Three Annoying Questions for Gigi of Gigi Eats Celebrities!

photo: the unquiet librarian

Interview By Crabby McSlacker

Our next victim for "3 Annoying Questions" is the hilariously healthy Gigi at Gigi Eats Celebrities. Her videos and blog posts on celebrity diets, fitness trends, and other aspects of healthy or deranged living are so fun and informative that we can almost forgive her for being all gorgeous and talented and clearly destined to be a big-time celebrity herself. So please welcome Gigi as she bravely fields Crabby's "3 Annoying Questions!"

Ready Gigi?

Three Annoying Questions for Jody of Truth 2 Being Fit!

photo: the unquiet librarian

Interview By Crabby McSlacker

So again with the "3 Annoying Questions!" This time we decided to ambush... er, ask the awe-inspiring Jody, whom you can find being all Fit at 56.  Jody keeps it real, offering inspiration and practical tips on fitness and health and nutrition, but damn it, she stubbornly refuses to offer quick fixes to tough problems or magical solutions which require no effort or sacrifice. Spoilsport.

Please welcome Jody to the weirdness that is Cranky Fitness!--Crabby 

And here are the 3 Annoying questions:

Three Annoying Questions for Josie of Yum Yucky

Yes, it's time to drag out the ridiculous questions and annoy another favorite blogger, Josie from the awesome blog Yum Yucky.  (Note: Josie turned 41 yesterday, and celebrated the event not by sensibly diving face first into a vat of chocolate cake as I would have, but by constructing a booty challenge and eating cereal and bacon.  Go figure!)

In addition to great blog posts, Josie is an awesome source for fun, informative, and hilarious videos, something you ain't gonna find here at Cranky Fitness unless Crabby has begged someone else to do 'em for her.

Welcome, Josie, and here are your annoying questions! --Crabby

Three Annoying Questions...For Jennipher from Fit Bottomed Girls

photo: the unquiet librarian

By Crabby McSlacker

So it's time yet again to play "3 Annoying Questions!" Our next victim is Jennipher Walters, someone I actually got to meet and hang out with at a Dole-funded event a few years ago.

It was rough: we were wined and dined and subjected to spa treatments and cruelly forced to write our thoughts about mushroom powder and frozen bananas. 

However, during the event I discovered Jenn's deep dark secret...

Personal Day

This is to announce that Crabby is taking a "personal day" today.

Yep, I'm taking off from the blog in order to fly cross-country on personal business***, so I'm gone, but it's not quite vacation. And I hate hate hate to fly. I'd actually rather be home surfing the web for health news and fielding PR pitches for vitamin water than sitting in an airplane... go figure!

But anyway, it's also a "personal day" in the sense that I did an interview with the nice folks at A Weight Lifted, and they're running it today over at their blog.

Now if you're anything like me, you might have a slight resistance to clicking the link. Because you came HERE, and now I'm sending you SOMEWHERE ELSE for today's post. I know I hate to follow a blogger over to a guest post elsewhere. And I have a cable modem, so it's not even about loading time... it's the principle of the thing! People shouldn't be wandering all over the web making you chase after them, dagnabbit!

Anyway, sorry about that. But if you don't mind clicking over to A Weight Lifted for the Crabby McSlacker interview, they're very nice folks over there and they ask fun questions! Remember Marsha, the Dietitian with Dark Dirty Secrets? That's where she blogs.

And as to my "personal business," it's one of those things that's really interesting if you're the person actually conducting the business, but not so interesting if you're not. But if you're bored this morning and want to know what it is...

***Crabby's Personal Business, Explained:

We might be buying a condo.

See, once upon a time, the Lobster and I had a home in California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. But we sold it and downsized into a condo in Provincetown, Massachusetts--one of our favorite places on earth.

The problem? Winter time. In freezing-ass cold weather, Provincetown is not such a favorite place anymore. It's not only cold but lonely. Almost nothing is open and only a few hardy souls hang around.

We don't do hardy.

We are aware that some people, on contemplating a move from a year-round home to a summer place, might think about winter plans before selling their house. But we decided hey, it's a good time to sell in CA, so what the heck! We'll take it a year at a time.

Last winter we stayed with relatives in the SF Bay Area, and this coming winter it looks like we have a house-sitting arrangement lined up in our old Rockridge neighborhood. Hooray!

But at some point we'd like to have a more permanent winter home. So we're attempting to buy a condo in San Diego where it's warmer than the Bay Area, but still close enough for frequent family visits. We found a place we are very excited about (in Hillcrest, near Balboa Park) and put an offer on it. However, we are planning to rent it out for a year or so until we're sure we can actually afford to live in it.

So I need to fly out and make sure the place is not radioactive, or infested with rats or rattlesnakes, or riddled with toxic mold, or located next to a meth lab or a vampire lair or something.

Be back sometime Wednesday morning. Thanks for your patience!

--Crabby

Dark, Dirty Secrets of a Dietitian

Photo: Roadsidepictures

So the title of this post is a big ol' lie, unless you count drinking hot Dr. Pepper in one's youth "a dark dirty secret." But if I were honest and titled this post "Interview With a Dietitian Who Gives Sensible, Inspirational Answers to Crabby's Silly Questions," would it have caught your eye?

There is so much ridiculous misinformation out there in the weight loss world, and though I whine about it all the time, I'm not actually qualified to spout off quite as much as I do. So, I thought, why not ask an actual dietitian some questions?

But where to find one?

Well, duh, Crabby, why not look on the right hand sidebar of the blog, below the Blogher ad!

Yes, some of you may have noticed we have some new sponsors. (Hooray for non-conglomerate companies that have healthy products and support independent blogs! Please visit them all and check them out!) And one of these is Green Mountain at Fox Run. They have a great blog there, A Weight Lifted, and their director Marsha Hudnall, MS, RD, is not only a dietitian, but a blogger and professional writer as well.

So here's my interview with Marsha, who was very good-natured about putting up with my goofy questions.

Crabby: How did you decide to become a dietitian? Were you always a healthy eater or did you go around like I did in my formative years, scarfing cheeseburgers and cokes and cookies with complete abandon?

Marsha: I'm from Texas so that might give you a small idea of what I grew up eating and drinking. Lots of Dr. Pepper, for one thing. And, yes, even hot -- a Texan's idea of afternoon tea. Actually, my father was a farmer-turned purchasing agent who never lost his passion for growing vegetables, plus we had chickens, cows, pigs, the whole nine yards. So I got a great start with good nutrition.

Like most teenagers, however, my friends and I had our own idea of eating well. Our typical after-school snack was frozen coke and frozen candy bars (blame it on the Texas heat). Eventually, though, I got caught up in dieting. As is my tendency, I took it to the extreme, and developed an eating disorder.

So my entry into the world of nutrition was an attempt at 'dietitian, heal thyself.'

Crabby: There seem to be a few dietary principles that most experts agree on: eat more vegetables and whole foods; get some protein of some sort; choose good fats over bad ones; and do not try to subsist solely on a diet of chocolate ice cream, Cheetos, and Red Bull. But when you start to get specific, there's so much disagreement out there. Go "primal" and eat lots of meat? Avoid carbs? Go vegan? Take lots of supplements? Never take supplements? Eat everything raw? Eat for your blood type? Watch your calories, or fat grams, or weight watcher points, or sodium, or sugar intake--or don't track anything at all?

I guess my question is: do dietitians have these debates too, or is there more consensus among those with professional training about how we should be eating?

Marsha: When I first started out, I think it was fairly clear -- mainstream-educated nutritionists pretty much agreed on the basics. The other camp was the 'health food nuts,' who weren't necessarily professionally educated on the subject. Today, lines are blurring. First, many of the 'nuts' are professionally educated now; many of them are dietitians. Note I'm not calling these folks nuts; I think moving in the directions proposed by many alternative practitioners offers some real potential. Actually, I think many in both camps are now seeing potential value in the other. They may not really even be separate camps anymore.

Complicating all this is the clear problem that our population is having in terms of achieving and maintaining healthy weights. The debate surrounding that is tremendous, and it's going on among all the players.

Of course, it's important to understand that debate is often what drives inquiry, so it's a good thing.

Crabby: Can you sum up your basic healthy-eating philosophy in a paragraph or two?

Marsha: Anything that goes well with wine. Okay, maybe not for breakfast.

My healthy eating philosophy can be summed up as 'eating well feels good.' First, it's not a cookie-cutter approach -- 'eat this, don't eat that.' Nor is it bland, boring or restrictive. Instead, it's about eating in a way that truly makes us feel well physically and mentally. Walking away from the table feeling satisfied, having enjoyed foods we want to eat, comfortable -- not hungry but not stuffed, either -- supporting a healthy weight that is different for all of us but feels good to us as individuals, helping us stay healthy so we can enjoy our lives. It's also about sometimes overeating because we want more, and making the decision to go for it because that feels good, too. Further, it's about enjoying good food with family and friends, acknowledging that healthy eating is more than just what we put in our mouths. But what it's really about is finding a healthy balance among all the things eating does for and to us so we can get on with the things in our lives that are truly important to us.

Crabby: Sounds good! Now can you do it in rhyme? How about haiku? (Just kidding.)

Er... Unless you can, in which case you will win the Cranky Fitness All-Time Good Sport Award!

Marsha: I want that award so much I am willing to humiliate myself:

Eating well for fun
Concept shatters convention
Like summer snowballs

Crabby: That's awesome! You have indeed earned your Good Sport award.

So next question: What are the typical dietary issues that you see women come in with at Green Mountain, and how do you help them address these issues?

Many of the women who come to Green Mountain at Fox Run have been struggling with their weight for a long time, often since childhood. Others may not have struggled with it for as long, but the diet mentality has become such a part of our society's way of thinking about food, eating, weight and ourselves, they're almost in the same spot. Challenging that thinking is a big part of what we do. We work to help women change their attitudes and beliefs about what constitutes healthy eating, exercise and health, and find what works for them so they can begin moving towards a healthy weight. And we provide a safe, supportive environment for them to do things differently and see how it feels, which of course feels great.

Ultimately, it's about freedom of choice. We help women understand the choices we have -- and the right we have to make choices for ourselves. So much about eating and weight struggles today has to do with what other people think. A much more effective focus is what we as individuals think and feel.

Crabby: So what is the silliest fad diet you've ever heard of?

Marsha: I couldn't even begin to put one above another. Further, it's hard to honor any of them with the word 'silly.' I'm pretty passionate about the misguided thinking that fad diets represent, not just about eating but about our weight and our worth. At the very least, they have done enormous damage by confusing people about how to truly take care of themselves.

Crabby: Any parting words of dietary advice for Cranky Fitness readers?

Marsha:

Find the fun.
Share it with others.
Get a life (I mean that in the nicest way).

Crabby: Great advice! (But healthy living is supposed to be fun? Who knew???)

Thank you very much Marsha!

More about Marsha and Green Mountain at Fox Run:

Marsha Hudnall, MS, RD, first came to Green Mountain at Fox Run as an account supervisor for a public relations firm that Green Mountain hired to do, well, public relations. To better promote Green Mountain, she went through the program and found herself entranced by its non-diet, feel-good-about-yourself philosophy. She also found herself entranced by the director, who subsequently became her husband, and she subsequently became director and co-owner (after serving as cook, bottle washer, nutrition director and program director). Her self-described mission at Green Mountain has been to help participants learn to enjoy food and eating while successfully managing their weight and health. Marsha has written prolifically throughout her career, and now spends much of her time obsessing over her posts for Green Mountain's blog A Weight Lifted.

About Green Mountain at Fox Run: A healthy weight loss retreat for women only, Green Mountain at Fox Run offers a proven healthy lifestyle program that teaches how to eat instead of starve, move our bodies for pleasure and physical well-being, and manage stress and negative self-image for health and healthy weights. In operation for 37 years, Green Mountain pioneered the non-diet approach to achieving and maintaining healthy weights.

What about you folks: are you able to "find the fun" when you eat healthy, or does healthy eating and "fun" ever feel mutually exclusive?

Why I refused to review Diet Girl's book (plus, a giveaway)

[The scene: In the palatial Cranky Fitness Headquarters (C.F.H.), Merry sits writing a letter.]

Dear Diet Girl,

Thank you for letting me read your memoir, The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl.

However, I don't want to review it.

I think I would rather pitch it as a movie proposal.

I see this story as a saga. Nicole Kidman could play the lead, with Hugh Jackman as the romantic hero. (Or Gerard Butler might work, since the hero is Scottish.)

I can see the movie poster:


Thrills! Travel to exotic locations!
Chills! The Aussies encounter the Scottish winter!
Suspense! Will Diet Girl be deported forever?
Death-defying feats! See how she masters complicated maneuvers such as kick boxing and weight lifting!
Weight Loss! The woman lost an amazing 175 pounds!
A romance that spanned three continents and four weddings!!!


Sorry, but I need to stop writing this letter for a moment. Crabby's over there waving a claw at me. I think she's trying to get a word in edgewise. (Seems appropriate. How else would a crab get a word in? )

Crabby: Merry? You can put down that pen now. Look who's coming through the door, it's the Amazing Diet Girl herself, Shauna Reid! So we can ask her questions and tell her in virtual-person what we thought about her awesome book.

Merry: She's here? [Hides the autographed copy of Pasta Queen's book.] Shauna! How lovely to see you!

Shauna: Howdy ladies! Thanks for having me over.

Crabby: It's our pleasure! Oddly enough, we don't get many visitors at Cranky Fitness headquarters. [Hurriedly brushing away cobwebs and dust bunnies].

Merry: So, Shauna, thank you for letting us read The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl. Even though I don't want to review it, I have a question. Well, several questions, really.

Shauna: Fire away!

Merry: Especially in the beginning, when you weighed over 300 pounds, you suffered from fat girl panic attacks that threatened to stop you. By the end of the story, the panic attacks were noticeably fewer. Did they drop off with the pounds or was there some shift in your attitude that discouraged them?

Shauna: The Fat Girl Freakouts got less frequent as I got less freaked out about being fat. I started out with really rubbish self-esteem - I was almost apologetic for just existing, like how dare I take up so much space! My confidence grew somewhat as I started to lose weight, but what really helped along the way was, for lack of a better phrase, doing stuff. Things that most people wouldn't see as particularly radical, like trying a weights class at the gym and training for a 5K race. It was a revelation after so many years of being a hermit and convincing myself I was "too fat" to try. I started to feel less defined by the size of my butt and less worried about what people thought of me.

Merry: I loved your description of 'Vampire Exercise' -- walking by yourself at night rather than during the day when people could see you. How did you go from that mindset to walking into a gym?

Shauna: I just applied the same Vampire Method to the gym - I always went the hour before it closed - that way I avoided the Hot People Peak Hour with all the nubile supermodel types! Eventually I got bored with the cardio machines and wanted to try group classes but they were earlier. So I'd arrive really early and hide up the back row so no one could look at me wobbling around. So at first I think it was more about finding crafty ways to work around my fears as opposed to tackling them directly :)

Merry: I was impressed that you didn't wait to start living until you'd gotten stick thin. A lot of people think that no one will look at them until they're skinny. You went out and fell in love anyway! Um... does Gareth have any brothers?

Shauna: He does! He's single too. Come on over, baby!
The whole falling in love thing was a real shock. I admit that I was convinced that no one would look at me until I was svelte - which is probably why it took me months to notice that Gareth was interested. I wish I'd taken off my fat goggles years earlier and believed I was worthy of some good lovin' - who knows how much action I missed out on over the years!? :)

Merry: Hmmmn... I wonder if mortgaging the C.F.H. would afford me a ticket to Scotland... oh, sorry. My mind was wandering for minute. Anyway. Comfort food. It sounds like chocolate and you had a very special bond. Has this changed? What do you do nowadays when you feel down?

Shauna: I still eat the chocolate! I know you're supposed to Phone A Friend or Take A Bubble Bath when you're down but sometimes only chocolate will do. I've learned to eat smaller portions of the good stuff and savor the hell out of 'em. I eat my wee ration as slowly and quietly as possible - Gareth knows not to interrupt me if I am having a Chocolate Moment. If I scoff it down quickly I'll inevitably want more, so I try really hard to eat mindfully.

Crabby: Well, Merry may have decided not to review the book, but I can't help gushing a bit. I'd give it two enthusiastic Claws Up! I thought it was dramatic, moving, inspiring, and funny as hell. It was fast-paced and was almost like a novel, in that it had a great "plot"-- all the more fascinating because it was all true. I agree with Merry, it would make a great movie.

But part of what made it so gripping was that it was a messy, complicated journey. It's one thing to disclose this stuff on an anonymous blog, but was it scary at all to think about "going public" with your name on the cover of a book? And is it strange to have your private thoughts about, say, the size of your undergarments, read by people all over the world? Or friends and neighbors and co-workers?

Shauna: I'm glad you enjoyed it, cheers! I was a wee bit nervous about going public and committing my looniest moments to print - there's no Undo button with a book! But by the time it was finally published in the UK in January 2008, it was almost two years after I'd started writing. And another year has passed now it's out in the USA, so the distance helps. I can almost look back at the Me in the book like a bemusing fictional character: Wow, that Shauna Reid sure was a nutter! It's also a great ice breaker - people who were previously distant acquaintances come up to me at parties and say, "Dude, I totally eat Nutella straight from the jar too."
I also know how much I left out of the book - it could have been so much worse!

Merry: I think the book was pretty good as it was! But Crabby has a good point. You write frankly about body issues. How do you feel about your body now?

Shauna: I'm cool with it. I admire its resilience - I've put it through hell and back and it's still hanging in there! I never had any illusions that I was hiding a supermodel body under my fat suit, so I've accepted my wobbly bits and focus on my best features. I spent far too many years glaring at my reflection in the mirror and thinking evil loathing thoughts... now my mind and body are finally a team.

Crabby: Do you feel any pressure to maintain a particular size or weight, now that you're a success story for others? Or do you feel it's your own damn business whatever you weigh?

Shauna: There were times last year when the book first came out in the UK and Ireland that I thought I would explode from the pressure to live up to the happy ending. I'd get lovely emails from people saying they looked up to me as a success story, and not-so-lovely emails from people saying I was DOOMED to regain the weight and mark their words, they would be waiting to laugh maniacally when I FAILED. Both kinds of email left me gnawing my fingernails with angst. But now I'm more chilled and as long as I'm happy with my weight, that's all I need to worry about. I'll just keep on doing what I've always done with the blog - share the ups and downs with honesty, and let people draw from it whatever they will. I try not to put any pressure on myself other than make sure I keep doing the Healthy Things as much as I can, for the sake of my sanity as much as my waistline!

Crabby: I've very much enjoyed checking in with your blog, The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl. It seems you manage to be funny about whatever subject you take on. Do you see the blog changing emphasis away from food, exercise and weight issues in the future as you get further from your own incredible weight loss journey? Or will it continue to be a major subject you blog about? (I'm guessing a lot of folks interested in weight loss will be joining you after the book comes out in the United States!)

Shauna: Dietgirl will always be the place for the lard-related thoughts! Even when I don't post as frequently, I still come crawling back because let's face it, it never ends. After eight years I still need a place to touch base and spew my thoughts. The writing is part of the maintenance just as much as my meal planning or exercise schedule. And I love the support and friendship you get from blogland. As for other topics, I've had a personal blog since 2000 called What's New Pussycat which is where I write about my non-fat passions - travel, music, sport, Scottish life and general bitching about what's on the telly. I started Dietgirl as a separate, anonymous blog because I didn't want to alienate WNP readers with my weight loss shenanigans. I'm totally out of the fat blogging closet now, so I just write wherever the mood takes me!

Crabby: What does the Mothership think about this whole book thing?

Shauna: I think The Mothership quite enjoys it. The mother-daughter relationship is never a straightforward one so I was worried about publishing some of our darkest moments. But she read all the drafts and encouraged me to be even more honest and open. She also gets some of the funniest lines so she's quite happy with how she was depicted! She's also a great saleswoman and is always moving my book to prominent shelves in Australian bookshops!

Merry: What's the big deal with kickboxing? I mean, it's not complicated. You simply find a box and give it a good kick. Why's that considered fun?

Shauna: It gets fun when you swap a box for a real live person! You wear these ridiculous padded shoes that all round and shiny, like you've raided Mickey Mouse's wardrobe, so you can't do any real harm. But that thwack thwack thwack sound when you land a kick is pure music, and any stress you felt before class just flies right out your toes! I never thought I would look forward to doing exercise but I am thoroughly addicted to kickboxing. Even though I'm quite rubbish at it.

Merry: Okay, time for the hard-hitting question. [Sets up the bright spotlight] Time to tell the truth. Who's better looking: Hugh Jackman or Gerard Butler?

Shauna: I'll have to stay loyal to my homeland and go with Australia's Hugh Jackman!

Merry: Excellent choice! I'll have my people call his people about doing the Diet Girl movie.

Crabby: Thank you, Shauna, for answering all our questions! And it was a pleasure to read your book. We hope some of our readers might be inspired to go out and pick up a copy... or to stay in and pick up a copy! Either way--it's a great book no matter how you get ahold of it.

Oh, and I think Merry had a lovely parting gift for you, she said something about baking a special chocolate cake just for the occasion...[voice trails off]

Merry: Um... gosh, I can't understand how that turned into a plate of crumbs... I could've sworn I had told that cat not to... hmmmn....

Diet Girl Book Giveaway

Yes, we're giving away one copy of Diet Girl's fabulous book.

You have to be a USian, but I don't feel so bad about this. I mean, this book is already out in Canada, and the U.K., and Norway, for pete's sake.

Deadline: Please leave a comment and let us know what you think! Mr. Random Number Generator will pick a comment at Midnight 6:48 pm (PST) Monday, January 19th.

This contest is now closed.

Interview With Judith Beck (and Giveaway)

So I'm very excited that today we have an interview with Dr. Judith Beck!

Hi there, Dr. Judith Beck!

Her previous weight loss book, The Beck Diet Solution, was a New York Times Best Seller. And unlike some best selling self-help books that shall remain nameless, it was actually a realistic and sensible plan for losing weight. (Java Chick, for example, documented some of her experiences with it).

Now Dr. Beck has a new book coming out, The Complete Beck Diet for Life.




I got a chance to read it, and I definitely recommend it for people who've been trying to lose weight but have had trouble succeeding. It's based on techniques that have solid research behind them, and it deals with all the common mental pitfalls one encounters when trying to move to a healthier lifestyle. The book includes an eating plan, but also teaches a set of skills, so that you can have a shot at maintaining weight loss over the long haul.

So I'm pleased I got to ask Judith some questions, as though I were an actual journalist and not just a lazy blogger. And we've got a copy of her new book available to send to a Randomly Selected commenter! (Instructions below).

Crabby: So I notice that The Complete Beck Diet for Life has the word "diet" in the title... but you seem to have forgotten to include any gimmicks! There are no juice fasts, no stringent food combinations, no eating bananas all day long, no "detox" potions to drink. Nor do I see the words "miracle" or "magic" anywhere. What gives? Is that any way to market a diet book? Why no extravagant promises or "easy" solutions?

Judith: I’m sorry to say that there is no magic solution to weight loss; there are no magic foods or combinations of foods or supplements. If there were, someone would be a billionaire.

Crabby: Dang! We'd really like to be billionaires. We were thinking maybe "The Cupcake Diet" might sell a few books...

Judith: The truth is that if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. If you eat more calories than you burn, you’ll gain weight. There is a solution, though, to losing weight permanently.

Crabby: "Permanent" is the tricky part, isn't it? I tried to make some suggestions once, but somehow I got off track and ended up talking about Eleanor Roosevelt and Mr. Rogers instead. What's the real solution to losing weight and make it stick?

Judith: First you need to learn a specific set of thinking and behavioral skills, such as how to motivate yourself every day, how to get yourself to use good eating habits, how to cope with craving and negative emotions without eating, and so on.

Second, you need a highly nutritious diet you can stay on for life. That means it has to have a sufficient number of calories and be very healthy so your body doesn’t rebel. It also means it has to include your favorite foods—as often as every day—so your mind won’t rebel.

The Complete Beck Diet for Life fills these requirements, and you can individualize it so you can stay on it for life.

Crabby: "For Life" sounds so darn long. Personally, I'm still hoping the scientists invent a way to turn broccoli, tofu, and lentils into tasty chocolate chip cookies, but you're right--in the meantime, we need a healthy diet and a way to stick to it.

Crabby Again: OK, new question. So your approach is based on Cognitive therapy, which I'm a fan of, because research shows it actually works.

If I were to try to summarize Cognitive therapy, I might say it's the process of learning to substitute more realistic thoughts for ridiculous ones. Like: "Crabby, a half hour on the elliptical machine DOES NOT burn off the calorie equivalent of a full pint of Chocolate Peanut Butter Haagen Dazs ice cream. Put down that spoon!"

But perhaps you have a better description of it, and an explanation of how it helps in the weight loss struggle?

Judith: Cognitive therapy helps you make changes in your thinking so you can make permanent changes in your eating behavior. You need to know exactly what to tell yourself when you have thoughts such as, “That looks so good. It’s okay to eat it, even though it’s not on my plan, because....I’m hungry/ I’m tired/ I’m upset/ I’m happy....Everyone else is eating it...No one is watching.....It’s only a little piece....It’s free....I can’t waste food...I hardly ever get to have it.....I’ll make up for it later....I’ve already exercised today....I’ll exercise later....it’s a special occasion.....I can’t resist.... and so on and so on and so on.

Crabby: I think I've used every one of those. Plus the ever-popular "Oh well, chocolate has tons of anti-oxidants in it."

Judith: You need to remind yourself, “If I want to lose weight permanently, I have to follow my plan. Every time I eat something I’m not supposed to, I build up my “giving in muscle” which makes it more likely that I’ll give in next time and the time after that and the time after that."

Crabby: I've never seen a machine at the gym for exercising the "giving in" muscle. Oh wait, yes I have... the vending machine! But it doesn't sound like a muscle you really want to work to hard to develop.

Judith: It's better to tell yourself "If I resist, I’ll build up my resistance muscle, which makes it more likely that the next time I’ll resist and the time after that and the time after that. The truth is that every bite matters; it’s not just the calories, it’s the habit.”

Dieters also need to remind themselves, “I can either eat whatever I want, whenever I want OR I can lose weight permanently. I can’t have it both ways.”

In addition, they need to change their thoughts about hunger. Many dieters mix up hunger with the desire to eat. And they think that hunger is abnormal, should be avoided, and that it will get worse and worse until they can’t tolerate it. But by doing some experiments, they can see that hunger is okay, it’s only mildly uncomfortable compared to other discomfort they’ve tolerated, and that hunger comes and goes.

These are just a few of the changes in thinking that dieters need to learn. And they need to learn how to motivate themselves to read these reminders daily (and sometimes throughout the day).

Crabby: There are some similarities between The Complete Beck Diet For Life and your previous book, The Beck Diet Solution, in terms of theory and techniques. But The Complete Beck Diet For Life builds on the previous one, adding features like recipes, for example. What else is new or improved?

Judith: The Beck Diet Solution suggested that dieters pick any healthy diet they want, then use the skills in the book to learn how to stick to the diet. Since I wrote the book, I found that few dieters actually eat in a healthy, hunger-satiating way. Diets tend to have too few calories, are unbalanced, and don’t include favorite foods. No wonder a lot of dieters can’t sustain the eating plan they’ve chosen.

So I decided to work with a registered dietician to create a sensible, healthy diet. Basically, you calculate an appropriate calorie level and then choose a protein from a list, vegetables from another list, a grain or starch from a third list, and so on. So it’s very flexible. You also get either 150 or 200 calories a day to spend any way you want. You can even have a candy bar every day. Like the first book, you learn—and master--certain essential thinking and behavioral skills before you change your eating because it’s too difficult to stick to a plan and master these skills at the same time.

The program in the book gives you a choice about changing just one meal at a time, changing all your meals at once, or changing all your meals and snacks at the same time. It also contains a formula and strategies for eating when you’re not home and it teaches you not only how to motivate yourself, but also how to keep up your motivation for life.

Crabby: You used a great analogy when talking about how dieters will compound one slip by going on to make many more, when they'd never do the same thing in other areas of their lives. You pointed out that if a cop stops you and gives you a ticket for running a red light, you wouldn't then think, "Oh, well I might as well run as many red lights as I can for the rest of the day and start fresh again tomorrow!" But that's exactly the kind of thinking dieters often do. What do you think it is about food, dieting, or weight loss that makes rational thought so difficult?

Judith: I think dieters are frequently overly optimistic.

Crabby: That's a coincidence, I think pretty much everyone but me is overly optimistic! But that's why they call me Crabby. In what way are dieters too optimistic?

Judith: They think it won’t matter if they restrict their calories severely, if they spend calories on simple carbohydrates instead of protein and healthy fats, if they decide at the last moment what to eat instead of following a plan, if they eat quickly or while standing up, if they cheat and wait until tomorrow to restart their diet. But it does matter.

And I think at some level, they just don’t understand how essential it is to learn how to follow a highly nutritious diet, without making exceptions. In The Complete Beck Diet for Life, I teach dieters how to get themselves to follow a plan inflexibly at first. After they’ve learned this skill, I teach them how to create a flexible plan that can incorporate last minute exceptions.

Crabby: One possible drawback some might see to the Cognitive therapy approach you describe in your book is that it involves a lot of preparation and practice. Changing the way one thinks seems to involve (gulp) homework! There are lists to check off and experiments to try and decks of cards to create. When I was reading through this, I kept envisioning how tempted I'd be to skip a lot of steps, even though I could totally see why that would be counter-productive.

If someone were say, hypothetically, something of a slacker, what would you suggest they do to keep the skimming and skipping to a minimum and not be too half-assed about it?

Judith: When dieters have the sabotaging thought, “Oh, I don’t need to do all this,” I ask them, “What has your experience been in the past? Has NOT doing all these things led you to permanent weight loss? What makes you think you can get away with not doing them?” I’m honest with dieters. I tell them that I’m certain they can lose weight without doing all the tasks; they have all lost at least some weight in the past without mastering these skills. I also tell them I’m certain that they won’t be able to keep off the weight they lose, not unless they master each skill. But sometimes dieters just have to learn the hard way. They skip some tasks, they gain weight back—and then they’re ready to commit to the whole program.

Crabby: What do you think is the most common mistake most dieters make?

Judith: Not effectively responding to the thought, “It won’t matter if I eat this food I haven’t planned.”

Crabby: As this is a book about dieting, exercise is not the main focus. How important do you think exercise is for weight loss? What sort of exercise do you do?

Judith: Exercise helps weight loss and it’s essential for good health, so everyone needs to exercise, whether or not they’re trying to lose weight. I encourage dieters to follow a set eating plan which is independent of their exercise program. So you don’t get to eat more if you exercise but you don’t have to eat less if you don’t exercise on any given day. Research shows that people who eat pretty consistently from day to day are more likely to lose weight and maintain their weight loss, so I don’t tie food intake with exercise. I go to the gym 2-3 times a week and try to walk on other days.

Crabby: From your books it seems like you have a cheerful, can-do, positive attitude. But since this is a blog called Cranky Fitness, I have to ask: is there anything health and fitness related you'd like to complain about? Any obstacles, attitudes, bone-headed institutional policies, media issues, anything at all?

Judith: I really am disheartened by how so many women (and some men), regardless of their weight, base so much of their sense of self on how they think their bodies look. Appearance is so superficial! Yet they often feel so badly about themselves when the number on the scale is higher than they’d like it to be. They become obsessed with food, diet, exercise, and how they look. It starts to take over their lives. They feel self-conscious and inhibited and don’t enjoy daily activities and their lives in general as much as they could. I wish they could learn how to accept themselves and lead better lives.

Crabby: Anything else you'd like to share about your book, future plans, philosophy of life?

Judith: A strong theme in my books is “no wonder.” No wonder people have had difficulty losing weight and keeping it off. They just didn’t know how. It’s funny; people wouldn’t expect to be able to sit down at the piano and play a concerto without taking lessons. Even after they can play a concerto, they expect that their skills will get rusty and their musical prowess will decline if they don’t continue to practice. It’s really the same with dieting. People need to learn a specific set of thinking and behavioral skills, and then they need to practice them, over and over, so they can not only lose weight but maintain their weight loss. It’s not their fault that they’ve gained weight back in the past. They never learned how to keep it off.

Crabby: Thank you so much Judith! And good luck with your book, it sounds like it will help a lot of people.


So Would You Like to Win a Copy of The Complete Beck Diet For Life?

Just let us know in the comments below that you'd like a chance at a copy of the book, so the Random Number Generator doesn't pick someone who's already ordered one or isn't looking to lose weight or whatever. We'll pick a winner as of midnight (EST) Thursday night, Dec 18th and post who the winner is sometime on Friday December 19th. So don't forget to check back! If you win, please email us with your name and mailing address by Monday night, Dec 22 to claim your copy.

Or, you can order one here (available Dec 23), if Crabby can still remember how to do Amazon links. Let's see:

So, have any of you had any interesting experiences with Diets or Diet Books?

Embracing Your Big Fat Ass

[By Crabby]

(Photo: zizzybaloobah)

Here at Cranky Fitness, we get all kinds of readers. Readers who are large-sized and unhappy about it; readers who are a healthy weight but are trying hard to fit into their skinny jeans; readers who are whatever size they want to be and don't worry about their weight; readers who are big and voluptuous and totally content with that; readers who don't give a crap about weight loss one way or another and are just waiting for the next cat video or Natalie Dee cartoon.

So we are aware that not everyone who reads this post will have a Big Fat Ass. (You may, instead, have to contemplate embracing your Freakishly Freckled Skin, your Deeply Engraved Crows Feet, your Skinny Little Chicken Legs, your Frizzy-Ass Hair, your Pendulous Drooping Tits, or whatever other Perceived Personal Flaw you might bemoan).

But especially for those of you who do have Big Fat Asses and are not happy about it, we've got a special interview today with author Janette Barber, who is the co-author (along with Laura Banks) of: Embracing Your Big Fat Ass.




(And wait 'til you read Janette's bio at the end of the post--this woman has done everything, including winning six Emmy awards!)


Crabby: So what's with the "embracing" idea? Doesn't society insist that women with big fat asses devote every minute of their lives to eliminating their excess buttage?

Janette: The thing is, fat is still the one area where people can utterly revile you – so anyone who possibly can lose it would. People make fun of us, it’s harder to get jobs and we tend to hate ourselves. The truth is women with fat asses are already doing the best they can. We go from diet to diet thinking not of our health but how we can fit society’s visual ideal. There is a 50 billion dollar a year diet industry in the US that hawks every imaginable drug and product to make people lose weight with the message: You are NOT all right as you are. And the result of all of this is that American’s are getting fatter and fatter. Obviously, devoting every minute of their lives to losing the buttage isn’t working.

In Embracing Your Big Fat Ass, we say that self hatred is more fattening than fudge.

I have had weight issues all my life. (I weighed 115 lbs at age seven; 200 lbs at age twelve; 250 lbs at fourteen; and finally 275 lbs in my early twenties.) Hating myself never made me any thinner and never helped me to stick on an eating program. Learning to accept myself and even accept the fat – did.

I believe in eating as healthy a diet as I can and exercising as much as I can flog myself into doing – but I think when you change from self loathing to self love, when you see all of yourself instead of just a number on a scale, when you embrace yourself – good parts and flaws – you are then in a position where you can make changes.

How does one know if one has a Big Fat Ass?

Big Fat Ass is really a state of mind. You can be talking 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 20 pounds or a bubblebutt and you self qualify. If you loathe yourself and think you don’t deserve happiness because you don’t fit Hollywood’s standard of Kate Moss beauty then you fit the bill.

Our book is really about self esteem and empowerment.

Does it help me to hate myself for being fat? Does it make me thinner? No. Actually it makes me fatter!

We also have a useful quiz in our book entitled “How Big is Your Fat Ass?”

It goes like this:

Do you:

1. Knock over freestanding displays in stores?
2. Often lose things in your pants?
3. Wear long shirts over everything you own including evening gowns?
4. Hate the idea of a rearview mirror even if it’s just in the car?
5. Refuse to date a skinny ass man, convinced you’ll look bigger in comparison?
6. Refuse to date a skinny ass man, convinced you might sit on him and kill him?

Score. Count your number of yeses

1-3 Your ass isn’t that big yet, but don’t worry, it will be.

3-5 Definitely a fat ass but still fits through turnstiles.

Over 5 Enjoy it, wiggle it, let it flap in the wind. You have a Big Fat Ass.

The point here is – go ahead and laugh about it. Our book uses humor to tackle a serious topic. And laughter definitely lightens the load and helps you to loosen up enough to see yourself through less jaundiced eyes.

I think it also helps to tell the truth and end the shame. On my blog I do a naked blog and I recently did one where I showed off my GIANT new underwear. A lot of people wrote in about how funny it was but also about how brave they think I am for doing it. But to me…if my underwear is a size 10 and 3 times the size of my boyfriend’s underwear – come on…that’s funny! I’m the same person when my underwear are size 8 as I am when they are 10. Today I weigh 171.2. People are ashamed to admit their weight. It makes me feel freer. I’m 54. I’m supposed to lie and say I’m younger. But why would I do that? That implies that there is something wrong with being 54. I am what I am. When you get there that’s a lot of freedom.

What are some of the biggest obstacles women typically face when attempting to Embrace their BFA's?
Believing other people and buying into the media image that anything above a size 4 is fat. It’s not always easy to think for yourself instead of going along with the pack. Our friends, family and media tell us we can’t love ourselves as we are. They tell us that we have to change and conform. I believe if you CAN’T love yourself as you are then you’re far less likely to be able to change.

The hardest thing is to let go of other peoples’ opinions and pay attention to your own. You are the one with the most power in your life – but many of us keep wanting to give that power away to other people.

How do you feel you fit in with the "Fat Acceptance" movement. Part of it? Coming from a different place?
I think we are part of it but we are ultimately talking more about self acceptance on all levels. We don’t say in our book that you should try to get fatter. We don’t say you shouldn’t lose weight if you want to. What we are saying ultimately is that how you feel about yourself, regardless of anything else, will have the biggest affect on your happiness. Love yourself and you will empower yourself to do anything you want.

I do think the fat acceptance movement is important. It’s very hard to go it alone on this. When you are overweight and buying into society’s views it’s hard to be strong. The fat acceptance movement gives people hope that there can be somewhere where they can feel good and belong.

We are starting our own B-FAB Society. This is really based very much on the Chubb Club that we did years ago on Rosie except this isn’t about losing weight. We are encouraging B-FABs to join our social network on our website and also to bond with other B-FABs in meetings where instead of focusing on what’s wrong – you get a chance to celebrate yourself and each other. Sometimes what you can’t do alone you can do with the strength of others.

Here at Cranky Fitness we love the word "ass." We stick it in sentences where it doesn't even belong, just because we like it so much. However, we're aware not everyone shares our enthusiasm. Have you run into any problems publicizing your book because of its title?
Yes we have. The world has become very PC and apparently "ass" is seen as a bad word. Although the FCC will let you say "ass" on TV. (I think they say it at least once in every Two and a Half Men!), not all media outlets will take that risk in a PC world where they want to offend no one. We were turned down for the Today show because of the title. We were turned down for First for Women Magazine (where I wrote a column for a year) because they were afraid their readers would be upset by the word. Several times on radio I’ve had to say Embracing Your Big Fat Assterisk instead of the actual title.

But we stick by our title. We wanted a title that would hit hard – because this issue hits us hard. "Us" being all B-FABs (Beautiful Fat Ass Babes).

I think it’s a sad state of affairs for freedom of speech in America.

How about the concept behind the book itself, have you had any negative reactions? Either to the self-acceptance messages, or to the blatant acknowledgment that many women actually do have Big Fat Asses?
We’re having an extraordinarily positive reaction. For many readers it seems to be a relief to actually be able to acknowledge it and even entertain the idea that a BFA doesn’t make them less than.

I had an email from a woman who has lost 100 pounds but is obsessed on a daily basis with her weight write me that, for the first time in years, after reading the book, has been able to actually stop thinking about it and feel better about herself.

I had an email from someone telling me they love the book – they love the humor but that reading it she realized she didn’t have a big fat ass. She did however, she said, realize she has an eating disorder. She is anorexic -- but loves the book because it’s really about self esteem and self acceptance.

I’ve had emails from young women, breaking my heart, saying that they hadn’t thought self-acceptance was even an option.

It is.


It's been reported you've been great friends with Rosie O'Donnell for like, ever. Any gossip you can share?

Yes I’ve known Rosie for 21 years now. We were both stand up comics on the road – I met her exactly one month before she became a VJ on VH1. She had moved from LA back to NY and we became friends. I didn’t have a mother and neither did she and besides we just clicked.

Rosie wrote the forward to our book and told a great story about how when she was a kid she always thought she was so fat. Then one day on the old Rosie show she brought in a picture of her and her best friend going to the prom – she saw and realized that when she thought she was so fat, she was actually thin. We’ve had a lot of interesting conversations on this because – it’s just like BFA being as state of mind. It doesn’t actually matter what you look like. It really matters what you think you look like.

Rosie has always been a role model to me in the self acceptance. She doesn’t wear Spanx and obsess about her looks. She acknowledges her weight but doesn’t define herself by it.

What's next? Are you working on other interesting projects?
Right now I’m co-writer on a Broadway bound musical called Cassandra’s Angel. (John McDaniel the band leader from the Rosie show is doing the music.) We’ll workshop that next month.

I’m also known for cooking – I had a show on the TV Food Network called Lighten Up. My signature is that I take fattening dishes that we B-FABs (Beautiful Fat Ass Babes) crave and make them over to be lighter and healthier and less fattening while still having satisfying taste and texture. My thinking behind it is that when you’re overweight people always say – if you’re hungry have a carrot. My reply was – if I wanted a carrot I wouldn’t be fat in the first place!

I am currently in development with ElmLife on creating a web-based, interactive, artificially intelligent software guide. An animated version of me will host the guide and interact with users to help them develop better, healthier eating habits.

In September I will be a spokesperson for EyeCare America supporting eye health nutritionally.

With all your accomplishments, what are you most proud of?
I am very proud that through perseverance and self acceptance I have lost over a hundred pounds and kept it off for decades. (Less than 1% of people who lose that much weight maintain the loss.)

The other thing I’m most proud of is that, as a volunteer, I’ve participated in three humanitarian disaster relief airlifts to war torn countries. I produced pieces that we aired on the Rosie O’Donnell Show and we raised well into 6 figures for continued efforts. I am now on the board of directors of The Bridge Foundation – an international disaster relief agency.

I’m proud that I beat the odds. I grew up as a fat, isolated and abused child – came into a competitive field with no connections or knowledge and have been able to build a successful career. I do a motivational speech called Life Lessons where I share what I did that worked.

Thank you so much, Janette!


Bio: Janette Barber is the former 5 time Emmy Award winning supervising producer of The Rosie O’Donnell Show. She just received her 6th Emmy for her work as Hot Topics Writer on ABC’s The View. Janette produced and co-hosted her own show, Lighten Up, on the TV Food Network which featured ways to turn fattening favorites into healthier alternatives. Janette is the co-author of a best selling book, Breaking the Rules, Last Ditch Tactics for Landing the Man of Your Dreams (Career Press). Her newest book, also co-authored with Laura Banks, is Embracing Your Big Fat Ass (Atria).

And be sure to check out her book and her blog!

Blogging the Hard Truth: Stephanie Quilao Interview

[By Crabby]



Here at Cranky Fitness, we tend to talk about health and nutrition and exercise generally rather than personally. Which means you are more likely to read advice on what we think everyone should do (eat your vegetables!) and less likely to hear reports about what we actually do ourselves. (Well, popcorn is technically a vegetable, isn't it?)

How much do we weigh? Did we do our cardio this morning? Do we plan to cut down on our cupcake consumption? Unless we've been in a unusually confessional mood, it's anyone's guess... 'cause we're not saying.

Other bloggers out there are much more forthcoming. Many of you who have blogs share the details of your struggles and goals and accomplishments with your readers. It's brave and inspiring! But being personal and honest comes with challenges, doesn't it?


One such blogger, Stephanie Quilao, found herself confronting difficult questions about the "personal" versus the "public" on her blog Back in Skinny Jeans.

For those of us who are not lucky enough to be hearing her speak at the BlogHer Conference in San Francisco (July 18-20) Stephanie offered to share some of her experiences "Coming Out" on her blog about some very personal issues.

CF: The title of panel you're speaking at is called “Who We Are: Coming Out Via Blog”... Some people might jump to the conclusion that you broke the surprising news to your readers that you were a debutante lesbian. But they'd be wrong! What were you actually referring to?

I was thrilled to get the invite to speak at BlogHer08 but the request came with a “But…” {cringe…wait for it…here it comes Steph}

Coming Out? My initially reaction (in my head) was, “But I’m not Lesbian. Yeah I’m single, over 40, and have no kids so to some of my relatives I surely must be a Lesbian, because well, if this were “My Big Fat Filipino Wedding” you’d get the picture. In “Coming Out” they meant about something highly personal and the “but” part was, “We want you to talk about how you came out about your bulimia relapse this past January. It’s really personal I know but would ya?”

I have never spoken about the bulimia in front of a live audience before that wasn’t some anonymous healing program so part of me is really nervous to be honest. Coming out online is one thing but talking about this in front of hundreds of eyeballs focused on you is very different. I’m doing this not only as an opportunity for personal growth, but also as a way to help my fellow women bloggers in their own healing journeys.

CF: What did you think might happen once you "came clean?" And how was the response similar or different to what you were anticipating?

The fact that I had suffered from bulimia was not a secret, but the fact that I had an active reoccurrence while being one of the top bloggers in the holistic weight management/body image category was a huge conflict of interest, so, you can imagine the guilt and sense of hypocrisy I was feeling behind the scenes.

I was just going to shut down the blog because that would have been the easiest thing to do, just close the doors, but something inside wouldn’t let me do that, at least not yet. So, I chose to share the “messy middle of the success story.”

I read lots of autobiographies because I want to know more about the middle part, the hard part, the part where real life happens. I am inspired reading about where people fall down, screw up, fail, feel defeated, and want to give up, and then how they got back up again, grew, and kept moving forward. I like to read about their tenacity, focus, commitment, and most importantly hope.

In my personal experience, the only thing that gets most people out of hellish situations is hope, the belief that things will get better. So because I had hope, I decided to share my personal struggle, and yes it was surely a knuckle biting, “want-to-pee-in-my-pants” experience the day that Part I of III went live.

What I hugely underestimated was the compassion, love, and support people gave to me. I was truly scared about this potentially damaging revelation but, coming out about the relapse showed me so much about human connection and compassion. Many people said to me, “I respect you more because you had the courage to show your humanness.” My goal is not to be any kind of hero or role model, I just want people to feel less alone, stigmatized, and shame, because I know how debilitating that can be.

CF: Do you ever fear a recurrence of the bulimia?

I’m often asked, “Can you be cured from bulimia?” I am not a health professional, but I am someone who has had almost 2 decade’s worth of experience dealing with both western and alternative healing modalities, and I can tell you this.

The absence of something that was once there does not mean that you are necessarily restored to health. Just because you don’t binge & purge doesn’t mean that bulimia will not come back. Just because cancer has left your body does not mean that it will not come back. Just because you are over one addiction like drinking or drugs doesn’t mean that you won’t develop a new one. Whole healing is mind, body, and spirit, and many people think that if they can just rid themselves of the dis-ease in their body, they’re home free, and realistically that is not the case. Those who have experienced quantum healing where their un-wellness does not return are those who have gone through what I call metaphorically, “Extreme Makeover: Body & Soul Edition.”

If you don’t deal with the underlying things that contributed to you getting sick and addicted in the first, it will come back. And if you relapse, it does not mean you are weak or that you failed in your healing, it just means that you have more work to do, or that you have been slipping back into your old patterns and habits, and you need to get back on track to doing the things that make you well.

Back to the Extreme Makeover example, I had to go into my basement and clean out years of piled up emotions, dirt, and baggage because I knew that the only way I could truly be well again, not perfect, just well, was to clean up everything I kept ignoring or hoped would just go away which we all know, never happens.

Bulimia will always be a tool in my “Life Box” of things to use in coping with stress and life, but whether I choose to use that tool or not is my choice. Now some will say that having an eating disorder is not a choice, it’s an illness, and yes I agree to a point. However, you as an individual have the choice to get help or not. You have the choice to heal or not. You have the choice to continue to live like this or not. For me, I choose to heal and to grow, and yes it’s not always easy or pain-free, it’s a process and I have hope.

CF: If somehow you did run into trouble again, do you think you'd blog about it in real time, or hold off until it was in the past again?

When I came out about the bulimia relapse I did it after I had a couple months of treatment. I don’t recommend anyone writing about their experience while they are in the middle of it because you are highly emotional, irrational, and not able to be objective. It’s best to wait for some time to pass when you are in a space where you feel stronger and more grounded.

When it comes to eating disorders, there are also the Pro-Mia and Pro-Ana blogs where some come out and blog about their eating disorders more as a way to stay active in their behavior or “lifestyle” as some of them refer to it, and not actually heal. I am very careful when I blog about my bulimia experiences and I don’t do it often because I want to be clear that my message is about healing and inspiration to have a better life.

CF: Do you think the "public disclosure" aspect of weight loss blogging is a good thing or is it a source of pressure for bloggers who have issues with eating disorders? Or is it a mixed bag?

I’m going to say mixed bag because publicly disclosing your weight loss journey can really play havoc with one’s inner “Perfect Person.”

On the upside, blogging your weight loss can give you additional community support, accountability so you are less likely to slack from your journey, and a sense of accomplishment. On the flip side, all is good when you are losing weight but what happens when you plateau or worse as many see it, start gaining back what you lost where a 2 pound gain quickly turns into 10lbs, then 15 etc. Most people start to panic, start to “fudge” with the numbers, and in an extreme worst case scenario start to full on lie like the KimKins lady.

Why? Because publicly disclosing your weight loss becomes more about your image and ego than about actual healing. Business-wise, you want to “hit your numbers” for the Quarter so you look good to the boss (your blog audience). The pressure to look like a success online can take over, and for those who already are prone to addictive and self-punishing behavior, something that started out as helpful, can easily turn into something hurtful (to oneself).

I blogged last year about shedding 25 lbs, and a year later I have kept 22 pounds of that off, but it was not entirely a whole healthy journey, and the pressure to keep writing about my progress week after week on my Weigh-in Wednesdays really had Perfect Girl in over drive. Would I ever blog about trying to lose weight again? After this experience, I would say no.

CF: Any other advice you have for folks who have struggled with eating disorders?

I could go on and on with this question, but for now I will just say this. You are not your eating disorder and you are good enough no matter what that voice inside your head keeps screaming. Your value as a human being and your ability to have love and be loved has nothing to do with your physical body, and I know you don’t believe me when I say this, but it is true and it took me almost 20 years to finally understand this, and I wish no one to go through what I did. You don’t have to.

Yes, getting better will require you to be brave, strong, and yes even vulnerable, but you can do it and you don’t have to do it alone. Have hope and stay committed to your healing especially during the times when you feel like giving up. Asking for help and allowing others to help you is one of the most loving things you can do for yourself. Healing is a process not a destination, and it will take time. During that time immerse yourself with loving and positive people, surroundings, and images. Most importantly, you don’t need to be afraid any more. You don’t need to live in constant fear, and hide from the world because you are not alone, you are never alone if you let people in.

CF: You've been one of the best-known weight loss bloggers out there for a number of years, but now it seems you're changing directions a bit. You've launched a new food blog Noshtopia, and broadened the focus a bit on Back in Skinny Jeans. How is that going, and what do you hope to see in the future for these blogs?

The inspiration to expand Back in Skinny Jeans was born from the fact that I wanted to evolve as a person, and in order to heal and grow from my own body and weight obsessions, I would have to stop blogging about the very things I need to let go of. At some point, we as women have to stop making our body and weight our #1 priority and focus in life, and for me, I started that process by evolving my blog so I could evolve. Honestly, it’s been a bit tougher than I imagined it would because I have an attachment to the physical, part of that is the designer in me who likes to create beautiful things. Traffic wise I had a large group of readers who came daily because they just wanted weight loss tips or wanted to fixate on body related topics, and they are gone now that I don’t feed them that way anymore.

From a business perspective, it’s tough to lose customers, but in the long run, I know I will continue to grow an audience because I am being more true to who I am. And if I don’t grow traffic, then that is okay too, because I don’t want to write just to attract numbers anymore. There is only so many times I want to write about 10 ways to get bikini ready or 7 ways to look 10lbs lighter, and I’m pretty much done with that. I want to write content that has meaning to me and can help inspire others to see that they are much bigger and have way more to offer to the world than being model thin.

Noshtopia is about wellness through food and yes has some relation to weight management but only as a reference that as you clean up your eating and chow more vibrantly you can achieve optimal levels of health which include a slimmer body and better overall wellness. I found that when I stopped eating foods that had artificial and processed ingredients as well as foods that I had allergies to, my sense of well being increased exponentially.

In terms of my time, I am spending more time on Noshtopia than BISJ because I can accomplish more of my “help heal the world” goals and express more of my creative talents like photography, design, writing, recipe creation, and healing. Noshtopia is live but I’m currently re-designing it so look for the new version soon to come.

CF: And aside from blog plans, where do you see yourself headed personally in the next few years? Any goals or hopes or plans you'd like to share?

Besides help heal the world and solve the mess that is our national medical system (lofty goals which live in my head), I would like to get my blog business Thriving Media to a thriving point, get that book that stills lives in my head published and on the shelves at Barnes & Noble, and I know this is going to sound cliché, but I want to marry a wonderful man and create some lovely children with him and live in a sunny house with an island in the kitchen. The old school Filipino relatives can be rest assured that I can marry and procreate, and I can have the family I have always dreamed of. It’s win/win for everyone ;-)

CF: Thanks Stephanie!

Pasta Queen & the Magical Secret to Weight Loss

[by Merry and Crabby]

Pasta Queen
PastaQueen, a.k.a. Jennette Fulda, created the blog Half of Me to track her goal of losing half her body weight. If you get a chance, check out her progress pictures; they're fun to twirl. Watch as she shrinks down to half her starting weight!

Now she’s written a memoir of her experiences in gaining and then losing almost 200 pounds. Since Crabby and I both love her blog, we were delighted to interview her and review the book.

I don’t know if it’s coincidence or what, but the last two people who’ve been interviewed on Cranky Fitness have then gone on to be interviewed on the Today show (Jennette and Leslie from The Weighting Game). It’s shameless the way those network television shows imitate us. Check out Jennette this Sunday, May 11, on the Today show. (Local times may vary.)


Okay, on to the interview!

Cranky Fitness: Pasta Queen, welcome to Cranky Fitness! What made you decide to write a book about the process of losing half your body weight?

Pasta Queen: Ever since Jennifer D. won the Young Author's contest in 5th grade over me, I vowed to avenge my unjust loss by writing a book one day. No, actually, I'd been writing a blog about my weight loss for several years and an editor expressed some interest in it. I put together a book proposal and was offered a contract.

Cranky Fitness: I bet Jennifer D. is feeling pretty silly right about now. Anyway, Crabby and I struggle to keep up one little blog. How did you manage to hold down a full-time job, exercise regularly, eat those damn green leafy things, keep up a popular and entertaining blog, and write a book at the same time?

Pasta Queen: I have a cloning chamber in my basement. I created a duplicate copy of myself to send to work while I wrote my book. No, that's a lie. I don't have a basement. In all honestly, I don't know how I did it. I didn't have much of a social life for several months there, that's for sure.

Cranky Fitness: Over the years that you've been writing this blog, you've gotten into running in a big way. Do you feel that running helped you lose weight or was it more the emphasis on eating those green leafy things?

Pasta Queen: It's been both. I know you can lose weight just through diet or just through exercise, but it helps to do both. I feel better when I'm eating healthy and exercising, though sometimes it's hard to remind myself of that fact when I'm staring at a head of cauliflower in my fridge sitting next to a much tastier looking pudding cup.

Cranky Fitness: Any future writing plans? Or future running plans? (Besides plans to run from silly blog interviews in the future).

Pasta Queen: I'll keep writing the blog as long as I have something to say. Looking at all the notes I've got for possible entries, that will be a long, long time. I've been trying to decide what writing avenues I want to pursue next, but now that I've lost so much weight, I feel like anything's possible. As for running, I'm going to keep up with that too, but no more half-marathons in my near future. I miss going to my TurboKick classes!

Cranky Fitness: Writing a blog can feel like exposing your innermost thoughts while at the same time remaining hidden behind a firewall of anonymity. How is it different from writing a memoir? More intrusive? Less?

Pasta Queen: In both cases, like a stripper, I get to decide how much I want to show. As an example, I have a somewhat strained relationship with my father which I've barely ever talked about on the blog, but I mention somewhat in the book. I wasn't sure how much to say about it, but I ultimately decided just to include the parts that related to weight loss. I also delve more into my childhood and my earlier fat years in the book, whereas my blog focuses mainly on the present. I did feel like there would an unspoken expectation to explain why I'd gotten so fat to begin with, which is something I've never really gotten into on the blog. So I did feel like I needed to reveal more in the book, but I've posted vulnerable thoughts on my blog as well.

Cranky Fitness: Does Half-assed utilize irony, subtext, metaphors, metonymy, or those other fancy literary devices that high-falutin' writers are supposed to employ?

Pasta Queen: I'm happy just to put together a comprehensible sentence that makes you giggle. If I happen to use metonymy while I'm at it, it's purely by accident.

Cranky Fitness: What's the most important piece of advice you'd give someone just starting off on a weight loss journey?

Pasta Queen: You don't have to start making the best choices, just better choices. Take your time. You didn't gain the weight all in a day and you're not going to lose it all in a day either. If you make small changes, they'll eventually add up to larger changes. When I first got on the treadmill, I could only walk 4/10 of a mile before I was exhausted. But I kept with it and last weekend I completed a half-marathon.

Cranky Fitness: On a blog, you get to write pretty much what you want and control what you "publish". But in the book world, there's reputedly an editing process. What was that like? Anything surprise you about it?

Pasta Queen: Having an editor helped expose my blind spots. After I'd submitted a rough draft, my editor would ask questions like, "Why didn't you talk about this?" or "Can you tell me more about what was happening here?" It forced me to look more carefully at parts of my life that I hadn't even realized I'd overlooked. I had a great relationship with my editor. She understood that the work was my baby, and I understood that any suggestions she made were out of the best interests of the book. She suggested I cut out parts where I took a joke way too far and she pulled out unnecessary passages to make the book as a whole much tighter and better. The book is much better because of my editor's invisible hand.

Cranky Fitness: Unlike you, many people who lose a lot of weight seem to gain it all back again. Are there special challenges and strategies that are different when it comes to maintaining weight loss as opposed to losing weight in the first place?

Pasta Queen: It's certainly less thrilling. When I was losing weight I got to step on the scale every week and say, "Down another pound. Woo-hoo!" Now I step on the scale every week and say, "I weigh exactly the same. Woo-hoo?" And then there are weeks when I actually gain back a pound and have to lose it again, which seems like an awful type of do-over. The biggest challenge is to keep it interesting and to stay focused. I try to spice things up by trying new exercise classes and cooking new recipes. If I get bored or lazy, I know I'll gain the weight back again.

Cranky Fitness: What does it feel like to have a book you wrote published and out there on the shelves?

Pasta Queen: It's surreal. I've been anticipating this moment for over a year since I signed my contract, so it's odd to think it's finally happening. My mom is thrilled! She went to Barnes and Noble and put my book face out on the bookshelves.

Cranky Fitness: Congrats on the book coming out, and thanks for letting us be on the "tour!"


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[by Merry]

The Magical Secret to Weight Loss

Imagine that you have just bought Half-assed: a weight-loss memoir and found within its pages a magical secret that will whisk away all your excess poundage and leave you svelte, scintillating, and successful. All women will envy you. All men will desire you. You will ride off into the sunset in your new convertible.

Yeah, it sounded good to me too.

I think that's what some people expect from Jennette Fulda, a.k.a. Pasta Queen. The woman lost almost 200 pounds, half her body weight, and everyone wants to know The Secret. Was it surgery? Willpower? A marvelous new diet? Little blue happy pills?

It is greatly to her credit that Jennette does not mention in the book the name of the particular diet she followed. The emphasis is not on one diet over another. She didn’t use weight-loss surgery or diet pills. Neither does she put much credence in losing weight through willpower. Willpower came in handy for short bursts in the grocery store, accelerating quickly past the cookies while heading toward the fruit and vegetables, but willpower didn't make the pounds melt away. What worked was creating healthy habits, retraining herself to eat healthily and exercise.


Does that sound boring? It shouldn't. What surprised me when I read this memoir was how much humor there was in her story. I kept reading along, mentally comparing notes, yep, did that, did that too, oh wait, I never thought of that .... Occasionally I laughed out loud. Jennette writes of her daily struggles with a nice mixture of common sense and a sense of humor.

A few excerpts that I liked:
• She drove to McDonald's and deliberately stuffed herself with one last junk food meal before she went on her first vegetable shopping trip because "you shouldn't shop on an empty stomach."
• When participating on Fat Acceptance websites, she found herself banned from commenting because she didn't want to stay being overweight. She wrote "Acceptance is defined as 'recognize as true.' As in, recognize diabetes, sleep apnea, other problems are exacerbated or directly caused by obesity.... Acceptance does not equal complacency."
• About planning meals, she wrote "I never planned what I was going to eat until I was hungry, which was like waiting until I was drunk to start driving."

One reviewer whom I read (can't remember now which one) was astonished when Jennette’s mother praised her daughter for actually cooking a complete healthy meal. To me, that’s a point worth mentioning. I think that's the problem with a lot of people who are overweight. We never learned how to cook, never gave the time to make a healthy meal. It is so much easier to pick up a happy meal on your way home from work. You’re tired, the kids are hungry, and dog needs to be walked, that kind of thing. In this generation, a lot of people have grown up buying prepared or packaged food rather than cooking.

I think if you get into the habit of cooking and eating healthy food, pretty soon you’ll find that cooking doesn't seem to take as much time as it did when you started. But if you've never started, it seems an insuperable obstacle. I can't cook; I don't know how. It never comes out right, and it takes forever.

Times have changed. When my grandmother cooked the Thanksgiving turkey, she brought home a bird from the farm, wrung its neck, and started plucking feathers. Me, I pick up Lean Cuisine turkey meal and put it in the microwave. Jennette worked to find a reasonable middle ground between these two extremes, finding shortcuts that enabled her to eat healthy food without feeling deprived, and throwing in some exercise as well.

Don't read this book if you're looking for a fairy tale. Read this book if you want help to psyche yourself into doing what it takes to lose weight. To read her memoir is to follow along on her weight-loss journey: seeing first hand what worked and what didn't. No magical secret. One woman's story.