I received my books on Thursday evening.  I was excited, and scared at the same time.  I took a peek at the book before my eight year old daughter grabbed it out of my hands (she LOVES Gillian McKeith).  She had the recipe book and was perusing the offerings.  She was reading one recipe for carrot and almond soup and she was saying, "carrots, like them; almonds, like them; celery, love it" so I took a look at the recipe and it sounded great.

Here's what we cooked:

While veggies are cooking, take 1/4 cup of raw almonds and grind in a food processor until a powder-like consistency.

When veggies are ready, strain (and reserve) liquid and remove stalks from vegetables.  Puree vegetables in a food processor, or in pot with a stick blender.

Add almond powder and enough broth back to the pot to bring to desired consistency.

Add fresh cilantro and parsley and enjoy.

Whoo! Where have I been lately? Coming to terms with the reality that I now have arthritis in my right big toe joint.

I've had arthritis in my neck for awhile and I know how to live with it, but having it in your foot is a whole other matter, especially when it comes to exercise. The recumbent bicycle is great, but frankly I can't work up a big sweat on it. So I'm going to give the elliptical a go and see how that works.

Now that I know what's going on with my foot there are ways to deal. There's Aleve, of course, but that just masks the pain. I'm hoping insurance will cover orthotics (flat feet contribute to the problem) so I can do more varied exercise. In the interim I stopped at Runner's Depot in Davie, FL, to pick up a pair of Superfeet Berry Insoles, which so far are great.

While at the doctor's, I decided to address the elephant in the room: "I know that losing 70 pounds will help things, won't it?" I asked. While my doctor said the weight didn't create the problem, I know that being lighter on my feet can only help things.

“I never thought it was possible to not be fat, cuz I’ve never known anything different. I look in the mirror and try to see that this can happen.”

For more Biggest Loser discussion, check tinyurl.com/biggestloserdiscussion

As January draws to a close, is your resolve sinking? Need some ideas on how to reignite the spark? Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels was on Monday's Today show to talk about just that:

I have had it.  I am writing for a blog called "Shrinking Sisters," yet over the past 8 months, I've put back 12 of the 39lbs that I lost last year.

I'm going hard core into losing weight, getting healthy and getting off my blood pressure meds.

I TiVo the British TV show You Are What You Eat hosted by nutritional hard-ass Gillian McKeith. She touts the goodness of whole foods, fresh fruits and vegs, and how evil processed foods are.

I'm taking the plunge.  I'm purchasing the book, You Are What You Eat, and I'm going to report right here the challenges that I will face while being on this plan.

You can join in the fun along with me too...

As someone who writes about diets and weight loss, I'm subjected to a barrage of information, and much of it is conflicting.

So what happens? I don't know whose advice to take and I just shut down.

Which is where I am right now. So I'm trying to come up with something that I can stick with 100 percent, because, face it, ANYTHING'S going to work if you just stick to it.

But what? One of my freelance gigs has me working all morning, so hitting the gym first thing isn't working for me right now. So I have to find the time to fit in exercise. And I have pretty much the entire afternoon to do that, so I just need to pick a time. Just one stinkin' hour. (I just watched a P90X infomercial and was amazed and inspired by those people who only put in, yes, just one stinkin' hour a day.)

What about food? Yeah, what about it? I've been serving my family an assortment of Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones all week because I'm trying to use them up so I can eat "clean" and unprocessed, which I believe will help quell the boredom munchies and increase satiety.

I have a literal mountain of diet books in my office, and I bet all of them work. I just have to pick something and stick to it.

Perhaps I'll do what my former co-worker Laura Kelly did on our former blog The Skinny. She attempted to do 52 diets in 52 weeks. Only reason it didn't succeed was because the blog died before her resolve did.

I'm really trying to hang onto my January 1 resolve but my brain feels like it's being pulled in a million directions (it also doesn't help that I have a wicked case of ADD, so I have the attention span of a 3-year-old. ("oooh, a new diet!" ooooh, a new exercise gizmo!")

My motto has long been "Do What Works for You." So I ask: What's working for you?

I know successful weight loss isn't composed of eating potato chips. But sometimes a girl's gotta get her snack on.

And that is why I love and appreciate Popchips. They're not infused with ginkgo, they're not high fiber or vitamin fortified, they're just potato chips. That is, potato chips that are far lower in calories than regular oily ones. And come in outstanding flavors. Real Simple and Health magazine have sung their praises, as has Oprah.

The 1-ounce bags are way bigger than baked chips because Popchips are actually popped. They're airy and crunchy and completely addictive, which is why I only buy the 1-ounce bags instead of the 3-ouncers. A 1-ounce serving of original flavor Popchips is 120 calories and 4 grams of fat.

All the flavors are good but I especially love the salt and pepper ones, with just enough black pepper for some zesty heat. You can find 'em at Target, Jamba Juice, Whole Foods and Amazon.com.

“Girl, you gotta get yourself together, because we have no time for foolishness.”

and

“He had me sweatin’ like a pig on a rope.”

Huh?

Check out my Biggest Loser discussion at tinyurl.com/biggestloserdiscussion

Fitness workout fave Denise Austin has long been associated with the Idaho Potato Commission pitching spuds for healthy living. (Yes, people, carbs can be good in moderation!)

The Potato People have come up with a widget that you can download to your Facebook page, blog, desktop or wherever you'd like fitness tips and potato recipes popping up every weekday. Here it is:

I once read this quote on a message board and wanted to share it, just because we could all use a kick in the pants sometimes:

Being fat is hard. Losing weight is hard. Maintaining is hard. Choose your hard.