Over the past year, I have gained a lot of weight. I am on the verge of going up a size and definitely in the throws of being uncomfortable in the clothes I do have. Although I could exercise a lot more and eat a little better than I do, truth be told, I don’t eat all that badly. I don’t exercise as much as I should, in fact, I don’t really exercise at all.

Next year, I have my 20-year high school reunion and a big society event to attend and I do not want to be fat. My friends tell me not to worry, everybody will probably be fat and I respond, “Yeah, but I don’t want to be one of them!” Throughout the years I have gone up and down, but I have never weighed as much as I do now, for as long as I have. Since 2003, after my second son was born, it has been an uphill battle. I would like to blame the c-section and the stress of have a very premature baby, but truth is, I lost all of my baby fat within a few weeks after surgery. I have struggled the past few years of trying to fine with it, to hating myself for it.

Recently, I had a routine blood draw to test my thyroid level. 12 years ago I had most of my thyroid removed because of a nasty growth. I have been taking synthroid, a synthetic thyroid hormone replacement medication since then. I haven’t been tested for the past few years because it was always the same. This time, my doctor said we had better check it. Turns out, I am now hypothyroid, meaning that my metabolism has slowed to an abnormal level. Increases and blood draws are in my future for the next year. I am hoping this is the reason for my sluggish body. I don’t need to be model thin, I just want to fit into my clothes again!

We brought up our exercise bike, parked it in front of the TV in our bedroom and I plan on taking this new information and making it work for me. I also need some good ab exercises. Any suggestions, besides old-fashion crunches? I hate crunches and I never feel like I’m in the right form.

So, any MILFS want to join me? I know it’s close to the holidays, but I thought I (we) could start with baby steps. Exercise and then cutting back on calories after the 1st. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

On a totally different note:

I have discovered the key to great hair color at home. Buy 2 or 3 shades and mix them together. You will get far more natural results. Use one color as your base color, something close to what you already have! It’s been many a trial and error for me and I think I have finally perfected it!

Okay, MILFS — power to ya!

Bookmark to:
    

My mother knows a woman who offered her a child a two-thousand dollar Christmas bonus if she would grow six inches one year.

I’ll wait until the sounds of shock and outrage simmer down a bit….

This anecdote is one of the reasons why I didn’t immediately file this story from the Toronto Star in the “once again, we’re paying experts to tell us what we already know” category:

Make no mistake about it parents. You can defend it as being “helpful” or “honest.” But words ???‚¬??? and especially comments about a child’s appearance ???‚¬??? do damage. Even more so when aimed at impressionable tweens or young teens.

A stream of recent studies supports the notion that a healthy self-image begins at home, including an August article in the journal Pediatrics which concludes that family criticism “results in long-lasting, negative effects.” But anyone who’s ever been on the receiving end of critical remarks about their weight or body shape doesn’t need an expert to tell them that.

You don’t say?

It wouldn’t seem even helpful to link to or discuss, except that I know (and I’m sure you all know too) that there are parents out there who believe that insulting their child’s body size is the best way to get them to adopt healthy habits. The mindset escapes me–would a parent tell their child how stupid they are to get them to study harder? Would they tell them how lazy they are to get them to help out around the house? So why call them fat?

(It hasn’t escaped my attention that these studies are coming out hot on the heels of the ones saying that most parents can’t even tell when their kids are overweight. This leaves parents with a fine line to tread: correctly assess your child’s size, but never mention it; if you are concerned, focus on diet and exercise, not weight. This makes perfectly good sense, but like many things that make perfectly good sense, it’s a great deal tricker in practice than in theory and I’ll bet most of us make a right mess of it from time to time.)

At any rate, no matter where you stand on this issue or where on the spectrum your own behaviour falls, you can comfort yourself with one thing: At least you’ve never tried to bribe your child to be tall.

Bookmark to: