A decade or so before I finally lost weight, in the midst of one of my more earnest attempts at dieting, I enlisted the help of a nutritional counselor. She was a sort of hybrid nutritionist and behavioral coach who had me record what I ate for the week and then take it to her […]
Nov 19 2015
From pages 194 – 195 of Eat Like It Matters: When people ask me why I decided to write about my struggle with my weight, I tell them that sometimes I secretly wish I could just sit down and shut up about it. Truly, I find it embarrassing to talk about my food demons, my unhappiness in […]
From pages 180 – 181 of Eat Like It Matters: Raise your hand if you have an uncomplicated relationship with your mother. So nobody, right? Yeah, me either. This is one of the most complex human relationships there is. For those of us who are lucky enough to have our mothers in our lives, we may still […]
From pages 166– 168 of Eat Like It Matters: This may sound harsh. Certainly it’s a big ol’ serving of tough love with no holds barred. And the last thing I’m gonna say before I launch into it is that I made every one of these mistakes, to the nth degree, for decades. So the tough love […]
From pages 151 – 153 of Eat Like It Matters: Does everybody have an inner athlete? I dunno. I do know that 120 pounds ago I would’ve told you that I didn’t have one. Turns out, I was wrong. I do have an inner athlete, and I have harnessed her strength and drive to finally put to rest […]
From pages 128 – 130 of Eat Like It Matters: Stilettos are sexy. Fast cars are sexy. Some say facial hair is sexy (though generally only on men). But let’s be honest, schedules aren’t sexy. Still, sticking to a schedule when it comes to your eating and exercise habits can make all the difference when it comes to […]
From pages 119 – 122 of Eat Like It Matters: If dieting left me feeling like I was holding my breath underwater, it’s no wonder that I found it impossible to do it for very long. But this is what relying on willpower has always felt like to me: it takes so much mental energy […]
Sep 29 2015
From pages 105 – 107 of Eat Like It Matters: Finally!” the readers exclaim in unison. “She’s gonna get to the point about what to eat, how to eat, and how to actually lose weight!” Oh, don’t get your panties in a bunch. Of course I was gonna get to it, but you can’t just […]
From pages 92 – 95 of Eat Like It Matters … When I decided I was ready to change my life I knew I needed support from the person I had the closest relationship with: my husband. My decision to have lap-band surgery worried him initially; the surgical risks are not insignificant, and the cost […]
When I look at this book in its entirety, it strikes me how every single strategy I’ve learned—really, every single point I make— is about putting yourself first. When you put yourself first you have high standards for yourself and your life. You expect to be happy and to have satisfying relationships with your family […]
From pages 48 – 49 … While I disengaged from my physical body and pretended not to notice the damage I did to myself over and over again with food, the most destructive manifestation of my denial was the detachment I felt from my conflicted misery in my role as wife and mom. It’s extremely […]
If there is one thing I’ve learned during my weight-loss journey it’s that I’m not terribly exceptional. Oh, don’t get me wrong. The fact that I lost over one hundred pounds and have kept it off for more than eight years is remarkable. And I’m not claiming modesty here. I work very hard, and every […]
Aug 11 2015
Chapter One MAYBE YOU CAN’T BREAK THROUGH UNTIL YOU ADMIT YOU’RE BROKEN I once weighed 265 pounds and had a body mass index of 43. To clarify, the National Institutes of Health labels as “overweight” those people with a body mass index (BMI) of between 25 and 29.9. Those who have a BMI of between […]