Did anyone catch the new TLC show, "I Can Make You Thin"? I saw the commercials for it and thought it sounded a bit wacky, but I wanted to check it out anyway. I set the DVR to record it, but it recorded Jon & Kate Plus 8 instead.

I watched part of the show as a rerun this weekend and I have to say it really does sound like such a common sense approach to eating. On the first show, he premiered his 4 Golden Rules, which are:

1. When You Are Hungry, Eat. This sounds like such a no-brainer, doesn't it? But I have to admit, there are plenty of times when I'm hungry and don't eat because it's not meal time and I'm "on a diet." I didn't see the whole show, but I have to guess part of this is if you aren't hungry, don't eat. And I'm sure many of us have eaten when we weren't hungry. (READ MORE)

With all the talk of New Year's Resolutions and dieting, I keep coming across advice to keep a food diary. The articles usually point out that research shows keeping a food diary "even for just one day" can aid your weight loss efforts. (I haven't been able to find these studies, but maybe I'm just using the wrong search engine or key words.)

Keeping a food journal has been part of my routine for a very long time now. In fact, I have several editions of notebooks dedicated to logging every morsel of food that goes into my mouth (along with blood sugar readings and insulin dosing, of course).

It's also a cornerstone to the Weight Watchers program. "If you bite it, write it" is a common phrase heard in meetings. My leader, Kim, started what we call "The Magic Traveling Journal." The 12-week planner gets passed around to a different group member each week. (READ MORE)

I live with an emotional eater. I know when he's had a bad day by the empty pint of Ben & Jerry's. I know he's had a God awful day when there's empty pints. So I was intrigued by the title of last week's "I Can Make You Thin".

If you've watched any of the commercials for the show, you've probably seen people tapping themselves on different spots of their body. It looks ridiculous. Absurd, actually. Well, that's the technique Paul McKenna teaches to overcome emotional eating. (READ MORE)

Why is it so hard to get back on track after you fall off the diet wagon? Each day, I start out with good intentions, but somewhere along the line, my eating has gone straight to pot.

I think it started almost a month ago now, right after getting fasting bloodwork done at my endo's office. I "celebrated" with a breakfast at McDonald's, something I'd been craving for a while. Then I had a few run-ins with a Chick-Fil-A sandwich, waffle fries (dipped in mayo) and cole slaw.

After that was the Snickerdoodle incident (which I blamed on my friend Lizzy for introducing me to the sweet, slightly cinnamon flavored, sugar cookies at Whole Foods). Following closely on its heels was the chocolate chip cookie catastrophe. Now I'm in the midst of a full-blown cupcake bender.

Who do I think I am? What in the world makes me think I can eat these foods without consequences? (READ MORE)

Old Navy Bikinis

Spring Break is coming up in three weeks. I'm heading out to the tropics. My wardrobe: swimsuits, shorts, tank tops and short skirts. Of course, I'm thinking about how my body is going to look in a bikini and hip-hugging shorts. I decided I need to lose the extra pounds I put on in the last few weeks (amazing how fast it jumps up without you even noticing). (READ MORE)

Happy Halloween! I suspect it is only in the USA that Halloween has taken on such huge proportions. It's the number two holiday for decoration sales. There are probably a lot of interesting psychological reasons why Americans are drawn to a holiday all about appearing to be someone else; but that's a post for a different forum.

As a person with type 2 diabetes, I really dislike the candy aspect of the celebration. In all honesty, I really LIKE the candy aspect, but dislike having to try and restrain myself. It didn't used to be ALL candy. Remember apples? But then the urban myth of the razor blade in the apple started and that was the end of apples for trick or treat.

Remember "Trick or Treat for UNICEF"? I haven't see that for several years. (READ MORE)