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The Mad Men Diet

Lisa Eirene

About Lisa Eirene Lisa lost 110 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. She swims, bikes, runs, hikes and is enjoying life in Portland, Oregon. Her weight loss story has been featured in First Magazine, Yahoo Health, Woman's Day and Glamour.com.

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19 Comments

  1. Cindy

    I felt so bad for Betty especially at Thanksgiving. That wasn’t nearly enough food. No wonder she looked murderous most of the time; I would too on that little food.

    I can totally relate to her turning to food as comfort. I’ve regained all the weight I lost and am trying to figure out where to go from here, so I can understand.

    I also hope that it doesn’t go down a dark road of eating issues, especially for Sally to witness or emulate.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I gasped at how little food she was eating on Thanksgiving. It was very disordered, in my opinion. It made me sad for her.

  2. Deb

    I actually just got into the show and am on Season 1 still, though I expect to be on Season 2 by the end of the week. So far I love it- especially the clothes! Oh to have a closet full of those dresses!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I love the clothes too! Oh my god I would have my whole wardrobe like Mad Men if I could pull it off.

  3. Carolyn @ AdMEYERing Life

    It’s a shame that they went with Weight Watchers specifically. It’s so different from that now and such a good program. Too bad people see this and think it’s still like that.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Maybe they chose Weight Watchers because it was the new thing in that time period?

      I’m glad that the current WW is different! That meeting was scary.

  4. Candace

    I love Mad Men! I remember my mom joining WW way back in the 70’s and her little plastic food scale. She didn’t last long, it seemed so much more daunting than it is now. I remember lots of cottage cheese and pineapple in her diet.

    Back to Mad Men, Betty’s food issues were foreshadowed in a previous season, I remember her going to the fridge late at night and scarfing down fried chicken. She’s just such an immature character, hard to like. I feel sorry for her but I hate how she treats her kids so it makes me less sympathetic. It’s not entirely her fault though, Don really screwed her up. Being so attractive and trying to be a good wife only to have your husband constantly cheat, then go marry a younger woman? That would send anyone off the deep end.

    I think she’ll be back to her old self by the end of the season. On a side note – I’m still hoping Sal comes back!!!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I wonder if the Weight Watchers back then used points or if it was calories?

      I agree with your opinion on Betty. I never liked her during the other seasons. I thought she was kind of a bitch. And she’s definitely mean to Sally. And to her new husband!

      I liked Sal too! Why did they write him out?

      1. Candace

        I’m not sure – I think his story line just played out but now that they have a new agency and Lucky Strike is no longer their client, there’s no reason he can’t come back. The creator hinted around that it might happen. I would love to see what his life is like; is he with a guy now? Is he still playing straight?

        1. Lisa Eirene

          Oh! I hadn’t heard that. That would be great. I liked the actor and character, it would be good if they brought him back.

    2. Lisa Eirene

      Why do you think Don is so likable? He’s such a cheat and an ass honestly. Yet…

  5. Lori

    I haven’t gotten past the first season of Mad Men, but interesting how you take take Betty’s behaviors and they could be anyone’s today.

    Weight Watchers has gone through so many changes. It used to be a very strict program. I remember when it used to be food exchanges and you checked off little boxes for protein and fat and carbs. That was a mess trying to figure out something like a casserole. Then it was all about counting fiber grams and fat grams. Then the points system. Lots of changes. WW has never really been about counting calories yourself, but it really boils down to that.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      It sounds like the early stages of WW was way too complicated. Honestly, that was one of the things that deterred me from trying it. I didn’t want to count my fat, fiber, carbs and calories. Calories was enough for me.

  6. Miz

    time to start watching….

  7. Jodi @ Jodi, Fat or Not

    I was RIVETED watching the Weight Watcher’s scenes…and also laughing out loud! I can’t believe how they used to run meetings – and it definitely gave me some anxiety to think about! I thought the handling of her weight on the show has been very true to Betty’s character. There are so many nights that I would run to food as a comfort after being in a rough situation, so her whipped-cream moment absolutely struck a chord. The part that really got to me was when she takes the bite of steak and says she’ll “count it” toward the next day….such WW mentality! I thought the whole thing was fantastic.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      It struck a chord with me too. I had done exactly what Betty had done many times. And there was also a time in my journey where I started rationalizing late night eating as “not counting” or counting for the next day’s numbers.

  8. Sara

    Yeah – while the WW program was REALLY different in the 60s, it was never like it was portrayed in the show. Never has WW publicly weighed people or announced their gain/loss. It’s even more private now, though, and obviously the way we eat on the program is MUCH more nutritious. So don’t let that show give you the impression that WW is really like that 😛

    1. Lisa Eirene

      That’s good to know! It must have been for tv to make it more horrifying.

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