When I read this wonderful quote by Winston Churchill, I was so inspired I sent it to one of my old weight loss fatty buddies in California to let her be inspired, too. We have been doing the diet ballet together for many years, and even now that I live in the Lowcountry and she is still there, we email each other food journal entries, share recipes, and lament over those pounds that always seem to hang on to your hips, no matter what you do.

Dumbing down has become such a big catch phrase lately, I thought we, as responsible readers of Pink and “Skating Uphill” should look at what this means. Not only for us as smart, cool ladies, but as (OMG!) people who might be doing it to ourselves. By this I mean, girls, how actually awful is it to be that little 20 lbs over weight, or to make up a phony excuse for being late or not doing something we said we would do? I honestly think that this sort of thinking has invaded many aspects of our lives. I also am going to go out on a limb here and say that I do not think this is always a bad thing—so there. Yes, I have joined the Dumbing Down Hummers!

Every month at the bottom of this column I ask for reader questions and feedback and I actually get quite a bit. I have some nice compliments that really make me feel as if I am doing something to help sisters along the path of life. I also get a few (very few, thank God, because I get my feelings hurt very easily) that are negative. All in all, I love to get feedback. This month, I will address some of the comments I have received.

It is July now, and we’ve all had on our bathing suits and gasped in shock. Most of us have toughed it out at the beach or sandbar, anyway. July is peak season for getting motivated, but what exactly does it take to get us off the sofa and out of the air-conditioned house to actually get moving and burn off those wine coolers and ice cream? (Perhaps, you can tell, by the previous sentence, that I’ve been indulging in wine coolers and ice cream.)

All right, ladies, last time I promised you something HOT for summer and here it is. The hottest thing about summer is, of course, the sun. I love to get a tan; I think I look great with a tan. I have done it for years. I grew up in a very hot climate and I was young and foolish. What teenager sits in her room reading about the dangers of tanning while all her friends are at the beach? No one, and you know it!

Yes, ladies that is true. Poop poop poop on those who are too skinny, too tanned and too well dressed. How can they possibly be happy? Ha, Ha, we know they must secretly be miserable, right?
Well, if you do not think so, listen to this: France, the fashion capital of the beautiful people, has just passed a law that models cannot be too thin or have their photos air brushed to make them appear too thin. In order to model now in France you must have a BMI that insures you of good health. I do not know what that is, but I assume it means you will not pass out on the runway at the Isaac Mizrahi show or be sick all over your dress at the Ralph Lauren event.

We all know that living a healthy lifestyle is not just about food. Not by a long shot.
It is a very involved process that brings many feelings and emotions into play.

Pushy, aggressive people have been known to say: 
“Lead, follow or get out of the way.” I say that is a big crock. 
How much better is it to “march to your own drummer” in the parade of life?

All right, so if New Year’s resolutions do not really work, what else can we do? Read on for some really NEW thoughts. Remember, you saw it here first!

As “Gone with the Wind” opens, our very slim heroine Miss Scarlett O’Hara 
is being urged to eat a stack of pancakes with gooey syrup on top so that she won’t appear hungry or greedy at the upcoming lawn party. Actually, that is not such a bad idea.

Well, sisters, November is a time for harvest, gratitude and self-evaluation.
OK, I know that harvest and gratitude are not really conducive to self-evaluation,
but now is as good a time as any, especially with all of the yummy food
coming our way as Thanksgiving approaches.

We have heard it a million times: The only way to lose weight is through diet and exercise. However, recent studies tell a slightly different story. Exercise is, in fact, not really
an essential part of a “weight loss” plan. It is not possible to exercise off excess weight without proper nutrition, nor is it possible to keep eating a poor diet and maintain
a healthy lifestyle, even if you exercise. There it is, folks, and it is true.

Ha, Ha, just kidding, but not really. Sugar is a very serious subject and getting more so all of the time. Sugar is also very complicated—not just a complicated set molecules—but a complicated health and dietary problem, as well. I cannot go into all of the medical ups and downs of sugar and its effect on the body.

Is this a fabulous summer or what?
Last time, I promised to do a Q-and-A, as I get many questions about the things I write and mention in the classes I teach. I hope one of these questions is something you wanted to know.

Is this a fabulous summer or what?
Last time, I promised to do a Q-and-A, as I get many questions about the things I write and mention in the classes I teach. I hope one of these questions is something you wanted to know.

Last month I promised to review a few books for you. I hesitate to use the term diet books because many so-called diet books currently on the market are not really about weight loss, but are more a collection of charts and recipes. Not that it’s bad. Other so-called diet books are actually exercise manuals and food charts. That's not bad either. You will also find the healthy lifestyle type of diet books that can be very good. Books like Wheat Belly (Rodale Press Inc.) are a whole different genre and are meant to be warnings about avoidance and should only be taken as such.