Stuck

I am stuck. After losing 20 pounds last year, I have not lost any additional weight. It is no mystery why; I eat and I cheat.

My goal is lose 25 pounds total and I would like to do it before I head out for my long weekend en femme in Ohio next month. I have four weeks to do it and I know I can if I don't cheat.

The trip to Ohio is for Hamvention, the big ham radio convention held annually in the Dayton area. If you are a ham (or not) and plan to attend, I hope we can make an "eyeball QSO."

A lot closer to home, I will be attending and presenting at the Transgender Lives Conference on April 28 at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. Again, if you plan to attend, I hope we can meet in person.

If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you know what I look like, but most likely, I don't know what you look like, so if you see me at Hamvention or Transgender Lives, or anywhere else,  don't be shy — I'd love to meet you, so please introduce yourself and I'll talk your ear off!

Wearing H&M

Femulating on stage for the Australian Army during World War II.

Monday Mishmosh

Approaching my ideal high heel height!

Whenever I mention that I lost some weight, someone asks what is my regimen for weight loss. I have described my regimen a number of times in the past (as recently as January), but I am happy to repeat it for those who missed it.

My dieting method is not ground-breaking. Cut out sweets, reduce my bread intake and don't eat in between meals. I seldom drink alcoholic beverages, so for me, there is no gain in avoiding booze. On weekends, I often eat only two meals instead of three. And I walk at least one mile per day.

I am approaching my all-time lowest weight as an adult, which I achieved back in the summer of 1970. I hope to equal or break that low point by the True Color Conference on March 17.

💃💃💃

Thank you all for the congratulations on my impending semi-retirement. I am still sorting out what I want to do when I semi-retire. 

I mentioned being a trans fashion consultant (helping trans girls get the girl in gear) and being a saleswoman at a woman's clothing store (I already got the green light at a local Dress Barn if I choose that path).

But number one on my list is doing Trans 101 training for businesses and organizations seeking such training. There may not be a big demand for such training, but I would be happy with one paying gig per week along with some pro bono work. 

I asked a long-time acquaintance in Human Resources how viable this career choice would be and she is researching it for me.

💃💃💃

Abby at Vivian Lou wrote in her weekly e-mail, "Why is it that some women are most comfortable in kitten heels or low wedges, while others feel right at home in 4 inch heels?

"Dr. Emma Supple, a London podiatrist, says it’s all in the structure and flexibility of your foot.

"When relaxed, your foot has a natural incline. This is the position in which your foot feels most comfortable.  It is also your ideal heel height according to Dr. Supple.

"Using this natural incline theory, the ideal heel height is the length between the bottom of the heel and the ball of the foot (where the foot bends when wearing heels)."

Find out how Abby measured her ideal heel height here.

For what it's worth, I performed the test and accordingly, my high heel height should be 6 inches!

Paris street style, March 2017

Drag Net – Los Angeles police femulated in 1960 to catch purse snatchers.

Got Serious

In the past, when my only outings en femme were support group meetings and Halloween parties, I was not fooling anybody, so there was no need to make an effort to pass.

Not that I looked like a guy in a dress – I have always been a perfectionist, so I learned how to apply makeup, style wigs, and dress to impress. Yet, passing was not important because my public forays were next to none, so what I did then worked.

However, as my outings en femme increased, I realized that I had to do better. What worked at a support group meeting would not work on the streets of Gotham City.

My weight has always been on the heavy side with 20 pound swings from one year to next.

I decided to end the roller coaster ride. I lost a dozen pounds and two dress sizes. For the past few years, I have managed to avoid the 20 pound fluctuations and have lost even more weight since then.

Now, there are 2 or 3 pound fluctuations and they set off an alarm to alert me to watch my diet or my figure will suffer.

In addition to a smaller dress size, losing and maintaining a lower weight had some other benefits.

Gone are the uncomfortable heavyweight foundation garments. Comfortable and lightweight Spanx-style support is all I need these days to create the semblance of a girlish figure.

Also, my toes got thinner! Before I lost weight, the fourth and fifth little piggies on my left foot were not getting along. They overlapped, which caused friction, discomfort, and severe irritation. It was so bad that I planned to see a doctor about the problem.

After I lost weight, the toe problem went away. I assume it was a combination of thinner toes and less weight pressing down on those toes.

Whatever – my feet are happier in heels these days!

Wearing Bebe.

Andrej Bičan femulates on the Slovakian version of television's Your Face Sounds Familiar.

Weighty Matters

Pricilla wrote, "Maybe you can share your dieting methods which enabled you to loose that weight? What is your final goal?"

I have lost 14 pounds so far. My goal is to lose 9 more pounds – 25 total.

Three-fifths of the way to my goal, I noticed my face is thinner, my feet no longer hurt (yes, my toes are skinnier), my high heels are more comfortable for a longer period of time and my girdle is not killing me as soon as it did when I was 14 pounds heavier, in fact, the last few times out, my foundation garments were no problem at all.

I started this diet in early November. On the eve of the holidays, I had lost about a dozen pounds. It was difficult to maintain that loss through the holidays, but I managed.

New Year's weekend, I caught a stomach flu and when it was all over, I lost a few more pounds! I don't recommend losing weight by catching a stomach flu, but as they say, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

My dieting method is not ground-breaking. Cut out sweets, reduce my bread intake and don't eat in between meals. I seldom drink alcoholic beverages, so for me, there is no gain in avoiding booze. On weekends, I often eat only two meals instead of three. And I walk at least one mile per day.

And so it goes.

Wearing Intermix.

Seven femulators make a womanless wedding, circa 1950.

Counting

The Mean Gurls at Hamshire (TX) High School in 2010. 

The Femulate hit counter at the bottom of the right sidebar broke the 12 million mark this past week!

I have had the StatCounter hit counter running on this blog since the first post. I am not sure what goes on behind the scenes at StatCounter, but they claim the blog has had 12,000,000 hits.

On the other hand, Blogger counts "pageviews" and according to their current count, Femulate has had 13,169,090 pageviews.

So, I guess Femulate has had about 12 or 13 million hits/pageviews, give or take a million.

∞ ∞ ∞

Speaking of counting, I counted ten pounds less on the bathroom scale this morning. My goal is to lose ten pounds more and two or four dress sizes.

∞ ∞ ∞

Meanwhile, I counted 32 new files in Starla's collection of womanless high school doings.

Long-time Femulate readers will recall the huge collection of womanless  images that Starla clipped from online high school yearbooks in the past. She sent all her findings to me on a regular basis and I mentioned them here, then posted them on flickr. 

Starla took a break in mid-2015 and I did not hear from her until recently when she began sending me womanless images as she found them. I collected her new findings and have uploaded them to flickr.

You may view the new photos in two ways:

Method 1: Open one of the Yearbooks sets (A through Z) and you will find the newest uploads at the end/bottom of the set. (The oldest uploads appear at the beginning/top of the set.)

Method 2: Open this photostream and you will find the newest uploads at the top of page 1. The uploads get older as the page numbers get higher with the oldest uploads on the last page. 

By the way, the contents of the Yearbook A through Z sets are organized according to school name, for example, the photos from Sacred Heart High School would be in the Yearbooks S set.

∞ ∞ ∞

Don't forget that the Femulate At Work is counting down to Monday when I will attempt a live blog during my day at work as a woman.

I hope that like me, you will enjoy your weekend depilating in preparation for a Halloween femulation!

So Veet on!

Wearing A.L.C.

Nino Manfredi femulates in the 1966 Italian film Adultery Italian Style.

Two Down, Two to Go

Trying to drop a couple of pounds that I gained this winter so that I can look more gorgeous this spring. LOL

I know how to lose the weight. Breads and sweets are my downfall. Cut them out of my diet and I start losing weight ― I just have to gather up the will-power to cut them out.

Usually an upcoming event will motivate me to do it. Attending the True Colors Conference this Friday is my motivation du jour and I already dropped 2 pounds since Sunday. I just need to drop 2 more pounds by Friday and I will have shed my winter weight.

Beyond that, I'd like to lose a few more pounds. I am about 13 pounds over my all-time low weight as an adult, which I achieved one summer working in a sweat shop during my summer break from college. 

Talk about gorgeous ― I was almost waif-like at the end of that summer. I doubt if I can get that low again, but it's worth a try. The big negative is that all my clothes will be too big and I will have to buy some new dresses that do fit (sigh).

And so it goes.

Wearing JustFab.

What a difference a close shave can make!

All or Nothing

I was very concerned about my weight during the long holiday weekend. After some ups and downs, I am happy to report that my weight before and after the weekend is the same.

Tomorrow is another day out for this woman. I am scheduled to do outreach at a human sexuality class after noon and will probably do a little shopping before the class and grab a bite to eat after the class.

The local Avon reps were talking about getting together for a Christmas party, but the plans have not jelled yet, so I don't know if I will be joining the other girls for our annual Avon rep get-together.

Visions of going to work as a woman are still dancing in my head. My mind is made up that if I do it, it will be daily and not an occasional when-I'm-in-the-mood thing. I think consistency is critical in order to impress upon the civilians that I am trans. And it will also help me get used to the routine of presenting a woman every day.

And so it goes.

Wearing Alice + Olivia.

Casa Valentina on the Miami stage, 2015.

How'd I Do?

First of the year, I posted my To Do list for 2011. As the year is winding down quickly, it is time to review the list and see how I did.

• Dress en femme more often than not --- This year, I was en femme more than ever before, but not "more often then not."

• Kiss a girl --- No kisses, but lots of hugs.

• Lose ten pounds --- I lost 12 pounds during 2011 (and even better, have kept it off). I think it shows and I am very happy about accomplishing this To Do. 

• Write a book --- I started to write a book, but did not finish it.

• Get rid of my back fat --- Losing 12 pounds and using shapewear that hides back fat has essentially eliminated my back fat.

• Have more nights out with the girls --- I had nights out with the girls in 2011, but probably no "more" than in 2010.

• Get rid of my varicose veins --- Didn't happen; maybe next year.

• Improve my blog --- The blog is a work-in-progress, so I am always tweaking it trying to improve it.

• Find a new hair style --- I bought a new wig in January, which became my go-to coiffure in 2011.

• Attend a transgender conference --- I attended a transgender conference in April.

• Sell Avon en femme --- I made a few Avon sales en femme in 2011 and I attended an Avon sales conference in September.

Overall, I believe that 2011 was a good year for me.

Side Benefits of Serious Femulation

In the past, when my only outings en femme were support group meetings and Halloween parties, I was not fooling anybody, so there was no need to make an effort to pass.

Not that I looked like a guy in a dress --- I have always been a perfectionist, so I learned how to apply makeup, style wigs, and dress to impress. Yet, passing was not important because my public forays en femme were rare, so what I did then worked.

However, as my outings en femme increased, I realized that I had to do better. What worked at a support group meeting would not work on the streets of Gotham City.

My weight has always been on the heavy side with 20 pound swings from one year to next.

I decided to end the roller coaster ride. I lost a dozen pounds and two dress sizes. For the past few years, I have managed to avoid the 20 pound fluctuations.

Now, there are 2 or 3 pound fluctuations and they set off an alarm to alert me to watch my diet or my figure will suffer.

In addition to a smaller dress size, losing and maintaining a lower weight had some other benefits.

Gone are the uncomfortable heavyweight foundation garments. Comfortable and lightweight Spanx-style support is all I need these days to create the semblance of a girlish figure.

Also, my toes got thinner! Before I lost weight, the fourth and fifth little piggies on my left foot were not getting along. They overlapped, which caused friction, discomfort, and severe irritation. It was so bad that I planned to see a doctor about the problem.

After I lost weight, the toe problem went away. I assume it was a combination of thinner toes and less weight pressing down on those toes.

Whatever --- my feet are happier in heels these days!

Avoiding a Black and Blue Friday

Thanksgiving is a difficult holiday for girls (male or female) trying to maintain their figures.

I did not want to be blue on "Black Friday," so I refused to get on the bathroom scale on Friday. Saturday morning, I gritted my teeth and climbed on the scale; I was happy to see that I gained only one pound.

It should be a piece of cake to lose that pound in time for my next outing en femme on Tuesday, when I will speak at two human sexuality classes at a local university. I also hope to do some holiday shopping and visit a jolly old elf.

As usual, I am looking forward to doing outreach at the two classes as well as experiencing a day when I will be myself.

this and that

crossdressing is not a mental disorder

Sister blogger, Petra Bellejambes, of Voyages en Rose fame suggested that I mention the petition sponsored by the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE). It calls for the complete removal of so-called "Transvestic Disorder" (302.3) as a diagnostic category from the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). (The Manual "is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders." )

In their petition, the IFGE delineates the reasons for removing Transvestic Disorder from the DSM. After reading the petition, I am sure you will agree with its logic and  I urge you to sign it as I did and tell the APA that crossdressing is not a mental disorder.

So, do not pass go, do not collect $200, instead go here and sign the petition now!

snarky comments

Read the comments to blog postings and you may notice that the snarky, rude, and nasty comments usually come from "anonymous" senders.

After receiving my share of those snarky comments, I considered deleting them because I felt that if a commenter was so gutless that he/she had to resort to an anonymous identity in order to post a  snarky comment, then his/her comment did not deserve to see the light of day.

However, I am a strong advocate of free speech and I let everyone have their say no matter how wrong they may be. It is just too bad that some of the commenters are so cowardly that they cannot stand behind their words.

By the way, the only comments I will delete are those containing foul language, i.e., those containing the seven words the FCC will not allow on television and then some. (You can look them up here.)

weighty issue

Good news!

You may remember my bout with a stomach virus a few weeks ago, which resulted in a large loss of weight. Well, I am fully recovered now and even better, I managed to keep off almost all the weight that I lost.

I guess I should start perusing the apparel catalogs to find a skimpy bikini to purchase real soon now. (I wish!)

the challenge continues

Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I mentioned how I lost ten pounds since mid-September and I wanted to keep it off, so Thanksgiving would be a challenge for me.

Well, I made it through Thanksgiving and the food- and drink-filled weeks that followed without gaining a pound. I didn't lose anything, but considering all the temptations before me, I think I have been a very good girl maintaining my weight.

The challenge continues through New Year's Day and two weeks from today, I hope to report that the ten pounds I lost are still lost!