Dear Friends,
Image courtesy of VintageAdBrowser.com
I held my breath as I stepped on the scale this morning. How much “damage” did the trip to Tucson cause? I let out a sigh of relief. Although I was a bit behind schedule, I was halfway to my goal for the month. You see, I’ve stopped thinking in terms of how much total weight I need to lose–which overwhelms me–and am focusing on one month at a time. The plan seems to be working.
What am I doing? I’ve nicknamed it “My Victory Garden Way of Eating” and is based on The Basic 7 recommendations and Betty Crocker’s Meal Planning guide that I wrote about last January. I’m making sure that I am eating lots of fruits and vegetables and am more mindful of the starches that I eat. Other than that, I am eating whatever real food that I want in moderation. And, of course, I’m moving my body 30-60 minutes every day. Not hardcore workouts. But get my heart pumping and make me sweat workouts. I want a feminine body…not one of those six-pack ab and no waistline bodies that famous women seem to be sporting these days.
Well, you know that our charm school guide, The John Robert Powers Way to Teenage Beauty, Charm, and Popularity, has been telling us “how to eat for beauty.” He gives to us “Model Reducing Tips: Nine ways to make dieting easier and more effective.” As I read it, I couldn’t help but think how timeless his recommendations made in 1962 are. In fact, I think I read some of these on a cover of tabloid magazine at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago! (Okay, so maybe I took it off of the rack to skim through it while waiting in line….)
Model Reducing Tips:
- Eat Slowly~The longer it takes to eat, the more food you think you’re eating.
- Drink plenty of water~Water has no calories and will satisfy your thirst as well as a carbonated drink does
- Cut down on salt (salty foods)~Too much salt gives us that bloated feeling
- Start a meal with clear soup~Reduces your appetite for minimum calories
- Trim your meats~Eat lean to be lean
- Say “no” to fried foods~ Frying foods jumps the calorie count way up
- Skip the sauces~ You save a staggering number of calories
- Eat plenty of raw fruits and vegetables~ The extra bulk makes them filling and satisfying for a great calorie investment
- Easy on the starches~One serving a day provides the necessary nutrition
One thing I’ve noticed is that he rarely uses the word “diet.” At that time, diet meant the food that we ate. If we wanted to lose weight, we “reduced.” I like that and wished we still used that terminology.
What about you? Any thoughts on his recommendations?
Best,
Dr. Julie-Ann
PS: I invite you to join me at Dr. Julie-Ann’s Year of Positive Thinking. It is an experiment to see how my life will change (or IF it will even change) if I put into practice the positive thinking teachings from the early to mid-20th century.
Twitter: Lidian
I think that these are excellent tips – timeless, really. Just good sense, but not flashy enough for a lot of modern diet plans. Dieting the retro way makes a lot of sense (except for the stranger gelatin salads, of course)
I don’t know…some of those strange gelatin salads are excellent appetite suppressants….
Those are good tips. I wonder if we can add to that list. No eating between meals. If you crave “a little something sweet,” eat it at mealtime. Close the kitchen after supper. Don’t eat before going to bed.
You know, Dr. J., I’m somewhat older than you and other regular visitors. I just love the concept of the “modern retro woman.” However, I’m going to be honest here and say that the ’60s and ’70s are not my favorite eras because I was there. They were my “coming of age” years and the memories are not all pleasant. I also see them as the years when the fabric of the home began to erode causing confusion for the stay-at-home wife/mother and those who still cherished the home arts. I believe that women should prepare for a career outside the home and these days, families can hardly make it unless both work. At the same time, I don’t believe in devaluing the importance of the home, and to me, that was the message in the ’60s and ’70s.
I have family correspondence from the 1930s wherein I find reference to the word “diet” to indicate restricted eating to lose weight. In 1958, the day before I turned nine, my pediatrician placed me on a doctor recommended “diet” to lose weight. I was not to eat anything that didn’t appear on that sheet. We have come light years in understanding eating plans since that day. I guess I’m grateful to my mother for teaching me the importance of keeping weight under control — something she didn’t have to do for her older daughters — but it was a traumatic experience nevertheless.