Uff da!!

Well...I"m having a rough day. I really don't like my job anymore, and so after being ill the last 2 days, it was harder than ever to go back. I'm sure the 40 below wind chill factors had nothing to do with that, also. ;-)

I am a bit more stressed as of late. I am in the last 4 weeks of my MT course. Finals are right around the corner!! Not to mention then taking employment exams, the RMT exam...uff da!! I am pulling all As right now, so I'm not overly worried. But they are not as high as I would like. I'm keeping in mind that in the field, my accuracy has to be 98% or better.

So I know that exercising will help me relieve my stress, and I am another step closer to having my workout area. My son & I cleaned the upstairs den, we call it the Broncos room because that is where my husband's Broncos stuff is. The bike is now set so I can watch TV while exercising. My goal was to ride it while watching the evening news, when I get home from work. The floor is cleaned up enough that I can do a WATP dvd, or a bellydance dvd, or whatever. Where my treadmill is located is good, it just needs some tidying up. But I can use the treadmill. It's just that my waterbed is so much warmer!! lol

I do have a positive, though. For the first time, my 2 year old nephew said he loved me!! We live 300 miles away, so it's hard to see him as much as I would (and his little brother!!). My brother called me, and at the end of our conversation got his attention enough to get on the phone. I said "Hi Chad, I love you!" And he said "I love you, Bye!" lol So sweet, though!! So that will be my happy thought for the night!!!

~~Heather

Monday, Monday....

Well, I'm up a couple pounds. No biggie. I mostly expected it. I didn't feel good a lot of the weekend, ate more than I should have, and just went off-kilter. I could beat myself up over it, but what's the point? Learn from it and move on.

Part of what killed me was having the fiesta platter at Taco Bell. For future reference, eat 1/2 there, and the other 1/2 for supper! lol It really was very good, though.

I didn't make my goal of exercising 3 days last week, so it will carryover as my goal this week. Also will be my goal again of limiting myself to 1 soda per day. I love my Diet Dr. Pepper, but I'm sure the sodium isn't helping!! :-)

I'm staying home today. My son went to his first dance last night, it didn't get done until midnight. While my DH took him and picked him up after, I was doing homework until 11 pm anyway, so figured I would just stay up. I thought I would be OK going to work today, but ultimately decided against it.

That means I can get a little ahead on my homework this week, right? ;-)

~~Heather

p.s. - That's my hedgehog, Tiggy. I should start to follow her example! She runs on her wheel for 1/2 hour every morning!! :-)

I did it!!!

OK, so it's not a huge deal, but it still took a lot for me to get up the gumption to do it. I don't like to exercise where anyone can see me, I never have. Probably goes back to 5th grade gym class. lol

I have this nice, brand new treadmill and recumbent bike upstairs. The bike I've used a couple of times, the treadmill...NOT ONCE. Until today. (You know where I'm going with this, right? lol)

Today, it was about 11:30 a.m., I was at a good stopping point in my studies (still home with a sick child), so I went upstairs and did 20 minutes. Go me!! Now, granted, no one can see me up there. But it is the thought of them listening to me that gets me "buggy." Go figure. My DH has even told me he can't hear the treadmill. So then it is the thought of them just "knowing" I'm up there exercising and being all fat and scary looking. LOL

I did it anyway. Then I took a nice long bath, and for lunch I had soup and salad. Back to the books!!!

~~Heather

Motivation? What's that??

Well, as most of you know, I've been struggling a long time with my health, primarily my weight. I have all the tools I need, I just need to get up and use them. I have a brand new treadmill. Brand new stationary bike. Strength-training progam lined up. Weights where I can use them.

The alarm goes off at 4:55 (I have to be up at 5 to ensure my son gets up and is on the school bus at 6:20), my workout clothes are sitting right there on the dresser. I go downstairs, and curl up under a blanket. That doesn't get much accomplished.

So I found the above motivational quote, and hopefully I will use it to inspire myself today.

In the meantime, I'm home for the 2nd day in a row with a sick child. I hope he gets to feeling better soon!!

~~Heather

My yarn is here!!

Well, I was going to start this out with saying how happy I was my yarn is here and post pictures of my new stash and WIPs. Then I found out that blogger thinks it's really cool to have everyone's pictures on a scrolling thingamajig, if they've been uploaded to the site. So instead, I will upload my pictures at photobucket and then link to a slideshow of them instead. I'm just not sure how I feel about my pictures being flashed around, and there is no opt-out. I understand I'm putting them up on the WWW for the world to see, but there's a big difference between someone actively searching for my posts and pictures and a corporation deciding to flaunt them for us.

Anyway...here's my stash! :) $87.42 from yarnsupply.com. :-)

I will start the 2 flannel-ghans today, and rotate projects. The baby hearts 'ghan should be done this week!

~~Heather

Happy Thursday!!

I got my yarn today, I'm so excited!! I have to flannel-ghans to make for Christmas. One I won't be able to post pictures of until after Christmas, in case the friend I'm making it for decides to read my blog. :-) The other one I will be able to. It was sooo nice to see that big ol' package when I got home!! I bought enough yarn for the 2 flannel-ghans, a sweater, and what I thought would top off what I needed for a hoody pattern. Turns out the pattern was written for larger skeins, so I only have about 1/3 of what I need. Not good!! But I've already started one, so... :-)

I will be finishing the baby-ghan this weekend, so I can start the other 2 with a good conscience. :-) I still have the cross stitch sampler to work on and school starts next week!!!! Yipes!! :-) I have it all worked out though....exercise....school work....work....supper...school work....crafting...bed. See? :-)

I just wanted to add my thoughts on Britney Spears. See, I'm a 33 year old who enjoys listening to her. When I saw clips of the VMA show, I felt so sorry for her. Yes, there are lots of celebrity kids who turned out fine. Have you noticed, though, that those are also the ones who are not hounded by the paparazzi? I really hope she pulls together, because she is really very talented. I think that people just need to back off and let her live her life. I'm not a perfect mom, and we shouldn't expect celebrities to be perfect, either. She's made some mistakes, but who hasn't?

OK...that came about because I heard part of one of her songs on a commercial for "Meerkat Manor"....I need a life!! lol

~~Heather

My Daemon

From the movie "The Golden Compass"....




What do you think? :-)

~~Heather

'Tis Tuesday

Not much new on this front. I did take the initiative to join RichardSimmons.com this past Sunday. I am feeling it out, but so far I like the people there. It seems like everywhere I go I find more snippiness than friendliness. Maybe it's just me? :-)

I was pretty tired of thoughtless (aka brain dead!) people on the phones at work today. You simply can't call up a catalog company and ask them to send a product without paying for it, for the love of pete!! Or take 20 minutes asking the order entry rep to place an order and then say "Oh, I don't have my credit card!" and hang up!! Oy.

I am steadily working on my niece's blanket (at least we think it's a niece...unless baby's hiding something! lol) and it is so pretty. I can't wait to post pictures!!

DH was out of town last night, so I didn't sleep as well as usual. We've had reports of a peeping tom who also will walk on into houses in the area. So much for feeling secure. :-( But, miserable as I and DS are, not feeling safe anymore, DH doesn't want to move. So here we are. Such is life.

On a positive note - it was a beautiful fall day today!! :-)

~~Heather

Happy Weekend

Yay! It's finally not hot hot hot!! It's actually rather chilly!! :-) It's my favorite time of year, though. One of them. Fall and Spring. And winter, when it's not horribly cold (like below zero cold!!).

Of course, this means that I have no excuse for not exercising. I finally got my beloved Yourself!Fitness, and I've used it all of once. :-( My dog practically BEGS to be taken for a walk or bike ride, and there I sit, making idle promises. I have not lost a pound in months, my knees hurt, I'm tired all the time, my cholesterol is still up. *sigh* And who do I have to blame for it? Me. :-)

I've come to the conclusion that I need some help in this venue. SparkPeople is nice, but I had some problems fitting in I think. TOPS doesn't have a meeting that I can attend within 40 miles. Same with Weight Watchers. No Jenny Craig nearby, nor an LA Weightloss. I'm really thinking again about Richard Simmons. Yes, THAT Richard Simmons. :-) Hard to believe he will be celebrating his 60th birthday next year!!!

So, if there is anyone reading this, please let me know your thoughts and/or opinions!!!

~~Heather

Shhhh...it's me again... :-)

But don't tell anyone!! lol

I really need to get better about this whole blogging thing. Go figure. :-)

I have 1 quarter (out of 3, plus a test prep course) done in my medical transcription course. I passed...yay me!!

I quit the hospital and am now working at VanDyke's. I work in a call center, and enjoy it and the co-workers. One reminds me of a gal I worked with back in the Black Hills, and she's just as nice, so that's all good!! :-) It's also "steady" work, M-F 9:30AM-6PM, no weekends, no nights, no holidays. :-) It will also be easier for my course, as I can work on it for an hour in the mornings and a couple of hours in the evenings and then on weekends as well.

We transferred Ori up to the Huron High School. He has lots more friends up there, most from Bible Camp, and there is more that he can do up there. He is really happy, by the way things are looking, and I am really hoping that his grades will reflect that.

Scott is still at his job, and another chef has walked off. It sounds like they won't replace that one, but split the duties up between him and the head chef. As if they were not understaffed enough??? Oy.

Otherwise, we're pretty much status quo. I did get Yourself!Fitness for my laptop, and I love it!! Now I just need to get into the habit of USING it. LOL For some reason, I can't lose weight unless I DO something. Go figure. ;-

On the upside, I just found out that I CAN upload videos to Google and keep them private...too bad I had to go through a search engine then to About.com to figure it out! Sometimes I wonder... :-) I love Google, though, so no complaints now that I've found it!!

Cheers!
~~Heather

Interesting things of note, but probably only to me. :-)

I've spent the last couple of weeks not wanting to be near a computer, not wanting to work, read, crochet or really do much of anything. Want to know what I have to show for it?

WEIGHT GAIN. Yup. Weight gain. Here I am, trying to get healthier, and where has it gotten me? NOWHERE. Urgh.

I read somewhere that your fat cells have something to do with storing hormones (I think it was estrogen, but don't quote me on that). And with these excess hormones, obese people are typically more lethargic, depressed, etc. etc. No wonder it's so hard to get up off my patootie and work out. BUT I also know that when I do work out, I feel better for a long time afterward.

I also think the weather has a lot to do with how we feel. Here in eastern South Dakota, we've had rain or snow non-stop for the last few months. We had a week of gorgeous (we're talking 70s here!) weather, then it snowed again, then rain rain and more rain. On Friday, I ran to Mitchell to get dog food (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, I highly recommend it!!) and run a couple of other errands (ShopKo had an awesome 2-day sale on bookshelves, for one!). On the way back, I stopped at a gas station for a drink and a snack (Jack's Links Jerky, gotta love it!!). The cashier mentioned how she had noticed that, even though the price of gas had just gone up 10 cents a gallon, no one that day complained about it. They ALL commented on the gorgeous weather. She said even regulars that came in and were known for being "grumpy" were not as grumpy as usual. As I drove home, I thought about what she had said, and thought back over my day. I had worked a 1/2 day at the hospital, walked the 4 blocks to where my DH works so I could get the van, ran my errands, parking farther away than usual at the stores, and I was in a great mood. The walk felt good, even carrying my bag of stuff. I enjoyed it, even though I was walking in public were lots of people could see me (pretty rare for me!!).

So, could SAD have been part of what's been wrong with me all these months? Do I just need, like everyone does, a little more sunshine in my life? :-) I know our dog is certainly enjoying the nicer days. She is still stuck on a tie-out in the back yard, but at least she's not cooped up in the house anymore!! We do plan on building her a kennel this summer, money permitting. :-) But the tie-out works for her, and will work even better when we get the tree limbs cleared up and I can move it so she has a full circle to run instead of just 2/3 of one. The cats have all found the sunny spots throughout the day, and you can just about set your sundial by them. :-)

One thing I am really looking forward to doing is sitting on my front porch and crocheting. The pink slouchy shrug didn't turn out well with the yarn choices I made, so I'm re-doing it using directions I found at the Crochetville forum. It's slow going, as I rushed to get the slouchy one done and now my wrist is a bit unhappy. Darn tendinitis. :-) Even sitting on the front porch and reading will be nice!! :-) I also plan on making a kerchief with some leftover yarns, but otherwise I don't have any new projects I plan on starting. Scratch that, yes I do. LOL Christmas gift for my sister-in-law. :-)

We still have the limbs of 10 trees in our yard. My town, in its infinite wisdom, gave the key to the area for yard waste to someone who does not have a phone. I'm just waiting for them to complain about the back yard!! I will send a note with this month's water/trash payment requesting that this person contact us so we can get this done finally. Hopefully before the grass dies beneath the limbs!!

This week we'll be taking a day trip to Sioux Falls for our neice's birthday. She'll be TWO already, I can hardly believe it. I have to pick up the rest of her gift and make the dress we decided on for her. Wal-Mart has this cute fabric that is pre-gathered at the top specifically for this, and because most of the work is done, it will be a quick project (that I hopefully won't botch! LOL).

Well, this is probably enough rambling for the day...thanks for checking in!!

~~Heather

Happy April!!!

I hope everyone had a safe April Fool's Day!! :-) I slept through mine, which is probably a good thing!! LOL

Just a quick update. My new WIP is not going to be the Lion Brand shrug, but rather this one. The Tutu yarn was too expensive, so instead I am using Caron Simply Soft in Rubine Red (I think, but it's a really BRIGHT pink! LOL) and for the ribbing on the sleeve cuffs and around the body I am using Bernat Boa in "Chick". It shouldn't take too long to do up, and I can't wait to wear it!! I'm picturing it with a black sleeveless polo I have, or white tees, or I have a floral shirt that it would be perfect with.

I weigh in tomorrow, but I am not thinking there will be much in the weight loss department. My perserverance has taken a vacation, unfortunately. I did get the book from the library, and photocopied the pages I wanted. I plan on modifying it a bit in that instead of using 3 pound dumbbells and isometric/dynamic tension, I will use a resistance tube. And somehow start Monday, even if I am coming off of night shift!! :-) I also plan on walking my dog most days this week (Thursday might be tricky since I work day shift) and hitting the gym at least twice.

On that note...I better go study some more. Thanks for checking in, sorry it was a rather dull post this time around. Until next time!!

Heather

Finished Project!!

I have a finished crochet project!! Now to see if I can figure out pictures here. I've heard rumors that it can be...finicky. :-) It's a shrug from a DIYNetwork pattern with a shell pattern at the bottom and scallops on the cuffs and collar. You can't see the collar, though. Most of my spring/summer shirts are sleeveless and that's not acceptable at work. So I'm hoping that I can get away with wearing shrugs over them, using yarn I have on hand (de-stashing to boot! LOL) rather than having to go spend money on new clothes. I hate clothes shopping anyway. So...here we go...

I do like it, and I even like how I look in it, which is rare. :-) It's a very simple pattern, and now that I've done it once, I can also modify it in the future. BUT next on my list is one made from Lion Brand Homespun Yarn, the color is "Blueridge". Unfortunately it's a discontinues yarn, so here's hoping I have just enough to finish this project!! The pattern is here, and since I plan on making the sleeves a little shorter, I should be OK. I have 1 UFO (Un Finished Object) to get done this week (hopefully by tomorrow) then I will start this one. It seems odd making something for ME for a change!! LOL

As far as workouts, this week has been somewhat but not really slow. LOL Monday I raked leaves and bagged 'em for about an hour, then later on that evening took my dog for a 30 minute walk. She was happy, since she's been essentially stuck indoors all winter long. Yesterday...nada. :-( Well, lots of trips around the house with laundry, I suppose. :-) Today I had hoped to hit the gym, but I will take my dog for a walk again this afternoon. I have a meeting tonight at 5:15 and I don't pick up my DH until 8, so hopefully I can still squeeze some gym time in there! I plan on wearing my shrug (above) with one of my sleeveless tops to the meeting so I can get my supervisor's approval before I go too gung-ho. :-)

Thanks for checking in!!!

Heather

New Goals

OK...so I'm at work, and I've been thinking long and hard on some things. Like my job and it's frustrations. But it has a lot of positives, too. So I'm debating between keeping it or looking for another one. I'll let you know on that when I decide. :-)

The other thing I keep thinking about is my health. It's not the greatest, but thankfully it's not all that bad either. I have slightly elevated blood pressure and cholesterol at the moment. At my weight, it could be a LOT worse. I could have very high blood pressure, clogged arteries, diabetes and breathing issues. OK, so I have breathing issues when I'm done going up a flight of stairs, but they could be worse. ;-)

I'm setting a new goal of at least walking 1 mile per day and Monday when we go to the library again I'm going to check out a book on strength-training that I enjoyed a long time ago. I'm going to go to the Nordby Center as many days as possible, but on the days I can't go I'm going to either take my dog on a long walk or use a Walk Away The Pounds dvd. I will also go to the once-a-week yoga class at the Nordby Center. When I reach my first weight-loss goal of 14 pounds, I will purchase another dvd or book on fitness/health. That will be my reward. :-)

My poor husband, God bless him, tries to be supportive, and he IS! When we have pizza (the bane of my weight loss journey!) he always asks if I want 1 piece or 2. I always say 2. I should always say 1. Last night I "gave him permission" to trick me. When I say I want 2 pieces, to give me 1 piece and cut it in half!! LOL We cut (rather, HE cuts) pretty big pieces, a 16" pizza he cuts into 6 pieces, so you can see why 2 pieces is too much. :-) He found it amusing, and I have to give him credit, he WILL do it, too. One of the things I love about him!!

And for my birthday? (Which isn't until May, but it pays to plan ahead!) I want new tires for my bike. When we moved (over a year ago!!) I discovered that one of mine had rotted and since they're an odd size, I need to replace both. Then we see how well my dog does at staying nearby when I'm on a bike and not walking! I think she'll do well, though.

So what are your goals?

Heather

Yikes! A whole month??

No wonder Tanya was getting on my case!! I can't believe it's been a whole month since my last post!! (Thank you, Tanya, I need someone to get on my case!!)

I suppose it's because not much has been going on. I've made the decision to again work towards my goal of becoming a Medical Transcriptionist. It will be a few months until I can re-enroll in the course I had started, but I will continue to work on it in the interim with the materials I have. I've become increasingly frustrated with my job at the hospital. I love the people (generally) and I do like the position. But the switching back and forth from night shift to day shift is really taking its toll on not only myself and my health, but also on my family. I was also supposed to only be working every 3rd weekend, and so far I've been working 2-3 weekends a month instead. I don't mind filling in & helping out when needed, but I really feel like I've been taken advantage of. I did address this with the supervisor, and the reply was "well, we can't pull from the Business Office to cover, they have to get caught up on their work." Which I understand, I do, but this person should NOT be permitted to pull the stuff she has been (including changing the schedule without talking to me and changing other people's requests for time off that have been approved already!). I've arranged an interview with a local department store, we'll see if they can meet my needs. I want to stay part-time with benefits, and while working the occasional weekend is OK, I want most of them off. My son is only 14 once, and I've missed almost 1/2 this year already!! But also, I don't mind working more days per week for only a few hours a day during school hours. I really feel that I need to be more available to my son, and this job is just not cutting it like I thought it would.

BUT to keep this from totally becoming a rant post... :-) For crafting, I've almost completed a set of 6 placemats/coasters for a friend, I'm working on a shrug to wear to work (because I can't wear sleeveless tops, and all of my tops for summer are sleeveles!!), I've found my blue knifty knitter loom back so I can work on some projects on that again. Most cool: I got a candle making kit!! I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to next week. It came with wax, I also picked up a couple of scents to try, additional wax and colors. I can't wait to try it!! (Because I can never have too many hobbies!! LOL)

The kitties are all doing well, loving the new-to-us sectional sofa we got. It really opened up the house, giving them lots of room to run. The dog is loving the spring weather, as she gets to be outside again. She's probably really looking forward to walks too!! :-) My husband is doing great, he's been a non-smoker since Jan. 29th and I'm so proud of him!! My son is looking forward to summer so he can go swimming. We're lucky enough to have a pool across the street from our house, and it's free to residents. YAY!! :-)

Until next time...

Heather

Things that make you go Hmmmm....

So I'm sitting here, after a wonderful supper of pork cutlets, mashed potatoes and peas, and realizing that I don't feel hungry. Odd only because before, I could eat almost an entire large pizza by myself. Tonight I had a serving of meat, 2 of starch and 2 of veggies. And I'm not hungry.

It reinforces what all people who need to lose weight are told: portion control and eating properly is the way to go. Yes, exercise is a big factor, but proper nutrition is also key.

Take that pizza, for example. I can eat pizza and keep eating it, even knowing that later on, I'm going to be nauseous. It doesn't matter that I KNOW I'm going to be nauseous later, I will still eat until there's no pizza left. It is not filling and it leaves no satisfaction. Mashed potatoes and peas are filling, and left me satisfied. The pork cutlets were divine (have I ever mentioned that I married a chef??) and yet after that single serving, I was good.

In thinking back, when I am eating healthy, I am rarely hungry, my complexion is good and I have more energy. When I start eating junk food, I eat MORE, I feel ill more, I have no energy and my complexion bites.

I wonder why it is that people don't always realize this? Is it because we're so focused on the short-term "feel goods" we wipe out the long term "feel bads" when we eat junk? And we wipe out the long term "feel goods" from eating properly? Does anyone out there have any insight for me on this one? In the meantime, I will work better on my long term "feel goods". :-)

~~Heather

I have turned in my resignation!!

I have turned in my resignation. It read something like this:

Dear Boardmembers of the Clean Plate Club;

I am hereby resigning my position in your club. It has been a pleasure to have been a member for these past 32 years, however the Club is going down a path that I no longer believe in, and thus I do not feel I can fully contribute any longer.

I do not believe that the starving children in (insert country here) will care whether my plate is empty, and since I have no way of sending the food to them, it is a moot point.

I do not believe that I won't grow big and strong if I don't clean my plate. In point of fact, as a result of constantly cleaning my plate, I have grown far bigger than I needed to, and not nearly strong enough.

I also no longer believe that I am required to completely fill my plate at buffets and return for more several times.

Also, I have noticed that the size of your plates have increased over the years. You told me that since I was a big girl, I could eat off an adult-sized plate now, but I realize now that that is just a ploy used to help me eat more. I am definitely a big girl now, thanks.

In fact, over the past few months, I have realized that being a member of the Clean Plate Club has been detrimental to my health and well-being. I don't think you meant to be, but it just sort of happened. In fact, it happened around the time "portions" and "veggies" and "you are what you eat" were banned from the Club. You may want to re-think that rule.

Again, I want to thank you for the last 32 years. The last few months have taught me what not to do, and as such, again, I no longer feel I can be a contributing member of your Club. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Following is my new mailing address:

Heather
c/o Healthy Living Club

What leaps of faith are you going to take?

The following is a quote from SparkPeople that I really liked:

Trying new things can give you a real zest for life. Pushing beyond your comfort zone in a responsible way helps you grow confidence and creativity that you can apply to your everyday life. Do not let fear control what you do (or don't) do? While taking risks can be scary, doing nothing is a big mistake, as it produces nothing fruitful within you. There is a direct relationship between the things that we achieve and the effort we put forth to obtain them. To reach the fruit, you have to climb the tree first!


How many times, in looking back, do you wish you had tried something new when it came your way? For me, a few stick out. Learning to make artificial flowers from my godmother because for some reason I didn't want to learn from my mother (my brother and I , I guess). And now, I wish I had learned to knit from Mom. I want to knit, I know I can do it, but it would have been a lot easier to learn from her. For those who don't know, she passed away unexpectedly in November, and so naturally I have a lot of regrets/lost chances. (She was only 54.)

I'm a newlywed (little over 1 year!) and I'm also trying to lose weight/get healthier. I'm very self-conscious, and so even the thought of telling my DH "I'm going upstairs to use the treadmill" is scary for me. Not because he's not supportive (he's VERY supportive!) but because I just know he's picturing me on the treadmill and the thought of that is almost as scary to me as getting up on stage would be. Generally, I'm home alone, and so I do it whenever. But on his days off, it's trickier for me. I don't want to take time away from him, but we both want me to be healthier. So I've been trying to be a lot better about just doing it. Climbing the stairs to get to where the treadmill is certainly feels like climbing a tree to get the fruit!

So...which trees will you climb today?

Heather

A funny thing about diet/self-help books

**Disclaimer** I'm just surmising what I've read, I'm not a doctor, nurse or any other type of health care provider. Take what I am typing with a grain of salt, but do not hold me responsible if you didn't consult with a medical provider and hurt yourself in some way shape or form. Thanks!!

OK, so after my Mother's death, I decided that I needed to get healthier. In the process, I've been doing a lot of reading. I've read most of "You on a Diet", most of Bob Green/Oprah Winfrey's book, the Curves book, Leslie Sansone's 6 week book, 2 of Jorge Cruise's books. You get the idea. I've noticed a very prevalent theme to these books. If I could sum them all up, this is how I would do it.

Really, this should have been #1, but I'm letting it stand alone: Talk to your doctor. Get yourself tested for thyroid issues, iron levels, vitamin levels, gluten-intolerance or other food allergies, diabetes, cholesterol, the whole gamut. If you don't have insurance, then look for an income-based health care provider. Over the years, I've found that the staff at the income-based clinics treat me far better than the ones at the "power" clinics. They take the time to listen and make sure I understand what it is I need to know.

1. Eat better. If that means eating less, fine. If it means changing what you eat to a healthier version, fine.

2. Move more. Walk daily. Even just for 15 minutes a day, it's better than nothing.

3. Drink your water. Yup, all 8 glasses of it. It helps flush the fat out of your system, as well as any other impurities/toxins/not-good-for-you things.

4. Take the time to determine WHY you are eating the foods and amounts that you are eating. Did you eat that entire cake because you were really really hungry or did you eat it because your significant other just dumped you for the annoying next-door neighbor? Are you starving yourself because it's what you saw your parent do growing up? The same parent who is still overweight because they've blown their metabolism?

It's interesting that I've paid for 5-8 books on weight loss, quite a few little "booklets", checked out dozens more, and they all essentially say the same thing.

Get up and move. Eat healthier. Work through your issues instead of eating through them, and drink your water. What's on your plan for today?

Heather

The next installment of The Trouble with Fat

She woke up that morning not wanting to get out of the warm bed into the cold air. That was a problem with the big farmhouse they had bought, but it was one she was willing to contend with. She loved the house, even though she hated how she felt after climbing the stairs. Winded, and definitely not sexy. Her husband still calls her "One Hot Mama" though, and she feels confident she will become what he calls her. It's a far cry from being called "chappa" by her ex. He later broke it to her that it was Cherokee for "fat". Whether that was true or not, at a size 12 her "love of her life" should not have called her a nickname he understood to mean fat. She was glad to be rid of him, that's for sure. And hopefully she will be that size 12 again. But a 14 or 16 would work too!

She made her way downstairs, to see her husband making coffee. She made herself a smoothie, making sure she added the flax seed. It kept her appetite stemmed and was a good source of fiber. Inside, her fat cells were crying. They wanted peanut butter, and lots of it. "Sorry guys," she murmured, "not until I decide that's what I really want."

As she curled up under the blanket on the couch, her fat cells began their daily banter. "You know, with more of us, you're better insulated for the cold. Have you ever seen a SKINNY Eskimo?" "Hmph. I've never seen an Eskimo period, and it's not going to work, guys." She told her husband she would do her 15 minute walk at 4PM, so that he wouldn't be surprised when she got up and did it. Also, in the hopes that he would help hold her accountable.

She went to SparkPeople and logged her foods for the day, after breakfast and lunch. Then she had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a snack, on 2 slices of small gluten-free bread. The fat cells were sending up complaints, not enough peanut butter. "Ah, but that's an advantage to small bread...less peanut butter will fit, guys." YIKES! She cringed when she finally entered the snack. GF bread has twice as many calories as regular bread! The fat cells rejoiced at her slip-up.

Their celebration didn't last long. The battle had started to go downhill for them when she made it to the treadmill at 4, and felt so good that she did 30 minutes instead of only 15! They tried to retaliate by jiggling madly, but she had worn jeans...no jiggle there! That night at work she researched GF tortillas and lefse. Low-calorie and perfect for the peanut butter and honey sandwiches she craved. Slowly, the fat cells began to wither. They began to plan for the next day. And soon, as midnight hit, they defeated her walls for a little while: 7 peanut butter cups. 613 of her precious calories down the drain.

She chuckled and reminded them that it would be a low-calorie day anyway, since she would sleep through most of it. A smoothie when she woke up, and then a small supper. Cursing at her, the fat cells crawled away in defeat and to plan another line of attack.