Quotes About New Year's Resolutions

I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me. ~Anaïs Nin


I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's. ~Henry Moore


One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things. ~John Burroughs


I do think New Year's resolutions can't technically be expected to begin on New Year's Day, don't you? Since, because it's an extension of New Year's Eve, smokers are already on a smoking roll and cannot be expected to stop abruptly on the stroke of midnight with so much nicotine in the system. Also dieting on New Year's Day isn't a good idea as you can't eat rationally but really need to be free to consume whatever is necessary, moment by moment, in order to ease your hangover. I think it would be much more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second. ~Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones's Diary

Poll Results: How Much Weight Do You Want to Lose?

Thanks to the 804 people who answered the first poll. The question was - How Many Pounds Do You Want to Lose?



The results were surprising as I had thought a larger percentage of people would have wanted to lose more than fifty pounds. But it turns out that 65% of the readers here want to lose less than 50 pounds.

I haven't focused too much on weight loss success stories which involve losing less than fifty pounds. So as a result of these poll results, expect to see more of these stories here soon, though I realize everyone (like me) is inspired by the really big weight loss stories and these are also easier to find and write about. But for anyone who has succeeded in their goal to lose 10 to 50 pounds, please let me know about it if you'd like your story featured here.

Thanks again for voting.

Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone very happy holidays ahead.

I'll be back to posting in a few days. Thinking of New Years resolutions yet anyone?

The poster here is Santa Skiing.

Biggest Loser Finale is Tonight

“The Biggest Loser” finale is on TV tonight. One of the four finalists - Hollie, Isabeau, Julie or Bill will win $250,000.


A lot of people seem to think Bill will be the winner. If you've been following the series and have a firm opinion on who's going to win, go place your vote for the winner here.

Update: Bill is the winner. He lost 164 pounds for a current weight of 170.

Here's a photo of Bill before his weight loss.

A Chef Says Goodbye to Muffins and Danishes

Kevin is a chef in a Four Seasons Hotel. He has succeeded in losing 85 pounds in the past nine months. The pounds crept on as he was sampling most of the food that was created in his kitchen. He had a weakness for the muffins, danishes and croissants.

But he finally made the decision to lose weight after he saw how he had no energy to play with his four year old son. He is 6'1 and used to weigh 355 pounds. Today he weighs 270 and his health is greatly improved. See the chef's weight loss story here.

The above poster is Muffin Man by Barbara Olsen.

Carrie Loses 75 Pounds

Hi There -
I love your blog, and read it frequently. It's always such a motivator to see others who have lost weight and taken their lives back. I'd like to share my story with you.

My name is Carrie Falquist, and I'm a mother, wife, artist and online weight loss group leader. In December of 2006, I found myself 230 lbs and trying out for weight loss reality shows such as NBC-TV's The Biggest Loser, and ABC-TV's new show, Fat March. During casting, I ceased all efforts to take weight off, and put on an additional 18 lbs through the 2 month process.

I received call backs, requests for more information, more photos, more video, etc from both casting companies, but at the very end, I did not make the final cut from each show. Having promised myself I would not stay fat long enough to try out next season, I banded together with other reality TV rejects to lose weight on our own. I started Reality of Weighting, which was a blog where we could all come together, share our struggles and offer support.

Support has been key for me, as I have never had to try and lose weight in the past, at least not to this extent. Up until I was 26 (1999), my body was naturally slim. I ate anything I wanted and maintained a weight of 150, which, at 5'10" is a healthy one. A horseback riding accident caused trauma to my thyroid and the result was a weight gain of 60 lbs in 4 months. Having grown up with a super metabolism, I did not know what to do with my body in that condition. Weight loss was a constant struggle, so I just stopped trying. I stayed between 220-230 for years. Until casting for The Biggest Loser and Fat March.

Fast forward to March, 2007. Reality of Weighting forms from 20 other casting hopefuls, and we promise each other "No Drama, No Whining, and NO EXCUSES." We made a vow that we weren't going to hang onto what made us fat, because we were keeping us fat.

I weighed 248 lbs at the end of March 2007 with a BMI of 36.8, and am now, in December 2007, I am a healthy 173.8 with a BMI of 24.8. My goal is to lose another 25.8 lbs and reach 100 lbs lost, and 148 lbs. I believe the group has been instrumental in my success. Not only do I have added accountability as the group's leader, but there are now over 170 members, people I can count on me to believe in myself when I falter.

Others in my group have lost 50, 70, even 90 lbs since March, and we celebrated our first annual get together in Las Vegas in October, meeting in person for the first time as well as being interviewed for a feature in a major health and fitness magazine. Several of us have appeared on local talk shows, the newspapers in our home towns and radio interviews.

My goal, through Reality of Weighting, is to spread the message of empowerment to others who feel like they need some sort of magic formula to lose weight. I want to lead people to a healthier lifestyle, and help them reach their goals without extreme measures, without tv shows, pills, surgery, etc. I've recently been invited by a previous Biggest Loser contestant to join them in coaching people online and creating healthy nutrition and exercise plans. It's an honor to be working with some of the past BL contestants as well as one of the trainers in this project. I'm always looking to meet other health minded folks, so anyone is welcome to friend me on myspace! www.myspace.com/carriefalquist.

www.carriefalquist.com
www.realityofweighting.com

_______
Also see Carrie's beautiful artwork here

Dropping Sugar to Beat Fatigue

A few months ago Yin Teing started trying to avoid sugar in her daily life. She says she discovered that her eating habits were contributing to increasing fatigue and yearly weight gain. She started a blog about Saying Goodbye to a Lifelong Addiction. In Goodbye Sugar she details her journey, discoveries and slip-ups to her way back to health and shedding pounds along the way.

She has only lost about 12 pounds but her clothes fit so much better since she started her eating and exercise plan. Although her main reason to change her eating and to start exercising was to beat fatigue, she says looking better in clothes is definitely a great bonus and motivation to continue.

See her story at Goodbye Sugar.

Jeremy Loses 25 Pounds

Jeremy has lost 25 pounds in about four months. He kick started the weight loss with a simple diet plan recommended by one of his coworkers. He stayed on this diet for two weeks and this really helped to lessen his appetite for big portions. Since then he's added other food to his daily eating but is still managing to lose a pound every ten days or so.

See his diet plan here.

See a good recipe for chili at the World's Healthiest Foods.

Which Habit is Your #1?

Thanks much to everyone who answered the first poll. The results are surprising, I'll sum them up when the poll is finished.

Now for the second poll, I'm wondering if most people share the same habit in terms of what is keeping them from losing weight faster.

If you were to state only one habit that was MOST responsible for you not being able to reach your goal weight, what would it be?

It will be interesting to see whether a couple of habits really stand out with the majority of readers. Please consider your answer to be as honest as possible.

(Don't worry about the reasons why you have this habit, we can go into this later.)

I'm leaving this poll open for just six days. The poster above is Kitchen - cupboard.

Ayres' Huge Weight Loss Story

Ayres topped the scales at 550 pounds not too long ago. It was in early 2006 that he started a drastic program to lose weight. What finally motivated him to do it was that he started losing his vision due to diabetes. This really frightened him and got him motivated in a big way. A year and a half later, he was down to 225 pounds. That's an amazing weight loss of 325 pounds!

He completely changed his lifestyle and what he ate. These days a weekly exercise regimen includes going to a personal trainer at VQ Fitness four times a week plus an additional four sessions a week of aerobics at the YMCA. And on weekends he walks as much as 10 miles.

Because he lost so much weight so quickly he has a great deal of sagging skin. He wants a surgical body lift at this point and he'd like to go on the Oprah show to help him pay for it. But maybe this sagging skin would also disappear after a couple more years of regular exercise?

See his incredible weight loss story here. The main page of his website is here.

Changing Attitude for Weight Loss

The New York Times has a perplexing but interesting story today about how a study showed that women (hotel maids) lost weight and decreased their blood pressure without increasing their daily exercise but by just being more mindful that they were getting some exercise.

See the mindful exercise story here.

How Many Pounds Do You Want to Lose?

I've been featuring weight loss stories here for many months now. A lot are about people who have lost a huge amount of weight (over 150 pounds). But I am curious about how many pounds the typical regular reader here wants to lose.

Do most people just want to lose less than twenty pounds for example? Or is the average number more like 50 or 100 pounds of desired weight loss?

Please vote in the poll at the top right of the sidebar. I'm leaving the poll open for 16 days and it will be interesting to see what people's desired weight loss numbers are.

Thanks!
Isadora

Carol Alt Eats Like a Horse

Carol Alt celebrated her 47th birthday a couple of days ago. She looks absolutely amazing. (See her in person on the video below). Her skin is radiant and she has masses of shiny hair for someone who's almost fifty. Her figure is also incredible.

Could this all be the result of her raw food diet regimen? Alt has long been an advocate of eating raw foods and she has written a couple of books about this. She says she 'eats like a horse' but eating raw enables her to stay slim.

The Raw 50 contains her favorite raw recipes — 10 breakfasts, 10 lunches, 10 dinners, 10 snacks, and 10 drinks.

Fighting Fat and Acne at the Same Time

The author of The Clear Skin Diet recommends people who have acne try switching to a diet high in fiber, fish, vegetables, lean protein and matcha green tea.

The typical teenage diet often contains too many burgers, pop and donuts.

Alan Logan, a New York naturopath says the wrong diet is not the only cause of acne. Stress is also a critical element in acne flare-ups.

See more about his food recommendations here.

The Easiest Way to a Flat Stomach?

What's the easiest way to a flat tummy? One reader wanted to know this and so she paid $20 for an expert on Google Answers to find the answer for her. She specifically asked if sit-ups would be the fastest way to trim her waistline. She got a pretty detailed answer and if she followed the instructions, she probably has a flatter stomach now.

Here's an excerpt from the detailed answer;

What sit ups does do is tone your abdominal muscles. However, it does not "target" the fat in your tummy any more than any other form of aerobic exercise. In fact, if you only do situps as your aerobic exercise, what will happen is that you will build up abdominal muscles in your abs, but it would be still covered in the same layers of fat as before.

"The first place we usually lose fat is on our face (so our mothers can tell us we look too thin). Unfortunately, it is not possible to direct our bodies to burn fat from a particular area."
"Take sit-ups for example. It is important to keep your stomach (and back) muscles in shape, and firm abs can even help to hold in your stomach. But to reduce the size of your mid-section, you would do just as well to perform any exercise that you enjoy."
Source: http://www.eatwellandexercise.com/faqs_spot.html



Check out the easiest way to a flat stomach here.

Google Answers was a great service, but unfortunately it has closed down for now.

Supremely Fit at Age 48

Tosca Reno is supremely fit at age 48. Tosca's heaviest weight was 204 and this was when she was in the middle of divorce and after having three children. She gained the weight at that time by turning to comfort foods. Today she weighs 75 pounds less.

She initially lost the weight by regular workouts on a treadmill. But her body lacked any muscle definition though she was now very slim. That's when she started weight training.

She has written a book called The Eat-Clean Diet: Fast Fat-Loss that lasts Forever! See her fitness story here.

Cathi Lee on Oprah Soon

Cathi Lee has lost more than 300 pounds. She weighed over 500 pounds a few years ago.

She was recently interviewed by Oprah and her story will air on the Oprah Show sometime in the next couple of weeks. See more about Cathi Lee here.

From Morbid Obesity to Radiant Health

John has experienced massive weight loss success. He used to weigh over 400 pounds and has lost over half of this weight. Last year, in just 12 months, he lost the biggest portion of his excess weight, 150 pounds lost in one year.

He lost this weight mainly by avoiding wheat, dairy and sugar.

See more terrific before and after photos as well as his story here.

Fiona Falkiner Does Triathlons

The beautiful Fiona Falkiner has succeeded in losing a lot of weight. Again.

She first lost a lot of weight on the Biggest Loser TV program in Australia, but soon gained it all back again, and now has lost weight again and completed her first triathlon.

Losing 20 Pounds in Three Months

David Eigenberg has lost twenty pounds in just three months. What motivated him to lose the weight?

Eigenberg is one of the male stars in the movie, Sex and the City. Apparently the movie producers asked him to hit the gym before filming began.

He says: "It's harder to be a man on Sex and the City than a woman. They [producers] can't tell the women to lose weight. They tell the guys to lose weight. They told me to lose a couple of pounds."

Source: Sky Showbiz

Sagging Skin : A Better Perspective

A reader saw the post on sagging skin after weight loss and has this to say about it;

I am noticing a lot of articles about people who have lost a lot of weight and are upset about the sagging skin. I think the more important thing right now is to be healthy. I have a lot of weight to lose myself and I am a little worried about the sagging skin as well but...I won't be having any surgery. I made the decision to have a life change and that includes rigorous workouts at least five days per week. Once I reach my goal size (not weight) I will be contacting a trainer from my gym that will give me advice on toning. It is very important, and I know this because it has been proven to me, to use weight training as a means to tone muscle and tighten skin. Tightening sagging skin will not happen over night but it will happen and to different degrees for everyone. Sagging skin should only be bothersome, in my opinion if it hinders your health. Looking good is great but it is not as important as feeling good or being healthy. There are, however, exercises that are specifically designed for that purpose. It takes research and patience. Don't give up! I would not preach this if I had not seen it with my own eyes. I feel sorry for the people who have had weight loss surgery and lost it so fast that all that extra skin is just left hanging. For those of us who choose to lose it the old fashion way..Weight training is the key. It will cause you to not see as big of numbers of weight loss on the scale but that will be fooling you. While you are losing weight you will be gaining muscle and muscle weighs more than fat so you will still be losing but as you continue your workouts your muscles will be becoming more toned and refined which will aid in fat loss and toning. I say all of this to encourage all of us out here to MOVE! Lift those weights, do that cardio and eat lots of good foods, NO refined carbs and no sugar! When we do this it all aids in fat loss and minimal hanging skin in the end. Any remaining skin can be toned and depending on our ages and leftover elasticity in our bodies that will determine the end result. My point is this...Please don't dwell or let this get you down and cause you to give up. It could take years of toning to satisfy your cosmetic aspects. Instead, hold your head high and be very proud of what you have accomplished. You have given yourself years to live and made yourself healthy and that is the most important thing!

Thanks much for your comment!

The beautiful poster above is Evening Mood by William Adolphe Bouguereau

Locavore is a Famous New Word

There is a new word in the dictionary and it's locavore.

A locavore is someone who tries to eat food that is grown locally -- within a 100-mile radius.

The word has just been made famous because it was chosen as the 2007 Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

See more about losing weight to help save the enviroment here.

The photo of a farmers market in Birmingham is by Photo-Mojo

'Men Only' Weight Loss Support

The New York Times had an article a few days ago about how men's weight loss efforts differ from women. They said that at Weight Watchers meetings, the women get emotional but the men don't. They interviewed a few men who attend male-only weight loss meetings. One guy says; “Without the women there you don’t have to be as masculine because we’re all in the same boat. We don’t have to show off for anyone. We can all be ourselves.”

See more at It takes a Big Man to Seek Help on Weight Loss.

Gradual Weight Loss Works for Sally

Diets were not working for Sally so she decided to take a long term approach and change her lifestyle, rather than dieting.

She says;

Because I've taken a gradual approach, I've had gradual results as well. At first I lost a good bit of weight, but now my weight loss has slowed to an average of about .5 pounds per week. I'm down 26.5 pounds from where I was at the beginning of January; I'm halfway to my goal. If I keep my current pace, I will reach my goal one year from today. Two years to lose 53 pounds--I never before would have found that acceptable, but I also never before could have managed to lose it at all!


See her very interesting story here and here.

Getting Up Early to Exercise

Katie lost an amazing 124 pounds off her petite frame over a period of 17 months. She now weighs 110 pounds.

She was slim on her wedding day 18 years ago but started gaining weight after her pregnancy. She tried many fad diets over many years. But nothing worked. Seventeen months ago she decided she was going to exercise early in the mornings. Real early. She started getting up at 3:25am to beat the crowds at her local gym. Her workouts are 90 minutes long.

See her story and some very inspiring before and after pics here.

The "You: Staying Young" Program

Six months ago Frank and Elaine looked and felt older than their years. Frank is 52 and Elaine is 45 years old.

Frank was taking about 15 pills a day to ease his high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. They both spent a lot of time on the couch and ate fried and fatty foods. Frank weighed 270 pounds and Elaine weighed 223.

Dr. Oz (of the book; You, Staying Young) has transformed them in just six months. He showed Oprah how he did it.

He started them on a 10,000 steps a day (about five miles) walking program. He also got them to change their way of eating.

Now they look and feel a lot better. Frank got rid of his type 2 diabetes and his blood pressure has normalized. Frank has lost sixty pounds and Elaine lost thirty. See their You: Staying Young story at Oprah's site.

Tim Loses 87 Pounds

Tim has lost 87 pounds. This was a tremendous feat for him but it only took him eight months. He lost the weight via regular walking, then also swimming as well as adhering to the Weight Watchers program.

Tim is 37 years old and at his heaviest he weighed 262 pounds. He is 5'10" tall and now weighs 174 pounds. See his weight loss story at CNN.

Weight Loss Scams are Everywhere

An FTC study has found that weight loss scams are a leading source of fraud in the U.S. About 4.8 million Americans bought bogus weight-loss supplements, patches, creams or other products, making fat-fighting fraud the most common scam.

Consumers are urged to visit the FTC's web site at ftc.gov to report fraud and to find out how to recognize scams. See their information about weight loss products here.

Advice for a Sagging Stomach?

A reader asks for advice about getting rid of sagging skin around her stomach. She says;

I am a 42 year old female who had a heart attack at 39 because of my weight and family history. Since the heart attack, I have lost a tremendous amount of weight which has caused a lot of sagging skin in the stomach area. I am not a viable candidate for cosmetic surgery because of the CHF. However, I am becoming increasingly upset about my appearance. I don't know what to do about the sagging stomach. It's bad enough being sick, but to look terrible as well is painful. If you have any suggestions, please send them to me. Thanking you in advance!

Can anyone who's lost a lot of weight provide some comments here?

The photo above is of the extreme girdle; the Brazilian Waist Cinchers.

Fast Food Blues

Dr. Flum specializes in surgical management of gastrointestinal disorders and surgical treatment of morbid obesity.

What is his advice for people who want to lose weight? He says if most people changed two things in their lives they would lose weight.

One is to avoid fast-food, the other is to walk on a regular basis (do 10,000 steps per day).

He says "One of every five Americans eats at least one meal per day in the car. Most of those meals come from fast-food franchises. There are fast-food meals with 1,400 calories (way more than half of a healthy amount for the day) and up to 800 of those calories come from unhealthy fats. If you can make one change in the way you eat, I would recommend not eating fast food or treating it as the very occasional splurge."

See more of Dr. David Flum's discussion about BMI, pear-shaped and apple-shaped bodies here.

Ten Best Weight Loss Sites

Here's a great list of some of the top Health and Wellness sites. It includes the ten best sites for each of the categories of weight loss blogs, diet blogs, walking and other exercises, as well as a few other key health categories.

The list was put together by people at the Nursing Online Education Database. Enjoy and happy reading!

Gaining 75 Pounds While Pregnant

Actress Mila Jojovich has gained seventy five pounds so far in her pregnancy. This photo was taken about three or four weeks before her due date.

Most doctors tell women that the ideal weight gain for women of normal weight during pregnancy is between 25 and 35 pounds. But Milla was probably underweight at the beginning and her body may have needed to gain more than the recommended amount.

Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds

We carve pumpkins for Halloween each year and usually I throw away the pumpkin seeds. But this year I'm going to roast them in the oven. It's really easy, you just need some salt and butter. (See the recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds).

Pumpkin seeds have a lot of nutritional health benefits. A quarter of a cup of pumpkin seeds provides you with about 52% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. You may not have heard of manganese, but high-manganese foods will

* Help your body utilize several key nutrients such as biotin, thiamin, ascorbic acid, and choline
* Keep your bones strong and healthy
* Help your body synthesize fatty acids and cholestorol
* Maintain normal blood sugar levels
* Promote optimal function of your thyroid gland
* Maintain the health of your nerves
* Protect your cells from free-radical damage

That same quarter cup of pumpkin seeds also provides 46% of the daily recommended amount of magnesium, 40% of phosphoros, 28% iron and 16% protein. See all about the health benefits of pumpkin seeds here.

Pumpkin seeds, raw 0.25 cup 34.50 grams 186.65 calories
Nutrient	Amount	DV (%)	Nutrient Density	World's Healthiest Foods Rating
manganese	1.04 mg	52.0	5.0	very good
magnesium	184.58 mg	46.1	4.5	very good
phosphorus	405.03 mg	40.5	3.9	very good
tryptophan	0.11 g	34.4	3.3	good
iron	5.16 mg	28.7	2.8	good
copper	0.48 mg	24.0	2.3	good
vitamin K	17.73 mcg	22.2	2.1	good
zinc	2.57 mg	17.1	1.7	good
protein	8.47 g	16.9	1.6	good

The above pumpkin poster is by Diane Pedersen.

Fast Weight Loss with the Atkins Diet

Kent used to weigh over 400 pounds. He's lost 200 pounds by adhering to the Atkins diet. The weight loss was fast for him, though it was not easy initially to give up all his comfort foods such as pizza and a 4 liter per day Diet Mountain Dew habit.

He has maintained the weight loss for over two years now and is running his first marathon this week. Read his story and see him at his heaviest weight here.

Half-Assed : A Weight Loss Memoir

Jennette has lost almost 200 pounds. She has one of the best personal weight loss blogs out there and a few months ago she was approached by publishers about writing a book about her story.

I'm excited the book will be available soon. But I was disappointed to read that the publisher didn't accept Jenette's title suggestion; Half of Me: The Last 200 Pounds are The Hardest.

Instead they picked a title which I don't find half as appealing; Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir
Even worse, I wonder why they didn't include her whole picture on the book cover? Why just include her lower half? It's so much less appealing, don't you think?

Height: 5'9"
Age: 26

Starting Weight: 372 lbs
Current Weight: 176 lbs
Goal Weight: 160 lbs

Total Loss: 196 lbs
Left to Lose: 16 lbs

Starting BMI: 54.9
Current BMI: 25.9
BMI Lost: 28.9

Jennette already has such a large online following that I wonder if it wouldn't have been better for her to go the self-publishing route. She could have created her book with Lulu.com, sold it on Amazon, and attracted a lot of attention through word-of-mouth reviews around the net. I wonder if her book would have been an even larger success if she was in control of the marketing herself.

Jimmy Moore interviewed her last week. Here she talks about how surprising it has been to have such a great affect on other people. She mentions that;

I once got a comment from a woman who had spent several days secretly reading my blog at work. Afterwards she said she didn't feel like she wanted to die anymore. I was stunned that words typed into a text box could do that to someone. I felt a heightened sense of responsibility afterwards to remain honest and open about my experiences. Words have a lot of power.

I write a post about once a month where I try new fruits and vegetables and people have told me they've tried golden kiwi or mangoes because I wrote about them. It's funny to think I'm influencing the profits of the mango farmers of America in some small way. I learn a lot from my readers too. An entry might start about one topic and spin off onto something else, like how to cook radishes that sound really tasty or discussion of what a super-taster is.

See the very interesting interview here.

Losing Weight for the Wedding

Claire Barnes was engaged to be married a year ago but she really wanted to lose lots of weight before the wedding. She started her diet and exercise in August 2006. A year later, when the wedding took place, she had reached her goal and had lost a whopping 84 pounds.

See her story as well as the larger before and after pics here.

Losing Weight One Day at a Time

Leelee wants to weigh 140 pounds. She now weighs 184 pounds and her highest weight was 220. She'd like to lose 15 pounds before Christmas. She's started her own weight loss blog for motivation and inspiration.

Cheer her on at Losing Leelee!