New Hope Soap Blog

By Linda Hilliard - Author of the Book
E-mail Your Weight Away - Diet Dialoges for Women

What is it about “I’m going on vacation” that becomes “I’m on vacation, I’m going to eat what I want.” Why do we go on vacation? To get away, relax and refresh, change of scenery. Most people do not set out on vacation thinking “I plan to gain 10 pounds this week” (cruise ships not withstanding!)

Just because you’re sitting on the beach or looking at the mountains, it doesn’t mean that you should throw out your diet commitment and eat everything in sight. But a lot of people do that- they struggle for a year to lose 20 pounds and blow it all in a week of eating abandon.

By Linda Hilliard - Author of the Book
E-mail Your Weight Away - Diet Dialoges for Women

Someone asked me to write about an experience she had while visiting with a friend. Both women are faithful to their diets. They support one another’s efforts and always try hard to choose wisely at every meal.

But every so often, the friendship reward/sabotage mentality slipped in. Knowing her friend loves ice cream, one asks the innocent question: “Do you want to get an ice cream?” The other thinks, “Well, I don’t need an ice cream, but since she is asking, she must want to have one.” So she responds: “Well, I’ll have on if you have one.”

By Linda Hilliard - Author of the Book
E-mail Your Weight Away - Diet Dialoges for Women

This piece was going to be entitled “Twelve Things I HATE About Sticking to My Diet,” but, shish, what would be original about that? There isn’t an overweight person who couldn’t write easily make it a list of 100++ things to hate about a diet commitment.

By Linda Hilliard - Author of the Book
E-mail Your Weight Away - Diet Dialoges for Women

Every bride looks beautiful on her wedding day (and let’s hear it for the mothers-of-the-bride and groom, too).

As the guests ooh and aah over the loveliness of the wedding party, it’s probably just as well if they don’t know about some of the behind-the-scenes angst. Didn’t there used to be a television show called Bridezilla? I never saw it but I can imagine losing weight so a dress fits could take up several episodes and reveal the worse side of a bride’s personality.

By Linda Hilliard - Author of the Book
E-mail Your Weight Away - Diet Dialoges for Women

Whether you celebrate Easter of not, that #!@*(!# Easter bunny can be a serious threat to your dieting efforts. Perhaps you never have - or no longer - buy jelly beans to fill baskets (on behalf of that long-eared critter), but it’s just about impossible to pass a checkout counter this season without being tempted by an Easter treat. Whether it’s three chocolate eggs for a $1.00 - or a friendly baskets of jelly beans (“Help Yourself”) this particular holiday is right up there with the major high-calorie temptation holidays.

By Linda Hilliard - Author of the Book
E-mail Your Weight Away - Diet Dialoges for Women

It seems like everyone is on some kind of diet these days - and no group is more diet conscious than a bridal party as they try to shed a few pounds to get ready for the big day!

If you have been charged with planning a bridal shower and you suspect that the majority of the guests will be unhappy with the usual heavy shower fare (bulky sandwiches, potato and pasta salads and trays of cookies), you may want to plan a non-traditional bridal shower.

Consider hosting a “Diet Friendly Shower.”

After first ascertaining that the bride’s feelings will not be hurt by the suggestion of a Diet Friendly Shower, you can make this a memorable, fun - and tasty - event.

 By Linda Hilliard - Author of the Book
E-mail Your Weight Away - Diet Dialoges for Women

The wedding’s over, the happy couple is back from their honeymoon. On to marital and domestic bliss and - sigh - gaining weight.

Prior to the wedding, a bride and groom tend to be super conscious of their weight. If they don’t shed a few pounds, at least they try not to gain any extra weight that might make the tux a smidge tight or the dress bulge a bit.

But once the honeymoon is over (in fact even during the honeymoon), the siren call of tasty foods can sometimes have a negative impact on the newlyweds’ scale.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching that age old struggle for men across the country begins anew. What do I get the women in my life! Should I go with the tried and true, a card, some chocolates, and flowers, or should I actually put some thought into it and be more creative. Hummm! – What’s a guy to do?

By Linda Hilliard - Author of the Book
E-mail Your Weight Away - Diet Dialoges for Women

I remember when Kate Middleton was preparing to marry Prince William and a newswoman observed that like so many brides, Kate was trying to lose a few pounds. I was shocked. Kate seems (to me) to be extremely thin and hardly in need of “Shedding a few pounds.”

There’s no denying that brides often go on diets before their weddings. In fact wedding dresses purchased in January may need to be taken in a bit before the June nuptials.

Watching my own two daughters walk down the aisle, I totally understand the desire to be thinner for that special day (hey, mother-of the brides here also shed a few pounds for the occasions).

HOWEVER, when it comes to dieting for a wedding, I would caution brides (and the entire wedding party) not to succumb to “I have to be stick thin to be beautiful” thinking.