Maria's Last Diet

by Maria's Last Diet

There are eating disorders - anorexia, bulimia. Then there are the many many women who eat too much, gain weight, lose some, can't keep it off, go on lots of weight-loss diets. These are the women who we mostly hear from at Maria's Last Diet.

it is not as dramatic to be just plump, just overeating here and there, managing a hectic life or a disappointing life or a stressful life by way of food. Just because it doesn't have the scale or severity of an eating disorder, doesn't mean it isn't troubling.

Sometimes women who struggle with eating in a lesser way, but struggle nevertheless, are left out of the discussion.

Let's not do that. Let's keep the conversation going.

by Maria's Last Diet

Strokes are on the rise in women ages 35 to 54 but not in men of the same age. This rise in strokes among middle-aged women goes along with the 2-inch “rise” in their waistlines. These findings are just in from the International Stroke Conference in New Orleans, from a study led by Dr. Amytis Towfighi of the University of Southern California.

The study found other “un-healthy” indicators on the rise too in 35 to 54 year old women. Body Mass Index increased from 27.11 to 28.67, pushing overweight women ever closer to a 30 BMI, the point at which overweight changes to obesity. There was an almost 9 percent increase in the number of women using medication to lower blood pressure and a 2.6 percent increase in the use of medication to lower cholesterol.

What do these statistics mean? They mean that the risk factors are showing once again that being overweight carries risk. So you see, feeling lighter is not only a matter of comfort. Looking better is not only a matter of looks. Going down a whole size is not only a matter of self-satisfaction. These changes matter for your health too.

by Maria's Last Diet

Sometimes with a problem behavior like overeating, people simply adjust their lives to keep it going.

So maybe you do a lot to maintain your overeating. Maybe you feel, deep down, "why change?" You're not alone. People tend to want to keep the status quo, even if it means bearing the consequences.

If you're starting to think that losing weight would enhance your life, a good first step is to increase your awareness of your problem with overeating.

The first thing you can do is figure out the ways in which you rationalize your overeating and rationalize being overweight. What do you tell yourself about the negative consequences of these problems? Do you minimize them? Not think about them? Blame them on some other cause? You've probably convinced yourself it's OK with you.

If you want to lose weight, don't bear the consequences. You need to convince yourself that it's not OK with you. Everything will start from there.

by Maria's Last Diet

Do you really have a weight problem? Consider the way you eat, and your present weight.

Did you ever stop to think about whether this eating and weight thing is really a problem for you - or just a preference?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself so you can clarify the matter:

• If you felt you could easily lose the weight, would you want to?
• Does your self-esteem suffer in any way because of your eating habits or your weight?
• Do you find yourself unable to change either one despite many tries?
• Do you ever feel hopeless about your eating and your weight?
• Do you hide from others anything related to your eating and your weight?

If you are able to answer these questions directly, it should give you a very good idea about whether you have a real problem on your hands, or whether this is a way of being that you freely choose.

by Maria's Last Diet

Here's something to think about: Do your weight problems mask other important issues in your life?

Some women concentrate on their weight problems, even obsess about them, as though weight alone is responsible for all problems.

Do you tend to do this? If so, it will be harder to resolve your weight issues. This is because you actually need them as a way of keeping yourself in the dark about the deeper issues you may have trouble facing.

This is worth thinking about, long and hard.