www.51in51days.blogspot.com is a blog about the journey of getting my life back
on track in the 51 days leading up to my 51st birthday on January 13, 2013.
DAY 8
Let me say right away, I'm not selling this product. I just needed a graphic do go with today's blog. And today's topic is.... Dieting. Yesterday's blog was about being open to the signs the universe were giving me, and expanding my luminous or energy body. Well today's topic is about the sign I get every time I look in the mirror, and my ever expanding waistline. I'm too heavy, plain and simple, and I have to start caring about myself. In my previous blogs I explained, well touched upon that I have had a hard year and I've been eating myself out of house and home for the past 12 months. Well almost 1 year to the day to when I began this year long smorgasbord, I began a diet. I started yesterday on the HCG diet plan. I have done this diet before, and lost 20 pounds. I need to lose another 20 pounds. Some people are against this diet, but I think it is safe and effective. I'm not one for slow diets, I never lose on slow diets. I only lose on crash diets. I know, I know, not good. But that is how I am. I had kept the weight off for 6 months without an issue until I started this year of self loathing. I usually lose about 1/2 pound a day on the HCG diet. I will stay on the diet for the next 40 days, almost until my 51st birthday. (FYI, I was referred to this diet by a health care practitioner) The diet recommends you only eat 500 calories a day. I was never able to sustain that, not even for one day. I typically ate around 900-1200 calories a day on the diet, and I still lost weight. I just stick to the food restrictions they suggest, which are pretty healthy. Certain fruits, most veggies and lean grilled fish, chicken and beef. Believe me, it's a lot better than Kit Kat bars and Fried French toast every morning. And since I'm short, 5'1" on a good day, the calorie restrictions are really not out of line for my size. I'm not a linebacker by any stretch of the imagination.
Norman (Chubsy Ubsy) Chaney
As I was thinking about dieting, I remembered a nickname that I have for myself when I feel fat. It's a joke, but I call myself Chubsy Ubsy. I got this name from a scene from one of the Little Rascals' shorts I saw as a kid. The actor's name was Norman Chaney, an American child actor who played Norman from 1929-1931 in 19 short films for Hal Roach Studios in the successful Little Rascals series. This young talented actor, and if you play the video above you'll see what I mean, had a glandular medical problem, which cut his life short at the age of 21. His life was very sad, yet he brought so much laughter and joy to so many through his gift of comedy. The shorts where he is featured are some of the funniest Little Rascal films, if not some of the best written and acted comedies of the era. The video above is a classic, and shows off Norman's early talent as a comedian. This kid was funny, and it's evident how and why he got cast.
Chubsy Ubsy professes his love for Miss Crabtree in Teacher's Pet,
click to watch the video
When I decided to research Norman for my blog, I found out how truly tragic his young life was. After Roach Studios did not renew his contract in 1931, his family decided Norman should not persue acting any further. When he died at the age of 21 in 1936, his mother was too poor to purchase his headstone. Shockingly Norman Chaney just recently received a proper headstone a few weeks ago on Nov. 10, 2012 due to a fundraising effort by a dedicated fan, Detroit Rock Musician MIKAL.
Norman Chaney in 1931 with
Jackie Cooper and some other cute cast members
After reading about this, I started to think how difficult life must have been for Norman. He was only 3'11" and weighed 113 lbs at the age of 14 when he first got hired by Roach. He was so short and round, he was playing much younger than he was. He only grew to 4'7". It got me thinking about weight in this society, and how obsessed we are with it. And height for that matter. The "friend" who I had a falling out with on Tuesday would always talk about others in terms of their size. "He's so tall and in shape." Oh "their daughter is so good looking and tall," "She's so beautiful and thin." I mean it was all about the looks with this woman, and she was not particularly any of those things in my opinion. Anyway, being tall and thin in this country is a badge of honor. Even back in the 1930s, I'm sure it was no picnic for Norman to be short and fat. It's not what people strive to be, even back then. But some people are just not born with tall and skinny genes. I wasn't. I've never really been heavy, and when I put my mind to it I can lose weight with relative ease. There is nothing I can do about my height though. But for Norman, he was short and fat. And his weight problem came from a severe glandular disorder that eventually killed him. Some people gain weight due to their eating habits, ie, me. If I had eaten even somewhat healthy for the last 12 months I would not need to diet now. But some people like Norman are just unfortunate to have a thyroid, hormone, or glandular problem that causes them to be obese. I've actually had doctors tell me these issues do not exist and it's all about diet and exercise. I have known people that have issues like Norman, so I know they really do exist. It's sort of like saying, "age is just a number." No, there are physiological things that cause you to feel and look a certain way. Not everything is in our mind.
So the next time you see someone fat, think about what they are going through, whether it be emotional, or a medical issue and have some compassion about their life's path. Sometimes as hard as you try you can't find a cure or heal fast enough, and you're just stuck with the hard knock hand that life gave you. For me, I can't change the fact that I'm short, but what I can change is not eating any more Kit Kat bars, at least for a while. As I have empathy for Norman and others who are heavy and struggle with their weight, I will try to have more love and compassion for myself and hopefully be able to make better food choices. The diet will be for the next 40 days, which takes me until a day or two before my 51st birthday. What a great present that will be to myself, to lose the weight I've gained over the last year of being sad. I promise to celebrate with a tasty, yet small slice of birthday cake.
Elissa is a freelance writer & graphic designer somewhere in Los Angeles.
P.S.
I could not play tennis with John today due to the rain that has lasted all week long. I will try again next Saturday, or maybe even tomorrow morning. I will keep you posted.
Until tomorrow and Day 8 of my blog....
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