Diet Philosophy - My Experience

Recently Kirsti Alley has received attention in the media for 'falling off ' the wagon again. Personally, I don't think she looks that bad. What's sad is that she feels so bad about it. She's a great comedian, a talented actress and a stunning beauty. She doesn't deserve to have her weight concerns as the major focus of her life. Many women, including myself have had to contend with issues associated with various aspects of our looks, and particularly our size. In college, I gained what I considered, quite a lot of weight. This severely impacted my self esteem for the worse. For years, I go on fasts, took diet pills, which in the 1980's contained amphetamines (I'll never forget the alternating heart palpitations, clammy sweats, nausea and the shakes). I tried all the popular diets of the day: Atkins, Scarlesdale, etc, but didn't try Jenny Craig. I also became very adept at concealing my perceived bumps and bulges via layering my clothing just right. Throughout this period of dieting my weight simply coasted up and down. On a whim I became a vegetarian in the early nineties, then moved back to Europe. Over time I developed an ability to limit my consumption of food, and learned more about nutrition. Living in Italy, I picked up some habits such as 'not eating out of schedule', staying away from fast and fried foods, and my favorite, replacing soda pop with a glass of vino, drinking lots of water, too. Italians have a certain secret that allows them to enjoy delicious multi-course meals while remaining a surprisingly svelte, as a nation; finishing a meal with a nice hot espresso. That's it (of course, the traditional Mediterranean based, olive oil rich diet, and all the walking, may have a bit to do with it, too). After my 'diet journey', I returned full circle to my old high school weight and size American 5/7 Jr's, which I've maintained well over 15 years.

I believe that completely changing your attitude toward food, focusing more on nutrition and incorporating regular exercise into your lifestyle as a philosophy is the only way to consistently achieve and maintain an ideal weight. In other words, I'm not a fan of packaged meals or (those ghastly) drinks.

Have a sunny day,
Marcia