I don't know how to start this blog post, except to say that it will be my last.
The New Mexican has decided that my blog and column must come to an end.
I feel a little off kilter by the news because I had so much left that I wanted to do.
I was going to experiment with poisoning to see if it caused an aversion to foods (Seriously. I was going to use ipecac syrup to see if it stopped my chocolate cravings.). I was going to look deep into what motivates us to lose weight. I was going to v…
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Added by Christine Barber on February 24, 2009 at 5:30pm —
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I don't know if you noticed, but in my recent column, I mentioned high-fructose corn syrup in passing as a possible contributing cause of the obesity epidemic.
I didn't know it at the time, but I seem to have wandered into a pockmarked battleground.
On the one side of the war is the Corn Refiners Association, which promotes the industry, and on the other side are the HFCS non-believers.
I had a warning shot fired at me in my last column’s comments section by the Audrae Erickson, president of the…
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Added by Christine Barber on February 6, 2009 at 6:32am —
3 Comments
A while back, I did a column about so-called Biblical diets, like "What Would Jesus Eat" and "The Maker's Diet." Both books are light on religion on heavy on eating like it's 1 A.D. They paint a picture of a beautiful bucolic life ripe with olives, fish and nuts that every so often is interrupted by King Herod — or Abraham — wanting to kill children. Happy times.
Most of the Biblical diet books steal from the Kashrut (Jewish dietary law). So, Jews take heart, you were right. At least about your…
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Added by Christine Barber on January 28, 2009 at 1:32pm —
5 Comments
Lisa brought up an interesting point in a comment about my last blog where I said what I've really been searching for is a non-judgmental weight loss community. She asked — rightly so — "What are we?" It seems I've got that lovely weight-loss community I've been searching for right here with you guys, only I've never truly appreciated it as such. I think I've been approaching this blog as work, and not for what I started it as — a way to connect. So, first of all, thank you all for being part of…
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Added by Christine Barber on January 21, 2009 at 2:06pm —
6 Comments
Of the many, many weight loss programs I tried, Weight Watchers has the definitely been the most persistent. Even though it’s been several years and five addresses later, they keep tracking me down via the U.S. Postal Service. They’re like an ex who can’t take a hint — a little stalker-y and wanting me back.
The most recent mail they sent is all about their new Momentum program, which looks a lot like the old program.
The main issue I have with Weight Watchers is the whole points system. I have…
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Added by Christine Barber on January 11, 2009 at 12:27am —
1 Comment
As I try to eat mindfully, I find myself discovering all kinds of things how I eat.
Since one of the key reasons I love mindful eating is how it focuses on the experience of taste, I’m trying all kinds of new stuff. For example, I seem to like dried figs. Who knew? And I’m also reconsidering old foods I thought I liked. For instance, when I really think about it, potato chips are actually too rough on the roof of my mouth (but it’s possible I’m just eating them wrong. You’re supposed to stuff th…
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Added by Christine Barber on January 7, 2009 at 3:10am —
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First off, I want to apologize to everyone for not posting a blog sooner. I was one of those people you read about in the newspaper about who tried to fly over the holidays, but ended up with numerous cancelled flights, several nights spent in Midwest hotels with polyester bedspreads and six days without luggage. And then my computer broke.
Then of course, when I finally could post, I felt guilty for not posting … Sheesh, the torture we put ourselves through.
This actually makes a nice segue int…
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Added by Christine Barber on January 3, 2009 at 11:40am —
2 Comments
Has anyone else read about the governor of New York proposing a so-called obesity tax? Specifically, he wants to tax soda, but not drinks like milk, juice and water. For instance, a Coke would cost $1.15 instead of a $1. In a
commentary on CNN, he compares the rampant smoking during the 1950s to our obsession with soda today — both are exceptionally bad for you. The obesity epidemic must be stopped, he writes, and cutting back…
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Added by Christine Barber on December 20, 2008 at 1:14am —
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Putting the calories on a menu seems a fairly innocuous thing to do. It’s just factual information, after all. You can choose to eat the green-chile hamburger and fries that’s 1,050 calories or not.
But at Harvard University, administrators chose to take the calories off the menu. Why? Because of concerns that it would worsen eating disorders.
This makes some sense. When someone has an eating disorder, they will often go to extremes to stick to an eating plan that they have envisioned for themse…
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Added by Christine Barber on December 10, 2008 at 11:28am —
4 Comments
One of the reasons I called my column "The Losing Game" was that it reflects my attitude toward weight loss in that I feel like it's a game. If I just know the rules and play by them, I'll win the game.
A big part of this column and blog is trying to look at the rules and figure out what I think they should be. I think, so far, my rules have been good ones. But they have all mostly revolved around the practice of eating, such as staying away from sugar and watching portion sizes.
I haven't reall…
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Added by Christine Barber on December 2, 2008 at 11:14pm —
3 Comments
One of the biggest problems of Thanksgiving Day is that it’s all about the food. There really isn’t all that much else to it. No fireworks. No presents. No costumes. Just lots and lots of food. And since the food is the main — and only — attraction, you are sort of required to partake in order to be considered to have “celebrated” the holiday in true Thanksgiving style. And it’s not just eating in general, but eating of the “right” food.
If on Friday, you’re standing around the water cooler at w…
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Added by Christine Barber on November 25, 2008 at 11:26pm —
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It seems that while exploring the ruins of the village of the dieting damned, I tripped over the Holy Grail.
I believe I have found the way.
I believe I have discovered the solution to ending my battle of the binge. It could be that my alter ego — the midnight cookie monster — is thing of the past. It's possible that I will no longer live with equal parts necessity and guilt over my out of control eating.
And I am so scared, I haven't been able to write about it, let alone give in to it, since I…
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Added by Christine Barber on November 16, 2008 at 11:33pm —
3 Comments
I went to the grocery store today and got into an argument with myself about chicken.
Since I've been trying to lose weight, I buy chicken that is raw. I never let myself get the pre-cooked chicken, which has sugar, oil, etc. Sure, the pre-cooked chicken is so much easier because you can just slip into the microwave, but it has more calories and is cooked with forbidden additives, so I stay away from it. That kind of chicken is not conducive to weight loss.
Except that today, I've decided to go…
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Added by Christine Barber on November 12, 2008 at 2:00am —
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There are many completely unscientific and ridiculous ways to predict the outcome of next week’s 2008 presidential election.
One such way seems to be looking at the sales of Halloween masks.
According to several Halloween merchandise companies, their sales have correctly predicted the winner in the last three elections. For instance, in 2004, Bush masks outsold Kerry 65 to 35 percent, while in 2000, Bush was a more popular with 57 percent to Gore’s 43.
But I say if we’re going to look at really…
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Added by Christine Barber on October 29, 2008 at 1:05am —
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I somehow spilled a bunch of hot oil in my jeans today, which accented a dark brown stain that won't come off. And then there was the fairly large rip in the waistband I've been ignoring. And that's my
good pair of jeans.
I decided maybe it was time to get new jeans.
It didn't occur to me until I was out the door and in the car that I hadn't bought any pants since I'd lost 25 pounds. I've been doing amazing gravity-defying tricks with belts to keep my old pants going.
You'd think I'd be a…
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Added by Christine Barber on October 22, 2008 at 5:39pm —
5 Comments
I started a mindful eating class this past week and it's freaking me the hell out. I am so far out of my eating comfort zone that I might as well be naked in front of a group of mean seventh graders while doing calculus on the chalkboard.
The program follows an approach that intrigues me. It is not about dieting. It is simply about paying really close attention to what you are eating and how your body is feeling in response. There is no judgment involved. Only observation. A couple of the gener…
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Added by Christine Barber on October 20, 2008 at 12:58pm —
5 Comments
12:10 a.m. Sunday night
I'm scared to pray.
For the next 48 hours, I'm supposed to be attempting to follow "The Weight Down Diet" method, which includes three basic rules:
1) Eat only when you're hungry
2) Stop when you're full
3) Pray — a lot. Before a meal. During a meal. After a meal. Between meals. Basically, I will need to become God's stalker. I just hope He doesn't take out a restraining order.
Despite the possible problem that I'll bugging God every few minutes like a 3-year-old w…
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Added by Christine Barber on October 15, 2008 at 1:47am —
5 Comments
I've been struggling this week to eat healthy.
I've been in the spotlight a lot — something I usually try to avoid — and the extra attention has sent my mood all over the place. My solution to feeling off kilter is to eat sugar. But, after the first few moments of pleasure and forgetting that the world is turning, it just makes me more stressed. I've known this how I react to sugar for a long time, yet I still eat it. And I eat a lot.
It's amazing to me that I have gotten to a place where my "so…
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Added by Christine Barber on October 12, 2008 at 10:39am —
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The biggest reason I like the "God's Diet" book is this — it's not a diet.
Well, it is a diet in the sense that it gives you a great way to figure out how to eat healthy for the rest of your life just by counseling, "if God didn't make it, don't eat it."
But it's not a diet in the idea that there is a gimmick.
There is no temporary quick fix to be had. There's no program being sold or complicated system of weights and measurements. Which is good, because I, for one, don't believe in that kind of…
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Added by Christine Barber on October 1, 2008 at 10:37am —
2 Comments
So, for a while now I've been trying to find some kind of workout or sport to do that would catch my interest, but to no avail. I'm actually lucky — I
like to workout. Or maybe that makes me weird.
But I need something to work toward. Give me a goal, and I'll do what it takes physically to get there. That's how I ended up beating a bunch of hunky male firefighters during a wild land fitness test. I knew what needed to be done, and I did it. But I haven't had much inspiration lately. I wal…
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Added by Christine Barber on September 29, 2008 at 8:49pm —
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