SparkPeople is a great free fitness or weight loss program.

I just updated my blog there,  I am ARTSLIM at Sparkpeople and you are welcome to add me to your friends there. 

Because I am traveling in a caravan I am not updating my weight. I wish I knw=ew how to remove the weight scales measure from my page as I dot use it I am simply using a good leather belt.  I am on the outer notch, my personal idea of slim would be the inner notch and I 'don't give a hoot what the scales say. 

That belt can be my guide, that's all I need and if I can wear it, what ever the notch says, I am HAPPY with the shape I am in regardless of if BMI says I am slim, fat or Obese.  I am not obsessed my weight, I want good health physical and mental health achieve though my art and fitness activities and the primary goal right now is my novel.

It is my primary goal of my novel, that has kept me away form SPARK.
It is time consuming to update and write motivations. I know this.  That's why I seem to have excelled at one or the other, the ART or the SLIM in the past.  To achieve BOTH once more. I know I need community encouragement and I need to journal.  So here I am - making my commitment. SHOUTING OUT that I am aiming for ART+SLIM=ARTSLIM for ME- Nothing less.

I can easily give myself over to my creative passion and excel at the art or craft of my current choice.

I can and have at times mastered my weight giving release to a passion for fitness and perusing an active,healthy eating and portion controlled eating plan.

I have also at times succeeded in getting enough sleep.

Guess what I've struggled with?
Probably the same thing you might find hard to do.

I now need to combine ART (professional novel writing or painting tours) with fitness activity or the SLIM.  That's my name - ARTSLIM and that is the group of people who I need around me.

I need other people who understand the difficulty of combining a sedentary lifestyle that they have no desire to change, because it is the ART-the PASSION of their lives. People who hole a creative goal and important as their fitness goal.  Friends who understand they they are alive because of both fitness and creativity.

Because the arts are labour intensive we, perhaps more than most need to encourage each other to maintain that ARTSLIM balance. Combining ART and SLIM or Creative and Fitness Goals.
The purple ribbon represents my 'other' role in life that of a carer. I have life responsibilities just the same as everyone else and a family I love and must keep as priority no one while achieving all the rest. We do anything we choose.

So my What am I made of goals are.

* Carer duty healthy lifestyle includes healthy positive living and eating plans for two.
* Creativity - Novel writing, novellas, non fiction writing work and seeking financial return -awards & publisher.
* Fitness - A/ 5,000 steps a day. or equivalent.  (I had painful injuries or I would make that 10,000 if I had somewhere to swim at the moment I would cut that to half)
*      "     - B/  45 minutes of aerobic physical activity
*      "     - C/  15      "       of strength and balance training

I am doing some consumer reports on Weight Loss Programs

Calorie King is a very well known free program and there is a 12 week educational program you can source, in that website.   I have heard that some Calorie King programs have a fee.  Try web searching the Australian one.  When I last checked, it was still free.

SparkPeople is a program I prefer to the above.  I dislike all the adds and the US foods I ave to search though if I want to use the food diary.  I also find the food list is predominately processed foods, which in my opinion are plain junk food and not stuff I want to weed though in order to use a food diary.

The Biggest Loser Club (for Australians) comes in at just under $20. per month and you can focus on express, regular weight loss or fitness programs.   I find it very easy to navigate and use and like it.
I was frankly socked to read diet coke as a part of the recommended diet in this program.  Osteoporosis in a bottle is what I call that gunk.  This was not a good advertisement for the program at all.

For around the cost of a cup of coffee a day - $200 for 3 months if paid in advance, the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation on line program is excellent if you want someone and the group  to motivate you to be trim toned and terrific and applaud all you fitness efforts.  A great group of fitness enthusiasts for met support core of membership on a well balanced nutrition program I consider superior to the Biggest Losers.   
I do not consider this program is ideal for seniors or those with health problems.  The Biggest Loser Club is more forgiving of those who do not have the body designed for and have no desire to be athletes in training, like myself.

Now these are all programs I have personally trialed and all are good.

Crunch Time Cookbook: 100 Knockout Recipes for Rapid Weight Loss

100 Knockout Recipes for Rapid Weight Loss


Format:Paperback, 224 pages
Other Information: colour photographs
Release Date: 01 February 2010

I re programed my Bodymedia fIT today.

I set myself new fitness goals and a time span to achieve them in. Plus an action plan to do this.,

I enjoy wearing this fitness measuring device and being able to read how many steps ans what physical activity I have done in a day.

I was very disappointed they they were unable to get the Daylight saving set up correct and had the time out on the watch face for one week.  This is not a cheap item and one expects excellence of service form an expensive product.

Note the crack on that watch face.  That occurred within a few days of my using it. It needs more shock absorbent glass covering.   No offer of a discount off my programming fees because they had the time wrong for one week.  Not Happy BodyMediafIT.

I blogged:- Perusing an extreme goal
Balance is the Key to reaching the extreme goal.

A part of me wants to write a novel requiring a lot of sedentary activity.

Another part of me wants to be slimmer and improve my fitness requiring more activity.

My life has often held contradictory goals and as I am not superwoman I cannot perform at peak capacity at both.   This year I am writing my novel.

This year weight and fitness management not necessarily improvement is my goal. 

I knocked off work from my novel writing in time to get 8 hours in bed that night.  Brilliant for me.
I did not over ` or under eat for the day.  I eat a lot more than the 1200 calories suggested on the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation program, what I ate was all healthy and I do aim for a calorie deficit, as I am overweight, and I achieved that.

So I am proud of my moderate effort towards fitness although it was a pathetic physical effort compared to most of my friends who do the 12WBT. 
I am proud I had a day of balance in my life, I even offered to pop over and help a depressed friend with her housework though I was quite happy that she declined as I did not really have the time.  I manage my concern about things like a loved one's depression by maintaining my own peace of mind and while letting others know I care and am there for them, I strive to cushion myself so my own happiness if not going to be extremely affected by the behaviour of others.    This to me is FITNESS.

What is fitness to you?

Someone accidentally booby trapped my fridge and when I opened it late last night to give in to a late night snack (a healthy one and needed actually as I worked though till 3am) a large frozen chicken sprang out of the top shelf at me.

It was a keystone Cops moment as I tried to catch the chicken and return it to the shelf spilling the contents of a full container f beetroot and its juices all over me and the fridge.   as I was already battling to get my job finished by 3am I just left the mess in the fridge with several T Towels in there to blot up the red liquid.  lol, I have not been game to look yet.  I need more coffee before I face the mess and maybe even look at the hemo rage black reviews to find a power concoction so I can face the mess. lol.

It got me thinking about practical ways aside from thinking the fridge might be booby trapped, to avoid late night snacking.

These ones are from the American Dietitians Association.

How Can I Conquer My Downfall: Snacking at Night?

1/ . Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. The majority of people who struggle with night eating are those who skip meals or don't eat balanced meals during the day.
2/. Eat your evening meal in the kitchen or dining room, sitting down at the table.
3/. Drink cold, unsweetened raspberry tea. It tastes great and keeps your mouth busy.
4/. Change your night-time schedule. It will take effort, but it will pay off. You need something that will occupy your mind and hands.
5/. If you're emotional-eating at night, you need to focus on getting in touch with what's going on and taking care of yourself in a way that really works. Find a method of coping with your stress that doesn’t involve food.
6/. Put a sign on the kitchen and refrigerator doors: "Closed after Dinner."
7/. Brush your teeth right after dinner to remind you of your weight loss goals: No more food.
8/. Eat without engaging in any other simultaneous activity. No reading, watching TV, or sitting at the computer.  That tip is not good for me, I'm a novelist I need to use my computer at night.

Remember: eating late at night won't cause weight gain on healthy weight-loss programs. It's how many kilojoules—not when you eat them—that counts.

I'm glad the above is true.  I chose a lot of low calorie vegetables, and a slice of low fat cheese on one slice of wholegrain toast. Around 200 to 250 calories worth depending on how many vegetables.and my evening snack is usually 4 hours after dinner when I eat it and with another 4 hours of work still ahead of me.  It is rarely a diet sin though it does stop me loosing weight or slows it down so unless I am hungry I would be better skipping it and this is where my late nights are ill effecting my weight loss..

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.
The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. ~Thomas Edison 

Well I'm striving to have both my novel finished and to be my ideal body weight by Springtime 2011.

I am striving to eat healthy, portion controlled, exercise and generally take good care of myself.  I even went shopping for the best multivitamin for my needs.

I find I need to set goals and action plans to achieve all the things I set out to do, they never fall into place without prior planning and action.  Sometimes it seems easier to defer some things but at my age in particular, if I defer I will never achieve.  Frankly that is true at any age.

What are you trying to do?

 I have accepted a 90 day challenge to a better me, beginning tomorrow and finishing on the 14th May.
90 Days to better me is difference things to different people.  For some it might mean acne scar treatment for me it involves writing my novel.

I will spend the next 30 days establishing this habit and the remaining 60 days perfecting them.

My habits to establish, will be
* 7-8 hours sleep at night.
*Treat non fiction writing with the serious dedication of a career and apply myself to itt 8 hours a day x 5 days a week.
*Achieve an energy deficit through healthy eating and being an active person, while overweight and energy balance once normal weight..

 Michelle Bridges is my favorite trainer in the Biggest Loser TV show..
I do not like the games, the chance plays, the politics in reality TV shows and I suspect she does not like them either.

The Commando has fine qualities at his best. He has the ability to get the contestants working hard and I guess that is what is needed, I can visulaize him getting the contestants working out on a pull up bar.  That reminds me I have pledged to get back to my own weight workouts next week.

Michelle Bridge remains my favorite trainer however, she 'explains to people' understands the difference between 'tough love' and bullying. Michell Bridges, I feel, knows how to bring the best out in people.

Who is your favorite trainer in the Biggest Loser Show?

Mine was Pati Singe.

She not only got healthy for herself by expressed the desire to do it to inspire her own large extended family and she is still doing this today, she goes on radio to reach her extended family and talks about healthy eating and ...exercise. As her family of Torres Strait Islanders had more to lose than those of us of European descent from obesity given their higher risk for diabetes and many other lifestyle diseases, the changes Pati made to her thinking and life had the greatest impact on improving the health of a large community. She is doing everything she said she would do.

I think I warmed to Pati because I also love the land and people of the Torres Strait. This is the country of 4Wheel Drive and All Terrain Vehicles where polaris rzr accessories is the shop talk, not city things I just do not relate to like high heel shoes and nail extensions. 

I know others finalists are motivational people sharing it on as well.
Alison, Bob, Sharif are wonderful positive lifestyle models.
Lisa was inspiring.

How can you have a favourite?
All brilliant people.

Who was/is your favorite?