April 2008 Archive

27Apr
2

Celebrity Rehab Star Slims Down

Has anyone caught an episode of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew? I’m not a fan of reality TV or VH1 (I’ve never forgiven them for following in MTV’s footsteps and abandoning music videos), so until recently I hadn’t realized how shady the show really is.

Take, for instance, the list of various celebrities appearing on the show. Notice something? Almost all of them read like a resume for people more interested in rehabbing their careers than their bodies.

(One notable exception is that of Daniel Baldwin — not to be confused with Baldwin locks — whose bio mentions his cocaine addition no less than three times as well as his arrests for an auto accident, driving on suspended license and grand-theft auto.)

Meanwhile, two of the three womens’ bios mention their weights. The men’s? Nope, no mention at all… which is odd because, of all of them, Baldwin was the only one who’d previously tried rehabbing his career with an appearance on Celebrity Fit Club (an effort which apparently failed due to his repeatedly-mentioned cocaine addiction).

All of which gets me to wondering why people watch these shows in the first place. Are they hoping to see how it’s done — how to kick bad habits or lose weight? Or are they tuning in just to enjoy watching other people fail?

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Diet Motivation and tagged with , ,
27Apr
4

I’m Skinny In My Dreams

Not long ago, I noticed a strange thing about the dreams I have at night: I’m always thin in them. Not model thin, mind you, but pretty much with the same body I had before I gained weight. (Read: before I began blogging.)

Back then, of course, I still thought that I needed to lose weight and I obsessed over it. I’d dress in clothes designed to disguise my figure, hated being caught in a bathing suit and would rather have had a root canal than get undressed without first dimming the lights.

Nowadays? I’d love to go back in time and kick my much-skinnier-self’s ass. “Lighten up,” I’d say. “Think you’re fat now? Look at what’s waiting a few years down the road! Now doesn’t that swimsuit look a bit less intimidating? I thought so.”

Recently, however, I began having dreams in which I’m not thin. Not anywhere near it. As a matter of fact, I look pretty much the way that I do now — which is to say, fairly ample.

Oddly enough, I didn’t begin having these dreams until I started using my treadmill, so perhaps this is my psyche’s way of saying it’s accepted that I have a whole lot of dieting and exercise ahead of me? Like my dreams are some kind of spy camera into my subconscious?

Last night, though, I had a truly strange one. I started out dreaming about myself in my current state of ampleness… then I dreamed that I went to sleep and woke up thinner overnight. Still not model-thin, mind you. Not even skinny by, well, most people’s standards. But I’d dropped enough to get back to the attractively curvy body I’d had back when I was younger.

I’m not sure what it means, to be honest. But after dreaming of myself looking that hot in a pair of shorts and a halter top, I’m quite tempted to start sleeping a heck of a lot more.

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Living With Fat
25Apr
Off

Calorie Counts Via Your Cell Phone

Ever been running errands and find yourself so hungry that you’re tempted to blow your diet on fast food even though you don’t know how many calories or fat grams you’ll be buying? Well, wonder no more. If you’ve got a cell phone, Diet.com’s Nutrition on the Go service is just a text message away.

To use it, send the name of the restaurant and the name of the item you’re considering to DIET1 (34381). For example, you could text “Mcdonald’s BigMac” and Diet.com will send a text message back telling you calories, fat, carbs, and protein in one of those suckers (as in, 540 260, 45 and 25, respectively.)

Sure, at some point it’s likely that every restaurant will begin posting that information on their display so you know it before ordering, but with fast-food restaurants trying to diversify their appeal so much these days by offering everything from DVD rentals to car insurance online quotes at the drive-up, it’s likely you won’t actually read that data if you’ve got a screaming car full of kids.

So go ahead, add them to your cell phone’s contact list: Nutrition on the Go – diet1 (34381). But don’t tell them that I sent you.

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Living With Fat and tagged with ,
24Apr
5

Self-Serve Eye Exams Coming Soon?

Now here’s an idea whose time has come: a walk-up kiosk which administers eye exams. No more appointments and no optometrists with bad breath leaning in your face asking “this one or this one”.

Instead, you merely step up to digital signage which administers tests using various visual stimuli for both near- and far-sightedness, then the thing issues a printout with your eye health and prescription recommendation (along with advice to visit local eye professionals for a more thorough exam, of course).

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Health News
22Apr
Off

Exercise and Backne

So, here I’ve been all smug about finally working out, making an effort to get in shape instead of merely typing about it, and actually watching what I eat. (Not so much on the latter.)

Then today I decide that, because my workout was so hard and the weather was so nice, I’d dig out my swimsuit and go for a dip in the hot tub. Hadn’t I earned that kind of pampering, after all? Wouldn’t my sore muscles love the opportunity to sit and soak in warm, balmy waters?

Yeah. Sure. But then I saw the one thing in the mirror — other than my butt — that truly grosses me out: backne. You know, the zits you get on your shoulders, back and, yes, sometimes even your backside… a/k/a back acne?

Which, incidentally, is not something I dealt with prior to exercising. And it’s not a pretty side effect. Oh, sure, I’ll spend a fortune on weight loss pills that don’t work, but having to shell out for the best acne treatment and then apply it to rear end? Well, that’s one side of exercising nobody ever warned me about.

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Beauty
22Apr
11

Pimpin’ My Treadmill Desk

I’ve been telling you for a couple of weeks how easy it is to blog from my treadmill, but I figured maybe I should show you how little effort it really takes to trick one out so you can, too.

First off, mine is a Weslo Cadence C44 treadmill which, despite what other Amazon reviewers claim, works beautifully. (I just posted my own review saying as much.) I chose that model for its price — having paid a fortune for other exercise equipment that I wound up not liking, I didn’t want to shell out big bucks for something that might also become a dust-gathering coat rack.

Second, my little treadmill desk isn’t nearly as fancy as those created by some other folks. I haven’t added fancy fans or chrome accessories (although I am thinking about getting a clip-on battery-operated fan to keep my face cool). But it works, and it’s perfect for my laptop — which is the computer I use primarily. I imagine, however, that I could just as easily mount a monitor and wireless keyboard on it if I so wanted.

So how am I managing to blog while on the thing? Well, it’s all thanks to my husband’s inventiveness, as you can see here in the photo of the little wooden platform he rigged up to hold my laptop. How I blog from my treadmill

Sure, it looks — as one of my friends points out — awfully tacky since I haven’t painted the platform but I’ll probably get around to that at some point. Right now I’m just too busy enjoying it and the nearly 200 calories I burn per hour while using it.

Can you say six pounds lost? I can. And I’m loving it!

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Exercise
16Apr
8

My Shrinking Boobs

Earlier this week I mentioned that I’ve lost 4 pounds since I bought my new treadmill and began using it while I blog. (Yes, even this entry.)

The scale showed my four pound loss, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out where that weight came from. Until today when, since I was actually leaving the house, I put on a bra for the first time in days. Now I know darned well where the weight came from and, if I had my druthers, that would be the last place I’d lose it.

Oh, I’ve still got plenty to spare in the bust area. I’m not so mammoth-chested that I need bulk cable underwires but I’m not that far off, either.

I’ve always thought of great cleavage as the fat girl’s consolation prize, but what if it’s the first thing to go?

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Exercise
16Apr
3

What Your Food Says About Your Vote

Apparently, the financial woes plaguing American workers don’t extend to big business, at least not to those engaged in market research. Recently, two experts in that field were asked to analyze their data to determine relationships between voter demographics and what people eat.

No, really.

Their findings? Clinton supporters like Red Lobster, Krispy Kreme and fruit-filled cookies, while Obama backers can’t stand vanilla wafers (No racial jokes, please) but like Cheesecake Factory, Panera Bread and Starbucks. As for those likely to vote for McCain? They prefer Chips Ahoy, Fuddrucker’s and Hardee’s.

As for what your burger says about you, it’s all in the beef. Corn-feed beef lovers tend to side with McCain, while the Obama camp leans toward grass-fed beef. And Clinton’s supporters? They’re big on the fake stuff, preferring Boca (soy) burgers to the real thing.

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Dieting Humor
15Apr
Off

France To Outlaw “Inciting Extreme Thinness”

In a first of its kind law, the French lower house of parliament passed a bill that would make it illegal for anyone to “incite extreme thinness”, which would include the dissemination of magazine articles featuring anorexic-looking models.

This move, in what’s considered the fashion capital of the world, comes months after Spain banned ultra-thin models from appearing in runway shows. It’s part of a worldwide response to the 2006 death of a Brazilian model from anorexia. Italy has already banned models under the age of 16 from the catwalk and requires all those appearing on the runaway to present certificates verifying they do not suffer from anorexia.

Many see this as a positive step toward improving women’s health by ending the practice of promoting anorectic and ill women as “models” for the rest of us to be compared to.

The fashion industry, not surprisingly, is less enthusiastic about the idea.

“It may mean that we won’t be able to publish anything,” said Isabelle Maury, editor of France’s Elle magazine. “I wonder how this bill will be implemented and interpreted. If they decide to strictly implement it, it could mean that every fashion show and magazine will be banned or charged.”

Even supporters note that the ban wouldn’t necessarily improve nutrition for women, whether they’re in the fashion industry or not. They say that anorexia is tied to genetics many times, something that banning images of stick-thin models won’t change.

What say you, is this a step in the right direction toward reducing self-loathing and eating disorders, or is it just one more anemic governmental response that’s as lightweight as, well, a catwalk model?

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Health News and tagged with , ,
14Apr
7

Getting Exercise While Blogging

In case you’re curious, I’m still keeping up with using my new treadmill while blogging — a fact that’s surprised my husband. When he first rearranged our furniture to make room for the treadmill and then rigged it so I could type while walking (by slapping a board on top of my treadmill’s hand rails and clamping it down with inexpensive vise grips), he figured I’d tire of it in a day or two.

Silly man.

The sole reason why I haven’t been much for exercising in the past is the very same one that keeps many people from doing it: it takes time away from other things that are either more pressing or more fun.

In my case, both homeschooling and my work online keep me busy the majority of the day. When I’ve finished those there’s still dinner to cook, dishes to wash and a list of chores that have to be done. Making time for exercise has — until now — meant letting one of those other things slide and I’m far too much of a neat freak to let housekeeping go for long.

But combining two things so I can accomplish them both in the time it takes to do one? That appeals to the efficiency freak in me big time. Best yet, by blogging as I exercise I almost don’t notice that I’m exercising at all.

Hey, lookee there: I just crossed the 1-hour workout mark in the time it took to read email, browse news headlines, check on the shipment status of the Skinny Bitch cookbook I just ordered and type this here post.

Total calories burned in today’s workout (2 mph walk): 180
Total pounds lost since I began blogging from my treadmill: FOUR

Walk on.

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Exercise
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