A couple of links for my poor little neglected blog.

We’re getting ready to move, so that partially explains my absence. We’re also in the midst of renovation hell at my current building, which means we’ve been without heat (during a freak cold snap), without laundry facilities, without hot water, and sometimes without any water. And the electricity in one half of my apartment randomly goes out for hours (or days) at a time.

Good times! Kind of like camping, only inside and with more jackhammering and death metal.

So, my whining aside, here are a couple of links some lovely people have emailed me:

Third grader gets detention for possession of a Jolly Rancher. (From Elizabeth, who is lovely and knows everything there is to know about burning sugar to various stages of deliciousness.)

Dietitians of Canada (and the American Dietetic Association) has some interesting bedfellows — including Roche, makers of Xenical. (From Jenna, one of my former classmates who always asked the best questions in clinical nutrition, and will very, very soon be a kick-ass dietitian herself.)

Friend of the blog and all-around wonderful person Patricia has started blogging in English at More of Me to Love. She has some seriously great, practical advice for dealing with The Clothing Situation.

In other news, I’ve slowly been putting together the pieces to form an online class for people who want to learn eating competence, but can’t afford (or don’t want to do) individual counseling. If you think you’d be interested, you can sign up in the little email box thingy to the right, and you’ll get an announcement when the thing finally comes to fruition (maybe in the fall? Maybe sooner? I don’t know.) And if you have any ideas or suggestions for such a class, let me know in comments. It’ll help me to consider the various possibilities when putting it together.

Aside from all that, what’s up? What’s on your mind? Spread the love in comments.


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55 responses to “A couple of links for my poor little neglected blog.”

  1. CTJen Avatar

    Sorry to hear you are in the middle of some heavy duty stress. Hang in there! We’ll be here when you get back. :-)

  2. Dominique Avatar
    Dominique

    We’ll be there when you come back, well, I’ll be there ’cause you are my daily inspirational self-acceptance source!!! Thanks to you I’ve got the courage to start my own fat-empowerment organism. I’m working on that and will be feverishly looking at your blog everyday for new updates!!

  3. Julia Avatar

    An online class sounds AMAZING! I think that would be an amazing option. If a first class works out well, would you consider hosting some sort of facilitated discussion/pseudo-class for people who are more advanced in eating competence but would like to chat with others who are working through it too? Because I would be really down with something like that.

    1. Michelle Avatar

      Hmmm, that sounds like a good idea, I think. I’ll definitely put that on the list.

  4. Miss B Avatar

    I think an online class would be wonderful!

    It seems everyone I talk to is in the middle of a move or renovations or both! Must be in the air these days! Good luck!

  5. Shieldmaiden1196 Avatar

    Very excited about the idea of an online class! I’m working through a lot of this stuff on my own and I know it would help to have some other voices and experiences to learn from.

  6. demeter Avatar
    demeter

    It’s nice to see you back, even briefly. I love your blog. It reinforces so much of what I’ve had to re-teach myself.

    You rock–don’t ever forget that!

    1. Michelle Avatar

      Awww, thank you! I really appreciate the encouragement.

  7. Kelle Avatar
    Kelle

    I love the idea of an online class, that would be brilliant for folks like me who have ridiculous schedules. Would love to know more what it’ll look like and I would definitely sign up for that!!

  8. Moe Avatar

    The whole Jolly Rancher incident is ridiculous. If anything, they are teaching kids to hoard junk food. I didn’t see anywhere in the policy that children couldn’t bring candies and if they did they should be punished with a week of detention. I was under the impression the policy was to control what the school was offering and to reduce things like cupcake and pizza parties. A candy after lunch is not offensive. And a week’s worth of detention is not by any means an appropriate deterrent.

  9. Papu Morgado Avatar

    Hi there! Thanks for linking me, I’m very very honored! Hang in there in your apartment, I know it sucks. I’ve been sleeping with the hubby in our home office because there’s a giant mold infiltration on my bedside wall because of a garden in a adjcent building, which means that is probably not going to be fixed anytime soon. But sometimes we just have to improvise. On line classes, that sounds great! Wish your home situation gets better soon! :)

    1. Michelle Avatar

      Oh wow, that really stinks! I’m definitely “improvising” right now. Especially since they removed the washer and dryer from the building, guh!

  10. Carolyn Avatar
    Carolyn

    I am so excited to hear about your plans for an online class!! As one of the folks who would love to learn more, but can’t afford the private counseling, an online class could be a great option!!

  11. Ducky Avatar
    Ducky

    Omg! I’m so excited! I hope this online class happens so bad! I can’t afford your counseling services and I felt guilty asking you all these questions when I got the chance on your threads so this is a dream come true! (Unless it doesn’t happen, in which case, it’s okay I love you anyway!)

    1. Michelle Avatar

      Oh, it’ll happen, for sure — it just might take a little while. I can’t really work on it in earnest until after we move in June. But it WILL happen!

      1. Ducky Avatar
        Ducky

        Yay! I’ve had a few apartment nightmares myself so I understand the stress of it all. Good luck and take care of your mental health while you go!

    2. Ashlee Avatar

      I’d also love the online classes!

  12. Daniel M. Avatar

    Go USA! Go Texas!
    As we all know, the best thing to ensure the health of children is that if found in possession of candy (it’s the new alcohol!) is to isolate them during lunch and recess, so that they , y’know, don’t spend the time being physically active!
    Because as we all know, you get healthy by being thin, not by being fit – and don’t let anyone who claims to be a scientist or a historian (famines….) fool you into thinking the opposite!

    1. Ducky Avatar
      Ducky

      I totally hadn’t thought of that!

    2. Amy Avatar
      Amy

      I’m surprised they aren’t making her do laps around the building as punishment.

      And I hate to say it, but I clicked over to the story and thought, “Of COURSE it happened in Texas.” That is one whacked-out state. There was a similar story not too long ago where an elementary school there *suspended* a 5-year-old for a week because of his HAIRCUT.

      Fascists.

  13. AcceptanceWoman Avatar

    Michelle, I just flat out love you. Someday, I will hug you. But I signed up for your list and every little thing you do is magic. Seriously, every step of the way of signing up for your email list was enjoyable. And why oughtn’t it be?

    I am glad I am sending my daughter to school in Olympia, Washington and not Orchard, Texas. I will carefully review the food policy of the school before she starts, though.

    Just a question — do students who tease/bully fat kids get a week’s detention?

  14. Andra Avatar

    I would also love an online class. I am trying to save up for one-on-one, but am actually more comfortable being part of a group than being the only person being scrutinized. Not that I really see you as a scrutinizer/judger, but, you know, I hear “nutritionist” and I have a flashback to the school nurse who told me I was fat in sixth grade.

    1. Michelle Avatar

      Well…I do have this bad habit of rapping my clients’ knuckles with a ruler. Or sometimes a stick of butter.

      But that’s only if you’ve been BAD and not eaten cake for breakfast.

      1. KellyK Avatar
        KellyK

        Make sure to take the stick of butter straight from the freezer for the best knuckle-rapping.

  15. Katie Avatar
    Katie

    I would love an online class too. I’m more comfortable in a group setting myself and I think would be a little bit more sure of myself knowing that other people are asking the same questions I am.

  16. Terry P Avatar
    Terry P

    I am thrilled to hear of your plans for the online classes! That would be the most awesome thing! It would be wonderful for those of us who don’t have the extra funds at this time for professional services. I was recently (6 months ago) diagnosed with high blood pressure and am currently taking medication to control that. I joined a couple other people to make it more affordable and am working with a trainer 2 times a week in hopes to lose weight, and get off the meds. I have followed his advice as far as suggested calorie intake and have been keeping a food journal. I also, per his advice do 30 – 45 min. of cardio 2 – 3 times a week in addition to the 2 times I work with him. I have lost a whopping 2.5 lbs and 2 1/2 in. inches 2 1/2 months!!!! Very frustrating. I need to lose 20 – 25 pounds. I won’t be able to continue with the trainer after this session ends. I have been trying to research and self educate, but obviously I am not doing so great. An online class would be wonderful!

    1. Michelle Avatar

      Well, I’m not sure how helpful it would be for weight loss, but it will definitely be good for advice on how to eat based on internal cues.

    2. dominique Avatar
      dominique

      Dear Terry,

      I just want to suggest you take your blood pressure often instead of weighing and measuring, which seems to bring you down. Keep up exercising for your health, ditch all the weight question :)

      Also, a food journal is great to know what you need and what you like but don’t get too «obsessed» with it…

      I hope your health will get better soon :)

    3. Another Michelle Avatar
      Another Michelle

      If I’m interpreting what you said correctly, you’ve lost an inch for every pound you’ve lost! Losing inches without losing much weight could indicate that you’ve gained some muscle, which is generally considered a Good Thing.

  17. Suzanne Avatar

    Yay for an online class. I am broke as a joke right now, so this is right up my alley!

  18. Elizabeth Avatar
    Elizabeth

    Hey, thanks for the mention! I feel that I have only scratched the surface of the possibilities of sugar pyrolysis, though. :-)

    The Jolly Rancher article is infuriating. “[The school superintendent] said school officials had decided a stricter punishment was necessary after lesser penalties failed to serve as a deterrent.” Because you’ve got to keep those Jolly Ranchers out of school at all costs, you know.

  19. Eve Avatar
    Eve

    Squee! Missed you!

    Any suggestions on solid food for a 9month old? Little dude won’t eat anything but Cheerios…
    Thanks!

    1. Elizabeth Avatar
      Elizabeth

      Have you tried avocados?

    2. Michelle Avatar

      Cheese? Sticky rice? Pieces of toast? Crackers? Cut up bananas or ripe peach?

      (Totally not my suggestions, by the way. I ripped them off from Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense.)

      Or maybe even those canned, cut up fruit pieces (like in fruit cocktail) but with the juice drained?

      1. Heather Avatar
        Heather

        I’m trying to remember my son at 9 months… Whole-milk yogurt. Plain pasta. Chunks of soft melon. Blueberries.

    3. Elizabeth Avatar
      Elizabeth

      I just looked back at my records – my son (who is a big eater) was still gagging on anything with texture at nine months, but was happy to eat pureed jarred foods. What happens when you try those?

      There’s also no real requirement that he be eating solids at all at this stage. Some kids just aren’t ready for a little bit longer, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

      But Michelle and Heather have some good suggestions. I would also try carrots cooked very soft and cut into smallish chunks, small hunks of mashed potatoes, or canned peas. If he likes Cheerios, try goldfish. (Those freaky colored goldfish were actually the key to getting my daughter to try foods as a baby. She wouldn’t touch anything that wasn’t a color she recognized as “food” for a while. Once we had convinced her to eat a green goldfish, she was willing to try putting a green pea into her mouth.)

    4. Michellers Avatar
      Michellers

      Eve, learning to eat as an infant is surprisingly non-intuitive, and 9 months is still very young to expect an semblance of real eating. My daughter gagged, choked, and spit up practically everything until about 15 months.

      Just keep trying a variety of foods as Michelle suggested and trust that he will figure it out. He will! In the meantime, breast milk and/or formula will keep him nourished just fine.

    5. Heidi Avatar

      Anything you can eat.

      I highly, highly recommend “Finger Foods for Babies and Toddlers” by Jennie Maizels, which I know is available both on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk, as well as looking into Baby-Led Weaning (it’s called that because in the UK, the introduction to solids is called “weaning” and has nothing to do with weaning OFF formula/breastmilk).

      I think BLW is an absolutely tremendous way of encouraging “eating competence” (I still don’t love that phrase, I must admit, but…) because it’s about offering a variety of foods and encouraging children to play with/experiment with food as they are ready for it rather than just shoving it in with little spoons. I would LOVE to see some fat activists promoting it (maybe I should put it on my own blog, to build awareness!).

      At nine months my son was eating everything from curries I brought home at work to little egg-rolls, “fingers” of macaroni & cheese, and anything else I could think of (Spanish tortilla was a favorite). He didn’t eat a lot until he was about a year old but just setting out small quantities of lots of different foods encouraged him to play and taste.

      He will eat anything these days, at four years. The other morning, when my husband asked him what he wanted for breakfast, he cheerfully replied, “CURRY!”

      We had no curry, or I would have obliged ;)

  20. julie Avatar

    Moving sucks. Down here, it doesn’t get below freezing often, but I’ve been through snaps without heat where my legs get sore from squeezing myself so tightly into a fetal position to stay warm. I live in thermals 60% of the year now.

    Here’s a suggestion for competent eating: Most people, even the thin ones, don’t really do it. Everyone’s got advice, wants to tell you how you’re doing it wrong. Hold your ground! I would starve to death if I listened to people tell me how I should be eating. I still feel guilty.

    Good luck with your move.

  21. Eve Avatar
    Eve

    Thank you everyone for your suggestions! My husband asked his co-workers about the food stuff and they echoed everyone’s sentiments: 1. they don’t eat much solids at 9 months 2. don’t push it.
    He was nom-ing on the purees but for some reason he doesn’t want them? I’ve done banana chunks, soft cooked peaches, whole wheat pasta (didn’t like it) soft cooked peas, little tiny chunks of pineapple (liked that)..

    What cheeses would you recommend?

    1. Elizabeth Avatar
      Elizabeth

      I liked to take string cheese and slice it crossways into little circles about 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick. It breaks up very easily to chew that way.

      Does he have teeth coming in? He may be suddenly refusing the purees because he is associating them with teething pain in some way. Or he may just have figured out that he can refuse things – a powerful discovery. :-)

      I would just keep offering him food a couple times a day, and try not to take it personally if he refuses it. He will undoubtedly start eating when he’s ready.

      1. Eve Avatar
        Eve

        Ooh, string cheese–never thought of that! The dog will be happy if he drops the chunks over the high chair tray…

        Hmm..wonder if he has his father’s tastes. In that case I should let him teethe on a sausage or a Slim Jim..

  22. Twistie Avatar

    (Cries and cries over the Jolly Rancher incident) That is flat-out inane.

    Your internet class sounds like a great idea. I may consider it, too.

    We’re having some renovations done soon at Casa Twistie. But ours will be the fun kind. We’re about to get a new gas stove, now that the old electric one that’s been driving me bonkers for the past nine years has reached a point where it firmly deserves a decent burial. Once we make our final choice, we need to get someone in to check out the gas line and get it hooked up, so we may wind up with a day or two where we have no stove, but it will be worth it at long last.

    At long last, I will have immediate heat control for those fussy dishes! I will have a stove on which I can temper chocolate! (dances giddily) I can’t wait!

  23. Zaftig Zeitgeist Avatar

    It was my boyfriend’s birthday a couple of days ago. We had pizza and home made “666” chocolate cake (the recipe includes 6 eggs, 6 oz sugar and 6oz butter, and the cake is covered in chocolate buttercream and crumbled Flake chocolates) It was sooo amazing.

    Hope all your moving and stuff goes well, Michelle. Also ditto to the what the hells? re: the Jolly Rancher story. I’m just scared that we’ll end up hearing of kids dying of starvation after they’ve been sent to fat camps that are run along the same lines as straight camps (those are scary). Oh, but it was all for their health, we’ll be told.

  24. JennyRose Avatar
    JennyRose

    Hi Eve- I didn’t feed my daughter solids until she was a year old. I was told that she could be on formula up to one year so that is what I did. After 10 months or so I added rice to her formula. It is really a powder and it helps keep the child satisfied.

    @ Terry P – there is not shame in taking meds for high blood pressure. DH is on such drugs and he is tall and lean. He tried diet and exercise and after 6 months to doctor convinced him it wasn’t working and to take the meds. He said that as much as 80% of high bp is hereditary and there is not much you can do about it. I am not saying this to make you feel bad but to give you support by de-stigmatising the meds. It is perfectly fine if you don’t loose weight (or even if you do) and need to continue the meds .

    1. Bob Avatar
      Bob

      I’d have to advise against the rice-in-bottle tactic. It would be fine, but it can form clumps and the baby can choke to death before the parents notice.

      9-10 months is a good age for a hemoglobin poke to be made. Iron needs increase at this age, and baby milk alone may not meet this need. It could be fine, and a check-up will make you certain.

  25. Cassie Avatar
    Cassie

    Michelle, I would love the online class. I had a really bad experience at the doctor and want to reinforce that it’s MY BODY, and I get to decide how it should be fed, watered, and exercised. :) She was completely clueless about HAES, and made me feel like a bumbling idiot when I tried to explain. (“Now, do you know what BMI is?” Oh, no, I haven’t spent most of my life feeling shame that I’m not the right numbers.) Most medical people don’t understand and they don’t get it, which makes me mad, which you’ve probably gathered. I know that I am doing what is best for me, even if is against conventional “wisdom,” . I love your blog because it helps having someone who actually knows it’s not about food, and food is not the enemy. Much love to you, hope you get settled soon.

  26. Kathy Avatar

    Hi,

    Geez Magazine’s Summer 2010 issue is called the Body Issue. There are two articles about size acceptance in it. Pretty cool.

    I’d be up for an on line group class.

    I have fibromyalgia. I don’t know if it is part of the symptomology of fibromyalgia, but I personally struggle with a lack of appetite/feelings of hunger. It is not because I eat all the time either LOL. I do eat, and am not underweight. I’m just wondering if anyone knows if this is common to this condition.

    So I’d be interested in something in the on line class about eating when you’re not hungry.

    Thanks.

    1. Robyn Avatar
      Robyn

      I also have had fibromyalgia for 16 years, but have not experienced a lack of appetite, though that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Are you on any meds? This is an online resource that I have found helpful, in general:
      http://www.fmnetnews.com/

  27. Synj Avatar
    Synj

    Oh Fat Nutritionist, I really hope you post again soon, I need my sanity points. It feels like a huge chunk of my close friends (male and female, from all walks of life) are on diets, some of them extreme. Even the thin ones (who are literally half my mass) are on diets. the points, the paleo, the calorie counting, the weigher, the color, the caveman, the zone, the south beach, blahblahblah.

    and.it.is.all.they.can.talk.about. and they beat themselves up when they slip up or it’s not working how they think it should. I tell them the stats on diets, that diets don’t work, even if you don’t call them a diet, that most of these factors they are trying to reduce are genetic or a co-morbidity with fat, not caused by it. but they all say the same thing, “Oh synj, you aren’t fat, you’re just big (i’m both, actually); and I’m different, MINE is caused by my (nonexistent/nonrelated) fat.” Uhg.

    I bring up listen to your body, not everyone is meant to be the same size, etc.

    I react strongly to these things, even when I try not to. I grew up being told two conflicting things– one that even though i was so thin my long-pants were mid-calf my face and stature was identical to my paternal grandmother who was “omg, deathfatz!” so i couldn’t have seconds or snacks because i’d end up deathfatz (let me say, puberty left me quite hungry!); and two, that I should always be proud of myself and no one has any say over myself except myself. The second stuck much better and was actually fueled by the first.

    I’ve told my friends they are beautiful and ausome, and their bodies are doing what they need them to do, and that fitness is nothing more than being physically capable of doing that which you really and truly want to do. I bring up one of my brothers, who has a muscle-wasting disease, that would love to be able to do what they do, and could give a shit if he had a gut while doing it.

    It’s gotten so far that i’ve posted a sign on my door stating,” Attention: this is a body positive house. if you are allowed in, it is because we like you. We cannot stand idly by while you diss your body, the machine that allows you to be a part of our lives. Please regard yourself in a positive light!”

    Please post again soon! (oooh, can we touch on diabetes, hypertension, thyroid, cholesterol, etc? I need more fuel for the fire!)

    1. Michelle Avatar

      I like your sign. My friend Dee has one from the old Radiance magazine that says THANK YOU FOR NOT TALKING ABOUT YOUR DIET.

      I am moving house momentarily, but I will be back soon! And we can certainly dive into some more of the therapeutic/clinical stuff, which could be interesting.

      See you again very, very soon.

  28. Emgee Avatar
    Emgee

    Yes, Michelle, we really miss you! That said, I’d rather take a beating with a large club than move, so hats off to you–may all your breakables stay whole!

  29. littlem Avatar
    littlem

    I could have sworn I put an email in the box.
    However, I look at the date of the post and remember that May was more than a littel traumatic.
    So I did also email you today.
    :-)

    1. littlem Avatar
      littlem

      “littel”

      So traumatic even my spelling & proofing have gone to the proverbial dogs.
      *headdesk*

    2. Michelle Avatar

      I haven’t received it — gah. I will email you and that will put you on my safe list. Thanks for letting me know!