by Madeleine KandoI first started loosing weight when I was 13. I had to bike 5 miles each way to school and I was 110 pounds but had other things to think about than worry about loosing a measly 5 pounds.
The trouble continued after I went through a physical fitness program and started my first job at a roller skating rink where I spent about 3 nights per week on roller skates. Hello, the next 5 pounds came off!
When I was 21 I lived in Spain for a while with a French roommate, Michelle. She was small and I admired her physique and it wasn’t too long before I shed another 5 pounds trying to emulate her petite stature.
So when I moved back to Holland I decided to shape up and started my first diet by following the typical Dutch milk/eggs/cheese/herring thing and cutting out every bit of vegetables I could. I got up to 140 pounds...for like a week! But I just couldn’t keep it up. I just couldn’t say no to those damn vegetables.
Of course, I knew that the key was to stay on the couch and watch tv. I locked the doors, threw away my health club membership card, drove everywhere I could and gave away my bike. But my weight went up and down like a yo-yo. Vegetables and fruits kept luring me back!
By the time I turned 30 I had had it. I surfed the internet for some weight gain motivation. And by pure chance I found this gem of a site: ‘STAYPUT’. This is one of the best things that has happened to me. I spent the better part of two days sitting (the site’s first recommendation) and reading the articles. I had hit the jackpot. I was going to gain every last bit of weight and keep it! I started with STAYPUT’S 4-day challenge, a balance of meats, milk, cheese, cookies and ice cream at every meal.
Since then I read labels religiously and many times decide the item isn’t worth the price if it doesn’t contain enough calories. I also finish everything that’s on my plate. After a couple of minor mis-steps along the way I am now 32 pounds heavier at my goal weight of 170 pounds!
So, STAYPUT, thank you so very much! You have changed my life. It can be done. leave comment here
4 comments:
Hi Madeleine,
It seems you are sending a message that being sedentary and not eating veggies and fruits is the cause of weight gain. But that's oversimplifying things, at least from my point of view. First of all, you are nearly 6 ft tall, so 160 lbs would be a normal weight, which means that even though you "stayed put," you still are not really overweight.
Also, you happen to have a fast metabolism, and only a minority of women do. Most of us have the opposite. Out of 12 women friends, only 2 (you, and another friend of mine) can eat whatever they want and never get fat. Metabolic rate is mostly genetic, although exercise raises it somewhat.
Since I have the opposite struggle, it's hard for me to relate to your essay. For 35 years, I've been eating the ideal diet: mostly vegetarian, whole, organic, local, in-season foods -- high fiber and low fat. Plus, I live on a farm and grow most of our food, so I get plenty of activity. Still, after menopause, I gained 15-20 pounds, and now I'm above the recommended Body Mass Index. Genetics play a huge role in tendencies toward being slim or being plump.
Hi Jan:
Thanks for you prompt reply. I hope you know that I wrote this essay to poke fun at all the deluge of weight loss advise that we get bombarded with. If you change the word 'gain' in the story with the word 'loose' you will see what I mean.
But of course you are right in your remarks. I never actually did work in a skating rink, but I did bike to school, like everybody else in Holland, plump AND skinny.
Congratulations! You did it! Well done you lucky devil. While so many of us out here are desperately trying to gain some weight and bismally fail at every attempt, you are giving me renewed hope. Thank you. I shall certainly follow your advice and imeidately join STAYPUT.
As for Jan, I agree, a lot of it has to do with individual make up, metabolism and all that.
Juliette:
STAYPUT has had too many requests for membership. But it has started to refer people to the 'JENNYFLAB' weight gain program. Good luck!
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