Fat Woman Walking

The author and her husband before Weight Watchers Mother's Day 2016 ____________________________ After months and months at a standstill, WW Freestyle has started working for me again. This is not a random occurrence, for I have made two significant changes: (1) I have re-evaluated how Freestyle can work for me specifically. For example, I have accepted the fact that some zero foods cannot be zero points for me, such as corn. I have gone back to counting it. Also, I am very careful about how much I use as 0-points food. After three small servings of fruit, I now start counting any additional fruits. I weigh all fish, chicken and beef and limit them to 2-3 ounces at lunch and 4-5 ounces at dinner, less if it’s beef, salmon (or any high fat fish), or ham, then it’s no more than 2/4. I count points for additional ounces of fish and chicken (Except steamed shrimp – I will eat up to six ounces without counting points). Like many people prone to gaining weight, I ha

Built Bars and Quest Bars _______________________ As someone who must constantly monitor weight, I am always looking for tasty products that can help me to lose and maintain a healthy weight. I have discovered two protein Bars that I like: Built Bars and Quest Bars .  Built Bars: Of the two, I prefer Built Bars, which has a better flavor overall and a real dark chocolate coating. Stats: 3 WW points; 110 calories; 15 grams of protein; 4 grams of fat (2.5 saturated); 6 grams of fiber; 4 grams added sugar (just enough to offer satisfaction for my enormous sweet tooth). Pros : a rich flavor, a substantial size, lower calories and overall fat, and the same stats for all flavors across the board. The bar tastes like a candy bar, a definite plus! I feel full after eating a Built Bar (with a salad or fruit). Built Bars can be a meal replacement or a snack. For consumers with nut allergies: no nuts and manufactured in a nut-free facility. Cons : Some consumers may not lik

The author reading excerpts from Fat Woman Walking College English Association, New Orleans, March 2019 ____________________________________ Hey, body, where are you when I need you? Body: You called? Me: Where have you been for the last year? Body: Watching helplessly as you packed on 20 pounds. Me: You have betrayed me. Body: How so? Me: You made me gain weight. (Body laughs.) Me: What’s so funny? Body : You’re delusional. I didn’t feed your face. Me: (Pouty.) I didn’t cheat all that much… Body: How about those three servings of Bananas Foster in New Orleans? Me: That was a special case; I was at a conference, and it was there . Body: And the Jambalaya …  Me: Hey, I only ate one helping of that. Body: If the line hadn’t been so long, you would have gone back for more. You made up for it with the King Cake .  Me: I had only one Sprite and rum. Body: And I commend you for that. My point: when you overfeed me, the food has to

The Author with Auntie, Summer 1968 _____________________________ “D IET.” Can you tell me how that word makes you feel? Oh, Lord. Don’t tell me you’re a Gestalt... No, Ms. Lee. Eclectic. Dabs of Freud, Jung, Horney, Skinner, Rogers, Ellis, and ‒ yes ‒ some Perls. I’d hate to think I’ve traveled all the way into my inner depths just to find a Cuckoo in a hot tub.... I like to think that I take the best of what psychiatry has to offer and give to my clients what they need. Now, then, where were we? “Diet.” Ah, yes. You were going to define that word for me. Well, maybe to ordinary people, “diet” is just another word in the English language, having one or two meanings, the primary denotative being, “to cause to take food” as a verb, and “food or drink regularly provided or consumed” as a noun. Then there is that lesser denotative meaning, a dieter’s term, which has to do with eating by prescribed rules established by doctors, nutritionists, families, peers, frie