? What would you do if you were a student at this school?

Sheer Surprise on the Scale

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Confession: I haven’t stepped on the scale since September — Yom Kippur, the one day of the year where we  Jews fast, to be exact.

(Heck, I figured if ever there was a time to see where I stood, it was then).

Prior to that, I hadn’t weighed in in, oh, maybe two months. Truth be told, I just didn’t want to know and was trying to just “get normal” … so weighing in just wasn’t a priority.

I was trying to shy away from the numbers, the obsession.

And it’s been a positive shift, for sure. 

Continue reading “Sheer Surprise on the Scale” →

2 Great NYTimes.com Articles to Share

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Friends have shared these two articles with me recently that I wanted to pass along. Since I still have zero energy and my brain cells seem to be dying by the day here as I sit here and try to get better … I’m not going to analyze them but rather just share them, verbatim. I’d love to know what you think, though!!

The first, courtesy of Allison, is “Training the Mind to Run Right Through Winter.”
-The premise here is that while some people stop their exercise routines in cold weather, there are also people who continue to push through. I know I tend to prefer indoor workouts when it’s really cold out, but then when it’s a nice-ish winter day, I love to squeeze in a bike ride, run or walk–it can feel invigorating. I don’t mind the cold, so much as snow/ice. How about you? Do you run or exercise outdoors regardless of the weather?

The second, courtesy of Yasmin, is “Why Exercise Doesn’t Lead to Weight Loss.”
-The premise here is that exercising can help with maintenance but doesn’t necessarily boost weight loss. I agree with that assessment; I know eating less is really what helped me lose weight and that if I didn’t work out the way I do (when healthy and not with H1N1, that is) I’d probably have gained it ALL back vs. just some of it. How about you? Do you think exercise helped you lose or maintain better?

Thanks, girls, for your contributions. How did you know these would come in handy? 🙂

Incentivizing Health in the Workplace

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This is a cross-post I did today for WeAretheRealDeal. You can read it here after the jump. Continue reading “Incentivizing Health in the Workplace” →