Deborah, I am AMAZED that runcrazy posted the only reply to your post. I checked out the links that you included and went ballistic.
It's a good thing that you weren't here then, because you would have suffered an unforgettable, hour-long, major rant-and-rave, complete with bulging neck veins. All creatures, great or small, would have run for cover. <tee hee>
As you alluded, this sounds too good to be true. There are so many things wrong with this that I don't know where to begin.
With that said, I should at least offer reasonable alternatives, but that is really impossible without knowing your specifics, as it sounds like you are close to your goals and are already working hard, i.e. there are probably only one or two specific things that you need to tweak.
So, back to the generalities: diet, strength training and aerobics.
Diet is most important. I wish I could see everything that you eat, it would be so easy. Ah, but you can do the greasy test, yourself. Do what your mother always said to not do: touch your food. If it leaves your finger tips greasy, then DON'T EAT IT. Nearly all processed food fails this test.
For example, a vegetable platter: If you touch one of the vegetables, e.g. a piece of broccoli, carrot or celery, it will not leave your fingertips greasy. However, if you touch that goop in the bowl in the middle of the platter, it will leave your fingertips greasy. DON'T EAT THAT STUFF!
As another example, the topping for a baked potato: If it is butter or sour cream, it will leave your fingertips greasy. However, if the topping is a seasoning like pepper or OLD BAY, it won't.
Cookies leave your fingertips greasy, but fruit doesn't. Fruit leaves your fingertips sticky, but not greasy.
I'm sure you get the idea.
Sorry that this is getting long, but I have been fired up big time, since reading your post last Friday.
Now this next suggestion is extremely radical for most people, and I hesitate to include it here, so only read on if you are ready to try anything. You've been warned ... Ready? ...
Here goes ... No dairy products. (I can feel the backlash building. Please, go easy on me.) Dairy products are many times worse than any red meat. You will never find milk, eggs, butter, cheese or meat in this house, except as pizza toppings on an occasional free day. Now, I know it's in the 9-grain bread that I buy, but that and pumpkin pies are the only processed foods brought into this house, and the bread will soon stop when I buy a mixer for making a special homemade whole wheat bread recipe specifically designed to not need any of the bad stuff.
My last french fry was so long ago, I can't even remember when that was, but that's the only suffering. There are so many good vegetables out there, that with them, bread and oatmeal, do you really need anything else? The only other bad thing that passes these lips are bagels. There are some great bagel shops around here, but at least I eat them plain dry. They're really good enough to eat that way. Sometimes, they are so fresh that steam comes out when you break them open. Now, I wouldn't even like them if they did have that goopy stuff on them. (Sour cream?) Oh, I eat the bread dry, too, but like the bagels, fresh Pepperidge Farm 9-grain really is best that way. Butter or jam would only detract from and hide the great flavor of the bread!
tk
