Lifehacker recently exposed me to a quote from a famous basketball player & coach, John Wooden (not to be confused with the fellow I knew from high school of the same name):

In the weight loss and weight maintenance journey, we are all going to make mistakes.  The difference between those who succeed and those who fail is primarily found in how they respond to those mistakes.

This past Monday, I had a falter day.  I was exhausted from a long bike ride on Sunday, and I had recognized that it was likely for me to go over my calorie goal due to the amount I had eaten that day.  I kept positive, ate my dinner normally, and planned a medium length bike ride to burn off the calories I had just eaten over my goal.  In the process, of course, I became even more exhausted, but I pushed myself pretty hard to accomplish the goal I had set for myself.  I ended up burning more calories than I needed by (what I had thought was) about 150.

That night, my BFF came over to my house so we could watch her friend on TV as planned.  What I hadn’t planned for was the cheesecake she brought.  It was a friendly gesture, of course, and one I would be rude to refuse.  That small cheesecake slice wound up being 380 calories.

After she left, I was completely distraught.  I was pushing myself so hard and yet I was still going over on my calorie goals.  First, I decided not to blame my friend; she would still care about me if I’d have refused the cheesecake or only eaten a small part of it.  Second, I had to try to not blame myself.  I should have spoken up for myself, yes, but I instead blamed my “social identity,” that is, the voice inside that tells me it’s wrong to refuse this offer from a friend.  It still hurt.  I wrote a blog post about it that I never published.  I still needed encouragement.

So, I did the one thing that worked: I talked to another friend.  He reassured me that the ordeal wasn’t the end of the world, and that I had the willpower and motivation to keep going even if I hit set backs.  He reminded me of what I’d accomplished in the past.  It wasn’t until we were done talking that I felt somewhat better and was able to get to sleep.

Two days later, I finally had the nerve to return to Monday’s Daily Plate tracking.  I had tracked Tuesday, but I hadn’t had a final look at Monday to make sure I’d tracked everything.  As it turns out, instead of being 230 calories over, I was only 57 calories over – close enough to my target to call the day “on track.”  I was in complete disbelief.  A combination of their poor iPhone/iPad apps and perhaps some poor math on my part were the culprits for my thoughts that I was over my goal.

The moral of this story is simple.  When things are bad, they’re rarely, if ever, as bad as you think they are.  It’s your reaction to adversity that determines your future success.  If you are looking out into your calorie-counting future and all you see is despair, reach out to someone.  They will help you step back from the situation and get some more perspective.  Reassure yourself that you are not going to feel this bad every day.  Pushing through the problems and emerging safely on the other side will give you even more reasons to be proud of yourself.

Sure enough, there is a dog with no collar in our backyard.  He looks like a yellow lab, about 70 pounds, neutered and well taken care of, missing collar and running loose aside.  He seems to have had a bath and haircut recently, though he needed a good brushing since he was shedding like mad.  He was a little mouthy but didn’t bite, which seemed to indicate that he could be teething.  All in all, because of his already large size, I thought he was about a year and a half, but my dad guessed he was 10 months old because of how big his paws and head were in comparison to the rest of his body.

Apparently, he was attracted to us by the little scraps of stale bread my parents put out for the squirrels, since he was eating that rather quickly.  I ran inside and grabbed a full piece of bread to give to him.  He was happy to take it and friendly but panting like crazy, because it’s 90 degrees and rather humid outside.

So I ran inside again, this time for a big bowl of water, and brought it to puppy.  Puppy drank and was happy.  Then I realized that we should call somebody to come get him.  I called the non emergency police line, and they put me through to 911 dispatch, who asked “Do you have a fence to keep him inside until we get there?” “No, but my neighbor does.  I’ll see if we can use it.”

So I went back outside and lured puppy into my neighbor Melinda’s yard using exciting “Let’s play” sorts of words, and shut the gate.  My dad called her so she’d know we were using her yard and wouldn’t let her dog out for the time being.

However, puppy had other plans.  He got restless and started sizing up the fence.

...and this is him about five seconds before he jumped the fence.

Puppy immediately ran across the street to play with kids who were bouncing a basketball.  The kids got boring, so he ran to a neighbor who was walking by.  The neighbor subsequently complained about how this dog “gets out all the time.”  Still, no one knew to whom the dog belonged.  The neighbor got boring, and puppy ran to another group of people walking by.

At this point, my new neighbor Christina came out.  She has 3 dogs and thus plenty of dog treats.  The puppy liked the treats; he even sat for one.

It’s still hotter than all get out, so I decided to run back to neighbor’s fenced in yard to get the water for him.  The puppy liked this game of chase, so he followed me.  Upon returning, I realized that Melinda had let her dog Odie out into her yard.

Puppy and Odie spot each other immediately and are super curious, cautious and tense.  I was tremendously worried that the dogs would fight.  Since puppy was young, strong, smart and exuberant and Odie is a mature golden retriever, it would be a difficult scenario.

Luckily, Odie and puppy seemed to be doing alright.  Melinda, Christina, my dad and I discussed how puppy made a mockery of her fence.  Melinda was flabbergasted at the thought and could hardly believe it… at which point, of course, puppy jumps fence again, but this time to play with Odie.  They played vigorously for probably five minutes before the police finally showed up, what felt like a half hour after I called.  The cop was able to easily put a slip leash on puppy and take him away.  Odie, meanwhile, sat at the fence gate and barked.  Then laid down and barked.  Then looked sad and barked.  He missed his new friend.

Had puppy been a bit older and a bit less smart, I’d have asked the cop to let me know if the owners were never found.  The truth is, though, with a dog who needs that much attention, I could not handle it.  I haven’t owned a dog before, and if he can jump fences so easily, he’s much more than I can handle.  Puppy seemed like the kind of dog you’d have to take running with you every day to prevent him from developing some truly bad habits.

One of these days, though, I’ll have a dog.  I hope.

After a few emails with an old college friend who was looking for weight loss tips, I decided it would probably be helpful to make a list of the things I’ve learned in this journey so far, and link to the resources that have helped me, giving credit where it is due.  Quite a bit of this information surprised me, despite being fairly knowledgeable about health in general before I even started.  These suggestions are focused solely on weight loss, not getting into shape or fitness, and should not be used as a weight loss plan.  Consult your doctor before doing anything related to your health, and keep in mind that I am not a doctor.  Many of these are only opinions, so take them as such.

1.) You are what you eat.
If you want to lose weight, exercise is great, but the real power is in diet & nutrition.  As mentioned above, I track calories, though that’s not for everyone.  I do recommend trying that at least for one full day so that you get an idea of where you are.  You can out-eat any exercise program.

2a.) “If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, you’re not really hungry.” 
This self-explanatory adage has helped me on many occasions.

2b.) If you determined you’re not really hungry, do something else. 
Once you know you’re not actually hungry, it helps to figure out what emotion you’re dealing with.  Often, people eat because they are frustrated, angry, depressed, lonely, or even thirsty.  So, before you resort to eating, here are some good ideas to try instead:

• Drink a full glass of water
• Brush your teeth (this helps reduce your craving to eat because it won’t taste good after toothpaste)
• Do a quick errand, like clean off your desk or hang up some laundry
• Take a deep breath
• For heaven’s sake, stay out of the kitchen/fridge
• Talk to someone on the phone

3.) Keep it real.
Under no circumstances should you ever drink diet pop, or consume anything with artificial sweeteners.  I can’t express this more emphatically.

4.) You don’t actually hate EVERY kind of vegetable.
It’s ingrained in many of us that vegetables are healthy and wonderful… and they all taste awful.  Fortunately, the last part of it isn’t true, at least not for every kind of vegetable.  There are tons of varieties out there, and quite a few ways to make them.  Put in the time to find vegetables you actually like to eat, through trial and error if necessary.  Prepare them in a way that isn’t deep fried or with oil/cheese, and eat as many of them as you like.  Personally, I eat an absurd amount of broccoli just about every day, because I like it a lot, so I can.  Vegetables are very filling for the amount of calories they have.  Broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, peas, squash, zucchini, brussel sprouts, carrots, and (to a lesser extent) sweet corn are all good choices.  If anything on that list is at all appealing, try fitting it in with your meals more often.  I really don’t like them raw, so I put them in a bowl with water in the microwave, hit the “vegetables” button, and they come out perfect every time.  Never force yourself to eat something you actively dislike.  There’s no point; you won’t be able to stick to it.

5.) Weigh it.
Not only do you have to pay attention to what you ate, but how much.  Both of those factors are equally important.  Portion control is very difficult.  I recommend investing in a kitchen scale, especially for foods like cereal, nuts, crackers, ice cream, dried fruit, and anything else that uses estimated quantities.  Cereal portions, especially the 3/4 cup ones, tend to look miniscule in today’s cereal bowl.  A single serving of nuts or ice cream also looks quite disappointing.  However, it’s important to know how much of what you’re eating to know when you have had enough, or at least to know how to fit it in with the rest of your day.  I’ve had mine for probably a year and a half and used it almost every day.

6.) Don’t let it weigh you down.
The scale is a great tool in the kitchen, but when it comes to weighing yourself, don’t do it very often.  You shouldn’t read much into in the day-to-day changes.  In fact, they’ll depress you more often than they’ll make you feel good.  That’s why it’s usually recommended to only weigh yourself once a week.  Personally, I use a scale (an older model of this one) that uses the bioelectrical impedance method of determining body fat % and skeletal muscle %.  While this reading has been very consistent, it is NOT very accurate.  Even today, it tells me that my body fat percentage is around 30 – which is basically impossible according to a nutritionist I spoke to plus my measurements with a caliper are drastically different.  However, watching the change over time has been very motivating when the weight numbers did not change – or changed for the heavier.  It’s good to know that if, for instance, you gain 2 pounds but your muscle % went up and your fat % went down, you’re still doing the right thing.  On top of that, your muscle gain (as opposed to fat gain) should be backed up by your clothes fitting better despite the overall weight gain.  I’m rambling; where was I going with this?  Oh yes.  So, I say weigh as often as you want, but keep in mind that weighing yourself every day is generally a bad idea.  Try to do it every 7 days.  Most importantly, weigh yourself at the same time of day (immediately after hitting the bathroom in the morning is what I recommend) and wearing approximately the same clothes.  Your weight fluctuates throughout the day and also depends on how much water you drank recently, how much sodium you’ve eaten in the last day or two, hormonal factors and more, so be sure to take it with a grain of salt (no pun intended).  There are more important parts to this than the number on the scale, with the most important one being how you feel.  If you feel healthier, have more endurance, fit into your clothes better or walk with more of a bounce in your step, try to focus on that instead of just the number.

Campbell's Tomato Soup Label: Regular vs Reduced Sodium

7.) Nutrition Information is great, but only if you know what to look for.
Keep in mind, too, that often the Nutrition Info on the packaging can be misleading. Watch for the common trick of “Servings per Container: 2.”  Any food that contains trans fat can list “Trans fat: 0g” or “No Trans Fat” if it has up to 0.5g of trans fat in it.  Unfortunately, those amounts build up over time and are meaningful, especially if the serving size is small.  Look for anything that’s partially hydrogenated in the ingredient list.  In addition to high calories, be on the lookout for high sodium, sugar, or saturated fat numbers.   Know that “low fat” items can have more calories than regular items, because they tend to replace the fat with sugar for taste reasons.  Also, Campbell’s Soup is particularly evil at labeling, so always check their official Nutrition Information and ignore the pretty banners on the cans.

8.) Don’t skimp on sleep.
Deep sleeping replenishes the natural human growth hormone (HGH) that we produce.  That HGH name sounds familiar, doesn’t it?  That’s because it’s what professional athletes often inject into themselves.  Yes, it’s that awesome.  HGH is something we produce a lot of when we’re young, and it’s a leading factor in what makes those damn kids so resilient, strong, and skinny.  HGH will speed up your metabolism, help you to build & repair muscle, increase bone strength, increase brain & sexual functioning – I could go on, but you get the picture.  Our production of HGH tapers off as we get older, but you can make sure that you’re getting all you’re capable of getting by sleeping a full night, whatever amount is appropriate for you.  Consumer Reports Health also has some tips on getting more sleep.

9.) When trying to lose weight, going to restaurants is the equivalent of getting drunk with your attractive ex.
You know it’s a bad idea, but it seemed fun at the time.  You may not do anything bad, but it’ll be a test of your willpower that is pretty unnecessary, especially when your willpower is at a premium.  If there’s no way to get out of it, be sure to do your research ahead of time.  If there’s a menu online, great.  If there are calorie counts online, even better.  If the calorie counts are not on the official restaurant’s website, try looking at other common calorie counting websites, but keep in mind that they may not be very accurate.  You never know where they got their information from.  For some basics, check out Eat This, Not That.  I messaged a registered dietician once, and she had some excellent advice.

It is always a good idea to get a “game plan” together and be prepared before you head out to a restaurant.

For restaurants that give large portions, request that half of the entree be packaged to take home before they bring it out to the table or ask that they bring the box along with the meal.  So, before you even start eating, package half of the entree up to take home.

When your entree comes, go back to the “Plate Method” of portion control to determine how much of each item you should eat.  Basically, 1/2 of your plate should be vegetables, 1/4 a meat or protein and 1/4 a starch (potato, bread, rice or pasta).  Pair it with a side salad and you should be on target with your calories.

Some good substitutes for French Fries would be a baked potato, rice, plain pasta or with a red sauce, roasted potato or sweet potato.  You might also be able to trade them in for a side salad or a cup of soup.  When choosing soup, go for a broth based soup with lots of vegetables.  Avoid cream based soups or soups with cheese.

When ordering meat, poultry or fish, select items that are broiled, grilled, baked, poached or steamed.  Try to avoid items that are sauteed, deep fried and stir fried.

Here are a few additional tips for eating out:

• Don’t be afraid to ask how foods are prepared and whether an item can be prepared in a different manner or using less high-fat ingredients, such as cream, butter, cheese and oil.
• Try starting your meal with a side salad or a bowl of broth-based soup.  This can help you from overeating later.
• Ask for sauces and dressings on the side and just use a small amount.  A good tip is to dip the tips of the tines of your fork into the sauce before taking a bite.
• Make a meal out of a low-fat appetizer (such as shrimp cocktail), have it with a salad and a side of rice.
• Choose lean cuts of beef, such as round, sirloin, tenderloin, flank steak; fresh ham, pork tenderloin; lamb or veal loin; skin-less turkey and chicken and non-breaded fish.
• If you are going for Mexican dishes, choose ones made with soft, rather than crispy tortillas.  For toppings, use salsa, shredded lettuce and chopped tomato, rather than sour cream, guacamole and cheese. 
• If you want a dessert, look for fresh fruit, sorbet or low-fat frozen yogurt.  Or, on occasion, share a more rich dessert with 2-3 people.

Finally, if you do overindulge when you are out, don’t make a habit of it and don’t give up because of it.  All is not lost for one night out.  Get yourself back on track and keep on going!

Best of luck to you!  You are on the right track and asking all the right questions.  I am sure you will be fine!

Amy Hehn, RD
Registered Dietitian

10.) Do not think of food as a reward; it is merely sustenance.
One of my pet peeves is hearing, “I deserve this {DQ Blizzard, slice of cake, giant milkshake}, because I work so hard.”  When you think of food as a reward, you will most certainly think you’re being punished when you shouldn’t have it.  Instead, know that food is fuel.  Food is what you use to power your body, like a battery, to do the fun things you enjoy doing.  When you give your body poor fuel, you don’t function as well.  That isn’t to say you can’t reward yourself; on the contrary, success hinges on rewarding yourself for each mini-goal you achieve.  However, find other ways you can reward yourself that don’t involve snacks and desserts.  Perhaps there is a movie you really wanted to see in the theaters or a pair of jeans that you’d been really wanting to buy.  Give yourself a restful night at home, where you turn off your phone/computer/television and pamper yourself with a good book or music and some bubble bath.  Find things that you enjoy other than food that can make you feel happy.

Amy, Myself, and Lexi at Starved Rock

11.) Support from friends is crucial.
The last, but certainly not least, of these tips is to get help from friends.  Accountability is absolutely necessary.  Find a friend that you can discuss your fitness with that will ask about your daily exercise routine or the exercise class you’re taking.  Tell all of your friends, as needed, that you want to avoid restaurants whenever possible, because you’re taking a serious look at your health.  Friends that support you in this are fantastic.  Friends that tell you, “Why? You look great! Don’t worry about it,” are trying to help, but you need to inform them that you’re not looking to be complimented.  Words like those can be nasty setbacks when you’re trying to lose weight, as they’ll fester in your mind and help you to eat an extra few Oreos or slice of cake or, heaven forbid, whole pizza.  Instead, lay out your goals for them and ask them to check up on your progress and provide encouragement.  If your friends say your goal is unreasonable, listen to them, but make sure you talk to your doctor and do your own research to determine what goal is best for you.  I relied on, and continue to rely on, over a half a dozen people for various support in this process: Amy, Jonathan and Terese for accountability; Renee, Nicole and my parents for positive reinforcement; Lexi and many others for motivation.  Find out what aspect of this each of your friends is good at, and don’t be afraid to use it.

Ultimately, there are a ton of ways to lose weight.  This is the one I chose, because it’s the most seamless. Once you’ve lost the weight, you don’t change much about what you’re doing.  That’s important for being able to stick to the plan in the first place and keep the weight off.  With every change you make, ask yourself, “Is it possible to do this for the rest of my life?”  If the answer is no, keep revising your healthy idea until you can say yes.

You may ask, “Why are you still hosting that?  Didn’t you quit WoW years ago?”  Yes, I did.  You can quit playing games, but that doesn’t mean you quit the people involved.  The Months Behind community has been around even longer than the site/forums I created for them, and I know we will continue to be around even after WoW is a fading memory.  So, to keep in contact with them, I and the many others who have since quit playing WoW, need this communication avenue which doesn’t require an active WoW account.

I intended for this to be a much shorter post, but apparently I suck at being succinct.  I will update later with all the stuff I’m up to.  There are many things to mention, and it seems like the list just keeps on growing.

I know that times are tough, but it would mean a lot to me if any of you could show your support by cheering us on, participating or contributing to the cause.

If you’re interested in attending:
The race begins at 8:30am on Sunday, May 15th at Oak Park River Forest High School:
201 North Scoville Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
Get Directions

If you’re interested in walking or running:
Participation in the 5k (3.1 mile) run/walk is $25 if you register online now. I know the website says $30, but when I registered yesterday, it only asked for $25. The price may go up on May 10th, and race day registration is $35. The route map is published on their website, and you can choose to be timed. You can find more information about the race and view the brochure on the Get Your Rear In Gear website.

I’ve started a team, named 4Kay, for anyone interested in joining me for this event. To join this team, register as an individual and then select the team 4Kay on the second registration page. To start the registration process, go here.

If you’re interested in donating:
The Colon Cancer Coalition is the nonprofit organization that is running the Get Your Rear In Gear 5k. Their goal is to increase awareness, provide screening programs to those with financial barriers and create support for those affected by the disease. 75% of their funds raised stay local to ensure monies are spent to increase community awareness and screening programs. They have a grade of “A” with the Better Business Bureau. The link my donation page is here: http://www.active.com/donate/gyrigchicago11/4Kay

Colon Cancer Facts
» It is highly curable – over 90% – if caught in its earliest stages; however, it is a silent killer. Usually there are no symptoms to rely on until more advanced stages of the disease.
» It equally affects men and women, affects those primarily 50 and older.
» It is one of the top 3 causes of cancer deaths in the United States – 54,000 each year.
» More than 150,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year.
» Those with family history of the disease are at increased risk, but approximately 80% of people diagnosed with colon cancer have no family history.

Thank you so much for your consideration. Any amount you can contribute, be it through time, effort or money, is truly appreciated. This cause is dear to my heart.

Grandma Kay with her 3 sons

So, those are the basics of what is new with me. Hopefully, at some point, I’ll be struck with inspiration and do a full blog post.

I get this question a lot now that I’ve lost thirty-five pounds.  The answer is simple, but no one wants to hear it: self-control.  You can put it in any form of words you like, but what it boils down to is willpower.  I’m not trying to toot my own horn here, but it was an essential and necessary component in everything I’ve done to improve my health so far.

Allure magazine Dec 2009 cover

The amazing thing is I had no idea that developing my willpower was the key behind losing weight (rather than subject knowledge, which tools you use or any other contributing factor) until recently.  As in, until this morning when I read this jaw-dropping article in Allure called “Mission: Control” by Judith Newman.  I would love to link to the article, but it appears to not be available online.  Instead, I must encourage you to run out and buy the December 2009 issue, open up to page 189, ignore the half naked model wearing pleather on leg press machine, and start reading.

You’re probably saying, “Karen, since when do you subscribe to a magazine devoted to makeup?  You don’t even wear makeup.”  Well, that’s true.  The fact of the matter is, I didn’t exactly pay for a subscription to the magazine.  With the paper-based news and magazine industries hit so hard recently, I’ve gotten free subscriptions to Wired and Allure through other purchases I’ve made.  In the case of Allure, I could have instead gotten Glamour, which I used to read years ago.  I decided to go with Allure over that since I’m less familiar with the content and likely to learn more from it.  That’s one of the better decisions I’ve made, based on what I’ve learned from the magazine so far.

The article I’m referring to cites multiple psychological studies, most of which are over ten years old (I must be out of the loop), that help explain how strong self-control is developed, maintained, and most importantly, how it wears out.

To quote the article:

What most of us don’t grasp about willpower is that it is a limited resource, according to research by Roy F. Baumeister, a professor of psychology at Florida State University.  This is particularly true when it comes to losing weight.  You may have every intention of eating less, but if you are exercising self-control in one arena of your life, it may be hard to get it together in another.

In a 1998 study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, hungry subjects were presented with plates of radishes and chocolate chip cookies.  (The latter were actually baked in the lab, so that the air in the room was fragrant with cookie goodness.)  Some subjects were allowed to eat the cookies, and others were told to eat only the radishes.  Later, they were given puzzles to solve–and the radish eaters gave up more quickly on a puzzle than subjects who had not had to exert self-control by avoiding the cookies.  In other words, the radish eaters who had to say no to the siren song of cookies could not exert the discipline needed to plug away at a boring, frustrating task.

Thus, self-control is a resource your body uses, similar to energy.  Certain actions/foods will build up willpower, while others drain it.  The article goes on to explain that exerting self-control obviously drains your self-control resource, in addition to other actions like decision-making, thought control, emotion control, impulse control, and task performance.

The good news is you can build self-control up, similar to strengthening a muscle.  This is something I have been doing unconsciously for the past year.  I started to get a handle on what things I wanted to change about my life, I started enacting them slowly.  The first things I changed were small, like “I want better posture,” “I want to speak more clearly,” or “I don’t want to speed as much while driving.”  The article considers these to be mental workouts that help increase your willpower.  Since willpower is a limited resource, though, you shouldn’t try to change too much at once, especially if the things you’re changing are big.

Then, as if the article already knew it had me hooked and wanted to make sure I’d blog about it, it went on to slightly bash artificial sweeteners.

Using up your self-control resource also lowers your blood glucose levels.  To replenish your pool of self-control, sugar does a good job at being a quick fix.  Artificial sweeteners, on the other hand, were shown to not have this effect.  In the long run, though, the protein-rich snacks will be better for you and have a similar replenishing effect; it just doesn’t act as quickly as sugar does.  Additionally, liquor will lower your blood glucose levels, which may be part of the reason why our willpower goes out the window when we drink.  Sleep also replenishes the self-control resource, and lack of sleep puts your willpower in a bad place.

Oddly enough, the article then goes on to talk about other ways to motivate oneself.  It recommends the threat of losing money, as opposed to the reward of gaining even the same amount of money, as “Tons of economic studies have shown that people work harder to avoid monetary losses than they do to gain a similar amount.”

Back on topic, though, the article mentions another self-control method that I’ve been using myself, without thinking about it.  The author calls them “if-then plans.”  You think about a situation beforehand, and make specific plans in the event of a situation that would otherwise throw you off.  For example, “If I’m tired when my alarm goes off, then I’ll get up anyway.”  You’d be surprised at how well this works, if you take a little time to focus on that.  The article claims that these plans remove the decision-making that would normally take place at that time, which prevents that decision from using up your self-control resource.

So, to sum up, here is a list of things that REPLENISH your self-control resource:

• Sugar (for a burst)
• Protein (slower, but lasts longer)
• Sleep

These are the things that DRAIN your self-control resource:

• Using self-control of any kind (thought, emotional, impulse, etc.)
• Decision-making
• Task performance
• Alcohol

So, keep that in mind if you have an indulgence situation coming … like Thanksgiving.  Give yourself every advantage you can.  Plan ahead so there won’t be any decisions to be made.  Get a lot of sleep.  Do tasks ahead of time if possible.  And, if all else fails, have a little bit of some real sugar.

On a side note, the article goes on to say that a 2007 study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that exerting self-control in one area of your life increases the amount you’ll spend shopping.  That probably explains why my checking account hit an all time low.  Well, that and Jamaica. 

So, quit bugging me about it. I’m not a moron or an anorexic. I’m healthy for once and dammit I’m gonna stay that way.

Sorry for the rant but it really irks me.

Wordpress

I’ve moved over to a blog powered by WordPress, formerly powered by Blogger, for a couple of reasons.  One, I’d love to be able to reliably update this site using my iPhone.  Blogger cannot handle this for whatever reason.  I was even unable to get Blogger to cooperate with emailed blog posts.  Two, it’s a much stronger platform with greater customization capability.  Three, it gave me something fun to do for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning.

So, thank you to Blogger for your posting capabilities in the past, but I’ve moved on.  We’ll see how this goes from here on out.  Hopefully, this will be even better than the old blog.