AFP Health Reviews

While doing some posting on a few forums that I am a member of, I
was reading posts about people trying to lose weight and some of the
ladies who were saying they still needed to lose 10-20 pounds look so
skinny right now they look like they are skeletons!

So why is
America so obsessed about their weight? Could it be because of all the
commercials, MTV, the skinny stars and sports fanatics who are
constantly bombarding us with their idea of an attractive person? The tv
or movie commercials that say if you are not a size 4 you are
overweight!

I was watching The Devil Loves Prada the other night
and was so upset when they told the secretary that she was a pig at a
size 4! I couldn’t imagine being in a size 4, let alone being told I
needed to lose weight to be in a size 0 in order to look good! Come on!

Why are we so obsessed?

Why can’t we love ourselves for ourselves?

Below is what I posted in reply to someone asking for diet tips etc:

I
too am doing a “healthy living lifestyle” change…I have found for
myself if I focus on losing weight I want to eat more items that are bad
for me. I refuse to tell myself I am losing weight…I don’t need to
lose weight I just need to become healthier and tone up, sure there may
be a few pounds I could lose BUT that should not be the main focus,
becoming healthy should be.

What I have been doing, and this is
for me as it works for me, is eating more raw fruits and vegetables,
have a salad already made up as during the day I reach for something
quick and easy to eat since I am working or chasing my 4 yr old around
that I don’t want to take the time to cook for myself.

I also have added more water to my diet, when I get hungry and its not meal or snack time I reach for the water.

Another
thing I have been doing is finding DVD’s that I enjoy some of you may
laugh at the one I do that I just find so much fun to do and the time
just melts away (no pun intended lol) I bought Carmen Electra’s Strip
Tease aerobics…I know but you know what it is so much fun! I also vary
it with Turbo Jam and Yoga Booty Ballet all of them are fun and have
great music that keeps me going.

Cutting out the real sugars I
can’t do as far as using items like Splenda etc because I don’t feel
they are safe, so I just cut down on how much real sugar I use in my
coffee which I have also cut back from 2 pots, yep 2 pots a day, to 2
cups a day which is a feat in and of itself for me a coffee addict.

Everyone says to stop eating when you are not hungry,
that's simple if you have the will power or are not using food to deal
with other issues as I have been doing since my MIL died.

I was
anorexic and bulimic once, sorry about the sp, and I know all about
eating and emotional disorders. If you look at food as either the enemy
or a comfort food you need to see your doctor about those issues so you
can get those resolved before you start any diet...trust me I have been
on both sides: so skinny I looked like I was dying, I was...and being
overweight it was affecting my entire health and mental well being and
for me both sides I was dealing with emotional problems and the only way
I felt in control was with food.

Good luck to those who are
trying to lose weight, for me this year my goal is healthy living! I did
this once 10 years ago, just watched what I ate and exercised 5 days
out of 7 and lost 30 pounds while hubby was in Korea. So I know I can do
it.

Besides you need to be at a healthy weight and not a skinny
minny...who needs to look like a model or those ladies on tv who
everyone loves and wants to be like.

If you are happy with the way
you look or know your goal weight so you can feel better is to only
lose 10 pounds then go for the 10 pounds and not the 20 pounds to fit
societies image...sorry this is a hot topic for me, I have two nieces
right now that are so thin they would blow away if the wind picks up and
they are starving themselves because they want to look like the stars
or sports people they know when I look at them all I see is what I did
to myself and my body and how many of my health issue right now stem
from not loving myself for me.

So what if you weigh 145 are you in
good shape? Do you love what you see? If not you need to explore
whether it is really for health reasons or emotional reasons why you
want to lose weight...

I am off my soapbox now but I just wanted to wish all of you good health and let you know some of the things I do 🙂