OK, so here's the deal! I'm paying the price for my lack of discipline! I'd mentioned Body-For-Life a bit back and someone asked to hear more about it. Well, story is that I joined a gym last Oct. (the one before last) with the intentions of being fit by my 40th birthday. My friend and I worked out for a couple of months with little success. At some point the gym ran a Body-For-Life contest and we decided to join.

I was out to prove the program wrong. I'd already borrowed the book from the library and decided it was pretty much what we were doing. Actually, we were working out MORE than what Phillips advocates. So...to prove it wrong, I had to follow it to the "T", right? So....we did. Wouldn't you know I lost nearly 30lbs. and looked and felt great. Go figure! Oh yeah, I won the gym contest and got a free year membership. (I'd post the pics here but the "before's" are unflattering to say the least. If one of you LADIES (sorry, Confessor) wants to see, email me. :0)

So....you'd think, once the challenge was over, we would keep it up, right? Well, that was the intent but, slowly, we quit working out. Well...we'd do weights now and then, but dropped the cardio (not really that fun, ya know?) altogether. Then we dropped the eating.....and the drinking water.....then we started eating. We started eating like PIGS!!! Why??? We have no idea!!

So, here we are starting over. Had I been good and simply continued on my journey at a reasonable pace I'd likely have already met my goal. As it is, I'll have to work my bottom off (literally!) to get where I want to be by Feb. 26th. Oh well. I seem to do better with a deadline or goal to meet. I think I'm kind of sadistic that way. So....I'm trying to get out of things like our "pizza challenge potluck" at church on Sunday. (OK, whoever comes up with this stuff is NOT dieting!!) Hehe.

I'm actually in a  good place with it. If I'd done what I should I could be relaxing this month. As it is, I'm hoping to get back where I left off by the end of the month. We'll see. If you want to know the specifics, ask and I'll share them on here. If not, I thought you'd all be amused by the following. Even though I'm not sharing his sentiments, it cracks me up. Enjoy!!

Words to live by this holiday season! By Craig Wilson, USA TODAY

I hate this time of year. Not for its crass commercialism and forced frivolity, but because it’s the season when the food police come out with their wagging fingers and annual tips on how to get through the holidays without gaining 10 pounds.

You can’t pick up a magazine without finding a list of holiday eating do’s and don’ts. Eliminate second helpings, high-calorie sauces and cookies made with butter, they say. Fill up on vegetable sticks, they say.

Good grief. Is your favorite childhood memory of Christmas a carrot stick? I don’t think so. Isn’t mine, either. A carrot was something you left for Rudolph.

I have my own list of tips for holiday eating. I assure you, if you follow them, you’ll be fat and happy. So what if you don’t make it to New Year’s? Your pants won’t fit anymore, anyway.

1. About those carrot sticks. Avoid them. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it’s rare. In fact, it’s even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can’t find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnogaholic or something. It’s a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk. If it’s skim, pass. Why bother? It’s like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people’s food for free. Lots of it. Hello? Remember college?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year’s. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don’t budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They’re like a beautiful pair of shoes. You can’t leave them behind. You’re not going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it’s loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards, mate.

10. And one final tip: If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention.

Reread tips. Start over.