Lose 27 Pounds in 3 Weeks!

Weight Lost Since January 1st: 0
Days until my 50th Birthday: 127

Books and magazine headlines everywhere are promising that you can lose huge amounts of weight in ridiculously short amounts of time. There are three ways to do this and for maximum results, you will need to do all three: 1) Drastically cut down on the amount of food you put into your mouth; 2) Drastically increase the amount of time you devote to exercise each day; 3) Have any unnecessary body appendages surgically removed. Some days, #3 sounds like the easier solution.

Skipped my 10 minutes workout for two very good rationalizatoins, oh, I mean "reasons" yesterday: 1) I had hurt my knee and shoulder the previous day and they needed to rest; 2) God proclaimed we should rest on the seventh day and that was my seventh day.

Since I didn't devote my standard 10 minutes to exercise, I had more time yesterday to think about eating. In fact, I became a bit obsessed with it. You don't get to be my weight without a good, healthy obsession. I really, really, really wanted Cheese Puffs, glorious, radiation orange, greasy Cheesy Puffs. Normally, this obsession would work itself out by me stopping by my nearest grocery store and buying a family-size bag. But, because I'm "watching what I eat," I decided to buy the .99 cent bag at a gas station.

I'd like to be able to look back on that moment of weakness and say it wasn't worth it, that I didn't enjoy it. I really would like to be able to say that. But they were good. Really good. The best I can say is the obsession has now passed and today I do not want Cheese Puffs.

After one week of eating better and exercising, in which I had lost one pound, when I weighed this morning I was exactly where I had started. Someday, I hope to be able to make the connection between what I eat and what I weigh. That hasn't happened yet. When I am in obsessoin mode, I don't care. The good news is today is a new day and I can make new choices.

STRATEGY: Realize that each day offers you the opportunity to make new choices about what I eat and how I move my body.

AFFIRMATION: Today I rejoice in the knowledge that I can make new choices. I make healthy choices for my body, mind and spirit.

Oh, no! The Law of Attraction Gave me What I Asked For

Weight Lost since Jan. 1st: .05
Days until my 50th Birthday: 134

One moment I was contently sitting on my sofa wondering what was in my cupboard that could be deep fried (the Twinkies maybe?) and the next thing I know I'm part of a "wellness group" committed to eating healthy foods and exercising for the next five weeks. This is the Law of Attraction in action, my friends; watch out!

Prof. Wonderful and I attended a Wellness Event on Monday night that said it was offering an "effective, inspirational approach to enhanced physical well being." Brilliant marketing because somehow I didn't tumble to the fact that that translated into "diet" and "exercise." I thought we'd hear a motivational speaker, get pumped up to do better and I'd be home in time to finish my fried ice cream.

First we were handed a workbook. Prof. Wonderful squealed in delight. Books, magazines and any form of the written word that takes up huge amounts of space and I can trip over thrills him. I was confused. Why would I need a workbook? How naive I was.

Right from the start I began hearing those key words that mean I'm going to be very unpleasant to be around for the next five weeks: no fast foods, no baked goods, no refined sugars. I think there was more but I started to grow faint as I saw my life as a foodie flashing before my eyes - garlic knots at Anthony's, pasta at Maggiano's, ice cream at Maggie Moo's, the memories flooded in.

Then, they started talking exercise, the need to move our body, being grateful we can move our body. I have to admit, the speaker's enthusiasm was sucking me in. We all know exercise is good for us, but he said the magic words to this group that largely consisted of Baby Boomers: exercise can help you LOOK YOUNGER! By the time he was finished talking we didn't even need our cars to get us home that evening. We were ready to run out of that building and keep running until the bags under our eyes fell off. Turns out eating the right foods combined with body movement helps plump the skin and give it a more youthful appearance. I'm on board with that as I say goodbye to my 40s!

The workbook is filled with sample menus, recipes and, I've got to admit it, inspiration. On New Year's Day I set an intent for 2010, my 50th year on this planet. I told the Universe I am creating a strong, healthy body filled with vitality. By setting that intent, I was setting the Law of Attraction into motion. I did not go into the details of how this would be done - that's up to the Universe. The wonderful thing is the Law of Attraction always works, in ways expected and unexpected. I had no idea what I was getting myself into that evening. I walked out with a healthy new eating plan that, now that I've recovered from my shock, I find is absolutely do-able. And Prof. Wonderful bought both of us an exercise DVD that starts out with only 10 minutes of exercise in the morning. Just 10 minutes that will set the tone for my day, help me think clearer and increase my metabolism. Luckily enough, I happen to have an extra 10 minutes a day since I'm not spending that time trying to fry macaroni and cheese (yes, it's possible!).

Best of all, Prof. Wonderful, who already has a clean, healthy diet, is completely on board with me and 100 percent supportive and enthusiastic. Which is what makes him, well, wonderful.

STRATEGY #8: Set a clear intent of what you want to create this year.

AFFIRMATION #8: All that I need comes to me with ease and grace.

Best and Worst Food Moments of 2009

Pounds lost since January 1st - 0.5
Days until my 50th birthday - 136

Nowadays, there are lists for everything - Best Movies of the Year, Best-Dressed Celebrities, Best McDonald's Drive-Thrus (oh, perhaps that one's just on my list). Food is a topic near and dear to my heart so why not a list of the best and worst food moments of the past year? Drum roll, please . . .

Best Food Moments of 2009
8. When my friend Bryan drove for hours so we could eat at Little America, which bills itself as, "The Finest Truck Stop in Wyoming." I don't even remember what I ate because I couldn't get over the fact that there was a chandelier over my table. At a truck stop. In Wyoming.

7. When Prof. Wonderful started packing Vegan Morningstar Veggie Burgers in his pants pockets "just in case" there wasn't food he could eat at the summer parties we attended. Not only were the dogs following him around, but I had to swat away a few vegan women, too.

6. There were many amazing discoveries in 2009, including a new giant rat species and the fossilized remains of a 42-foot snake, but none outranked the absolute joy Prof. Wonderful experienced when he discovered Go Raw - All Live Organic "Food" Bars. The bars are made of nuts and seeds and dried berries with no flavor added (they really didn't need to add that part; it's obvious). Prof. Wonderful describes them as "exquisite" but that's because he has not had sugar in over 20 years.

5. I made a great discovery myself - Coke made in Mexico is made with real sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup, and therefore I can drink it. Yes, I know carbonation depletes calcium; that's why I always make sure to have some ice cream after my soda. See? I'm always thinking.

4. When McDonald's brought back the McRib (for a limited time only!).

3. When I conducted the inaugural brownie contest to determine once-and-for-all the best boxed brownie mix. Don't try this at home; it will lead to pants with elasticized waist bands. The winner is Ghiradelli dark chocolate brownies with chocolate chips. Dark, crunchy bits of heaven.

2. Eating the last of the chestnut dressing at my Aunt's house. It's my grandmother's recipe and makes the holidays complete.

And the #1 Best Food Moment of 2009 is, without a doubt,
1. When I got a doctor's note saying I should not eat soy food . . . in any form (I had to pay a little extra for that last part). Tofurkeys everywhere breathed a sigh of relief that day. Tofu , soy milk, soy cheese, soy anything and everything was deemed off limits for me. Seems that for some people, soy can be inflammatory. I know I became inflamed whenever anyone tried to sneak some tofu into my food. Can I have an amen?

Worst Food Moments of 2009
3. When I realized that Pepperidge Farm was not coming out with its usual holiday cookie - the chocolate-dipped Milano double-chocolate cookie. Another sacred holiday tradition down the drain. The sorrow was quickly replaced by one of my Best Food Moments in 2009 - Chocolate-covered Ritz crackers. My doctor didn't say anything about not eating those!

2. Having to tell Prof. Wonderful that as much as I loved him, I just could not eat one more sandwich consisting of hummus on gluten-free bread. That was a rough patch, but we got through it.

1. Spending 2 days in San Francisco - a foodie's paradise - and not tasting one morsel of sourdough bread or dim sum. For those who do not know, dim sum is a traditional Chinese cuisine that consists of a variety of foods served in small portions for very large prices. Although some of it is not recognizable, there are lots of fried things from which to choose and that makes it all good.

STRATEGY #7: Create your own list of best moments from 2009. Like me, you'll probably find that the good far outweighs the bad.

AFFIRMATION #7: I enjoy eating foods that fuel my body.

The Law of Attraction Really Works!

The Law of Attraction teaches us that what we focus on grows. My question is this: WHO HAS BEEN FOCUSING ON MY BEHIND? Because it's definitely growing!

A friend of mine, whom I now lovingly refer to as, "She's dead to me," said wasn't it funny how I started a blog in 2009 about losing weight and I've actually gained some weight since then. If my hands hadn't been busy trying to get the last piece of brownie out of the baking pan, she would have been in real trouble.

The good news is the Law of Attraction really does work and it's true - what we focus our attention on grows. Key is focusing on what I want - to have a slimmer, more healthy body filled with vitality. Truth is, I spend a lot of 2009 focusing on what I didn't want - like brownies. I'd focus so much attention on those brownies that I "didn't want" that I was burning my mouth because I couldn't wait for them to cool from the oven.

Each day is a new beginning and a new chance to choose how we will live our lives. Today is the dawning of a new year and a new decade. Today I can make one small change that will make a difference by the next time the ball drops at Times Square. Today I choose to focus on a strong, healthy body and I know one way to do that is to cut out high fructose corn syrup from my diet.

For companies like Nestle, Coke, etc., it's a cheap way to make what we eat and drink taste sugary good. Problem is, doctors now think it short-wires the mechanism that tells us we're full so we keep on eating. That's good news for the manufacturers: they load their foods and drinks with a nonnutritious sweetener that makes us keep eating. It's like crack for foodies!

Sodas are first to go (and I love me some Dr. Pepper). That's a small change, but for today, it's enough. Wishing you enough in this wonder-filled New Year.

STRATEGY #5: Focus on what you want to create in your life.

AFFIRMATION #5: My body is filled with health and vitality.

What happened?!?

There I was, cheerfully planning how I was going to be Fit by Fifty! That was in May. And then came my birthday. Even if you're dieting, everyone knows you get to have cake on your birthday. Nothing wrong with that, except . . .

I ran out of ice cream before I ran out of birthday cake, so I had to buy more ice cream. What's a girl to do? Next, I was out of cake but I had some ice cream left. Had to get some brownies to go with the ice cream. This makes complete sense somehow in my mind.

Then, after all the sugar, I needed to cleanse my system and everybody knows salt is an excellent cleaner. Just check out any "natural cleaning" blog; you'll see. I chose my salt in the format of potato chips. But they looked so sad and bare so I bought them some dip. (This also added food groups to my daily snack - now I had vegetables, dairy and MSG (well, the government might as well declare it a good group; it's in everything!).

This cycle has continued until . . . just now. When I tried to get a pair of jeans on - and they are already THE FAT JEANS. OK, here we go again!

DIETING TIP: Do not try on jeans after ingesting a Family-Sized! bag of Fritos.