Upsides to the Down Economy/Fat Chicks Roll the Dice

I am reluctant to blog about this, but I was at a Bunko game the other night and, as I sat there scarfing down corned beef sandwiches, potato and leek soup and Irish soda bread I noticed a similarity between the middle aged ladies gathered there, who had come to roll dice and have fun. It wasn't that we were all past forty, most had teenage children or came from the same socio-economic strata. No, it was that we all (or most of us) were sporting an unattractive spare tire around our middle. What gives with that? Obviously, after 40 our metabolism slows down, but are those ten (or more) extra pounds inevitable? I think about Kathy Lee (of Regis fame) who was out of the spotlight for ten years, while living down the embarrassment of her husband Frank boinking a flight attendant in a set-up by the media. Anyway, when she returned to TV, she said she was ten pounds heavier and actually ate less than she used to. The obvious solution is eat less and move more, right? Well, I thought so but I also am not a big fan of starving. I ran into a friend recently who had lost a lot of weight and looked great. Her secret? She went to the Dr. who prescribed her Adderall for her "slow metabolism" and the pounds dropped off. I was intrigued and horrified, all at the same time. My son just told me the other day, another friend (whom I never would have suspected) had done the same thing. He thinks Adderall is not good for you. "Why do you guys care anyway about your weight? You're over fifty, married with kids," he commented. Oh really? So at fifty, we're just supposed to roll over and play dead? Or, let our bodies and our looks go to pot? On the flip side, I think about Nancy Reagan and how she kept her cute petite body well into her old age. I do also remember a restaurant owner saying she would come in to his place (with then-President Ronald) and eat very lightly. So, it seems, we're back to starving yourself. There are all kinds of "Flat Belly Diets", "Diets after 40" out there. Are any of them the magic bullet? Food for thought (at least it's calorie-free).