Reflecting on your weight: Be kind to yourself

1957 Diet Ad

How often has the three-way mirror in a store fitting room been the cause of upset or harsh realizations? It was for me. Many if not most of us avoid looking at ourselves in a mirror on a regular basis before we hide under clothing, or if we do it's fearfully or with a harsh and cruel eye. That's why when we're confronted with ourselves after long periods of "looking the other way" it can be so jarring. 

I don't want anyone to use the mirror as an exercise in self derision, but turning a blind eye to yourself, if you have a weight problem, is usually not a good idea. 

The 1950s diet was about accountability, and no one else can hold you to it but yourself. If it's been a long while since you've reflected on the truth about your weight beyond stepping on the scale, maybe you can become reacquainted with yourself by looking in the mirror. If you see more of you than you like, rather than belittle yourself, realize that you can take steps to make changes!

Consider taking some photos of yourself to document your weight and body changes. What you look like now becomes your photo of "before." Seeing yourself that way can be inspiring and adds incentive for action rather than simply: "I'm fat*." At the same time, realize that giving up junk food and making changes isn't punishment. It's kindness!

*I feel the need to add that beauty is subjective, and in no way am I stating that you or anyone can't find "big" as beautiful. But my blog is based upon the premise that beauty includes being healthy, and is for ladies who want a 1950s figure.

Busted for being too big for the dress: Should she have "split" it?

I read this in my local police blotter today and had to share it here:

Wishful Thinking

"A customer at Zeus's Closet, 240 Route 1, tried on a dress that was a little too tight. When she became stuck in the dress and required assistance removing it, store employees cut the dress off of her. After the dress was removed, employees asked her to pay $70 for the ruined garment and wouldn't let her leave until she paid. Lieutenant John Kilbride and Officer Phillip Hatch arrived on scene and established that the employees cut off the dress and the customer did not need to pay."

How embarrassing! Personally I would have offered to pay for the dress at cost but I think the second-hand clothing store went too far by detaining her and calling the police!

What would you have done if you were the poor gal in the dress? Haven't we all been in a similar situation of trying to squeeze into something a little too small?


I will be away from my desk for much of tomorrow and the weekend so it may be a lil while before your comments go live.

Built to last like in the 1950s

I went to an estate sale last weekend where I found and purchased a "blonde" mid century serpentine bedroom set (shown) which for years I have always dreamed about owning.

Being a "picker" of old things for over a decade has taught me the value of patience, persistence and pretty things. Unlike today, the 1950s was a time that manufacturers produced not just beautiful things but also lovely packaging for the most humdrum of items (I'll show you some examples soon). 

Relevant to this post is that for years it seemed like an impossibility to find something that at one time women could simply order from a Sears catalog, and I do have one from the 1950s. What a tease!  It involved what would seem to some as boring, repetitive efforts over the long term by attending hundreds of estate sales over many years.

Patience is one of the best tools in your arsenal when losing weight and gaining health the 1950s way. We've been conditioned to confuse feelings of impatience with experiencing impossibility. Long-term goals can now feel pointless if we won't achieve them in a short time with relative ease or can't order the fix online. So often being good to yourself can seem like something separate and annoying. There are plenty of diets that offer novelty and promises of magic but we know that usually doesn't last once the initial excitement wears off. 

Having grown up in New York City I can be exceedingly impatient in addition to the influences of 2012, but when it comes to health and my body/myself I've learned to retrofy my perceptions:

Just like furniture and so many things manufactured in the 1950s, you were built to last if you take good care of yourself long-term.

Rather than focusing on the seemingly banal segmented efforts involved to do that, for example, recording calories, measuring food, scheduling exercise into your days or going out of your way to cook for yourself, we need to see the process as intrinsically rewarding...because it is! I no longer see it as a necessary evil or a pain in the tush.

Self-care in the 1950s was an integral part of our culture as was care for what we owned. This is evidenced by the great condition so many things are in that I find at estate sales that belonged to earlier generations. When you care about yourself the things you need to do to be kind can actually be enjoyable. Think about a child or pet you love to dote on and give the best care possible. Tending to your well-being can be just as rewarding if you learn to see it and yourself that way! It's about caring for yourself versus taking care of something.

YOU are worth the effort. Your body can't lose weight without your commitment to long term lifestyle changes.

Use a vintage yardstick to maintain a 1950s figure

I often promote the idea of weighing yourself often; daily is good and it's what my slender grandmother tells me works for her, although I don't follow that myself.  I do it at least once a month since I record it in fitday.com.

Something I haven't talked much about is taking measurements of your waist and hips on a fairly regular basis. A few years ago it was my waist-to-hip ratio that really opened my eyes to how a normal BMI could be seriously and even dangerously flawed. In fact it frightened me enough to finally make the leap into 1950 diet-wise. I could rationalize that I had a normal BMI, and that compared to others (not a good yardstick!) I was thin. Of course using the vintage MetLife tables I knew I was overweight, but it's so easy these days to rationalize away being somewhat overweight. In fact we're being programmed to think it's self-hating if we just can't accept ourselves as we are.

Once I learned that your body shape can be an indicator of risk for heart disease, specifically having that mid-life spread, things got real for me. My score was .86 which indicated an increased risk for heart disease! 

That was in 2008 and I have only measured myself a handful of times since then. I'm pleased to say that having lost "only" fourteen pounds has made a HUGE difference, as has doing vintage exercises. I measured myself on Friday, a year since my last time.

Since 2008 I've lost 3 1/2" in my waist and 2" from my hips. My hip-to-waist ratio went from the danger zone to healthy!

If you want to lose weight or maintain a slim figure, don't compare yourself to others which is exactly what BMI does to determine what you should weigh. Please take out that measuring tape, ladies, for an objective, no-nonsense knowledge if you are putting yourself at risk.

Picture the 1950s family dairy farm

"Maine, the way life should be!"

One of the things I've researched for my book while looking at the differences in diet is the change from the small family dairy farms to the industrial factory dairy farms of today.

A few years ago I was living in a rural setting with a small dairy farm down the road from me. At the current time they were a supplier for Oakhurst Dairy, an independent Maine dairy company. 

If you're not familiar with Oakhurst, they were sued by Monsanto in 2003, the company behind GMOs. Oakhurst pledged to not use rBST in their milk and labelled their products with "No Artificial Growth Hormone Used." Monsanto sued to silence them by attempting to force them to remove that simple fact from their packaging. Oakhurst prevailed, retaining the right to label their products but had to add a disclaimer.

Sometimes the cows would be looking out over this gate by the road.

What you don't see on the milk cartons at your store is a picture of the cows who produced your milk. Most companies would rather you didn't. 

You might be wondering "What the heck does this have to do with thin women of the 1950s, Averyl?"

In my opinion, from personal experience and my research,  healthy thinness must include overall fitness of self and our environment. And to eat like a lady of the 50s I try to support the companies that support the way of life closer to 1950 than 2012 when it comes to food.

Still holding on to the good old days.

The lovely scenes you see are photos I took, while I was out walking  a few years ago, of the local dairy farm "stuck in the past."

(Rest assured this is in no way a sponsored blog entry. I'm just happy to promote healthy and healthy living! Also, I'm going to aim for weekly blog updates on Sundays or Mondays.)