The start of my 2011...

Hope everyone's New Years eve was a good one.

For me it seemed between rum & eggnog drinks, family stresses, kitchen renovations & large meals with family/friends, it's all contributed to an extremely fast weight gain
...of about 3lbs.
.....on top of the extra 5lbs that I couldn't seem to get rid of this year.
......on top of the extra 8lbs that I accumulated over the past several years.
I could barely get my never-before worn New Years Eve pants zipped up; my top was a loose one that ended just below my hips.

The arrangement was to meet the rest in our group at a local Chinese buffet restaurant. We've gone quite frequently; there's always more selection than you could ever sample. Or want to!
Back in our car & on our way to the dance, my zipper broke. No problem! My top covered it & the button held.

I drank nothing but water at the dance.
Of course what else would you do at a dance but dance! I must not have tried on the pants when I bought them; they were rather long & so I needed higher heels than normal ...either that or trip over the hems. Halfway through the evening, the spot on my tummy below that pant button, started burning.

The mix that the DJ played was horrible. Lucky for me!!

There was a meal served at 10:30. I really wasn't hungry and stuck to my water.

We were 6 couples in all who have known each other for many years; we had a lovely time. Ken really enjoyed himself. Usually he's my DD (designated driver) but last night we felt it better that I drive. Unfortunately the fog was so thick it was hard to see at times. All week, our weather has been warmer than normal & this morning we woke up to rain. Most of our snow has melted. We've set new warmth records. Predictions for this coming week, however, are for colder weather, flash freezes and lots of snow.

Last night I could barely get my shoes off, my feet were so swollen. This morning I still have a dark red bruise next to my bellybutton.

Monday, Ken and I, ...we both suffer from the same lack-of-willpower / eating-out-too-often affliction, ....start our new Smart-for-Life diet. For 15 days, we will eat only a small sensible dinner, drink 64oz of water and when the munchies hit, we're allowed to eat up to 6 of their cookies. Sounds great doesn't it? Daily caloric intake ranges from 800 to 1200 calories. Each cookie is a blend of amino acids, fiber, and vitamins that offers appetite suppression and reduces hunger cravings throughout the day. This diet specializes in a quick weight loss.
Two years ago we did the Isogenix diet for 9 days & lost 10 and 15 lbs respectively which in my case lasted for almost a year. I'm hoping this diet will work just as well.

Dieting seems to have become an obsession for most people. There's the Atkins diet, cabbage soup diet, high protein diet, gluten free and grapefruit diets, South Beach diet.... there are more diets than selections at yesterday's restaurant. Not for us, that old standby of plain old healthy eating!

...and that's the start to my new year. I've even found some really appetizing recipes to use with my cookies. Apparently I can make fruit cobblers or chocolate parfaits with them. All I have to figure out is where to buy calorie-free, fat-free marshmallow dips and chocolate syrup....