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We have seven new recommendations for fall reading plus the bonus of website referrals as well.
The Shift: How I Lost Weight & Discovered a Happier Life, by Tory Johnson By ABC News, Sept 10, 2013 8:06am. “Good Morning America” contributor Tory Johnson says she’s been fat forever. She finally got her act together and lost more than 60 pounds in a year. She shares her candid journey of exactly how she did it in her new book, “The Shift: How I Finally Lost Weight & Discovered a Happier Life.” Here’s an excerpt for you:
"Throughout my childhood our freezer was stuffed with ice cream, pizza, and assorted frozen, microwavable packages. We never used the bottom oven on our stove because it was stuffed with snacks like Funyuns, Oreos and Chips Ahoy! Other kids would make a beeline for it, just as I did many times a day.
By second grade, I was already a good twenty pounds overweight, a direct result of unhealthy eating habits. We equated food with comfort. Good day? Celebrate with snack. Bad mood? Nothing that a microwave pepperoni pizza couldn’t cure.
Throughout childhood and into my teen years, when I wanted to make a “healthy” drink choice, I downed glass after glass of fruit juice, oblivious to calories or carbs. I had come to believe that anything with fruit was healthy: Tropicana orange juice, Ocean Spray cranberry, Welch’s grape juice, and all those small Capri Sun packages. Liquid sugar.
Throughout childhood and into my teen years, when I wanted to make a “healthy” drink choice, I downed glass after glass of fruit juice, oblivious to calories or carbs. I had come to believe that anything with fruit was healthy: Tropicana orange juice, Ocean Spray cranberry, Welch’s grape juice, and all those small Capri Sun packages. Liquid sugar.
This was the late seventies, and health clubs were catching on. Home was Miami Beach, where
people show off their bodies. Yet in our house, we didn’t talk about any connection between regular Coke, calories, and obesity or link food choices to our expanding waistlines.
One day my dentist asked Mom if she was “gaining or expecting,” as if inquiring about the weather. My mother was not pregnant; my brother, David, was already three. She and I never acknowledged his comment. Instead, we headed to Carvel for ice cream. Today I think about that incident often
when I try on a blouse that makes me look not just fat, but pregnant. “Gaining or expecting?” All these years later, I’m still bothered by his cruel and thoughtless comment.
Whenever I’ve thought about changing my future, I’ve let my past weigh me down. If you’ve always been overweight, or been fat for many years, it’s quite a hurdle to envision living any other way. The difficulty of fixing it— fathoming even where to start—seems too high. At times, the weight of the past threatens to derail me.
I’ve hidden behind the same habits and excuses for years. I blamed my parents for making me fat and allowing me to become addicted to overeating. I blamed McDonald’s for serving fattening burgers and fries. I blamed my compulsive eating on the mean kids in school, sadistic gym teachers, and even the former boss who fired me without warning by saying, “Tory, it’s a big world out there and I suggest you go explore it.”
I’m sick of dodging the blame and pinning excuses for my actions on other people and situations. I can see now how I have let the comfort of complacency carry me from fragile teenager to forty-one-year-old adult, and how easy it would be to stay the course, just as I have my whole life. But I can’t. I won’t. As I make this simple shift in my thinking, what once seemed daunting becomes much more doable and manageable."
people show off their bodies. Yet in our house, we didn’t talk about any connection between regular Coke, calories, and obesity or link food choices to our expanding waistlines.
One day my dentist asked Mom if she was “gaining or expecting,” as if inquiring about the weather. My mother was not pregnant; my brother, David, was already three. She and I never acknowledged his comment. Instead, we headed to Carvel for ice cream. Today I think about that incident often
when I try on a blouse that makes me look not just fat, but pregnant. “Gaining or expecting?” All these years later, I’m still bothered by his cruel and thoughtless comment.
Whenever I’ve thought about changing my future, I’ve let my past weigh me down. If you’ve always been overweight, or been fat for many years, it’s quite a hurdle to envision living any other way. The difficulty of fixing it— fathoming even where to start—seems too high. At times, the weight of the past threatens to derail me.
I’ve hidden behind the same habits and excuses for years. I blamed my parents for making me fat and allowing me to become addicted to overeating. I blamed McDonald’s for serving fattening burgers and fries. I blamed my compulsive eating on the mean kids in school, sadistic gym teachers, and even the former boss who fired me without warning by saying, “Tory, it’s a big world out there and I suggest you go explore it.”
I’m sick of dodging the blame and pinning excuses for my actions on other people and situations. I can see now how I have let the comfort of complacency carry me from fragile teenager to forty-one-year-old adult, and how easy it would be to stay the course, just as I have my whole life. But I can’t. I won’t. As I make this simple shift in my thinking, what once seemed daunting becomes much more doable and manageable."
Click HERE to get Tory Johnson’s weight loss tips.
Copyright (c) 2013 Tory Johnson. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission. From the hardcover book “The Shift” published 9/2013 by Hyperion Books, a division of the Hachette Book Group, Inc. Connect with Tory Johnson at www.shiftwithtory.com.
She adds,"Another good website that I have subscribed to, and it has been great for in-depth information on diet and nutrition as well as many other health topics is www.everydayhealth. The website has several newsletters that are free for the latest health facts, tips, advice and even some recipes! A third website worth a look that you also can get just by registering is www.vibrantwomen.com . It is the leading online community for women over 45—which is advertised as a place where they can connect and support each other on issues unique to their stage of life including fashion, beauty, family, relationships, health, fitness, spirituality and growth, money and sex. Not only do you get periodic updates, but you can also download free e-books such as What to eat at Midlife, What to Wear after 50, Style for Special Occasions, and Adult Children and Your Money. THERE IS SOMETHING ON THAT WEBSITE FOR EVERYONE!"
(Our thanks to Pat D. for steering us to Tory Johnson's The Shift, and to Joan D. for her own review of books and websites we might enjoy.)
Fat is the general problem in these days. I think precaution is better than cure and you should take proper diet and regular exercise.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Mangosteen Juice
Thanks. Heading the problem off in the first place is definitely the way to go-not just for weight but also to avoid all the health problems that come with the added pounds. Appreciate your insight.
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