Where it all Began

Dieting. That's a nasty word to me. My life has been a rollercoaster of different diets ... but really, what is a diet?

If you want to use the dictionary definition:

Definition of DIET

1

a :  food and drink regularly provided or consumed

b :  habitual nourishment

c :  the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason

d :  a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight <going on a diet>

2

:  something provided or experienced repeatedly <a diet of Broadway shows and nightclubs — Frederick Wyatt>

 See (a) and (b) up there? The first two definitions describe a "diet" as simply a normal intake of food. But I think most of us consider the (c) and (d) definitions to accurately describe a diet. When you reduce your calorie intake to lose a little (or a lot) of weight.

To me, "diet" usually means some weird and wacky food plan that's very restrictive in terms of what you eat and how much you eat. At least, back when I started "dieting" that's what it meant to me. Right now, I'm nudging 60. I don't diet anymore. But I started on all those fanciful food plans way back when I was 13 and developed (or matured if you like) both physically, and emotionally.

From RomitaGirl

It all started because of boys. Well, I suppose not really. It started because of the world's view of how girls (women) should look. Thin, tall, pretty, curvy in all the right places ... yeah, well I had the curvy all right, but I'd never be tall (5' 4"), and I wasn't what you'd call "thin". At 13 I weighed about 130 lbs. Not terribly obese, but sure not thin.

What I wanted was to be every teenage star that appeared on the cover of all those teen magazines back then. What I wanted was to be like most of the girls in my class. I guess, what I really wanted was to be Barbie.

All those diets later ... I can honestly say that I never achieved any of those. And today, I don't really want those anyways.

As far as this blog goes, what I'll be sharing is what it was like to live through an amazing number of ridiculous diets. I can do that now, because when I look back on them I ask myself ... "what was I thinking?"

Vintage Barbies by RomitaGirl (flickr)