I have been engaged in Calculated Wickedness, as wickedness is calculated these days. A couple of years ago Bill and I went to Weight Watchers every week for a year. I lost 20 pounds; he lost 45. Weight Watchers teaches you to change your eating habits; that way you don't take off the weight and then put it right back on. So our eating habits got changed, and, though we put back part of the weight we lost, most of it stayed off.

     At Halloween I allowed myself to binge on candy. This piece of Calculated Wickedness led to more Calculated Wickedness, I am sorry to say. I am now systematically eating my way through the items I love and cannot eat if I'm being a good girl. As I write this I am finishing off a container of cashew nuts. I do not know how much dietary wickedness is in a can of cashews, but I figure quite a bit.

     In January my fairytale coach turns back into a pumpkin, and Bill and I go back to Weight Watchers. You can pretend all you like while eating chocolates and cashews, but the Weight Watchers' scale tells it like it is.

     If your fairytale coach is also about to turn into a pumpkin, you may be interested in some articles I'll review in the next few issues. They will describe different, and sometimes unusual, scientifically based approaches to weight control. And you can see what appeals to you.

     IF YOU'RE NEW TO THIS NEWSLETTER, let me give a few hints:

• Tour the Sites reviews a variety of websites, with family-safe bargains and freebies, and health, craft, how-to, and recipe sites.
• Try skimming through the newsletter, making a note of things you want to investigate. Then go back and investigate the websites that appeal to you.
• If you find an extra-good site that you may want to use later, I'd suggest highlighting the newsletter item about the site, including its address. Hit Control-C (which means "copy"). Then go to your word processing program, which is probably Microsoft Word, and hit Control-V (which means "paste"). The item you highlighted should appear on your Word page.
• File the Word page where you can find it again. Which I guess would be called "re-Touring the Sites."
• My own system for filing and retrieving items copied off the Internet is simple: Put xx in front of each item. Do a word search for xx and zip from item to item. Of course you can do a subject search instead, but sometimes a person can't think of the exact right word, whereas xx always gets you there eventually.

     Janette

----Table of Contents----

1. IT ISN'T ALL YOUR FAULT

     Overweight people often say, "I take in very few calories, yet I find it extremely difficult to lose weight." Thin people think they're exaggerating, and they sneer.

     If that's been your experience, the thin people owe you an apology! According to the latest research, "Obese people have a distinctive mix of bacteria in their digestive systems that seems to make them prone to gaining weight, a startling discovery that could lead to new ways to fight the obesity epidemic." That's the good news. The bad news is that it always takes the scientific community awhile to come up with solutions to a problem. But at least you now know it isn't all your fault, and you know they're working on it.

     Read more on the topic by clicking below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/20/AR2006122001271.html

2. I LOVE YOU, DR. WEIGLE

     "Eating eggs in the morning can help you fight flab. In a study at Wayne State University, test subjects were fed either a bagel or an egg breakfast, each containing the same number of calories. The egg eaters consumed almost 300 fewer calories by day's end than did the bagel bunch. The protein in the eggs likely kept them full longer, says Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State University." For this and more good hints on losing weight, read:

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/food/Articles/19_ways_to_fight_food_cravings_and_win_the_war_on.html

     The DR. WEIGLE I so dearly love did a study in which people effortlessly, I kid you not, lost weight while eating lots of lean protein. And - this is fascinating - they did NOT have to do away with the carbs for which we evermore yearn. This exactly fits with the "breakfast egg" research just quoted. Lean protein is relatively low in calories, yet it drives away hunger for long periods.

     The "Dr. Weigle, I Love You" article is posted under Free Ezine Content on my DelightfulFood.com website. Do give it a read, to learn more about Dr. Weigle's heartwarming discovery.

     (I'm also posting there, in the Internet section, an article on how to keep your child safe on the Internet, plus one on how to keep your new or old computer safe for a minimum investment. You may want to read all three articles while you're there.)

     Click below to find my article page. At the top of the page are some inspirational articles you will probably enjoy if you haven't already read them. To find "Dr. Weigle, I Love You," scroll down, past the Inspirational section, to Food and Health and Dr. Weigle.

http://delightfulfood.com/FreeEzines/index.html

3. PROTECT YOUR CHILD FROM INTERNET PREDATORS

     You'll find this information-packed article posted under Free Ezine Content on my DelightfulFood.com website. Click below to get there - after you arrive, scroll down, past the Inspirational and Food and Health sections, to the Internet section. Which has some pretty good stuff in addition to this article.

http://delightfulfood.com/FreeEzines/index.html

     If you want to print out a copy of any of these articles, simply highlight the article and hit Control-P, which means "Print."

4. WHILE YOU'RE AT IT, PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER

     The Internet is no longer a safe place, and Norton antivirus no longer bears any resemblance to complete protection - BUT complete, high quality protection needn't be expensive. You just have to know what to get, and the article below will tell you.

     Learn how you can get four important types of protection for absolutely free - plus the highest-rated antispyware for just $30. Making your total expenditure for complete, high-quality protection all of $30. You'll find this information in the article posted under Free Ezine Content on my DelightfulFood.com website. Click on the link below for the article page. When you get there, scroll down to the Internet section. The article is called "Your Suit Of Shinning Armor."

http://delightfulfood.com/FreeEzines/index.html

     If you plan to get Windows Vista as soon as it comes out, you'll need special versions of all these protective programs. You can find out if they're available from their writeup on www.download.com. Brian K. Lewis wrote in my computer users' group newsletter that, while he has a beta version of Vista, he's not going to install it until the protective programs do come out. A wise move.

5. BRAINY QUOTES

     "Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get." - Mark Twain

     "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried." - Gilbert K. Chesterton

     "He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven." - Thomas Fuller

     You'll find thousands more brainy, wise, funny quotes at the site below:

http://www.brainyquote.com/

6. FREE PRINTABLE CALENDARS

     Not only does PRINT FREE offer free calendars, they've got free printable birthday cards and office forms. They've got free printable Christmas cards too. (Clearly this item should have been in the December 1 newsletter, but I woke up the morning of December 24 with the words "free calendars" blazoned upon my brain, and by then it was too late to put it into any newsletter except this. Though I had a dear friend who sent out Christmas cards December 24, December 30, January 15 - whenever she found the time. I was always delighted to get them, and I'm sure her other friends felt the same way.)

http://www.printfree.com/

     And here's ePRINTABLE, the calendar site I gave last year. You may like it even better.

http://www.eprintable.com/

7. IF THE KIDS ARE BORED

     My child development consultant, Lisa Danahy, recommends KIDZPAGE as a good site for kids, with, as they say, "Hundreds of free kids games, puzzles, activities, coloring pages, clip art & more." They've been online since way back in 1998, and have been collecting fun things for kids ever since.

http://www.thekidzpage.com/

8. JOB HUNTING?

     The most trafficked Internet job site is CAREER BUILDER. When you get there, you'll see why. It is simply loaded with special features that will help you distribute your resume, find career fairs, and much more.

http://careerbuilder.com/

     Would you like free advice on improving your resume? Try this section of MONSTER. Monster is another huge job site with lots to offer, so do explore its many features.

http://resume.monster.com/

     The Wall Street Journal has a good site with helpful advice for executive-type job hunters. Find CAREER JOURNAL at:

http://www.careerjournal.com/

9. FREE DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING

     Are you a scrapbooker? Would you like to take it up to the next level and do it online? This site will teach you how, if you don't know how already. And once you've got the knowhow, they'll give you "free page kits, papers, embellishments, alphabets, layout ideas, tutorials, and more." Check it out at

http://www.freedigitalscrapbooking.com/

10. YOUR MONEY

     The U.S. government is better at some things than at others. It happens to be VERY good at putting up websites. Its MY MONEY website may look overly simple to you, but take a closer look. Each main section opens to reveal detailed help in many financial areas, including investments and retirement planning.

http://mymoney.gov/

11. TURN IN THE DUD GIFT CARD

     Last year I did a section on how to deal with gift certificates and gift cards you don't really want. The sites I mentioned are still going strong and no doubt getting lots of business. They all have green lights from my McAfee Site Advisor, which means that they're safe to visit.

     CARDAVENUE does both gift card swaps and gift card auctions, where you auction it for cash. All the card sites charge a small fee for these services.

http://cardavenue.com/

     The GIFT CARD BUYBACK site buys cards and the GIFT CARDS AGAIN site, owned by the same person, tells you to "Find your favorite companies on our site. Choose the card values you would like to have. Buy your choice of gift cards or merchandise credits at less than face value."

http://giftcardbuyback.com/

http://giftcardsagain.com/

12. HEALTHY, HEARTY CROCKPOT RECIPES

     These are great low-fat recipes with generous amounts of protein to keep away the hunger pangs. If you don't have a crockpot, substitute a dutch oven or other ovenproof covered pot. Bring the pot to a brisk simmer on top of the stove, then cook at 350 degrees in the oven until done.

http://busycooks.about.com/od/healthycrockpotrecipes/a/healthycrockpot.htm

13. RECIPE: LOW-FAT NO-GUILT CHERRY CHEESECAKE PUDDING PIE

     My beloved Recipezaar.com has posted this cheesecake substitute. It got rave reviews. If you're trying to lose weight by increasing your lean protein, I would suggest you add 2 or 3 tablespoons undiluted powdered skim milk to the recipe. It won't make the recipe suddenly calorie free, but it will increase its satiety value.

6 ounces reduced fat graham cracker crust
21 ounces cherry pie filling
1 cup skim milk
6 3/4 ounces cheesecake flavor instant pudding and pie filling
8 ounces Cool Whip Free, thawed

1. Spoon half of the pie filling into crust.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine milk, and pudding mixes. Mix until smooth.
3. Fold in whipped topping.
4. Spoon mixture over pie filling in crust.
5. Refrigerate three hours or until set.
6. Top with remaining pie filling.
7. You can sprinkle with some shaved chocolate for a nice effect.

     One reviewer said, "For a low fat and very little calorie dessert, this is it. I loved it. I am very self-conscious about my weight and love cheesecake, but any traditional cheesecake is loaded with calories and fat. But with this I got the taste of a good cheesecake without the guilt. I usually freeze mine for a while to get a little different texture, it makes it a little more firm and tastes wonderful."

=====================

MISSED SOME ISSUES?

     Have I got a solution for you! Now that we are using a frame for each issue, you can just look over to your left and find all the back issues nicely set out. Simply click on the ones you missed. That means too that if your e-mail service provider gets sticky and decides that Tour the Sites is spam (it is NOT spam), you can foil it and find the newsletter at this address.

=====================

WARNING!

     If your e-mail box sometimes gets full, you are in danger of falling off the subscription list of Tour the Sites. Not because I want to lose you, but because, if your box is full when I send out a newsletter, you are automatically kicked off the list. I don't like that policy, but I don't have any say. If you change your e-mail address or get a new kind of spam filter, you may also fall off. So do keep an eye on your newsletters, which should arrive around the first and fifteenth of each month. If you haven't gotten one for a month, let me know and I'll be happy to put you back on the mailing list. Because I'd really hate to lose you.

Janette
Newsletter@tourthesites.com

=====================

© Copyright 2006 Janette G. Blackwell. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this newsletter for noncommercial, personal use only. You may forward a copy to someone else as long as the copyright notice is included. Any other use of the materials in this newsletter without prior written permission is prohibited.