rose in bloom - Me and My Diets!

Me and my diets! 

So what did I try? I think it would be more to the point to ask what I didn't try. I tried Weight Watchers more than once; Gloria Marshall; Jenny Craig more than once; Dr Atkins; the Israeli; the High Fibre; the Banana; the Beer; the Grapefruit; the Ice-cream; the All Fruit/Vegetable; the Egg; the Bread; the Chicken Liver; the Chicken Soup; the Milk; even the Chocolate diets. The so-called Mayo (Clinic) diets. I followed the water diet, the strawberry flavoured powder diet, the orange fibre diet. The Ultra Slim diet; the dog biscuit diet. The Cabbage Soup diet, the Fish Diet, the Rice diet. I fasted two days a week and then lived on salads. What about the time I only had lettuce and silver beet for fourteen days in a row. I have trouble even looking at lettuce now!  Oh yes, I lost weight. But after the diet, what happened? You've guessed it, I stacked the weight back on, and more. More, more, more. The more diets I tried, the more weight I put on. With the weight came more guilt ridden feelings. 

I went jogging. I went power-walking. I went swimming which I found I enjoyed tremendously, but with my self confidence at such a low ebb, I couldn't keep it up. Why? Embarrassment at being fat and poured into a shapeless, swimsuit that did nothing for me but everything against me. Anyway, people laughed at me.  No matter what I did I still didn't lose weight. 

My diet sheets took over my life. The thought upon wakening was “oh, no, I've got to eat such and such today”, or “oh, I'll never be allowed to think about eating anything else EVER, EVER, EVER! ”. Each day a repetition of the day before. Nothing to look forward to. Always to be dieting. Always, always .......... Day in, day out, always, always .......... 

It wasn't only my body which ultimately gave up on me and my efforts. Because I was becoming increasingly irritable and confused, I started having more frequent headaches, dizziness, and nausea. I found my body aching and painful - intense back pains and then arthritis attacking all my joints. Swelling legs and ankles. Skin eruptions. Excessive perspiration - much as a result of nervous anxiety I'm led to believe now, rather than increased over-weight. I cried at the slightest reason. My doctors sent me to specialists. I was prodded, pummelled and pinched - experts told me I had to lose weight or else ........... Others told me I had to have weight loss surgery or stomach banding to make me stop eating; I should take painkillers, I should take medication for nerves, for this, that and the other.  

My objective? 

Because “dieting” became my life, and overwhelmed my life, I could see no further than the immediate now! 

What I gained! 

Certainly not weight-loss, and certainly not the gaining of self esteem

"Rose In Bloom" - © Copyright 2002-2020, Rosemary Parry-Brock, Australia

(Please bear in mind this booklet was first printed in the 1990s.  Compare that with today's attitudes.)

Copyright © R Parry-Brock, 2002 

Reprinted 2010

Reprinted 2012

Reprinted 2014

Reprinted 2017

Published on Blogger © Rosemary Parry-Brock, 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this concept

or publication may be reproduced; stored in 

a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form 

or by any means electronic, mechanical, 

photocopying, printing, scanning, recording, 

CD, DVD, USB or otherwise, without the prior 

permission of the author.  

ISBN 09577809 4