The Thinspiration Moment video that I posted here today
best expresses my day's Thoughts.
  

One of the things I like best about DietPower
is that it is a stand alone software program,
and I don't have to be online to use it.

If, in the future, it changed to an online program,
as much as I love it,
I doubt if I would purchase the online program.,
For certain, I would still choose to use the current off-line DietPower
which I can load from a purchased disk.

DietPower works with Windows, but not with Macintosh.
In order to do videos for DietHobby, I got a Mac as an additional computer.
I installed the parallel program which allows it to run windows programs,
and then installed DietPower. At first it LOOKED like this was operational,
but after entering new data in the DietPower program inside the Mac,
a technical glitch occurs which makes the program non-operational.
In the Mac, DietPower seems fine for viewing, but is non-operational,
because it doesn’t support actual logging use.

There are similar online food journaling programs. One of these is "fit day",
another is "thedailyplate", another is “Lose it”. Some online programs
are free and others charge a monthly fee for continued access.
DietPower works with any kind of food plan.
It has a large data base of its own,
and gives me the ability to add any extra foods (using label information)
and also input recipes of my choice. Every time I make a homemade food,
I add the recipe to my DietPower dictionary, and almost all of my
all-time favorites are now inside the program.

It is important to me to have my personal data available off line.
There are times when I am unable to get online, but when this happens
I still eat, and I want to continue my Habit of logging in my food.
I also like the security that storing my own data gives me,
and a daily back-up only takes a few seconds of my time.

Online programs are managed by the owners of that website.
and my access to my own data there is subject to their whims.
At some sites if I want to retain access to my records,
I must pay an ongoing fee. Deciding against future use
also results in the loss of my past data that I previously entered.
If a web-site shuts down, my data is also lost.

A web-site owner can arbitrarily block my IP address from his site
at any time for any reason. Recently I experienced this
at a weight graphing program called” Physicsdiet” .

I’d been using the program for about a year and a half,
and liked it a great deal. In fact I posted it in DietHobby’s Links section,
and I was planning to feature the program in an article here.
However, two or three months ago a computer glitch occurred,
which caused the program to change the way it handled my file.
The program began automatically logging me out,
and would not allow me to log in.

Every day since that began, when I found myself locked out,
I left a courteous message for the site owner
letting him know the problem and asking him for help and suggestions.
I told him that I liked his program and even informed him of my plan to
recommend it here at DietHobby. He returned none of my messages,
however he was kind enough to log me in himself quite a few times
which allowed me to update my records.

But instead of fixing the problem, or e-mailing a message to me
in response to my many courteous pleas for help,
one morning I found that he had banned my IP address.
I assume that this was his solution to the problem.
However it forever shut off my access to the data I have stored there,
and made it impossible for me to contact him.
My point is that any website owner can choose to take any action
with that site, and therefore the off-line storage of data can sometimes be
very important. Fortunately, I have all my weight and calorie data stored on
my own computer, and this recent action of Physicsdiet was merely
an inconvenience for me.

I have a specific goal in my mind,
and I'm continually working toward it.

My goal is to maintain my weight-loss for the rest of my life.
That's my destination, and during my journey 
sometimes I take different routes.

Some diet plans work for me and some don't.
So far, I haven't found one specific diet that I feel I can follow forever,
and sometimes think that my own permanent Way of Eating
will be to continually experiment with new diets,
which I, personally, don't see as a bad thing.
I do believe the best diet plan is the one you can live with,
and I agree with the following quoted article:

"I really don’t care which diet plan you choose to follow.
Nor should I care which diet plan you choose to follow.

All I want is what’s best for you, and chances are,
what’s best for you is to lose some excess body fat (just guessing)
So if you find a comfortable way to accomplish this, who am I to judge?

Now, I have a big issue when it comes to false statements about a diet program
.. or false statements about physiology and health in general
(especially when these false statements are being sold for a profit)
But your personal choices? Those are none of my business.

Here’s an analogy (keep in mind, I’m known for really bad analogies)

4 employees drive into work.
One drives a 2001 Celica.

The other drives a leased Ford Escape.

The other drives a brand new Audi A6
that her daddy bought her for her 21st birthday.

The last employee drives a fully loaded Escalade
that he absolutely can not afford.

Now, regardless of the car they drive,
the important thing is that they all get to work on time.
That’s it.

Now, the Guy who drives the decade old Celica may think the guy driving
the Escalade is crazy for spending 2/3’s of his income on a car each month.

The person driving the Escape may spend every day
loathing the girl driving the Audi.

The person driving the Audi may be self conscious
of what people think of her car.

And the person driving the Escalade may
be perfectly happy with his financial decisions.

But again, none of this really matters if they all make it to work on time.

Focus on what’s important.
And what is important is what works for you,
in your current life situation.

In our car example, each person may have their own perfectly logical reasons
for the vehicle they drive. Or they may not. But in the end, it doesn’t matter.

Leaving our analogy and returning to diets, it’s all about the end goal.
The end goal is overall Health & happiness.
Being lean and muscular is the means to this end,
and your diet is just the process.

The process you choose can be super complicated or dead simple,
but no matter what any one else thinks,
if you are using a process that you enjoy
and that gets you results, then you are using the right process.

While everyone will have an opinion on how you decide to reach this goal,
remember it’s no more important then their opinion on what you drive
or what clothes you wear.

Besides, chances are their opinions are formed on anecdotes,
sleazy marketing and quickly made assumptions.

Do what works for you and remember the diet isn’t the end goal,
the health and weight loss is."

.   .    .  .January 2011 Article by Brad Pilon, author of Eat Stop Eat,

I’ve learned through my lifetime of relationships
that some things are best left unsaid.
Every Thought doesn’t need to be expressed.

Consistent courtesy and kindness are invaluable,
both verbal and nonverbal,
and this is true whether they are given or received

Just like words, facial expressions can be hurtful.
I feel better about life, myself and others
when the facial expressions of the people around me are positive.

Smiling tends to produce positive responses from others,
and the act of smiling also makes me feel a bit better.
Sour, angry, bitter or hateful facial expressions
tend to bring me down, even when these are on my own face.

It takes work to develop a consistently positive mental attitude.
It is also necessary to work on how we express our thoughts to others.
While our facial expressions sometimes tend to be reflections of our thoughts,
one part of our ability to control our own Behavior includes the way we choose
to express our thoughts to others...both verbally, and non-verbally. 

I tend to ..(not so secretly).. be self-absorbed.

Today is Friday of Memorial Day Weekend.
When I hear the term “Memorial Day Weekend”,
My first thought is the sight, smell, and taste of food at a backyard BBQ.
Next I think of the fact that Summer is beginning,
and then about past or future camping trips to the mountains
or the beach and other vacations.

 Later I think of putting flowers at the grave sites of departed family members,
and about the TV war movies my husband is going to have on for three days.

These mental pictures contain both positives and negatives.
They can lead me to the pleasant or to the unpleasant.
To feelings of Hope and Joy, or of Loss and Sadness.

I can’t keep my mind from touching on unpleasant past or future events,
but I do have the ability to consciously change my mental focus
 by directing my mind toward the more pleasant memories or current events.

Just like with all worthwhile things, learning this skill takes consistent effort,
but when my Thoughts change….so do my Feelings…and my Behavior.
I find it impossible to directly change my feelings,
…and directly changing my behavior…without first changing my thoughts…
is equally impossible for me.

So, for me, all positive change in my life begins
with me working toward positive thoughts.

My number one positive Thought is this......

Even with all of my flaws,
I am an acceptable human being,
and it is Okay to be me.