Yes, it's happened, I've started a diet blog. God, how predictably depressing. However, I've been complaining loudly about my weight for almost two years now, and I've decided that public shaming is the only solution. So here goes..
Any woman reading this who has recently been unceremoniously tipped over into her 40s, knows how difficult it has suddenly become to drop the weight. Basically it comes down to this: Yes we still have the ability to lose weight, but tragically we'll have to work twice as hard to achieve it.
This is very bad news indeed because at this stage we're a bit, well, knackered.
Of course one can't underestimate the impact that slight behavioural changes can have on one's weight, changes which you might not even consciously be aware of until you examine the evidence.
Exhibit A: Alcohol
For example, before I lived in Australia I wouldn't dream of opening a bottle of wine before nine o'clock in the evening. Making dinner, getting kids into bed, a half-hearted stab at tidying up, followed by half an hour alone in the bath, meant the opportunity simply didn't present itself until then. However here I find I'm regularly popping the cork at 7pm - particularly since we moved to Paraburdoo - it is the Aussie way after all and I'm nothing if not devoted to rich cultural experiences.
However, this constitutes two whole extra hours of drinking and I'm convinced this is central to my weight gain.
Exhibit B: Exercise
A quick scan over the last couple of decades indicates very clearly that during those times when I've made a conscious effort to be active - whether it be dance or yoga or whatever - I've been slimmer (even if I've convinced myself at the time that I'm just naturally slim - I'm not). In fact I don't even need to go back that far - several weeks ago I lost more than 4kgs by doing a 20-minute workout with Jillian Michaels on YouTube every day (I put it all back on in December). Exercise, as dull and hopeless as it feels, does actually work. This is a hard fact to swallow for those of us who'd rather be reading a book.
Diet
Oddly enough, this is the least problematic area for me. Ironically a 14-year battle with chronic bulimia left me with a good attitude towards food and I consider my diet pretty healthy with little in the way of junk in it. I must admit to pining after my old ability to devote my entire life to looking good; five children, an out-of-control-laundry room and a bit of continent-hopping have sort of shifted my focus over the past decade or so.
(By the way, it annoys me the way the experts insist that one never fully recovers from an eating disorder but merely learns to cope with it. For the record this is rubbish and unhelpful to recovery. Trust me, if it were true I wouldn't be writing this blog. Today I'm as normal as the next woman looking to lose a few pounds.)
Solution
So, what to do? Well the evidence is clear in this case. I need to reduce my alcohol intake and stick to a workout each day. It's not rocket science really, is it, and yet for so many of us it is an unending struggle.
Trouble is, like Ado Annie in the musical Oklahoma, "with me it's all or nuthin'".
On 'good' days I exercise, stay away from alcohol, write thousands of words, feel virtuous and happy and verge on posting 'I LOVE my life on Facebook' (I stop myself; I know how annoying it is to read one of these posts when you're feeling like your life is shit, your kids are lazy and talentless, you don't fancy your husband anymore and you've tipped 40 and have no career - THINK people, before you post!).
When I'm being 'bad' I fall into an 'in for a penny in for a pound' attitude and over-drink, over-eat and spend all day slumped in front of ebay or watching endless episodes of Jesse Ventura's Conspiracy Theory on YouTube.
Trouble is lately the 'bad' days are outnumbering the 'good' days at an alarming rate, and at this point I'm now roughly 10kgs overweight and believe the American government are going to poison us all through the water system before disposing of us in Area 51 - right beside where the moon landings were filmed.
Yes, things are getting serious.
So the plan is this: I'm cutting out alcohol for a month - yes, a month, at least - this in itself should have a big impact on my weight. I have no idea what the weekends will look like without booze, but I'm determined to give it a try (and DH will be roped into it whether he likes it or not, I'm not willing to watch him slugging Shiraz while I sip hot water and lemon!).
And as for exercise, I'm re-enlisting the help of Jillian Michael's '30 day shred', and intend to do her 20-minute-workout at least once a day. In the evenings DH will be roped into joining me in a brisk walk, trying our best to dodge all the cows - and cow pats! - that roam free around the town.
As for diet, well as I said it's not a huge issue, although I decided to return to being vegetarian, something I stopped being in my 20s when it stopped being remarkable and became common place (I think I was rather missing the point). Animal cruelty issues aside, I find that meat leaves me with indigestion these days and considering how much else is on offer, it seems rather superfluous to my needs.
See here's to day 1 of a newer, healthier, shinier me. I shall try to update this blog every few days as a way of recording progress as well as reporting on anything interesting I come across. And if you're doing something similar, let me know about it.
Any woman reading this who has recently been unceremoniously tipped over into her 40s, knows how difficult it has suddenly become to drop the weight. Basically it comes down to this: Yes we still have the ability to lose weight, but tragically we'll have to work twice as hard to achieve it.
This is very bad news indeed because at this stage we're a bit, well, knackered.
Of course one can't underestimate the impact that slight behavioural changes can have on one's weight, changes which you might not even consciously be aware of until you examine the evidence.
Exhibit A: Alcohol
For example, before I lived in Australia I wouldn't dream of opening a bottle of wine before nine o'clock in the evening. Making dinner, getting kids into bed, a half-hearted stab at tidying up, followed by half an hour alone in the bath, meant the opportunity simply didn't present itself until then. However here I find I'm regularly popping the cork at 7pm - particularly since we moved to Paraburdoo - it is the Aussie way after all and I'm nothing if not devoted to rich cultural experiences.
However, this constitutes two whole extra hours of drinking and I'm convinced this is central to my weight gain.
Exhibit B: Exercise
A quick scan over the last couple of decades indicates very clearly that during those times when I've made a conscious effort to be active - whether it be dance or yoga or whatever - I've been slimmer (even if I've convinced myself at the time that I'm just naturally slim - I'm not). In fact I don't even need to go back that far - several weeks ago I lost more than 4kgs by doing a 20-minute workout with Jillian Michaels on YouTube every day (I put it all back on in December). Exercise, as dull and hopeless as it feels, does actually work. This is a hard fact to swallow for those of us who'd rather be reading a book.
Diet
Oddly enough, this is the least problematic area for me. Ironically a 14-year battle with chronic bulimia left me with a good attitude towards food and I consider my diet pretty healthy with little in the way of junk in it. I must admit to pining after my old ability to devote my entire life to looking good; five children, an out-of-control-laundry room and a bit of continent-hopping have sort of shifted my focus over the past decade or so.
(By the way, it annoys me the way the experts insist that one never fully recovers from an eating disorder but merely learns to cope with it. For the record this is rubbish and unhelpful to recovery. Trust me, if it were true I wouldn't be writing this blog. Today I'm as normal as the next woman looking to lose a few pounds.)
Solution
So, what to do? Well the evidence is clear in this case. I need to reduce my alcohol intake and stick to a workout each day. It's not rocket science really, is it, and yet for so many of us it is an unending struggle.
Trouble is, like Ado Annie in the musical Oklahoma, "with me it's all or nuthin'".
On 'good' days I exercise, stay away from alcohol, write thousands of words, feel virtuous and happy and verge on posting 'I LOVE my life on Facebook' (I stop myself; I know how annoying it is to read one of these posts when you're feeling like your life is shit, your kids are lazy and talentless, you don't fancy your husband anymore and you've tipped 40 and have no career - THINK people, before you post!).
When I'm being 'bad' I fall into an 'in for a penny in for a pound' attitude and over-drink, over-eat and spend all day slumped in front of ebay or watching endless episodes of Jesse Ventura's Conspiracy Theory on YouTube.
Trouble is lately the 'bad' days are outnumbering the 'good' days at an alarming rate, and at this point I'm now roughly 10kgs overweight and believe the American government are going to poison us all through the water system before disposing of us in Area 51 - right beside where the moon landings were filmed.
Yes, things are getting serious.
| Free on YouTube! |
And as for exercise, I'm re-enlisting the help of Jillian Michael's '30 day shred', and intend to do her 20-minute-workout at least once a day. In the evenings DH will be roped into joining me in a brisk walk, trying our best to dodge all the cows - and cow pats! - that roam free around the town.
As for diet, well as I said it's not a huge issue, although I decided to return to being vegetarian, something I stopped being in my 20s when it stopped being remarkable and became common place (I think I was rather missing the point). Animal cruelty issues aside, I find that meat leaves me with indigestion these days and considering how much else is on offer, it seems rather superfluous to my needs.
See here's to day 1 of a newer, healthier, shinier me. I shall try to update this blog every few days as a way of recording progress as well as reporting on anything interesting I come across. And if you're doing something similar, let me know about it.
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| The 75kg reality |
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