21 May 2008

I Think iTunes Hates Me

Because it was one of those days that you spend trying not to resent other people's happiness (even though you should be content because you just got into grad school) while attempting to mentally draft a cover letter for your application for the graduate assistantship you hope to get so you can actually afford to go to graduate school, but self-promotion has never been your strong suit and the part of your brain responsible for drafting said cover letter keeps getting overpowered by the voice that is constantly shouting about how you are 29 and single and will probably die alone and eaten by Alsatians after spending your golden years yelling at the TV, eating frosting straight out of the container, and ballooning to 330 lbs. Which really defeats the whole 'trying not to resent other people's happiness' objective. So you get home and try to brainstorm while cooking a nutritious, non-fattening dinner which you are just putting on the table when your cell phone alarm goes off, reminding you that you have a visiting teaching appointment with the one lady with whom you can never schedule an appointment, so you grab your Ensign and race out the door (leaving your dad to eat a nice warm meal) and walk half a block to her house, only to realize as you ring the doorbell that it is starting to drizzle.  By the time you are done with said visit, it is really raining, but you decline her offer to drive you home because, really, it is only half a block.  So you walk in the door shivering and wet and inhale a slightly dried-out dinner (because your dad thoughtfully put it in the oven to keep it warm, but the heat also made it a little dry) and then blow all your new self-imposed dietary goals by also inhaling a piece of ice cream cake leftover from your dad's birthday, thus putting you, like, 1200 calories over your goal and one step closer to the being the 330 lb. woman with a front butt that you fear you will become. And when you finally give up, put on your pajamas at 6:45 pm and sit down to finish the cover letter, your iTunes decides to play Stacey Kent's version of "Too Darn Hot" and you realize it is maliciously mocking you because you are neither hot (in either sense of the term) nor do you have a 'baby'.  Which is when you start a rambling diatribe of a blog entry and make iTunes play ABBA's Gold album because a) you can sing along to it without wanting to cry and b) you are really excited about the film of Mamma Mia coming out this summer.  Because who isn't excited about watching Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth singing ABBA tunes?  I think $8 is totally reasonable sum for the privilege of watching Mr. Darcy belt "Our Last Summer," don't you?

8 comments:

Heather said...

Oh come on!! I think you would look smashing with a front butt.

I'm working vigorously on my muffin top though.

I was in a store the other day that was playing ABBA.. it made me happy. works every time I guess.

mmmmmm... ice cream cake... you guys always have the best desserts!

blackjazz said...

I'd just like to declare that I'm losing weight!

Am I allowed to tell you how?

Scully said...

Definitely allowed, BlackJazz. Any inspiration is welcome.

blackjazz said...

In that case... here we go...

My history is that I've tried several diets over the years with mixed results. Normally I can lose weight but after losing a stone or so (that's 14 lbs) it starts to creep back up again. Going on holiday (particularly to the US) is just about the worst thing for putting on weight. I should say that I exercise regularly. I use the gym and I swim either 3 or 4 times a week.

My BMI (body mass index) at Easter this year was over 32, making me "obese". Whilst staying at a hotel, I got chatting with a man who was a lot heavier than me. We talked about weight loss and he'd lost 2 stones (28 lbs). I asked him how and he said "Weight Watchers". So, I decided to give it a try.

I've only been doing it for 8 weeks so far, and I know that's not many, but there are others there who have been doing it for many years and use it to maintain their weight at a good level. I met somebody yesterday who had lost 4 stones reducing her BMI to 25. She had a photo and I wouldn't have recognised her. (She keeps the photo in a handbag because she says people can't remember what she used to look like.) Once you've reached a BMI of 25, you don't have to pay to attend the classes, which is an incentive to continue to attend. Of course it's good for the organisers because there are success stories there.

Anyway, so far I've lost 19 lbs. I feel much better and the weight loss is impressive. I don't feel hungry all the time. I just have to control the type of food I eat and the portion size.

What I like about it is that I can now quantify how much food I can eat in a reasonably scientific way. They use a points system which is a combination of calories and fat. I have a number of points I can eat per day. There's a web site to make it easy to record it all. The number of points differs depending on your circumstances: men get more than women (sorry!), you get more for being young, more for having an active job, more if you weight more and more if you're tall.

I'm not stopped from eating anything, but I mustn't exceed my points unless I've saved them up from previous days. When I exercise, I'm allowed extra points. I realise now that in the past I've over-compensated for the exercise I've done.

My BMI is 29.8 now, which means I'm overweight but no longer obese. And that's the way it feels. I can now run on the treadmill in the gym without my ankles and knees hurting so much.

Treat Queen said...

I am WAY excited for Mamma Mia! I think it has a fabulous cast.

And I have heard from several people that weight watchers works. Of course, so does dancing for two hours a day, but who has time for that?

Scully said...

Thanks for the info BlackJazz. I have thought about Weight Watchers, but I hate paying for things I think I can do myself and I have grad school to pay for in the fall. But mostly I'm cheap.

blackjazz said...

I know where you're coming from!

I've found that although I'm paying for the weekly classes and buying food that's a bit over-priced, there are savings too because I'm not buying snack-type food (chocolate, ice cream etc) and I'm not eating out much.

I have no idea whether it's costing me money or saving me money at the moment.

i i eee said...

This makes me want to watch Muriel's Wedding. THE BEST MOVIE EVER. Seriously, y'all. If you don't watch R-rated movies, make one exception for Muriel's Wedding.