Let me start this off by saying that I’m usually not a judgmental person. I’m just.. not. I feel like educated people should be able to make educated decisions about their lives without unsolicited criticism or influence from others. I also feel like after a certain age, you should be given the benefit of the doubt and it should be assumed that we’re all very intelligent. Hence.. I don’t judge. However.. for some reason, when it comes to health and fitness, this line is blurry for me. Why? Because even the most intelligent of individuals are still out there committing the most egregious of sins when it comes to health. I’m not talking about eating a whole bag of cheetos or slaughtering a whole pie. I’m talking about stuff like the HCG diet.

Table of Contents

• What is the HCG diet?
• What does the HCG injection do?
• Are there any significant HCG studies to review?
• Why is this 50 year old “diet” being reintroduced as new?
• What makes this so unhealthy?

What IS the HCG diet?

Well, let me tell you. It consists of injections of HCG in your ass, and 500 calories a day. Ta da!

Wait… that’s it?

I can hear you asking it in your head. Of course that’s it.

Taking a look at HowStuffWorks gives a pretty thorough understanding of what the diet hopes to accomplish for any of it’s participants:

Shifting into the HCG diet is likely to be quite a lifestyle change. Participants are required to cut their caloric intake to roughly 500 calories and take a daily injection of HCG hormones. More water, vegetables and fiber in the daily meal plan is said to accelerate the weight loss [source: HCG Weight Loss]. There is no established exercise regimen, and the duration of the diet is up to the individual, as the plan dictates that the rules be followed until the target goal is reached.

The original HCG diet plan is quite restrictive and particular. For breakfast, you can have only tea or coffee without sugar. The diet puts a one-tablespoon limit on how much milk you can consume each day, so if you require milk with your coffee and tea, you’ll want to keep this in mind. For lunch and dinner, you can cook 100 grams (.22 pounds) of lean meat or seafood and pair it with one vegetable from this list of 13: asparagus, beet greens, cabbage, celery, chard, chicory, cucumbers, fennel, green salad, onions, red radishes, spinach and tomatoes. For lunch and dinner, you can eat one toast cracker and an orange, apple, half a grapefruit or strawberries [source: Goldsmith].

That explains the eating habits and how, on Earth, you’re expected to survive on 500 calories. But what about the injections? What is HCG? Ask HCGWeightLoss how this stuff works, and they’ll tell you the following:

In overweight people, HCG seeks out the stored nutrients in the fat cells. Liquefying the content of the fat cell, these nutrients are then flushed through the bloodstream. This naturally stored energy supplies the body with upwards to 2000 calories per day. While burning this stored energy, the body’s energy level increases and appetite decreases. The cells are emptied and shrunk down to sizes much smaller than normal cells. Therefore, inches, as well as pounds are lost on the program. — HCGWeightLoss

Let’s talk about that whole HCG thing. HCG stands for human Chorionic Gonadtrophin. You know how, when a woman believes they’re pregnant, they go and snag a pregnancy test? Well, those tests are looking for HCG, because it’s the chemical that pregnancy produces in the human body. According to The Daily Spark, it’s possible that HCG serves to break down stored abdominal fat to be used as an energy source for a growing fetus, thereby increasing the budding mom’s metabolism. This is why it’s assumed that HCG can do the same for the non-pregnant (quite a term, ain’t it?) as well. It’s also generated in the human body as an indicator of some cancers [Source: UFB], as well as a tumor. It can be prescribed by a doctor to increase fertility, as well as aid in the production of testosterone for men. Needless to say, it has its beneficial uses.

Notice I didn’t say anything about weight loss. Why? Because I can’t find any study to back that claim. In fact, a trip to the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s website produced a study titled The effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the treatment of obesity by means of the Simeons therapy: a criteria-based meta-analysis.

Guess what that said?

We conclude that there is no scientific evidence that HCG is effective in the treatment of obesity; it does not bring about weight-loss of fat-redistribution, nor does it reduce hunger or induce a feeling of well-being.

Got another. Guess what it said?

There was no statistically significant difference between those receiving HCG vs placebo during any phase of this study…

In the mood for overkill?

HCG does not appear to enhance the effectiveness of a rigidly imposed regimen for weight reduction.

Keep in mind, the daily injections of HCG are supposed to be the mitigating factor in whether or not you can handle getting by on 500 calories a day. If there is study after study after study after study that says it’s not possible, how are these people getting by? Apparently, there are people all over that are getting by on this diet, so what’s the deal?

I have a personal guess. You know how, if you go out of town for an extended period of time – say, for a conference or something – and your eating habits change drastically because you have to accommodate your new temporary schedule? You ever experience that feeling of, I don’t know, comfort or complacency accepting the changes in your eating habits? Maybe it’s attributed to mind over matter, maybe it’s your body getting used to the changes, maybe the lack of calories just konked out your ability to understand what you’re doing to yourself. Either way… the HCG can’t help you. Period. Your body is simply trying to accept the deficiency you’re forcing on it – and it may do a good job of accepting it at first – but you’re not becoming “less hungry” because of the shots.

The NHLBI advocates that a healthy weight loss plan will include cutting your caloric intake by anywhere from 500-1000 calories. Considering how the average person takes in about 2000 calories in one day (very base assumption) and it only takes 3500 calories to lose one pound… if you cut down to 500 calories in a day, it’s not going to take too long to see weight start falling off. Right? The deficiency of at LEAST 1500 calories is going to ensure that you lose at least one pound every two days.

Why is this 50 year old “diet” being reintroduced now?

I believe I can also answer that. You know the guy — yeah, the one with no medical credentials whatsoever — on the late night infomercials peddling the “natural cures” book that talks about how to save on prescriptions by instead going a more holistic route in regard to health? Well, his name is Kevin Trudeau and he’s taken up the task of reintroducing the HCG diet to the masses. In 2007, he wrote a book about how HCG is “the weight loss plan they don’t want you to know about.” His whole shtick is promoting cures that the government doesn’t/won’t advocate because the government is SO in bed with the pharmaceutical/food industry, they’re not going to promote something that will hurt their buddies’ profit margins. Regardless of whether or not I think there’s truth to that (I’m sure you’ll figure it out in my future posts), he’s profiting off of the fears and paranoias of the public. The FTC makes it their business to publish press releases about how much of a crook he is… and I’d hate to forget the lawsuit.

I’ll make it easy for you, so you can get a quick glimpse of the FTC’s beef with him:

During the ads, Trudeau claims that the weight loss plan outlined in the book is easy to do, can be done at home, and ultimately allows readers to eat whatever they want. However, when consumers purchase the book, they find it describes a complex, grueling plan that requires severe dieting, daily injections of a prescription drug that consumers cannot easily get, and lifelong dietary restrictions.

Why is this so unhealthy, though?

Because you’re not a gerbil. You’re a human being… and if you’re living a regular day as a carnivorous individual, you’re not going to be able to function on the portion sizes that 500 calories would allow you. A better question would be, “Why is the injection so pointless?” Now, that? I can answer:

When hCG was tested, it was compared to a placebo which included the Very Low Calorie Diet. And yes, VLCDs work. You will lose weight on one. Guidance and support can also be very helpful for weight loss; that’s why programs like Weight Watchers have regular meetings and weigh ins. Frankly, if you have to be accountable to someone for your successes and failures, you tend to be a little more serious about making an effort.

But what the clinical data shows is that when you compare the results of people on a VLCD and those on a VLCD and hCG, there is no perceptible difference—in weight loss, in perceived hunger, in anything.

In other words, it is the low calorie diet, possibly in conjunction with the regular support and guidance, that is responsible for the weight loss.

Not the hCG shots.

And even if it were effective, it would not be easy to obtain. You’d need regular intramuscular injections, a “friendly” doctor to prescribe it for “off label” usage, and it would cost you and arm and a leg. — UFB

I have my complaints about supplements, but I will save those for another rant. Why? Because I’m well over 1500 words on this one. The bottom line is this: considering injecting your body with a foreign substance all as a means of tricking it into undoing the years of damage you’ve BEEN doing to it… is not the answer to your weight loss problems. It simply isn’t. Trying to circumvent the process of healthy eating and regular activity will cost you every time, and seeing as how these injections and “treatments” are getting more and more radical by the day… following the wrong trend can cost you your life. Be happy, be healthy, but most of all.. be smart. : )

The HCG Diet – Philosophy, Execution, Contradiction, and Stupidity is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. What’s The Most Ridiculous Diet You’ve Ever Heard Of?
2. The Anatomy of A Diet: Why They Work, and Why The Success Never Lasts
3. The Twinkie Diet: What Do You Mean, It Works?!

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Fad Diets, hcg diet

I do. What happened to breakfast?

Why do we do this to ourselves? Because we know that we’ll be alright if we only get something else a little later on instead of now? Are we even properly gauging what we can actually handle?

Here’s the skinny: It’s called breakfast because you’re breaking the fast that you endure when sleeping. You fast during sleep, you wake up, you eat! If you wait until lunch time.. what happens? You’re starving, and likely to order to first 1,300 calorie burger you can get your mitts on and pow! Overeating again!

Is it an issue of time? If so, here’s a suggestion. Grab a waffle or two. Cut up some fruit in ziploc bags, and grab one in the morning as you prepare your shower or get your thoughts together for the day.

No matter how many times you hear your friends say otherwise, skipping breakfast isn’t saving you calories in the slightest. They eventually wind up overcompensating for the calories lost at breakfast, because the body is much more hungry than it would’ve been at breakfast. It’s not beneficial to your weight loss efforts at all!

It could be as complex as a salsa omelette, or as simple as a half of a grapefruit sliced in fourths. The important thing here is to nourish your body in the morning, so that you’re not eating to make up for 14-16 hours of starvation at lunch time. Your tummy will thank you for it!

Skipping Breakfast: A Surefire Way To Gain Weight is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. My Struggle With Quitting Smoking And Weight Gain
2. Q&A Wednesday: A Black Girl’s Guide To Weight GAIN?
3. Vanity Sizing: Accidentally Masking Weight Gain?

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Fad Diets

Let’s use that to discuss Taco Bell’s latest swindle, the “Drive Thru Diet.”

Now, after you’ve watched that, before I can even break this down to you, Taco Bell already gets it poppin’ in the fine print:

Drive-Thru-Diet® is not a weight-loss program. For a healthier lifestyle, pay attention to total calorie and fat intake and regular exercise. Taco Bell’s Fresco Menu can help with calorie reductions of 20 to 100 per item compared to corresponding products on our regular menu. Not a low calorie food. For complete nutritional information please visit TacoBell.com

Oh, my heart.

See, to explain this briefly, the Drive-Thru Diet isn’t quite a diet in the same sense that Americans understand the term “diet.” To many of us, diet implies words like “temporary, quick, short-lived.” It leans more toward the understanding of “The Cabbage diet.” “The Lemonade Diet.” “The Cookie Diet.” Not as in “My regular daily diet consists of..” because that’s not what we’re all used to hearing. So when we hear “The Drive-Thru Diet,” it sounds more like “Oh, you mean I can eat cookies for breakfast and lunch and a regular dinner and still lose weight?” except replacing “cookies” with “Taco Bell.”

If you notice, the commercial says “Her experience is based on a 1,250 calorie per day diet.” Let me tell you – you can do a 1,250 calorie diet without Taco Bell. Actually, you can do it without ANY fast food. Is anyone going to tell you that, though? Of course not. Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, Nutrisystem, Subway, and now Taco Bell… they’re all going to tell you, “Use this system, but I’m not going to tell you how to make this system work on your own without me.. because that would be money I couldn’t make off of you.” (Those of you who stick fast to those systems, this isn’t a knock at you. No need to defend them in the comments.)

So let’s look closer at the questions I asked in the beginning. Right now, we’re all making New Year’s Resolutions to be healthier. To eat better. To cut out the junk food. To spend less money at fast food restaurants. Wait — spend less money at fast food joints?! This will not do!

Enter Taco Bell’s marketing team… searhing for a way to improve upon Subway’s “Jared” phenom. You know, the fella that lost a ton of weight eating Subway sandwiches instead of actual home-cooked meals… only to gain it back in late ’09? Yeah, that one. They come up with Christine. Actually, Christine in a bikini with a gut, then Christine in a bikini hiding in some grass, then Christine in a slinky dress, and NOW we get Christine in the pants. Why is Taco Bell paying to put this particular image in my face?

Are they trying to calm my fears about Taco Bell getting in the way of me achieving my weight loss goals for my resolution? (Especially since the site asks me to “Make a Frescolution” and all.) Are they trying to convince me that I can still eat healthily even though I’m getting fast food?

What are they trying to get me to do? I’m a person who would love to eat better in the new year and cut out junk/fast food, but am not sure of how to go about it. Would this commercial convince me to stick with what I’ve been doing, so long as I order “something else?”

Why does my reaction benefit them? Here’s why: Studies show that if I can get you at least in the drive thru lane, I’ve already got your money. Guess what else – I can also convince you to ignore the “healthy menu” and get what you’ve always gotten. Why? Because of habit! If you’ve always crept in that drive-thru lane and bought the same big giant nacho order, how easy do you think it’s going to be to get you in the lane, anyway? That “healthy menu” isn’t what’s on your mind when you pull in, anyway. If I can give you a reason to come back? I can keep you from resolving to stay away entirely, and then I can eventually convince you to stick around. Take a look at that menu – the “healthy” options aren’t the largest photos on the drive-thru menu. That’s for a reason.

Is it truly in my best interests to react to this in this particular fashion? Let me rephrase that for you – is it in your best interest to believe that a healthy diet (as in, the foods you eat regularly) consists of regular ingestion of Taco Bell? Especially when it says on the page, “For a healthier lifestyle, pay attention to total calorie and fat intake and regular exercise. Fresco can help with calorie reductions of 20 to 100 per item compared to corresponding products on our regular menu. Not a low calorie food?” They tell you basically everything you need to know to lose the weight without them, but they tack information onto it about how you can execute this with Taco Bell!

To put it mildly, the message that the viewer receives is “I can lose weight with this ‘Drive-Thru’ Diet.” Never mind the fact that she, apparently, lost the 54lbs over 2yrs – approx 27lbs per year – since she “…didn’t want to give up her fast food.” Is that kind of mentality one worth maintaining? I don’t think so. Personally, I believe it’s in one’s best interests to eat as far away from franchises as possible, but that’s me.

In closing (since I can’t say “In short,” ’cause this is anything BUT short), this is beyond stupid. It plays upon the insecurities of the consumer and treats them like marks, ready for the swindle – “You want to lose weight and not give up your fast food? We still gotcha back! Check out these tacos with no cheese or sauce!” – all while avoiding any claims of misrepresentation… because they told you to calorie count. They also told you these are not low-calorie foods, so take them at their word. Do your best to avoid it, and your body will thank you with more than 54lbs lost… and you’ll lose it in less than two years.

What are your thoughts about this? Have you seen the commercials? What did you think?

Taco Bell Thinks You’re Stupid: Try The Drive-Thru Diet! is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Weekend WTF: No Meat In Your Taco Bell Taco
2. Photo Proof: The Stupid Scale Doesn’t Matter
3. Stupid Study: Why Black Women Are Fatter, Dumber, More Manly And Less Attractive Than Others

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Fad Diets, Fast Food, mentality

Q: Thank yo so much for having this site/blog! I am a “thick” sista who is now rolling over into the “fat” category. I am having SO much trouble eating healthy, etc. As I start my “lifestyle change”, I plan to use your site regularly. One question though, how do you feel about detox and colonics? I hear they are great to start out with and soemtimes do on a regular.

This topic makes me nervous.. I’m not going to lie.

The very last thing I did before I gave up on dieting completely was the master cleanse… so while I’m not particularly or personally familiar with colonics, I’m familiar enough with the master cleanse and know that it felt like a damn colonic.

Whenever people bring up detoxes and colonics, I’m always curious. Why are you interested in a detox?

If the answer is weight loss, I’m not interested in continuing the conversation.

Let me make a few things clear.

1. You can lose mass on a detox like the master cleanse. If you are someone who was 300lbs, living off of processed foods and eating almost 3000 calories a day, and you go to a 1500 calorie-a-day liquid diet, you will lose weight. If you do the sea salt flushes every day and drink the teas, you will poop. Let me repeat that. You. Will. Poop.

The bathroom was my best friend and worst enemy. The number of times I spent bent over with stomach cramps on the toilet because the flushes and teas were wrecking shop within my insides… amazing stuff.

2. You will absolutely lose muscle mass on the master cleanse. The very thing that feeds muscle – protein – is not included in the daily intake. So you’d be walking backwards.

3. You can, in a nutshell, consider this a liquid manifestation of the twinkie diet. Seriously. It is another diet consisting of enough calories and sugar to keep you from feeling completely miserable, but because there’s no actual nutrients in your daily intake (even supplements are discouraged), you will feel like crap.

And really, that’s the important thing, here. You will feel like garbage. You will be more vulnerable to illness because as there are no nutrients pouring into your system like when one eats cleanly, the body cannot heal itself or properly protect itself from disease. A healthy diet consists of a vast array of fruits and vegetables, because those are the things that are most intended to help our bodies heal themselves. If you are intentionally depriving yourself of that for the sake of weight loss? You’re sacrificing your insides for your outsides… when in reality, if you treated your insides properly, your outside would fall in line.

As far as the actual detoxification process? The “cleansing of your colon?” You wouldn’t need to do it if you didn’t skimp on the fiber. And I mean, fiber from food. Not drinks or sea salt flushes or teas. A body that has a regular stream of fibrous foods combined with water flowing through it does not need to detox. It will do it on its own. The body has taken thousands of years to learn how to detoxify itself. It doesn’t need you starving it in order for it to make detoxification happen.

But what if you know your eating habits have been poor? What if you know you have all kinds of goo trapped within your intestines and want to clean it out? Eat more fibrous foods! Drink water! Trust me, you don’t have to torture yourself by gorging out on silly lemonade mixtures to clean yourself out.

In fact, let me tell you a little story that I still, to this day, find hilarious. I was trying to make myself a raw vegan (raw vegans don’t add heat to their food) strawberry quinoa salad one day, and instead of heating my quinoa to cook it, I soaked it in cold water until it softened. Let’s just say that as far as fiber goes, this was the most potent thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. Most raw vegan dishes have that effect.

Are there people who have lost weight doing the master cleanse? Yes. I know that there are tons of people who’ve done youtube videos talking about “Look how my tummy went down!” Yes, because you were, literally, full of crap before you started. (This is why, when I talk about building a flat tummy, I talk about getting enough fiber.) I know there are people who were more hopped up on the fact that they couldn’t eat to recognize how rude or lethargic they were feeling. I also know there are lots of people who don’t know enough about their bodies to tell me what’s best for me and mine… so recommending a detox to me sounds wayyyyy off the beaten path.

There are detoxes that aren’t starvation, I get it… but you absolutely must remember that any way you lose the weight is the way you’ll keep it off. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life eating nothing but fruit. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life eating nothing but vegetables. I for darn sure don’t want to spend the rest of my life subsisting on maple syrup, cayenne pepper and lemon juice. There’s so much more beyond all that, that I’d rather learn how to navigate life eating with a default understanding of what works best for me instead of going into this cycle of detoxing, slipping back into old habits, detoxing again… having to avoid or cancel engagements because food will be there that I don’t want to tempt myself on, or going to those events and failing at trying to not eat anything there… only to guilt myself in having to detox longer… and then think less of myself for not being able to “do it.” That’s… not wise, to me.

My experience with the master cleanse was interesting. It’s not my intent to be hypocritical, it’s my intent to explain that I’m in a position where I now know better. All the things that the master cleanse did for me – ridding my body of the gunk piled up from processed foods – are things that can be done with a cleaned up diet. Not only that, but I wouldn’t have needed the master cleanse to “rid my body of gunk” if I was eating enough fiber and drinking water instead of juices and punches.

I know that “skinny” is serious enough business for some women that they’re willing to sacrifice actual chewable food in order to obtain it… but I’m not. Seriously – I’m only willing to go so far to lose weight, and I’ve lost well over 150lbs thus far. In fact, at this point in my journey – considering the way I’ve learned to love food without guilt and without blame – there’s no way in hell I’d give food up for “skinny.” (And since, as I mentioned, there’s no actual ability to build muscle on a detox… it’d definitely be “skinny,” not “fit.”)

In short… don’t do it. No, really. I know that my “in short” paragraphs usually wind up being another hundred words.. but that’s it. You don’t need a “lead in” to clean eating. You can start eating clean at your next meal. Don’t do it to yourself.

Q&A Wednesday: My Thoughts On The Master Cleanse is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. My Thoughts On Dr. Oz’s 6 Meal Plan
2. A Few Thoughts on Cravings, Deprivation and Indulging
3. My Thoughts On “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?”

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 34 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: detoxes, Fad Diets

Diet, diet, diet. We’ve all heard the word. We’re sick of the word. We’re even sicker of dieting than we are of the WORD diet.

Having said that, I’m interested – what’s the most ridiculous diet you’ve ever heard of? I’ve got a few, but I want as many people to participate in this one as possible. So share! Post the most ridiculous diet you’ve ever heard in the comments! Let’s laugh together!

What’s The Most Ridiculous Diet You’ve Ever Heard Of? is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. The Anatomy of A Diet: Why They Work, and Why The Success Never Lasts
2. Taco Bell Thinks You’re Stupid: Try The Drive-Thru Diet!
3. The Twinkie Diet: What Do You Mean, It Works?!

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dieting, Fad Diets

But every now and again, I read something that makes me want to toss my head against my desk – not too hard, but hard enough – because they’re either mistakes I’ve made before… or mistakes I make now (and realize it while reading someone else’s words)… or mistakes I haven’t made and probably would’ve made in the future if I weren’t thinking consciously.

So.. having said that… consider this my collective screaming, shouting, and fussing from a year’s worth of e-mails and comments where y’all just know you are wrong. You know you are. Hopefully you’ll giggle with me a little, and come on out of the woodwork admitting how you know you’re wrong.

1) You put off an activity today, for whatever reason, because you can “just do it tomorrow.”

Say it with me. This… is BS. Let me tell you what happens. You get home. You’re tired. You’re worn out. You’re angry. Whatever. Instead of using your pending workout at something to energize you and destress you, you put it off by saying “Oh, I’ll just tack it on to tomorrow’s workout.” You know what happens now: either you skip tomorrow’s workout as well, or you do finish tomorrow’s workout, forgetting the part you were supposed to tack on.

The problem with this is that it’s an excuse. It’s allowing you to excuse very big parts of your routine – your entire routine for a day – and its a bad habit that you don’t want to develop. Do yourself a favor. If you get the feeling that you want to “put it off until tomorrow,” go anyway… but do at least 1/3 of your workout. Why 1/3? For one, you’re still going. That prevents you from getting into the habit of not going. For two, once you get into the swing of your routine, its highly unlikely that you’ll literally stop at 1/3. You’ll probably keep going… and you’ll probably feel glad that you did.

2) You’re still freaking dieting: you diet, you lose a little weight, you go back to life before the diet, you put the weight back on. Woe is me.

I don’t believe in dieting (or “cheating“). I refuse to live on mashed potatoes for a week straight, grapefruit for a week straight, spongebob squarepants fruit snacks for a week straight.. whatever voodoo mumbo jumbo looney tunes diet is going on out there right now just to lose a measly five pounds. I don’t believe in being miserable.

Dieting is moronic. Yes. I said it. Dieting says that it makes sense to “take a break from your regular bad habits” to go on a temporary severely restricted regimen, lose weight, then go right back to the habits that caused you to gain weight in the first place. How does that make sense?

If your goal is temporary weight loss, then yes, a temporary change makes sense. But last time I checked, no one puts themselves through a ton of dietary trauma just to lose five pounds for five days, right? Right.

I believe in making changes to the habits I created, be they questionable or downright deplorable. If I want to go in on some ice cream? I’ma do it, but there’s a consequence I have to suffer through, and that consequence teaches me the lesson: lay off the ice cream. That lesson is far more powerful than anything a darn diet could teach me. Ever.

3) You think the latest weight loss gadget is your ticket: you’ve got a closet full of ab pulsing belts, shake weights and thigh masters…

…and, for some reason, your abs aren’t ripped, your arms aren’t cut, and your thighs don’t look like Suzanne Somers. This is not coincidence.

Did you know that you can do the same exercise the thigh master shows you how to do… without the thigh master? That’s right. You don’t need the thighmaster to do leg lifts. You don’t need some pedals on a spring board to do sit ups… you can just do sit ups at home. You don’t need to shake an overweight rattle – one that, I presume, was created as an inside joke among perverts – to tone your arms the same way regular ol’ push ups or a one liter of water as a dumbell could.

Stop thinking that you need to spend – or waste, however you see it – money on the latest fad product to help you get it in. You don’t. You can do this with no products, or you can have all the products in the world. If you don’t have the work ethic needed to make this thing happen for you, then you can kiss your goal  – and your money – goodbye. You won’t be seeing it.

4) You’re impatient.

This ain’t The Biggest Loser. (Hell, The Biggest Loser ain’t The Biggest Loser.) But for some reason, you want to lose 30lbs in a week, too. Crappy supermarket checkout line magazines don’t really help with this, but you swear up and down that you’re supposed to “lose 7lbs in 7 days with nooooo effort!!!” and after that first week, when you don’t “lose 7lbs in 7 days with nooooo effort!!!” you want to walk around the house with your lip poked out all mad and angry, ready to give up on weight loss and, ultimately, wellness.

Did you put the weight on in 7 days? Why think that you can lose it that fast? Are you running at cheetah speed for two hours a day? Then no, you’re not going to lose 7lbs in a week. Let that go. There is nothing wrong with 1-2lbs in a week. There is nothing wrong with finding that you’ve lost 5-8lbs in a week, either: if you’ve upped the fiber in your diet and are going potty more, that’ll reflect on the scale… if you made drastic changes to your caloric intake, that’ll reflect as well. But by and large, the average woman worried about a “final 10-15lbs” (she is usually the target of this “lose 30lbs in 10 minutes!” schtick) is not going to actually do it.

This takes patience. It takes learning and relearning your body… which really takes patience. Don’t shortchange yourself by trying to rush through it for a bikini or a little black dress. Not worth it.

5) After reading this, you’re gonna laugh, nod your head and say “Yep,” and not change a single thing.

I’m serious – how many people do you estimate will read this, giggle a little, and then go right back to their Doritos and crystal light? C’mon, man, either you’re in or you’re out. Either you want it, or you don’t. Every decision you make, you need to make with your ultimate wellness in mind. Every step you take needs to be one where you are conscious of you and your needs. It requires that much effort.. and either you’re willing to put in that effort or you’re not. Waddling in the middle isn’t going to get you anywhere, that’s for sure.

So really, prove me wrong – stop buying every silly product that comes out. Stop putting off workouts. Stop with the impatience (and, consequently, undue stress and pressure that comes with it.) Stop with the freaking diets. Just live… healthier. It’s that easy.

5 Reasons Why You Won’t Lose Weight is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. “Don’t Lose Any Weight.. I Love A Big Fine Woman!”
2. Admitting The Desire To Lose Weight: Does It Affect Self-Esteem?
3. Why Aren’t Feminists Allowed To Lose Weight?

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 49 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dieting, Fad Diets, Healthy Eating, mentality, motivation, shake weight, skipping workouts, thigh master, weight loss scams

On the Facebook fan page, someone asked for my thoughts on the “6 meal plan” offered up by Dr. Oz.. who I kinda have a little crush on, but who doesn’t? The details are pasted below:

Mini-meal #1: Protein

You can choose from a variety of food choices, but your first meal must be a protein. Healthy options include:

• Greek yogurt
• Lean meats
• Fish
• Nuts
• Beans

Mini-meal #2: Healthy Fats

Again, there is flexibility in the kind of healthy fat you can have, but keep the food in the same category. Options include:

• Canned salmon (which contains Omega-3s)
• Walnuts
• Avocados
• Olives
• Sunflower/pumpkin/flax seeds

Mini-meal #3: Whole Grains

• Whole-wheat bagel with low-fat cream cheese
• Brown rice
• Oatmeal
• Popcorn
• Whole-wheat bread, pasta or crackers
• Wild rice

Mini-meal #4: Fiber

• Grains and whole-grain products
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Beans, peas and other legumes
• Nuts and seeds

Mini-meal #5: Metabolism Booster

Salad with hot green peppers

Mini-meal #6: Healthy Sweets

Dark chocolate

To ensure that you experience at least SOME kind of weight loss, you’re encouraged to take at least 10,000 steps each day (counted by a pedometer), as well as taking a few vitamins. What are my thoughts?

Hmmm… I mean, to me, I think it’s almost too compartmentalized to be appropriate for every lifestyle. Someone who has to do a lot of business meetings for lunch might find it difficult to stick to a strictly whole-grain lunch. I think it’s an awesome challenge and would be valuable for anyone to jump on it, simply because getting used to having these things in your daily diet is a great thing to have. However… would someone get so frustrated by the limitations that they’d quit altogether? That’s an interesting question, to me.

The question of whether or not one could remain full off of an eating plan like this was posed to me.. and I’ve got to tell you.

YES!

I eat six times a day! I have a short breakfast, a quick brunch, lunch, a snack, dinner, then a last quick bite. I am never hungry. My tummy doesn’t even rumble any more because it knows that food is coming. Because my stomach doesn’t rumble anymore, I no longer eat (or overeat) based off of hunger. I’m no longer forced to stuff myself until that “hungry” feeling goes away.

So, in short… I don’t think the Six-Meal Plan is for beginners to the “healthier lifestyle” movement. I think it’s almost too radical and different to encourage long-lasting changes. I DO think the way it allows the dieter to really focus on specific food groups is an awesome way to get in the habit of making sure we’re getting the good stuff everyday. I love the six times a day eating schedule, and do recommend it for everyone.

What do you think? Opting to give the plan a try?

My Thoughts On Dr. Oz’s 6 Meal Plan is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Do You Have YOUR Copy Of Meal Plan 3?
2. Meal Plan 4 Is Now Available!
3. Budget Friendly, Vegetarian AND The Original: Get A Meal Plan Today!

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Fad Diets

The Cabbage Diet. The Grapefruit Diet. The Cookie Diet. The Cereal Diet. The Mayo Clinic Diet. The Tea Diet. The Seaweed and Coral Diet (better known as The Spongebob Diet… I just made it up, but I bet I could make some money off of it, huh?)

Now, after my post on the Drive-Thru Diet, I’d like to think that my attitude on diets is relatively clear – I strongly believe they’re a band-aid on a bullet wound. They don’t address the core issue (getting the bullet out), they don’t prevent the problem from getting worse (as in, an infection), and they don’t really help you get better… they just help you stop looking at the problem, really.

However, I do realize that because you can get immediate results, it’s easy to opt for a diet. A little discomfort but minimal effort, no need for exercise, quick and easy weight loss. It seems pretty ideal, I guess. We’re just always dumbfounded when the weight manages to pile itself back on. Dumbfounded, and heavier.

So let’s break down the anatomy of the quick weight loss diet, shall we?

What is a diet?

A diet, in general terms, is simply the “list” of foods that you allow yourself to eat during the day. It’s the foods that you limit yourself to – if you were on the cabbage diet, your daily diet consists of boiled cabbage for breakfast and lunch with a regular dinner. Diets are generally named by the food that dominates your day – cereal diet, cookie diet, mashed potato diet. This all seems kind of “duh,” but we’re breaking it down to it’s very core, right? Gotta start somewhere.

Why is dieting so popular?

Dieting is popular because the notion, quite frankly, is that it works. Limiting yourself to only one food that you KNOW you enjoy, eating it all day every day, and losing weight while you’re at it? It’s a painless way to take care of a problem that already makes us uncomfortable to address or even discuss. Not only that, but in some circles, it’s considered common practice and even “trendy” to be on the current “popular” diet.

Taking it a step further, there is money to be made off of pushing diets. The Mayo Clinic Diet required you to purchase a book. All information about the Cookie Diet led to a website that required you to purchase (and, essentially, live off of) one particular brand of cookie. Most diets that tend to gain media steam behind them do so because someone’s pushing it. Why? You have to invest money to make money.. so pay for the diet to get a little exposure, watch that exposure bring you a lot more money.

Why does dieting work?

Dieting works because it is an extremely mindless form of calorie counting. If I’ve only allowed myself to choose from this one low-calorie food to eat, I can’t possibly gain weight, right? You don’t have to think about the food you’re eating and whether or not it’ll cause you to gain weight – you KNOW this one food won’t cause you to put on any pounds, you know exactly what you’re going to do. It’s auto-pilot for weight loss.

However – because it usually involves something that you can only manage temporarily, you tend to come off of it – excited to beat the pounds – by celebrating with what? More food you have no business indulging in in the first place!

Why does the weight ALWAYS come back?

Because… wait for it… auto-pilot doesn’t work for weight loss! That’s right – you can’t do it. Why? Because waking up one day and deciding that you’re going to go auto-pilot eating nothing but grapefruit for breakfast and lunch can’t change the fact that your auto-pilot used to lead you to McDonalds or Krispy Kreme for breakfast every morning. Auto-pilot, unfortunately, does equate to mindlessness. It’s operating without thinking. “Not thinking” before led us to being unhealthy in the first place. It certainly won’t lead us to “healthy,” and if it does, it certainly wouldn’t do it overnight… or in two-six weeks like other diets.

Without a relatively rare medical condition, you cannot put the weight on if you aren’t putting harmful things in your mouth. It simply does not work that way. Dieting might help you drop a few pounds, but if your eating habits are in check you couldn’t put it on in the first place… and you couldn’t run the risk of gaining it back once you “come off” of your diet. It solves the immediate visual problem – if only momentarily- however you’re not addressing the thing that not only ensures that you’ll always have the weight, but in some cases also ensures that you’re doing some damage to your insides, as well.

How can I successfully lose weight?

You have to look at your lifestyle and gauge what you’re doing that is causing you to keep the weight on. Addressing that will not only cause the weight you’ve put on to fall off, but it will prevent the weight from returning. Sure, you can exercise to help keep it off, but thepurpose of exercise is to preserve your body’s range of motion. Weight loss is only an additional benefit to it.

The best way to protect and preserve our bodies is to be conscious of what we’re putting into it. Although it should be a recurring theme by now, a lifetime of bad habits cannot be corrected or rectified by one to six weeks of sacrifice. When you can be real and honest with yourself about the problem, then you can be real and honest with yourself about a practical long-term solution. And that includes, bypassing the trendy fad diets!

Are you a serial dieter? Have you had success with a diet? Share your stories below – I’d love to hear ‘em!

The Anatomy of A Diet: Why They Work, and Why The Success Never Lasts is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Understanding Calorie Counting: Preparing Yourself For Success
2. What Does A Success Story Look Like To You?
3. Why Don’t Obesity Programs Work For Young Black Girls?

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dieting, diets, Fad Diets, mentality

And just then, the record (or CD …or MP3) skipped.

I get it. People who believe that the primary concern is calories… will drink a diet pop because the calorie count is low. (In fact, in some cases, it’s literally zero calories.) But clean eaters know better. Clean eaters know a few things about this mentality:

First, if you’re going to enjoy a zero calorie drink, it had better be water.

Secondly, a drink that has color and sweet sugary taste, but zero calories? That’s a highly processed product. No bueno.

Next, if it has no vitamins or minerals in it, it’s not worth my time ingesting it. Getting the most bang for our nutritional buck, here.

Lastly, if it has high fruc–

Uh, not so fast, Erika! Diet soft drinks don’t have high fructose corn syrup in them!

No, you’re absolutely right. It doesn’t have HFCS in it. It has aspartame in it. Ooooh, that’s so much better.

I’m not even going to go in on this. Someone already did:

“When aspartame was put before the FDA for approval, it was denied eight times. G.D. Searle, founder of aspartame, tried to get FDA approval in 1973. Clearly, he wasn’t bothered by reports from neuroscientist Dr. John Olney and researcher Ann Reynolds (hired by Searle himself) that aspartame was dangerous. Dr. Martha Freeman, a scientist from the FDA division of Metabolic and Endocrine Drug Products, declared, “The information submitted for review is inadequate to permit a scientific evaluation of clinical safety.” Freeman recommended that until the safety of aspartame was proven, marketing the product should not be permitted. Alas, her recommendations were ignored. Somehow, in 1974, Searle got approval to use aspartame in dry foods. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing from there. In 1975, the FDA put together a task force to review Searle’s testing methods. Task force team leader Phillip Brodsky said he “had never seen anything as bad as Searle’s testing” and called the test’s results “manipulated.” Before aspartame actually made it into dry foods, Olney and attorney and consumer advocate Jim Turner filed objections against the approval.

“In 1977, the FDA asked the U.S. attorney’s office to start grand jury proceedings against Searle for “knowingly misrepresenting findings and concealing material facts and making false statements in aspartame safety tests.” Shortly after, the U.S. attorney leading the investigation against Searle was offered a job by the law firm that was representing Searle. Later that same year, he resigned as U.S. attorney and withdrew from the case, delaying the grand jury’s investigation. This caused the statute of limitations on the charges to run out, and the investigation was dropped. And he accepted the job with Searle’s law firm. Stunning.

“In 1980, a review by the Public Board of Inquiry set up by the FDA determined that aspartame should not be approved. The board said it had not been presented with proof of reasonable certainty that aspartame is safe for use as a food additive.” In 1981, new FDA Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes was appointed. Despite the fact that three out of six scientists advised against approval, Hayes decided to overrule the scientific review panel and allow aspartame into limited dry goods. In 1983, he got it approved for beverages, even though the National Soft Drink Association urged the FDA to delay approval until further testing could be done. That same year, Hayes left the FDA amid charges of impropriety. The Internal Department of Health and Human services was investigating Hayes for accepting gratuities from FDA-regulated companies. He went to work as a consultant for Searle’s public relations firm. Interesting. The FDA finally urged Congress to prosecute Searle for giving the government false or incomplete test results on aspartame. However, the two government attorneys assigned to the case decided not to prosecute. Later, they went to work for the law firm that represented Searle. Fascinating. Despite recognizing ninety-two different symptoms that result from ingesting aspartame, the FDA approved it for use, without restriction in 1996. Brilliant.

[...]

“Nutrasweet and Equal contain aspartame. When ingested, one of aspartame’s ingredients, methyl alcohol, converts into formaldehyde, a deadly neurotoxin. In addition to aspartame, Equal contains the amino acid phenylalanine. Phenylalanine occurs naturally in the brain. But high levels can increase the chance of seizures and lead to depression and schizophrenia. There is no lesser of the two evils. NutraSweet and Equal are both evil. Sweet and Low is no saint, either. It is an artificial sweetener that contains saccharin, a coal-tar compound.” [source]

I’m going to focus on three major issues, here.

For starters, this should lay to rest that philosophy of “If it were so bad for you, then the FDA wouldn’t have approved it.” The amount of trust we give our government officials would make sense if those positions weren’t held by people with their own humanity to contend with. Look at the instances of people who were bought off, paid off, pushed aside, ignored all to get this product approved.

Secondly, I’m a huge advocate of knowing what you’re eating – both the positive and negative information – before you eat it. If you didn’t know all of this about aspartame before you decided to make it a staple in your diet, is it time to reassess whether or not it belongs in your diet?

Thirdly, this is the issue with processed foods. They make use of chemicals used for other purposes in nature in order to create flavors and tastes in a fashion that would be much more costly if the actual foods themselves were used to make the product! You are introducing chemicals into your system… period.

“[Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener made by joining two amino acids with an alcohol. It is approximately 180 times sweeter than sugar.] Some researchers claim to have linked aspartame to brain tumors and lymphoma, but the FDA insists that the sweetener is safe for humans. A list of complaints submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services includes headaches, dizziness, diarrhea, memory loss and mood changes. The Center for Science in the Public Interest states that children should avoid drinks sweetened with aspartame.” [source]

Think about it – a chemical was created to cause the brain to react to it in the same way as sugar. Many people – many people - claim they experience withdrawals when they take a break from products containing aspartame. The only other instance I can think of where a person is willfully introducing a mind-altering chemical into their system… definitely causes withdrawal symptoms when people break from it. I’m sure you’re familiar with heroin… cocaine… meth… I could go on, but I’m sure you get the point.

And since I’m ticking everyone off? Let’s talk about Splenda.

Knowing what we know about the 40-some-odd years of aspartame’s existence, splenda (made of sucralose), has an equally young past. One more quote:

Because we’re having so much fun, lets bash the shit out of Splenda, one of the newer sweeteners. Splenda is made by chlorinated sugar, changing its molecular structure. The finished product is called sucralose. The makers of this poison tout its lack of calories and claim it’s safe for diabetics. The FDA calls sucralose 98 percent pure. The other 2 percent contains small amounts of heavy metals, methanol, and arsenic. Well gee, at least it doesn’t have any calories. So what if it has a little arsenic? Sucralose has been found to cause diarrhea; organ, genetic, immune system, and reproductive damage; swelling of the liver and kidneys: and a decrease in fetal body weight. What a splendid product! [source]

Really, I’m over it. All those little diet dishes that are “sweet” thanks to this stuff? I’m over those, too. I have a family history of cancer… what do I look like putting known cancer-causing agents (also known as carcinogens) in my body? No thanks.

These sweeteners are not food. They are chemicals meant to trick your body into thinking they are something they aren’t. I don’t know how many different times, in how many different ways I can say this, but it goes as follows:

I don’t care how many miles you run each day, how many pounds of weight you lift or how chiseled your muscles are. You cannot live a fully healthy life if you ingest chemicals to survive. You are cheating your insides – screw what you look like on the outside – if you don’t care for them as much as you care for your abs, your booty, your legs or whatever else you adore. Period.

Believe it or not, I don’t share this stuff with the intention of telling anyone to give it up. We all (hopefully) have reasons for making the decisions we make. My point in sharing this information is so that we can, again, make educated decisions about the food choices we make. Clean eating is simple. Easy. The foods are of the Earth, I’m of the Earth, this is a win. When we introduce outside substances to our diet, our bodies deserve the twenty minutes it might take to hit up your favorite wellness-promoting website and do a search. It’s seriously not that hard.

I will say this, though: I’m a firm believer in the philosophy that says “those who know better, constantly strive to do better.” Just a thought.

The Case Against Diet Soda (And Aspartame… And Splenda.. And….) is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. The Case Against Agave Nectar
2. No Food Stamps For Soft Drinks? Cracking Down On Soda Pop
3. The Case Against… Juice?

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 48 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: aspartame, clean eating, dieting, equal, Fad Diets, FDA, government, Healthy Eating, high fructose corn syrup, nutrition, processed foods, soft drinks, splenda, sucralose, sugar, sweeteners, sweetnlow

So my friends take me out for sushi to celebrate (’cause we do go out to eat!). I’m enjoying an eel roll and seaweed salad when the friend of a good friend begins to go off about taking the fat girl out to eat, and that I should go on a water fast for 2 weeks, then a colonic, then vegetarian diet. I told her she know didn’t a thing about diabetes and uncontrolled low sugar levels. She told me that she knew that eating too much brought it on, therefore not eating would take care of it. So I said the only thing I could think of:

“I may be fat today, but I’m loosing weight and getting healthier every day. A year from now, I’ll be smaller, more gorgeous, and won’t even remember you. But you’ll still be mean-spirited and ignant. Sucks to be you.”

Then her friend had to step in before the heifer hit me but that’s another story.

…and this:

2 years ago, I didn’t have health insurance. I got sick and had to go down the the county hospital in the ‘ghetto’ where I can only assume they see a lot of these ‘fat black women’ by the way they treated me. In this area, apparently no insurance + obese = obviously uneducated. I had to deal with a nurse who incorrectly corrected my English and the billing department who was surprised I could spell California. But that wasn’t the worst part. The doctor glanced at my chest x-ray, said it was clear and goes ‘Lets talk about your weight’. She lectured me for 30 minutes about control and how I was ‘delusional’ to think I was healthy at my weight. How I should eat less and work out more. At no point did she ask about my eating habits or my work out habits. When I tried to tell her, she looked me up and down. She then sent me home and told me to take some Motrin.

A week later, I was rushed back to emergency…a fever of 103, 12lbs lighter, wheezing, dehydrated and a irregular heart beat. Saw another doctor who looked at the SAME EXACT x-rays I took the week before and said I clearly had pneumonia.

Goes to show that everyone, including medical professionals have trouble distinguishing between ‘looking healthy’ and ‘being healthy’.

Judge not, well, unless you are a judge.

I’m going to come back to both of these.

With this blog, comes “great” responsibility. I take a lot of shots because I don’t think like the people these two commenters spoke of above. Because I’m not doing crash diets and colonics and wagging my finger in people’s faces making them feel ashamed of who they are because of what they look like, I’m considered a panderer. A coddler.

Remember, though – the people who are calling me these things… are people who think that just because they didn’t look fat like I did, they are healthy. These are people who think it’s OK to go knee deep in a bag of cheetos every day as long as they didn’t look fat like me. These are people who truly believe that outward appearance is the primary indicator of better health.

Anyone who browses this site on the regular would know… this ain’t that type of party, here. Not only do I find their “solutions” to weight problems ludicrous, I find them so ludicrous that I couldn’t possibly care less about what they think of me.

My personal studies and beliefs about the evolution of the human body, the environment and the history of food production has led me on my own path. I don’t use this site to push my approach to food. I do my best to provide enough information to help anyone who’s reading figure out how to find their own path. Why? Because creating your own approach to food and fitness is the only way to not only feel comfortable in your decisions, but confident in them. The effort you put forth to create your approach almost outright ensures your ability to feel confident enough to defend your decisions if need be.

And trust me… that time will come.

Nowadays, I’m approached even more and more often by people who aren’t quite my friends, yet aren’t quite acquaintances. Just people who are familiar, and want to talk. Okay, let’s talk.

“You ever tried that lemonade diet? You need to do that. It’ll help you lose that last little bit of weight fast. My girl lost 20lbs on that joint!”

“You’re going vegan?” “Not quite.” “You’re leaving behind meat, right? That’s vegan. You don’t even know what it’s called and you’re doing it? That’s stupid. You need meat.”

“You need to stop being so selfish and go find you a man now with your new body.”

“You need to stop losing weight.. you’re getting too skinny!”

“You need to stop eating so much fiber… that stuff is gross.”

“Don’t eat eggs for breakfast… just have french toast.”

Um, if this is the kind of dialogue I can expect in our “talk,” I’ll pass. How is it that all these “people who aren’t quite my friends, yet aren’t quite acquaintances” know what it is that I need? Y’all don’t know me!

Trust me when I say this: people who don’t know you from Annie… they don’t really care if you’re ok. These people just prefer to listen to themselves talk. They like how authoritative they sound. It’s like lording over someone to let them know that you’ve got the goods they want. “I got what you want, and you have to listen to me to get it.” People like feeling wanted and needed, and will go out of their way to create the kind of situation that allows them to feel that way.

Child, bye.

Look, all advice is not good advice… regardless of where it comes from. A doctor with a preconceived notion about a patient they may never see again (no really, read that), or a broad you’ve never seen before telling you a colonic is why you’re 60lbs overweight, or someone incorrectly telling you that limiting meat intake is “going vegan” and how silly it is…. sometimes, you just have to take it with a grain of salt when it comes. Feel comfortable enough to squash the convo when it does come… just expect this moment to come, though.

Obesity is an interesting problem because it’s a visible flaw. If you’re a sociopath, a liar, or an axe murderer… we can’t always identify that problem visually. But ohhh lordy, I can see that something must be wrong with you because you’re fat. Let me make this clear: being overweight is not an open invitation for people to force their ignorant and idiotic “advice” on you, and it certainly is not a reason for you to feel compelled to explain why you are overweight to anyone you don’t care about and doesn’t care about you. Your weight is not a call-to-arms for people who are not overweight to use you to make themselves feel better by pummeling you with horrid advice, further snitching on themselves and the unhealthy measures they take to remain skinny.

I refer to it as “big girl guilt” – that feeling inside that says maybe I should listen to this seemingly healthy person to see if they have the answers that I don’t. I mean, of course I don’t have any answers. I’m still fat. Um, naw. This doesn’t work like that.

That kind of “big girl guilt” implies that we don’t have a reason to stand up for ourselves because we “obviously don’t have ‘the answers.’” It also lends into that notion that says “only people who are cute by society’s standards have the right to have any pride or self-esteem orr self respect.” Well, considering how almost 70% of society is overweight and apparently clinging to standards of beauty that don’t represent them in the slightest… why would I cling to any notion that society brings me? I’m cool on that.

Once I knew I was on my way with losing weight, there were three people who knew for sure what I was doing – one of my sorority sisters, my male best friend and my Mom. That was it. Both my sorority sister and best friend were helping to guide me down separate sides of the road – one helping me to understand food, the other helping me to understand exercise – and my Mom was there to remind me of why I needed to keep my eyes on the prize: I needed to be around for my family. (See how the people who know and love you know what you “need?”)

If a person can’t bother to get to know you, what you do each day and what your life circumstances are, then trust me – they’re not qualified to give you advice on your weight or your health, no matter how many letters of the alphabet are at the end of their name. If a person can’t even bother to ask you what your workouts look like, or even ask if you do, in fact, work out? They shouldn’t be advising you on your fitness, and you shouldn’t be letting them. Don’t be afraid to take charge and let ‘em know.

Handling Unsolicited Advice and “Big Girl Guilt” is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Food Guilt and Food Shaming Are Not Your Friend
2. Welcome to A Black Girl’s Guide To Weight Loss!
3. Q&A Wednesday: A Black Girl’s Guide To Weight GAIN?

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2010. | Permalink | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: big girl guilt, emotional eating, Fad Diets, mentality, myths

Many thanks to everyone who waited patiently during the server outage. My apologies to those who subscribe via e-mail, who’ll be receiving the Q&A a day late.

Got some questions today about exercise, snacking and, well… weight loss.

Moderation: You're Doin' It Wrong

Q: What’s the quickest and safest way to lose weight?

This one is probably a whole post in itself… but there is no quick way. No matter how many pills, programs, and ad campaigns tell you otherwise… there is no quick way. In fact, the quicker the method, the more likely it can kill you. The more likely you will gain it back. The more likely it won’t work at all, and when you complain about it? They’ll just tell you “Ur doin it rongz.”

Trust me on this one. Weight loss through a quick, easy and “effortless” method has something like a 90% chance of coming back. The quickest way to healthy, long-lasting health and weight loss is through addressing what brought you the problem in the first place: your eating habits and your activity levels.

Q: Can you give leg workout exercises for those of us who are considered “pear shaped”? In the past, my thighs became bigger when performing lower body workouts. I’ve been told to lift heavy weights in order to fatigued the muscles. Thanks!

Well, first, let’s talk about why your thighs became bigger with your lower body workouts. Weight lifting/strength training builds muscle. You put your body through stress (the actual exercise); your body, in return, responds by building muscle to help make that exercise easier. So, you develop muscle that will help make this regular rigorous exercise easier for your body to handle. (Your body is extremely efficient at making things easier… it likes easy. Note that this is sometimes a problem!)

So, yes. Your legs would grow larger with the workout. The problem with this is that for those of us who are trying to tone up and tighten up a figure, we don’t want things to get bigger. We want them smaller!

If you want to go smaller, conventional wisdom says to slow down on the strength training. Not stop, slow down. Use that time and energy and put it into a more rigorous cardio workout. If there are no other issues with your diet or your overall health, I think you’ll slowly, but surely, see the progress you’re looking for.

Q: Can you give us a few quick snacks for late night hungries?

Hmm… snacks, you say?

I keep grapes in the freezer. They’re harder/take longer to chew, light in calories and actually taste pretty good. I also keep peanut butter pretzels in the pantry (divided up by portion, mind you) so that I can give myself a little something after my workouts that won’t interfere with my sleep. I also make little sandwiches – a slice of bread folded in half with peanut butter, or my strawberry preserves that I’ve made. Those work well, also. Shoot, you could also give yourself a couple cuts of meat, some honey mustard and a slice of bread, too. My all time favorite, though, is a glass of water and a shower. That’s not sarcasm, either. Usually by the end of both, I’m no longer hungry. If I am, then I hit one of the options above.

Q: For weight loss-is more cardio better? How much cardio daily is recommended for weight loss?

Aerobic exercise – also known as cardio – is a great way to burn calories, but the best thing for weight loss is addressing your eating habits. If you don’t put “it” in your mouth, you don’t have to burn “it” off!

As for how much, go until you feel like you can’t go anymore. If that’s five minutes, that’s fine – because then you’ll know that next time… you need to try for six!

Keep those questions coming, and I’ll have ‘em ready for next week! Have thoughts? Let me hear ‘em in the comments!

Q&A Wednesday: Pear-Shaped Figures, Cardio, and Snacking! is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Q&A Wednesday: Overcoming Cardio Fear
2. Q&A Wednesday: Snacking and Packing Lunch For Little Ones
3. Study: Cardio Beats Resistance Training In Belly Fat Battle

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

Get BGG2WL delivered wirelessly to your Kindle! Click here for more info!

© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: exercise, Fad Diets, fat loss, pear shaped figures, snacking, weight loss