Dieting, Obesity, Anorexia....

So, France is moving to ban extreme thinness (France works to ban promoting extreme thinness). Will it work to combat the numbers of people who live with the reality of anorexia or bulimia?

I think that approach is a bit too simplistic. I also believe that it can't hurt. Those models look positively unhealthy and - to tell you the truth - positively unhappy. the problem is eating disorders, be they losing too much weight or gaining too much weight, are much more complex than this.

One of the problems is that no matter what you weigh, someone has a comment. Some people re thin and can't gain weight, even if they want to. While this may seem like nirvana to someone who is trying to lose weight, it's not a good thing for someone who is too skinny and isn't that way on purpose. Some people have just as hard a time gaining weight as others have losing it.

b5Media has a few good blogs that are geared towards eating and I think you may want to check them out. Breaking the Mirror is run by Angelique. She tackles the issues of anorexia. Weighting Line is a newcomer. Blogger Hope discusses the walk through weight loss.

Over at Eating Fabulous, Ruth discusses eating well and Jul writes about things all vegetarian over at Veggie Chic.

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Marijke: nurse turned writer is listed on Alltop.com. Check out the fancy logo link on in the right-hand side boxes. Thanks alltop and welcome to anyone who visits from there.

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Losing weight

I missed posting yesterday - sorry! I completely forgot about posting.

I got busy yesterday doing some grocery shopping and soup making. I decided to go back on the Weight Watchers points plan this week and I had to make sure we have the necessary foods so I'm not tempted to cheat on the program. Weight loss is such a major social and health issue that you get the oddest reactions if people find out you're trying to lose weight.

I don't have to lose a lot of weight, maybe less than 10 pounds - I'm a bit shorter than 5'6" and weight 150 lbs, so it's really just what I would call fine tuning. To me, it's a health issue because A) I know that some extra weight can increase my risk of some illnesses I'm already predisposed to because of heredity and B) I tend to be more active and exercise more if I'm actively trying to do something, like lose or maintain a weight goal.

Because I have a daughter, we've always been very careful in the house with talking about weight, weight loss, dieting, and so on. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are realities in our world today and I didn't want to do anything that could even slightly encourage it. I know that the illness is way more complicated than this, but if there was anything that I could do that would make any difference, no matter how small, it was important to me. (for a great blog on this issue, visit Breaking the Mirror, written by a fellow b5 blogger)

I started WW this past October when I hit 160 pounds. For me, this was my emotional threshold. That meant - to me - that I was going to hit a point when it would become too difficult to start watching what I ate and what I did, so I decided on WW. I was shocked - absolutely shocked - at how wonderfully tasty their recipes were. I have three WW cookbooks now and oh my goodness - the food is great. Even my non-dieting family members have liked just about every recipe I've made from those cookbooks.

Being good, watching my points and getting some exercise (although not enough, I know), I lost 10 pound by Christmas. I was in no rush. Then, I got lazy but - the good news was that I didn't gain over the three months since. I stayed at 150. But I also see myself falling back into my old (read: bad) habits so I figured that the WW program would get me back on track, eating more healthy foods again.

Here's to healthy eating!

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