Dear LPG

I need to start this message by explaining that I am not fat but I have never really been thin.  I am getting older, just like all the people that this website is designed most to have as their readers but my advancing years have not stopped me from wanting to know the answer to that age old quandary which governs our desire to look our best when we are young and our need to be as light as possible as we get older… well not too light.

When I was young there  were no BMI calculators, or talk of all the diets that are around and available to anyone who wants to have a go, even though having a good shape was at the top end of many a slightly overweight young lady’s  ‘Things I need to do to be happier in myself’ list. 

Over the years I have tried so many diets including the Onion Soup diet, the Atkins diet and living on slimming shakes but none have worked for me.  Even so trying to get a bit thinner remains one of my recurring goals in life. 

I am no longer trying to look good so that I can catch a soul mate (my husband has always told me that he loves me in spite of my size) but I keep reading about all the ailments that are more liable to affect larger people.    They include diabetes, skin complaints, hypertension, heart conditions and many more.  I also have to admit to noticing that my ageing legs seem to have to work harder to carry my larger frame as they get older too.

I think that there is a fine balance between dieting and enjoying your food though and I have been down the road of getting a bit thinner at the cost of never looking forward to my meals; spending so much time weighing the food before preparation that by the time you have made it you just can’t be bothered to eat it. 

The other day my doctor gave me a little advice that made it all seem so much simpler.  He suggested that I have my meals in a smaller plate;   he suggests that if I were to use a plate that is about two inches smaller in diameter, even if I don’t change what I eat it is likely that I would lose some weight.   He tells me that we can’t really tell the size of a plate by just looking at it, and your eyes will still tell you that you are full if the smaller plate is equally as full of food.

I am going to try it and hope that a few other readers have a go too.  Perhaps this could be the diet we are really able to stick to.  

KY, Bellingham.

LPG found a few bits of information on this subject.

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