Born Round

It's been a while since I posted.  But the good news is that things feel back on track at home -- Little Guy napping well and no longer sick.  My conference is over and went well.  I've been exercising a lot and doing some helpful reading...

Born Round:  The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater.
Frank Bruni (NY:  Penguin, 2009).

I was walking past a display in Barnes & Noble and the cover of Born Round caught my eye.  It was on sale, so I swooped it up.  I'm glad I did.  I'll be honest that this autobiography/memoir moved a little slow sometimes, but it gave me a lot of food for thought (pun intended).

Frank Bruni was overweight from childhood and spent most of his young adult years chunky and consumed by yo-yo dieting.  He tipped the scales as morbidly obese while following the George W. Bush campaign as a journalist.  But by 2004, he was a restaurant critic for the New York Times (which often meant multiple gourmet dinners in one night) yet now maintained a healthy, steady weight.  I was intrigued.

Warning.  Plot spoilers ahead.

I read the book for fun, but of course I was looking for clues and hints too.  There were several things that seemed to help Bruni turn his life around:
1.  A Habit for Exercise -- In childhood Bruni swam competitively.  Although there were years without exercise, it seemed that when he was ready to shed the weight for good, the discipline and love of (or at least peace with) exercise was there for him.  Whether acquired early or late, a habit for exercise seems to be a crucial piece for a healthy life and steady weight.
2.  A Helping Hand at the Right Time -- After a particularly hurtful experience related to his out-of-control weight, a friend wrote a check for the cost of two sessions with her personal trainer.  Bruni's friend took the weight of deciding a particular course of action and researching a trainer off Bruni's shoulders.  It was enough to hook him on getting healthy.  It is inspiring to remember that a little help from outside can make such a difference.  (Friends who are cheering me on and/or sharing their journeys via comments or emails, I truly appreciate it!  In particular, thanks to AM for nudging me to post!)
3.  A Moderate Environment -- Bruni moved to Italy not long after starting to get his life on a healthy track.  He found the Italians ate well and enjoyed their food, but they ate slowly and put quality over quantity.  They didn't eat when they were bored, they rarely snacked, and they ate small portions.  After watching and fumbling along with their lifestyle for a time, it eventually became second nature for Bruni.  I can't move to Italy, yet I have friends who eat this way and I'm going to watch, practice, and learn!
4.  A True Absorption with Food -- Bruni grew up obsessing about food, yet he usually wolfed his food down.  As he began spending long evenings lingering over European meals and then later writing about food, he started to see food in the light of "investigation, education, and discovery."  (Pg. 265)  Food for food's sake.  Food as an art form to share with friends.  It opened up new worlds of enjoyment.

Those first four really ring true to me.  I experienced much the same when I lost sixty pounds and kept it off for many years.  But there are two more points I gleaned from Bruni's book.  And they are the ones that hit home the most right now....

5.  Steady and Sensible -- Bruni realized that his new job as a food critic meant constant contact with food...and lots of it....so the "black magic" of fad diets and quick reducing schemes weren't going to work.  Tomorrow was going to be just as food-filled and temptation ridden as today, so portion control and exercise was the only way to avoid weight gain.  "The postponements -- the lies -- couldn't be justified.  I'd have to be steady, and I'd have to be sensible."  (pg. 273)  This idea touched a nerve with me.  I'm not one of those people who doesn't know how to start getting healthy.  I'm not one of those people who knows nothing about nutrition or exercise.  I'm just really, really bad about putting it off until tomorrow.  "I'm too tired right now."  "I just want to relax."  "It was a hard day because ____."  If I'm honest with myself, though, I know that conditions are not going to be more perfect tomorrow.  If I just keep scrapping today in the hopes that tomorrow something will magically "click," I'm really fooling myself.
6.  Honesty -- Speaking of honesty, that concept is one of Bruni's conclusions.   He learned to be honest to himself about how miserable he was when he was unhealthy and self-conscious all the time.  Bruni also says, "The main difference between then and now wasn't determination.  It was honesty.  I didn't lie to myself the way I had in the past.  I especially didn't lie to myself about food."  (pg. 347)  I have to admit that I'm often dishonest about food in my own mind.  Spoonfuls eaten standing at the fridge don't count and neither do nibbles while preparing or putting away food.  I choose to forget how many "just a little bit" snacks I eat in a row.  I eat based on how I feel rather than on the basis of how much nutrition and fuel I need.  I put the blinders on to how many other ways there are to relax and de-stress besides food.

Comments?  Thoughts?