The Divorce Diet

Have you ever had an extra <insert number here> pounds that seem impossible to lose?  Who am I kidding - I should have just asked "are you a woman?"  I had an extra 10 pounds that hung onto me for dear life after I had my kids and those 10 pounds seemed to really like being a part of me.  I have to admit that I avoided the gym for the past 4 years, partly because in that time period I was pregnant twice (and who needs to work out while pregnant, right?), and mostly because I resisted the gentle (and not so gentle) suggestions from my loved ones that I should work out.  It was my stubbornness shining through (and my hope that I would be loved no matter my shape or size).  The funny thing is I like to exercise, and I like the gym.  I still made every excuse in the book not to go.

Well a little known fact is that divorce is a great diet.  I don't recommend it for those of you looking to lose weight, but if there is a positive side-effect to break-up then I sure as heck am going to bring it up.  When I Googled "divorce diet" I found an article (actually there are thousands) on just this topic.  Here is a little snippet from the article:

The divorce diet is "a phenomenon known all too well to survivors of painful breakups: the tendency to lose a lot of weight, quickly, while going through a divorce. And no, we're not talking about the 170 pounds you just dumped from your life. We're talking about the pounds that melt away like butter on a hot day, while your heart breaks into a million pieces. Yes, this diet works. But nobody will tell you it's easy."

-Link to Dallas Morning News Article-

Losing weight is a pretty no-brainer equation - burn more calories than you consume.  If you're interested in how this works in terms of the divorce diet, here is what I have found:

Ingredients:
1 part stress
1 part lack of appetite
2 parts hoping to appeal to the opposite gender
a dash of insecurity
a sprinkle of self-doubt

Instructions:

1. To counter the effects of the stress, visit the gym often and feel better from the side-effects of the endorphins.  Get inspiration from other gym-loving mommy friends.
2. To cancel out the insecurity and self-doubt, get body back in to shape by visiting aforementioned gym and buy new cute clothes.
3. Step 2 also helps you to appeal to the opposite gender (even if you are far, far away from going there).
4. When cooking food for your kids, wait until they are done to eat since inevitably you will finish their food.  This helps you avoid eating two meals (this step is also beneficial to moms not going though divorce).
5. Focus on all the positive in your life, rather than the negative, and try to keep a smile on your face even if you hurt inside.

Check it out - Before & After