I saw this article titled "The 5 Habits of Healthful Eaters" in my Sunday paper and realized anew how unhealthy my relationship is with food:

http://seattletimes.com/html/health/...yeatersxml.htm

I think, however, that anyone who has lost a whole lot of weight needs to obsess a bit about food. The one area I'm pretty good at is not jumping on diet bandwagons.

Interestingly, I am a "healthful eater" according to that list of 5. Only problem is, I'm still fat.

1. I doubt there are many people in this country who meet all 5 of those criteria.
2. Being a healthful eater doesn't mean you are automatically slim (JayEll), and many (most?) slim people are not healthful eaters by the criteria set forth in that article.

Exactly, Andrea. I think there is an unspoken expectation in the culture, though, that if someone "eats right" they will naturally and automatically match the culturally defined ideal (small) size.

The converse is also believed--if someone is larger than the ideal, they must be "eating wrong."

I can't even come close to most of those things. However I rarely berate myself for eating a meal that isn't necessarily healthy--I just get back to healthy as soon as possible.

I had said earlier that I realized that I had not gained weight this holiday season and I decided that it was due to my exercising 5 times a week and eating salad for lunch 4 times a week. So last week was Christmas and the exercising went out the door and I had leftovers instead of salad for lunch. I don't feel like I overate over the 4-day weekend although we did go out for dinner one night and I fixed a couple larger than normal breakfasts. Sunday and yesterday my weight was up maybe 2 to 2 1/2 pounds. I exercised yesterday and today and am having salads for lunch this week. Already my weight is down 2 pounds. This is the first year in MANY years that I haven't gained! Still need to lose more but this is a giant step forward for me.

Allison

Dagmar

Not gaining any appreciable weight during the holidays is huge.You can face the new year with a lighter load and know that you can and will succeed at either losing or maintaining.
All the maintainers here are stubborn "not giver uppers" and keep at it with fierce determination.
I am in good company.

Ok, this is pretty crazy:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...ok-fat/383509/
Even if it works, would you do this in order to lose/maintain your weight? And being cold makes me SUPER hungry; why wouldn't you just eat back the extra calorie burn, same as most people do with exercise?

Too funny: coincidentally, I just saw this:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/1...rm/?ref=health

Very funny indeed! Reminds me of some years back when women were being sold those weighted vests to wear while walking so they could keep their bones strong.

It goes to show how people tend to take one little fact and then turn it into a program of action--and then market it.

I've concluded that we don't know enough about the human body to think that we can completely control it with some regimen based on logic. Too many assumptions.

Those are funny! I say just maintain a temperature at which you are comfortable and go with it!

Confirming that I suffer from body dysmorphia and a skewed perception of what is aesthetically pleasing: I was looking at my left leg yesterday, with the brace off, and thought that finally, my leg looks slender enough to meet my standards. I'm pear-shaped, heavy below the waist and have never liked my legs -- I've envied apple shapes and their shapely legs.

But the physical therapist said the calf and quad and other muscles in my left leg have atrophied over the past two months, particularly compared with my right leg.

So my left leg only looks okay to me when it's unhealthy and weak?

THAT is worth thinking about!

A healthy leg on me means a meatier leg. Which I will accept, because I'd rather be healthy and muscular than the opposite.

Bravo Allison! I maintained only once over the holidays, several years ago. This year, not so great for me, but I've been worse. Getting back on the wagon in a mere 48 hours!

Neurodoc: Ah, biomedical research! Sometimes I think that we are incredibly arrogant to think that we have the capability to interpret our own research data, given the complexities of biological systems. I have one study I'm writing up right now, where half of the data is in direct opposition to the other half. Exact same methods, conditions, etc.

Saef: A healthy leg IS a muscular leg, not an atrophied one... our Photoshop-addicted media has convinced us otherwise by casually slicing off inches from womens' calves and thighs for "aesthetic" reasons. Those aren't my aesthetics.

JayZeeJay, glad to hear you sounding on better form than before Christmas!

Saef, imho, atropy isn't the way to go. Nor the path of weak and feeble legs.

to all.