Easter Challenge: Feeling Really Good, Minor Change on the Scale

I've been feeling great for a couple days! I woke up feeling completely myself yesterday. No residual blue cloud. No flat affect. I've been singing for days, but I was really singing yesterday. And instead of sleeping 14-17 hours a day, I'm sleeping between 6-8. That's a great sign all by itself. I'm back!

I went out for the first time in...er...a while, too. And I laughed and felt normal.

It really was like a resurrection--going from the blues to the light. Out of the fricken cave of depression.

Anyway, hubby and I picked up my middle sis (who was in the neighborhood shopping) and went for a scenic drive down Miami Beach, all the way to South Beach, then came back Northward and had lunch at a nice Peruvian restaurant called ADRIANA'S(very pleasant ambiance and cool tableware--all slanty and white) in the small, retro town of Surfside. The weather was impeccable, cool even, with nice breezes. While I had a less than great choice for appetizer (fried cassava croquettes with cheese inside and a Peruvian cheese sauce drizzled, served in the cutest possible green glass tray with small circular depressions for each mini-ball). They were fabulous. I had a healthy organic salad with greens, cukes, tomatoes, and shredded white meat chicken and balsamic vinaigrette for my entree. I did sample my sister's pumpkin ravioli. Mmm. No dessert. Two skim milk lattes with Splenda and a glass of Pinot Grigio.

I enjoyed it very much and without a dang ounce of guilt.

And in the NSV department: I fit into my Tamotsu tunic. I had bought this really elegant long-sleeved black textured tunic by the designer Tamotsu. The tag was $285, but I got it for 1/5th the retail price. That was a few years back. I didn't fit. I bought it as an incentive tunic: I'll wear it when I lose weight. Only I didn't lose weight and it didn't fit, refused to go below my hips.

Yesterday, on a whim, I tried it on (due to the cooler weather), and it fit! So, I wore it out. And I was a bit too energetic later in the day in the ladies room and yanked it too hard--tearing the seam. It's at the seamstress getting reseamed. But dang. It fit. I was so happy!!!

I tried some other "when I lose weight" Tamotsu pieces I splurged on (three jackets, one dress, one panstsuit), and some are on their way to fitting. Almost there. :)

So, back to the outing: After we went to the west part of town to take sis home, we came back to the east part and I did some shopping at Whole Foods for items that my organic grocer who delivers either didn't have or I forgot to order. I wish they had a nice flavored sugar-free organic yogurt (I enjoy the flavors of Stonyfield's low-fat version, but I'd prefer not having the sugar).

Today, I got my organic produce delivery.

Let me put it this way, between Whole Foods yesterday and the delivery today, I've spent 450 on this week's groceries. I just about died when I stopped to add it all up. But, if this is what it took to get my body healing, so be it. Part of it is trying new stuff and discovering what I like. (Not crazy about grass fed ground beef. Sorry. Organic chicken breasts: yum.). I discovered I much prefer watercress to Romaine, so I've been buying less Romaine as my all-purpose lettuce, and let hubby eat it--unless I've got a Caesar salad craving--and just make myself either an arugula or a watercress salad daily. I have been eating a lot of fruits and veggies (12-14 a day). I've been getting nice amounts of fiber (most days more than 30, some days more than 50. Depends how much legumes I have or high-fiber bread.)

I have not been keeping to calories. In order to feed my body to get out of this current health funk/depression, I just eat when I'm hungry and eat lots of raw or minimally cooked produce. I've been snacking on nuts--I have a severe sensitivity to seafood, so I can't eat fish omega 3, therefore I rely on walnuts and flax-- and have my daily ration of dark chocolate. (The Sunspire chocolate covered almonds are amazing. That's an indulgence worth the calories. MmMmm.)

As I said, feeling good. My creativity is back. My mind is good. I can focus on reading again (hadn't read for WEEKS for any length of time due to a wandering mind and lack of focus). And my eyebrows have filled in again. (They'd gone half-bald.) My hair looks good. I hope my skin follows (I have always had problems with acne.)

Hubby is happy that there's food ready for him and it's not take-out. (He was used to brining dinner home, or going out to pick it up, or we calling in a delivery). I've been making a high-fiber, lower-fat spinach lasagna for him (he loves meat lasagna and normally had it once a week). It's great cause there's always leftovers that make for one lunch for work for him and another meal for us both minimum. He also loves the organic potatoes, so I bake a couple and give him a stuffed one for lunch, save one for another day (or make it as a breakfast potato.)

I need to learn to make some great bean soups. I often crave legumes (I grew up eating them nearly every day). I think one recipe each of black bean, kidney bean, garbanzo, red lentil, white bean (or a pasta fabiole), and one good pea soup will keep me happy for ages and ages. I could literally have a bean soup for a meal EVERY DAY. It's comfort food to me.

Anyway, just to report that going heavy on the produce and raw stuff has helped. I need to learn how to stretch the dollars, choose wisely. The trying stuff phase needs to wind down to the "weekly order system" stage that doesn't break the budget to shards.

As far as the weigh in: Yesterday was 271.4. Today was:

272.0

So, still firmly in the 270's low end. And it will go down more. I feel a sort of optimism that comes from being out of the Blue Funk. :)

I'm not ready to curtail calories too much yet. I'm watching that I don't go into the "eat too much and regain" territory. But until I'm in solid recovery ground for at least a week or two, I'm not gonna chop down to 1800 calories again. I"m at about 2500 to 2700 now, by guesstimating intake.

To those who had losses this week: Congrats. To those who maintained: Good for you. To those who regained some: Happens. Don't fret. Do the strategies.

Happy week, everyone.

Onward and DOWNward!

~

Anti-Kimkins Round-Up: The Fight Against Kimkins Goes On and On

In the ongoing quest to spare the unsuspecting and maybe some of the deceived, more blog entries that should keep people far, far away from the scammer Kimmer and her freakasoid diet Kimkins:


The Journey: Good Morning America - The TRUTH addressed
REGANDY.... the weigh down!: KIMKINS HURT MY METABOLISM
Medusa: WARNING!!! IF YOU'RE DIABETIC & DOING THE KIMKINS DIET, DON'T GO OFF YOUR MEDS !!!
Kimkins–Targeting Teens Diary of a Mad Housewife
Kimorexia: Anorexia Is Not Just a Teenage Battle
mariasol: Kimkins Eating Disorders
Why battle Kimkins 2big4mysize’s Weblog
Kimkins Diet Review: Losing weight the right way......
MrsM Kimkins Survivors
Which Road (or ship) Will YOU Take? MJR’s-Duck Squad
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Pickles: Happy Deposition Day, Heidi!
Kimkins celebrity endorsement!!!!! a fake blog about a real scam

Thanks to Laura of LCF for those linkies.

Friends don't let friends support scam artists or do Kimkins.

Sparkly Factoid: Hang On and Your Chances of Weight Loss Success Go Up

{W}eight loss maintenance may get easier over time; after individuals have successfully maintained their weight loss for 2–5 y, the chance of longer-term success greatly increases. Continued adherence to diet and exercise strategies, low levels of depression and disinhibition, and medical triggers for weight loss are also associated with long-term success.

-- "Long-term weight loss maintenance" by Rena R Wing and Suzanne Phelan

(Although I want to say a really big "well, duh" to their success factors.)

Easter Challenge Weigh-In: YOIKS!

I'm definitely still in the doldrums. Slept 17 hours (from yesterday 5pm yesterday to 10 am) today. I made a nice spinach and zucchini lasagna for supper and never got to taste it. (Will have it for lunch today, I guess.)

I do feel a slight lightening in my mind (I got two ideas for poems, and I hadn't had a flash of inspiration for many, many weeks) and a plot point got cleared up in my novel-in-progress. That my brain is working again (a bit) is a good sign. The mood may follow.

But while my brain may be "lightening", my body is not. The lack of activity (serious lack) and a persistent craving for salt (cheese, especially) has taken a toll:

272.6

Okay, not a huge upward swing--1.6 pounds--but enough to concern me as I should be much lower to meet my target for month's end (ie 269).

So, a backwards step. Oh, well.


I gotta keep the long haul perspective. And talk a little more forcefully at those cheese cravings. MmmmMmmmm. Cheese.

Enough of that. Back to that long-haul perspective thing...

When seen that way--from something of a distance--I've stuck with food consciousness and weighing in much, much longer than any time in the past. NOrmally, by the three month mark, I was out of there and regaining fast. If what I want is permanent change, then it starts with making it a lifelong effort--constant, persistent--and not sporadic cutbacks with inevitable regains. Honestly, if I end up with net losses every year, it's a win. Setbacks, notwithstanding. I'm not in a superrush. That never helped me.

I guess this is why I'm not unduly upset. Crap happens. All is forgiven. Move on. (Thanks, Our Lady of Weight Loss. That's one of my most favorite sayings now.)

On the plus side: I signed up for an organic foods delivery this week. It's pricey, but it's meant to supplant regular grocery shopping (where I choose some organic, most not). This place only sells organic fruits, veggies, herbs, meats, dairy, canned and frozen products. Even clothing and toys and cosmetics, etc. They have a very good green profile--trying to leave as small an environmental footprint as they can being a company. If I like them, I'll try to fit the higher organic cost into my diet.

This means a lot of produce is coming my way today, as well as low-fat organic cheese and organic chicken breasts and beef and some pork chops (hubby is a pork freakasoid). I want to make Cuban style "old clothes" (ie, Ropa Vieja, a popular dish) with the beef and organic peppers, onions, and tomato sauce. I hope having good stuff stocked up will help next week's weigh-in be a progressive one. :)

To all who are struggling on with the good fatfight, I salute you. Sorry that I haven't been very active. I just am going through a not-so-great phase. It will pass. It always does.

Onward and DOWNward!

ABC NEWS Wants to Hear From You if You're a Kimkins Survivor

Did you do the Kimkins diet? Did you get bad side effects? Did you go down to VLC levels following the plan and had to go to the doctor cause you had bad dizziness, headaches, palpitations, major hair loss, fainting spells, amenorrhea or other symptoms from the diet?

Well, ABC NEWS wants to hear from you:

If this is you and you are willing to have ABC News come to your home this week to speak to you about your Kimkins experience, then please send an e-mail to KimkinsOnABC@gmail.com with your name, telephone number, and a brief description of your story. Time is of the essence on this as they are trying to put this segment together quickly. The deadline for being involved in this unique opportunity is Thursday, January 17, 2008.

They only want to hear from you if you have medical documentation of some side effect from doing this low-fat, low-carb VLC diet.

Do it. Bring the Kimpire down to the dust!

Good Morning America will have something on the Kimkins Diet this coming Saturday. Rumor is that 20/20 is looking into this as well. Let's hope there's lot of adverse coverage of the diet, so people DO NOT GET SUCKED INTO a plan that puts their health at risk and puts money in the pockets of a scam artist she-devil.

Sorry to bring this update so late, but, really, I've not been online much.

~

OOPS! Missed Monday Weigh-In

I've been feeling very lethargic still, and I let the Monday weigh-in pass. However, I did weigh-in and wrote it in my journal:

271.0

No weight loss for this week. Maybe cause I'm sleeping all dang day.

I don't seem to be upset about it. My emotional meter is kinda flat due to the Blue Funk.

On the labs front: My liver function tests were normal (ie, the slow weight loss helped a lot).

I do have very high platelet counts (again, this has been a recurring issue) and my LDL now, and that's a concern. So, a little tweaking to the eating plan is in order. More healthy fats, more garlic, and I will restart vitamin E (all to keep the blood slippery, considering my chronically high platelets). I wonder if the release of liver fat may have something to do with that LDL issue? Ah, well.

Still not exercising. Mostly sleeping 12 hours a day. Depression sucks.

~

Dragonfire Factoid: Tough Reality For the Majority of Dieters

No weight-loss diet has every been scientifically shown to produce substantial long-term weight loss in any but a tiny minority of dieters.
--from "The Case Againt Weight Loss Dieting"

Still Lethargic and Droopy, but Lighter

Still not peppy and productive in the royal kingdom. I've turned into a Sleeping Not-So-Beauty.

I'll be getting a blood test Friday, and I need to make a doc appointment for next week. I've just been dragging and sleeping more than half the day. The Princess is Pooped. And for no reason, either.

But, I've managed not to overeat, and the scale has me even closer to the 260's. Today I weighed in at 270.2. Oh, man, I can taste those 260's.

I haven't been drinking enough water, though. Mostly cause, well, I'm asleep a lot. I slept 16 hours yesterday, then only stayed awake for like 9 hours and went back to bed. Clearly, something is screwy. Or maybe it's just the Blue Funk that has been threatening since end of December. I honestly don't know. The blood and urine tests might have a clue.

But for now, I just wanna creep over the line into 269 point something.

Oh, I think I need another nap.

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz

Powerful Post from Medusa

It's not just about NOT doing Kimkins. It's about NOT doing harmful diets or deadly diet behaviors of any kind. It's about obsession. It's about consequences. It's about denial. It's about crazy expectations. It's about self-destruction. It's about truth.

Read it.

Easter Challenge: Week One

EASTER CHALLENGE Weigh-In #1

I've not been feeling terribly well this week. Happens. I go through fatigue cycles. I have crazy-woman hair cause I just can't muster the energy to style my hair. Really, I look like I escaped from Scary Hair Asylum.

That's the bad news.

The good news, according to Mr. Tanita, is:

271.0

That's a new blog stat low for me, and it's down 3 pounds for the challenge.

Twenty-one to go.

May this be a health-filled, fat-dropping week for us all. Happy Monday!
~

Kimkins Wins Naked Mole Rat of Marketing Award; Plus Heidi & Tippy Have a Falling Out--AGAIN; & Other Kimkins Updates

I've been a bit on the lurky side, but there have been developments in the Kimkins Scam saga:

1. Kimkins is the maybe-not-so-thrilled recipient of the Naked Mole Rats of Marketing Award for the Week. She deserves it, too.

2. Speaking of moles: There's some cool spywork going on. Check out the particulars at Medusa's place, where the ads to hire moles were first placed:

Quite a few applicants were "hired" and are relaying important information to me from inside Heidi's fold.

However, one of the mole prospects who contacted me, pledging to do some serious digging, immediately set off alarm bells for me. And what that particular mole did not realize is that I knew from the outset that he/she was a double-agent, working for Heidi Diaz/Kimmer.

Read the rest of that blog entry, and enjoy some classic film posters, too. :)

3. Jimmy Moore bagged up his sugar-free marshmallows and left Camp Carbaway, unable to recommend the paying site to low-carbing dieters. He wrote:

Since my simple posting about some questions that came up recently regarding the ongoing relationship between Heidi Diaz and Jeannie Battinger was described as "accusations" by me, then I no longer feel welcomed by Camp Carbaway. I was given a free membership to this forum for the distinct purpose of seeing that it is different than LCF and even my own forum, LowCarbDiscussion.com. But this place doesn't offer anything different than what you can find elsewhere for free. Again, I appreciate the invite and request to blog about this new venture, but I'm gonna have to take a pass. There's nothing new under the sun here. BEST WISHES TO EVERYONE!
(Posted by Gibster #13 WTFWK thread, #81 post dated 1/4/07)

Tippy's reply was slightly snarky, with echoes of Her Heidiness peeping through:

We wish you well Jimmy. It is my hope that you will NOT blog about things that may not be true... That would be called gossip and I would hope you would not go there. One more thing, Jimmy. I never posted on your site for valid reason. I did not want to cause drama and have LCF follow me to your boards. I did not post out of respect for your forum. I gave you the interview you asked for. And I offered you a free spot in my forums. You may have had some concerns here. I really didn't mind you addressing any concerns but to be honest I did feel under attack with the implications of Kimkins. And it is my understanding that even you followed Kimkins with success. However, I did listen to your points of concerns and have decided to make some changes. If you feel you need to leave--well, best wishes.
(Thanks to the Gibster for that, too.)

Tippy seems to want to pre-empt any criticism by calling it, before the fact, "gossip." Of course, gossip (intimate chit chat, often of a negative nature, not always or necessarily untrue) can be negative AND true. Still, Jimmy's main point is one others have made: Why pay for the site when others offer the same (or better even, I'll add) for free.

4. Join the Lawsuit: http://kimkinslawsuit.wordpress.com/
Bring the Kimmer down, folks. If you've been a member of Kimkins, join the lawsuit. Maybe you'll get your money back, but you'll definitely be adding to the cause of good and right in getting that scamming liar who lies in the red (financially speaking).

Don't be intimidated. It's easy. Here are step by step instructions from the fab Avenue Girl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zxURudcNes

5. Heidi Diaz must not really be doing her own diet, cause the stats on her own website show that she isn't losing weight all that fast. Not Kimkins fast. Not faster than one would, say, on a reasonable diet (whether low or high carb or in between). You know, a big loss at first, and then anywhere from 2 or so pounds a week. Her right hand soprano has only lost 2 pounds her first week back on Kimkins (the week one would expect a huge water loss). Guess both the top dogs at Kimkins are just not really working that plan!

Where's the promise to lose nearly a pound a day? Where's the 100 lbs in five months?

Heidi "Kimmer" Diaz touted her diet as THE FASTEST EVER AND ANYWHERE. Well, yeah, I suppose, if she actually did it--which clearly she ain't--it might work fast for a spell, cause the real diet behind the diet had people eating zero to 700 calories a day. It's called starvation. You'll lose weight that way. People do it all over the globe, only not voluntarily. You'll also lose your hair, damage your thyroid, snap your metabolism, deplete your bones, stress your body, and maybe fall into ongoing disordered eating. But hey, what's health when you can look like Heidi Diaz!

Um, hang on a second there...let's not even think about THAT.

Go take a look at her sporadic FitDay entries. Clearly, Heidi's either psychotic when it comes to food, or she's putting us on. I'd bet on the latter. She's having a joke with her food journal--with one day only coffee and creamer, one day only veggies, one day only meat and chicken, one day only booze. Freaky. (And freakier if that's her real diet.)

6. Theories are bouncing around that Queen Heidi and her adoring Kimkinsland subject GentleFawn (who has perfected the art of sycophancy) seem to have set up Tippy Toes/Typo Toes/J Baitinger/headmistress of Camp Carbaway to look like a Kimkins collaborator even after her exodus (well, duh). It started with a blog post by Fawn (now gone from Blogger) and an internet comment more recently by Heidi. All speculation, I reiterate. However, with a track record like Heidi's, it's the sort of speculation one can readily believe. Fawn comes across as someone who, in her burbling passion for "Kimmer" and Tippy, would just want to fan the flames of love between Queen Diet Fraud and Princess P.R. Plan Switcher.

Fawn posted (in her now defunct blog) about how tight Tips and Kimmer still were, praising those superlative role models of compassion and diet brilliance. This as Tippy was setting up her own for-profit haven for Kimkinites and cooperating with the lawsuit (in exchange for immunity, natch). Hmmm. (What? You think Heidi was gonna take that whole cooperating thing gracefully and benevolently?)

Then, just a couple days ago, Heidi writes to Diets in Review about how Camp Carbaway is just Kimkins CTF in Campwear and how Tippy is still doing Kimkins' plan and always will be her staunch supporter and right hand henchwoman. Er, I'm paraphrasing. Tippy took offense and posted about how she was stunned and made aghast by Heidi's comment, and how now she has asked for a cease and desist on her success story and picture over at Kimkins. (The link takes you to the entry with the comments section that has two posts from Tippy.)

Hmmm...so all those sick Kimkins Survivors didn't move Tippy's heart away from Kimkins and her fraud, all the pleas from folks uncovering Heidi's lies didn't budge Tippy from pushing a dangerous diet she didn't even follow cause she was switching diets every other week; but Heidi trying to suck Tippy back into the lawsuit vortex--that did it. Yeah, CMA is a strong motivator, ain't it Headmistress B. Moreso than human empathy for Kimkins victims.

7. Wanna read 140+ pages of legalese regarding Kimkins? Well, you can. The semi-snarky correspondence between Heidi's and the Force For Good's lawyers is entertaining. The timeline also makes clear that Heidi was doing an awful lot of money spending right before she got deposed. Smells like a strategy to keep the cash out of the hands of the plaintiffs to me, but I'll leave that to judge/jury to decide. Let's hope they do a better job than O.J.'s judge/jury.

(If you click the link, just type GUEST where it says "operator code" and ignore the password box. Just "GUEST" gets you in. When you do a name search for Heidi Diaz, you'll get a choice. Pick "Fenderson vs. Diaz." That's the Kimkins lawsuit. The ones with little camera icons on the right hand side of the grid have viewable documents. The one with the snarky letters is the motion to set aside right to attach etc dated 12/21. Enjoy.)

8. Heidi may have been an Avon Lady, and, interestingly, a fervent allegation of scamming going on even with Avon were made by a commenter at Slamboard calling him or herself "NotAHeidiFan". This is part of the comment:

She has conned the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the foster care people, her own brother and anyone who will give her money. She has ripped off her ex-husband, impersonated his wife at their bank and many other scams. She made up an internet story years ago about how someone stole her Avon products and money from orders. She made this up along with a sad tale of being a single disabled mother, blah, blah and got people to give her money all while her district manager was sitting in the hospital with her young son who died of cancer. There was no theft.

Avon should look into that allegation, methinks. It warrants investigation given the evidence (including Diaz's own admission under oath) that Kimkins website was a hotbed of marketing fraud (re success stories and photos and Kimkins own weight loss claims).

Avon, why don't you go calling on Ms. Diaz.
~~
Folks, if you want to stay up on the Kimkins developments, you can always do a blogsearch with Google with "Kimkins" to get updates (click on "last day" or "last week"). Please, try to stay away from the actual diet site or the junk sites of online marketing promoting Kimkins. It just raises their profiles. And you can find good updates at places like:


http://kimorexia.blogspot.com/
http://yustyucky.wordpress.com/
http://notmakingnicetokimkins.blogspot.com/
http://2medusa.blogspot.com/
http://mariasol-mariasol.blogspot.com/
http://kimkinsdiettruth.wordpress.com/
http://kimkinssurvivors.wordpress.com/
http://www.kimkinscontroversy.com/

Scroll way down on my sidebar (left) to see a collection of links to places with information on the Kimkins scandal and scam, some summaries, some investigative, some round-ups, some ongoing blogs.

But the wisest thing of all: Don't do Kimkins. Don't pay to join Kimkins. And don't let your friends do Kimkins. Warn people about VLC diets and scammers who lie about their weight loss and make up stories with fake dieters who are actually Russian models and bride-wannabes. Don't put more dollars in Diaz' s pockets.

It's hard enough to lose weight healthfully. We don't need exploiters to muddy the waters for those desperate about their weight.

Onward and Downward!

PRAYER REQUEST: Christin, former Kimkins poster girl and staffer, who is now a staunch and vocal anti-Kimkins crusader, one who has appeared on television shows countering the falsehoods of Heidi, was in a terrible car accident. (Her car was totaled, and I saw the pic, scary. I had Princess Di Paris accident flashbacks!) She's been in the hospital with brain swelling and bad pain and nausea. She's stable as of the last update, but still needs your prayers. Please pray she heals up totally and can go home to her children and hubby (who all, thankfully, survived.)

EDITED TO ADD: Christin has updated her blog. The entry includes her own warning against Kimkins and a horrific photo of what her car looked like AFTER the crash. She's recovering, thank God, but I'm sure she covets your continued prayers.

The Princess Reviews Instone Pudding

Instone Pudding is a high-protein pudding snack that seems popular with the low-carbers. I'd seen some bad reviews and some excellent ones, so I decided to try it and judge for myself:

Chocolate flavor. My review: Oh, my, how can anyone eat this crap? It tastes like funky chemicals run amok.

--Because I figure anything is worth a second try, especially when some folks I like actually eat it, I tried a different flavor--

Banana flavor. My review: Egads, people actually finish this horror? Willingly? How do I get this aftertaste out of my mouth. :::sound of me gargling with mouthwash::::

I now understand why Sylvester Stallone often has that pained look on his face. He eats this stuff!

There you have it. My garbage has two partially eaten tins of the stuff waiting to be hauled away, far from me and my abused tongue.

Try it at risk to your taste buds.

Quickie Weight Update: NEW LOW!

I know weigh-in isn't until Monday, but I figured before I ate something really salty and blew the number skyward, I just had to report a new low:

271.2

Dang.

My husband heard my whoop from the back room (where I keep the scale), and when I came back to the living room he said, "Somebody got good news."

I hope it's at least that or less for Monday. Weekends are tough.

Motivation From The Pages

My eyes have been healing beautifully. I do need reading glasses now, so I've been experimenting with strengths (one of the lenses poked out of each pair). I have upped the font on the computer screen to 20, too. It's one of the compensations one makes for having presbyopia, even after LASIK.

I'm reading to motivate myself not to stray from the healthy eating plan. (I do need to go shopping for produce, as not having enough tempting veggies and fruits means I end up having too much processed stuff like canned foods and breads and cheese.)

Last month, I took advantage of some specials amazon.com had on magazines to subscribe to Women's Health & Fitness. I also have a sub to Fitness. My WW magazine sub expired, and I may or may not renew. The resources online are pretty nice, and I belong to WW online already, so I may skip the mag altogether. Really, in an age trying to go green, most mags need to offer an online version so we can skip the paper waste.

Two books I'm ordering sometime in the next few days from amazon.com are these:



Diet Blog recommended the first and Pasta Queen the second.

The following is greatly reduced, and I recommend it:



Yes, that's bargain price right now at amazon (6.99) and is a limited time sale. So, that's a great book at a really cheap price. Get it!

I figure I might invest in one book a month for motivational purposes. Between blogs, online mag sites (like Fitness and Self's and Shape's, etc), my online WW site, the free forums, and the books and mags I already get, I think I have more than enough to read if motivation lags.

And, inspired by Chubby Chick's determination to love herself more (and we already know what a nice gal she is), here's a little book--also an amazon bargain book now--with very short, even repetitive meditations to keep us motivated in the direction of kindness (to self and others):


Here's one of meditations:

Celebrate early
Celebrate often
There is plenty of sadness
There is plenty of disappointment
Celebrate
Celebrate
Celebrate

And let's celebrate with healthful foods, while we're at it, right?

Happy weekend, my fatfighting allies!

Comparing Calendars

I finally got around to taking down my 2007 bathroom wall calendar--what I see when I first put on a light, right?--and replacing it with my 2008 wall calendar. I couldn't resist. I flipped back on the 2007 wall calendar to see what I weighed Jan 1 of 2007: 289.0

I entered this year 15 pounds lighter than last.

That's progress. I hope to see a much, much bigger loss entering 2009, should God will I see that year's dawning.

Here's wishing us a much lighter, healthier, happier, slimmer, bouncier, more energetic, sassier, wiser New Year.

Are You Motivated Yet? If Not, Join a Challenge!

In case you're still dragging in these early days of 2008, but you know you need to get on the healthy eating and exercise bandwagon, you can still participate in a challenge. They're all over the place. Paid arenas, like eDiets, have them.

But free ones are out there. Here are just a couple. Go see. If you like the ambiance or the set-up, join in. Don't do it all alone. It's good to have support and cheerleaders:

Scale Junkie's HEALTHY YOU CHALLENGE

Shannon's EASTER CHALLENGE

If you're hosting a FREE challenge on your blog or website, feel free to leave a comment with a link.

ONWARD AND DOWNWARD IN 2008!