Not a grain or a morsel or a modicum. But truth, right in your face.
For the first time in, oh, fifteen years or so, I watched the Oprah Winfrey show, tuning in yesterday completely by accident while confined to the couch. It was an amazing revelation.
Like many of my friends (and UNlike 99% of the men I know), weight issues have ruled my consciousness — indeed, my very existence — since I was a young teenager. Concern gave way to obsession, and as is almost always the case, obsession bred despair. Losing and gaining the same 25 pounds every six months since 1980 can take a toll on a person.
Enter Oprah and her guest, author Geneen Roth. When she told the audience that Roth’s book “opened [her] eyes” and allowed her to make sense of everything surrounding her 40-year battle with weight, I was curious. Cuz girls, you know it ain’t about food, or being hungry. It’s never about being physically hungry for people like us, is it? There’s always a hidden agenda with food.
As is Oprah’s style, she made sure everyone in attendance had read the book as well, and audience members were definitely part of the show. There were many personal stories that sounded awfully familiar. Several women had been charged with videotaping themselves going through their daily routines for a week or whatever. Wow. Revealing. Even more shocking were the admissions by some women that when they lost a hundred pounds, they were still unhappy. To someone like me (the last time I wore a size 7 was 1974), that was a difficult concept around which to wrap my reptilian brain. It was then that I decided I must see what is in this book.
And although what Roth gives in the way of practical tips isn’t necessarily new to repeat diet offenders, seeing and hearing how the book changed people on a non-food levelĀ was new to me — and believe me, fiends, I’ve read every diet book ever published. Much of what she said was highly personal with regard to figuring out why those of us who run the diet treadmill always fail. (Again – it’s *never* about the food itself; food is just the drug of choice to numb or escape other, more sinister issues.) You can read a partial transcript on Oprah’s site.
Heavy.
So I ordered it from half.com. I’m totally disappointed it wasn’t available for the Nook, though. What’s up with that? #1 on the NYT Bestseller List, and you can’t download it? Sheesh. Guess I’ll have to just open the thing and turn the pages myself. The nerve. Anyway, I’ll provide a review in the near future. I know there’s no magic bullet in this fight, but what I heard yesterday suggests that there are ways to move emotional roadblocks that habitually impede progress. That would be a step in the right direction for many of us.
Hey, it’s Tubesday. One day closer to school starting. It’s this time of year when I’d just as soon get the days overwith so I can get going. May as well jump into the fire right now as delay the inevitable. Hot tea, soup, and a bowl of oatmeal all day yesterday, and I still feel like ten miles of bad road. That just bites, honestly. Maybe it’s a tooma.
FO
I bought that book several weeks ago. I have read it and for the first time really felt someone was talking to ME. My issues with food go so far beyond true hunger. Anyway, I am delving into the book a second time in hopes of being able to put her Guidelines into practice. It is scary-as I always “fail.” I will be anxious to converse with you after you have read it.
Feel better!
Stoney
How cool you have already read the book, Stoney! We will definitely talk. I’m putting my other book on hold when WF & G arrives. I could — and probably will — read it all in one gulp, then hand it off to Mavis.
And it won’t be like we won’t have quality time together, ja? LOL
Thanks fiend – I am starting to feel more human today.
Sounds good! Please put me on the “pass the book on” list!
Definitely, luv! I’ll probably finish it in a day or two, and you know how Aunt Mavis goes through the books…she could have it done in maybe an hour.
I’m looking forward to the read! After we all read it, we should start a discussion group. The more support we have, the better our chances of success! I watched the episode of Oprah. Very enlightening.
Hope you’re starting to feel better today, luv. Looking forward to the party this weekend!
Love you!
Excellent idea, Mave! Support is huge — and I think it’s one of the things I lack. I know it is, in fact. I was really gobsmacked by her insistence that doing what I’ve been doing (designing a “diet,” then punishing myself when I fall off) is completely counterproductive. It really hit me when she asked, “What if it were a child you were dealing with instead of yourself? How would you treat that suffering child?” That changed the game for me.
I can’t wait for the birfday feast! It’ll be great just to get everyone back to the house at the same time. Yay!
I’m looking forward to your review and your elucidation of the insights it offers. Hope you’re feeling better. This is a horrible time for you to be battling a bug.
Hey pal — yeah, it bites for sure! I’m feeling better. I am going to force myself to get up and around tomorrow. Gotta get back to life! Still suffering with an ouchy rear end after all that biking? LOL – that would happen to me after ONE mile, let alone 25!