Tell iVillage YOUR story!

Before I begin with this post, I must share the BEST (sarcasm) comment I received yesterday at temple for Yom Kippur. I was hugging and kissing my grandparents hello when one of their friends (an acquaintance, actually), looked in our direction. "Is that your granddaughter, Morty?" he asked. Profuse bragging ensued, followed by an introduction. The other man stood to shake my hand and about halfway-up, he realized the full extent of my tallness, which overshadowed him by a good four inches. His eyes bugged out and he gave an exaggerated shiver, like he had just rolled over in bed and found a dead, beheaded horse on the pillow next to him.

"Oh, boy!" he said. "My, you're a big one, aren't ya!?"

Let the atoning begin....

And now, the actual point of this post:

Looking for a shot at fame this weekend, a chance to have your words of wisdom immortalized and published for all to see? I mean, really, what else do you have on tap - a matinee of Beverly Hills Chihuahua and some Thai takeout? Seriously, just do this:

iVillage is starting a new site all about fitness, diet, nutrition, body image - basically, the stuff you all know and love. My editors are gathering answers to a whole slew of questions (read 'em after the jump, below, by clicking on "Read More.") We want you to share your lessons, struggles and successes by emailing in any fun, poignant or practical stories and tips about weight loss or leading a healthy lifestyle. The only guidelines:

-Keep your answer to 250 words or less
-Provide your first name (or user name of your choice). Note that this name WILL be posted publicly online (hence the chance for fame!)
- Provide your email address (which iVillage will not share with any users. It’s only for verification purposes and so we can send you a link to your story when it’s posted, which will happen on or before Nov. 18)
-While not required, you may also tell us: how many children you have, your age, marital status, city, state and occupation (if you provide this information, it WILL be posted on our site along with your story)
-Email your answer with the subject line: Diet Stories, along with your name and email address, by Friday, October 17th to conqueryourcravings@nbcuni.com

Here's an example of a funny one that's already been submitted.

Q: What's the wackiest diet you've tried?

A: Years ago, my mom found this recipe online for something called "Joggin' in a Jug". The name alone should've been my first clue that this crazy scheme would never work. Apparently, this horrid concoction was made with a blend of apple cider vinegar and other ingredients, all mixed, of course, in a jug. Then you'd have to drink this vile liquid every day, or was it multiple times each day? I can't recall... I've a memory block from the trauma of it. Anyway, the theory behind "Joggin' in a Jug" was that the vinegar would cause your stomach to shrink so you'd feel full faster and therefore eat less, causing you to lose weight. What the author of the diet failed to mention, however, is that you'd also lose weight from spending your days in the powder room, not to mention the blood loss from cracking your skull on the floor when you fainted from hunger and malnutrition.

-Stephanie

As you'll see after the jump, you can write in about anything from your fave class at the gym to post-baby bump patrol to your go-to healthy dinner to make when you don’t want to cook.

Go on...brag! And don't be scared...I'm only 5'10". And a half.

At the Gym
What’s your favorite class at your gym and why?
What’s the best way to negotiate a good deal on a gym membership?
How did you land a date with your gym crush?

Baby Weight
How did you lose the baby weight?
How do you fit a workout in while taking care of the kids?

Body Image
What do you do to feel sexy?
How have you come to love or accept parts of your body that you hadn’t in the past?
If you were to write a letter to your younger self, what advice would you give about body image?

Cardio
What’s your favorite way to get in a cardio workout?
What songs get you moving?

Cravings
How do you handle a mid-day craving?
What’s your best snack swap?
How do you give into a craving without going overboard?

Dancing
What’s the best dance dvd out there?
What’s your favorite song to dance to?
What’s the best dance class you’ve ever taken?

Dealing with Insensitive Comments
What's the rudest comment someone has made about your weight and how did you handle it?
What comebacks do you have for people that make comments about your weight?

Dining OutHow do you eat healthy on the go?
Got any sneaky tricks for eating healthy at fast food restaurants?

Eating Healthy
What's the most useful healthy eating advice you've ever gotten?
What's your best tip for eating healthy on a budget?
How do you spice up healthy meals without adding a lot of extra calories?
How do you fit in all your fruit and veggies over the course of a day?
What’s your favorite healthy dinner to make when you don’t want to cook?

Emotional Eating
How do you avoid emotional eating triggers?
How do you avoid overeating at holiday celebrations and still enjoy yourself?
What’s your favorite low-calorie indulgence?
How do you satisfy your sweet tooth?
How do you stop midnight cravings?

Family
How did you get your husband to eat healthier?
How do you cook healthy meals that satisfy the picky eaters in your family?
How did you get your husband to start working out?

Figure-Flattering Fashion
What’s your best shopping tip for finding flattering clothes?
What stores have the most flattering clothes?

Home Workouts
What’s your favorite workout DVD?
What’s your favorite at-home workout routine?
What’s the best equipment to have for working out at home?

Injuries
How did you adapt your workout when you were injured?
What’s the best way to keep active with an injury?

Metabolism
What’s your best tip for reviving and boosting your metabolism?

Motivation
What mantra keeps you on track?
What motivates you to reach your weight-loss goals?
Who would you consider a fitness role model?

On a Diet
What's the wackiest diet you've ever tried?
What's the craziest diet advice you've gotten from another woman?
What’s your best trick for cutting calories?

Pilates
What’s your favorite Pilates DVD and why?
How did you master that tough Pilates move?

Running
Where’s your favorite place to run?
What’s your best running tip?

Small Changes
What’s the first step you took toward eating healthier?
What’s the easiest healthy change to make in your diet?
What small eating habits (such as grazing, eating chips out of the bag) have you changed to lose weight?

Snacking
What’s your favorite healthy snack?

Weight-Loss Success Stories
What’s the best weight-loss advice you’ve ever received?

Weight-Loss Obstacles
How do you handle family and friends who try to sabotage you?
How do you fit in a workout during your busy day?

Walking
Where’s your favorite place to walk?
What’s your favorite walking DVD?
How has walking changed your life?

Wedding
How did you lose weight for your wedding?

Weight-Loss Surgery
How did you decide weight-loss surgery was right for you?
How did you adapt your lifestyle after surgery?
What did you tell family and friends before your surgery?

Weight Maintenance
What do you do to avoid rebound pounds?

Working Out
What's your favorite way to burn calories without feeling like you're working out?
What's your best tip for squeezing in a workout?
What’s your favorite workout trend?

Yoga
What’s your favorite yoga DVD?
What’s your favorite type of yoga?

Comments

It never fails to surprise me how folk think they can be so obnoxious about one's height...I've never ever heard anyone mentioned someone being vertically challenged, and my shorter friends will attest to this, but I've had random strangers tell me how tall I am, as if it's news to me. I swear, next time someone does such I'm going to return the favour...you're tall, aren't you? yes, and you're obnoxious.

Ah, and anyone to whom my parents or grandparents have ever introduced me has said something along the lines of...
"you're a fine big girl, aren't you?" sigh

Would it kill someone to say elegantly statuesque once in a while...

Haha, being tall is awesome, wear it proudly! How tall are you?

If I had a nickel for every "Tall" story I have, I would be a rich, rich, 6'3 woman. Luckily I have a tall roommate, 6'4, to share all of them with, or vice versa.

Ok, here's one for you. We were walking in the dining center with our school provided KS State Rowing T-shirts on (all athletes have a variation of this with their sport's name on it) and someone stopped us and asked us if we were on the basketball team... because tall people play basketball, I guess.

Ohh the tall comments. Cara, you're right no one EVER comments on someone else's shortness. As far as the "big" comment, I absolutely HATE that!! It did absolutely nothing for my self-esteem growing up. I was always taller than everyone else and in school, kids (guys mostly) would always say things like, "Damn, you're so big!" or "Wow, you're huge!" Excuse me, tall does not equal big or huge. I had enough problems with my body image as it was and telling a 5'11", 140lb fourteen year old that she's "huge" does not help.

In high school I decided to try intramural basketball. I was chosen first for the team, because I was the tallest. I was also the least coordinated.
It was a quick sports career.
Someone once wrote about this in "Dear Abby" EVERYONE he met asked him if he played basketball, so she told him to reply "No. Why? Do you play miniature golf?"

It's okay, just say, "I'm so sorry, it's just when you're so far above everyone it's hard to hear what the shorter people are saying."

ha - I love your comebacks! But it was temple and my grandparents were there...had to be "good".
PS ModelBehv, I am 5'10" and a half!

i can't find the ivillage site for the submissions. help?