The worst part about going on vacation is coming back and trying to get back into an exercise routine that you’ve thus far avoided. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m the queen of excuses. I can find the most interesting and unusual ways to avoid exercising that are possible. I’ve literally made the excuse not to exercise because I’m typing a lot. Yes, it’s true. When it comes to burning calories though, typing doesn’t seem to do very much for the size of my inordinately large ass cheeks. Go figure right? So anyway, yesterday was my first attempt at real exercise in nearly 8 weeks (2 slovenly weeks on vacation and 6 at home making excuses ranging from typing to non-existent big toe pain). It felt good, and I really forget sometimes just how good one feels after exercise. I think it’s a good idea for everyone to really think about how good exercising feels afterward, to motivate before.

So there is your update on my journey of losing weight for free. If there is anyone out there reading up about my journey to have a baby and work, that update is below this (in case you want to click out of here haha).

So if you haven’t caught up with me on what I’m doing to earn money, since I can’t find a job in this teeny tiny city, I’ll catch you up a little bit. I started making money online with hubpages and now I earn about $200 a month from those. I also have a bunch of websites that bring me in about another $100-200 and the money just keeps growing. It’s not making me rich, but I expect to have a full time work income by the end of this year. =) Yay me. It’s all very exciting stuff because I’m doing it on my own. Half of what I write is about making money planning a wedding and you can visit that site to learn how to do it yourself. BTW you can do it without wedding planning, that’s just my particular area of expertise. If you read my hubpages you’ll see that I have a wide variety of subjects I write on. I want to thank the keyword academy for being such a blessing in my life and teaching me how to really make money online. If you’re at all interested in doing that, be prepared for some hard work and do NOT believe all that hype about getting rich quickly. I work very hard and I’ll see a payoff, but the only difference between this and a full time job right now is that I get to set my own hours. If you’re interested in making money online, then prepare for some really hard work and long hours. The best part is I can make passive income in a year, which means in a year from now I’ll have to work maybe 4 hours a day to make a full time income of $36,000 year.

That wraps up two of the main things in my life, the third main thing, which a lot of people are wondering about is the baby making. That, is not going well. Unfortunately we’re not pregnant yet, but I would appreciate all of the prayers and good thoughts sent our way to make it so. I don’t care if you’re Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu or whatever.. since I’m of the mind it’s all about God, I’m good with all your prayers and thank you in advance.

Remember that if you’re looking to lose weight for free check out Sparkpeople.com where everything is free and everyone is awesome! That last link isn’t an affiliate link. I will never use or ask for an affiliate to Sparkpeople. I give them a link because I’m so grateful for all they do for me and others like me.

Besides my weight loss articles I’m busy reading about party dresses and cheap Legos. Yes toys, I know that’s weird but being a former teacher I like reading about toys (and hopefully we’ll be preggers one day soon so i can buy some.)

The weight loss is going slowly but it’s going. I now am finally down to 2 asses instead of 3. If I could just whittle down some of my chins I’d be set. It really bugs me that of all my asses and chins, it’s my boobs that seem to disappear first. It’s God’s little joke I think. On the other hand seeing the empty pouches in my bra is encouraging me to check out more clothes. At least something is smaller right? I’m down 24 pounds now and really happy about it.

My second love in life (OK it’s my first, but don’t tell my husband) is shoes. I’m writing a lot about shoes and just wrote a great Hub on platform heels. You can see some pictures of my crazy shoe collection on the platform boots site.

I’ve also moved my main wedding site to planning a wedding now dot com (instead of blogspot). If you have an affinity for saving money or want some tips to save a lot of money on your wedding you can head over there and check it out.

Ok update over and back to my salad (yes sometimes I eat them). Today I kinda have to eat a salad for dinner cuz I ate a whole packet of Marie cookies between yesterday and today and I just don’t have that many calories left *cry*. Well next time I tell my husband to hide the cookies, he’ll find a better spot =P

Anyway head over toHubpages if you like to write about all kinds of stuff and get paid to do it. (You’re probably not going to retire on the money, but hey every bit counts right?) and unlike this blog, you just write your Hubpage and publish it.

PS: I decided to say screw it to grammar and punctuation so I could actually finish a post while I’m at a computer.

If you have any questions leave me a comment =)

When I was living in the States 24 Hour Fitness was the best place to go. At 3am I would be able to use any machine I wanted for as long as I wanted. It gets a little more hectic during 6-8am and ofc 11-1 and 4-7 but if you go during odd hours you can have a really good workout without worrying about the machine time limits. They usually have so many machines from elliptical machines to spinning bikes. Weight loss and exercise are really easy when you have the choices and time to make them.

The best part about 24 hour Fitness is the TV/radio station box at each machine. You plug your headphones in and you can watch the TVs on the wall, whichever channel you want. It makes exercising so easy and you hardly notice you’re working out.

24 Hour Fitness is one of my few exceptions to the “free” rule, but I will give tips on cheaper gyms. You can exercise for free, and those will be towards my best recommendations, which of course will be towards the end of the month =D!

I’m sitting here reading Harding’s post on Don’t You Realize Fat is Unhealthy and I find myself shaking my head at quite a few things, and nodding at very few things. I think its important that you read the post, although I’m going to cut and paste parts of it here to pick it apart in my own response.

“In fact, fat people live longer than thin people and are more likely to survive cardiac events, and some studies have shown that fat can protect against “infections, cancer, lung disease, heart disease, osteoporosis, anemia, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes.” Yeah, you read that right: even the goddamned diabetes.”

I’m gonna call BULLSHIT here. Total and complete BULLSHIT. Studies were done with PhenFen too which showed it was safe. You remember PhenFen, eh Harding? You’re my age, so you must. Weight can also affect a lot of other things, like my problem with fertility. And exacerbated my spondylosis. Being overweight may not affect those issues you list in your post, but being fat does. And you’re using the word fat and using the term “except in the extremes”. Well that’s 30% of Americans who are, like me, F – A – T. So you’ve just told 30% of people it might be safe to be fat because a few studies showed it might. Yu make no mention about which extremes you mean, I can only infer : morbidly obese. And while heart disease is overplayed in the media about weight there are a lot of health issues associated with being FAT, which I know first hand (the fat and the health issues =P).

Ohh I can already tell this gonna be ass post. I’m peeved!

“2. Poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle do cause health problems, in people of all sizes. This is why it’s so fucking crucial to separate the concept of “obesity” from “eating crap and not exercising.” The two are simply not synonymous — not even close — and it’s not only incredibly offensive but dangerous for thin people to keep pretending that they are. There are thin people who eat crap and don’t exercise — and are thus putting their health at risk — and there are fat people who treat their bodies very well but remain fat. Really truly”

This whole paragraph is mostly true. There are a lot of “skinny fat” people (people who look thin or normal but are not healthy because they eat crap and don’t exercise). Most of those rail thin models (btw I have a revolution on going: Send a model a Ding Dong and I hope you take part), and quite a few celebrities. You can be healthy and overweight, you cannot be FAT and healthy. And while Kate Harding would like you to believe that most of us fat people don’t sit around eating Hostess cupcakes all day while watching TV, we do. (or at least I did and my sister and my mother and grandmother etc..).

The minority of skinny people can eat anything they want and not gain weight. The minority of fat people can watch what they eat and still be fat. What Harding didn’t write in that article is the words minority and majority! The majority of fat people do not exercise nearly enough, or at all, and eat crap. Or the eat normally but are inactive. And if they don’t eat crap they eat too much of good food! Period. What everyone should note here is that this includes SIXTY FREAKIN PERCENT OF THE POPULATION!! *deep breath*. If you’re fat and you’re buying what she’s selling, then you’re selling yourself short.

“3. What’s more, those groups do not represent anomalies; no one has proven that fat people generally eat more or exercise less than thin people. Period. And believe me, they’ve tried. (Gina Kolata’s new book, Rethinking Thin, is an outstanding source for more on that point.)”

I can prove it. Go to Sparkpeople.com and read the blogs there by the members. You can read how people gain their weight back by stopping exercise or going back to old habits. You can read the posts about never exercising before before joining Sparkpeople. Seriously spend your time reading those articles. You won’t need to listen to some random media biased articles, or studies designed to prove fat is destroying the world. Read what real fat people really say! 90% of the people there put down the following: “When I stopped or started exercising my body changed.” “When I started writing down what I ate, I realized how much more it was.” !

Hey Harding you gonna put the truth in your lil blog there or .. you just aiming to please fat people who are sick of dieting?

“4. Diets don’t work. No, really, not even if you don’t call them diets. If you want to tell me about how YOUR diet totally worked, do me a favor and wait until you’ve kept all the weight off for five years. Not one year, not four years, five years. And if you’ve kept it off for that long, congratulations. You’re literally a freak of nature.”

100% correct here, on the first part. Diet plans do not work. Being a fat person puts you in that genetic suckass place where you can stay fat or you can watch your calories for the rest of your life. Nothing wrong with either of those plans, if a) you’re healthy and b) you’re happy. If you’re not healthy or you’re not happy, like say 90% of us fat people, you’re gonna end up like the majority of dieters back at whatever weight you were or even more. Its not a diet, its a life plan! Your whole life. And if you stop even for a few months, you’re going to gain weight. You’ll never be thin and happy or fat and happy until you understand that no magic can make you thin or keeps you fat. Aint that good news?

“5. Given that diets don’t work in the long-term for the vast, vast majority of people, even if obesity in and of itself were a health crisis, how the fuck would you propose we solve it?”

Well you don’t solve it by telling people its OK to be fat! And ffs you don’t put yourself in the same category as obese people and write a blog about staying fat! I don’t care what the B(ullshit)MI tells you. You know and I know that you don’t fit that category.

You can start by telling people that if they want to be healthy than and changes they make must be for life. They can’t ever stop. Like Alchoholics.

“6. Most fat people have already dieted repeatedly. And sadly, it’s likely that the dieting will cause them more health problems than the fat.”

Here Harding, you and I agree 100%. But there are healthy ways to lose weight, not everyone needs them, but there are. And if all people starting a diet understood that fads don’t work, quick doesn’t work and if the media quit promoting ridiculous things like The Biggest Loser (and never showing the losers who gained it back), then maybe there would be a better understanding of weight loss. If there was a disclaimer on every “diet” food or package or plan which said: “the minute you stop watching what you eat and exercising you will be fat again, or even fatter”, then maybe dieters would think twice about starting the “diet” and think about what they want long term.

Numbers 7, 8 and 9 will get no argument from me. (I’m not quoting them, you’ll have to read them for yourself) They are horribly and completely true. I have been so discriminated against for being fat, its not even funny. Today, for instance, I took a 40 minute long walk and not one person could look at my face but when they walked past they turned around to look at me. I have doctors that blame every problem (for fucks sake even a urinary tract infection) on my weight. That is ridiculous! No one deserves treatment like that! No one!

Weight loss is a choice. Being fat is a choice (for the majority(sheesh I could feel Harding or her fans shaking their heads from here in Sweden))! I’m gonna repeat myself here, because its so damn important, if you do not want to be fat you will have to change what you eat and how much you exercise for the rest of your life. It won’t be just until you lose the 50 pounds. It won’t be until you can just run that marathon. The minute you stop, your genetics will come back and bite you in the ass.

So before you listen to some woman ranting about how fat is great, or some other woman about how fat is bad, decide for yourself. Are you happy being fat?

Yes? Stay fat! And read her website. Fight for your right to be fat and happy!

No? Find a diet and exercise plan you can stick to for your whole life!

It is just a matter of time, patience, control, and pride. Eat less and exercise more and keep at it. If you don’t have a favorite sport, just get some discount aerobic clothing and get your butt moving. Try different things, but get on a regular schedule and don’t quit until your exercise becomes routine. Starting is more difficult, when you are not in shape, but with time you will get in shape, and you will feel and look so much better. Stop whining and get moving! ”

You’re stalking me everywhere I go. I can see you while I’m showering and peeing! I know you’re hovering there while I wash my face. I feel you with me when I eat and try and sleep! I need some space Mr. Scale! You’re smothering me!

You can never make up your mind, even when I’m standing there waiting for a decision! You stand there judging me flitting back and forth between decisions! You’re up and you’re down. Every day its different! I can’t count on you Mr. Scale! I’ve tried changing you, but even digitally you’re the same! Even worse sometimes you accuse me of ERR!

I’ve tried to distance myself from you, but I only keep coming back. I can’t resist your judgments! Sometimes I find myself on you or near you five times a day, and you always give me a different answer! Why oh why must you lie to me Mr. Scale?! Its cruel!

This is it Mr. Scale! You need to change! We cannot be together as it is now! I don’t want to see you again for a month! We can re-evaluate our relationship then!

Goodbye!

I just don’t understand why people keep believing this bull****, but I’m gonna stop you if I can.

I’m gonna be honest here. Weight gain didn’t happen overnight for me. I sat my butt down in a chair and for years and I basically didn’t move out of it. I stuffed my face with crap and now my butt looks like two pigs curled up beside each other.

I also won’t lie and tell you that I didn’t enjoy those years of homemade pizzas, powdered doughnuts, Taco Bell and Chili Cheese Fritos. Its easy to enjoy those when you don’t look in the mirror.

Everyone wants a magic bullet, especially me. There isn’t a soul on earth that I wouldn’t sacrifice to have the genetics of some 18 year old skinny blond Swedish model. I know that’s not gonna happen.. so I’m gonna take my warped genetics and lose weight the way my warped genetics allows. It sucks but that’s life.

Its not just me that agrees there’s no magic pill for weight loss:
Fast Track to Weight Loss
By EatingWell on Apr 15, 2009 12:00 PM in Healthy Eating
By Rachel Johnson, PH.D., M.P.H., R.D., EatingWell.com

As I expected, none of the quick fixes had strong scientific backing. So I turned to my friend Jean Harvey-Berino, Ph.D., chair of the University of Vermont’s Nutrition & Food Sciences Department and author of The EatingWell Diet (The Countryman Press, 2007). “The best way to give yourself a jump-start,” she said, “is to create rules that add structure to your diet.”

You can read more on this article by clicking here

So while magic pills, dvds, powders, trainers, shoes and assortment of diet wonders sound really great, I didn’t make my ass into a condo unit by magic, so I’m not going to demolish it by magic either. And neither are you.

Read his book Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle and check out his blog at www.Burnthefatblog.com. His blog and books are very honest about how to lose weight and build muscle. They are about eating properly, counting calories, exercising and strength training. While these are the same ways your doctors and dietitians have been touting, he also does a great job of explaining why weight loss works best this way.

Tom Venuto is the reason I have never looked for another quick weight loss solution and why I continue to manage my weight loss by calorie counting, exercise and strength training. Let him motivate you!!

www.almeidacartoons.com/

That’s it I’m done! Done listening to the multitude of skinny women who gained 15 pounds once, lost it 12 seconds later because they ran a flight of stairs and announced they have a diet plan for me! Done with berry trees, powdered shakes, frozen dinners (which cost more than gym memberships). Done with low carbs, high carbs, no carbs, high protein, low protein, no protein, low-fat, low sugar, low calorie , no taste, crappy, expensive, ridiculous diets.

But most of all I’m done listening to advice from skinny women that have no clue what I’m going through!

So to the following women, who meet my definition of skinny:

1. Any woman who started out thin, stayed thin, lives thin and breathes thin. Listen you have no idea what its like to be fat. You don’t understand struggles that fat women deal with. You do not ride on my emotional roller coaster and you can probably buckle that belt anyway. So shut it!

2. Any woman who eats a carrot, forcefully vomits it up, says she ate too much this week and proceeds to starve for 3 days. You know who you are girls, and I while I admire your dedication to be stupid.. I mean thin,.. I’d rather my heart attack came by doughnut, not ketosis! Please shut up.

3. Any woman who has never been more than 20 pounds overweight in her life. You are either genetically gifted, belong in categories 1 or 2, or a combination of 1 and 2. Shut up!

4. Any woman who has never had trouble buckling a belt on a plane, roller coaster. Shut your mouth!

You have no clue what you’re talking about. You may have a degree from 6 universities and maybe even some people have lost weight on your programs.. and maybe even kept it off, its possible, unlikely, but possible, but you still have zero idea about what you’re spewing.

So before you open your carrot-eating, 110 pound, size 4 mouth I want to tell you to SHUT UP.

My twinkie-eating, 200 pound, size 24 ass will take advice from someone that’s been there and done that.

When I had finally reached my breaking point in weight gain, I sat down and began browsing websites to learn about losing weight. At first, I’ll admit, I was trying to find information on bypass surgery or pills.

Luckily the first website I found, which taught me the correct way to lose weight, was Caloriesperhour.com. While this site is very professional now, when I first started reading, it I think sometime back in 2004, it was just some calculators, forums and very interesting articles by a guy that ran the site. I wish I could remember his name because he taught me so much.

This site is important because of, not only its vast amount of material, but information and tools which don’t advocate ridiculous pills, powders, money or other ridiculous claims. It gives you the tools to work out for yourself exactly how to lose a pound per week and exactly how many calories you are burning now per week. The calculators are an invaluable tool that every person who wishes to lose or gain weight using healthy methods.

This site is completely free and I recommend their calculators highly.
Warning: You can get lost in this site because it has an amazing amount of articles and calculators and you may never leave their forums.

Calorie counter, calorie calculators, exercise advice and more.