Gwyneth Paltrow’s Anti-Diet

Did anyone see Gwyneth Paltrow on Oprah last week?

She works out 2 hrs a day to keep her lithe post-mom body.

Her logic was this: If I even think about counting a calorie or limiting sweets or cutting back on food I will gain 5 pounds. I have to exercise 2 hrs a day so I can eat.

Now, in our house we’ve been confronting our family’s weight issue for probably 2 years now. The kid got the red zone flag and I noticed I was getting dangerously close to 200 lbs, and my husband gained even more weight after an episode with the Low Carb diet craze.

He’s been counting calories using a tool at About.com and doing very well.

I, however, have been REVOLTING against this idea. I would rather take up jogging and work out an extra hour a day than restrict my comfort snacking.

I don’t care.

I like working out now. It feels good. I understand the benefits. I do it anyway. I am OK with ramping the exercise up to get the weight off.

We bought these 100 calorie snacks and though they are not foods I even normally eat – cookies and crackers are not food we keep around the house – the idea that I can only eat the tiny little package of miniature food sends a wave of resentment through my body I can not describe. I have an emotional reaction not conducive to weight-loss every time I eat them. I far prefer eating as many slices of tomato as I want or an unlimited portion of sugar snap peas.

Give me snacks that I can eat in unlimited amounts. It’s the unlimited that soothes my soul. It’s the restricted part I revolt against.

I am proud of myself though – I now have the 32 inch waste that Dr. Oz holds up as the health barometer. The weight is still around the same as it’s been for the last year – but the strength, stamina, waist measurement have all vastly improved.

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Image Source: Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me (someone make me buy the smaller size of shorts next year – come on if you lose weight you should get new clothes!)