Fat Tuesday- Lent is Almost Here

Today is Fat Tuesday, the day when you can indulge one last time in whatever you are going to give up for Lent. My mom has given up sweets for Lent for years, and I never knew how she did it. A few years ago, I gave up chocolate and about killed over and died! But this year, I'm going to take the plunge and give up desserts. One of my friends here in Atlanta is giving up desserts with me, so we're going to cry together during the hard times! The point of Lent is to give up something that is difficult so that you remember what Christ gave up for us when he died on the cross so that we could all be saved. I think that this will be the hardest Lent for me yet, but I'm prepared. There are going to be some social situations come up that will make it really difficult to say no, but I know I can be strong.

Are any of you giving up something for Lent? If so, please share!

Jogger Gums

I got these awesome gummy bears from Germany called, "Jogger Gums." Have you ever heard of them before? They are shaped like tennis shoes and they have less sugar than regular gummy bears. Their commercials feature Heidi Klum. Here's a link to her commercial for "Yoghurt Gums." Unfortunately, I couldn't find the "Jogger Gums" commercial on YouTube. Very interesting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuMaZiyqr7E&eurl=http://7.gmodules.com/ig/ifr?url=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/youtube_videos.xml&nocache=0&up_prefs_version=

Laptops Losing Weight

As you may or may not know, the Mac Book Air was unveiled yesterday. Check out and see what other laptops are doing to try and compare:

http://cultofmac.com/?p=1669

2008- The Year I Shrink!

2007 was full of changes. I find that whenever I move somewhere or start a new phase in life, my eating habits and activity levels change accordingly. In my adult life, I was thinnest when I studied abroad in England (Summer 2006). I walked everywhere and the food was expensive (not to mention British cuisine is not great), which helped me lose weight. When I moved to Atlanta, I became the most heavy in my adult life. My lifestyle has changed. I sit at a desk all day and I tend to go out a lot to dinners, happy hours, parties, etc.

So, what can I do to lose weight in '08? One thing that I have decided to do is watch what I eat very closely-especially when it comes to desserts. I know that some of you lost weight in 2007. What advice can you give me and others who read my blog?

Starbucks and the Gym Don't Mix

I'm getting back into the routine of going to the gym early. It's nice to wake up and go have a great workout. I saw something slightly disturbing last week. A fellow gym member brought Starbucks into the gym. I'm no rocket scientist, but if you have to have a Starbucks in the morning to get your butt out of bed and into the gym, then you have issues. What do you think?

The Holidays are Here

Ah, how I love Christmas. I just arrived in Texas yesterday, and the gingerbread men and sugar cookies that my brother baked have been calling my name non-stop! I was in a sugar coma yesterday, especially after decorating every last one of them. I figure, "Hey, the holidays are only here once a year, why not indulge?" Of course, I'll be mad at myself when I see how much the scale has crept up after the holidays. But, isn't that what New Year's Resolutions are for? It will definitely be time to kick some diet in high gear- not sure what it will be yet.

My family members and I all know how to cook quite well, especially when it comes to baking! I think the key to baking and not gaining weight is to bake stuff you don't like. For example, I made two pecan pies for one of my friends on Saturday. I prefer other types of pie (cherry is my favorite), but was happy to try my hand at something new. Since this isn't my favorite dessert, I didn't try it in the process, thus not gaining an inch around my waist.

On the other hand, when I helped decorate the cookies yesterday, I had to try the sugar cookies by themselves, the icing by itself, and then both together. I'm not kidding when I say sugar coma. I sometimes wish that recipe was not so good because then I would not want them so much. Luckily, they are such a pain to make that the sheer exhaustion keeps me from craving them.

One thing is for sure- the holidays are here and in full swing. I will live it up now, but I better be ready to crack down come 2008.

Forego Cake Day- Are YOU Crazy???

One of my girlfriends works at PWC in downtown Atlanta. When I was on the phone with her last night, she said, "Oh, you'd be proud of me. Today was 'Cake Day' at work, and I didn't go. I have never missed one until now." After talking to her a few minutes, she said that she didn't really feel like cake because she hadn't craved sugar at all that day. She said also that she is at her lowest weight in a long time and didn't want to do anything to mess it up. Yes, I was very proud of her, and especially because she had the guts to do this in the workplace. If you're like me, it's very hard in the workplace to forego eating certain foods because you don't want people to judge you. If I were to go on a serious diet, people would say that I didn't need to lose weight. The problem is that no one else can tell you how good you look- you have to believe it for yourself.

Guess what... you would be proud of me. Why? Well, I have gone a lot of days this week without any chocolate. There is a lot of truth to the statement that the longer you go without something the less you crave it. To illustrate, I took a nutrition class at the local community college during my senior year in high school. One day, my professor went into great detail about how bad fast food was for you. Of course, back in those days, my metabolism was so fast that I didn't have to worry about how much fast food I did consume. Nevertheless, I decided that I just couldn't put that into my body anymore. And, the longer I went, the less I craved. Since then, I have had less than ten hamburgers from a fast food place. Now, I usually go to Subway or have a salad at a fast food place.

We'll see how long this no-chocolate kick will last. I'll satisfy my craving if I want it, but I'm pleasantly surprised with myself this week that it has not been a must-eat item in my daily routine!