All right, here's the new plan unveiled. First, a little history:

I was walking in Brooklyn last month with Matt Maggiacomo of The Whomping Willows when he mentioned that he was going to take The HP Alliance's mission of inspiration and change and apply it to weight loss. He was going to call it Whompy's Weight Loss Challenge, and video himself as he tried to meet health goals and shed excess weight. I immediately said, "That sounds just like Fitting It In!" before feeling an overwhelming wave of missing you guys and this effort. I was inspired by you all every day that this was going. But since I really can't do the full-out podcast editing thing right now, and since I am still at a psycho busy pace since I'm close to handing in a final draft of the book I've been writing, I thought it'd be better for everyone if I joined up with the Whomps. With a male and female perspective I think it has the possibility to take this project to new heights.

I will get the forum going again soon, and will be posting my first video, which is just an introduction, on Friday. Then I'll have more details about how I'm tracking things these days.

Matt just revealed the project on the HPA blog, and I wanted to introduce him to you all here before I give him a login to FittingItIn and he starts cross-posting these videos himself. So everyone say hi to Matt, who'll be here shortly, by watching the opening vid (and awesome graphics).

Is this thing on?

Hey guys. I have a little update on the Fitty front - kind-of - coming soon. So I just wanted to rouse the troops here a bit, because while there can't, for schedule reasons yet again, be another revival of the full Fitty effort, I will have some fun updates coming soon in this area. So keep checking here...and in other places. :) More soon!

I apologize to you all and Chris for leaving you in the lurch, but I am superstitious about this new project and didn't want to come here and explain what was going on without truly being able to explain what was going on. Now that the announcements are being made, that it's appearing online, in print, etc., I feel more comfortable explaining.

Last fall, I was writing a book proposal. A book proposal is basically a guide that goes to editors that tells them what book you want to write, why you want to write it, why you're the perfect person to write it, and more. It shows them that they should buy this book from you; and in my case, I did need someone to buy it so that I could afford to carve time out to write it. It was either that or not be able to do Leaky, and in this mega-important time in Harry Potter fandom, that wasn't an option.

It's a hard process, though. It's very time-consuming, and very different from the writing of the actual book. That combined with keeping up with my job and Leaky was like having three jobs, and as you guys do the math you'll reach the same conclusions: it was like handing my entire life over to my work endeavors. As busy as I've always been, I couldn't disregard my health so much as to take something ELSE on too. Something had to give. That something was this podcast.

So I took a break. I took a break to finish writing that proposal so that the book would be sold. And it was. Simon & Schuster Pocket Books bought my proposal and I am an other-worldly type of excited about it. The book, as you might have read on Leaky by now, is about Harry Potter. It's not about Harry Potter the character; it's about Harry Potter the series. The Harry Potter that has caught us all by the hearts for so long. It's about the midnight parties, the fan frenzy, the schemes and bets and leaks, wizard rock, literacy, and more - it's about what happened since Harry met the world. It's a journalistic book, and one someone was going to write someday, no doubt. Because I took this break, and honored that work and my own health, that person can be me. That person will be me. It is an extreme thrill to finally be able to say that to you.

It was just announced in Publishers Weekly and will be in other places soon. The book is slated for release in Nov. 2008, and the overall chronology of it will be...now. Right now. The time between the announcement of the publication date and the release of book seven. The most important time in Harry Potter history, used to tell all its history.

So what happens to Fitting It In now? Well, I hope you'll be happy to know that I'm working out more than ever before; that's what happens when you quit your job. Yeah, I quit my newspaper job. Don't be fooled; it's not like I'm lazing around eating Bon Bons and doing nothing. My life is as busy - or perhaps busier - as it was before. The difference now is that I'm filling it up with important work about an important time in our lives, and I have the room required to chronicle it all well, fairly, with pride in our fandom and passion for this project. But just two jobs, instead of three, now means I can go to the gym in the morning, and I'm finding myself really bummed if I have to miss a day.

So, for right now, as I settle into this new lifestyle and get used to this new freedom, I have to use this space as just a blog. I'll keep you updated with how things are going here; you keep me updated with how things are going with you, in the forum. Life is just as crazy as it was, so the mission statement of this blog is still applicable; the only difference is that I'm not past the threshhold where "fitting it in" means losing sleep or my mind. Now, I just might be able to do it.

More updates will come as soon as possible. For now, keep on keeping on, and thank you for all the emails and letters of support over this time. I'm sorry for the radio silence, but I didn't want to jinx all the happenings by blabbing about them before they were concrete, and I didn't want to misdirect you.

Talk to you soon,

-Melissa

First, allow me to thank all of those that have volenteered for our weightloss community. As I have mentioned, I am currently in the process of launching an online social network for weightloss and this has taken up much of my time and attention.

With that said, I remain committed to each and everyone of your goals and soon I will be able to offer a tool to enhance your experiences and connect with one another.

I am happy to report Melissa has been hard at work with her diet and exercise on top of moving, working writing on a personal project and holding down a full time job. We have remained in close contact and will record a new show soon.

In the meantime, please continue to post up your questions in the forum or send them via email and I will answer them here.

Thanks again for everything and watch this space.

Best,

Chris

Great question and in part yes. As a trainer, I am often asked why it seems it is more difficult to lose weight during winter. One reason is that with a slight drop in body temperature associated with colder temperature, blood flood and subsequent metabolic processes decrease slightly in order to conserve heat/energy. You notice the physical signs of this when you shiver-- which is the body's physical response to keep blood flowing and generate heat.

With regard to cravings, our bodies are profoundly affected by the changing light during the four seasons of the year. Brighter, more intense light generally leads to an improvement in mood, energy levels, work and social relationships, sleep and appetite with more possibility for weight loss or avoiding weight gain.

Seasonal affective disorder appears to be related to a greater rest of obesity, diabetes and cardiac disease later in life. However, even if you experience a minor effect, knowledge of this seasonal variation may still be helpful to you in planning to improve the quality of your life in the winter.

In order to quell this disorder, I recommend mimicking the conditions of summer indoors surrounding yourself in a well lit enviornment filled with light backgronds and colors.

<2. I've been eating under the amount of calories I should be eating a day, though I thought I've been eating more than I should. Maybe it's because I've been actually watching what I eat now...?

Anyways, Now that I'm watching my calories - I was wondering what I should be watching out for now in food. Fat, or what?

Well, based upon your goals the first rule of dieting is never eat more than 200-300 calories below your basal metabolism. Why? Within a few weeks, your body will compensate by lowering your metabolism in response to being under fed.

While calories remain by far the most important variable, specific foods to avoid include highly processed starches such as white bread, instant oatmeals, chips, etc. Foods containing excess sugar like pies, cakes, etc. And fried foods and in particular, trans fat-- which is now indicated by law on the side of packages in labels.

One mistake many dieters make is dropping their carbohydrate consumption too low-- despite recent evidence that low carb diets are no more effective than any other. Regardless of your goal, I recommend keeping consuming at least 40% of total calories from carbs-- primarily vegetables, fruits and grains-- to support mood, energy and cognitive function. Protein should make up around 25-40% of your calories with the rest coming from poly and mono unsaturated fats found in nuts, certain oils and avacados.

3. Is it a good thing to work sore muscles? For example, if I work legs on one day, and I want to do cardio the next and I'm pretty darn sore, is it OK to suck it up and sweat?

It has been suggested that muscles need at least 48-72 hours to recover after a workout. Generally, this means staying away from exercises which are harder on the body (running, heavy weightlifting).

I often find one primary cause of muscular soreness is the tendancy to exercise muscles in isolation through low rep routines and over use of machines. In order to build muscular endurance, I suggest strength training 3 days per week with a routine that involves full body movements such as squatting, lunging, pushups, and stepups in the range of 15-20 repetitions and rest periods of no more than 30 seconds between sets. As you go along, you can increase the volume of your workouts, as well as combining different upper/lower body movements-- such as squat to press, lunge to bicep curl-- to increase difficulty.

Ulitmatley, not only will this sort of weight lifting quell musclar soreness, but it also helps to increase total body blood flow-- resulting in increased fat burning.

4. Is there some kind of relation between my weight loss and alcohol consumption? Am I loosing the ability to drink? Is my body getting so used to being healthy that it's
starting to reject alcohol?

Great question. The effect of substances like alcohol and medications are influenced heavily by both weight, and body fat. It is a litle known fact that alcohol is absorbed and stored in fat cells. With a drop in body fat however, it is more readily absorbed in to the blood stream.

That said, moderate drinkers tend to have better health and live longer than those who are either abstainers or heavy drinkers. In addition to having fewer heart attacks and strokes, moderate consumers of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine or distilled spirits or liquor) are generally less likely to suffer hypertension or high blood pressure, peripheral artery disease, Alzheimer's disease and the common cold. In particular, recent studies have shown red wine to be something of a wonder compound for weightloss and cravings. While it is to early to make firm conclusions, it appears 1-2 glasses a day could actually do your weight loss a world of good.

But life still conspires against me, and I'm also having the kind of week where any steps forward are immediately joined by six steps backward. It's also close to "that time," making all those lovely setbacks twice as frustrating and emotional. Take this morning, for instance - now that it's happened already it is sort of laughable:

-Woke up. Apartment in utter disaster because had to clean out car earlier this week (it was on lease and went back to the dealer). Three years' worth of junk in the trunk is now scattered all over my living room, providing my cat with plenty to play with but me simply an atmosphere of pure stress and disorganization.

-Cat bites me on nose (she's a great alarm clock).

-Waded through detritus (need a boat, seriously, to get around my apartment) to throw together gym stuff. Put on gear and sneakers to discover I've got mismatched shoes and my other Saucony sneaker (my fav) is nowhere to be found. Spend five minutes throwing things around looking for said sneaker; don't find it, settle on old pair of Reeboks.

-It's about 8:50. If I get to the gym by 9, I'll have just enough time to work out, shower, and get to work by 10. No problem.

-Gather up all my crap. On the way out door find other Saucony sneaker. Roll eyes. Too late to change them. I leave.

-Struggle down to car with computer bag (one thing has gone right: I have my computer back), gym bag, change of clothes, toiletry stuff; start to pile into car when look over gear to discover whoops, no towel. Not relishing the idea of having to drip dry before getting dressed for work, I go back upstairs. Another five minutes gone.

-9:00 a.m., finally in the car, now am balancing time equations in my head - five minutes less working out, a superfast shower, and I can still be on time.

-9:02 a.m., in car, realize left my jacket in apartment. No big deal, except - jacket holds wallet. With money, credit cards, driver's license. I start weighing how badly I need said things and realize this means I'll have to work out without water, and my mouth is already dry, and it seems like a purely bad idea. I then realize AFTER working out without water, I'll be unable to buy breakfast or, for that matter, lunch.

-9:04 a.m.: Go back to apartment, resigned on simply showering and going to work instead of gym.

-9: 10 a.m.: Am back at apartment, grab jacket, have sudden urge of "I can do this anyway," feeling; convince myself I can get to gym and do everything and be at work only 10 minutes late. Out of nowhere, the world seems conquerable and I the conqueror.

-9:20 a.m.: Get stuck behind garbage truck 10 feet from gym.

-9:25 a.m.: At gym. Now with nowhere near enough time for a good workout. Barely enough time for a shower. Now I'm using my gym as purely a shower. I walk in, shower, get ready for work, and leave. I'm actually early to work, so hey, at least that's something.

It's one of those weeks. What's the moral of the story here? Preparation, of course. Had everything been squared away last night none of this would have happened this morning: I'm going to make a To Do Before Bed list and stick it to my head.

It's not going so great these past few weeks, and we haven't been able to record for numerous reasons (including my computer being at the shop, so we can't edit the show). But I'm enlisting you all, because yet again, life (and a special project which hopefully one day I can reveal) has trumped doing my FitDay and getting to the gym. You all know what I'm talking about: Something, anythign else, seems more important than the most important thing in the world, your/my health. It's like running on a treadmill, except that if I were running on a treadmill I actually WOULD be getting somewhere.

So.

Email me.

A lot.

Often.

Every day.

Every time you notice the FitDay hasn't been updated in 24 hours.

Every time I haven't inserted my exercise into that FitDay.

Bother the heck out of me.

I will not be mad at you.

Well, OK, at first I'll be like, "What the heck, would this person just go away?" but at the end of it all, I'll be really grateful.

Hopefully this will all be an object lesson in how important our friend/family structure is in the struggle to health.

So. My email address is melissa@fittingitin.com. Mail me there, mail me often. If 8 p.m. comes and I haven't updated the FitDay in 24 hours, bother me. Bother bother bother bother bother.

Thank you.

In the meantime, Chris and I will be talking by 8 p.m. EACH NIGHT no matter WHAT. He has also come up with a gym workout alternative, to use on days I really can't get there. That workout SHOULD be just as calorie-burning as a half hour on a treadmill. We shall record when he gets back from his trip, next week.

This'll all just make the results sweeter, guys... in the meantime, let me know how you're doing, too!

1. Diet and fitness plans, metabolism calculators, etc
2. Ability to join trainer monitored online workout groups
3. Ability to meet a workout buddy
4. Free coupons for diet/fitness related products
For more information, feel free to email me at chris@fittingitin.com, and in the meantime, I hope me answers are helpful =)

Yours in health,
Chris

My personal experience with sparkling water is that, while it is delicious and calorie free, it tends to play havoc on the stomach. Any carbonated beverage consumed in necessary quantities (I averaged around 2 per day) creates gas and bloating which can also play havoc on digestion.

In this case, I would actually recommend a bottle or two of vitamin or slightly sweetened water over sparkling water due to the fact that it takes a far greater concentration of sugar and/or artificial sweeteners to affect blood sugar than it carbonation to affect the stomach. Gas and bloating—while harmless—tend to stay with you for the rest of the day, and do not favor the stomach.

2. Are your basal metabolism and daily calorie requirements the same, because i worked it out some how and my bm was like 1500 and my dcr was 1900- to create a deficit wouldn't u want to eat exactly ur bm and then burn extra through exercise then that would be creating the deficit?

Baed upon your height and weight, basal metabolism is the amount of calories your body needs to function—meaning you would burn this amount from doing absolutely nothing for 24 hours. Daily calorie requirements account for activity levels and are subjective based upon your lifestyle.

In order to lose around 1-2lbs per week, you need to create a deficit of around 500 calories per day. I eating around 100-200 calories below your DCR, while creating the additional deficit from exercise. Of course this can be adjusted based upon your schedule, however it is important to eat as close to your DCR as possible in order to maintain your metabolism—which tends to become sluggish when dropping your calories too low.

3. I'm edging on 19 years old and I'm also incredibly thin for my height and age. I'm 8 stones 10 ounces, which I think is about 135lbs, and I'm 6'3", so as you can tell, this makes me very thin for my age. I've been on the verge of having to see a dietician many times by my local GP, not because I don't eat anything (I've not got a disorder) but I just don't gain weight well. My metabolism is incredibly high, and I don't do things that help this, I have a love for Green Tea, which increases your metabolic rate a lot.

Have any of you got any tips how I can increase my weight without making me "fat", as I'm rather concerned about my weight and my poor eating habits.

When Im sure many on this forum (myself included) wish they had this problem, Your’s is quite common amoungst people your age. But regardless of height, weight, age or sex, weight gain or loss comes down to a simple formula: calories in versus calories out.

According to my very conservative metabolic calculator, your Basal metabolism is 1739. Throw in around 1000 to 1500 calories to account for your daily activities and that equates to a lot of food. It is also important to note that a calculation remains just that: an estimate based upon static numbers. This does not take in to account the foods that you eat or your lifestyle.

Often, I find that those complaining of “high metabolism” consume at least half of their daily calorie intake from junk food. While these may account for the calories necessary to gain weight, they are stripped of many of the necessary vitamins and minerals your body needs to grow efficiently. Potato chips, candy bars and the like may carry the same caloric totals are say a pound of salmon, but the difference in weight/density of calories is staggering. Another reason your body may not be gaining weight is the abundance of one nutrient ratio (it sounds as if it may be carbs in your case) in your diet. For weight gain, I recommend increasing the amount of healthy fat in your diet from sources such as oils, nuts and avacados.

One of my favorite snacks during air travel are those little bags of cashews and almonds. At several hundred calories per bag, these serve as great snacks in between destinations where you can generally find a good meal or salad.

So in summary, my advice would be to vary up your foods, throw more fat and protein in to the mix and eat fresh, unprocessed food whenever possible. Throw in a bit of exercise—squatting, lunging, a few pushups in between flights—and your body will respond in kind.

4. In terms of calculating my basal calories, I was wondering what I should put down as my age. You see, I turn 19 next month, so I'm literally 18 years and 11 months now. I noticed a small (maybe even 'tiny') difference in my basal calories figure when I entered my age as 18 and as 19.
So sorry if this seems a petty and ridiculous question , but I'm new at this and I really want it to work.

Ok, so to clarify age is not a big deal when we are talking about a year or so. I know some may find the prospect of eating 2000-2200 calories staggering, but in my experience, it is better to shoot above than below caloric rations. As described above, the body responds to dieting by slowing the metabolism to adjust to lack of food. For dieters, I recommend eating at or a bit above your metabolism 3-4 days per week, while creating the calorie deficit with exercise. This way, eating less on the remaining three days will not affect the metabolism, and in fact, shock the body in to dropping more weight. Over time, this translates to a more efficient weight loss strategy while maintaining a healthy metabolism (and sanity, I might add)

Abundant calories are particularly important for teens whose metabolism is still developing. Prolonged dieting at a young age not only stifles physical development, but also sets forth potentially lifelong patterns which the body will follow. Translated in to English, this means that eating more at a young age will lead to a high metabolism later in life—which you will definitely appreciate once you hit 35-40.

5. I noticed for the past few nights that I have a sleeping position that may affect my posture. Well, I don't really know if it does, but it's started to worry me.

I tend to sleep on my stomach with my arms up under my pillow and my shoulders kind of hunched up. This is probably NOT the best position for sleep in terms of my posture (which is currently lousy)....but what is? And how can I train myself to sleep in a new position? Should I even worry about this?

To answer your question, I wouldn’t worry to much about this. In fact, the body is programmed to change positions in order to avoid stress and muscular fatigue. While laying on your back is arguable the best for blood circulation, your body unconsciously twists and turns throughout the night in order to remain comfortable.

Ok, so I am officially inspired: a new show, new flattering artwork (which makes me look much better than my pohot suggests...thanks Simini!) and most importantly the beginning of a new challange. As evidenced by our latest show, Melissa is now venturing down the road to weightloss (and keeping her journal as well!) and I expect her to make great strides.

As mentioned on the show, this is the time when we will get in to official numbers, goals, etc. but it is important to keep in mind the foundations we built to get here. Melissa is now more aware of her eating and the neccesity of fitting fitness in to her schedule (though remembering her shoes is still a work in progress) Although these habits may never be a natural inclination, they will act as a long term guarentee for healthy living and allow her to maintain a healthy weight for a lifetime.

When we started this show, it was with the intention of serving as a role model to all of those trying to do something similar. While I feel we have done so, this community we have created continues to amaze me. That is why I would like to talk a bit about the community we are building at the Spotter. We are currently seeking beta testers for a online social network which will allow you to meet a workout buddy, workout in groups, and utilise free diet and fitness plans.

Along these same lines, we are also seeking participants to join our weightloss training groups (which I will lead) as well as bloggers to discuss their individual weightloss progress. We are looking to recruit around 4-5 bloggers and each blogger will recieve a diet/fitness plan as well as email support from yours truly.

Please feel free to email me at chris@fittingitin.com for more details, along with nay additional questions you may have about the show or fitness-- which I will begin answering here on a weekly basis.

Thanks again for your support and be on the look out for more very soon.

Best,

Chris