Delightful things people have said to me lately –
Friend who brought me flowers on my birthday: ‘I can tell when I hug you that you’ve lost about four inches around your waist.’
Colleague encountered at the movies: ‘You’re looking good, Rosemary. Something’s working!’
Letitia, film director, during phone-call: ‘It really shows in the pictures from the latest filming. You’ve lost heaps!’
Conversations which amuse me –
Neighbour, in our shared driveway: ‘You’re on a diet?’
Me: ‘No.’
Neighbour: ‘Oh, are you just being careful what you eat?’
Me: 'No, not at all. I eat what I like.’
Husband, at home yesterday: ‘I can’t understand how you’re losing so much weight! You’re eating like a horse.’
Me: ‘Well you know I’m not allowed to tell you. But you live with me – you must be able to see what I’m doing.’
Husband: ‘Nothing! It’s a mystery.’
Other things I’m not doing –
Just for the record, Husband is wrong; I am of course doing something. I’m doing Letitia’s program, with the consent of my doctor. And yes, I have signed a contract not to reveal the details. You’ll all have to wait until the film is released.
However, I do have permission to tell you what I’m not doing – besides not dieting.
I’m not cutting out fat; I’m not even cutting it down.
I haven’t lowered my sugar intake. (It wasn’t all that high to start with, but I do indulge in cakes, biscuits and chocolate whenever I feel like it.)
I’m not doing any strenuous exercise.
I’m not taking any appetite suppressants, diuretics, or ‘speedy’ chemicals.
I’m not using dietary supplements.
I haven’t been hypnotised.
Pleasant surprises –
A month ago I bought some new slacks. I got them from the op shop because I knew I’d be growing out of them fairly soon. It was a lot sooner than I thought! Within a week they had gone from a perfect fit to being rather loose. By now, the waistband sags about three inches below my navel.
I fit back into the black satin pants my friend Pam gave me, which I haven’t worn for nearly two years.
Today I had to do up my bra on the second row of hooks.
(If you're desperate for clues, check Letitia's thinkin trim taut terrific website.)
Showing posts with label Letitia Lee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Letitia Lee. Show all posts
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Monday, September 01, 2008
Thinkin' Trim Taut Terrific: 2
This Saturday we had our second film shoot, three weeks after the first, and began working with Letitia's techniques. Just as well I signed a contract not to reveal details before the film is released, otherwise I'd be tempted. I already think it's such a wonderful program that I'd love to share it with the world! But of course that is exactly what the film will do, in such a way that people who view it can benefit too, much more than they would from any snippets I might describe along the way. And in fact I don't yet know what the whole program will be; the cast gets it one step at a time. Let's just say I'm finding it very exciting!
Already we are starting to get to know each other at deeper levels, so the bonding created on the first shoot proves very necessary. We need to be able to trust each other; luckily Letitia has chosen her people well so that's not a problem. We are Letitia herself, a success coach in her thirties; me: a poet / author / teacher / healer / psychic in my sixties; a mechanic in his forties; a teacher in her twenties; an 18-year-old autistic boy attending a special school; and a 16-year-old girl who is a High School student and wants to become a photographer. Although we're such different people, leading such different lives, we are all committed to our goals and willing to be open with each other about our experiences and processes.
Most importantly, we all trust Letitia, which is obviously vital. Not only do we know she's been there and done that, but some of us already knew her quite well as a person in our lives.
As for the camera people and other assistants, they blend in well. We've been told to forget they're there during the actual filming, and it's surprisingly easy to do so despite lights, boom, and cameras on tripods. Perhaps that's because what we're up to ourselves is so absorbing.
Already we are starting to get to know each other at deeper levels, so the bonding created on the first shoot proves very necessary. We need to be able to trust each other; luckily Letitia has chosen her people well so that's not a problem. We are Letitia herself, a success coach in her thirties; me: a poet / author / teacher / healer / psychic in my sixties; a mechanic in his forties; a teacher in her twenties; an 18-year-old autistic boy attending a special school; and a 16-year-old girl who is a High School student and wants to become a photographer. Although we're such different people, leading such different lives, we are all committed to our goals and willing to be open with each other about our experiences and processes.
Most importantly, we all trust Letitia, which is obviously vital. Not only do we know she's been there and done that, but some of us already knew her quite well as a person in our lives.
As for the camera people and other assistants, they blend in well. We've been told to forget they're there during the actual filming, and it's surprisingly easy to do so despite lights, boom, and cameras on tripods. Perhaps that's because what we're up to ourselves is so absorbing.
Letitia Lee
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Thinkin' Trim Taut Terrific
I'm in a movie! We began filming yesterday. In the process, over the next 12 months I'm going to become slim, fit and gorgeous!
Thinkin' Trim Taut Terrific is the business name and website of my dear friend Letitia Lee, who is making this film with the encouragement of the film production company Screenworks. She is in their mentoring program.
Letitia describes her film not as a documentary but "a reality film from the heart". She herself is the star. She has employed her own methods so successfully in the past that she wanted to share them with the world, and regained weight on purpose so as to be able to demonstrate how to lose it. I've known her long enough to have seen her both ways.
A small, select group of us are the supporting cast. When I heard she was making this film and advertising for cast members, I begged to be in it because I know this girl can get things done. Heck, she was one of the prime movers in the fund-raising drive that got me to Texas in 2006 to feature in poetry festivals there. In the last couple of years I have put on – well, let's just say more weight than I'm happy with. I'd like to avoid diseases associated with obesity, recover the energy I have had in the past, and yes, look good too.
This is one of my baby photos and some of me as a youngster. You can see that slenderness was always going to be something of a challenge. It doesn't appear to have been part of the design!
There have been times in my life that I was slim – sometimes bordering on anorexic, I realise with hindsight (a condition that hadn't been identified back then). They've always been interspersed with periods of overweight. And yes, I know all the ways to lose weight, and am a (temporarily) successful graduate of both Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig.
What makes me think Letitia's program will be any different? It's holistic – and I'm not allowed to say much more about that. We all signed a contract yesterday not to divulge the details of the program; though you can find out some things from the website. One of the most appealing things about it, which I can tell you, is that we aren't going to be existing on lettuce leaves. On the contrary. We're all overweight because we love food, and we're told that on this program we'll be eating well. In fact Letitia promised us, "This film will be food porn!"
Yesterday we filmed the opening sequences, where each of us appears in our natural habitat so to speak. I was shown on stage as a performance poet, wearing my purple Goddess gown which has been the costume for many performances. (I do have other clothes, but it always goes down so well.)
The cameraman wasn't prepared for the oomph I put into my performances. When I burst on stage and launched into my opening line, he said, "Hang on, I wasn't prepared for that!" and made some quick adjustments to his equipment. (I don't know ... sound? focus? I didn't ask. I was too busy feeling gleeful at having surprised him. Somehow, without meaning to, I always manage to project "ladylike"; people get a shock to discover my true outrageousness, and I love it when they do.)
The cast and crew are a great bunch of people; we all bonded quickly. I suspect some of that was due to Letitia's experience as a facilitator and team builder. She's very good at putting everyone at ease, at the same time as keeping them on track. It looks like being an interesting twelve months!
Thinkin' Trim Taut Terrific is the business name and website of my dear friend Letitia Lee, who is making this film with the encouragement of the film production company Screenworks. She is in their mentoring program.
Letitia describes her film not as a documentary but "a reality film from the heart". She herself is the star. She has employed her own methods so successfully in the past that she wanted to share them with the world, and regained weight on purpose so as to be able to demonstrate how to lose it. I've known her long enough to have seen her both ways.
A small, select group of us are the supporting cast. When I heard she was making this film and advertising for cast members, I begged to be in it because I know this girl can get things done. Heck, she was one of the prime movers in the fund-raising drive that got me to Texas in 2006 to feature in poetry festivals there. In the last couple of years I have put on – well, let's just say more weight than I'm happy with. I'd like to avoid diseases associated with obesity, recover the energy I have had in the past, and yes, look good too.
This is one of my baby photos and some of me as a youngster. You can see that slenderness was always going to be something of a challenge. It doesn't appear to have been part of the design!
There have been times in my life that I was slim – sometimes bordering on anorexic, I realise with hindsight (a condition that hadn't been identified back then). They've always been interspersed with periods of overweight. And yes, I know all the ways to lose weight, and am a (temporarily) successful graduate of both Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig.
What makes me think Letitia's program will be any different? It's holistic – and I'm not allowed to say much more about that. We all signed a contract yesterday not to divulge the details of the program; though you can find out some things from the website. One of the most appealing things about it, which I can tell you, is that we aren't going to be existing on lettuce leaves. On the contrary. We're all overweight because we love food, and we're told that on this program we'll be eating well. In fact Letitia promised us, "This film will be food porn!"
Yesterday we filmed the opening sequences, where each of us appears in our natural habitat so to speak. I was shown on stage as a performance poet, wearing my purple Goddess gown which has been the costume for many performances. (I do have other clothes, but it always goes down so well.)
The cameraman wasn't prepared for the oomph I put into my performances. When I burst on stage and launched into my opening line, he said, "Hang on, I wasn't prepared for that!" and made some quick adjustments to his equipment. (I don't know ... sound? focus? I didn't ask. I was too busy feeling gleeful at having surprised him. Somehow, without meaning to, I always manage to project "ladylike"; people get a shock to discover my true outrageousness, and I love it when they do.)
The cast and crew are a great bunch of people; we all bonded quickly. I suspect some of that was due to Letitia's experience as a facilitator and team builder. She's very good at putting everyone at ease, at the same time as keeping them on track. It looks like being an interesting twelve months!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
The State of the Body
1)
Yesterday I blogged about growing up with a feeling of being disconnected from others – to the extent that a psychiatrist speculated, years later, that I might have been somewhat autistic. This morning I read Cerebral Mum's blog about trying to enrol herself at University without her glasses, and feeling disoriented, confused and – yes – disconnected. And I remembered that I was nine years old before my adults realised I needed glasses.
It hadn't shown up too much in class because I was in fact short-sighted. Even with astigmatism as well, I could read my books all right – though people did keep urging me to literally take my nose out of them! ('You'll ruin your eyes,' they kept saying, and none of us realised my eyes were crook already.) And I liked my lessons (most of them) and didn't particularly want to muck up in class, so I was happy to sit in the front where I could see the blackboard.
Outside the classroom, and outside my beloved books, it was a different story. I gained an undeserved reputation for being 'stuck up' because I couldn't see who was who until they got close, so people thought I was ignoring them on purpose. As I said yesterday, I also couldn't interpret non-verbal cues very well, and I was physically clumsy. Therefore I was pretty hopeless in social situations, which increased my withdrawal into myself and into the world of reading, ideas and daydreams.
I'm not complaining exactly – I loved that world and still do – though I'm glad I also learned to relate to people eventually. I did have a few friends back then too, and I wonder how come they persevered with me in the face of my various oddities.
But what a revelation, to realise that the whole thing very probably stemmed not from some innate mental condition but a physical one, my poor eyesight!
2)
Today in an unfamiliar shopping centre I rounded a corner and nearly collided with a huge, fat woman. A moment later I realised I was looking at a mirror wall, and the large lady was me!
Oh dear, I knew I'd put on a bit this last year – but THAT much? Evidently so. Yes, I was wearing my glasses; no chance of seeing wrong this time.
(This is why any photos you see here are at least a year old.)
Roll on Letitia! Hmmm, perhaps 'roll' is an unfortunate choice of word. What I mean is, my pal Letitia Lee is about to make a documentary on Thinkin Trim Taut Terrific and I can hardly wait to get the benefit of her expertise on the subject. She's used this method before to become slim. This time she had to get very big again on purpose, so as to be her own main demonstration model. I didn't exactly do it on purpose myself, more by carelessness, but I'm sure going to rectify the matter very purposefully!
Now, it's not that I think fat women can't be beautiful. I know some who are downright gorgeous! Luminous skin, wonderful eyes, great hair, volutptuous curves in all the right places....
And it's not that I think old women can't be sexy. The most delicious flirt I know, adored by her male friends of all ages, is a vibrant 80. She's also a believable blonde.
Alas, the woman in the mirror was not like this. The worst was, she didn't even reflect what I like to think of as my personality. She looked tentative, even a bit scared, and I have to say there wasn't much sign of intellect.
'Poor old thing,' I would have thought, had started to think, before I saw that she was me.
Well, I am of course a Senior Citizen – but I don't FEEL elderly on the inside. How shocking that I should look it, even despite my lovely magenta-coloured hair.
Something has to be done! I'll take all the help I can get, but actually I'm the one who has to do it. See you later, folks; I'm off out for a walk.
Yesterday I blogged about growing up with a feeling of being disconnected from others – to the extent that a psychiatrist speculated, years later, that I might have been somewhat autistic. This morning I read Cerebral Mum's blog about trying to enrol herself at University without her glasses, and feeling disoriented, confused and – yes – disconnected. And I remembered that I was nine years old before my adults realised I needed glasses.
It hadn't shown up too much in class because I was in fact short-sighted. Even with astigmatism as well, I could read my books all right – though people did keep urging me to literally take my nose out of them! ('You'll ruin your eyes,' they kept saying, and none of us realised my eyes were crook already.) And I liked my lessons (most of them) and didn't particularly want to muck up in class, so I was happy to sit in the front where I could see the blackboard.
Outside the classroom, and outside my beloved books, it was a different story. I gained an undeserved reputation for being 'stuck up' because I couldn't see who was who until they got close, so people thought I was ignoring them on purpose. As I said yesterday, I also couldn't interpret non-verbal cues very well, and I was physically clumsy. Therefore I was pretty hopeless in social situations, which increased my withdrawal into myself and into the world of reading, ideas and daydreams.
I'm not complaining exactly – I loved that world and still do – though I'm glad I also learned to relate to people eventually. I did have a few friends back then too, and I wonder how come they persevered with me in the face of my various oddities.
But what a revelation, to realise that the whole thing very probably stemmed not from some innate mental condition but a physical one, my poor eyesight!
2)
Today in an unfamiliar shopping centre I rounded a corner and nearly collided with a huge, fat woman. A moment later I realised I was looking at a mirror wall, and the large lady was me!
Oh dear, I knew I'd put on a bit this last year – but THAT much? Evidently so. Yes, I was wearing my glasses; no chance of seeing wrong this time.
(This is why any photos you see here are at least a year old.)
Roll on Letitia! Hmmm, perhaps 'roll' is an unfortunate choice of word. What I mean is, my pal Letitia Lee is about to make a documentary on Thinkin Trim Taut Terrific and I can hardly wait to get the benefit of her expertise on the subject. She's used this method before to become slim. This time she had to get very big again on purpose, so as to be her own main demonstration model. I didn't exactly do it on purpose myself, more by carelessness, but I'm sure going to rectify the matter very purposefully!
Now, it's not that I think fat women can't be beautiful. I know some who are downright gorgeous! Luminous skin, wonderful eyes, great hair, volutptuous curves in all the right places....
And it's not that I think old women can't be sexy. The most delicious flirt I know, adored by her male friends of all ages, is a vibrant 80. She's also a believable blonde.
Alas, the woman in the mirror was not like this. The worst was, she didn't even reflect what I like to think of as my personality. She looked tentative, even a bit scared, and I have to say there wasn't much sign of intellect.
'Poor old thing,' I would have thought, had started to think, before I saw that she was me.
Well, I am of course a Senior Citizen – but I don't FEEL elderly on the inside. How shocking that I should look it, even despite my lovely magenta-coloured hair.
Something has to be done! I'll take all the help I can get, but actually I'm the one who has to do it. See you later, folks; I'm off out for a walk.
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