My grocery list looks a lot like her food list althougth I genuinuely enjoy what I eat. ;) I enjoy working out. But, yeah, there are somedays I would rather sit on the couch and eat chips rather than work out and eat healthy. There are somedays I would rather sleep in than run and there are some days I should stay home and do laundry rather than go to the gym.

I copied and pasted this cause it pretty much sums up my philosophy too:


Advice for Success

1. When you don't feel like doing your workout, do it anyway. You'll feel better afterwards.

2. When you feel like eating pizza for dinner, eat grilled chicken instead, you will survive. You'll feel great about your choice the next day.

3. Keep doing the above every week consistently. Consistency is KEY.

I agree with that 100%.

I mean, I guess it just depends on what your goals are. I found myself agreeing with what she wrote most of the time (don't have time to read it all right now). I do enjoy my healthy foods more often than not, and I do enjoy my workouts more often than not.

Okay, I keep reading more....the more I read, the more I like this woman. I get some of the same excuses that other people share with her---no time, I don't like to, I can't....It's not like I have some kind of superpower crazy self-discipline to live a monastic life.....We all make choices everyday for how we eat and how we move.

Take last Wed for example:

I ate on my plan, packed my lunch, and exercised that day. At work, everyone else ordered out and everyone else had cake. I like cake....it was a Tiramisu cake and I like Tiramisu. I did not eat cake, not because I don't like it, but because it is not in line with my goals.

One of the ladies will say things like "You aren't allowed to eat this, are you?" As if there is some other being in charge of my choices, in charge of what I am "allowed" or not "allowed". I "choose" to eat what I choose to eat, and I choose to move how I choose to move.

Is it always butterflies and rainbows and Rocky theme songs? No, sometimes it is white-knuckling, guts, and old-fashioned self-discipline.....but it is always worth it...because it helps me meet my goals.

And that's what it comes down to, IMO....what are our individual goals? They are all different, so if her behavior seems hard core, perhaps it is because of differing goals. She's pretty clear about what she wants and what she is willing to do to get it. I like that trait in people, but then I consider myself a pretty driven person in my own right.

Okay, gonna go read more and do some bookmarking.

Ok, one more thought before I go. In the Maintainers forum, there are frequently discussions about dedication vs. obsession. I think there are those who judge unkindly a person's choice to exercise most days (even on vacation--oh no!!), the measuring, chopping, shopping, regular weighing of food and of one's self....Well, like Meg says, we are writing the book on Maintaining. If those behaviors keep us where we want to be and don't bother us as individuals, it is really no one else's business. (sorry---I guess I have just felt personally judged in my real life this week and it was very irritating....I'm pretty quiet about my food and exercise in my real life, even though here on 3FC I'm pretty verbal).

I had a very similar reaction. I can be perfectionistic with an "all or nothing" attitude toward things I do. Moderation has been difficult at times, but continues to be my mantra.

Life is way too short to not enjoy your food or your exercise!

While I am fit and healthy, I have normal amount of body fat. I absolutely LOVE what I eat. I enjoy a large variety of very healthy foods (and a few less healthy ones). I love my exercise routines, and when I find myself bored, I switch to something else. As long as I am doing SOMETHING, I've met my goal for the day. Thankfully, I seem to balance things out as the week goes along, getting in core, flexibility, strength, and cardio workouts throughout the week.

While I believe dedication to one's goals is a good thing, I can't help but think, "how sad that she spends so much time doing things she does not enjoy".

Everyone keeps remarking on the joylessness they sense when they read the blog. Maybe the line between dedication and compulsion has to do with pleasure. If you enjoy what you are doing -- I'm remembering running through the park this afternoon, and seeing an egret lifting off the pond across the way, and thinking, "I know how that must feel"; and I also am remembering how it feels to swim a lap on those rare occasions when I have got the breathing part right -- then you are not only goal-oriented, you are also in the moment, really living. If you always work out on auto-pilot, solely out of a sense of duty, compelled to repeat your routine out of some obscure fear, even as you loathe every minute of what you are doing, then I think it's crossed the line, and it's become an obsession, an activity engaged in compulsively, almost through a form of magical thinking. "Only by doing this every day & always weighing this & always looking like this will I ever be safe, contented or in any way satisfied with my life."

You imprison yourself with that kind of thinking. It's not freeing, the way so many of us here feel at having lost weight and getting to do things that so many women take for granted. It's an encumbrance. You are thin & fit, but unhappy & driven. Just as you were when you overate all the time.

There has to be a third way. I think it lies in moderation, dedication but with an awareness of when one may be straying into obsession, and a larger view of life & priorities.

I think this AND what midwife wrote both speak to me. Because yes, I believe in most of what she is saying...who cares if you dont want to exercise...do it anyway, etc.

But at the same time when I was nearer to goal 2 summers ago I had the thought "what if I have lost perspective and dont know that I am too thin now"

For me health has always been the ultimate motivator and I just do not fundamentally believe that a woman is supposed to have body fat that low. I dont think it is healthy.

So for me I have to wonder...has she gotten so focused on the process that she absolutely doesnt know where she is anymore. Has the process become the goal?

The difference between dedication and obsession is when the regimen no longer supports a goal, it BECOMES the goal.

Frankly I think she looks disgusting, and seriously needs to eat a ham sandwich... with mayo. She is just too thin and yeah, the fake boobs are just jarring with everything else. I like muscles on women but women need some body fat or they look sick. In fact seeing all the muscle so well defined makes her look like a zombie. :p

Very interesting... More power to her if that's what she wants to do. I personally would never want my body to look like that. I'm a woman and I like keeping my soft girly curves around!

pintobean: Thank you very much :hug: It has been a LONG road and now I'm trying to build muscle.

chickentuna has a "CONTEST PREP" physique - a low bodyfat and diet/workout regimine that a lot of female bodybuilders only have when they are preparing for a fitness contest. They only eat like that a few months out of the year. I couldn't do it. While I admire her, her tone suggests a "holier-than-thou" attitude that she derives pleasure over being able to have more willpower than anyone else :p Just my opinion. And I'm certainly no out of shape girl who would feel jealous. Just my opinion.

After I saw this the other day I took the time to go through and read her site. I agree with MIDWIFE She seems rather joylous in her own happiness?
I EAT much this way NOW and LOVE it I LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!to LIVE TO EXERCISE
I could relate a tiny bit to {the crap pushers} but she had to much holier than thou even though she wants to say any one can do it NOT EVERYONE wants to. I just wish when you said NO people would let it go or if you eat fruit instead of cake they let it go. I am 57 and am finding Eating in this manner is really helping me maintain my weight and keep my body fat normal NOT INSANE!!! But I dont restrict my fruits so much as she does and I won't give up Kashi go Lean Cereal {my only crunhcy snack food super high in protien and fiber} SORRY did't mean to hijack thead.

Here is MY opinion:
I just think that if looks that way make her happy and if it is her goal, let her be.
She is not trying to push her way to other people. I went through her website and read the whole thing. All she does is explain how she got that way and why she does it.
I relate to her when she says how hard it is to exercise every day and even though she doesn’t feel like it, she does anyway.
I read someone here saying how nice it is exercise.... and explained how great was a ride in a bike next to the beach...
Excuse me: Do you think she got like that riding a bike????
That take a lot of lift weighting and repetition... that stuff unfortunately can’t be done outside a gym or home. I tell for myself as I do 1 hr lift weight 6 days/week. Even if you change your routine it is a hard core work out and very few people will enjoy it, if any...
I just think people here are being way too judgmental about the way she looks and live.
If that is how she loves herself we have to respect that... Just like we also have to respect who doesn’t care about fitness or diet and decided to be fat.
Her body isn’t the ideal for me, but I respect the fact she wants to look that way and admire her for the hard work she does to accomplish it.

Actually, you could do that at home, but you'd have to make quite the $ investment. My gym set cost somewhere in the range of $3-5000 but ... considering the time saved by not driving to gym, not paying for membership, and being open 24/7, it really was worth it (I did not purchase it all at once).

I do have a lot of respect for her, I hope I didn't come off that I didn't, I suppose it's because I know a lot of women with the same physique that aren't so aggresive in their approach - a treat meal once per week can still be done! Of course, still within someone's allowed calories protein/carb/fat balance.

I think its that. The joylessness makes it seem "off" from a healthy point of view. The all or nothing mentality. That even one bite of something off plan will derail everything. Her joy seems to come from her perfection/obsession and THAT is not that far off from eating disorder land.

And I understand about competition physique, but yeah, most people dont maintain that all the time and it sounds like she does.