The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl

Friday Link Feast #17

If you want to call something Friday Link Feast, it helps to hit the Publish button on Friday!

• The Kitchn: 10 Make-Ahead Breakfasts to Start The Day Off Right - lots of great ideas to experiment with here!
• Two Fit Chicks Episode #28: Five Things - I neglected to blog about our three months overdue new podcast episode, in which Carla and I talked about Five Things we want to do before the end of 2011. FUN THINGS, none of that serious goal setting stuff.
• Christoph Niemann: 26.2 Miles, 46 Sketches - "My attempt at live-illustrating the New York City Marathon." Freakin' bloody brilliant! (thanks Professor Katherine!)
• Gwen Bell: What's with the drama? (+7 ways to disengage) - Great food for thought there. But without drama, what happens to the fine art of blogging? ;)
• Amit Gupta Needs You - You'll have seen this linked everywhere but in case you'd not heard his story: Amit has acute leukaemia and is still on his global search for a suitable match for a marrow transplant: "South Asians are severely under-represented in the bone marrow pool, and I need help," he says on his website. Registering for the bone marrow donor list takes a quick cheek swab and donating marrow is far simpler these days. Lots more info here.

Friday Link Feast #16

Lots of goodness for you today!

• Limes & Lycopene - Is Pasta Unhealthy?
  Kathryn is the best at debunking diet bullshit.
• Keeping The Pounds Off - The ABC's of Keeping The Pounds Off
  Jane's post is full of sane, realistic and positive stuff about weight maintenance. I'm taking it on board this time ;) [via Vicki]
• Sunset - Time Lost & Found
  A piece by Anne Lamott about making time for the things you're passionate about. I needed to hear it straight like this! [I can't remember how I found this article! If it was you let me know so I can credit!]
• Green Gourmet Giraffe - Apricot Delight
  Any Aussies like those chewy apricot coconut bar things? The ingredient list of commercial varieties is rather wordy, but Johanna's version is very straightforward. The post also contains brilliant scans of ye olde Women's Weekly magazines!
• Mostly Eating - A low sugar way of preserving fruit: Plum and apple freezer compotes
  If you're lucky enough to have a glut of fruit or you stalk someone who does, this looks like a tasty way to preserve it.
• How She Really Does It - Brené Brown on the Hustle for Worthiness
  It took me awhile to get into this podcast interview with the Gifts of Imperfection author but then, pow! Some great stuff about core beliefs, how they hold us back and ways to own them and push past 'em. I'm going to check out the archives too - past guests include Martha Beck, Geneen Roth, Elyse Rech (co-author of Intuitive Eating) and Gretchin Rubin. [via Jen as all good links seem to be!]

Right where I am

"I have come to believe that there really is no such thing as a backslide. It's all part of moving forward, even when it doesn't feel like it.

There are many clichés in the dieting world: Get back on the wagon, Get back on track, Start again tomorrow (or on Monday,) and so on. I like to think that it's more a matter of continuing from right where I am."

A nice wee quote for the weekend, from an interview with the smokin' Karen Anderson.

Mindful, intuitive eating and/or just plain helpful books

Holy slackarse, Batman. I was digging around in the archives looking for an old post when I noticed I'd said last September that I would write a post "later in the week" about the books that had helped me with my mindful eating/living experiments.

Rather than faffing around for another eleven months I thought I'd jot down a few of them RIGHT NOW. Action woman! Kapow!

	When You Eat At The Refrigerator, Pull Up A Chair by Geneen Roth A good Gateway to Geneen book. I read her mega famous Oprah-blessed Women, Food And God but the writing style didn't gel with me as much as this one. Refrigerator consists of short essays written with humour and straight-to-the-guts-ness. There's a nice mix of insight and practical ideas. I was chuckling throughout, "Geneen you crazy cat! I do that shit too!". I went a little crazy with my yellow highlighter pen. Memorable quotes: "There is no right way. What works for one person may not work for another. What works at one time in your life may not work five years later. It's important to honor all the paths you've taken, the cures you've tried, the efforts you've made, and to let go of them when they stop assisting your growth." "If you start eating when you are not physically hungry, it is very difficult to stop when you've had enough. It is like pouring water into an already full glass. There's no space for the food to fill."
	Eat, Drink, and Be Mindful: How to End Your Struggle with Mindless Eating and Start Savoring Food with Intention and Joy by Susan Albers This book is a follow-up to another Albers book with an equally unwieldy subtitle, Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food. I skipped straight to this one as it's a workbook full of quizzes and practical exercises and I really love writing inside books. With pen! Naughty naughty. Seriously, I enjoyed Eating Mindfully. It's practical and the exercises ask some very insightful questions. And just when you're feeling rather raw and vulnerable having learned a lot about why you go crazy with the chocolate, there are practical steps to help you move forward, from setting up your environment, mindful shopping and how to let go of old habits.
	Beyond Chocolate: How to stop yo-yo dieting and lose weight for good by Sophie Boss & Audrey Boss I mentioned Beyond Chocolate during the 10th Birthday Sell Out earlier this year. Here's what I said: "... I like that Beyond Chocolate is not written by doctors or scientists. It's about two ordinary women who got fed up with dieting, worked to find a new way of eating without going bonkers, then shared their learnings with others. The book has a good balance of "the deep stuff" and practical tools and information, to make the book both useful and enlightening. What I like most is that Beyond Chocolate stresses the importance of "being your own guru" - that you can have all the information in the world but only you know what is best for you and your body. They don't pretend to have all the answers for you, just tools and ideas to get your started on your own path. At first that can be a scary concept - especially if you've been following other people's diet rules all your life. But it's so empowering when to realise (re-realise, in my case) that you know yourself better than anyone else, and treating yourself with kindness and respect gets far better results than punishment and deprivation."
	Feed Me!: Writers Dish About Food, Eating, Weight, and Body Image edited by Harriet Brown This collection of essays offers a great variety of perspectives - women of diverse sizes, cultures, backgrounds and ages. There's some fantastic raw and honest writing; I particularly liked the essays by Wendy McClure, Kate Harding and Joyce Maynard - you can read her essay Pie online. The book left me thinking, Dang, we all got issues. That might sound a depressing thought but it was kinda reassuring and I felt more peace and perspective on my own body image niggles. Thanks again Nikki for kindly sending this book!
	The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown Brené Brown is a research professor who has spent the past ten years studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame. I'd watched her TED talk (a great place to start to see what Brené is all about) but I didn't order the book until Jen of Perfect in Our Imperfections wrote about it. Jen is my personal barometer of good things, you see :) It took me three months to finish the book. At first I thought, "I'm cool with me these days, I don't feel unworthy and I'm no perfectionist!". But one phrase in the book kept singing out: hustling for worthiness. To quote from her DVD of the same title: "If we spend a lifetime trying to distance ourselves from the parts of our lives that don’t fit with who we think we’re supposed to be, we stand outside of our story and have to hustle for our worthiness by constantly performing, perfecting, pleasing, and proving." The Four P's of the human doormat! Anyway... I think I'm still digesting this book, but parts of it really resonated. I've since noticed since that so many times when I reach for food it's triggered from uncomfortable feelings of shame or unworthiness. It's been very helpful to recognise that. Interesting stuff!

So there's a wee sample of books that have got my rusty brain cogs working! Note: As always the book links are Amazon.com affiliate links. I make a small commission from any sales made via the links. As a non-US resident I am rewarded in Amazon.com gift vouchers, and have use them to support my workout DVD and almond butter habits. A huge thanks to everyone who has purchased via these links over the years :)

Friday Link Feast #15

What do you mean, it's Saturday?!

• The Baby-Sitters Club Changed My Life
  Loved this post by a bloke called Stu about how Stacey The Well-Dressed Diabetic From New York helped the girls in his life understand his Type 1 diabetes.
• Cycletta - Cycling events for women
  Any UK cycling ladies out there? I'll be taking part in the Cycletta North bike ride on October 2 in Tatton Park, Cheshire. Cycletta events are women only bike rides on safe, traffic free roads for complete novices and experienced riders alike.
  
  I was offered a media place and my first reaction when I saw the email was to scream/delete - not coz of the distance (can hear my hardcore cycling pals snorting at 40km ;) but because five years after buying my bike I'm still too shitscared to ride it! Once or twice a year is pretty rubbish Cost Per Ride economics.
  
  But I ended up saying YES coz Cycletta seems like a great way to give cycling a proper go, once and for all. More on this soon - including a wee interview with Olympic Gold medallist Victoria Pendleton (woo!) - but thought I'd mention the event now in case anyone out there was up for it too!
• Medicinal Marzipan - Body Lovin' Homework
  I met Mara at Fitbloggin and she was smart, hilarious and charismatic as heck. As soon as I got home I stalked casually perused her blog and discovered Body Lovin' Homework, a series of writing prompts "created with the express intention of bettering our relationships with our bodies through creative means". I tried out some of the exercises and it was powerful stuff.
• Zen Habits - The Spiral of Successful Habits
  I know I've banged on about baby steps around here far too often but this post reiterates how small actions can grow into honking huge changes!
• Green Gourmet Girafe - Why does food history matter?
  You could spend a week reading this amazing post from Johanna - it's packed with fantastic links and insights about food history and memory and meaning. A must for food nerds!

Friday Link Feast #14

• Mizfit - What my child has taught me about eating mindfully
  "Lately, when I ask her if she’s hungry there’s a l-o-n-g lag before she responds... As I recently watched her decide if she wanted a snack or not, it occurred to me she seemed to have a check list she went through in her head. She really is DECIDING if she’s tired, bored, hungry, whatevs *before* she answers my question.  As it’s only *then* that she knows her answer."
• Mostly Eating - Online grocery shopping – healthy helper or costly convenience?
  I'm a huge fan of online grocery shopping - the £4 delivery fee is well worth it for the time and hassle saved. Sophie's post takes a balanced look at the pros and cons.
• The Daily Sophisticate - What to wear when you're losing weight
  Some great wardrobe tips for when your shape is changing.
• Refuse to Regain: The perfect diet. Does it exist?
  Jack LaLane lived to 98 avoiding sugar. Barbara's uncle is in his 90s and eats ice cream every day. What gives? "No diet is bomb proof and no one has a corner on the truth," writes Barbara in this post, "Each one of us must find the diet that makes us feel best and which, in our view, gives us the best shot at health and happiness."
• A new blog read - Tango Addiction
  "I used to have a cerebral, sedentary career and a conventional marriage in a grey, drizzly part of the First World. But then, a few years ago, I moved to Buenos Aires and fell in love with tango. Having never been a dancer before, I struggled at first to adapt to a life primarily using my body, rather than my brainpower. But now, of course, I am a tango junkie."
• Food and class: does what we eat reflect Britain's social divide?
  An interesting feature from The Observer.
• FitBloggin Session overview - Ditch the Diet: Eat Intuitively!
  If you're going to the FitBloggin conference in Baltimore next month (gulp!) you may fancy checking out this panel that I'll be on, along with these lovely lasses: Karen C.L Anderson of Before & After: A Real Life Story, Katie Heddleston of Healthy Heddleston and Christie Inge of Nourishing Circle.

Wow

From Jen @ Perfect in our Imperfections today:

"I think when we get to the point where we really believe something is at the top of our priority list, nothing can stop us. We can find a way around any excuse. We don't need advice, we just need to realize our own power and make our own goals a priority, and then rearrange our lives accordingly. Simple, right?"

I love Jen.

The grass is always greener?

One of my all-time favourite bloggers Caterina Fake wrote a great post on Tuesday called FOMO and Social Media. FOMO being fear of missing out:

"Social media has made us even more aware of the things we are missing out on. You’re home alone, but watching your friends status updates tell of a great party happening somewhere. You are aware of more parties than ever before. And, like gym memberships, adding Bergman movies to your Netflix queue and piling up unread copies of the New Yorker, watching these feeds gives you a sense that you’re participating, not missing out, even when you are."

It's an amazing post with many brilliant thoughts. If you ever lay awake in bed at night thinking about how crazy is this internet, what would happen if you switched off your computer and just never went back, and what is all this social media bollocks doing to our brains anyway; what does it all MEAN?, well then I highly recommend Caterina's post.

(I get total FOMO reading Caterina's writing, by the way. FOMO in the form of, Fear I've Missed Out On About 70 Million Brain Cells compared to this wonderful woman. She invented Flickr, you know.)

Anyway! I was then having a gander at Mighty Girl Maggie's site this morning and she had shared her thoughts on Caterina's post:

"The thing is, I still love social media, despite the occasional sense that everyone is popping bottles of champagne on city rooftops while I watch The Office reruns in my yoga pants. Seeing what I’m “missing” has shaped how I decide to spend my time, reminded me to fill my life with stuff that makes me feel like there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Now when I feel like I’m missing out, I see it as a flag that I’m unhappy about something else, an indicator that I need to invest some time in finding my own fun, or a reminder to stay in the moment — even if the moment is just enjoying my friends photos in my PJs."

I like her perspective. Some really interesting comments too, including a reader who is giving up Facebook for lent and this one made me smile:

"Just hooked up a thrifted 1970’s phone that weighs, like 32 pounds. It rings and I have no idea who is calling until I answer. A surprise or two every day! Then, because of short cord, I have to sit down and really talk to whomever is calling. And if I hear my sausage sizzling on the stove. Sizzling too hard – I tell the person to hold on and then I go over and really focus on my sizzling sausage. Then I come back and the surprise person and I will have an intense sausage conversation..."

I've got about half a dozen unfinished posts on the go about this technology and mindfulness sort of shenanigans but will spare you for now (PHEW!). Hope you are having a most excellent week!

Friday Link Feast #13

As soon I wade through the almighty pile of laundry and To Do lists on my bedroom floor I will write a proper post, but in the meantime here's some tasty links!

• Will Walking Really Help? - Fit To The Finish
  Great thoughts and advice from Diane about walking as your primary form of exercise. I always remember when my grandmother was diagnosed with diabetes and she turned into a power walking MACHINE and totally svelted down. There's so much fancy, conflicting information out there about exercise that walking sometimes gets overlooked.
• We owe the internet for changing the world. Now let's learn how to turn off - Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian
  Really interesting article about how the internet has affected our lives and ability to focus. I've been thinking about my internet activities lately and why I so often feels like my head is going to explode. Hmmm. How do you guys feel about it all?
• How to eat after weight loss - Refuse to Regain
  Lots of good food for thought there.
• Baked lemon tofu double citrus salad - Mostly Eating
  I feel more wholesome just reading Sophie's recipes. Can't wait to try this.
• WIN! A free place on the Up & Running 5K Course is up for grabs today on the lovely MizFit's blog! To enter just answer this question in the comments: If you could run for miles and miles and miles without ever getting tired, where would you run to today?
  
  Hmm. I would run to Iceland and percolate in a geothermal pool for awhile. Cooooool.

Run for Christchurch

As you may know, New Zealand’s second largest city, Christchurch, was devastated by a 6.3 earthquake at lunchtime on Tuesday 22 February 2011. There have been at least 113 fatalities and over 200 people are still missing.

My friend Kek explains the financial situation well:

"Christchurch is a small city by world standards and as such, has limited resources. Emergency funds have already been stretched to the limit by the September earthquake, and now this latest and far more serious quake has left many folks destitute and in need of all the help they can get.

Remember, it's not just those who've lost their homes and belongings, but many, many people who don't have jobs to go to because their city workplaces have either been destroyed or are off-limits due to the danger of further collapses."

A group of Kiwi bloggers have come up with a great idea to help raise funds - a worldwide virtual 5K on the weekend of 12-13 March:

"... we all want to feel like we’re doing more than just typing our credit card numbers into a box and clicking submit. So we thought we’d go for a run. Wearing red and black (the local colours), to show the people of Canterbury we love them. And we’d like you to join us for a virtual run. Wherever you are."

All proceeds will go to the New Zealand Red Cross Christchurch Earthquake Fund.

You don't have to be a runner to join in - jog, walk, skip if you prefer! If you’d like to participate, just follow these easy steps:

• make a donation on the fundraising page – all proceeds will go to the New Zealand Red Cross
• follow the team on Twitter and Facebook
• tell the world you’re in! Share the love on Twitter, Facebook, your blog, whatever! Use the #run4chch hashtag.
• on the 12th or 13th of March, pop your red and black on, and hit the streets, or the pavements, or the trails, or wherever it is you run/walk/jog/stagger.
• then send a link to your race report, and they will post it on the official site.

Any Londonites out there - the lovely Sas has organised a fun run in Richmond Park on 13 March - find out more here.

Whether or not you're in a financial position to particpate, please consider spreading the word online via Facebook, Twitter or your own blog using the links above.

If you'd like to find out more, here's some FAQs and further information about Run for Christchurch.

Introducing... Up & Running running e-courses!

Out of all the bumbling sporty things I've tried over the past ten years, none has given me a greater rush than that 5K running race.

Way back in 2004 I got an email from a woman named Julia, an American in Italy. She was a running coach and said that I sounded like I was in need of a challenge. How would I like her to virtually train me for a 5K?

I told her the idea was bloody ridiculous. Running was for skinny girls with long legs and bouncy ponytails. Not for chunky lassies who got puffed running for the bus!

But Julia had already coached thousands of women who thought they couldn't run, so she'd heard all the excuses before. She urged me give it a go.

So for eight weeks I followed her programme. It was hard. I whined a lot. But it was fun! As each week went by I discovered I was capable of far more than I’d ever thought. I found new endorphin highs, new muscles in my legs and new faith in myself. Even though kickboxing and Zumba are my exercises of choice these days, running was the thing that made me ditch my fears about exercise and the "I could never do that" limiting beliefs.

I'll never forget blubbing my eyes out as I crossed the finish line at my 5K race. I wrote en blog:

"There is no better feeling in the world than to take your mind and body to some place you thought it couldn’t go; a place you thought it didn’t belong. You should all try it some time."

Now six years later, you can try it, if you fancy!

I'm chuffed to bits to let you know that today Julia and I have launched Up & Running: kickass running e-courses for women.

We've taken Julia's tried and true running training programmes online, so no matter where you are in the world you can get running too. Julia is your expert running coach, while I'm the boss of the website!

We're starting with our eight-week 5K Beginners Course, with plans for 10K, half marathon and marathon courses later down the line.

The 5K Course, which kicks off on 21 March, is not the usual boring "walk 5 mins, run 5 minutes" training malarkey. This is a mind and body approach. We'll not only get you running safely, we help you set goals and understand your motivations. We help you get in tune with your body and how to look after it when you run so you stay strong and healthy. We've got video tutorials, inspiring interviews with runners.

And we don't just give you a set of instructions then abandon you - you get unlimited support via our community forums - all your questions answered.

I'm really rambling on now - can you tell I'm excited!? I'm just so passionate about this because Julia is a brilliant coach and I so strongly believe in the power of exercise to change the way we see ourselves. Well. How about I shut up now so you can go check it out?*

(* If you want to. If you do, I will love you for life. Woohoo! :)

Friday Link Feast #12

Hooray!

• "We have to replace destructive thoughts with tolerant ones. It takes a conscious effort to change our self talk from negative to positive, but being fully aware of what we are saying and how it affects our behavior will turn our weight-loss journey into more than just a 'Get it off me!' race to some goal we think will make us happy. By being happy in the process of losing weight, by being accepting of our bodies and what they do for us, by appreciating that we’re taking good care of ourselves by eating well and exercising, and forgiving ourselves those times when we don’t, we’re learning to love ourselves as we are in the moment."
  » Lynn's Weigh - Hey... Slow It Down
• "I think it's very easy to get caught up in an external goal ('lose 50 pounds', 'be a size 6') rather than focus on the way you want to feel ('energized and healthy', 'light and free around food',  'strong and powerful in the gym').  When you inevitably have a setback on the way to that goal, you feel like a failure and start up the self-punishment machine..."
  » Perfect In Our Imperfections - A New Way Of Thinking: Energy Management
• "Exercise has taught me what my body is, what it can do, and where anyone who tells me it's not good enough can go."
  » Finslippy - What Exercise Has Done For Me
• "I've found that if I concentrate my efforts on this one action, everything else just falls into place.  If I work on eating at five a day, not only do I get all the benefits of those fruits and vegetables, there’s a knock-on effect on everything else that I eat too..."
  » Mostly Eating - How to make healthy eating incredibly easy this year
• I finally tried steel-cut oatmeal after so many of you lovely folk sang its praises. Alas it was not for me; I found the famously chewy texture rather creepy! I guess I like my porridge smooth, creamy and cosy with no need for teeth. I'm in training for my twilight years, you see. But among the recipes I tried, this one was very easy so I wanted to pass it on for the steel cut fans!
  » The Kitchn - How To Cook Steel-Cut Oats For Breakfast The Night Before

Blog like the wind

Hello! Things will continue to be quiet at Chateau Dietgirl as I'm blogging like a crazy woman with the daily Reverb 10 prompts over at my non-fat blog. Topics so far include magical moments, slackarse writing, chorizo caves, cupcakes, beauty and baffies!

Also I'm busy lining up some nifty prizes ready for the Dietgirl 10th Birthday Sell-Out, coming up on 15 January 2011. After the frenzy that was the 9th Birthday Sell-Out, what better way to clock up a whole decade of indulgent ramblings by indulging those kind enough to read them? Stay tuned!

Friday Link Feast #11

Let's get this backlog unlogged, stat!

• Mostly Eating: Mind apples and movement - simple tips to pamper your mind
  For World Mental Health Day, Sophie has some thoughtful ideas and excellent resource links for looking after your mental health.
• Memoir Armoire
  Diane Shipley's book blog is dedicated to the memoir genre and she has a short and snappy author interview with me today.
• Opposite Life: A Tale of Two Pieces
  I love Pubsgal's post about body image, her little daughter and rocking a bikini.
• Nourishing The Soul: Social Networking and Self-Esteem
  Ashley writes: "We’ve all heard about the apparent privacy risks we’re taking by putting our personal and even professional information on social media sites like Facebook, but have you ever considered the threat of these sits to your self-esteem?"
• Meish - Senseless
  "I do worry about the habits that a social life (amplified by social media and networks) can fall into. Performing. Feeling like you have to constantly feed (/amuse/entertain/shock) a hungry audience"
• Before & After: Oh the stories I have told!
  "These are the stories I’ve told myself and others…stories that made me feel better about myself, stories that helped me feel right, stories that helped me feel like I was getting revenge. I got off on these stories. They gave me an out and allowed me to abdicate responsibility." One of the most honest and compelling posts I've ever read.
• Now The Plan Is This - Alison's Marathon Report
  Two Fit Chicks listeners will remember Alison's inspiring interview on our Goals Goals Goals episode. She just finished her third marathon and her race report is so vivid you'll feel like you ran every mile and gulped down every gel with her.

Have a good weekend, comrades!

Friday Link Feast #10

Ooh there are some doozies here today!

• Diane Shipley: Eat, Pray, Love, Get judged: Why Elizabeth Gilbert’s biggest critics are cynical, emotionally stunted sexists
  I gotta confess, I never made it past the EAT part of Eat, Pray, Love. But I enjoyed Diane's thoughtful and level-headed take on the criticism aimed at the book and film.
• The Great Fitness Experiment: I eat everything!
  After years of disordered eating, Charlotte is going through an amazing journey right now after reading Geneen Roth's books. Journey can be such a cheesy word but it works here. I must admit I shed a little tear as I cheered for her.
• Interview with Gwen Bell: The power of time off
  "We’ve told ourselves a lie, societally-speaking. We’ve told ourselves if we don’t get back to someone right away - either the instant they message us, or the moment the phone rings - we’re doing them a disservice. Viewed differently, the person we’re doing a disservice by being always on is ourselves... Reacting, rather than acting from our aligned center (you know the place in yourself I’m talking about) we overarch, overcommit, underappreciate and speed through our lives."
• Cathe Friedrich: Weight Lifting Myths Debunked
  I get a lot of questions about weights and if they'll make you huge or whether it's better to life heavy or do low weights/high reps. This article from the home fitness Queen explains things nicely.
• Wall Street Journal: A Dozen Eggs for $8? Michael Pollan Explains the Math of Buying Local
  "We've been conditioned by artificially cheap food to be shocked when a box of strawberries costs $3. But it's important to know that farmers aren't getting wealthy. When you see strawberries being sold for $1 a box, picture the kind of labor it takes to pick those strawberries and the kind of chemicals it takes to produce those kinds of strawberries without hand weeding."
• Your Courageous Life: I don't need a magic cottage
  What does your version of happiness look like? Kate writes: "The thing is, I needed to find my own path to happy. We all do... I think we find the path to happy by trying lots of things and noticing what we gravitate towards, what we love in spite of the sacrifices it demands."

Friday Link Feast #9

Too cool for school.

"Well, a person can cry for only so long. Then she has to find something else to do with her time."
– A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Betty Smith

It's been a quiet but gooooood week. Finished the above book and reluctantly returned to reality, honked into about 40 tissues a day with this endless bloody hayfever, ate raspberries and watched a lot of cycling. Happy days!

Now here's some tasty links from the past wee while.

• The Onion: Fill Your Own G*ddamn Emotional Void - in which Food speaks up at last: "I hate to say it, but you can't come running to me every time something goes wrong in your life. Not anymore."
  This is The Onion and I know it's meant to be funny but I read it and thought, "Food would totally write the same stuff to me." Mwahaha. [Thanks Molly for sending the link]
• Frocks & Frou Frou - There are twentytrillion people out there blogging photos of their outfits but Lilli from Melbourne is the only one I've ever stalked all the way through the archives to read more of her thoughts on life and dressing a curvier bod. And to marvel at the clarity of the sunlight in the photies.. it could only be Australia. [via Kathryn]
• Tavi The Style Rookie: An open letter to Seventeen Magazine, also, WHY ARE YOU UGLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU - "I am writing you concerning your headline on your June/July cover, “THE PARTY DRUG THAT CAN MAKE YOU FAT & UGLY.” I hope you keep these problems in mind for your future issues."
• Derek Powazek: They Don't Complain And They Die Quietly - a very poignant post about growing house plants.
• Copenhagen's Bike Friendly Streets - when I visited Copenhagen in 2004 I was spewingly jealous of their cycle-friendly streets... cyclists get their own traffic lights and everything! 37% of commuters in the city are cyclists. This video talks about the bicycle culture and makes you wonder how good it would be for the planet if more cities could invest in this infrastructure. [via Faith]

Friday Link Feast #8

World Cup! World Cup! World Cup! What do you mean you don't care for football, it's the World Cup! World Cup! World Cup! Party!

It is not going to be the same this year without my lustbucket headbutting supercrush Zidane but I can't wait to see if a new athletic lad captures my imagination. And of course I hope Australia does alright but I drew Holland in the office sweep so their triumph could mean a mighty £30!

Meanwhile I'm huffy because I pulled my calf muscle at kickboxing, doing a tuck jump. Okay, attempting a tuck jump. I'm just not built for anything plyometrical. I looked in the mirror and noticed I was barely leaving the ground so thought, Must try harder. I leapt up then felt a horrible twiiiing!

I hobbled around yesterday, then felt okay this morning until I was running late for the bus. I stepped off the curb with too much vigour and the calf twiiiinged again. Had to shuffle back home and ask Dr G for a lift to work. Now it hurts like a bastard!

So no Zumba for me tomorrow. I'm pathologically addicted to Zumba at the moment so this is crushing. Why is it whenever I finally get my exercise groove back, I always push too hard too soon!? Boo.

Some links for you today!

• Gwen Bell: Hooked on Social Media? From Addiction to Discernment
  Do you check your Tweets on the loo? Maybe it's time to scale back a little!
• Green Gourmet Giraffe: Advice for Gluten Free beginners and kids
  If you or someone in your family needs to eat gluten free, or just have a gluten free person coming for tea, this is great basic advice about what to eat and how to use those weirdo flours.
• Already Pretty: Figure Flattery Priorities
  How does dressing to "flatter your figure" fit in with positive body image and self acceptance? Interesting post and comments.
• Tonya Leigh: 10 Compelling Reasons to Stop Complaining
  A very convincing list... but where would blogs be without the incessant bitching?
• Pink of Perfection: $5 Dinner - Spring Vegetable CousCous
  Another insanely quick, genuinely easy but very lush dinner from the lovely Sarah.

Friday Link Feast #7

What's that you say? It's Monday? True. But don't you wish it was Friday? Let's pretend... how about I shift this backlog of links and you tell me what you're going to do on your imaginary weekend. I will be sipping martinis in the backyard and reading trashy magazines.

• "Selling people processed food - basically dressed up army rations - requires the food industry to continually sell people the idea that they have neither the time or skill to feed themselves." — Bullshit, Revisted @ Kathleen Finn
• The Frustration of Yesterday @ KellyOlexa.com — The madness of mixed message.
• Pretty ugly: Can we please stop pretending that beautiful women aren't beautiful? — Chloe @ Feministing on "Ugly" Betty, Liz Lemon, Rachel from Glee et al.
• "At some point, when you begin getting velocity and transforming your life at every level, someone is going to say it... Someone will say something longingly about “The Old You.”"
  — The Old You @ Christine Kane
• A Sort of Epiphany @ The Fatslayer Chronicles — the Slayer is BACK and she has some wonderful things to say.
• "If you ever look at someone who is overweight (in your mind), and think, "Wow, she's really let herself go," just remember that there is always a story behind it."  — Carry That Weight @ Gluten Free Girl and the Chef. This one from the properly famous Shauna blogger ripped me up.

Friday Link Feast #6

• Fabulous Muscles at Thus Bakes Zarathustra - "I don’t want to bury the lede: I’m going to argue that participating in sport, or just plain old fashioned exercise, can be considered a feminist act. Nay, should."
• Talking about Weight Watching at Diary of a Mad Mammy - "I’m not sure what it is about being on a diet that prompts us all to talk about it so much. Maybe because we want people to acknowledge the effort we are going to. Maybe we want to revel in the moments when people tell you they notice a change to the shape of your hips, the girth of your belly or the number of chins you have. Maybe we want people to know that, yes, as much as we may be on the hefty side now, we are doing something about it honest and don’t intend to be gulpens the rest of our days."
• Building a better blog by Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit - Do you want more blog readers? Craving a pile of comments? A good start would be to actually update your bloody blog, a concept I have been struggling with of late :) Jack on the other hand has some most excellent tips!
• Why did I let this happen to me? by Melanie Reid at The Times - "This is me. I’m dictating this because I lie imprisoned on a hospital bed. I’m here because, three weeks ago, I landed on my head and broke my neck. In the space of 15 minutes I have gone from someone whom I considered to be a fairly high-achieving mistress of her universe to what looks like a tetraplegic."
• Chickpea and roasted vegetable tagine at BBC Good Food - one of those lazy, tasty dishes that immediately gets added to your high rotation list. Even Dr "I don't like fruit in savoury dishes" G liked it!

OMG it's an interview: Keris Stainton, author of Della Says: OMG!

Today I've got a special guest, author Keris Stainton. Her debut young adult novel Della Says: OMG! is hot off the presses this week and now she's on a virtual book tour.

What's a young adult novel doing on this blog, you may ask? Well I've always thought that lard-busting and writing are similar beasts - making them happen takes bloody hard work and reaching past your deepest demons and fears.

I've followed Keris' work online for a couple of years now and she inspires me with her drive and passion and willingness to chase her dreams. She might be vomming all over her keyboard at reading something so darn cheesy, but I'm a big fan and cannot wait to get my mitts on her book. As someone who carried her teenage diaries on her person at all times then ceremoniously burned them to avoid discovery, I love the premise of Della Says: OMG!

Della’s over the moon when she kisses her long-standing crush at a party – but then she discovers her diary has disappeared... When scans of embarrassing pages are sent to her mobile and appear on Facebook, Della’s distraught – how can she enjoy her first proper romance when someone, somewhere, knows all her deepest, darkest secrets?

I asked Keris about her book and a few random tangents.

Since this blog is called Dietgirl I should start with a vaguely foody question... what's your snack of choice when you're writing?
In an ideal world, it would be biscuits or nuts. But to fend off the dreaded "writer's arse" I've recently swapped chocolate for fruit. And I feel much better for it. Who knew, eh? 

How many cups of caffeine do you get through on a writing day?
Not too many. Maybe three? (And always tea, not coffee.) If I drink more than three, I start to get a bit jittery. Yes, even with tea. I'm such a lightweight. But also it's because I'm lazy, so I'll sit there for a while thinking, "God, I'm REALLY thirsty" but I can't be bothered to get up. (See above 'writer's arse'.)

I often reckon you can tell a lot about someone's personality from what they eat. What would Della eat on a typical day? Assuming she has free reign and the parents aren't cooking!
Della works part-time in her parents' deli, so she's very fond of deli food. Rocky Road bars for breakfast are not unheard of. Della and her parents actually enjoy film + food themed evenings, for example: Shaun of the Dead with spaghetti bolognaise (the spaghetti represents Dylan Moran's guts - sorry).

Do you remember what your own relationship with food was like when you were a teenager? Was it riddled with angst or did you have a normal, hearty appetite?
Both. I had a normal, hearty appetite, but I worried I was fat and felt guilty about pretty much everything I ate. Quite similar to now, sadly. Although now I actually *am* fat and back then I just thought I was. I'm actually starting to crack it now - finally! - I think. I can't imagine what it must be like for teenage girls these days. Celebrities' bodies were so much healthier and more "normal" when I was a teen (watch Working Girl and be astounded by Melanie Griffith's untoned, curvy - and fabulous - bod) and yet I felt the pressure. The pressure today must be overwhelming.