I'm taking a break from xanga. I've got a lot of thoughts I'm trying to sort through. Just feel like hiding for a while.

Stay strong everyone

Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
  ~Confucius

Daily weighing helps people lose more weight

According to a study of over 3,000 people in weight loss and weight maintenance programs conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota, daily weighing is an effective strategy. Of those studied, 20 percent reported never weighing themselves, while 40 percent said they weighed themselves daily or weekly. Those who weighed in daily lost 12 pounds on average versus an average of 6 pounds for those who weighed themselves weekly; while those who skipped the scale gained 4 pounds on average.

Lead researcher Jennifer Linde, associate professor at the University of Minnesota, states that daily weighing is independent of diet and exercise techniques that promote weight loss. She suggests that it may be easier to make small, daily corrections in activity levels and food intake rather than trying to compensate after a larger weight gain over a period of days or even weeks.

Participants in the National Weight Control Registry, made up of more than 4,000 people who've lost -- and kept off -- at least 30 pounds, often weigh themselves daily. According to Rena Wing, PhD, professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School, daily weighing helps alert people that they're heading into the "red zone" of gaining more than five pounds. If someone notices early that they're on a weight gain trend, they can take immediate steps to stop the weight gain.

Daily weighing isn't for everyone

Many weight loss programs suggest weekly, instead of daily, weighing. Fluctuations in water retention, time of the menstrual cycle, and the inaccuracy of scales are all mentioned as reasons to weigh weekly instead of daily. Weekly weights provide a better overall picture of weight status, and still give enough time to make adjustments in activity and eating habits before weight gain gets out of control. Kelly Brownell, PhD, director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, believes that regular weigh-ins are most helpful for people who are succeeding with weight loss, and potentially a problem for those who are at a weight plateau or losing very slowly.

When the daily weigh-in leads to negative emotions, an "I'll never succeed" attitude, or a rush toward jelly donuts to soothe injured feelings, it's obviously not a positive weight loss technique. People struggling with depression are advised to stay away from the scale, which can potentially be a source of even more negative thoughts. Often people caught in disordered eating weigh themselves compulsively, obsessing over every small change in weight. In all these examples, getting rid of the scale is more effective than regular weigh-ins, no matter how infrequent.

5 tips for making the scale serve you

Instead of becoming a slave to your bathroom scale, turn the tables and make it work for you:

 B- 4 toaster sticks (110)
L-
D-

Crunches
100 200 300 400

Miles Walked
1 2 3 4

Intake-
Outgo-
Net total-

Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more wisely.

Depression has screwed me over....

I've been a bit out of control lately; I went off of my antidepressants because I had to take them twice a day WITH FOOD. So, now I'm depressed and I have turned to junk food for comfort. It's always been either anorexia or compulsive overeating for me, an odd combination, but either I obsess about my weight or I decide to just f**k it and not give a s**t.

I haven't been on here much lately, and I miss all of the support but I'm too afraid to post my intake, I'm just ashamed of myself, it saddens me to type in a long list of food and calories. I guess it's denial?

I'm starting new today though, I even took some laxies against better judgement. I don't even care if all I lose is water weight, I HAVE to lose something!

I'm back up to 129 pounds, I know....disgusting. I have managed to gain 4 pounds over the past week . I am so angry with myself! One week of being a depressed pig is going to take more than a month to repair. I'm going back on my antidepressants, I can't continue to live this way. It's like choosing the better of two evils, but I'd rather be bones than lard any day.

B- Special K Bar (90)
L- none (0)
D- 2 slices of pizza (600)

Crunches
100 200 300 400

Miles Walked
1 2 3 4

Intake- (690)
Outgo- (-200)
Net total- (490)

You just have to go after what you want, if it doesn't want you back, so be it. It doesn't deserve you anyways.
~Nicole Richie

Now and Then

HER DIET
Then: Richie didn't say no to junk food, including hot dogs, after a late night of clubbing (in 2003).
Now: The star (in Beverly Hills in July) is strict about her diet: She avoids sweets ("I don't like sugar," Richie says) though she still indulges in her favorite foods – sushi and pizza – occasionally.

HER BODY
Then: Richie (in 2004) was curvaceous – and flaunted her figure with micro-miniskirts and low-dipping tops.
Now: A skinny Richie works out three to four times a week with L.A. trainer Adam Irnster (she's a fan of the rowing machine). "I have more energy and I'm more confident," she says.

 HER STYLE
Then: Richie (in 2003) was a walking fashion faux pas. PEOPLE even described a 2004 "Mad Max dress" and UGG boots combination she wore as "Muggly."
Now: She's a fashionista – and the Michael Kors-clad star even received the Young Hollywood Style Icon award from Hollywood Life magazine on Oct. 2.

HER BFF
Then: "She's like my sister," Richie once told PEOPLE about her Simple Life costar Paris Hilton (in 2004). But the childhood friends' relationship bottomed out when Richie reportedly screened Hilton's sex video at a party.
Now: Lindsay Lohan is her go-to girl – and will be a bridesmaid at her wedding. The two even share the same stylist, Rachel Zoe.

HER LOVE LIFE
Then: Richie was an L.A. club crawler who partied with guy pals like Matthew Felker (in 2004), a model-actor who kissed Britney Spears in her "Toxic" video.
Now: She's been engaged to Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, who calls Richie "my best friend," since February. The couple share a home in the Hollywood Hills with their dogs, Foxy Cleopatra and Honey Child, and their cat, Shalom.

HER FREE TIME
Then: The party girl once lay down in the middle of Sunset Boulevard to protest not being able to get a sandwich at 2 a.m.
Now: Her antics are more wholesome. The day after her 24th birthday (on Sept. 21), Richie and Goldstein took a trip to Disneyland.

HER LIFESTYLE
Then: In 2003, Richie was arrested in Malibu for driving with a revoked license and possession of a controlled substance. "They found one balloon of heroin," she says. She was sentenced to three years' probation.
Now: Since going to rehab that year, Richie has been sober. "No drinking, no drugs," she says. "I am definitely happier now."

HER CAREER
Then: As a celebrity model at the Joey and T fashion show in 2003, Richie flashed the audience. "I was excited and wanted to show everybody," she said of her newly pierced nipple.
Now: Richie (who's down from six piercings to one, in her ear) took to the runway again in New York City in September – without incident – plus, she's in a movie (Kids in America), has a book coming out in November (The Truth About Diamonds: A Novel) and is making an album. "She's got a great voice," says songwriter-producer Greg Kurstein.

 I believe that one of the great problems for us as individuals is the depression and the tension resulting from existence in a world which is increasingly less pleasing to the eye. 
~Lady Bird Johnson

In 30 minutes you can burn #X calories doing X activity :

Popular Exercises

Exercise	Type	Calories
aerobic, high impact	dancing	208
aerobic, low impact	dancing	149
bicycling, stationary, 100 watts, light effort	conditioning exercise	164
bicycling, stationary, 150 watts, moderate effort	conditioning exercise	208
bicycling, stationary, 200 watts, vigorous effort	conditioning exercise	313
bicycling, stationary, 250 watts, very vigorous effort	conditioning exercise	372
bicycling, stationary, 50 watts, very light effort	conditioning exercise	89
bicycling, stationary, general	conditioning exercise	208
calisthenics (e.g. pushups, situps, pull ups, jumping jacks), heavy, vigorous effort	conditioning exercise	238
circuit training, including some aerobic movement with minimal rest, general	conditioning exercise	238
jog/walk combination (jogging component of less than 10 minutes)	running	179
rowing, stationary, 100 watts, moderate effort	conditioning exercise	208
rowing, stationary, 150 watts, vigorous effort	conditioning exercise	253
rowing, stationary, 200 watts, very vigorous effort	conditioning exercise	357
rowing, stationary, 50 watts, light effort	conditioning exercise	104
running, 10 mph (6 min/mile)	running	476
running, 10.9 mph (5.5 min/mile)	running	536
running, 5 mph (12 min/mile)	running	238
running, 5.2 mph (11.5 min/mile)	running	268
running, 6 mph (10 min/mile)	running	298
running, 6.7 mph (9 min/mile)	running	327
running, 7 mph (8.5 min/mile)	running	342
running, 7.5 mph (8 min/mile)	running	372
running, 8 mph (7.5 min/mile)	running	402
running, 8.6 mph (7 min/mile)	running	417
running, 9 mph (6.5 min/mile)	running	447
ski machine, general	conditioning exercise	208
slimnastics, jazzercise	conditioning exercise	179
swimming laps, freestyle, fast, vigorous effort	water activities	298
swimming laps, freestyle, slow, moderate or light effort	water activities	208
swimming, backstroke, general	water activities	208
swimming, breaststroke, general	water activities	298
swimming, butterfly, general	water activities	327
walking, 2.5 mph, firm surface	walking	89
walking, 3.0 mph, level, moderate pace, firm surface	walking	98
walking, 3.5 mph, uphill	walking	179
walking, 4.0 mph, level, firm surface, very brisk pace	walking	149
walking, 4.5 mph, level, firm surface, very, very brisk	walking	188
walking, 5.0 mph	walking	238
weight lifting (free weight, nautilus or universal-type), power lifting or body building, vigorous effort	conditioning exercise	179
weight lifting (free, nautilus or universal-type), light or moderate effort, light workout, general	conditioning exercise	89

Sports

Exercise	Type	Calories
archery (non-hunting)	sports	104
badminton, competitive	sports	208
badminton, social singles and doubles, general	sports	134
basketball, game	sports	238
basketball, non-game, general	sports	179
basketball, officiating	sports	208
basketball, shooting baskets	sports	134
billiards	sports	74
bowling	sports	89
boxing, in ring, general	sports	357
boxing, punching bag	sports	179
boxing, sparring	sports	268
broomball	sports	208
children's games (hopscotch, 4-square, dodge ball, playground apparatus, t-ball, tetherball, marbles, jacks, acrace games)	sports	149
coaching: football, soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming, etc.	sports	119
cricket (batting, bowling)	sports	149
croquet	sports	74
curling	sports	119
darts, wall or lawn	sports	74
drag racing, pushing or driving a car	sports	179
fencing	sports	179
football or baseball, playing catch	sports	74
football, competitive	sports	268
football, touch, flag, general	sports	238
frisbee playing, general	sports	89
frisbee, ultimate	sports	238
golf, general	sports	134
golf, miniature, driving range	sports	89
golf, using power cart	sports	104
golf, walking and carrying clubs	sports	134
golf, walking and pulling clubs	sports	128
gymnastics, general	sports	119
hacky sack	sports	119
hand gliding	sports	104
handball, general	sports	357
handball, team	sports	238
hockey, field	sports	238
hockey, ice	sports	238
horseback riding, general	sports	119
horseback riding, saddling horse, grooming horse	sports	104
horseback riding, trotting	sports	193
horseback riding, walking	sports	74
horseshoe pitching, quoits	sports	89
jai alai	sports	357
judo, jujitsu, karate, kick boxing, tae kwan do	sports	298
juggling	sports	119
kickball	sports	208
lacrosse	sports	238
motor-cross	sports	119
orienteering	sports	268
paddleball, casual, general	sports	179
paddleball, competitive	sports	298
polo	sports	238
racquetball, casual, general	sports	208
racquetball, competitive	sports	298
rock climbing, ascending rock	sports	327
rock climbing, rappelling	sports	238
roller blading (in-line skating)	sports	357
rope jumping, fast	sports	357
rope jumping, moderate, general	sports	298
rope jumping, slow	sports	238
rugby	sports	298
shuffleboard, lawn bowling	sports	89
skateboarding	sports	149
skating, roller	sports	208
sky diving	sports	104
soccer, casual, general	sports	208
soccer, competitive	sports	298
softball or baseball, fast or slow pitch, general	sports	149
softball, officiating	sports	119
softball, pitching	sports	179
squash	sports	357
table tennis, ping pong	sports	119
tai chi	sports	119
tennis, doubles	sports	149
tennis, doubles	sports	179
tennis, general	sports	208
tennis, singles	sports	238
track and field (high jump, long jump, triple jump, javelin, pole vault)	sports	179
track and field (shot, discus, hammer throw)	sports	119
track and field (steeplechase, hurdles)	sports	298
trampoline	sports	104
volleyball	sports	119
volleyball, beach	sports	238
volleyball, competitive, in gymnasium	sports	238
volleyball, non-competitive, 6 - 9 member team, general	sports	89
wallyball, general	sports	208
wheelchair	sports	193
wrestling (one match = 5 minutes)	sports	179

Sexual activities

Exercise	Type	Calories
active, vigorous effort	sexual activity	45
general, moderate effort	sexual activity	39
passive, light effort, kissing, hugging	sexual activity	30

 

Self Care

Exercise	Type	Calories
bathing (sitting)	self care	45
dressing, undressing (standing or sitting)	self care	60
eating (sitting)	self care	45
grooming (washing, shaving, brushing teeth, urinating, washing hands, putting on make-up), sitting or standing	self care	60
hairstyling	self care	74
having hair or nails done by someone else, sitting	self care	30
showering, toweling off (standing)	self care	60
sitting on toilet	self care	30
standing - getting ready for bed, in general	self care	60
taking medication, sitting or standing	self care	30
talking and eating or eating only (standing)	self care	60