Whoa! I don’t know what happened, but I must have blinked because it’s already the first week of January. Okay, so I’m late making this inagural post, but I have a really good excuse. I’m late because I was seriously procrastinating on making the obligatory New Year’s resolution of losing a little weight.
I’m late because I was seriously procrastinating on making the obligatory New Year’s resolution of losing a little weight.
I was further delayed when I found an old Dell Purse Book #6773, A New Figure in 30 Days; (published in 1965) amongst my mom’s things. She passed away in 2014, and it took a few months for me to go through her things. I got through the big stuff years ago, but still had some smaller boxes in storage to sort out. Last November, in one of those boxes I found the little book of which I now speak.
This little book is a real blast to the past, in a most delightful and torturous kind of way. It is quite thorough in its explanations and descriptions of why we gain weight and how to lose it; and on what the average adult female’s body weight should be, based on age, height and frame size. I’ve been in the fashion industry in one form or another since the mid 1970s. Therefore I am well aware of how apparel sizing has changed to accommodate our contemporary bodies. In the fashion industry, we call it ‘vanity sizing’ and it is practiced by both garment and shoe manufacturers today.
Even so, this little book illuminated for me, (on page 64, in the “Women: What You Should Weigh”, weight chart), just how much we have GROWN over the years! I’m 5’5” tall but I am nowhere near the book’s weight chart average for a small frame of between 111 – 119 pounds. In fact I am much closer to the ‘large frame’ maximum weight of 142 pounds even though I have a small frame. I image that in 2021, a woman who weighs 142 pounds; in most folks’ minds that is a medium or even a small, based on their muscle tone and BMI.
How do I know what my body frame size is, you ask? I Googled it of course! As the site suggested, I measured my elbow breadth at its widest point and the circumference of my wrist as well. Then you find the range that your elbow and wrist measurements fall in, and voilà, you now know your body frame size! Here is just one of many of the links to discover your own body frame size: How to Know Your Body Frame.
Needless to say, to fit into the vintage fashions that I love, I must get back in shape. But in the meantime…
Do you want to hear the good or bad news first? Okay, you are taking much too long to make up your mind; so here is the bad news – I can’t fit into a heck of a lot of wonderful vintage clothes currently hanging in my closet. But not to fret, the good news for you is, I am making those apparel items available to you at a fraction of what it cost me to buy them. So take a look at some of the great pieces that need a new home at my online shop, Leta’s Vintage.
But I digress, so back to the topic at hand…
The revelation sparked by this diminutive book has shocked me into a new reality and a reestablished urgency to lose weight NOW! So without further hesitation; I proclaim my (belated) New Year’s resolution to lose weight. You can follow me and hold me accountable as I post my monthly progress. And if the shoe doesn’t fit (yes our feet gain weight too) anymore, then I hope that you will join me on this journey. I know we can do this!
And with a little help from our virtual friends and some actual accountability, such as getting off the sofa, making better food choices and keeping a food journal, this road becomes more navigable. There are food journal apps and downloadable ones too. Here’s one that I like Food Diary.
Take a look at the exercise above and remember that not being allowed to use our local fitness club due to COVID -19 restrictions is no excuse. Primitive routines are free! All we need is the will to improve ourselves, so have a word with your doctor first and let’s get started…