30 Days 30 Letters: An Open Letter To My Diet Buddy #19 - Wise Weekend Word to Motivate You

This is letter #19 in Her Weight loss Diary's new series - 30 Days Letters to My Diet Buddy project. The road to weight loss can be tough. If you want to feel like you aren't alone in your diet endeavors, buddying up can hold you accountable for every bite you take. Subscribe here, because you don't want to miss any letter.

P.s. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts, the best thoughtful comments will be featured every Friday.

Email:

Dear Diet Buddy,

If you need just one word to inspire your weekend, I'd say: COURAGE.

Words have the ability to inspire, motivate, and persuade; or discourage, dismiss, and dissuade.

Tell me one word you use to describe what motivates you in life?  

Yours truly,

This inspiring picture quotes is contribute by Tamara. She is a professional photographer, a mama of two, a writer/blogger at Tamara Camera Blog and a nearly professional cookie taster. She's been known to be all four of those things at all hours of the day and night. After two cross country moves, due to intense Bi-Coastal Disorder, she lives with her husband, daughter and son in glorious western Massachusetts. Pets are soon to follow. She dreams about northern lights, moose and whales always. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Bloglovin.

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30 Days 30 Letters: An Open Letter To My Diet Buddy #18 - Weight Loss Freedom

This is letter #18 in Her Weight loss Diary's new series - 30 Days Letters to My Diet Buddy project. The road to weight loss can be tough. If you want to feel like you aren't alone in your diet endeavors, buddying up can hold you accountable for every bite you take. Subscribe here, because you don't want to miss any letter.

P.s. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts, the best thoughtful comments will be featured every Friday.

Email:

Dear Diet Buddy,

What does weight loss freedom means to you? For me, weight loss freedom is not wearing husband's t-shirt anymore. Weight loss freedom means not hiding my body under a baggy t-shirt anymore. Weight loss freedom means I can order clothes online without worrying if they're fit or not.

You'll see my picture how I hide behind my children to try and cover my fat. Weight loss freedom means I will no longer hide behind others on purpose when taking pictures! I want to lose weight so I can increase my self-confidence, be happy and have pictures with my kids. I refuse to have my picture taken all because of that.  

Gwen of Sky and Surf share the glorious wonder of freedom on her blog. So beautiful, I thought I'd share:

You want to know what I suddenly realized Sunday? I AM FREE. I now have:

FREEDOM from the addiction to starches and sugar.

FREEDOM to enjoy a day, or an outing, or a special occasion....and not fret over what I can eat, or 'not eat.'

FREEDOM from the guilt of overeating. Because I never overeat any more.

FREEDOM from the sense of dietary deprivation. I don't need 'cheat' days or meals...because I don't want crap food much anymore. Even a tiny teaspoon of it, when I consume it at all, is more than enough. But 95% of the time I have no interest in it. At all.

FREEDOM from embarrassment over what size clothes I wear. That's because I'm between a size medium and a size small...and now am a true size 8 petite. YAY! (yep. it's true. tried those jeans on and they fit.) (woot woot!!)

FREEDOM from fretting over what I should eat, or can eat, at any restaurant. I can go to any restaurant, and not only tailor my meal to my food ideals, but enjoy exactly what I eat. I don't rue what anyone else is eating. I am excited by what I'm eating!

FREEDOM from a fear of 'maintenance.' Because there is no maintenance. This is a life style change. Nothing will be any different in 2 years from now than it is right now. And I find that not a challenge, but very soothing. I got this. I not only 'got this', but 'I got this' is now EASY.

FREEDOM from restrictions. I don't feel restricted by my food choices. Each choice is based on choosing health and life over disease and premature death. When you feel that way, there is only one choice.

I have every one of those freedoms now.

Repost from Sky n Surf

Freedom is a life without boundaries, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever your want, with whoever you want. Now, I want to hear from you:

What does freedom means to you?

Yours truly,

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30 Days 30 Letters: An Open Letter To My Diet Buddy #17 - Grieving: How to Deal With Sadness Without Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Plan

This is letter #17 in Her Weight loss Diary's new series - 30 Days Letters to My Diet Buddy project. The road to weight loss can be tough. If you want to feel like you aren't alone in your diet endeavors, buddying up can hold you accountable for every bite you take. Subscribe here, because you don't want to miss any letter.

P.s. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts, the best thoughtful comments will be featured every Friday.

Email:

Dear Diet Buddy,

Ball workout? Eating clean plan? My diet and exercise plan while on vacation is not working. I'm not eating well and I didn't workout. 

Unexpected thing happened during our holiday. Our beloved grandfather - my mom's father - has been called to eternity. He was 81. I'm not so sure what cause his death, but he had been suffering from Alzheimer for a while. Basically, Alzheimer's does not kill a person directly. But factor that work against those with Alzheimer's like the inability to take care of himself leads to other complications, infections and diseases that lead to death. Death is a natural part of life. We know that every human being will die someday. But losing someone you loved is still hurt and make you feel sad. 

Grieving and Weight Gain

Grief affects different people in different ways. The symptoms of grieving can feel similar to depression. Grieving people just want to hole up in bed and do nothing. Food is all the comfort you can find. After losing someone close to you, you may not even care if you get fat. Emotional eaters may find that grief is the road to obesity.

Weight-Loss Grief
Not everyone gain weight, of course. Loss of appetite is also an option. Some people stop eating when they are grieving. They may even experience fatigue and sleep disturbance. On the Dr. Oz show, Eva Longoria revealed how her traumatic divorce results in weight loss.

Eva Longoria recalled how her divorce affecting her health: "I was not eating. I was depressed. I was sad. My diet was coffee."

People grieve for many reasons -- when you lose someone dear to you, the loss of a job, break up, the loss of a pet, divorce, etc.

How to Handle Sadness Without Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Plan 

There's no quick fix but there are practical things you can do to deal with the loss of a loved one:

• Express yourself - Talking is often a good way to soothe painful emotions.
• Allow yourself to feel sad - Crying is a healthy part of the process and enables your body to release tension.
• Maintain a schedule - It reduces the panicky feelings. I
• Sleep - If you’re having trouble sleeping, see your GP. 
• Eat healthily - A healthy, well-balanced diet will help you to cope with your emotions. 
• Avoid things that ‘numb’ the pain, such as alcohol. 
• Go to counselling if it feels right for you.

Source: NHS Choices

I want to hear from your personal experience, how do you manage sadness and stick to your weight loss plan while grieving?

Yours truly,

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Google+ Profile on Your Blog: How to Change Your NO-REPLY BLOGGER Status

I switched to Google+ and had no idea I was a no reply blogger! Thanks to Veronica from V Watts' Thoughts for the quick heads-up. I'm sorry, all this while I was a no-reply blogger. How rude of me! That was not by choice but it's all fixed now. So, if you have switched to Google+ and are experiencing this no-reply blogger, here's the remedy.

First off, why fixing the "No-Reply Blogger" thing is such a big deal?

1. Follow up comments made easy

If you leave a comment on a blog post that you like, you will get a notification via email when the blogger reply. If your profile status is a "no-reply blogger" then you will not see the reply unless you go back to blogs you comment and look for it.

2. To make better connection between reader and blogger (admin)

Once the blogger receive a comment, they can reply straight from their comment notification and then hit "Send" from their email to carry on a conversation. The reply will not be added as a comment on your blog. Personally, I reply comments on my blog because I like to put myself on a reader perspective. If I were new to a blog and browsing but never see the admin respond to comments, then I'll be less likely to leave my own comment. Some people email directly, but new reader has no knowledge of that.

You may want to read Joi's 24 Reasons You Don’t Have Comments on Your Blog.

But on the other hand I also find a "thank you" email is a little more personal, and this often leads into a conversation and perhaps a relationship. By changing your setting, people can find how to contact you easier. After all, blogging is about building a real connection.

For Google+ User: How to Change Your "No-Reply Blogger" Status

Step 1: Go to Blogger Dashboard

Click on the gear in the upper right hand corner and choose "Revert to Blogger Profile" (Don't worry, this is only temporary)

Step 2: Change Your Google+ Profile to Blogger Profile
Choose "Switch to a limited Blogger profile" button.

Step 3: Confirm your profile
Fill in the "Display Name" box with your desired alias and after that click the "Continue to Blogger" button.

Step 4: Edit your profile
Go back to the Blogger Dashboard. Choose "Connect to Google+" on the gear in the upper right hand corner.

Step 5: View your complete profile
You will be directed to "Connect to Google+" page, prompting you to switch from Blogger profile to Google+ profile. Click the "View my complete profile" link on your Blogger profile side. (left)

Step 6: Edit your Blogger profile
You will be directed to a new window. Don't close the "Connect to Google+" window yet. Click the "Edit Profile" button in the upper right hand corner.

Step 7: Changing Email Settings
Tick the "show my email address" box on Privacy section.

Step 8: Key in your email address
Fill in your "Email Address" on the Identity section.  Please take note, this is the email address that the comment notifications are sent to.

Step 9: Save your changes
Click on "Save Profile" at the bottom of the page.

Step 10: Switching back to Google+ profile
I know some people quit blogger platform because they get too frustrated that their GooglePlus account keep their email address private. But now you know how to fix this. If you prefer to use Google+ profile, go back to "Connect to Google+" page. (see step 5). Tick the box at the bottom to accept the T&C and proceed to click the "Switch Now" button to complete profile switch.

How to check if you are a no-reply blogger:
Leave comment on your own blog. Check your email to see if your received the comment. If you are a no-reply blogger, your email address will appear as "noreply-comment@blogger.com."

"No-reply blogger" setting

After remove the "No-reply blogger" 

To end this post, I'd like to hear from you:

• Which do you prefer, Blogger profile or Google+ profile? And why? 
• Google+  vs Facebook, which one is the best?

Leave your opinion in the comments, I am all excited to hear about it.

  

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30 Days 30 Letters: An Open Letter To My Diet Buddy #16 - 10 Inspiring Thoughts to Kickstart Your Week

This is letter #16 in Her Weight loss Diary's new series - 30 Days Letters to My Diet Buddy project. The road to weight loss can be tough. If you want to feel like you aren't alone in your diet endeavors, buddying up can hold you accountable for every bite you take. Subscribe here, because you don't want to miss any letter.

P.s. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts, the best thoughtful comments will be featured every Friday.

Email:

Dear Diet Buddy,

I'm back! You might not have noticed the long gap between post, but in case you did—my apologies for the long wait. It was school holiday last two weeks so I took a blogging break to spend the holidays with my darlings.

Many people dread Monday especially after having a great weekend. Some people think that Monday is the worst day of the week. Oh, yes I can read it from your Monday's status on Facebook. No matter how much you hate Mondays, it will come and you can do nothing about it. But, I know that there are some positive people that actually like Monday. Some of them are seeing glass as half full, saying that Monday is the best day in week. For these optimist, Mondays mean a new start - a fresh slate - a chance to make things happen. 

To provide you some Monday's motivation, I thought I'd share some of my favorite quote to kickstart your week.

Motivational Quote #1 - Start your day by saying life is good. Positive attitude is a great stress buster.

Motivational Quote#2 - Every day is a new opportunity

Motivational Quote #3 - The best way to deal with hard situations? Smile!

Motivational Quote #4 - Unconditional love is truly amazing. How do you define love?

Motivational Quote #5

Motivational Quote #6

Motivational Quote #7

Motivational Quote #8 - Ain't no mountain high enough

Motivational Quote #9 - Get up!

Motivational Quote #10

Do you hate Mondays? If you do why do you hate Mondays? Please feel free to share in the comments. If you like this Inspirational Picture Quote, don't forget to pin this on Pinterest, share on Facebook or Tweet this!

Yours truly,

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