A Thinner Healthier Future

We are bombarded daily with media images about how we "should" look. The sad truth is that many of these "role models" are not perfect themselves. Pick up a tabloid next time you are in the grocery line. There are tons of photos of them on the beach or at home, without make up, and yes, they have cellulite.

From the time we are small children, we are shown images of women we ought to measure up to. What about "Barbie"? One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for a woman, leading to a risk that women who attempt to emulate her will become anoerexic. A standard Barbie doll is 11.5 inches tall, giving a height of 5 feet 9 inches at 1/6 scale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finalnd, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate. In 1965 Slumber Party Barbie came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight which advised: "Don't eat." The doll also came with pink bathroom scales reading 110lb, which would be around 35lbs underweight for a woman 5 feet 9 inches tall. In 1997 Barbie's body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, with Mattel saying that this would make the doll better suited to contemporary fashion designs.

We need to be realistic in our goals and make small changes every day that we can incorporate without much effort. The largest problem today is that we are such an "instant gratification" type society. We want results now, not six months from now. The truth is the only way you can achieve instant gratification when it comes to your body is with plastic surgery. I don't have thousands of dollars laying around for that, do you?

A few things you can do this week, to change your life:

1. Drink more water. If you cut out sugary drinks (juice is also very high in sugar) and sodas, and drink more water, you will look and feel better this week. Start with 2 or 3 and try to get as many as eight 8 oz glasses in per day.

2. Eat smaller meals more often and DO NOT skip breakfast. If you can eat breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack, dinner, a snack, you will boost your metabolism and the smaller portions will be less likely to be stored as fat.

3. Don't wait until you are starving to eat. If you do, you will be more likely to grab the first thing you see and eat it, including high fat foods like chips. Try to eat BEFORE you go grocery shopping, then there will be less chance that you buy impulse, high calorie foods.

4. Regarding grocery shopping: Stay on the outside square of the store - try to avoid all of the centre aisles. Your fresh meats, dairy, vegetables and fruit are found around the outside of the store and the high calorie, impulse items are in the centre of the store. If you do not buy impulse items, you will not eat them, because they are not in your house.

I am not a "diet guru" but I have tried many diets. Two years ago after I decided I was finished having children, I decided that it was time to get the baby fat off. At my heaviest, I was 265 when I had my first child, with the "eating for two" mentality, I decided I would chuff back everything in sight. Two years ago, I weighed 222 pounds, and as of today, I am 185. I plan to keep on going until I reach my goal weight of 150.