FreefromFat the interview
By Iportion

Carla has lost 115 pounds doing a combination plan.
She lost with Weight Watchers and the exercise system The Firm. She has appeared in Firm infomercials and on QVC.
Carla’s site can be found here: http://www.freewebs.com/dimpledn/index.htm


Iportion: Carla I saw using a ball chair on your site. I sit on a basic body
Ball when doing home office work.
Carla: I don't actually have the ball chair, but am very interested in it! I do have a stability ball, but mainly use it to play around on while watching TV etc.


Iportion: Maintaining weight is often harder than weight loss, what tip
would you pass for keeping the weight off?
Carla: Journal, weigh your food, and measure same things you do to lose...you just get more food now! I also recommend keeping a watch on the scale, I weigh
daily to keep in tune with my body and to stay on track.

Iportion: VH Melville: I agree, most of the times I gained my weight back with past attempts was feeling I could take a break from it once I goaled. This time I am still using the food scale and journal.

Iportion: What’s one of favorite junk foods?
Carla: CHOCOLATE w/ nuts! I also love pizza...the more cheese the better!

Iportion: How do you make a supportive environment for yourself?
Carla: I have recently set up an area in my house for exercise only. Having an area just for it is so inviting!
Also I am on the boards a lot which are very supportive! I surround myself with health info as well, by reading everything I can get my eyes on! I also keep my food scale in plain sight on my counter top, so I don't have to drag it out to weigh the food.

Iportion: Thank you so much for granting this interview.

Fitness Tools to Use
By VH Melville
These are fitness tools and foods I love, but you might have your own tools that helped you.

1. Dry measuring cups. This is good for measuring prepared food items. Keep them out in the open so you don’t have to hunt.

2. A small kitchen scale for figuring the weight of meat and other items.
Measuring spoons

3. A copy of Master Cook version 7 or 9. Using it is a bit tricky, but it’s great for meal planning.
A lined journal for writing done what you ate as well as ideas for plans.

4. Yourself Fitness I really hope they sell upgrades to this game soon.

5. A library card for Some libraries have fitness magazines, healthy cookbooks and even fitness DVDs and tapes. You can find out which of these items are worth buying.

6. A pretty bowl. Make your snacks like green apples look even better with cute dishes that you actually use.

The Scales of in-Justice
VH Melville


Sometimes the scale is random and doesn’t really reflect the week before. The scale might show a pound gain and we were eating healthy. Healthy eating and exercising will catch up to us
The scale might even go up as much as six pounds if we weigh ourselves in different times of the day.
Sometimes we see again due to mistakes we can’t or decide not to notice.
There is nothing wrong with making mistakes.
We just have to be honest, with ourselves and try our best.
Making lifestyle changes is not easy. There was a reason I maintained over my valentine vacation and gained 3 pounds the week after.
I was attending my father’s valentine wedding. On vacation I had yummy foods such as a half a piece of wedding cake, oatmeal, veggies, and a few chocolates. I was active and keeping within my calories.
The week afterward I had healthy food but looking back I had too much of it. I was also pouring the salt on. Normal salt use is fine but I had to buy a new container I used so much. I can now look back and see why I gained so much so quickly.
I am just trying and planning better this week. I'm looking for balance.

Weight Watchers Anniversary
VH Melville

Today is my weight watchers Anniversary. I have lost over 100 pounds and I wanted to celebrate with a long walk to store and do some shopping and get a cool workout later but due to family illness I can’t.
I can’t access my DVD workout but I will celebrate today. I will workout as well.

Fitness Tools I love
VH Melville

1. Yourself! Fitness, a video game that’s a fitness instructor. I love that every workout incorporates cardio including strength training one. This was very well thought out.

2. My stability ball.

3. My hand weights.

4. My reward system. Many people lose motivation to exercise after they goal. This has been a major problem with me in the past. So I when my work out hits the thirty minute mark I write it in my calendar. Then when I hit lets say 25 or thirty I earn a nice little reward.

Being back OP

I left for vacation last year with the best intentions of staying on plan.
I didn't really think that burger king and the other fast food chains would be screaming my name every time i walked past them.
One burger within points...here....an ice cream within points here.
My taste buds began to remember their old friends and soon my small milkshake turned into the giant super sized milkshakes and my hips began their return to supersize.
The thrill of shopping for 2 sizes smaller pants turned into fear of not being able to fit into them again.
This didn't stop me from eating myself into oblivion.
A habit that stuck around a bit too long after vacation.
I tried to get back on plan.....i fell off
One day on, one week off.
Binges of the worst kind (i'm talking .....i'd bake cookies twice a night and eat both batches) some nights.
I felt sick and horrible after but i kept going.
I realised i had a public function to attend where i wouldn't be able to be invisible, so i had to force myself to get back on plan and stay there.
It may have been my saving grace.
This event takes place in two weeks and i'm hoping the taste of feeling thinner will take me to the many tough times beyond that event.
I have been on plan for only 3 days (i was terrified to jinx myself by writing this) and i feel good already.
I'm actually exercising too.
While i don't feel as spurred on and optimistic as before, at least i've managed to stick it out past one day.
I am praying and working my way through the hours.
I won't weigh before the event, or perhaps well after , but the fit of those skinny black pants will tell me where i'm at!
In the coming weeks i'll post updates along with tips i pick up for avoiding food when i'm not hungry, just craving and any other things i find i have to add.
Keep me in your thoughts.
Yours,
Creativegal.

Imaginative Elegance Rewards On A Budget: Weight Loss Rewards
By VH Melville
These are rewards for health goals along the way for little money. Everyone needs rewards whether they’re losing or maintaining.
1. Dollar store bubble bath
2. Flavored lip balm.
3. A facial.
4. A trip to the bargain movie theater if your town has one.
5. A fitness DVD from K-mart or Wal-Mart
6. A cheap paperback or e-book
7. A retro toy you liked such as a tank of Sea Monkeys, a slinky, a coloring book with crayons, or a few containers of play dough.
8. A book on making cosmetics and home spa treatments
9. A cute dress and pantsuit from a thrift store.
10. A foot massage from a kind spouse
11. A jump rope or hula hoop.
12. A scheduled nap
13. Cheap eye shadow.
14. A shopping spree at the 99 cent store
15. Fitness books bought at a yard sale


Money to Burn Rewards: A Life of Luxury
By VH Melville
Everyone needs rewards whether they’re losing or maintaining.
These are rewards ideas for those who have lots of cash. If you suddenly come into a few million here are ways to spend your cash.
1. A trip to the spa
2. Sephora gift certificate
3. A shopping spree at Dilards or Bloomingdales
4. Gold sandals.
5. A personal trainer
6. Gourmet low-point brownies made by a personal chef
7. A $2,000 gift certificate
8. A new treadmill
9. A trip on Richard Simmons' Cruise To Lose
10. A trip to England, China and Rome
11. A trip to Paris just to shop
12. Jewels
13. Executive sea monkey tank.
14. A stylist to help you pick your goal clothes.
15. A Moo Roo handbag.

Clothes Goddess: The gift of Love
By VH Melville
When you’re slenderizing, what do you plan to do with your clothes? I think you might want to make Salvation Army or Goodwill bags of your better “too-big-for-you” outfits. These outfits just take up closet space, and you need to get out of the “what if I gain it all back?” mindset.
Sometimes it’s hard to find cute clothes when you are heavier, but many companies don’t realize that many woman will pay more for clothes that look good. I believe good clothes should be for the pretty zaftig women too. You’d be helping all those women out there.
If you’re strapped for cash you might try a consignment store or sell them on E-Bay.
You can be the fairy Godmother or sister or daughter to a plus-sized Cinderella or a woman who couldn’t afford or find nice clothes before you showed up to the thrift store with your bag of magic tricks. The greatest part is -- she can now look great all the time instead of until midnight.

Forgive Yourself For Self-Sabotaging
VH Melville
You failed in the past and you called yourself names. You told yourself that after you lost the weight you’d take a break from dieting or eating healthy. You told yourself that you lost a pound without tracking and you can do this on your own. You told yourself it was selfish to be healthy. You told yourself you could never eat junk food again, then felt so deprived that you kept bingeing. You made a big deal about dieting, but not healthy eating. You didn’t reward yourself. Put those behaviors in the past. Have plans for yourself. Go to therapy, start journaling and dust yourself off and get right back on when you make mistakes.

Welcome Message
By Iportion staff.
We are not doctors and do not claim to know medical advice. In some articles I will talk about Weight Watchers.. I will talk about other respected programs as well. Iportion is not just a diet site/newsletter. We talk about many different portions of life. We are not not just for people losing weight or trying to lose weight. We are about beauty, kindness, fitness, cooking and love. We are also for those already healthy, those who don’t want to lose, and those maintaining -- or just want to live life.
VH Melville, writer, owner
CreativeGal, artist, owner and writer
Bonnie Kaye, editor
Sea-Nonkey Sometime Correspondent

We are in this Together “Understanding”
Sea Nonkey
Sometimes people who have 10, 15, 30, and 40 pounds to lose feel sort overshadowed by those who have lost 50 to 75 pounds. They feel even more overshadowed by someone with over 100 to lose. I have lost over 100 and have seen people with 15 pounds to lose struggle and work hard for that loss. The work you put into it is worth it. Give yourself a hand. Now, of course there are people who want to lose 20 pounds and they are at the right weight or underweight. Remember the old clichéd saying, “nothing tastes better then thin feels.” People who are constantly striving to be underweight are not happy. I’ve been thin and unhappy. Health tastes a lot better. Sometimes as someone with a lot to lose we get jealous of that person with only 30 pounds to lose. I know that I’ve done it, but I realized I was wrong and I saw how hard they were working. Sometimes it’s even harder too lose if you have less too lose, sometimes it’s not. Why do
we judge people who are bigger than us? How did they get that way? It’s not always the thyroid. Some abuse victims are more likely to be obese. Some people will never lose except through gastric bypass. This is dangerous, but it’s a last resort. If you see a friend, take their hand and walk together. You might find you have more in common than you think.

Check Out Hungry Girl
VH Melville
Hungry girl is a nifty that tells you about new low calorie products and how they compare with full calorie versions.
http://www.hungry-girl.com/

Using Your Stylish Home Gym
by Sea Nonkey

The sad fact is that only 25% of those who make a large purchase for exercise equipment actually use it. If you don’t and can use equipment you bought you are wasting money. Many people burn out by doing too much too fast.
Start slow. Do 10 minutes 3 times a day and you have a thirty minute workout. If you have a treadmill, stepper, or elliptical, park a TV and DVD in front of it. Watching a good movie or show will make the time go faster.

Leslie Sansone Walk Away The Pounds 2 Mile
By Creative Gal

Time: 30 mins
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Space needed: a 4 ft square will suffice.

Review:
This one is slightly more intense than the 1 mile and utilizes several easy combinations of the 4 core WATP moves. It goes just a little bit longer, and if you are moving to this from the 1 mile, you can do it without weights to make the transition even easier.
There is just a ten minute difference between this workout and the 1 mile so I strongly suggest stepping up to this workout after just a week or two of doing the 1 mile. The moves go a little longer and there is also slightly more arm work. Before moving on to the three mile, I also suggest combining this 2 mile with the 1 mile for a bit to get yourself used to a longer workout.

Homestar Runner Workout?
By Sea Nonkey

Okay http://www.homestarrunner.com/ is not selling a workout DVD. The homestar workout is simple. You either bounce on a stability ball or march in place while watching homestarr runner cartoons on the net. Who says workouts should not be funny?

Billy Blanks Bootcamp Cardio Live.
Review by Creative Gal

Time: 30 mins
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Space needed: Approx 5 ft across by 3 ft.

Review:
As a beginner I attempted this workout twice before actually completing it.
Encouraged by an online exercise group I joined, I tried doing the moves at half pace, along with watching the DVD and pausing it to figure out the moves, as there aren’t any real explanations or demonstrations on this DVD. However, they do the moves and combinations slowly at first, then they pick it up or do ‘double time’. It is pretty easy to follow and don’t get discouraged if even after a few times the moves are still confusing. Whatever you do, keep moving. At first you may only be able to do half of the reps they do, then you can have fun testing yourself and building up. Billy is very encouraging and points out some modifications to a few of the moves (mainly kicks) and also has one of the girls do a couple moves wrong so you can see what not to do. This is a short workout – it's amazing how quickly a half an hour passes. But you sweat a lot and you really feel it! The Billy Band segment is a little short but very powerful. I am still not strong enough to lift the bands very high, so I opt to do the arm workouts with 2lb dumbbells instead. I have been doing the leg work portion with no resistance, but will soon add the bands as I feel stronger now. The cool down portion is a little difficult to follow. Billy gives a motivational mini speech as his colleague Shelley takes over the cool down. I usually just look past Billy to see what they are doing behind him and follow suit. I also followup with a couple of my own stretches. Whatever workout you try, make sure you give it a good go before you decide whether you like it or not or whether its suitable for you or not. It DOES get a bit easier as your body gets stronger! Never give up! The success is in the trying.