Interview With Jill, Author Of The Sassy Pear

One of my favorite diet blogs is the Sassy Pear written by Jill, who other than being increadibly funny and a joy to read, is also quite inspirational to me in her complete honesty with herself and the world.

I decided to ask her for an email interview, to which she agreed, the results of which are just below. I hope that you find her as inspirational as I do, and that each of you can see a little bit of themselves in her. I know I did.

Here we go:

DB: Could you tell us a little about your self (how old are you, and your family situation)

JILL: I am a 38 year old wife and mom from Oklahoma. My kids are 12, 8, and 4 years old, I work full time and my most hated chore is trying to think of something to cook for dinner every night!

DB: I know that you started gaining weight with your pregnancies, and gained a bit more with every new baby. Did you try to lose weight along the way? If you did how did it go, and if you didn’t - what made you decide to start loosing?

JILL: Oh, I always tried to lose weight along the way! The problem was that before pregnancy I had never really had much of a weight problem. I was always active in high school and college, so when it came time to lose 45 pounds (which is what I gained with my first pregnancy), I didn’t know how. I really seriously thought that all my pregnancy weight would just fall off after I gave birth. Boy was that a kick in the head when I realized I would actually have to work to get the weight off! And quite honestly, I’ve never been back down to my pre-first pregnancy weight again. With each pregnancy I would gain and then lose some, but not all, of my baby weight. I think the problem was that I thought I should be able to lose 30 pounds in 3 months and when I didn’t, I got discouraged and frustrated with myself and I quit trying. I just didn’t know a lot about weight loss and how, for me, it is an agonizingly slow process.

DB: Have you tried multiple diets, and how did you find the method you are using now, and what is it about it that makes you feel comfortable?

JILL: Oh my gosh, what haven’t I tried?! I’ve tried Weight Watchers, Weigh Down Workshop, Body for Life, Slim-Fast, Intuitive Eating, as well as some made-up diets of my own. Right now, I’m not following any certain diet. I’ve gone old school as far as eating goes: I try to watch my calories and just focus on making healthy choices. And I fit in workouts whenever I can, which in a good week is about 4 times a week. I think we let things get too complicated when it comes to losing weight, but it’s still all about burning more calories than you take in.

DB: Obviously, the way to healthy is through both diets and exercise - what kind of exercises do you do, and do you do it on your own, or go to classes or to a gym? Why?

JILL: I am an advocate of plain ol’ walking - on a treadmill, down the street, whatever. Walking is a great form of cardio and every one can do it. My beloved treadmill died a few months ago, and I thought I’d get an elliptical trainer to shake things up, so I try to work out on that at least 3 days a week, 4 or 5 days when I’m really in the groove! I’m a loner when it comes to working out, but I’m thinking of taking some pilates classes this summer, just to do something different.

DB: When you started having kids and gaining weight, did your husband also gain weight?

JILL: No! Darn him! He’s one of those annoying people who has never struggled with weight. When he wants to lose a few pounds, he just cuts back on the portions and loses like 15 pounds in two weeks. I hate him. He has always been very supportive of me in my efforts though - he has never made me feel bad for any weight I’ve gained. He’s a pretty good guy.

DB: How does your diet affect your families eating and consciousness about food?

JILL: I don’t announce “Okay, mom’s on a diet, so you are too!” I try to offer up as much healthy stuff as I can, but I can’t force them to like it. My husband is a real meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, so I have to sneak in the healthier options. I just try to make sure I always have fruit available, and I try (most of the time) to limit their junk food consumption. My husband and kids don’t yet seem to have the same issues I have with food, knock wood!

DB: Does the fact that you are aware of what you eat and why, affect how you feed you family? For the better or the worse?

JILL: Yes most of the time I try to make sure we have healthy foods available as meals and snacks. I stopped buying things like Little Debbies and just flat out junk food all the time like I used to (okay except for that one time a couple of weeks ago, but that was pretty rare!). The family is pretty happy if we have fruit and string cheese for snacks. I’ve also been making the switch from white to brown rice, and introducing them to “exotic” vegetables like squash and mushrooms (my husband thinks the only 3 vegetables in the world are peas, corn, and green beans!)

DB: I am interested in your blog and how it came about?

JILL: I discovered the wonderful world of blogging a couple of years ago, and the more blogs I read, the more I realized that I had a lot in common with the bloggers who wrote them. I started commenting, and pretty soon my comments would get so long, or there was so much more I wanted to say, that I decided I should start my own blog. The name Sassy Pear came about because I can be a bit of smart-ass when I want to be, and I have the typical pear shaped body type.

DB: Have you found it useful as another tool to stay on track?

JILL: I would have given up long ago had it not been for the blogging community. I loved having a place where I could write about my frustrations and struggles and other people would comment that they were going through the same thing. It made me feel less like a failure to know that EVERYONE struggles with this, and that it’s okay to fall, as long as you get back up.

DB: what are your pit falls and how do you deal with them?

JILL: I think my biggest pitfall is my affinity for sweets. I have a sweet tooth the size of Texas. I’m an emotional eater too, so I eat for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with hunger.. Dealing with them is hard, I won’t lie, but I think the important thing is to keep trying. I try to keep these struggles in check and not let them get out of hand. That’s where blogging comes in handy. When I’m having a really rough time, I can blog about it, and I get all kinds of support and suggestions on how to deal. It’s like free therapy!

DB: Do you have a reward system for yourself?

JILL: Not really. I think it’s a good idea though. Lots of times my reward is the feeling that even though I didn’t want to get up at 5am to workout, I did it anyway. That’s a good feeling.

DB: What are the most important things you have learned about weight loss over the time you have been watching yours?

JILL: I think the most important thing is to be patient. Don’t give up. It takes time to figure this stuff out, and you just have to keep trying until you find what works for you. And sometimes it changes, so you have to be willing to shake things up when you get bored. Being kind to yourself is a biggie too.

DB: If you could step back in time, is there anything you would have done differently?

JILL: I would not have given up when I tried to lose weight the first time around 12 years ago. I got within 15 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight, but I thought I wasn’t losing weight as fast as I should have been, so I quit trying. And that started the endless cycle of trying and giving up and trying and giving up. If I had been more patient with myself, I think I would have eventually lost all the baby weight. This time around, I am not giving up. I’m going to see it through to the end.