A Few Items of Interest

Hello, sponsors and supporters!

I just wanted to give you an update on the Sanctuary. Here are some highlights:

• The Sanctuary has changed its name and URL. Please make a note of it, and be sure to update your bookmarks. The Sanctuary is now called the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW). Their new URL is http://www.chimpsanctuarynw.org/ and there are all sorts of new items appearing on the site all the time, so be sure to check it often.

• The first seven chimps will be moving into the Sanctuary in the spring of 2008! This is truly a momentous announcement because getting chimps into the Sanctuary is what this is all about. As soon as photos become available, I will link to or post them here. The chimps' names are Annie, Burreto, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, and Negra. The one male and six females currently reside at a lab in Pennsylvania, and it will be a happy day indeed when they get to move into their fabulous new home! For more information, see http://www.chimpsanctuarynw.org/chimp-bios.shtml and http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_chimp_sanctuary.html.

• While all of my supporters and sponsors have already been unbelievably generous, a few of you have asked me how else you can help the chimps. If you, like I, consider the use of primates in entertainment a cruel and unjustifiable pursuit, one easy way you can help is to join the Primate Patrol, an advocacy branch of the Sanctuary that works diligently to end the exploitative use of primates in entertainment and advertising. The people behind Primate Patrol conveniently provide all the information you'll need in order to directly contact those people and companies identified as exploiting primates. You can simply copy and paste the provided sample letters, or you can write your own message. It's a fast, easy, and free way to help end primate exploitation in entertainment. It might seem like sending an email or writing a letter is a drop in the bucket, but you know what happens when thousands of drops land in the same bucket, right? At the very least, every email and letter helps to raise awareness of what these chimps are forced to endure--and awareness is the first step in changing people's attitudes and actions.

In a perfect world, chimp sanctuaries wouldn't be a necessity at all. Until we get there, please accept another hearty THANK YOU for all that you're doing by sponsoring and supporting me as I lose pounds for primates!

10 Pounds Gone!

Whew! I finally hit the 1o-pound mark today! That came as a surprise because I've eaten some carb-heavy items over the last week or so. I haven't been feeling very well for the last few weeks, and I've been craving carbtastic foods like crazy. There's nothing quite as comforting and refreshing as a cherry Slurpee when my stomach is off. The sugar-free stuff just doesn't cut it.

Anyway, I've indulged those cravings within reason and without completely overdoing it, with the hope that I wouldn't gain any weight. A week of plateauing isn't the end of the world when I'm not feeling well, right?

Yesterday, I went to my favorite lunch spot (Boat Street Kitchen) and enjoyed an amazingly delicious tomato, cheddar, and mustard sandwich. It tasted heavenly, and it really settled my stomach in a way that only bread and cheese could. The most difficult part of eating at Boat Street is resisting the Best Dessert in Seattle: the famous Boat Street amaretto bread pudding. That's the kind of food that fantasies are made of.

Tonight I was craving pizza, so we ordered some Pagliacci. And you know what? That pizza (and the accompanying Gelatiamo cherry sorbet) was the best-tasting thing I've eaten in ages. I tried to savor and appreciate every bite because I know it was a rare treat.

I love food so very, very much. I just wish I loved working out half as much as I love food. How great would that be?

On a more chimp-focused note, check out this piece about some exciting progress on the sanctuary!

Next Stop: Double Digits

What a pleasant way to start an otherwise sleepy Monday morning: A trip to the scale this morning confirmed that I have now lost nine pounds for the chimps! It will be a very exciting day indeed when I hit the 10-pound mark. I'll check again in a few days. Stay tuned!

Happy Sunday

Sorry it's been so long since I posted my last update. Things have been a little crazy. But never fear--I am still doing well and steadily dropping pounds for primates.

I'm down to seven pounds lost so far. The weight hasn't been falling off quite as quickly as I would prefer, but that's OK. On one hand, I want to raise as much money as possible for the chimps. On the other hand, I want to form eating habits that I can sustain for a lifetime, and I know that slow, steady weight loss goes hand in hand with that goal. Besides, I really haven't been feeling too deprived. If I'm truly hungry, I eat something that's both healthful and tasty (e.g., Laughing Cow Light cheese, bell peppers and hummus, celery and peanut butter, Tofurky slices., yogurt, ricotta cheese with Splenda and almond extract...).

So, as long as I'm losing weight, not feeling deprived, making my sponsors proud, and raising money for the chimps, I'll call that success. I guess I'll just keep on keepin' on!

Six Pounds Down!

I woke up this morning to a very pleasant surprise: a visit to the (usually dreaded) scale, telling me that I've lost six pounds since starting the Pounds for Primates program.

That's already $450 for the chimps!

Maybe that money will help this guy enjoy his well deserved retirement:



Or maybe it will buy some snacks for this guy:



And it's all thanks to you, my super-duper, awesomely wonderful sponsors and supporters!!

Seriously, knowing that this money is going to such a great cause is the best possible inspiration and motivation a dieter could ask for.

I'm feeling great overall--just cleaner, brighter, happier, and lighter. It's amazing what a difference six pounds can make.

Now I just need to do this five more times--and then maintain it at a less strict level for a lifetime. You know what? I think I'm up for the challenge. Feeling this good and feeling this sense of early accomplishment is great motivation to keep going.

Big thanks and love to all of you who are sponsoring and/or supporting me,
Deb

Feeling Good!

Greetings, sponsors and well-wishers!

Just a little progress report: It is with the utmost joy and relief that I announce to you that I am over the worst of the sugar and flour cravings! This is a momentous occasion, as the last few weeks have been filled with recurring instances of this type of exchange within my own poor addled brain:

Weak Deb: OMG, that Top Pot Pink Feathered Boa doughnut in the lunchroom looks SOOOOO delicious. I've done really well on my diet overall in the last week or so... So, what harm could one innocent little pink doughnut possibly do? I've earned it!

Strong Deb: Are you kidding me?!? Do not even THINK about putting that thing in your mouth. Think about how hard you've worked to overcome the sugar and flour cravings. Do you want to undo all of that hard work in one fell swoop? Be strong. In 15 minutes, you'll be glad that you didn't eat that doughnut. Trust me.

Weak Deb: But it's just one doughnut. In the grand scheme of things, it's not that...

Strong Deb: For pete's sake, will you just STOP? Pretend that the doughnut doesn't exist. Let someone else's arteries get clogged. Besides, will you please think of the chimps??????

So, you can see what I was up against on a regular basis. The last couple of weeks have been pretty difficult. To tell you the truth, though, it was a lot easier than I'd thought it would be. It turns out that I do have the strength and discipline to make healthful choices about what I eat! What a revelation!

Now that I'm over the worst of the cravings (aka the Detox Phase), I'm going to focus on reducing portion sizes and getting myself to the gym.

And guess what. Thinking about the chimps really does help. It's a surprisingly powerful motivator. I love animals way more than I could love a fleeting doughnut.

Even a Top Pot Pink Feathered Boa.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Update: OK, Blogger finally allowed me to add a title. I guess it was just feeling temperamental earlier. Poor little Blogger!)

For some reason, Blogger isn't letting me enter a title for this entry. Hmmm... I guess I'll have to come back and add a title later (assuming that feature will ever work again).

How are all of my wonderful sponsors and well-wishers doing? As soon as I'm able, I am going to title this entry "THANK YOU!!!!!!" The response has been fantastic, and I am so touched that so many of you have stepped forward to sponsor me or offer your moral support, or both.

Because I'm a big weenie, I am not going to post on the blog what my starting weight is. If any of you want to know, I'll tell you privately. I know I shouldn't care, but I do. What I'm going to do instead is give you a weekly progress report, detailing how much weight I've lost and how everything is going in general.

Weight-wise, there's not much to report yet. I am eating much more healthfully than I had been, and I already feel waaaaaay better. The scale hasn't moved much yet--maybe one pound lost so far--but I'm hoping the healthful eating will start making a difference on the scale soon.

I have had a few moments of weakness in the last few weeks. There was my birthday, and what's a birthday dinner without dessert? (I can say, however, that it was worth it. It was a fabulous dessert.) And there was the infamous Birthday Trifecta celebration with my friends Deb and Wendy last weekend. (All of our birthdays are within two weeks of each other's, so we have a group celebration each year. It's honestly one of the highlights of my year.) Again, I had some dessert (again, worth it) and two cocktails. Not too horrible, but I do need to be more strict with myself for about a month or so, just to get all of the cravings and sugar residue out of my system.

But on to the exciting part of the post: a sponsorship update!

So far, you wonderfully generous friends and family have sponsored me at a total of $63 per pound lost! How great is that?!? My goal is to get to $75 per pound, and I've decided to kick in the remaining $12 per pound myself if necessary just so I can reach that nice round number.

So, how can I thank all of you for your generosity and thoughtfulness? I need to think of some special way to express my gratitude before these five months have passed. Stay tuned...

In the meantime, please accept this heartfelt THANK YOU!!!! You are all superstars. Whether you're sponsoring me or cheering me on, or both, you are all the ones who are making this count. A million thanks!

Love,
Deb