Hello everyone, 

Sorry for the long absense. I have been so busy that I have lacked time to write my blog. I am still fighting the battle to loose the weight.  I have begun going to the Farmer's Market once a week with two co-workers for lunch. It gives us something healthy to eat. 

I also have cut back on the amount of soda I drink and have bene trying to cut back on the sweets and other junk food I get. I have been buying healthier snacks. I am sure these two chances will begin to show results soon.

Asides from that, I am just trying to keep up with life. I hope my words although few are helpful to any readers out there. 

I look forward to reading your comments below. 

Today's mail brought email from Milton Bevington, touting his new book "Losing It: Reflections on Mindful Eating." The Harvard MBA offers more than 250 reflections on the journey from initial weight loss to permanent weight control. Including these:

• "The journey of a hundred pounds begins with a single meal. Every task, no matter how great, begins simply. It takes only a small move in the right direction to make a big change."
• "Relaxing me is not food's job. There are better ways to address the anxiety of modern life."
• "Think the bite through. Am I really hungry? Do I really want it? What am I feeling? Is it worth it? What lie am I telling myself to justify it?"
• "Instant gratification is not fast enough. I depend too much on quick emotional fixes from food. There are more durable solutions."

Read Bevington's story online. Today's reflection has this stop-the-presses headline: "Permanent weight control is 10% belief and 90% practice."

Yes. As anyone who's ever yo-yo'ed knows.

What could be more refreshing on a steamy summer day in North Carolina than a frosty glass of iced coffee? Can't you just feel the chill? Mmmmmm.

Well, uh oh! Not so fast. The Daily Meal, a site that describes itself as the home of all things food and drink, has revealed the "7 Fast-Food Iced Coffees to Avoid" and it'll scare you straight, believe me.

A large Iced Cappy Mocha Blast at Baskin Robbins has 610 calories, the site reports, and 10 grams of fat, more than a two-scoop ice cream sundae. An Iced Caramel Mocha at McDonald's with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and drizzle has more calories (390) than a medium-sized order of fries. And on it goes.

It's a chilling post that you should check out.

For a long time -- ever since my first diet in 1988 -- I've made a point not to drink calories. I stick to diet soda (and much less of it these days than I used to), black coffee, unsweet tea and good old H2O. If I do enjoy some iced coffee, I take it skinny, with skim milk. A 16-oz. glass is less than 100 calories.

Now, THAT's refreshing.

Weight control has a lot to do with confidence, according to my weight coach Charity Husk, who shared an email from a behavioral specialist in response to a question she asked about a client struggling with resolve.

The email offers some food for thought (calorie-free) for all of us waging the battle of the bulge. Retooled, here are some questions to help you pinpoint what's going on when you just can't stay committed and ways to cope:

• What made yesterday a good day and what made today a bad day? What was the difference between the days?
• What things were out of your control and what was within your control? Can you let go of the things you can't control and build on the things you are able to control, the things that have made you successful before?

The behavioral specialist, Nicholas D. Frye, of Medifast Inc., notes that when we focus on things that made us successful in the past, we build confidence. Also affecting confidence is whether we have workable ways to overcome our challenges.

• Ask a friend or a coach to help you create a menu of strategies to overcome challenges. This way, you have many options to choose from instead of turning to food for comfort or just feeling miserable and not being able to do anything about it.

I cooked with -- and feasted on -- whole milk and real butter Sunday on behalf of fans of our Wednesday food section. I'm judging a casserole contest.

Take a pleasure trip to Chicago, add a week at home with new cooking equipment and no more exercise than a quick trip from couch to kitchen and what do you get?

Ashley Suarez-Ortiz, News Clerk, writes: First I wanted to take the chance to apologize for my lack of posting recently. Things have been quite hectic lately. I am going to try to do better. That being said, I have realized my problem when it comes to losing the baby weight, I so desperately want to lose.

We Americans get about a quarter of our calories from between-meal snacks, according to a report by UNC-Chapel Hill researchers that was featured in the latest issue of AARP The Magazine.

If you're a guy who hopes to become a dad, listen up: If you're overweight or obese, you might not produce enough sperm.

Andrea Weigl, the N&O food writer, writes about trying to lose her pregnancy weight:

I recently spent 12 days back home in Pittsburgh. By the end of that visit, I just knew I had lost weight. The reason has to be that I was cooking for my mom who is diabetic. Many of our meals centered on proteins and vegetables: ham and bean soup, oxtail soup, chili, baked cod and salad at almost every meal. We ate few carbohydrates and when we did we made smart choices: whole wheat pasta, multigrain bagel thins or sharing a sweet potato. 

I'm down to 155 pounds. I only have to lose five more pounds to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. For the first time in a long time, I fit into a pair of pants I used to wear before I got pregnant. With such progress, I'm inspired to continue eating this way.