The next booklet that we will explore is “How to control your weight”. After reading this booklet I am convinced that all diet books have been saying the same thing for years and they don't work. If diets really allowed you to achieve your long term goals we would all be thinner.
We have to look toward mindful eating instead and perhaps that will do the trick. My niece Meghan has been saying this for years. Her web page address is http://www.MergeIntoHealth.com/
For now, lets explore how the 1960’s Modern Woman goes about controlling her weight.
First there is a section on the woman who is too thin and needs to gain weight.
“What does being too thin do to you? In the first place, you have too little fatty tissue covering your bones. Its absence makes you look unattractive. The mortality rate for underweight persons is less than that for the overweight, but unlike the latter, which is greatest after the age of forty-five, it is exactly reversed. Underweight is more dangerous to those under forty-five.”
The desirable weight for Men and Women chart in the book was taken from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. I compared it to today's charts and you can be heavier today and be considered healthy than you could be in 1960. People were expected to weigh less back then.
This booklet also discusses diet pills and meals in a can. I didn't realize that liquid diets were around then.
“The highly dubious will-o’-the-wisp is a 'diet aid.' It usually comes in the form of a pill or a capsule which is guaranteed to make you lose your appetite. Many of them are quite harmless.”
“These diet aids are a prop which bolsters your weak resolve to lose weight for as long as you continue to use it. No doctor would advocate your taking such an aid for a prolonged time. Therefore, when you give it up, having lost the pounds you wanted to, perhaps, you regain your appetite. In the meantime, you have changed not one habit, learning nothing - and back you go to eating too much, too rich food. In a twinkling you’re fat again - and no one should be less surprised than you!”
I liked this next paragraph. A 12 was the desired size but a 12 in 1960 is smaller than a 12 in today's store.
Everything from weigh charts to dress sizes have gotten bigger since then.
“The thrill of finding the size 12 looks perfect on you when you’ve been wearing a 16 is great. The same holds true for a grown woman who used to wear an 8 and looked rather like a scarecrow, when she proudly buys a 12 and looks like a delightfully curvy lady!”
Some of the recipes were very interesting. Here is one that will make you wonder~
Norwegian Fish Pudding
1/2 pound codfish Dash of nutmeg
1/2 pound haddock 1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 egg whites 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
dash of pepper 2 cups of milk
Remove all skin and bones from the fish. Put through the finest grinder twice. Add egg whites and put through grinder again. Add seasonings and cornstarch. Add milk gradually, beating with electric mixer for 15 minutes or longer. Place in buttered loaf pan and bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour, or until pudding is solid enough to slice. Serve with shrimp sauce. Serves 4.
I made Poories (the next recipe) because they didn’t seem too dangerous. Deep fried flour and water.
1 poorie = 35 calories. (?) A cross between flat bread and crackers.
Poories
8 tablespons whole wheat flour
1 heaping talbespoon white flour
dash of salt
water
Mix flours with salt. Add enough water, gradually, to hold the mixture together. Knead until all four is absorbed. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and of even texture. Divide into 8 balls and set aside, coved for an hour or more. Roll out into paper thin rounds on lightly floured board. Place one poorie at a time in 375 degree deep fat, pressing it down with a slotted spoon, using a circular motion, until it starts to blow up like a ball. Allow to come to the surface, turn over and brown lightly on second side. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve hot (keep in warm oven until needed).
And the last word from Amy Vanderbilt - "It is an interesting thing, however, that the greatly overweight and the greatly underweight have one problem in common- they are both usually chronically tired and dissatisfied with their appearance. Diets to lose, diets to gain, and diets to maintain weight are all predicated on one important need - that of self satisfaction. If we don't like ourselves, who will like us?"
We have to look toward mindful eating instead and perhaps that will do the trick. My niece Meghan has been saying this for years. Her web page address is http://www.MergeIntoHealth.com/
For now, lets explore how the 1960’s Modern Woman goes about controlling her weight.
First there is a section on the woman who is too thin and needs to gain weight.
“What does being too thin do to you? In the first place, you have too little fatty tissue covering your bones. Its absence makes you look unattractive. The mortality rate for underweight persons is less than that for the overweight, but unlike the latter, which is greatest after the age of forty-five, it is exactly reversed. Underweight is more dangerous to those under forty-five.”
The desirable weight for Men and Women chart in the book was taken from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. I compared it to today's charts and you can be heavier today and be considered healthy than you could be in 1960. People were expected to weigh less back then.
This booklet also discusses diet pills and meals in a can. I didn't realize that liquid diets were around then.
“The highly dubious will-o’-the-wisp is a 'diet aid.' It usually comes in the form of a pill or a capsule which is guaranteed to make you lose your appetite. Many of them are quite harmless.”
“These diet aids are a prop which bolsters your weak resolve to lose weight for as long as you continue to use it. No doctor would advocate your taking such an aid for a prolonged time. Therefore, when you give it up, having lost the pounds you wanted to, perhaps, you regain your appetite. In the meantime, you have changed not one habit, learning nothing - and back you go to eating too much, too rich food. In a twinkling you’re fat again - and no one should be less surprised than you!”
I liked this next paragraph. A 12 was the desired size but a 12 in 1960 is smaller than a 12 in today's store.
Everything from weigh charts to dress sizes have gotten bigger since then.
“The thrill of finding the size 12 looks perfect on you when you’ve been wearing a 16 is great. The same holds true for a grown woman who used to wear an 8 and looked rather like a scarecrow, when she proudly buys a 12 and looks like a delightfully curvy lady!”
Some of the recipes were very interesting. Here is one that will make you wonder~
Norwegian Fish Pudding
1/2 pound codfish Dash of nutmeg
1/2 pound haddock 1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 egg whites 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
dash of pepper 2 cups of milk
Remove all skin and bones from the fish. Put through the finest grinder twice. Add egg whites and put through grinder again. Add seasonings and cornstarch. Add milk gradually, beating with electric mixer for 15 minutes or longer. Place in buttered loaf pan and bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour, or until pudding is solid enough to slice. Serve with shrimp sauce. Serves 4.
I made Poories (the next recipe) because they didn’t seem too dangerous. Deep fried flour and water.
1 poorie = 35 calories. (?) A cross between flat bread and crackers.
Poories
8 tablespons whole wheat flour
1 heaping talbespoon white flour
dash of salt
water
Mix flours with salt. Add enough water, gradually, to hold the mixture together. Knead until all four is absorbed. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and of even texture. Divide into 8 balls and set aside, coved for an hour or more. Roll out into paper thin rounds on lightly floured board. Place one poorie at a time in 375 degree deep fat, pressing it down with a slotted spoon, using a circular motion, until it starts to blow up like a ball. Allow to come to the surface, turn over and brown lightly on second side. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve hot (keep in warm oven until needed).
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| photo credit: CK Worley |
And the last word from Amy Vanderbilt - "It is an interesting thing, however, that the greatly overweight and the greatly underweight have one problem in common- they are both usually chronically tired and dissatisfied with their appearance. Diets to lose, diets to gain, and diets to maintain weight are all predicated on one important need - that of self satisfaction. If we don't like ourselves, who will like us?"
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