Maria's Last Diet

Chubby Woman Takes Stock

by Maria's Last Diet

I'm now trying my best, my very best to lose weight.

After many false starts, and who knows how many pounds lost and gained, here I sit, ready to contemplate the following:

WHAT FEEDS ME?

Many things, many things that aren't excess food

A walk at dusk with my darling daughter

A book that changes my thinking

Quiet deep talk with a friend

Singing my heart out

Waking fast under my own steam

Using a saw to make something

Washing a window squeaky clean

Saving money for the first time in years

Shopping for smaller jeans

Oscar my cat

Confidence Building Techniques: Weight and Self Talk

by Maria's Last Diet

Any woman who loses weight and keeps it off, my hat's off to her.

She's a woman I admire, and can't be. She's someone who is a lot stronger than I am. She is someone who doesn't have big problems, not like I do.

This woman, my fantasy woman of perfection, goes on a weight-loss diet and stays on her diet. Nothing shakes her. Nothing pushes her off. She knows her own mind and doesn't waver.

So, she probably never fights with her boyfriend the way I do. And she must have her career all revved up, like I don't. And she must think very highly of herself, like "I can do it!". What a woman, this woman I aspire to be.

This is a woman who knows everything about being a good mother, which I don't. She doesn't ever lose her temper. She's not selfish. She never steals their cookies out of the cabinet when they're not looking.

My brave woman is a woman of conviction, and she knows her own worth. I am worth it, she says, and then proceeds to spend money on gourmet versions of her diet foods. She takes naps, and demands that everyone fend for themselves until she gets up.

My heroine has a clear, orderly house, with no dust. her bathrooms sparkle and smell like fresh lemon zest.

What a woman, what a woman, is all I can say.

Is there such a woman?

I've never met one.

Never.

Does she exist?

I doubt it.

And yet, I do know women who have lost weight, even after many years of keeping it on.

Maybe I don't need to be quite so perfect.

Can I take myself just where I am, and try?

I can do better in some ways, I'm sure.

I know I'll never be the fantasy, forget about it.

I better work with what I have. If I wait to be perfect, it'll take forever. I no longer want to wait to lose the weight.

Any Weight Loss Diet Will Do

by Maria's Last Diet

This recession dictates it. Be a frugal dieter.

Remember the days when everyone went out and bought the diet flavor-of-the-week book - no matter what it cost?

Those days are over. Happily. What you don't need is yet another weight-loss diet.

As a matter of fact, you probably have a very good weight-loss diet plan in a book right on your shelf. You probably have several diet books. You've probably tried them all.

But - and it's a huge but - it's not the diet that counts.

Yes, you need to eat healthy food. And yes, you need to cut down, but still eat enough food. Yes, you need to take into account any medical or health issues you have.

But then, pick a weight-loss diet. Pick a good one. Pick one you think you'll really do well with.

Here's the important part. You need to concentrate on the personal changes you must make in order to stick to your dieting resolve - no matter what weight-loss diet plan you go on.

This is a must. If you don't tackle the issues that have always caused your dieting downfall, you will fail again. We're here to help you with this. Go to Find Your Issues (right sidebar) and read up on your issues. See how you can resolve your non-food weight issues.

Do yourself a favor. Don't spend more money on another diet book. Be frugal. It will help you get to the heart of the matter.

This deep recession could very well be a blessing in disguise as far as losing the weight is concerned. Just like people are doing now in other areas of life, get down to what really counts

Self Image - Such a Hard Sell

by Maria's Last Diet

Dear Maria...

When I was a girl of twelve, I was really, really fat.

So I thought.

I was shocked the other day while going through my mother's photo album of the family. There was a picture of me in 1974 at the tender age of twelve, one I hadn't looked at closely before, even though I've been through the album numerous times.

So here was this darling young girl, sturdy, eyes shining, well built, and definitely not really, really fat. I was beautiful.

God. What do we women do to ourselves at young ages? Why did I feel so fat, and why didn't someone help me to feel better about myself?

    - Heather H.

Dieting Tips for the Holiday

by Maria's Last Diet

Diet motivation is exactly what's called for on Easter. It's hard to celebrate a holiday without going overboard. After all, it is a celebration.

Here are some dieting tips for today.

Don't eat too much. Don't drink too much.

Substitute some other pleasure(s) for overeating and eating what you shouldn't.

Set yourself an Easter dieting goal, one that you can stretch just enough to reach.

After you set the goal, then plan out a way (or some ways) to implement this goal. Make the plan as specific as you can. You can set it out in the format "when", "then I can". Example: When my aunt offers me that wonderful apple crisp of hers, then I can tell her that I'm dieting and would just like a taste today.

Do all these things and your dieting motivation will be the winner (and you'll be the thinner).

Here are some more dieting tips about holiday eating.

Dieting Skillpower Beats Dieting Willpower…Any Day

by Maria's Last Diet

Are you more motivated to pursue your weight-loss goal if you are a really good dieter? The answer from research on becoming ready to pursue a goal is a resounding yes.

Being a better dieter means that you are more skilled than the average dieter. And being more skilled gives you more motivation. It does this by making you “ready-ier” to choose goal-relevant over goal-irrelevant actions. Being skilled primes you to take advantage of situations that will propel you toward your goal. You even pick up on goal-related opportunities without knowing that this is what you are doing.

Being a skilled dieter practically means you will reach your highly desired goal because of an “unseen” force within you. (Isn’t this just what you always imagined and wished for?)

OK, dieting and weight loss don’t exactly work via an unseen personal force. Becoming highly skilled at something, though, is the closest thing we have to this kind of magic power.

So let the magic work for you. Develop your dieting skills.

Don't Wanna Change

by Maria's Last Diet

Change is traumatic.

Change is hard.

But profound personal change is exactly what is called for if you want to solve a long-standing weight problem.

Change is traumatic.

Change is hard.

That's why so many women who start out with every good intention when they're dieting, ultimately fail.

Change is traumatic.

Change is hard.

That's why "diets don't work" is often the fall-back position for both women and experts alike.

Change is traumatic.

Change is hard.

Many women can't accomplish the changes needed for weight-loss success because to do so rocks the boat. It not only changes her life at certain key points, but it affects all the other people in her life as well.

Change is traumatic.

Change is hard.

If you go into a weight-loss effort understanding this, then guess what?

Change is possible.

Weight Loss Challenges or Hindrances?

by Maria's Last Diet

When is a weight-loss obstacle a challenge, and when is it nothing but a hindrance?

A determining factor is the coping strategy you use. If you respond with a problem-solving strategy, you are making it a challenge. If you use a coping strategy of avoidance, you are making it a hindrance.

For instance, you will perceive the problem of not being able to get started on a weight-loss diet as a hindrance if your strategy to deal with the problem is one of avoiding. In this case, avoiding would mean letting it slip your memory, or procrastinating, or deciding that dieting is not a good way to lose the weight anyway. If you are prepared to take actions such as analyzing the problem, thinking it through, making a plan to solve it, executing the plan, etc., then the same problem - not being able to get started - becomes a challenge, not a hindrance that stops you.

As you can see, whether a weight-loss obstacle is a hindrance or a challenge depends on whether you are prepared to face it.

There are lots of weight-loss obstacles, both external and internal ones. Are they going to be hindrances for you? Or will they be challenges that you can meet? The answer lies in being prepared.

YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON DIET TUFFY TO HELP YOU GET PREPARED.

A Chubby Woman's Lament

by Maria's Last Diet

Why are you beautiful, and I'm not?

Why do you wear a size 4, and I wear a size 14?

What's wrong? How did I end up with this blubbery fat all over me?

Is it fate?

Fat fate?

Was I born to be this?

Nature or nurture?

Who knows these answers?

Not me.

Not yet.

Willpower - Don't Worry, You Can Get It.

by Maria's Last Diet

What exactly is willpower?

Is it innate - something the lucky ones are simply born with, and the rest of us aren't?

No, that's not it at all.

What is called "willpower" when you are trying to lose weight is usually this:

• sticking to whatever weight-loss solution you have chosen
• not giving in to the temptation at hand
• eating in a totally different way than before
• keeping up your weight-loss motivation
• no overeating.

Are people born with the ability to do all this? No, but you can learn how to. All the things you learn how to do to help you stick to it - all these, collectively - you can call "willpower".

For example:

--- You can learn techniques for delaying gratification.

--- You can figure out the most significant causes of cheating for you.

--- You can anticipate upcoming situations that present a barrier to sticking to your diet plan.

--- You can create a plan to effectively deal with those situations.

--- You can consider how much your emotions affect your eating.

--- You can cut down on social situations that contributed to your overeating in the past.

--- You can set a series of smaller, attainable goals for yourself. 

These are only some of the things you can do. There are more ways to help you, teach you, give you skills, confidence, stamina, and determination. 

Then you can stick to it. That's what willpower means, and there are ways you can get it.

If you want more information on willpower, go to "The Reading Room" and "Find your issues". Then look up all that's available about willpower.