Losing Weight is Diet Motivation Itself

I've lost 90 pounds. I don't share that to brag, but to encourage others who are trying to lose. I also remind myself that I lost that much so I don't lose my momentum. Knowing how far I've come keeps my diet mojo, or impetus, going. Here's what I mean.

People have said to me, "you have more willpower than me. I couldn't lose that much." I don't know if I have more willpower or more vested interest in continuing to diet. I have stronger reasons to stay on the wagon and see this thing out. These pictures show me in 2008 (left) and 2013 (right). Losing Weight is Diet Mojo in Itself

My Weight Loss Before and After Pictures, Lose Weight, Lose Shame

Just stepped on the scale today and I'm only 7 pounds from reaching my 100 pounds lost goal. I've been losing at a rate of about 1-2 pounds per week since late spring. I write a Diet-tip-of-the-day post to show how I lost weight. It didn't just happen overnight. Here are before and after pictures to show how. Left is November 2013 (92 pounds lighter). Right is July 2011. Diet Tip Lose Shame with Fat, Please
Today's tip is shed shame with fat. 

I Got Great Deals on Post-Fat Wardrobe Makeover

I was toying with buying a set of expensive designer brand exercise wear because I had a 50% off coupon. Then I stopped at Family Dollar for some household products and found they had a Buy one Get 50% off second sale on fitness, sleepwear and dress clothes. Oh frabjuous day, I was able to fit size small! Color me content. Snagged Great Deals on New Post-Fat Wardrobe Makeover 
 

Snag free Shopping Bucks with Swagbucks

If you participate with Swagbucks, an online reward point company, then don't miss Double Stuff today, November 4. You get double points on filling out surveys, no obligation offers, watching Swagbucks TV, search, toolbar and shopping. Shopping at some stores already earns 3-4 points per purchase and that is doubled today.   Save Money with Double Stuff at Swagbucks November 4

Vintage Gothic Halloween Costumes

I dressed up and did the Haunted museum at our local history society. I was disappointed in the way they chose to decorate the museum up with a lot of kitschy ghoul junk. All those beautiful exhibits covered with electronic skeletons, fake bloody hands and Zombie babies. Yuck. And not educational as I'd hoped. I figured someone needed to speak to the cultural aspect, if only to the Gothic side of horror. I did a dead flapper costume. I donned a tattered flapper dress and head scarf. I wore sequined heels. I added a soupcon of white and blue paint to my face and arms for the ethereal effect. I put on a mole and dark red lipstick. For eye makeup, you could go bright metallic or make it look like it's smeared or running (flappers were notorious gin drinkers and cocaine users). You could do blue shadows under the eyes. Paint nails black or metallic. Add a long cigarette holder. Here's how you could do other vintage Gothic costumes.   I Have a Flair For Scaring People with Gothic Horror, to My Chagrin

Diet Tip Wait 10 Minutes Before Eating a Second Helping

I've lost 87 pounds and am writing a series on how I did it. Today's tip is the old "wait 10 minutes" rule. When kids want seconds, I ask them to wait a few minutes to let their food settle to see if they really could eat more. It takes about that long for food to reach the stomach and give the sensation of fullness. If I forgot to remind them, I ended up making food that didn't get eaten.   Diet Tip Wait 10 Minutes Before Eating More - News - Bubblews

Why Losing Weight is Harder than Quitting Smoking

I have 14 pounds left to lose to get off 100 pounds. And I am sick of reading how easy it is to lose. There are easier ways and things that work better, but shedding 86 pounds was not easy. Dieting is like quitting an addiction but harder. I will argue food is the hardest addiction to break. Diet takes longer. You can stop smoking or drinking and start seeing positive effects almost immediately. And you don't carry around outward evidence of your addiction--fat. If you're doing it right (not crash dieting) it will take months to see real progress and maybe years to get all the weight off. I don't say this to discourage. A journey begins with the first step. But I don't want to kid anyone that losing almost half my body weight has been simple. (picture left July 2013, picture right June 2012).
Why Losing Weight is Harder than Quitting Smoking

Miss America 2014 Is Not Muslim, But I Like Her Anyway

We have a new Miss American Nina Davuluri and she's (gasp) Muslim. Wait, no she's not . Some screw-kooks just thought she was because her skin was dark. They railed that it was un-American especially so close to September 11. I don't get the connection but then I usually don't with bigots. The LA Times quotes some calling her "Miss Al-Qaeda" (just when I thought lunatic fringers couldn't get loonier). Image is from Wiki Commons. Miss America 2014 Is Not Muslim, But I Like Her Anyway
 

Diet Tip: Develop Flaw Blindness

I have lost 84 pounds--one more pound gone today! yippee! I have 15-25 pounds left to lose, depending on where I decide to stop. Every day, I write tips on how I lost weight. Today's tip is more for partners of fat people: develop flaw blindness. Learn to overlook physical imperfections. This is one of my cardinal relationship glue recipes too (that's what I call my suggestions for developing deep, lasting relationships).

Both partners should do this. If you're not happy with each other as is, you won't be happy no matter what you change. Actually, we all should overlook others' physical inadequacies. No one's perfect. And who's to judge flaw from characteristic? Diet Tip of the Day: Flaw Blindness - News - Bubblews
Pointing out blemishes is ignorant and arrogant (a bad combo). No one wants to hear about unattractive features, particularly those he has no control over.

Hair Coloring Tips: Choose a Good Color to Skin Tone Fit

My hair started graying when I was in my late twenties. It got progressively worse, fast, after several traumatic pregnancies. I would have been completely roots-to-tip gray had it not been for M. Revlon! I have never spent much on beauty products. And I will not pay professional salon service prices. It's DIY for me or nothing. I've tried many different hair color products and found this Revlon works best for my hair. Happily, their Colorsilk is also one of the cheapest on the market--about $3 a box. Here are other +Beauty-products I like that are cheap. Hair Coloring Tips: Choose a Good Color to Skin Tone Fit