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Post by gazelle18 on Apr 1, 2017 21:02:54 GMT -5
What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.
Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:
Angelika
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy
And for those of you who stop by to read this thread without posting — you are certainly welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in
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Post by gazelle18 on Apr 1, 2017 21:25:46 GMT -5
Hello everyone.
First some personal shout outs before we being today's discussion:
Angelika, I hope you are on the mend!! I'm looking forward to hearing how the surgery improves your eyesight, and I hope your recovery has been ok.
Louise, you ended last week in a better place than you began it. I hope that you are well, and am interested to see how the process unfolds at your job site.
Frieda, 10 lbs down!!!! Mazel Tov!!!
Lee, how's it working out with your son now that he is a permanent worker? You sound like you're in a pretty good place.
Peachy, I hope that your sense of taste has returned, and that you are continuing to get better.
Holly, I will try to channel you this week as we talk about the upcoming holiday of Passover. You're one of my favorite teachers!
So, here is a real life occurrence that happened a few days ago. I would love your input. I have two local granddaughters, who are perfectly adorable. The elder is 7 and a half. She is in second grade and is a good student and a lovely child. DH and I have a pool in our back yard, and as it's already swimming weather in NOLA, the kids were coming over with their dad for a swim on Friday before our traditional shabbos meal. The girls went upstairs to put on swimsuits. The younger came down quickly, but the other was up there for 10 minutes. I called for her, heard nothing, so I went to look for her. After a search, I finally found her, hiding under the bed. She had a sad face. I cajoled her from her hiding place, and after a few minutes got her to open up about what was bothering her. She said: " My swimsuit is too tight." She started to cry. Now, the swimsuit is fairly new and it fits the way it is supposed to fit. My granddaughter is a healthy child who is not skin and bones, but definitely NOT FAT. I was able to reassure her, and told her I'd buy her a bigger suit if she liked her clothes loose, and all turned out fine. But I was inwardly so upset.
Was my beautiful granddaughter, at the ripe old age of 7, already experiencing body image issues ? Did someone make a comment to her about the need to be thin? Did she see an image on TV that made her feel inadequate ALREADY? Thoughts? Suggestions?
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Post by peachymom1 on Apr 2, 2017 0:09:40 GMT -5
To everyone, I echo Lynne's sentiments!
I think you did exactly the right thing with your DGD, especially commenting about liking her clothes loose. How wonderful that she felt she could confide in you.
She probably did see or hear something that affected her sense of body image. As you well know, our society bombards girls and women with ridiculously unfair and distorted messages all the time. I think the best thing to do is to keep listening and looking for clues, and continuing to reassure her. We can't stop the messages, but we can bring them out into the open and hopefully get the girls talking.
I'm feeling much better, almost 100%, most of my sense of taste is back, and I have become painfully aware of how little time there is to prepare for Passover, with such a setback in available time. I have recruited my DS26 to do some serious cleaning next week while I'm at work, and I know he'll step up to the task. I'm grateful to have some backup!
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lee058
This space for rent
Posts: 23,289 
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Post by lee058 on Apr 2, 2017 5:34:17 GMT -5
Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well. Lynne, in answer to your question, things are going pretty well with DS now that he has been made permanent at his job (which is so amazing). He is still having problems staying focused on what he is doing, but I hope he will work on it. Starting next Saturday, he goes back to the early morning shift starting at 6AM. This means we will go back to waking up at 4AM. We will also have to leave a little earlier because the gate where we have been entering is changing its hours to open later; this means that we will have to use the main gate which is a bit further away and also has a lot more traffic. I think that if we leave our house at 5:15AM instead of 5:30, we should be able to get him to work on time. 15 minutes may not sound like much, but in the early morning when we are moving slowly, it means that I will probably have to go back to showering later in the day rather than first thing in the morning. Oh well. There are worse things (like getting up even earlier). I can deal with it.
Re your DGD: I think it is so sad that she is already having body image issues. You handled the situation very well, and I am glad that she felt comfortable enough to open up to you. You said exactly the right thing about her possibly liking her suits looser, so that she was able to focus on that instead of her size and weight. I remember when I was around 11 and more "developed" than most of the girls in school; some of the kids were obnoxious about it, both boys and girls. I was hoping that with all the anti-bullying info that's been brought out into the open that some of this negativity would have been stopped by now. I guess some kids are still horrible. I'm assuming that it was some kids that made remarks to her and not media influence. I would talk with her mom about this. Good luck!
Peachy, I'm glad you're feeling better. We missed you when you were gone.
I'll check in later. Have a peaceful day, Lee
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Post by hollygail on Apr 2, 2017 8:06:52 GMT -5
I wish I had any words at all, let alone words of wisdom, regarding little girls and body image issues... I have one resource that might be helpful. I'll look for it and let you know when I find it. I suspect it's aimed more at young teens and/or pre-teens, but ...
Meantime, ladies, DH and I are invited to a friend's first night seder. I'm making the tzimmes. Does anyone have a killer recipe? Here's the one I'm thinking of using as my foundation...
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Tzimmes
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup pitted prunes
orange juice
honey
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine potatoes, carrots and fruit in an oven-proof casserole dish or baking pan. Drizzle honey over mixture, varying the amount depending on how sweet you like it. Pour enough orange juice over mixture to cover the bottom with 1/4 inch of juice. Cover casserole tightly and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Serves 8.
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Any comments? (I already have one relatively large yam and I like to use 1 can of chunk pineapple canned in its own juice.) I rarely follow a recipe exactly (except when baking, which I rarely do any more), so measurements don't have to be exact. Thanks for any suggestions that may be coming!
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Post by savtele on Apr 2, 2017 9:00:53 GMT -5
Boker Tov All! Here's my experience - and thank you for asking!
My Right Eye
Which eye are we doing? The right.
and over my R eye, the nurse puts a small black dot
Later, the doctor, "which eye are we doing?"
The R - and over my R eye, the doctor puts a small black "x"
Someone comes to put in eye drops: Which eye?
the R - and the eye drops go in
then the R eye is covered by a washcloth
(held in place by my puffy paper cap)
Eventually, in a small operating room
3 nurses, an anesthetist & 1 surgeon, each state "right eye"
as they go about doing their business
more eye drops,
washing & draping my face
small opening for surgeon to work through
"Look into the microscope
it's like a mini light-show!"
They are not intimidated
by repeating to one another
that it is my R eye that they are working on today
one after another, many times
Then my vision gets blurry and goes away
(no lens will do that to you)
et viola! the light show begins again
"that's the new lens, settling into place"
And like Cleopatra, barging up the Nile
I am wheeled down the hall to be discharged
Like a window that has been washed
my R eye now sees everything brighter
and there is a small black dot
on my forehead.
-angelika 2017
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Post by savtele on Apr 2, 2017 9:21:36 GMT -5
Frieda - 10 pounds - mazel tov!
Peachy - I'm so glad you are getting back to normal/good health!
Poor thing - I think body dysmorphia is breathed in with the very air we breath! It almost has nothing to do with how any of us actually look - we are fed a constant diet of "my thighs jiggle, my waist is too thick, my butt is too big & I am lumpy and bumpy & I hate the # on the scale." Whether or not any of that is real, or true, is highly debatable. As adults, we will have to put up a real fight in our own minds, and as our children's and grandchildren's advocates, to combat this! Apparently, it cannot begin too soon!
I took it easy yesterday. Today the skies are clear - I think I'm going to work in the den (where we eat popcorn while watching TV). This room, more than any other (other than the kitchen) needs a Pesach going-over! I think there is a mouse-population in there - brought in by the abundance of popcorn kernels on the floor!
But 1st - more coffee.
Have a good day all!
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lee058
This space for rent
Posts: 23,289
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Post by lee058 on Apr 2, 2017 16:23:33 GMT -5
Back again to say hello. I did a bunch of chores today, and now am feeling tired even though I also slept for an hour. I did a little too much for my own comfort; I have got to be more careful.
Hope everyone has been having a good Sunday! Have a peaceful rest of the day, Lee
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Post by happysavta on Apr 2, 2017 21:07:19 GMT -5
Lynne, great answer to your DGD! Hope you told her mom & dad about the conversation too.
When my daughter was 21, (a size 6) she insisted that she needed liposuction on her thighs. Nothing we said made any difference. She had the money, she was convinced she needed it, and the plastic surgeon told her he could "improve" the look of her thighs. Well, she went ahead and did the procedure. The first words out of her mouth when I put her in the car to go home after surgery were, "Mom, I shouldn't have done this." She was miserable and in pain for a whole week, couldn't run or exercise and got an insignificant, minor physical improvement. She never went to a plastic surgeon again.
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