Happy 2014, Tushkateers!  How y’all doing?  So far, so good?  Maybe?  For those 60% who are experiencing “The Freeze,” is it cold enough for you?  OMG!!!  Just writing about it makes my fingers cold!   Please know that we (Our Lady of Weight Loss, me and my blooming amaryllis) are sending warm thoughts, and a link to my very funny video, entitled “The Freeze Your Ass Off Diet.”  Laughter warms the body and soul, and it is an oldie but goodie, for sure! 

Speaking of oldies but goodies, just the other day when I was downtown at The Incubator (formerly known as the art studio; renamed because I find that I think and incubate ideas when there like mad), thumbing through a stack of vintage magazines, primarily from the 1960’s, looking for artful images that inspire, I came across an article from Good Housekeeping, September 1963 entitled: 

YOU & YOUR DIET:  All the News to Keep You Fit and Trim!
Ten commandments to help you reduce successfully.

My first thoughts was, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”   Well, actually my first thought was, “Gee, I wonder of Dr. Oz read the same article before he wrote his gaggle of YOU books.”  🙂  Then, I reviewed the ten commandments! 

Bottom line, the basics of permanent weight loss have been out there for decades, and yet, we are still looking for a magic bullet.  (See my gallery piece for Beliefnet.com entitled, “Extreme Food Diets.” A fun, wise and utterly useful read.)  So…without further ado…

Here, Good Housekeeping, giving it to you straight up; no playful wording, telling it like it is:

Ten Commandments to Help You Reduce Successfully.  

Only your own zeal to lose weight and your willingness to fight the temptation of good food will bring success in reducing.  To help you stick to a rigid regiment, Good Housekeeping’s Bureau proposes these 10 commandments:

1.  Be sure your diet is deficient in nothing but calories; all other essential must be in correct amounts and proportions.

2.  Avoid skipping meals.  Overeating usually follows in the wake of hunger pangs.

3.  Deviate as little as possible from sound, normal eating habits.  It will be lots easier to stay on your diet and not regain lost pounds.

4.  Eat a minimum of 1,200 calories a day (1,500 to 1,600 for people doing hard, physical work).  This should allow for a weight loss of 1.5 to 2 pounds a week–fast enough when you consider how long it took to acquire unwanted pounds.

5.  Cut down overall, rather than eliminating or emphasizing any particular food.  Remember a sound reducing diet is never freakish.

6.  Exercise daily–even if only a brisk walk.

7.  Eat slowly.  Not only will you really taste and ejoy your food, but the stomach will have time to signal when you’ve had enough.

8.  Stay busy so boredom doesn’t tempt you to overeat.  Evening hours can be a dieter’s downfall.

9.  Keep your lost weight lost–otherwise the job is only half done.

10.  Resign yourself–dieting may be forever.  As you grow older, caloric demands decrease, so start now to review your eating habits.

Well, what do you think?  What do you hear? What resonates most? Any insights?  Share, share, share!  Join Our Lady of Weight Loss’s KICK in the TUSH CLUB/FB for scintillating conversation and for mad support! 

Wishing you a spectacularly sunny week!  Inside and outside, for sure, but with particular emphasis on the inside sunny!

Spread the word–NOT the icing,

Janice Taylor
wise * fun * utterly useful

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