Thrifty Weight Loss: Sparkpeople

The diet industry makes billions of dollars a year off of our body insecurities. When we're "on a diet" we tend to waste money on gadgets, classes, supplements, and crazy foods we never end up eating or choke down miserably... Why do we do it to ourselves? So many of us are looking for that "quick fix," that miracle suggestion that will melt off the pounds while still allowing us to sit on our duffs and consume vast quantities of chocolate. Why does it not work? Cruel!


If you are trying to drop some poundage, stop throwing your money away on Weight Watchers (online or in person) and all of those other gimmicks and get thee to Sparkpeople! Because what does work is eating less and moving more, and having support from similarly-minded people. All of this for free is even better, IMO. Sparkpeople is a totally free food and fitness tracking site with hundreds of other great tools like nutrition articles and blogs, and free exercise videos, along with a bazillion different teams (for everything from "Look Good Naked" to "Living with Hypothyroid") and social networking pages. I've been on SP for a few years now and help run a team called The Hen House (Cocks Allowed!) which is a small but super motivational and supportive group of girls. If you take the SP plunge, come on over and join the team! We'd love to have you.

My favorite things about Sparkpeople are

-In-depth nutrition charts showing all vitamins and macronutrients - Sparkpeople is about creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, not just weight loss, so they give reasonable, healthful ranges (no set number so you can vary your calorie intake and exercise day by day which is best to "confuse" your body into weight loss, anyhow) and the reports tell you when you're short on anything, so you can try to make different choices. They'll even give you full meal plans and create a grocery list for you if you prefer! Or you can make your own selections if you like a bit more control.

-Truly dedicated and fantastic support from people I have never met but feel like I know so well. Seriously, my team is the first place I go when I get to work in the morning-- I always check in on them before I do anything else :)

-FREE! Fantastic, yes? The ads are a bit annoying occasionally but I'm happy to click on them to keep the site free, as they plan to always do.

-Motivational pages: You can browse homepages of other folks who have been voted "motivators" due to their great loss, fitness achievements, or in general. When you're feeling like "I don't know if I can do this," check out awesome before/afters like Killette's, Blondie510's, or Jawjie's. Their incredible transformations are so inspiring! I mean, UNREASONABLE, right?:


You go & rock on with your bad self, girl!

So, what are you waiting for? Happy sparking!

Supporting "the Girls": Selecting the Right Bra

Most women are wearing the wrong size bra- so the popular wisdom goes. For the lucky ladies who can wear halter tops and for whom bras are an unnecessary extra, it is probably fairly easy to find something that does the trick just fine (pardon me if I am wrong!). However, if you are rather more generously endowed, squeezing your girls into a too-small, un-supportive bra may be diminishing your "total package" or ruining your look. The correct size and type of bra will leave a smooth line beneath your clothing, make you stand up straighter, make your waist look smaller and make you look younger and perkier. Yes, please?

Photo by the incredibly talented Beat on Flickr

Some of the telltale signs you're wearing the wrong size include the ladies falling out of the cups when you lean over, the dreaded "four-boob," and generally spilling on the sides, bottom, or top of the bra. It's quite possible that as insane as it sounds, if your bras are not fitting you could be bigger than a D cup. Bigger than a DD even. Do they exist, you ask!? But of course, and not just by custom order or specialty store!

I recently discovered, through a marathon dressing-room session at Marshall's-- wherein I snagged all of the biggest bras I could find in several different cup and band size--, that I am not, in fact, a 36DD as I had assumed all of these years, but more accurately a 34FF. I allowed myself a moment of eyes-popping-out-of-skull before remarking how amazing I felt when properly supported and forgetting all about that pesky, "embarrassing" size. Forget about the number (or letter(s) ), once again, ladies. And don't make the mistake of just going up and up in band size if you don't feel your bras are fitting properly; most of the support comes from the band so if it's too loose you're doing yourself no favors! A good band will actually eliminate the back fat situation (if you've got lots popping out above and below, try a wider (3-hook minimum) band instead of a bigger inches measurement.

If you are unable to find a good fit on your own through trial and error, do make a trip to a lingerie store (not Vicky's or Frederick's; one that specializes in foundation garments, not bedroom outfits!) such as Lady Grace, and be professionally measured. Once armed with your new knowledge about what size actually fits you properly, GO SHOPPING! Lady Grace and similar specialty bra shops have plenty of stock but it may be heavily weighted toward the hideous category. Big boobs can have pretty bras, too! Fayreform is a new brand catering toward full-figured ladies and their high-end options can be found for as little as $7 at Marshall's, so keep an eye out. They are also carried at better department stores like Nordstrom, where you might be able to find a seasonal deal to bring them down from the $60 range, and HerRoom.com sometimes has them on sale also.

A few other excellent web resources:

HipsandCurves, catering toward plus sizes (with band measurements beginning at 38 and cup sizes up to J)

Bravissimo for the larger cup sizes (D-KK) with smaller band measurements (28-40)

BiggerBras carries every size imaginable, pretty much, although the interface isn't perfect and the sales aren't that inexpensive

BraExperience has a huge variety of sizes and styles, and a decent sale section, as well as a promo running right now! (use promo code "BE55OFF" when adding to the shopping cart to receive 55% of Sale Priced bras. (Only Valid on Style # beginning with dsx))

I've also heard wonderful things about Lane Bryant's boob-wrangling devices, though I have no personal experience.

Have you been fit properly for a bra? If not, do you suspect you could be wearing the wrong size? I hope this has been helpful. Get out there and treat your girls right!

Happy bra shopping!