(no subject)

[fredericks]

The phone I'd impulse bought last week arrived yesterday. I usually avoid 1st gen tech, particularly new models, but I was feeling crappy and decided to go for broke. I have the Droid X, and I have NO IDEA what it does or what to do with it. There's no pad for texting, so I've been trying to get used to texting and dialing using the touch screen. And there are apps, and a GPS, and a camcorder, and I'm pretty sure there's a dial that does to "11" along with a red button somewhere on the damn thing. I think I know how my parents feel when trying to do anything on their computer not involving playing Solitaire. I usually enjoy pouring through the instruction manuals of my electronic purchases, but this phone only came with one fold out pamphlet that vaguely hinted as to what all the knobs and buttons were supposed to manipulate and a mini book that attempted to persuade me to believe that cell phones will not irradiate my brain. Hopefully there's more info on the actual device online or on the phone. Somewhere. I just have to get over my fear that I'll mistakenly break it.

I'm in the middle of reading Health at Every Size, a book about weight acceptance and reframing the concept of diet (the noun, not the verb) in relation to health. The author does a good job of pointing out the industry biases behind food recommendations and national health guidelines, and also points out the importance of finding contentment with oneself no matter what the one's reading of the scale and/or society might say. I've taken all of the author's produced "facts" with a grain of salt, but the second half of of the book is where she focuses on asking the reader his/her motivation behind attempts to lose weight or reason behind wanting to get to a certain size, and that's what I've found most interesting on a personal level. Much of my interaction with food or exercise involve engaging myself to the point where I stop conscious thought, whether it be through binging, intake restricting, or strenuous exercising. Sitting down and *thinking* about my reason behind my decisions is difficult and counter to the way I've lived since the first day I was teased about being fat. I'm actually almost skimming through the later portions of the book because I'm finding the self-reflective activities a bit taxing. But I suppose that's a good thing.

Apropos of nothing, I really want to go to Hawaii in 2012. And I'm looking forward to Dragon Con in a few weeks. Vacation love!

Comments

[mysticalchild_isis]

Have you read Lessons from the Fat-o-sphere: Quit Dieting and Declare a Truce with Your Body? My roommate is a big fan, and I ended up reading it too, because it has a great body acceptance message for people of any size.

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

I have that book on my "to-read" list (mainly because Barnes & Noble and Amazon keep recommending it to me based on past purchases). I want to see how this book goes down first before I try to tackle that one. The factoids and scientific footnotes keep me reading when I might otherwise put the book down in a corner somewhere.

[blood-of-winter.livejournal.com]

To be honest, yes there is a certain amount of vanity in my wanting to lose weight but there's a lot of practicality. One, I'd feel better. Im starting to see and feel the effects of age and weight. Two, I want to be able to be active with X and not be so tired all the time. Three, honestly, clothes in the size 18s and up suck. Im tired of trying to find nice clothes and getting stuck with paying a fortune IF i can find anything nice or wearing tents with fugly flower prints.

Im not asking to be a size 8 any longer but I think a 12/14 (still thought of a "plus" these days) wouldn't be so bad for me.

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

Of course your reasons for losing weight are practical and valid. What I found most interesting about the book I mentioned was the author's assertion that one should find out the reason behind any adverse behavior (overeating, not exercising, starving, etc) and focus on one's mindset before trying to do a 180 of sorts and engaging in drastic lifestyle changes that may be difficult to maintain. I'm a firm believer in attacking cognition before simply slapping on corrective behaviors. Not saying I'm necessarily effective, but I am tired of guilt tripping myself and saying that I'm too weak willpower-wise to maintain weight loss or to lose more weight.

And, homg, I'm so with you on the ugly plus-size clothing options. Although there are a number of stylish boutiques available in most areas and online nowadays. The price, I figure, sometimes works out to be comparable to what the "stylish" slim folks dole out.

[captainschlumpy.livejournal.com]

I've been considering one of the droids. Only the thought of paying verizon even more money per month is really stopping me! When were we going to leave for Dcon again? I need to put in my request!

[osaraba]

Totally forgot you'll be at Dragon*Con too! We'll have to exchange #s and meet up at some point! =D

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

Totally! I'm PM you or something when we get closer to the date. I'm curious as to what panels you'll plan on attending. :)

[paradise-city.livejournal.com]

Thanks for mentioning the book -- looks like an interesting read.

And I hope you like your new phone! The lack of a true manual is bizarre -- my mom just bought a new phone this weekend and hers also had a really vague manual that was no help at all. I don't know what's up with that, but I'm not a fan.

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

I've discovered the phone has a manual and a number of neat video tutorials in it. Which means the user has to display some rudimentary knowledge before actually being taught how to use the damn thing. Frankly, I miss the days of being spoon-fed information about the technology I paid to obtain. But maybe that's just me.

The phone is still all sorts of amazing, though. Great video quality. If only it supported flash...