Twas the Month after Christmas

I found this on a diet forum: :)

Twas the month after Christmas and all through the house,
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
All the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt---
I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"
So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
'Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore---
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

Think Pink, take 2

It looks more orange than pink, but trust me, it's pink. :)

Goooooooooooooooal!

That's right! I tapped goal today! My goal weight is 142 and the scale showed 141 today! Woohoo! I rock! That's 65 pounds lost! I know I will be up tomorrow, but to be able to tap goal is just the most thrilling thing in the world! :) Yay me! A weight of 142 will give me 5 pounds to play around with from my allowed high weight of 147.

Atkins soooo rocks! Thank you Dr. A!

Think Pink

I'm bleaching my hair as I type in preparation for dying it pink. :) I promise pictures when it's all done and everything. It's semi-permanent since permanent pink (or blue or anything) doesn't exist.

Dropdown menus

Want a dropdown menu like mine? Well, yesterday I whipped up some quick and easy instructions for making dropdown menus, and today I posted it online in .txt format. The first bit of code will give you a general dropdown box for any purpose - mine is for other blogs I read. The second bit of code will give you a dropdown menu for your archives in reverse order, newest to oldest. This is especially useful if, like me, you have so many archives that regular order would frustrate anyone not looking for anything ancient.

I apologize the code runs off the page. I welcome any constructive criticism that could make the page easier to use. Now without further adieu, I present to you

How to do dropdown menus (.txt file)

Atkins vs. Low Cholesterol Diets - Janis' Story

This was written by my friend Janis from About.com's Weight Loss forum. She's a huge Atkins supporter because of how it lowered her weight and cholesterol. Her numbers are now normal for the first time in her life. She's been on Atkins about two years, one of those years in maintenance. She's been able to maintain with no problem at all.

I think one of the reasons Atkins was so perfect for me was because I was on low fat/low cholesterol for sooooo many years. All of the forbidden foods suddenly became okay to eat without guilt and my cholesterol is finally FABULOUS. I'm still on a high when I eat them! Egg salad, bacon, chicken wings, mac and cheese, grilled cheese.... YUM!

She started just wanting something to jump start her weight loss and only planned to stay on it a month because of the mistaken belief that it raises cholesterol and hers was already too high. But then the doctor started doing the blood tests on her and the results showed lower cholesterol. She stayed on it and the results just got better and better. Her doctor didn't believe in Atkins before, but he does now, and has asked her to stay on it for life, something she is more than happy to do.

I relate to Janis because 1) we're both on Atkins, 2) we started only months apart, and 3) she started at almost my start weight (she started at 207 and I started at 206), and we have almost the same goal (her goal is 137 and mine is 142).

Something to think about for those on a low cholesterol diet because their cholesterol is too high.

How Scary Are You?

You Aren't Scary, You're Scared

Probably even scared to see how this quiz came out!

How Scary Are You?

Gratuitous cat picture

This is a picture of Xena, taken New Year's Eve. She found an open and empty clothing gift box under the tree and decided it looked like a good place to sleep.

Spotlight Review!

While recommending a book to a fellow blogger today, I came upon my review of the book "The DNA of Relationships" by Gary Smalley. It's a "Spotlight" review instead of just a normal customer review! That's the first time I've ever had a spotlight review. I do try to put work into them to make them good so I can get those postive votes. Woohoo! Someone really liked it to put it there. Spotlight reviews always stay at the top, even when new people write reviews. (For example, my Atkins review is long since lost in a long list of people who have posted rewiews since mine.)

I'm definetly an author. I do some writing (for pay) on the side which I really enjoy. :)

Insult to Injury

Well, J-L unbanned me at SAM, but even though I am a Founding Member he refuses to acknowledge me as such and has banned me from both the ex-Witches folder and the Founding Members folder.

I have no wish to reconsile with the vicious woman who did all this. Oh yes, she's still a mod. No matter. I got half of what I wanted and I'm leaving now. Brian warned me that J-L would hurt me, but would I listen? No... Oh well, if I had been a moderator she still would have banned me and then it would only hurt worse.

Now...C., V., D., and J-L, please stop reading my blog. You are being just like K. by stalking me around. She HAD stopped (and I give her credit for that) when you got her involved again.

I only have problems at religious forums (or in one case because of my religion at a non-religious forum), so it really is better to put God in the backseat where he belongs and focus on my health. The people at About.com's Weight Loss forum are good people. Other than Quin and Jeanne occationally trading insults, there's no fights there and nobody is banned.

Livin' La Vida Low-Carb

Jimmy at Livin' La Vida Low-Carb blogged about me and placed me in his friends list. Way cool! Thanks, Jimmy! :)

Study Examines Low-Fat, High-Carb Diet

CHICAGO - Older women who ate less fat and more carbohydrates lost about 2 pounds over seven years, a large study showed.

While one obesity expert called the results disappointing, the lead author of the research said it refutes claims by promoters of the Atkins and Zone diets that low-fat diets are partly behind America's obesity epidemic.

Full story here.

I'm not sure what they were trying to prove, but if it's the merits of a high carb diet, they seem to have failed. Of course the results were disappointing. High carb is not good for the body, and some people are more sensitive than others (like me).

Another review of this study can be found in Jimmy's blog. He did a way better job than me.

What works for you?

The following was found on About.com's Weight Loss forum, from someone who has lost weight (and kept it off) on Weight Watchers. It's the end of a much longer post.

"And what seems like 'nutsy' advice to me may actually work for someone else. I'll gladly admit that this is the case if improved health and significant weight loss is reported. For example, I thought the Atkins program wasn't healthy until I joined this forum and met people here who successfully lost weight and improved their health with Atkins and were able to explain that the program wasn't what I thought it was."

Truth wins again! :)

poem: Crucify Me

A repost of what I wrote after Kathi banned me, so it seems very fitting for today, too.

Crucify Me
Crucify me,
Beat me,
Whip me,
Hurt me.
I don't matter,
I don't matter anymore.
You need me to be like you,
Subscribing to and living
Your idea of holiness.
But I am not that person.

I cry myself to sleep,
Hurt beyond measure
By those I thought friends.
It is indeed true that
Christians are the only army who
Shoot their own wounded,
Force them to recover on their own.
But it is okay.
The tears weld my eyes shut in sleep,
But I wish for them to be
Welded shut in death.
Oh God, please let me die.

Now PC Moot hates me, too

They locked me out, too. *sigh*

[Edit: Found out that it was due to the same women who banned me at SAM. Why does that not surprize me? Is this woman on a misguided crusade against me or what?]

Atkins FAQ

Written by Sugar Free Sheila, a good rundown of some of the basic falacies about low carb and Atkins.

Sheila's Atkins and low carb FAQ

Testimony of a 10-year low carber

About 5 years ago I wrote a number of articles that have been posted on the Internet, some of them for Amazon.com, some of them for University forums. Of course these articles were very supportive of low-carb diets, as I, at that time, lost 200+ pounds as a result of implementing the Atkins dietary regimen for a total of 4 years. I lost the weight in 18 months. Since then, I kept it off. So I could say that now, almost in 2006, I have like 10 years of personal experience with this amazing diet.

Read the rest of this man's story here.

Is Atkins unhealthy?

I was bored today and typed "Atkins" into the blog search engine and found a really wonderful site. This blog has more information and proof than you could ever hope to debunk - but only if you dare to have your presuppositions challenged.

I've also placed a link to this blog in the "Blogs I read" dropdown menu on the left so I and anyone else can visit long after this post has disappeared into the archives.

Livin' La Vida Low-Carb (Do you dare?)

How Is Your Inner Child?

Your Inner Child Is Sad

You're a very sensitive soul. You haven't grown that thick skin that most adults have. Easily hurt, you tend to retreat to your comfort zone. You don't let many people in - unless you've trusted them for a long time.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Thanks to ALa.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year one and all!