You're Either Too Skinny or Too Fat But You're Never Right...

Between the ages of 21 and now (58) my weight has varied a lot. I've been 100 lbs, I've been 220. Now I'm at an all right weight; my doctor is reasonable (maybe her being female has something to do with that, I don't know) and realizes that a post menopausal woman who's struggled with weight literally her entire life isn't, nor should be, 98 lbs. She'll be satisfied, as will I, if I lose between 15 and 20 pounds. I'm working on it and already have lost a few. I'm not "on a diet" but watch I don't overeat, eat small meals throughout the day, protein, lots of iced drinks and water, of course no sodas. Just basic "works for me" stuff.

So, I've been all these contrasting weights all my life, and no matter what my weight, someone, somewhere, always had a comment to make! Sometimes, even strangers! I was too skinny: what's wrong with me, I need to put on weight, I'd look better and would have boobs if I gained weight, etc. Or, I'm too fat, what's wrong with me, why don't I lose some weight, just use will power, etc.

Weight. Something others feel is perfectly acceptable to comment on, even if they don't know you (though whether they do or not is none of their business.) Weight. Something that is always, always, never good enough. If you were a size 20 and got down to a 12, not good enough. Someone else will come along and tell you, unasked, what they think of your weight. A size 5, too skinny, not good enough.

Now I feel pretty comfortable although I want to lose and that's my own business. I'm not depressed about it or beat myself up. And -- maybe this comes from age -- when someone does make a comment about my weight I say, politely, it's none of their business, and I ask them why they're concerned. That usually shuts them up, after a few stammerings about "just trying to help" and "concerned about your health," etc. Sometimes it's a "Wow, don't be so defensive." Feh. You brought it up.

I just remember that, no matter what weight I or you may be, there's always someone who thinks you're not the right weight. You can't satisfy everyone, and you shouldn't try to satisfy anyone, except yourself. :)

My Fitness Pal

I found a very useful app on iPad today.  You can also use it on any computer by going to myfitnesspal.com.  I think it was especially made for diet dummies like me.  First you answer some questions and it tells you how many calories you can eat per day and how long it will take to lose the amount you want to lose.

You type in your meals, most brand names are in the database so you don't have to check the package for calorie and fat content.  If you make something, like I made my own latte earlier, you can give that a title, fill in calorie content and next time you have the same thing it is easy to find with no need to type it in again.

It also keeps track of your exercise and subtracts calories for it.  For example, we took Pooka for a slow paced 20 minute walk, which according to the site should have burned about 63 calories - I would have never known how many calories that would burn.

Something else I learned - I could have had two glasses of Merlot instead of one Latte.  I would have, if I had any, but since I didn't I settled for the Latte.

According to their calculator I can consume 1200 calories per day and lose two pounds per week.  Though it is only the first day it seems easy enough.  I have eaten less, but I am not hungry.  So far, I have not even eaten half the calories I can have today.  Although, night time is when I tend to "snack" so I will have to watch that carefully.

It will be interesting to see (assuming I can actually stick to it for a week) if I have really lost 2 lbs by the end of my first week.  :-D

Girls' Shape Ups X F - Mary Jane - SKECHERS Official Site

Skechers is now targeting preschoolers and grade school girls with their shape up type shoes. Messaage: you're never too young to start obsessing about your body or feeling like a huge bag of dung for not having the right body image. They're $50.00 which is not even in the equation for a lot of families; these days, or, ever...

Girls' Shape Ups X F - Mary Jane - SKECHERS Official Site

The Shake Weight

That's right, I bought one! And it's great. Silly, but great. I use it in the morning, and work out on the bike/elliptical thing in the evening.

I bought it at Target, which was good; I didn't have to order it and wait, etc. It comes with a short DVD which is easy to follow. Six minutes or so, really, and you can really feel it as you work out with it! It doesn't use batteries or anything; it's just the one weight that you, well, shake.

The advertising proudly announces that the Shake Weight has been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Well, yes, it has, but not exactly what you'd think; this is pretty funny. I love Queen Latifah's handling of the thing:

Still, the thing works, and that's all I care about. I don't feel ripped off or anyting, it's easy to use, and that's what matters to me when it comes to things like this.

Pole Dance Doll

This could be a really very incredibly stupid and poor choice of words and presentation in an otherwise innocent ballerina type little girl ballerina-dancer, or something more obvious and insidious. Personally, I can't see how this got past all the editors and proofers in the  marketing department before it hit the stores and the disco like ball belies any innocent Barbie ballerina stuff.Words like "up and down," "flashy," and "interesting" (!) appear on the box.  Internet bits question if this is a real product or not, but others say it is.

Old Guy 1, Lesley 0

So there I was at the gym for my nightly work out. I go to the upstairs room I like to exercise in and as normal almost nobody is there -- just an old man. I think to myself how cute it is for someone his age (at least 70) to be there at the gym. He is a tall man, but he doesn't look to be in great shape, not really fat, but a beer belly for sure. I like to work out on the precor machines like the one above because they don't cause me as much back pain as treadmills or running on pavement. I am feeling kind of tired and think to myself that I will just do a mile rather than the 2 miles I have been doing lately. So get to a mile and I realize the old guy is still at it and he is going way faster than I have been going and I don't know how long he had been there before I arrived. So I am thinking to myself that I can't quit before this old guy -- I should be able to hang in there longer than he can, right? I keep going and even speed up to try to be as fast as he is. At about 1.5 miles my legs start feeling sore and I get this little pinch like pain in my tummy area, so I slow way down and eventually the pains go away. Later I make it to my normal 2 miles and he is still going at it, really fast too. Finally, when I am at about 2.10 miles he leaves!

Yes, I am now paying for that. Obviously I strained some muscles or something (I don't claim to know about sports injuries) in my right thigh all the way down to my knee and although my knee is better today, Tuesday night it was rather painful.

I am not normally competitive, but I guess I was hoping that there was someone that I was more athletic than and I thought the old guy would be the one -- I guess not. :)

Exercise -- an excuse to shop!

So after almost a week away from "the spa" (due to the dog bite) I went back on Sunday. Any weight I had lost that previous week I had managed to gain back. Not that it was any surprise. On the bright side, my neck and back still feel great from swimming.

I swam enough laps last night that my arms are actually a little sore. I am going to see if I can lose those few pounds again this week.

Something I discovered now that I am "working out" -- sports bras are wonderful! Much more comfortable than most regular bras. I have been wearing them everywhere lately. I didn't know that some come with actual cups. Seriously, I love them!

Of course, I had to buy more yoga clothes and I have ordered a couple more swimsuits. Now I just need some new shoes. I am not a big fan of athletic shoes, but surely I can find some that I like. After all, they are shoes and I have never had a problem finding shoes that I want to buy. :-)

Love Your Thighs

Searching for vintage ads and images for my
Pulp Jello blog (nice plug, huh?) I found a blog I like called Formerly Fun. I really liked this post:
"> Ode to Thighs, with great vintage pics as well as a terrific poem.

Free eclairs at the health club!

So after 5 days of swimming a few other activities I finally weighed myself again. I was happy to discover that I had lost 3 lbs! However, I then stayed for the "tennis party" and probably gained it all back. Yes, there at the health club they had trays of fattening food. Seafood salad, chicken salad, veggies with ranch dip and so on. Worst of all though, they had these fabulous dessert trays with one of my favorite things - eclairs! I had a chocolate one and a caramel one, oh, and a fruit torte too. Mind you, they were about 1/3 the size of regular eclairs and tortes (maybe even smaller), but likely I should have only had one. Did I mention the wine? Bottles and bottles of it. I probably drank down 3 glasses before we left. No, I didn't bother to weigh myself again. :-)

The miracle of swimming!

I didn't join a gym (health club or whatever you want to call it) for anything other than hoping to lose a few pounds. Yes, there was that day when I got dressed, looked in the mirror and asked that age old question (to myself), does this make me look fat? Well, immediately I realized that it didn't make me look fat, it merely didn't cover where I am fat well enough.

That was probably 2 years ago. I have quite a lot of exercise equipment here at the house and thought I would quickly work it off. The problem with exercising at home is that there is always something to distract you and keep you from actually doing it. So I ended up doing it for a few minutes, maybe once a week or not at all.

So last Monday, we joined a very nice - I would even say swanky - health club. This health club is right at the base of the mountains, with a beautiful view and a huge outdoor pool. As hot as it has been we were immediately attracted to the outdoor pool. So for the past 3 days I have been swimming. Well, swimming is really an overstatement. I have been paddling around for about an hour a day. Just from 3 days of that (though actually two because I noticed it yesterday) something miraculous happened. No, I didn't lose the extra 10 - 20 lbs. What happened is that the constant pain in my neck, that I have had since a car accident several years ago, has totally disappeared. The pain in my back, that I have had for even more years, has decreased by at least 70%.

Seriously, I have been taking 2 -3 Advil tablets at least 3 times a day for years. The past two days I have taken 1 dose and that was when it was pouring rain and really super humid -- which totally freaks out my back. I can even turn my neck without it sounding like I just poured milk on a bowl of Rice Crispies! Truly, I am amazed!

OK, now if I can just lose a bit of weight I will be even happier. However, even if I don't lose a pound I will be there, paddling around. Exercise really does do a body good!

Pole-dancing Mormons make push for Olympics (seriously)

I suppose that as long as it isn't gay pole dancing it is OK.
Pole-dancing Mormons make push for Olympics (seriously)

Vintage Album Covers For the Housewife

Sarah Palin would be proud. Well, maybe not. On the other hand, she does have a lot of children. Anyway, here are a few vintage album covers for the housewife who wants to keep her husband happy:




But if all that exercising in tight leotards and belly dancing doesn't do it for hubby, you can always light up, lie back, and conjure up this guy:

Town bans 'SeXXXercise' pole dancing

Remember ladies, if you are dancing and there is a pole involved that is not exercise, it is sin. :-)
Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

Swimsuits

I hate them. I always have, but even more so now that I am older.

I spent yesterday over at some friends house in their pool. I don't mind swimsuits there, I am among friends. However, next month I will be in California, on a public beach. Ick. Hopefully I will at least have some bit of a tan by then. Back when I was young and stick thin I always wore bikinis, though the more conservative ones as I have never been totally comfortable with lots of flesh showing. Now that has changed to tankinis. Even a bit more than that because I wear the little skirt to hide my fat thighs a bit more.

Our friends have given us an open invite to come swimming every single day if we want. Even if we go a few times a week that will be more exercise than I normally get and maybe I can shape up a bit?

I am always going to do something -- like tai chi or yoga classes a few times a week and never do. Maybe hanging out with friends is the motivation I need to actually get to moving my fat ass out from in front of the computer and/or tv.