Well, my week ended on a pretty good note. Friday was really busy but not crazy busy. Fortunately, I only had one meeting to go to so I could spend the biggest chunk of my day at my desk. Also, my student helper was in and I was able to throw a huge pile of stuff at her. She's amazing. I can give her really tedious stuff, like photocopying or filing and she does it quickly, happily and accurately. I still worked late on Friday but I was no where near as brain dead as I was on Thursday.

I'm on Robyn's notify list and on Friday, she sent out an email about Dr. Phil's appearance on a Katie Couric special that night. I'm so glad that she sent it because I wouldn't have watched it otherwise. Now, when Dr. Phil started out on Oprah, I was not a fan of his. Occasionally, I caught the tail end of one of his Tuesday broadcasts and always thought that he was a bit of a bully. Since he started his own show, I have grown to be a closet Dr. Phil junkie. I like his no-nonsense approach to most problems. He's a common sense kind of guy. He tells it like it is: the only way that you are going to fix your problems (whatever they may be) is to commit to a plan and to the hard work that comes with it. He talks a lot about setting goals and time lines, again, common sense. No quick-fixes. I like that.

Around the time that I started finding fitness / weight-loss blogs, I watched an episode of Dr. Phil where he talked about goals and time lines and mapping out how to fix something. Now, I know that he wasn't talking about weight-loss in that particular episode but it got me to thinking about my own weight loss. I certainly knew how to lose weight: eat healthy food and move my body. I also knew that I had to do something about it. I never thought that I couldn't lose weight, I just never wanted to do it, wasn't ready to do it. I did know though, that when the time came, I could do it. I saw lots of blogs by people who were doing just that, changing their lifestyles, getting fit and healthy and they did it without surgery or pills. Again, common sense. I also knew that I would find the support I needed in my partner (because he was going to do this with me) and online. So, I set up an exercise program, got rid of the junk food from our house and changed the way we shopped and cooked. I set goals for myself and measured or weighed myself every week. I knew that it would not happen overnight but that didn't bother me. If this was a lifestyle that I was committing to, I'd do this for the rest of my life. Eventually, my body would get to a healthier weight and I'd be a stronger and more fit person. Again, not rocket science. I didn't have unrealistic expectations that I would lose the weight over night. It's been 8.5 months and I've lost 72 pounds. I've gone down 4 dress sizes and I feel good, physically. As I've written here before, numerous times, I never had self-esteem issues connected with my weight. At any weight, I always felt that I was smart and capable. I still have a long way to go to get myself to what would be considered a healthy weight for someone with my body type but I don't have any doubts that I'll get there, eventually.

Part of the Dr. Phil special was spent talking to fat folks about their weight and the experiences they have had with dieting. I was saddened by these interviews because I know women just like this. They say that they have "tried every diet out there" without success. Lucky for them, Dr. Phil's going to help them (ha!). He's written this book about weight-loss. Katie laid out Dr. Phil's 7-Step plan from the book. I didn't hear anything that I hadn't heard before, that I was already doing and that I could figure out without having to spend a small fortune on a book and meal replacement bars (which by the way are incredibly high in saturated fats and sugar!) not to mention vitamin supplements for different body "types" (i.e. apple or pear shapes). Now, I know that the proceeds will go to the Dr. Phil Foundation to fight childhood obesity but still, it seems like a grab to me.

My feeling is this: if you are ready to get fit, see your family doctor. If, mentally, you're not there yet, try talking to someone (a health care professional preferably) who can help you sort out why it is that you overeat or don't exercise. With your family doctor, figure out if you need to see a nutritionist. Work out an exercise plan. Find some support, either online or in real life (or both!). You don't need to spend a fortune on books and supplements. All of the information from Dr. Phil's book can be found on the web. I've said this before, it's not rocket science, it's common sense. Here are some links to resources that I found helpful when I was starting out:

- Health Canada
- 10 Reasons to Exercise
- Chatelaine's Essential Health + Fitness Planner
- Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation
- Canadian Diabetes Association

Personally, I feel that if you want to buy a book about weight-loss, pick up a copy of Fred's book, Chunk to Hunk: Diary of a Fat Man. Fred has lost a tonne of weight and kept it off and he did it without pills or surgery or Dr. Phil. Fred inspired me, he can inspire you too.