I am very pleased by the positive responses I've received about the
DietHobby site,since my recent announcement that it is now operational.
I plan to post frequently in this ongoing blog, and also add more pictures
and videos, and recipes and links and other information here in DietHobby.

As with all technical things, some glitches don't show up prior to use,
so we are still working out some problems with registration and log-in,
which is supposed to be required before making comments. (to avoid spammers etc)

I hope to remain responsive to viewers, and make changes in my policies as needed.
Originally I was advised to exclude signatures because people's user names
are supposed to automatically appear.  Due to some technical registration and log-in issues,
that isn't yet operating perfectly.  So I made a change this morning and am asking people to
PLEASE DO put their signature INSIDE their comment.
Signatures. Please DO end your comment with your user name.

My understanding of the process here is:
people can access and view anything on DietHobby without registering or logging in.
However, before they can participate by making comments, they must register.
Registering is meant to be easy, and no data gets saved or published or sold etc.

After people fill out the short registration form, they are supposed to return to their e-mail
and click the link the web-site sends them. As soon as they do that, they are registered,
and from them on all they have to do is log in.
When someone registers, the site automatically sends an e-mail to me,
telling me that I have a new registration and who it is.

I've noticed that most of the websites I normally go to log-in with a user name,
However, my web-developer-genius (son) absolutely insists on using an e-mail address for log-in.
This seems to be mainly because so many people get locked out because they forget
their user names, and dealing with that issue is a hassle for the site-owner (me).
Your e-mail address is totally confidential and no one will ever send you anything,
including me, unless you give me special permission.

You can log on or off while you're on the site, but when you leave you are automatically logged off,
and will need to re-log each time you return and want to make a new comment.
I'm don't understand the technical reason for this, but that's the way my son says it's going to be. 
So, it will be helpful to me to have my online friends register, log-in, and make comments
as soon as possible, because that is the way I can discover any problems of the DietHobby site.
Please send me an e-mail if you have any difficulties so I can get them fixed.
My e-mail address is drcollins@diethobby.com which is also posted here under CONTACTS.

All my blogs reside here in my HOME link -- including the posts re books under discussion in BOOKTALK.
My oldest posted Blogs, which are numbered from 1-22,  are my "Why We Get Fat"  Summaries and comments.
The easiest way to read and comment on these first 22 posts, is to click the link BOOKTALK.
This will take you  to a list of links  of all those Chapter Summaries and comments
making it easier to read and comment on them.
My regular ongoing comments start AFTER   those first 22 "Why We Get Fat" chapter summary posts,
The starting date is February 7th, and Including this one, I have  9 such blogs posted so far, 
and will be continually adding to them. So, if you are here, and you travel backwards to read prior posts,
after the February 7th post, it will be easier to leave this area and go to BOOKTALK area.

I made the "Why We Get Fat" Chapter Summaries and comments first, and lumped them all together,
for easy access, because those Blogs will be highlighted for a very long time, probably at least a year.
Some of my online friends from the No S Diet forum have already read my basic summary because
although a primary reason for I briefing that book was to use it here in DietHobby,  I first posted it in
a No S Diet forum Thread  for a discussion between me and a fellow No S Diet forum member, 

Again, I want to remain responsive to you, my online friends, by addressing issues that will arise as
we take this DietHobby journey together.   Here is a link to my newly revised Comment Guidelines 

Dieting is engaging in a specific type of eating behavior. Most people look at dieting as….”a means to an end”. What does that mean?

The term “means to an end” refers to :
any action (the means)  ... that the sole purpose ofis to achieve something else (an end).

It often refers to an activity ……………(such as an undesirable job)
that is not as important as the goal you hope to achieve …………….(monetary gains for example).

When we say something is “a means to an end”, the term “end” is defined as our “results”, but the common use of the word “end” means the cessation or termination of a course of action, pursuit or activity …..i.e. to Stop.

So, if Dieting is the means, what is the end?
Ordinarily, people think of the “end” as a desired weight-loss result……such as achieving leanness or a normal weight,

However, achieving weight-loss, is only part of the challenge, and Maintenance of that weight-loss is merely an extension of that process. Therefore the “end”….meaning “result”…. isn’t the end (cessation) at all.

It is common to think in terms of “beginning” and “end”, so this misunderstanding runs deep within us.

A common saying is:
“Let’s get this weight off, once and for all.”

To “delay gratification”…. implies we get something “later”,
and “later” is when?

Usually we think of “later” as
..…after we become lean, ……after we lose the weight.

But if we engage in “dieting” behavior to become lean, and we stop that behavior, we will become fat again. This is what happens to more than 95% of all people who lose weight, and is what experts mean when they say that “Diets don’t work”.

However, whether we call it a diet, or call it a lifestyle. It still means we can’t eat as much of everything we want whenever we want to.

To remain lean, after weight-loss, one must remain on some type of continual diet,and guess what… Losing weight, doesn’t magically turn a body’s tendency toward fat into a tendency toward leanness.

The survival instincts of a reduced-weight body will work against the continuation of the type of eating behavior that is necessary to keep that lost weight off. This is a physical problem.

Yet, many experts imply that this is merely a mental or emotional problem, and that once we’ve learned the “proper” behaviors, over time eating less will become natural for us, and we won’t need to consciously “diet”.

This has not proven to be true for me.
I still have to consciously diet. This is a physical problem.
My body wants to eat more than it uses. My choice is to diet and be normal weight,or to “intuitively” eat and be morbidly obese.

I didn’t choose my body’s genetics. However, I get to choose my mental state.
I choose Acceptance. I choose to embrace the devil that is food and dieting,
and to make it an enjoyable part of my life.

I’m looking forward to an opportunity to “talk” about all of the aspects of diets and dieting that are of interest to me, without censorship by others.

Here, there will only be self-censorship, based on my own personal values and needs, rather than the values or needs of others. After a lifetime spent working to fit into the worlds of others, I find this to be a rather unique opportunity.

As I share my viewpoint about Dieting as a Hobby, some of the subjects I plan to cover here, although not in that order, nor in any particularly organized manner, are…

Weight-loss and maintenance of that weight-loss.
Individual Diets.
Dieting tools.
Dieting organizations.
Differences between Diets.
Food and its allure.
Exercise, or physical activity, as involved with dieting.
Therapy.
The concept of Eating Disorders, and those individual behaviors which are so labeled,
................................              including Anexoria, bulimia, binge disorder, chew and spit.

Writing has always been part of my life, even another one of my Hobbies.
Many years ago, I studied creative writing. I even wrote a couple of romantic novels,
which went unpublished, and a small collection of rejection letters to go with them.
I put that Hobby aside after careful consideration of a Thought that was threaded
through my many ‘how to write fiction’ books. That Thought was that the only reason
to Write was because one had something one needed to say.

After an inner search, I realized that there really wasn’t anything I needed to say.
So I stopped writing as a hobby, and basically limited myself to work-related writing.
Although, I must admit that as a family law attorney, some of my client Declarations
that were filed with the Court were rather fine examples of creative writing.

Now, at this time in my life, I do find that I have something to say.
I Plan to say it here. 

There are many advantages to having Online Friends.
The basic requirement is access to a personal computer.
Location is not a barrier, nor are time-differences.

Age differences between adults; issues of personal appearance;
and differences in health or even grooming habits
tend to be smoothed away.

What remains is the core of the human being.
It is the very essence of a person that gets shared online.

That sense of anonymity that comes with online sharing,
gives even timid people more courage to speak their minds.
And access to a search engine will lead us to others who share common interests.

We can make friends easily and quickly online,
because we aren’t hindered by the daily conventions of society.
We can talk only about the things that interest us,
with people we like, whenever we choose to do so,
and we can totally ignore conversations that aren’t of personal interest.

Online friendships take as much or as little time as one prefers.
Which is usually not the case with in-person friendships.
“Real” life friendships must be nurtured
by meetings, dinners, parties, and get-togethers.
All of these events take time and effort,

For example, if I have people over for dinner,
I have to have a clean house, buy special food, prepare it,
present it in an attractive way, and clean up after.
I have to dress appropriately, and be present all during the event
during which I must spend time visiting with everyone invited,
and the conversation will include subjects in which I’m not interested,
and perhaps would even rather avoid.

For example, if I attend a birthday party,
I have to select, buy and wrap an appropriate gift.
I then dress up, drive there, and spend a specific amount of time being
sociable with the other guests, some of whom I might not know or like,
including the friends and family members of my host/hostess,
involving myself in discussions about things that are of little interest to me.

Then…of course….as someone who continually diets,
the entire food issue is to be considered.
What will they serve? What will I choose to eat?
Can I satisfy the individual rules of my diet and still please my hostess?
Online friendships simply skip the whole process.

I love the convenience of Online Friends

                         
If I wanted people to see me fat, I would have stayed fat.

That’s one of the many reasons I did what it took to lose from 271 lbs down to 115 lbs, and continue the struggle to maintain
my weight-loss. Sometimes I share former fat information with personal acquaintances in real life, and sometimes I don't. It depends on the situation and on my mood.

However, I don't share fat pictures of myself with the general public. Morbidly obese people all look pretty much the same, because no matter where you carry fat, there are only so many places on the body to do so.

Photoshop is so common now, that a fat picture is PROOF of nothing. There is also an element of Freak Show or Circus Fat lady, in the fascination people seem to have in looking at "Before" pictures.

I feel that if anyone needs the "Inspiration" of seeing a Before picture, they can look in the mirror, or watch a weight-loss show on television.

People who knew me fat will remember what I looked like. People who didn't can look in the mirror or watch “The Biggest Loser”. I’m not here to sell a product, only to share my ideas and my life.

During the fat phases of my life, I wore primarily tent dresses and caftans. Below is a music video of California Dreamin' by the Mamas and the Papas.Visualize a fat version of my face on the body of Mama Cass.