I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me. ~Anaïs NinI think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's. ~Henry Moore
One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things. ~John Burroughs
I do think New Year's resolutions can't technically be expected to begin on New Year's Day, don't you? Since, because it's an extension of New Year's Eve, smokers are already on a smoking roll and cannot be expected to stop abruptly on the stroke of midnight with so much nicotine in the system. Also dieting on New Year's Day isn't a good idea as you can't eat rationally but really need to be free to consume whatever is necessary, moment by moment, in order to ease your hangover. I think it would be much more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second. ~Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones's Diary
Wishing everyone very happy holidays ahead.
“The Biggest Loser” finale is on TV tonight. One of the four finalists - Hollie, Isabeau, Julie or Bill will win $250,000. 
Kevin is a chef in a Four Seasons Hotel. He has succeeded in losing 85 pounds in the past nine months. The pounds crept on as he was sampling most of the food that was created in his kitchen. He had a weakness for the muffins, danishes and croissants. 
A few months ago Yin Teing started trying to avoid sugar in her daily life. She says she discovered that her eating habits were contributing to increasing fatigue and yearly weight gain. She started a blog about Saying Goodbye to a Lifelong Addiction. In 
Jeremy has lost 25 pounds in about four months. He kick started the weight loss with a simple diet plan recommended by one of his coworkers. He stayed on this diet for two weeks and this really helped to lessen his appetite for big portions. Since then he's added other food to his daily eating but is still managing to lose a pound every ten days or so.
Thanks much to everyone who answered the first poll. The results are surprising, I'll sum them up when the poll is finished. 
Ayres topped the scales at 550 pounds not too long ago. It was in early 2006 that he started a drastic program to lose weight. What finally motivated him to do it was that he started losing his vision due to diabetes. This really frightened him and got him motivated in a big way. A year and a half later, he was down to 225 pounds. That's an amazing weight loss of 325 pounds!
The New York Times has a perplexing but interesting story today about how a study showed that women (hotel maids) lost weight and decreased their blood pressure without increasing their daily exercise but by just being more mindful that they were getting some exercise. 
I've been featuring weight loss stories here for many months now. A lot are about people who have lost a huge amount of weight (over 150 pounds). But I am curious about how many pounds the typical regular reader here wants to lose.
Carol Alt celebrated her 47th birthday a couple of days ago. She looks absolutely amazing. (See her in person on the video below). Her skin is radiant and she has masses of shiny hair for someone who's almost fifty. Her figure is also incredible.
contains her favorite raw recipes — 10 breakfasts, 10 lunches, 10 dinners, 10 snacks, and 10 drinks. 
The author of 
recommends people who have acne try switching to a diet high in fiber, fish, vegetables, lean protein and matcha green tea.
What's the easiest way to a flat tummy? One reader wanted to know this and so she paid $20 for an expert on Google Answers to find the answer for her. She specifically asked if sit-ups would be the fastest way to trim her waistline. She got a pretty detailed answer and if she followed the instructions, she probably has a flatter stomach now.
Tosca Reno is supremely fit at age 48. Tosca's heaviest weight was 204 and this was when she was in the middle of divorce and after having three children. She gained the weight at that time by turning to comfort foods. Today she weighs 75 pounds less. 
See 
John has experienced massive weight loss success. He used to weigh over 400 pounds and has lost over half of this weight. Last year, in just 12 months, he lost the biggest portion of his excess weight, 150 pounds lost in one year.
The beautiful Fiona Falkiner has succeeded in losing a lot of weight. Again. 
David Eigenberg has lost twenty pounds in just three months. What motivated him to lose the weight? 
Diets were not working for Sally so she decided to take a long term approach and change her lifestyle, rather than dieting. 
Katie lost an amazing 124 pounds off her petite frame over a period of 17 months. She now weighs 110 pounds.
Six months ago Frank and Elaine looked and felt older than their years. Frank is 52 and Elaine is 45 years old.
Tim has lost 87 pounds. This was a tremendous feat for him but it only took him eight months. He lost the weight via regular walking, then also swimming as well as adhering to the Weight Watchers program. 
An FTC study has found that weight loss scams are a leading source of fraud in the U.S. About 4.8 million Americans bought bogus weight-loss supplements, patches, creams or other products, making fat-fighting fraud the most common scam.
A reader asks for advice about 
Dr. Flum specializes in surgical management of gastrointestinal disorders and surgical treatment of morbid obesity.
Here's a great list of some of the 
Actress Mila Jojovich has 
We carve pumpkins for Halloween each year and usually I throw away the pumpkin seeds. But this year I'm going to roast them in the oven. It's really easy, you just need some salt and butter. (See the 
You may not have heard of manganese, but high-manganese foods will
