Tuesday, May 22, 2012

READing Your Style: Ask E. Jean

ELLE, April 2012
Reading over the advice section,"Ask E. Jean", in the April 2012 issue of ELLE magazine, I came across some fantastic tips on, in Ms. Carrols's words, "Fighting the Sugar Hussy." The inquirer, Miss Addiction, wrote to the ELLE advice guru, Elizabeth Jean Carrol, about those 10 pounds she losses and gains over and over again on her quest to maintain her weight, but the problem lies in her addiction to sugar, considering its convenience in relation to her work schedule. Elizabeth Jean saucily advises:

MY DEAR MISS ADDICTION: Sugar is a woman. She's a witch. A siren. A mother. A genius. A baby.
A devil. A bitch. Sugar is Anna Karnina, Lisbeth Salander, and Emma Woodhouse rolled in one. If I knew
how to get her out of your life-for good, without the gimmicks-I'd be writing to you from the set of my
$3million infomercial. I can however, give you the eight weird tactics that work for me 83 percent of the
time. (The other 17 percent I just give in and let Sugar have her agonizingly delicious way with me.)

1. Know the catastrophe you're facing, and annihilate Sugar's temptations. Clear her out your kitchen, bedroom, office, car, handbag, life. If you can't stop yourself from buying her on the street, permit yourself only enough cash to get back and forth to work, then out your credit cards in a plastic bag, fill a coffee can with water, put the cards in the can and the can in the fridge and freeze 'em.

2. Prepare for battle. About once every 20 minutes, Sugar tarts up and propositions Willpower, and pretty soon Willpower gets tired of saying no, no, no, and starts saying yes, yes, yes-and that's when you begin regaining the weight. A ton of research (see John Tierney's laudable January 5, 2012, New York Times piece, "Be It Resolved") shows that the "more you starve your body, the less glucose there will be in your blood-stream, and that means less willpower." When your job "saps your energy," gird your loins with a steady stream of pineapple chucks, cherries, raspberries, orange sections, etc.

3. Don't eat anything with a soul. The smartly dressed ELLE fact-checkers are about to suffer group apoplexy-I adore them, but to hell with it! I can't prove it, but 40 years of observation have led me to conclude (A) vegetarians are slimmer (and totally cooler) than meat eaters; and (B) when I quit eating dead cows and slaughtered chickens, Miss Sugar's powers sank by about 35 percent. (From the fact-checkers: "There is no laudable science on this, but since you're claiming it 'works for you,' we'll let you say that.")

4. Get a friend to yell at you. The best coaches are the ones who threaten to release the Kraken on you.

5. If you are about to cave, imagine an enemy not caving. You'll regain your self-control.

6. Scales are stupid. Stay off the bastards! People like you and me who are obsessed with numbers can't have them in the house.

7. Quaff thy wine; not guzzleth. "Wine gives strength to weary men." - Homer

8. Chop your goal to pieces. Look at the stats: You're enthralled by the number 10 right? So this time around do not weigh yourself. Judge by your looks, the fit of your clothes, your mood. This will break Sugar's clutches. It's tough, but you can do it! Good Luck!

In my fashion this article spoke to me on more levels than just sugar, but its more about creating a plan to ready your mind for a new way of thinking. If you want to change your life for the better, you must train your mind (and your habits) to think in a manner that aligns with those goals, and eliminate those certain cues that keep you going down the same self-destructive path you were on. Its about building up your willpower (willpower being an integral piece of attractiveness and style)! In my fashion, weird tactics work the best...it just depends on your level of commitment to you style and how you want to look your best! When you create weird tactics that are uniquely designed for your thinking, you are one step closer to creating you own style solidarity.

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