A Serving of Weight Loss, Topped with a Dollop of Cynacism

There are four points listed at helpguide.org to help us lose weight. Here they are along with my take on why it just ain't that easy for us moms.

1. Take time to chew your food. There are only two ways this will work for us. One, if you factor in chewing while walking as extra gravitational chewing force, then the five trips you take from the table to grab a papertowel might help you lose weight. Secondly, if you count the food you eat that has already been chewed up by one of your kids, well, then that might help you lose weight, too. Otherwise, there is no way we're scoring on this one.

2. Avoid stress while eating. Ha! Even those of us with the most well thought-out plans for dinner have no way to anticipate the sibling food fight, the spilled milk that a little sister thinks is funny so she dumps hers out, too, or the tot who didn't listen when you told him he had eaten enough, but gorged anyway, and experienced a 'reversal of fortune,' so to speak.

3. Listen to your body. This could not only keep us moms from losing weight, but send us into a downward spiral of peppermint patties and Starbucks Java Chip ice cream. Oh, that sounds so good right now. In fact, listening to our bodies might make us abandon our children altogether, and drain the college fund for a trip to an all-inclusive spa resort.

4. Eat early, eat often. The 'eat early' part is often sacrificed to keep the kids from whining, er, going hungry themselves. As for 'eat often,' well, here's where I'll abandon my cynacism for a moment (why am I in this mood today?) and offer a healthy eating tip for moms.

Eating small, healthy snacks/meals throughout your day will keep your metabolism going strong and give you the energy you need to perform your superwoman duties. If you are feeling particularly sluggish, have a high-protein snack, along with fiber. The protein will give you an energy boost, and the fiber will make the protein work more efficiently in your body.

I like turkey and cheese roll-ups with whole wheat crackers OR yogurt with fruit and granola.

Oh, and put down that diet coke! Caffeine is the worst thing for keeping your metabolism at a steady, beneficial rate.


I had promised a long, long time ago that I would share pictures from the CMA Awards in Vegas, and here the few that turned out okay. Seems that waving a picture phone around in a crowd of rowdy country music fans is not the best scenario for taking a quality picture.

Here is Taylor Swift at the pre-awards show party. As you can see, we bullied our way to the stage. If you're one of the unfortunate souls we trampled, I really am sorry.

Kellie Pickler

My friend Joanne, my sister (in-law) Frankie, and me, just before the Saturday pre-award show party. Sunday was the big show, and the highlight for me was seeing Reba. Of course, the best pictures I got of her were on the big screen (for some reason they wouldn't seat me by the stage, next to Nicole Kidman, as I requested).