The Waiting Game...

"I will ____ when I lose ___ lbs." Sound familiar? I know it by heart:

1. I'll buy some new clothes when I lose a few more pounds.
2. I'll start going to the gym when I lose a few more pounds.
3. I'll apply for a new job when I lose a few more pounds.
4. I'll begin dating again when I lose a few more pounds.
5. I'll eat again when I lose a few more pounds.
   

It is so easy to put off a potentially pleasurable experience when we think we aren't good enough. Well guess what? You may never be good enough! I have friends that are size 0-20 and they all fall victim to the aforementioned thought pattern.

A wise woman (me) once said, "There will always be someone fatter than you and always someone skinnier than you." Whether you believe it or not, you are already some woman's goal weight. So live it up! Sara Ramirez is a prime example of a woman who doesn't let her curvy frame keep her from taking care of her self. Gorgeous!

What 5 things are you putting off until your diet is over?

Is Dieting Contagious?

AfterBefore

Last summer, The New York Times reported on a study published which stated, "...that people were most likely to become obese when a friend became obese. That increased a person’s chances of becoming obese by 57 percent."

Well, I've noticed the opposite to be true as well. As you may recall the popular Fox dramedy, Ally McBeal, received a lot of press about its quickly thinning stars. At the time, Portia deRossi, Courtney Thorne-Smith, and Calista Flockhart denied reports of eating disorders. Since then they have all come clean. All three women admit to suffering from bulimia and/or anorexia.

In addition, Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry lost a drastic amount of weight while filming the sitcom, Friends. Courtney Cox seemed to become noticeably slimmer as well. Later Perry admitted his drug addiction was the main cause of his extreme weight loss.

Grey's Anatomy has become the newest TV show to draw attention to its disappearing cast. Ellen Pompeo, Sara Ramirez, Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight seem to have lost a lot of weight since the series first began in 2004.

Is it possible that dieting and disordered eating are contagious as well?

I think I can, I think I can...

The hardest thing about not dieting is when a friend loses a ton of weight on a diet and looks great! Seeing my friend's weight loss has increased the temptation to start dieting again. I won't do it because I really want to follow through with my experiment and follow through with all of you. I truly believe that diets make people who are already in a normal weight range more fat.

Here's why...Every time I go on a diet the first few days/weeks are great! I see a loss and immediately feel like my life is running much more smoothly than it ever has before. Then the deprivation starts to set in and all I can think about is whatever I am restricting myself from eating. Sometimes fruit, sometimes bread, sometimes ice cream, and any other number of forbidden items. I end up super stressed and if something negative happens, I run to the prohibited food for comfort.

I have to admit, today was the first day (since I started a week ago) that I felt a noticeable difference. My thoughts were not consumed by food and I was noticeably happier. It is incredibly relaxing and freeing to not be consumed with calories, POINTS, or fat grams. Even though I was tempted to count calories and lose weight like my friend, I'm glad I didn't. I posted this pic of Sara Ramirez, of Grey's Anatomy, because I think she's beautiful and bountiful.