Despite the “marriage penalty” built into the U.S. tax system, I have a record number of friends getting married this year. Maybe the economy has something to do with it: it’s cheaper to pay for one home, after all, than to keep two separate residences for propriety’s sake when everyone knows you’re really only using one.

I suspect the economy is also the reason I’m receiving wedding invitations from people I barely know but who should know me well enough to realize I don’t like them.

Yes, I do plan to attend a couple of weddings this year for friends whose union I’m actually thrilled to witness. But, because they’re friends, I know they’ve invited me for my presence more than my presents. Even so, I plan to get serious about dropping 10-15 pounds so I look good in their pictures. (Also, so I can find a dress that doesn’t look like it came from the camping section in Wal-Mart.)

The others? Well, let me put it this way: if they weren’t too cheap to have an open bar at their receptions I might actually have accepted their invites. At least that way I know I’d be getting my money’s worth for bringing a present.

Ever noticed there aren’t a lot of wrinkled fat people walking around? Along with cleavage, being mostly wrinkle-free is one of the benefits of packing extra pounds.

Personally, that doesn’t stop me from obsessing over skin care. After trying everything under the sun to keep my pores clean and small, I’m looking into making the switch from harsh chemicals to natural skin care products, because I suspect those chemicals I’ve been using might actually be making the problem worse. Sure, they temporarily shrink my pores but they’re so harsh that I wind up having to use heavier moisturizers, which are notorious for clogging pores!

Opting for organic skin care products seems to make more sense. After all, natural skin care compounds like tortara tree essence are not only anti-bacterial but they’re potent anti-oxidants, too.

I’ve always admired those serene, slender women who gracefully saunter through life, their lean legs and contented faces carrying them through even the most turbulent of times.

Until recently, I’d assumed they probably had the same amount of stress as the rest of us, only they were self-disciplined enough to take out their frustrations at the gym instead of in front of the fridge.

Turns out, though, maybe they aren’t as stressed as the rest of us. Maybe that’s their secret to being slender: chilling out by mellow meditation, instead of cooling their heels with a vat of Chunky Monkey.

At the end of a two-year study, women who followed a programme of yoga and meditation had lost weight and kept it off, while those who focused purely on exercise and nutrition had not.

The ‘relaxed’ women were also generally happier and healthier at the end of the study.

Experts believe that reducing stress stops cravings for fatty foods and sweets.

The study suggests that dieting and exercise — although they do bring health improvements — may not actually be the key to weight loss.

All together now: Ommmmm. [Link]

As promised, I’m going to give away a one-month supply of Sensa, the amazing stuff that helped me lose 16 pounds in one month alone!

If you haven’t read my previous posts on this stuff, let me explain: Sensa is like no other diet I’ve ever been on. That’s because it isn’t a diet; it’s simply a box of flavor crystals that you sprinkle on your food. Based on the impact of tastants — substances which stimulate the taste buds and therefore enhance feelings of satiety — Sensa allows you to eat the food you already like. You simply feel full faster, and that translates into consuming less calories in the long run.

But, hey, I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me. So, either order Sensa yourself (using ROCKETXL as the coupon code to receive 15% off your order and free ground shipping), or enter my contest.

It’s simple, really:

Write a post about this contest and link this entry. (Be sure to use the Trackback URI so I know you’re linking!) In your post, explain the reasons you want to lose weight, and why you think other diets and exercise programs have failed you so far. Finally, explain why a diet based on simply adding extra flavor to your food sounds appealing to you!

I’ll pick a random winner from the entries to receive the one-month supply of Sensa, which includes two boxes of the flavor crystals along with a DVD explaining how Sensa works.

The contest deadline is January 20, with the winner announced sometime that week.

Good luck!

Having spent a small fortune on various pieces of exercise equipment only to watch them gather dust, laundry and pet hair, I’ve decided I’m not spending a dime on that sort of stuff this year. Not one dime. Instead, I’m hopping on the “re-purpose, recycle, re-use” band wagon by turning household junk into exercise equipment. Sure, it makes my exercise area look a little junky, but so do the piles of potato chip wrappers that sat on my treadmill over the holidays.

Some of the stuff I’m using:

• Old water bottles – Although I stopped buying bottled water, I hadn’t yet taken the empties down to the recycling center. Last week I grabbed a pair and filled them with rice for instant 2 lb. hand weights which comfortably fit my hand.
• A hard-sided suitcase – After reading that I can burn close to 500 calories while watching TV by doing step exercises, I decided to try working step exercise in throughout my workday, too. So I grabbed my old Samsonite suitcase — which is currently filled with books — and have been using it as an exercise step in my office. (Of course, this won’t work if you’ve got soft-sided stuff like Swiss Army luggage).
• My son’s beach ball – Five minutes squeezing this thing between my knees while working at my desk gives a major inner thigh workout!
• My cat – As anyone owned by cats knows, they want to be in the middle of whatever you’re doing. After nearly hurting myself hurdling over my cat repeatedly, I decided to work with this habit of his, particularly when I’m doing more challenging yoga poses. Just knowing that I’m likely to squash my furry best friend, who loves to lay on the floor beneath me while I do the bridge pose, gives me a serious incentive not to wimp out.

Did you resolve to lose weight this year? Then you’ll want to be sure to visit this blog over the weekend, when I’ll be launching a contest with a prize that can help you reach your weight loss goal: a one-month supply of Sensa, the stuff I can’t stop raving about.

Don’t want to wait? Then order yours today and use coupon code ROCKETXL to receive 15% off your order (no minimum) along with free ground shipping!

I stopped using my upstairs office over the holidays, in part because it was needed as a spare room when we had house guests. While they were in town I kept my laptop on the kitchen table, the place where I most often worked for the past four years until getting my own home office last fall.

Once our house guests left, well, it just seemed convenient to keep my laptop in the kitchen while my husband and son were both home all day over the winter break. I also gained 6 pounds over the holidays, and I am absolutely convinced these two things are related.

Now, to be honest, I’d managed to unexpectedly drop 7 pounds in mid-December in part because I was unbelievably sick. So gaining back 6 of those pounds while disappointing, still means that I ended last month with a net weight loss. For that I have to once again give the credit to Sensa, which is by far the easiest diet I’ve been on.

But a lot of the reason for the gain is obvious: stationed in the kitchen, snacking was all too easy and the fridge was all too close. When I’m in my office on the top floor of the house, it’s just the opposite.

Having to walk up and downstairs from my office to the kitchen definitely reduces the number of snacks I eat throughout the day, as I find myself weighing goodies with the time and effort it takes to get them. Even when I’m not raiding the fridge, I still have to run up- and downstairs to do laundry or answer the phone, even to go outside to the deck for a cigarette.

So as of today I’m back to working at the desk in my office. I’ve managed to do four loads of laundry. I’ve gone downstairs twice to eat meals: sliced fruit and scrambled egg whites for breakfast; a tossed green salad with fat-free dressing for lunch. Oh, and I’ve run down two other times for cigarettes. That makes for 8 round trips with a total of 8 trips with 13 steps each way, or 208 stairs altogether. No, that doesn’t sound like a lot but I guarantee you that my thighs feel the burn. Something else I guarantee: I ain’t leaving my desk until it’s time to go get my son from school!

Planning to veg in front of the tube during prime time? Spend the commercials stepping on and off a box and you’ll burn 500+ calories tonight!