Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Fat Free Fad of the 90's...


The Hump Day Blog Hop


Yes, I was a child of the 80's.

It was wonderful.  We had Big Aqua-net sprayed hair, neon everything, George Michael singing "Careless Whisper", Hammer pants, acid wash jeans & Kirk Cameron as Mike Seaver... just to name a few things.


& then I became 18 at the beginning of the 90's.  I actually graduated high school in 1990.  So 'life' began for me in the 90's.

I talked about this before (maybe?) but I have always had weight issues.  Not that I was disgustingly obese, but I was the heavy girl.  The one in school that made everyone laugh, but never was anyone's date.  I was the friend to everyone, girls & guys.  I was the life of the party, but not the focus.  I was the girl who had limited supply of clothes because to buy plus-size clothes in high school, there was only one store & Lane Bryant was still is expensive, so I would have to get lucky that some clothes ran larger. 

Here's a good example of that. I had one pair of jeans that fit me ... & my mom actually had to take me to a tailor to get them fitted for me.  After a few years, being a teen & wanting to wear jeans every day, they wore out quick.  I remember they wore out in the knees & our school had a strict policy on wardrobe.    No holes at all in jeans.  A teacher saw the hole in my pants & sent me to the office.  I was horrified.  What was I going to do?  I had no other pants to wear except dress pants.   These are my memories of high school - not fancy prom dresses or football games.  It is what it is. 

So when I graduated high school, & feeling so 'adult', I wanted to loose weight. I joined Jazzercise at the ripe age of 18 & loved it.  I then wanted to watch my food & the big thing was the Susan Powter idea of fat free... it was a huge craze....

Anyone else remember the whole STOP THE INSANITY thing?

I went all out fat free.  Don't give me peanut butter, but I could eat a whole bag of gummy worms.  That stuff had zero fat on the label. It's a go.

I was insane with the food. 

My husband remembers when we dated & my salad came out with cheese on it, I sat & cried, like real tears, at the table.  I took this fad seriously.

& let me tell you - it worked.  I dropped 65 lbs!  I was the smallest I ever was in my life.  I could shop anywhere, wear anything.  On my wedding day, my dress was a size 8 - the only single digit size I ever wore in my life.

Well, here's time zooming by....

Life changes, fads change, weight changes...

I've gained back all that weight & yes, it effects me now.  Not like it did when I was in high school. But it does effect me in different ways.

& I know I complain a lot about it & talk a lot about it.  Mainly because I take nutrition & fitness so seriously now.  Enough to know what's IN foods & not just the fat gram count on a box. 

So I was taken back a little bit when I got an email today that said that anyone that knows me knows I'm not happy with my weight since "its all you talk about" .... OK... well, I didn't realize that....


& then I was told that the Fat-free diet I was on years ago worked - why not do it again?

Good question... why don't I do fat-free again?

I think because with the weight gain & the age, I learned wisdom on food.  Maybe I don't apply it all in my life correctly, but I know what is in fat-free food.  Junk.  It's all artificial sweeteners & full of stuff that, I personally feel, messes up a system.

I have read articles that people that did the whole fat free thing, have gained it back plus some, because why?  It's not a healthy way to loose weight.  It was just that - a fad.

I honestly believe it messed up my metabolism.  Being in my 40's doesn't help either. 

So no, I know it worked once on me... but that was 24 years ago. My body isn't the same.  Food isn't the same.  My knowledge of food isn't the same.  I know how I eat isn't perfect, but I do know the difference between junk & natural & organic now. 



Did you ever do a diet fad?
 
Did it work?
 
Do you want to do it again?

9 comments:

  1. Oh diet fads....I hate most of them honestly. I do admit that I started my weight loss journey on Jenny Craig, but only did that for 2-3 months before I learned enough to finish the rest myself. Weight loss is definitely about calories in vs calories out but healthy eating is more than that; it's about clean eating as well. Fruits/veggies/whole grains/etc. and balancing everything so you have your calorie intake for the day while still not eating crap. Fads come and go and weight loss using said fads often can come and go as well. A healthy long term lifestyle change is about learning the truth and putting it into action! :0)

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  2. Oh giiiiiirrrrl I was the QUEEN of fad diets. And sure it worked. For a time. My weight was like a roller coaster my whole life. I would eat nothing...and then everything and then freak out at the weight gain and eat nothing again.

    The most stable it has been is in the past year when I've actually allowed myself to eat and exercise like a normal person and not all obsessive one way or the other. I still do like some fat free stuff though (mostly dairy things like milk and cottage cheese, but I also eat organic when it comes to those).

    By the way I don't think I've ever noticed you really complaining about your weight so that person who said that can kick rocks.

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  3. First of all, that was mean. Second, every person is different and things work differently for everyone and I think you said that perfectly. And third, this is your slice of the internet you can say/do whatchu want girl! *hairflip* *zsnap* But seriously, I don't think you complain about your weight.
    xo Krissy @ Sneakers and Sequins

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  4. I never did a fad diet but I can remember my sister doing the cereal diet before school dances. She seriously only ate cereal for a week or 2 before the dance to look good in her dress. I thought she was crazy! I keep saying I wish that instead of calories and fat content companies would put nutrients as the main focus on their nutrition labels.

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  5. I've never even thought about doing a fad diet.

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  6. Oh yes, I've done them all!
    Ok, why the heck would someone email you and say that??? Was it a 'friend' or a blog reader? That just makes me mad! You can talk about whatever you want, and who are they to say differently?? And, you very rarely, if ever talk about your weight. I've never even noticed.
    I don't even remember EVER being a size 8...maybe someday, I can dream!

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  7. I have never been on a fad diet, but know people that have. As soon as they get off of it they gain their weight back. As long as you are eating healthy, fats are a good thing. -L

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  8. I was class of 1990 also! I hear you on the 40's. I used to carry my weight in my hips. It seems like as soon as I turned 40, it all migrated up to my stomach! Add that to doing Whole 30, which I'm sure jackhammered my metabolism...totally get where you're coming from.

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  9. Can look at my blog for nutritional facts of low fat, and fat free food at grocery stores.

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