I have had some friends throttling my neck for not updating weight lately and not putting things like menus on my blog.
I think everyone is doing menus now, so, for me, it’s so not interesting. I hate sitting down, trying to remember what I ate, let alone wondering if someone in Moose Lake is going to die if she tries eating lasagna three times a day. I work on a lot of recipes, so I’m often finishing up something I made, and I might eat nothing but cauliflower pizza for three days straight.
So, that said, I don’t think my menus are going to help you, unless you want to see what a chick who cooks stuff makes. I don’t keep information in fitday. I eat when hungry, and stop when full. Boring? Oh hells yeah.
Still, do you want this information? And if so, why? If it’s to say, “OMG! Look at what she’s eating,” I’m not interested. I’m not going to get into a wee wee match over menus. I’m too old for lectures. I follow Atkins. Period. How I follow the A-man might be toats different than others, but I love induction, so that’s where I’ll be.
Next order of business.
Weight updates. Do you care? I am a low-carb writer and I’ll always be a low-carb writer. I give good information that isn’t hinging on my weight. My weight goes up sometimes, and it goes down sometimes. I’ve never claimed to be phenomenally skinny or a success story. I’ve never claimed to be an expert that should be listened to or slapped across yo face.
So, if I share weight, it ‘s because the normal people want to know when I’m gaining and losing because it makes you feel like, “Wow! She is a normal ho!” I don’t want people going all in my face about losing too fast or too slow, or even gaining. If I post weight, it has to help, regardless if you like the results or not.
So, what do you want to see? Frankly, I’m happy not sharing anything. I’ll share if it helps people, but it’s enough effort that it has got to be helpful. I just don’t think my progress (or lack thereof) is very interesting, since my advice will never change.
Talk to me.
Cleo,
I don’t care what your scale says. It has no bearing on what you bring to the low carb community. I think you are absolutely fabulous! Keep those creative juices flowing!
Hi Cleo!
Being quite new to low carbing I do still like the menus, just because it’s a bit overwhelming to start with.
It helps to keep me on track as well if i read about other’s success. Not that i need to know what the actual poundage is!
I guess we all need different things at different stages of the journey.
Hope this helps,
Jackie
I don’t either….care what your scale says OR what your menus are.
But (there’s always a “but,” isn’t there…) for YOURSELF you might want to consider journaling your food (I noticed you said it was something you don’t do). Much replicated research indicates that those who journal their food do better than those who don’t.
And my own personal experience indicates that the more I resist writing it down, the more I need to.
It’s your choice, and I don’t care whether you tell us what your choice is or not. Being a reader of your blog does not give me the right to tell you how to behave, even though you have been kind enough to share much of your life with us.
Carry on, girl! You’re doing great!
Personally, I come to this blog for low carb recipes and inspiration. You haven’t posted much diet related stuff lately, and it is kinda sad! 🙁 I used to come here every morning and you’d have a new recipe or product, or general low-carb musing to entertain me.
I don’t want to see menus, that is BO-RING you are right! and I don’t think you should be obligated to announce your weight, but I think people want to know how you’re doing. Are you losing, are you gaining? are you plateauing like my 6-month stale fat ass? 😉
Are you working out? That kind of general low-carb diety goodness.
It’s not necessary to post your progress (or lack thereof). Keep doing what you do best and keep those LC ideas coming. Great stuff!
Hi Jamie,
For me, it helps to see your weight updates. When you are losing, I’m inspired and encouraged to hang in there. You have a faster metabolism than some, and it’s great to see your numbers go down and down (particularly if I haven’t been losing) – and if your weight is up a bit, I like knowing that you are, in fact, normal. 🙂
As for your day-to-day menus…..I find them interesting, but if it’s a pain to post them, what about making your fitday page public? Or not, if that feels invasive to you. It’s always interesting to me to see what other lowcarbers are eating, it give me ideas, etc. Having said that, however, I’m not an enthusiastic cook, so more ideas for quick, easy, no-cook (or quick cook) meals would be very welcome here.
Overall, I absolutely LOVE your blog and your Examiner column – keep up the fabulous work!
To me weight is a very personal thing. A person is not defined by their weight.
Menus are nice, but not necessary. As long as you keep the recipes coming, I’ll be a happy camper!
BTW, can you work on a crunchy taco shell of some kind? LOL
The recipes and the humor are the reason I started reading your blog. (BTW, people can’t believe what I can do with cauliflower. They think I’m creative. Thanks.)
As for your weight loss, it’s inspiring but not necessary. As for menus, I never follow them. I’d rather have recipes.
I love your blog! Thanks for all you do!
Hi there! I’ve been following your blog from the time I was introduced to Oopsies!
I don’t feel that you *have* to post anything! Your blog, your rules, your posts, yanno? But personally, I am 100% alone in my Land of Atkins over here. And finding blogs like yours make me feel not so very alone. =) I like when you post your weight loss because it gives me more to relate to, and it always inspires me. And I L-O-V-E the recipes you’ve come up with!! To be honest, I don’t have any interest in seeing a daily menu. I stopped keeping track of mine because it was boring ME to tears, I can’t imagine anyone else would give a rat’s patootie about it.
Regardless of what or how often you post, you rock!
I personally don’t care about your weight, weight-loss, or lack thereof. I am just totally enjoying your recipe ideas, and your funny wit. *shrugs*
I personally don’t care about your weight, weight-loss, or lack thereof. I am just totally enjoying your recipe ideas, and your funny wit. *shrugs*
I definitely don’t care about menus and weight check-ins (if I did I would sign up for a weight loss pen pal or something). When I think “The Lighter Side of Low Carb” I think a) low-carb, b) funny, and c) written by the culinary brainiac who created the miracle food we all know as oopsies and oopsie spinoffs. Oh, I also think “funny, charming, sometimes Amy Sedaris-like photos of low-carb recipes and experiments I want to find the time to try myself.” To me your blog is unique and uniquely entertaining in the world of low carb blogs (those I’m aware of anyway), *without* menus and weight data, yo.
Cleo, I like seeing the weight updates. I’m pulling for you, and like to see your progress.
I wouldn’t post your menus. Once you do, you’ll have the low carb food police swarming all over it. You don’t want that.
On a different note, baseball season is almost here. I’m looking forward to tailgating at some Brewer games. I’ll be grilling up burgers and brats on oopsie rolls. I have you to thank for that.
Keep up the great work, Mike
I personally like menu blogs (and am keeping one for my own accountability, I feel like I need it at this point), but that is NOT why I come to your blog. it’s all about the recipes and the wit. 🙂
that said, I liked the weight updates too, it’s inspiring and also kind of validating, at the risk of sounding like a TOTAL wanker.
but yeah, I’m here chiefly and expressly for recipes and excellent witticisms. 🙂
I can’t believe peeps would ask you for such personal details.
I don’t know if people realize this or not. It is very difficult for someone who is constantly working with food and developing new recipes, etc. to be constantly focused on actually losing weight at the same time. In fact, it is a minor miracle if an author loses weight in the process of writing a cookbook (which is essentially what you’ve been doing). I did once or twice lose weight (not much), but typically I would gain a few lbs.
OMG that is really funny!I am going to quote you next time someone asks me how the diet is going. It is proof that someone can talk in a complete circle make no sense and still have people applaud!
good luck!
I check this blog from time to time to see how you are doing, but haven’t peeked for a few weeks. I was surprised and worried when I read this last post……mostly because you seem really down. I have never read anything negative from you and it made me sit up and take notice. Is everything okay with you?
I don’t care what your scale says either and I love your quirky sense of humour.
I think it is interesting how you have morphed over the years. I was an old ADBB board member still visit from time to time and remember your posts there. I have also been on other boards and found your blog in your posts.
Yes your weight and menu’s are interesting only because you have made such a huge deal about every diet you have been on and how you have done. From Atkins to very low calorie back to Atkins to Glycemic load back to Atkins. Cleo it is ok we understand you are no different from anyone else who has a long hard time of it in life with the scale. Yes you can give decent if not good advice it can for other people. But bottom line until you find the answer to help yourself you are going to continue this struggle. People look for success when they take advice so can you blame anyone for wanting to know what you are doing and how you are doing? Finding the new answer around every corner is only as great as it works. Since you are doing it in a public place please do be upset that people want to know about your weight and your menu! If you were to look back over your time on the internet and what you have said, the attention you have recieved is because you have wanted it. Or why would you post in public that you have a couple of hundred pounds to loose and are trying so hard to find the answers? Obviously anyone can give good advice. But the advice is only as good as it works!
So yes it is interesting to people who follow your adventures in the world of dieting. Everyone hopes and cheers you on. Someday we will all find the famous Cleochatra at her goal weight and be happy for you!
Believe it or not this is about loosing weight, about dieting and about being happy with yourself
So good luck to you!
Thanks for your insight, anonymous!
I appreciate your honest thoughts, but I must correct you on one very important thing.
I am not an attention seeking person. I am too uncomfortable in the spotlight, the search light and under microscopes.
I consider myself one of many people also working towards better health and am paying forward what I know. That’s really it. I’m not placing myself to be the big low-carb guru. I don’t need that. I don’t WANT that.
I am sorry you think I’m an attention seeker. Nothing could be further from the truth!
I appreciate your other thoughts, though!
Is it really that interesting? Well-hopefully? I think the main question here is; Does it work? Can we have evidence that it works? Can we duplicate what works? You chose what you share with your readers. Why this post? Why not answer with something like no I don’t have time or no I don’t want to or whatever the truth is. I think you are trying to blame your readers for something, I just can’t figure out what. Other than this post I love your writing. Thank you for sharing all your hard work with me…………..a reader.
I wish it was that interesting. I’ve never been a blame layer (save for when it really is the dog). It’s basically as boring as I stated: a lot of people share their information, and I don’t think I’m that interesting or important in a world filled with people all doing the same thing every day.
Really, if anything, it’s a testament to me wanting to help people but without in any way feeling responsible for things that I do not working for others. I’d feel badly if I do something that won’t work for others.
I want everyone to do their thing and be happy, and feel that by imposing what I’m doing on people, I’m in some way saying, “Look at me, beyotches! Ain’t I grand!”
Or, “You have to do Atkins or follow my plan.”
I think I am over-analyzing this, to be truthful. I’ve always been an ardent analyzer.
As an aside, I’m not decrying people who share their information and don’t presume to in any way harsh on mellows. I’m just talking about what my personal thoughts are and why I’d feel weird sharing.
(Really, I need to just write a new blog post about something, like the Real Housewives of New York, but I’m under some deadlines this week. I’m hoping tomorrow! Plus, it’s a new episode!)
To Ramona, her twitchy eyes, and the crew… I love Bravo…
Cleo,
I enjoy your blog a lot and have really enjoyed all your recipes. In my opinion, the reason people are asking about your weight updates is because you used to post them and now you don’t. I was used to seeing your progress in your weight updates and when you stopped posting them, I wondered if you were stalled or something.(Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. I just wondered why you wouldn’t mention that in a post or something). Anyway, these are just my opinions. I do love your blog and hope that you keep updating it (with whatever info you see fit).
Lindsay
Wow I agree with anonymous (both of them!) Why do people who do not want attention write so much about themselves? People who say they are not into getting attention work so hard at getting it. Then suddenly you are not interested in writing anything about your weight or your menus when that is all you have written about and accumulated a bunch of “followers”
You are right your weight is boring but thanks for telling us it is. Now we know.
I can see how “Real Housewives” and owl jewelry would be so much more interesting to people seeking out a blog and info about the low carb way of life.
You will still get attention even if you do not want it. Only because you have worked so hard at not wanting it in public 🙂
I also agree with the person who said you talk in circles. successful interesting writers pay close attention to what they have said and build on it.
What ever you do I wish you well for now I am kind of bored with this. You are right. But I wasn’t until you told me I was LOL!
Jeepers, it’s getting kind of nippy here at the bottom of the page. Perhaps we should all pitch in and start a spinoff called The Darker, Nippier Side of Lowcarb. Bloggers are people too, lowcarb community members. We’re all allowed to get a little burned out now and again, and sympathy tends to help heal things up faster than a big dose of “eff you.”
Honestly, I visit your blog for the recipes and your great sense of humor! 🙂
As others have mentioned, menus and “weight watching” show what works and what doesn’t work. (Sometimes what stalls one of us stalls us all.)
I do not believe that you are an “attention seeker” and I think it’s funny that others would insinuate such a bogus idea. You are an invaluable resource to the low carb/lower carb/gluten free community and should be treated as such!
Hmpf!
Turns around and exits this posting! 🙂