This will be my final post here at melgetsfit.com.  From now on, you can find me here:

thedailymel.com

Thanks to everyone who has been a regular reader here for the past couple of years.  I hope you’ll continue with me now at thedailymel.com!

If you are not reading this from Mel Gets Fit or your RSS reader, it has been plagiarized.

The last time I posted, I said I was shocked that it has been a month since my previous post.  Well, here I am again in the exact same position.  I’ve been traveling for work, my uncle passed away suddenly, and now I’m dealing with a major knee injury.  Life just got hard for a while, but I’m muddling through it.  It’s time to suck it and up, dust off the blog, and get back to posting again.

I won’t sugar-coat things by pretending I stuck with my eating plan or exercise because I didn’t.  I pretty much started eating crap food, quit working out, became pretty reclusive, and basically gave up.  In the matter of just a few weeks, I regained all the weight I’d lost during the fall which only added to blues I was already feeling.

The good news?  Well, after posting about my struggles over at the Sisterhood, I managed to pull myself up by the proverbial bootstraps.  I decided I just needed a bit mental reset.  I spoke with my Weight Watchers leader and she totally “got” it, thankfully.  She reset my weight history in the computer, gave me a new weight record booklet, and encouraged me to stay for the Getting Started session after the meeting.  It was just the restart I needed.  Around this same time, Colleen over at Bee Fit started a #Back2Basics push on her blog and via Twitter.  I signed up because I knew that would give me some added motivation to stick with staying on track.  In the three weeks since I reset at Weight Watchers, I’m happy to report that I’ve lost 8.4 pounds.   I still have a bit more to go to get back to where I was earlier in the fall, but I know I’ll get there soon.

As for the knee injury I mentioned.  It depends upon which doctor one believes as to what’s wrong with it.  A doctor I saw in D.C. while I was on business travel said that it was severe degenerative joint disease and that the top of my patella (knee cap) had snapped off.  She said I was likely looking at needing a total knee replacement.  When I got back home and saw my regular GP, he said he didn’t think it was as severe as the D.C. doctor said and he doesn’t think the patella is fractured.  He thinks I’ve “just” torn the ligament(s) in my knee.  All I know is that I have severe pain walking and it’s frequently swollen pretty badly.  I have an appointment with an orthopedist tomorrow, so I hope to know more after that.

I just want to close by saying thanks to all of you who have still been checking in on my blog.  I’ve been amazed at the daily traffic I’ve been getting despite the lack of posts.  I also really appreciate those of you who have taken the time to drop me an email to check in on me.  I truly appreciate it more than you know!!

Until next time, which I promise won’t be another month …

If you are not reading this from Mel Gets Fit or your RSS reader, it has been plagiarized.

I know it’s been over a month since I’ve posted here on my blog.  Please accept my apology!  My post today over at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans will explain everything, so please stop by and check it out. Here’s a photo teaser that pretty much sums things up:

Special thanks goes out to MizFit for posting this on Facebook over the weekend.  I really needed it!

Until next time …

If you are not reading this from Mel Gets Fit or your RSS reader, it has been plagiarized.

As you may have noticed, my blog has gone pink.  I’m leaving it this way throughout the month of October in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.   I lost my cousin Patricia to breast cancer almost 25 years ago, so it’s important to me each year to go pink for October.

This year I’ve paired up with the folks at General Mills and MyBlogSpark to spread the word about Pink Together.  Now in its fifth year of celebrating hope, PinkTogether.com allows visitors to connect with a unique online community of people who have been touched by breast cancer and share a passion for the cause.

The other aspect of the Pink Together campaign helping raise money for breast cancer research and awareness as well.  Through this campaign, General Mills will be donating over $2 million dollars to the cause.  The beneficiary of the campaign is the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  There are several quick and easy ways you can help as part of Pink Together.  How does it work?

• Visit PinkTogether.com to share your personal story and messages of hope and read about others’ personal journeys. To encourage personal connections, General Mills will donate $1 to the Komen organization for each Message of Hope that is sent to someone who has shared their story on PinkTogether.com (up to $25,000) during October. This is in addition to a $2 million donation General Mills is making to the Komen organization.
• This year, for the first time in its five-year history, at PinkTogether.com consumers can choose how $1 million of this donation will be shared between two important Komen programs: the Treatment and Assistance Program, which assists women in securing care they otherwise may not be able to afford, and Prevention Research, which helps unlock the keys to preventing breast cancer. Visit PinkTogether.com from September 19, 2011 through April 14, 2012 to make your choice. Results will be announced on Mother’s Day 2012 – Sunday, May 13.
• Meet the 2011 Pink Together Survivor Ambassadors, and hear their amazing stories of courage and survival on PinkTogether.com and the Pink Together YouTube channel.
• General Mills will also be turning the packaging of participating products pink in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October.  Be sure to look for these specially marked packages at your favorite supermarket.

The good folks at General Mills were kind enough to send me some goodies via MyBlogSpark for helping spread the word about the Pink Together program.  It included things like a variety of free cereal coupons, a Betty Crocker Living with Cancer cookbook (150+ recipes), a stainless steel water bottle, some pink rhinestone blinged out ear buds, etc.  The best part is they’re also offering up another goodie package to one of my blog readers.  Here’s a peek at everything that’s included:

I really want to take a moment to say how much I love the cookbook!  If you’ve ever had a loved one battle cancer, you probably know some of the side effects of treatment include nausea, mouth sores, diarrhea, and/or constipation.  Recipes that are especially good for helping counteract these symptoms are clearly marked.  Having something like this would’ve been great back when my dad was battling cancer because he struggled so horribly with mouth sores during his chemo.  Even if you there isn’t a cancer connection in your life, the recipes still sound really delicious and include full nutritional information.  Here’s a peek at the cover:

So, now it’s time to get down to the knitty gritty about the giveaway.  This giveaway will run from now through 11:59pm ET on Friday, October 7.  There is one mandatory entry for this giveaway which will require leaving a comment per the instructions below in the Rafflecopter box.  There are also a few more optional ways to enter which are also outlined below in the Rafflecopter box.

I’ll close this out with a friendly reminder for my female readers that if you haven’t already had your mammogram this year, October is a great time to get it done before the craziness of the holidays is upon us. Many larger companies, mine included, even offer mobile mammogram drives during this month. Check with your health services office to see if it’s an option where you work.

Until next time …

Disclosure: The Pink Together prize pack, information and coupons have been provided free of charge by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. As always, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

If you are not reading this from Mel Gets Fit or your RSS reader, it has been plagiarized.

It’s time for the Saturday Rewind!  Here’s some of my favorite posts from the past week.

Thought-Provoking and/or Inspiring:

• It’s Not Fair – from Susan at Toddler Planet (thanks for pointing me to this one, Miz!)
• Ironman Augusta 70.3: I Danced Across the Finish Line – from Christie at Average Moms Wear Capes (I am beyond proud of you, girl! xoxo)
• Traveling Pants – from Marisol at A Dirty Martini Kind of Girl
• Do I Commit Fruit Abuse? – from Weight Watchers CEO David Kirchhoff at Man Meets Scale
• Weight Watchers Jennifer Hudson Center – from Dani at Weight Off My Shoulders (congrats, Dani!)
• The Story of Goal Weight – from Marisa at Loser for Life
• Needing vs. Wanting to Lose Weight – from Roni at Roni’s Weigh
• Embracing Life! Today Was a GREAT Day! – from Jan at Healthy Loser Gal (be sure to check out her Gift of Fitness 90 day challenge, too!)
• It’s an Inside Job – from Jules at Big Girl Bombshell
• Motivation – from Sheryl (a.k.a. BitchCakes) at SherylYvette.com

Recipes That Made Me Drool:

• Single Serving Chocolate Chip Cookie – from Ruth at She-Fit
• Less Devilish Eggs – from Melissa at A Lifetime Loser by way of Flo at Being an After
• Joy Bauer’s Power Lunch – also from Melissa at A Lifetime Loser by way of Joy Bauer
• Spaghetti Squash Lasagna – from Gina at Skinny Taste
• Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip – from LaaLoosh
• Low Calorie, Quick and Delish, Coq au Vin – from Nancy at Skinny Kitchen
• Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole – from “Point-Less” Meals
• Caramel Apple Bread Pudding – from Renee at My Kitchen Adventures

That’s it for this week.  If you have some favorite posts and/or recipes from the past week, please share them in the comments.  Or, even better, start your own Saturday Rewind on your own blog and leave me a link to your post so I can check it out!

Until next time ….

If you are not reading this from Mel Gets Fit or your RSS reader, it has been plagiarized.