Just a quick note - Melissa is super-busy meeting some deadlines, so I'm going to go ahead and post my next vlog. Here it is!

Here is episode three of Whompy's Weight Loss Challenge! I'm excited that Melissa has decided to share this project with you all. I've heard wonderful things about Fitting It In, especially about the community of people who've been involved, and I'm glad to be a part of this. Enjoy!

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

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

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