Discretion IS apparently key....Checking in.

As you know from Friday's Post, I have been trying to find my inner French Girl. Well I have been working on chapter on this last few days, and I will discuss that come Friday as we move on with the "study" of the book. It has really become an quiet little influence in the back of my thoughts and actions since reading the first chapter and doing a post about it.

I will fess up, I could not wait till this Friday to read Chapter 2. I could not sleep last night, I do not know if it was hormones, it is close to that time. Too warm, had to close the window in the middle of the night because neighbors were up smoking and it wafted in . Or just one of those nights I get from time to time....too many to even count..all related to my Fibro and the side effects it has on certain things. But the book was there, on my bedside table. So I picked it up, and my notebook and pen and moved onto reading the next chapter.

This Chapter, and I will not go into all of it, but it was about the body. Our body image, how we deal with our own views on it. It also touched upon American's obsession with what we eat, how much we eat, when, where, every morsel often being recorded. That we also obsess about our weight, measurements/body shape. And of course exercise. THEN we talk about it!!! It is everywhere! All over TV, from ad's to complete shows. There are blogs, there is magazines, there is web sites and chat groups. I am guilty of partaking in all of the above. Most American women are at one point in time. Apparently, even with the book French Women Do Not Get Fat      ,

which of course was really written for American Women, about a French woman that came to America and put on weight (if I recall from when I read it ); there is actually French women who come in all shapes and sizes, even if we typically think of them as perfectly slender. They do not live in active wear, unless it is for fashion. There is only a small part of the population that actually go to a gym, most choosing to gain exercise , like me, putting one foot in front of the other. The biggest thing I gained from reading this section of the book was that they do not talk about it. IF they do talk about it, they use discretion.

    

They do not obsess about it , that is for sure. I put the book down, thinking to myself, "EEEK GHADS" I have a check in post every Tuesday. This clashes with what I am posting about on Fridays. So my mind racing, I decide to blog about it. Talk about it of course. After all I am an American , I am only trying to perhaps add a bit of that French girl 'je ne sais quoi' to my daily life and personality. I already know I am going to really fail on certain lessons from this book. It is the nature of being an American , and well of being a blogger. 

I have also been reading Eat , Pray , Love. I am on the Love part. Now there is nothing about discretion in this book, NOPE! The authors life , all of it is ( and forgive the pun) an open book. She is American after all. Now I LOVED the "Eat" section. I had actually been living my life like that for the last nearly two and half years. I ate what I wanted, I savored it all, and I counted nothing and I just stopped wearing my jeans when they no longer fit. I walked to eat more. I really enjoyed life and took pleasure in each bite. But the reality of it was I was hurting my health. I had to take control. I still wanted to enjoy all my favorite foods...but instead of eating them in huge portions and all day, I dialed back. For me I found, that at this stage of life, writing things down was not going to work. I did not want to loose that pleasure of eating. I did not want to make it what I obsessed about all day. So perhaps with all the health issues and age related issues, I would not loose as fast, but at least I would not be obsessing. That is where check in Tuesday came in. 

I decided to share my journey, just a snap shot, and if someone related or wanted to follow along on the journey then perhaps it would help them. If not, then it was a way for me to get out my feelings and frustration in a journal form. I had no idea it was portraying a typical American stereo type. I hate being a type of anything. To me it was just what I had always done. Be it when I was in Weight Watchers, or going to a gym all the time, or belong to sparkpeople.com   . I was doing what has always worked for me . I became accountable. 

I am perfectly proud to be an American. I just want to say that, so that you do not get the wrong idea and think perhaps by doing French Girl Friday, and doing this post about how they view things dealing with weight and food. I think because I am not going to follow the book to the T in my life, it is ok to not be so perfect with my discretion. I mean being who I am ( Chatty Cathy) and a woman ( most of us like to gab and spill the beans...let's be truthful) and especially being a blogger , IF I was discreet, well then I would not be me and well this blog would not exist. So ...WALA problem, if there was one , solved. I can embrace somethings and let others just be. 

So in that spirit , I have lost a pound in the last week. I do not know if it will stick, but I am doing the happy dance. I am at 127.2, and I have not seen this weight in over two years! My measurements have not changed. I am ok with that, I know they will not till I drop, if I drop, another 5 pounds. OR if I all of a sudden became a gym rat ...UM yeah , not happening. BIGGEST NEWS..... I am now more comfy with tucking my shirt in and I have to wear a belt with my shorts....OH and my pooch is smaller ( so much for discretion ) !!!!