The Truth of Diet Lies

My eyes have been opened in more ways than one in the past few days, and like John Belushi in The Blues Brothers, I'm screaming out "I see the light!! I see the light!!!!"

All this crap about dieting and healthy eating that has been shoved down our throats in the last decade or so... it's all lies. Or, maybe not technically lies, but more like half-truths.

Apparently there has been a decade-long study into the actual effects of diet changes in women (specifically women, although I'd be willing to bet that the majority of it would apply to men as well) in relation to the risks of certain types of cancer and diabetes. What did the whole thing boil down to?

"Healthy eating" (as defined in the study) didn't do crap. If anything, the women that made the biggest changes in their eating habits increased their risks of certain types of cancers.

There were no statistically significant differences for any of the cancers. Eating “healthy” versus eating whatever they chose made no tenable difference in any of the cancers.

What does this tell me?

It reinforces the belief that the diet companies are in bed with the government bodies that back up and fund these studies. It supports the view that a vast majority of the population have suddenly morphed into Chicken Little and can't stop screaming that the Sky is Falling!!!

But... does this mean that I have carte blanche to eat whatever I want whenever I want in whatever amounts I want?

No.

Do I still feel like I need to make some changes? Yes. But do I automatically assume that making these changes is going to make me lose weight and/or become healthier? Nope.

I realize that I have a more unhealthy diet than some people, because of all the processed food I eat. In my ideal world, I'd be cooking fresh food every single day. But the reality of my life is that I can't afford to make fresh food every day - it's simply too expensive for our tiny budget. But I do accept that I can make some changes without extremely affecting our budget in an adverse way. Even cooking one meal a week from fresh ingredients will be better than NEVER using fresh ingredients.

It's amazing the amount of information there is out there about this stuff. Every single day, it seems, there's a new study or a new statement by some other "expert" saying that "OMG we're all gonna die because we're all too fat!!!"

That's simply not true. There have been studies done (but I've looked at so many different websites lately that I simply can't remember which one I found where) that actually showed that having some extra weight can help you to live LONGER. They didn't specify why, but I'm willing to bet that it has something to do with the strength of overweight people. Think about it - they say gaining weight is like wearing a backpack with "x" amount of weight in it. Well, if you're like me and you've always worn that extra weight, doesn't that mean that you're just stronger to begin with? I can see it being a problem for someone who has always been naturally thin and suddenly starts to gain weight, but for people like me - and I'm not exactly alone in this - we've always carried extra weight, and therefore don't notice the difference.

But you know what? This obesity epidemic bullshit is just getting worse. Now they're trying to say that fat people are more stupid than thin people simply because they are fat.

And fat people are less successful just because they're fat. Never mind the fact that you've got an IQ of 155 and a PhD from Harvard... OMG, you're FAT!!!

Still don't believe me? Take a look at Kate Harding's BMI Project. Pay close attention to the people supposedly in the "overweight" category. I wonder - if you didn't see that word "overweight" under their photo, would YOU classify them as being so? I highly - HIGHLY - doubt it.

Charity Shops and Amazing Realizations

I really don't know why, but for some reason charity shops out here have a bit of a bum rap with some people. If certain people find out you've been buying in a charity shop, they look so far down their nose at you I doubt they can even SEE you.

But I will gladly - and even proudly - admit that I buy things at charity shops. I think of it this way: sometimes you can get brand-new things at charity shops for only a fraction of the original price. Sometimes you can even find things at charity shops that you just can't normally buy anywhere else (like the touch-lamp my mom bought me when she was visiting last year... I've never seen anything like it around here before or since... just in that one charity shop). And for somebody on MY budget... it's the best place to shop for certain items. Period.

Well... I went looking in charity shops yesterday. I was actually looking for a purse. Anybody who knows me knows that I have a weakness for purses. At one point I had so many purses I could use a different one every day and I wouldn't repeat the pattern for at least a few weeks. And I could hear the purse gods calling me... "buy a purse!" "You know you want one!" The problem was that I ALSO knew that we didn't have much money left. The solution? Charity shop!!!!

The ironic thing about this, though, is that what I went in there for... I didn't buy. I just couldn't find one I REALLY liked, and I couldn't justify - even to myself - buying one just for the sake of buying one.

I did spend a few quid in the charity shop, though. When I realized that I didn't like any of the purses they had, I just wandered around, having a bit of a browse. Then I saw a rack of books. THEN I saw the price on the books. 3 for £1. We're talking hardback books that normally cost £20. I got Beach Music, by Pat Conroy; Meteors in August, by Melanie Rae Thon; and Second Chance, by Danielle Steel. All for £1. Then I saw the "more expensive" books... and decided I just HAD to have ONE of those. So I got The Stars Shine Down, by Sydney Sheldon. That one cost me a whopping £1.50. 4 books for £2.50. Not bad, even if I DO say so myself! :)

For somebody like me, who absolutely loves books and would happily cover every wall in bookshelves and FILL them, it's a GREAT deal. I was so excited about it I had to tell one of my acquaintances - that I know from the kids' school - on the way to pick them up. (This lady is a childminder [read: child care provider], and she lives just around the corner from me. We end up walking to the school together a lot, simply because we happen to leave around the same time. So we talk.) Yeah, I know... I'm a nerd. Sue me.

I also found a new shop - for food shopping. Okay, grocery store. Whatever. But this place specializes in frozen foods. I'd been in there before with my friend May, but it was usually because SHE wanted to get something, so I just went with her and didn't pay much attention to what they had or their prices. I stopped in there yesterday just out of curiosity, and I ended up getting almost everything on my shopping list... for only £11!!!! I've told Hubby that I think I'm going to do the majority of my shopping in there from now on. I've started planning meals for the week and going out and buying everything I need at once. The way we were doing it before, we'd go to ASDA and buy a whole bunch of stuff... but then I'd need to run to the shop nearly every day, because either we'd forgotten something or we'd already run out of it. We always ended up being broker than broke at the end of the month. But I think if I do it this way, we'll end up saving a lot of money. Right now we've got £60 left until Tuesday. BUT... I have everything I need to make dinner until then. The only things we might need are things like cereal and bread - which never last more than a day or two in our house anyway.

I feel awfully proud of myself right now. :)

The best part of my day yesterday?

Well, it actually started on Saturday. Hubby took me out to dinner, and as I was getting ready to go out, Caitlin came into the bathroom with me. I was just getting out of the shower, and she needed the toilet. She looked at me and said "Mom, have you lost weight?" I said I didn't really know, and asked her why she'd asked me that. "'Cuz you look like you have."

So I bought a new battery for my digital scale and I stepped on it.

I've lost over a stone in weight!!!!

A stone is 14 pounds. I've lost a stone and 6 pounds - 20 pounds total.

I'm not sure if this is all a recent thing or if it's been more gradual. It's been a looooooooooong time since I actually weighed myself. I had noticed, though, that a certain pair of pants I have have been falling off of me. But I'd thought that the elastic was going. (I've had them for quite some time.)

I have, however, been trying to eat more healthily. I've bought myself a bunch of yogurt, canned fruit, and soup to have during the day. When I want something sweet - which I have to admit is quite often - I just have a yogurt or a can of fruit. It works for me. Sweet doesn't always have to be candy or chocolate or any of that other bad stuff. And since I've started to cook like a "normal" wife (meaning I make dinner for the whole family - before, I was cooking for the kids and then cooking for Hubby and I later), I've been able to make sure we all have lots of veggies at dinner time as well. So while I don't know if this is the actual CAUSE of my weight loss, I'm sure it's helped.

All in all, a good day. It's about friggin' TIME I had a good day for once!!!!