Fat Vegans 101 - from the inside out

Fat vegans - we know who we are. Dr Mcdougall has a whole chapter in his latest book, The Starch Solution, called simply, Fat Vegans. Ouch - not popular. I didn't like it either. I could debate his points, but that wouldn't win my anything in my constant struggle with being one.

So apologies in advance if this post offends. This is my truth about being a fat vegan with an eating disorder, and maybe some of it is yours, and sometimes, the truth hurts.  

It's never easy being fat

So what's the big deal? Anyone who's fat has their share of problems. But it can be hard to be fat and vegan because: 

Vegans are supposed to be thin

Everyone knows that vegans are skinny and weak! And the truth is that vegans and vegetarians are thinner than average. Vegans and nonvegans will make generalisations about veganism and weight loss. What is wrong with me, the vegan who is not skinny?

Vegan advocacy

I feel like a poor role model for the vegan lifestyle. It can be uncomfortable to spread the word when I am spreading over my seat, even knowing that I have lost weight successfully and kept most of it off. I dream of a professional role in food advocacy, but I know my advice could be ridiculed and dismissed at my current weight.

Vegan food porn

Vegans are on a mission to show everybody how amazing vegan food is (and it is). We want to dispel the annoying but persistent myth that food is boring if you're vegan.

Vegans constantly share pictures and recipes of their latest amazing creation...far more often than omnivores. And it's usually the gorgeous chocolate cake, "cheesy" lasagna, and tofu burgers.

Vegan gatherings

Vegan solidarity naturally gravitates toward food. We all have to battle in the nonvegan world to find suitable food, so when we get together, we celebrate our shared delicious all-vegan food (see above).

Yes, veganism is about much more than food...but we don't throw vegan shoe parties.

Food addiction

Vegans love food, and so do I. But for my health and happiness, I need to think less about food. I especially need to think less about chocolate cake, "cheesy" lasagna, and tofu burgers.

An alcoholic or cigarette addict can just not have alcohol or a smoke ever again. I can't just not eat. Well, I could and some do: people in treatment for severe eating disorders often report themselves as vegetarian (1/3 to 1/2) But that's not the answer.

So what can I do?

Get plant-strong

Vegans are not all about your health - in fact a vocal and popular expert camp argues that human health is a lesser issue, or even a barrier to the vegan cause.

I don't go a week without hearing some variation: how selfish and shallow it is compared to animal rights, or how it's not really vegan, to care about your own health. (Not surprisingly, I also have an opinion.) 

So look to plant-strong nutrition and health gurus rather than vegans. Their recommendations are 99 to 100% vegan anyway, so vegans hardly have to flex our well-developed modification muscles.

Plant-strong experts:

Dr McDougall, Dr Esselstyn and Rip, Dr Greger, Dr Campbell, Dr Barnard, Dr Klaper, Dr Popper, Jeff Novick...

They have published so much free information that you can become an expert too.

Get expert help

There are vegan advocates who have never struggled against gaining weight. They may not get it - some will be casual or even cruel about the power of the vegan diet to cause easy weight loss. But there are experts out there who have fought our battles.

• Fitness: Lani Muelrath really knows how to get your body through the hurdles.
• Cooking: Chef AJ. Again, plant-strong recipes are your new best friends.

Get a life

Food is a basic fulfilment. But when I start using it to fulfill all my needs because my inner child thinks that food is the only way to feel good, something needs to change.

Find a happy healthy habit away from food: exercise, declutter and donate, volunteer, play with the kids... When that habit is no longer exciting, find another exciting fulfilment. Repeat and enjoy.

Get a support group

Find (or start) a group who will help keep you on track. This can be in person or online. Stay connected, so you don't become isolated in a world full of trigger foods.

Limit food-related vegan activities

This is a tough one, because I love getting together with vegan friends. But I'm fighting for my life here. Or maybe I'm fighting because my daughter recently found a box full of my pretty dresses under the bed, and I had to tell her why I couldn't wear them.

In the same way an alcoholic shouldn't visit bars, I need to stay out of rich food environments. My friends will understand.

And the rest...

Standard dieting tips can also help. Mindfulness, brushing my teeth to signal I'm done eating, drinking plenty of water, drinking green tea, writing a food journal, etc.

Be aware that all these methods have a honeymoon period. Be ready with another plan for when you start cheating.

There is no one solution to this complicated problem. This story is not done. I welcome your contributions.

Secondhand Smarts - next nursing nightgowns

It's time for another chapter in the continuing story of my triumphs in secondhand shopping...

Out with the old...

These have been my winter nightgowns for 6 years. 

Back then, I was thrilled to find them in the (retail) shop.  I'd wondered if my only choices for nightwear I could breastfeed in were floral flannel or spendy specialist gear.

I give them full marks for accessibility and funky colour. Those numbers even sparkle!

But buttons have been pulled away by twiddly and ever-stronger little fingers, holes are gaping wider, and the fabric is so stretched that I hardly need to unbutton anymore - a bit chilly on the chest in wintertime! 

They've been exposed to every bodily product you can name. They're good only for rags...

Hmmm.  Maybe time for a family cloth experiment?!?!

In with the new...

Serendipity sent me to search in a different local charity shop than my usual. 

There, neatly hanging on the rack, were these three cutie-patooties in perfect condition...

My daughter's favourite is the one with the cats. (I predicted that, even though there was a pink one.)

DH thinks they look like the Sushi Cats; DS is not convinced. 

Total price: $12

I think the old nightgowns that I bought retail cost me $15 each.  And seemed cheap compared to other retail choices.

Why shop anywhere else?

The 99% don't need models

This controversial story about model sizes is the news of the day on my social networks - opinions range from "I still prefer skinny women" to "it shouldn't matter what size you are as long as you're healthy" and anywhere you like in between.

Statistics prove that model sizes have been getting skinnier and skinnier, and the outrage goes into a stampede.

Many of us care deeply about our body's health and attractiveness. Many in the vegetarian and vegan world enjoy that their food helps them increase their health and attractiveness.

And there's no question that the pictures we see influence what we consider beautiful.

But there's a gigantic assumption behind this controversy - so let's question it.

Why do we have models?

It could be....

 They help us choose our clothes by showing us what the clothes look like.

Well, this is the only possible excuse there could be for the entire modelling industry.  If only it weren't a total con.

At any size, a model doesn't look like me...or you

For the 99%, no model is your size or shape.  S/he has been picked specifically to look really good in clothes and in pictures.  When s/he wears clothes, they don't look like they will on you.  And that's before posing, lighting, makeup, hairstyle, and airbrushing.

The only thing a model sells is a fantasy - a hope that you will look that good if you bought those clothes.

It works - advertisers know it.

At a logical level, most of us know the truth.  That model does not help you pick clothes that suit you.  But that professional image goes straight through your logical brain without touching the sides and makes you want what you never needed and will not get.

To your health and happiness

Of course, pursue your own best road to a healthier body and life.

But that doesn't include an argument over anorexic models vs overweight (average) models  They're all unreal commercial images, unworthy of your personal aspiration and acceptance.  There are lots of beautiful people in the real world, and that includes you!

If you are concerned about our runaway body image problems, stop supporting the industries who use models.  There are enough good-quality and attractive secondhand clothes to get you through the rest of your life. 

You really don't need to see what they look like on the model first.

Workout #1 really worked!

I've been following my own advice.

As suggested in Productive Workouts, I tried on all the clothes I owned.  It took time and commitment.  And look at the results...

I thought I'd done a good job of clearing out clothes already.  But trying them all on in a short time worked better because I could:

• really see and feel if the clothes fit
• make firm comparisons: which clothes are better or which I have too many in a type

Two of these shirts were actually in my current active wardrobe - but although they are good quality and comfortable, they are unflattering because of size and cut (and I only allow that in my exercise clothes).

And as I hoped, this exercise added extra motivation for improved fitness, since there's nothing like the nostalgia of remembering how you used to love wearing that.

Naughty bits

I also had fun rediscovering my lingerie collection.   Yes, you don't have to be a size 6 to enjoy these! 

I tried everything on and moved what I want to keep from the storage box into a drawer (emptied by previous decluttering).  I even found a short lingerie wrap that I can use as a summer dressing gown for a bit of well-deserved luxury.

Another triumph for Shopping At Home!

5 Productive New Year's Workouts

Resolved to have a fitter New Year?  Here are some free holiday workouts that leave you with more than just an endorphine rush.

Caution:  Don't try all of these workouts in one day without medical advice.

1.  Try on all the clothes you own - a foolproof way to get rid of a few things and step down from holiday eating. 

Hey, the workout's not done until you've folded and put away everything!

2.  Empty your worst storage closet, declutter, and replace.

3.  Get in the garden - check out container gardening if you have no garden space (those big pots are great for for weightlifting).

4.  Clean the fridge and pantry.

5.  Play tag with the kids (or other fun-lover of your choice).

Happy New Year, everyone!

Decluttering - thinking big and sewing it up

My grandmother bought the latest model sewing machine some decades ago and put it to very good use.  She loved to sew, and we still have a few of the baby clothes she sewed when we were young.

In another millennium, in another hemisphere, I am not using it at all.

No, I'm using it to hold up stuff on its way out of the house.  It's built into a quite nice solid wood table on wheels, and takes up a small table's share of room.

It's nice, potentially so useful, and sentimental as well, so I have kept it.  I do not love to sew.  It's Living the Life You Have all over again (instead of the one I wish I did).

If I want to have an occasional sewing machine, just in case, to show the kids how it's done, this is not the machine for me.  I can easily buy a compact sewing machine...

IF!

Serendipity

I did some research on TradeMe to price the machine (after the obCheck with the rest of the family), but then stalled again.  Freecycle saved the day:  "Wanted: sewing machine..."

Nice guy picked it up yesterday, and the new owner says she loves it.  Grandma Eileen would be pleased, I'm sure.

As a bonus, I also released a small stack of sewing manuals.

Dollars and sense

New sewing machine?         $1 reserve or $30 buy now on TradeMe

Old sewing machine table?  $unknown, satisfaction guaranteed

Brand new clear space?      Priceless

Decluttering catchup

I wouldn't want to get behind on displaying all the items leaving our home for better homes...

I was given a beautiful crystal vase for my birthday, so I'm able to release the terracotta urn.

Since we have fewer things, I don't need these stacking storage baskets.  They are not my favourite choice in the first place as they seem to be pile attractors - more in the bedrooom and even more in the toyroom.

The kids keep growing out of their clothes, and nobody in our house needs a pink potty, even for emergencies!

Now I can sit back and enjoy less more.

Dressing up for success

 Remember the drawers from the Great Book Dump?
















 

Contained, just!

 In that same bedroom, we also have the Great Dress Up Clothes Dump.

While this hamper does allow for tidying away dress up clothes, access and retrieval is a serious problem.  Generally solved by dumping the entire hamper onto the floor.  Or sadly, ignoring the dress up clothes entirely.













But the solution is at hand.

The ex-book dump drawers - the small middle drawer holds accessories!

While I still dream about multiple hooks on the walls for easy selection of fun costumes, this is a giant leap forward.  And best of all, now you see it...

And now you don't!

Home improvement - easy and cheap.

Even less housework

If the kitchen is king of housework, the laundry is the constant, nagging queen.   How do we keep our royal couple from getting too big for their britches?   Because although we do have a regular flow of laundry, we do escape the dreaded laundry mountains that I do hear tell...

Re-use! 
My kids are messy but not very smelly yet (with obvious exceptions).  If their meals missed their clothes and the bark from the park shook itself off, fold that darling little bundle back into a drawer to fight another day.  Yes, I can do this with some of my clothes too - using a few of my common senses. Absolutely, positively, put clothes for rewearing back with clean clothes because that's the point.  They're clean enough, and I don't want my furniture or floor wearing my clothes.  

• The clothes examination happens at the end of the day when the light is dim - every once in a while I discover my mistake in the morning light.  Oops!

Of course I don't do this with underwear or smelly clothes except for my exercise clothes.  My exercise routine is such that only I could possibly be bothered by them.  More on my minimal exercise routine later, and apologies if anyone finds this icky.  But I'm clean after my shower, I promise.

Drying?  (Hanging up, of course!)

Put it where the sun does shine!  Especially in winter, our yard surrounded by lovely trees gets very little sun.  If you should spot some sun, note also the small sad empty socket where the previous owners removed the clothesline.  (They left the trampoline, so why quibble?)  There's another sizeable frame line - underneath the deck, where only the feeblest of filtered rays venture.  So we started drying all clothes indoors one winter and just kept going.  We are as lucky with our indoor space as we are unlucky outdoors, and I don't have to take heavy baskets in and out.  I certainly don't miss the "peg it up, take it down, is it going to rain?" game I've lost countless times.

A plastic airer lives permanently in the dining room for the small and short clothes.  Uncool?  Very, as it has direct sun most of the day and the airer can be trundled to follow it if necessary.
You can see it in full use in this pic. 

While our table looks darned good here, I'm pleased to report that it isn't usually much worse than this, clutterwise.  (Stickiness?  That's another story.)  This is one successful example of "make it clear and keep it clear" and I enjoy having a clear table enough to chase off stragglers!  Like the kitchen zoning, I like being able to use it for dining without having to clear away everything else first.  Obviously the airer spoils the minimalist look, but so far no visitors have reacted visibly.  And I was heartened to glance up at a neighbour's east-facing window and spot another laundry airer basking in the beams.


Another funny little storage room houses our Victorian airer for the grownup clothes.  We bought this on special for about $90 from Early Settler and I don't care how you estimate your dryer costs, this baby has paid for itself long since.  (Unlike our other babies :-)  And one line strung by DH in the laundry room does well for sheets and towels that aren't needed urgently.  Those that are needed may end up over chairs on the deck on a day with any hint of sun.

We run laundry at bedtime: DH hangs them to dry - one of his many valuable contributions.  I (and my short team) put them away when dry. Most go on hangers (and some can go straight to the closet that way) and we don't need to use clothes pegs as it's not very gusty in the house.  I even try to load dry clothes into the basket roughly split into piles for their destination rooms.

We do have a dryer for emergencies, but almost never use it.  I last used it to try to shrink some comfy elastane trousers that are too big.  I have to try again, carefully.  Usually the advice is aimed at not shrinking clothes, so I'm fully experimental here.

Dressing direct
Like most people, we reuse the same favourite clothes in a cycle of a few days.  So they're often still drying when we look to wear them again.  It makes perfect sense to dress from these clothes, dry but still hanging about, instead of getting more clothes out of the closet to wear and also having to put the clothes we really wanted back in the closet (to be taken out again later...)

Try doing that when your laundry's hung outside!

I've read the opinion (might have been FlyLady, whom I do enjoy) that this is just not on.  Your laundry isn't done until it's put away.  That is true, but some things around our house just do not get done.  I accept that and I'm saving myself work, so I win!

Full but not fully full
When your drawers and closets have more than they can hold, you're making more work for yourself and often more laundry.  It's harder to put away laundry (especially if you're enlisting short help) and things can often fall out!  It's worth your time to sort for those clothes that are really doing their duty, and re-house the rest as appropriate.  Seasonal storage, donations, online auctions...

I'm very pleased!  Although I bought some gorgeous new clothes for my gorgeous growing girl, I immediately took unnecessary clothes out of the drawers to make room.  Also: spending more on girls than boys largely due to fashion - has this happened to you?

Minimalist goals!

What are your dream goals?

I want

- a house that we can easily clean ourselves because tidying isn't exhausting

- all storage boxes in storage closets

- all stockpiled groceries tidied away

- one size of clothes (that would be for minimalist me, about 10 kgs lighter)

- one file tray and everything else in the filing cabinet

- an exercise routine that's really fun

- to earn some money doing what I enjoy

Minimalist? But kids are so untidy!

Untidy city. And another not so secret - I'm only about average in the tidy department myself. Total slob? No. OCD neatnik? Don't make me laugh. But do you know what? If you're not the naturally tidy type, minimalism is an even better idea.

If you have too much stuff, and not enough space or inclination to put it all away, what's going to happen? Yeah, you know it, and that's what happens at my house too. Generally, things are where they shouldn't be. When expecting a visit from someone who might object to your inhome obstacle course, with a herculean effort, things get tidied and/or hidden. And the next time you look around, the untidy fairies have sprinkled their wee magick again.

You can't ever win unless you actually get stuff out of your house.

I have been working harder on releasing my own things than the kids'. I have been working some minor miracles getting rid of outgrown toys and clothes, but I unashamedly keep kid toys in many rooms of our house. We have more great toys than they can possibly play with at once.

How is that still minimalist?

1) It reflects my values. Even if at 10pm, I am faced with a lounge covered with three sets of scattered toys plus those kicked for touch into the kitchen, I have a wee frisson of triumph if I know that this joyous abandon kept them away from the TV. TV for kids is a constant battle for me. I'll revisit that. And maybe I'll tidy up myself, or maybe figure there's some magic left in them for early risers the next morning.

2) This toy bonanza is housed in various baskets, trays and boxes, and many of them live out of sight underneath couches. Last week, I even filled a storage bin (recently emptied of bathroom stuff following VERY successful purge and rehoming) with many of the less organised toys that are still age appropriate. Boxed up, out of sight, unmissed, but all the more entertaining when they appear again.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

But wait, there's less....how do you keep things under control at your house?