CONFESSIONS OF A FAT GIRL

Overweight on TV

What does this article teach us, boys and girls?

1. Overweight people are "average looking?"

2. We are not entitled to good looking bachelors.

3. We never use jacuzzis or get massages.

The idea is nice and it could just be the fault of the article's author, but I am sort of insulted by the implications....

Fox orders overweight dating series

'More to Love' will feature 'real women' as contestants

By James Hibberd

March 30, 2009, 01:00 AM ET

Fox is teaming with "The Bachelor" producer Mike Fleiss for a new dating-competition series that casts "average-looking" people.

The series, titled "More to Love," is billed as the first "dating show for the rest of us," throwing open its doors to overweight contestants.

"For six years it's been skinny-minis and good-looking bachelors, and that's not what the dating world looks like," Fox president of alternative Mike Darnell said. "Why don't real women -- the women who watch these shows, for the most part -- have a chance to find love too?"

The project has a similar format to "The Bachelor," where a group of woman compete for one man (producers describe him as a "Kevin James-type"). It marks the first time Darnell and Fleiss have teamed for a series in about nine years. The duo's previous dating show was the controversial, groundbreaking 2000 special "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?" which set the format template for ABC's "Bachelor" and a legion of imitators.

"More to Love" was inspired by the recent ratings success of "Bachelor" and the popularity of NBC's "The Biggest Loser," which Darnell credits with shattering an industry assumption that TV viewers only wanted to watch highly attractive people.

"This show is going to get a lot of people talking," Darnell said. "It may be a little controversial, but I think it will mostly be positive. This is so simple and so obvious, yet it has never been done."

Broadcast reality-dating shows such as the CW's "Beauty and the Geek" and NBC's "Average Joe" have featured less-than-handsome men but paired them with model-esque women.

"Most of the country isn't a Size 2," Fleiss said. "It's the dating show for the rest of us."

Contestants will do the sort of activities seen on "Bachelor," but producers suspect Jacuzzi or massage dates will take on a different perspective. "More to Love" will have makeover aspects -- when contestants wear ballroom gowns, for instance -- but Fleiss said the focus will not be on physical improvement.

"We want to send the message that you can be the size you are and still be lovable," he said. "We aren't going to thin these girls down so they can find love -- that's a backwards message."

But Fleiss has left open the possibility of twists. "More to Love" is casting, and no airdate has been set. For Fox, it marks a return to the relationship genre years after the network aired such shows as "Multi-Millionaire," "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" and "The Littlest Groom."

 

source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i4034a50ec696a005d8608d7be351f484

Quote of the Day

"I'm thinking of going into rehab. I'm not addicted to anything, but I think it's good way to jumpstart an acting career."

-Brent Spiner (on Twitter)

Singing the Praises of Proper Support

Oh thank you, dear readers, for you wisdom and knowledge of Lane Byrant bras because finally I feel the girls are in their proper place. LOL.

I'm always nervous to buy such things online but usually, what I do is, I buy a few in varying sizes, try on and keep what fits, send the rest back. But that costs me a fortune in extra S&H I don't need and this time, I decided to take all of your advice and go with my pressumed size alone.

So now I have three new lovely garments and wanted to let you all know, if some of you didn't already, that these are good, quality, plus sized bras anthey're not even gonna cost you an arm and a leg. They were totally reasonable, which I appreciate (I feel like a lot of plus sized bras manufacturers over-charge because they can with such limited competition).

  

These are the two I got. Both on sale for $30 each! Seriously, I've paid as much as $80 for a bra before (Wacoal, Chantelle and the like). I got the one on the left in red, the one on the right in black and sage. AND, might I add, they don't look like friggin' grandma bras. It's nice to retain a shred of feminimity when I can, ya know?

The red is my favorite. I should also add that for kicks, I got the matching underwear for each and I find it sort of silly and yet gratifying when my underthings match. Makes me walk just a smidge taller.

Quote of the Day

This is something I often do on my other blog but this was so funny I had to start the trend here as well.

So today's quote of the day is from blog reader Katie, who is trying out "20 lbs. in 30 days" from an article I posted on the 13th.

"I think bread (for me!) is like a very seductive boyfriend who is good in bed yet ruins my life if he moves in with me... If what this guy says is true I can still have naughty weekly trysts with my crusty ex, with no negative consequences provided I return to my perfectly nice, don't-mind-them-a-bit husband foods the next day.  That part sounds too good to be true!"

What a fabulous metaphor, Katie. Hope that possum comes out from under your refrigerator (and that is not a metaphor, she really is dealing with that right now).

Way to go! I think?

source: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b106199_kim_kardashian_doesnt_care_you_see_her.html

Kim Kardashian Doesn't Care If You See Her Cellulite

Thu., Mar. 26, 2009 8:35 AM PDT by Jennifer Cady

Complex.com

Kim Kardashian shares double cover duty on the new issue of Complex along with pasty robot man Kanye West. However, when the mag went to put the images of Kim K. up on their website, they first released an un-Photoshopped version only to replace it later with a retouched version.

Of course the side-by-side comparison began making the rounds on the Internet—like no one has ever heard that magazines airbrush celebrities before. But we live in 2009, so even the famous people can blog to remind us. Here's what Kim has to say:

"So what: I have a little cellulite. What curvy girl doesn't!? How many people do you think are photoshopped? It happens all the time!"

She continues...

"I'm proud of my body and my curves and this picture coming out is probably helpful for everyone to see that just because I am on the cover of a magazine doesn't mean I'm perfect."

However, she makes sure to note that she no longer requires fancy retouching. "At the same time as this Complex shoot, I was gearing up for my fitness DVD and you should see my thighs now!!! Haha!"

It probably would have been more encouraging had she left that part out, but at least she didn't join Jennifer Love Hewitt's Size 2 Club or reassure everyone of her waist size (ahem, Beyoncé).

Amusing Quote of the Day

I don't watch Lost however this quote made me laugh:

"Dear LOST, you rape my brain every week. But tonight you donkey-punched. Thank you...I think?"

I don't really get it however the term "donkey-punch" appeals to the 17 year old boy in me.

And that's a metaphor, gutter-dwellers.

Body Art

Since about 16, I wanted a tattoo. When I was in college, I figured out something I wanted and started to draw it. I finished the drawing long ago and then worked on it with Photoshop and it came out like this:

So, I got my tattoo almost two years ago (3/30/07). I discovered Zulu Tattoo just driving by it a few nights a week on my way to school. I looked them up online and they actually had a pretty great reputation. I picked out an artist from the website that I liked and made my appointment.

A few days before my appointment, however, my artist was let go. Not a good sign. But as a gesture, I was told Zulu himself would be doing my art but at the cost of the artist I'd previously chosen.

That didn't bother me at all! I couldn't believe my good luck, actually.

However when I showed up to my appointment, Zulu wasn't there. Instead, Paul was. However Paul assured me he'd apprenticed under Zulu and I didn't see why the owner of the shop would entrust me to someone he didn't have confidence in so I just went with it. Paul was an incredibly nice guy. We had a good time and between him and Meghan, whom I'd brought to distract me, I was not in a lot of pain and the experience was sorta nice.

This is how it came out:

 

Now, this photo was taken pretty soon after the tattoo was done so it's not healed all the way, but make no mistake, that's pretty much what it looked like. In other words, it doesn't look a whole lot like the photo I brought in. I don't think you can argue on that. 

But truly, I never had a regret. The colors and the flower meant something to me and I knew what it was. Paul had been super nice and I loved the studio and the experience had still been meaningful to me. 

Well, it's a couple years later and one day a couple weeks ago, I was skimming reviews on Yelp.com. My friend Marni is always teasing me I should post reviews more often so I started writing about a bunch of random places I'd been in my life. LOL. And then I decided to write about Zulu. I pretty much wrote what you read above-- that I'd liked the experience and Paul was very nice though sadly, my tattoo did not come out to well but that's life...

About 6 minutes after I posted my review, I got an e-mail from Zulu's wife, Khani. She's seen my review and wanted me to come in so Zulu could make things right. Free of charge.

I was floored. I couldn't believe it! I'd thought about getting the thing touched up but I couldn't really afford to do that. This was too good to be true. I was really excited.

And so this past Saturday, I went back to Zulu for my second appointment in two years to meet with the master. And he is awesome. First of all, the guy has style. He's a pretty tough looking guy, with tattoos on his face and a serious expression but actually, very warm, kind eyes. And he's dressed to the nines. He had pinstripe slacks on, a black vest, a dress shirt, and over his black dress shoes, he wore spats. I mean, who does that anymore? He was fabulous.

I felt sort of elite because I got to sit in his private studio, which is in an apartment above the shop. He has this so when he's working on celebrity clients, paparazzi can't park outside the windows of the shop and act ridiculous. And he played the soundtrack to Farinelli which is amazing and beautiful and oddly soothing.

Well, my tattoo is now amazing. When he was done and I took my first look, I was speechless and teary. I knew my tattoo was not great but I'd made my peace with it and that was that. I didn't know how truly bad it was until I saw how GOOD it was after Zulu worked on it.

That's the best photo I was able to get but you can see, much more clearly, that it's a flower, probably that it's a Gerber Daisy, and even though the purple petal edges had to take a backseat (there's still some purple in the outline but you can't tell in this photo), it looks so incredible.

And all for the cost of my $5 valet parking fee.

I am still very excited about it. I keep looking in the mirror and ove rmy shoulder to make sure it's still there. I can't believe the different when I hold the pictures of before and after side by side. 

My profound and sincerest thanks to Zulu and Khani and Catherine at Zulu Tattoo who have made me a very happy, giddy, fortunate girl this weekend.  And for the record, if you want a tattoo and happen to live in L.A.? I wouldn't send you anywhere else. :)

FAIL

I was inspired by one of my new favorite blogs, Fail Blog.

I ordered some undergarments from Lane Bryant.com. They came today. I opened the box and on top of the usual receipts, catalogs, etc. they enclosed was a big ol' coupon for a COOKIE website.

Seems a little counter-productive to me. Oh sure, they want me to stay this size so I'll keep wearing their clothes but advertisig a website that sells something unhealthy sort of seems like sprinkling a wee bit o' salt in the wound...

Lane Bryant? FAIL!

Fortitude

I realize there has been an extreme lack of posting in this blog. I've tried to compensate with articles and links you might enjoy but I know the substance hasn't been there and for this, dear readers, I apologize most sincerely.

It's just that I don't want to write unless I actually HAVE something to SAY. It's not enough that the blog lays empty-- it would be like cheating us all if I just wrote to take up space.

What's really going on is I'm in a rut. Does this have something to do with my approaching birthday? I doubt it. I've been in ruts AFTER May, for sure. But perhaps knowing I'm about to turn 30 just makes it more poignant.

I can sum it up like this:  This morning, putting on my deodorant, I raised my arm over my head and caught a glimpse of my upper arm at an ESPECIALLY unflattering angle and I thought for a moment, as I raised my other arm to match, that if I flapped hard enough, I might actually get some air between me and the floor... I chuckled to myself and then I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I was acting like an asshole and hated myself immediately.

And then I went on getting dressed for work as if this moment hadn't happened. I spent the whole day in a blur, because I've been very tired lately, and never once gave a thought to my fat arms.

This is what I do. Fleeting moments of mental fortitude followed up by fortified periods of denial and bliss.

Which, inevitably, lead to nights like this when I am exhausted and cannot sleep.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Well, inspiration has to strike me sooner or later. I'm sure of it. And by the way, do keep your e-mails and comments coming while I sit on my ass waiting for it because I love them so.

20 lbs. in 30 Days???

I found this fascinating...

How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise 1,651

CommentsWritten by Tim Ferriss Topics: Physical Performance, The 4-Hour Body

It is possible to lose 20 lbs. of bodyfat in 30 days by optimizing any of three factors: exercise, diet, or drug/supplement regimen. I’ve seen the elite implementation of all three in working with professional athletes. In this post, we’ll explore a variation of the “slow carb” diet as used by Dean Karnazes, an ultramarathoner famed for completing 50 marathons on 50 consecutive days in 50 different states. The most impressive part of this, for me, is that he did so, not with the typical anemic marathoner build, but with a well-muscled mesomorph body.

In the last six weeks, I have cut from about 180 lbs. to 165 lbs., while adding about 10 lbs. of muscle, which means I’ve lost about 25 lbs. of fat. This is the only diet besides the rather extreme Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD) that has produced veins across my abdomen, which is the last place I lose fat (damn you, Scandinavian genetics). Here are the four simple rules I followed…

Rule #1: Avoid “white” carbohydrates

Avoid any carbohydrate that is — or can be — white. The following foods are thus prohibited, except for within 1.5 hours of finishing a resistance-training workout of at least 20 minutes in length: bread, rice, cereal, potatoes, pasta, and fried food with breading. If you avoid eating anything white, you’ll be safe.

Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again

The most successful dieters, regardless of whether their goal is muscle gain or fat loss, eat the same few meals over and over again. Mix and match, costructing each meal with one from each of the three following groups:

Proteins:
Egg whites with one whole egg for flavor
Chicken breast or thigh
Grass-fed organic beef
Pork

Legumes:
Lentils
Black beans
Pinto beans

Vegetables:
Spinach
Asparagus
Peas
Mixed vegetables

Eat as much as you like of the above food items. Just remember: keep it simple. Pick three or four meals and repeat them. Almost all restaurants can give you a salad or vegetables in place of french fries or potatoes. Surprisingly, I have found Mexican food, swapping out rice for vegetables, to be one of the cuisines most conducive to the “slow carb” diet.

Most people who go on “low” carbohydrate diets complain of low energy and quit, not because such diets can’t work, but because they consume insufficient calories. A 1/2 cup of rice is 300 calories, whereas a 1/2 cup of spinach is 15 calories! Vegetables are not calorically dense, so it is critical that you add legumes for caloric load.

Some athletes eat 6-8x per day to break up caloric load and avoid fat gain. I think this is ridiculously inconvenient. I eat 4x per day:

10am - breakfast
1pm - lunch
5pm - smaller second lunch
7:30-9pm - sports training
10pm - dinner
12am - glass of wine and Discovery Channel before bed

Here are some of my meals that recur again and again:

Scrambled Eggology pourable egg whites with one whole egg, black beans, and microwaved mixed vegetables

Grass-fed organic beef, pinto beans, mixed vegetables, and extra guacamole (Mexican restaurant)

Grass-fed organic beef (from Trader Joe’s), lentils, and mixed vegetables

Post-workout pizza with extra chicken, cilantro, pineapple, garlic, sundried tomotoes, bell peppers, and red onions

Rule #3: Don’t drink calories

Drink massive quantities of water and as much unsweetened iced tea, tea, diet sodas, coffee (without white cream), or other no-calorie/low-calorie beverages as you like. Do not drink milk, normal soft drinks, or fruit juice. I’m a wine fanatic and have at least one glass of wine each evening, which I believe actually aids sports recovery and fat-loss. Recent research into resveratrol supports this.

Rule #4: Take one day off per week

I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat. Welcome to Utopia.

Source: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/