Here are some posts that caught my eye recently throughout the blogosphere. Enjoy!

Living Without Sugar: Be sure to read this excellent post by a former donut junkie on the topic of deprivation; deprivation in the form of the childish rants and tantrums that spring up in your thoughts: “I deserve that cookie, piece of cake, bag of chocolate (insert the unhealthy, sugar and fat-filled food of your choice here 😉 ) because everyone else is having one!” It covers the power that your thoughts play in how successful or unsuccessful you will be in your weight loss and fitness goals.

• Physical Accomplishment: Have you ever wanted to run a marathon? Well, here are some tips on just how to start training for one. The author, Gal, is actually going to start training next summer for a marathon he signed up to run in Hawaii next fall. I’ve never done a marathon, but I’d be up for it. Imagine the awesome sense of accomplishment you’d feel after you completed it! 🙂

• Physical Obsession: I’m personally just not into surgery for weight reduction or spot reduction. Here’s something else that I would not consider: body etching. It looks like it’s mainly being marketed to men who want six-pack abs, but if you follow the link in the article, you’ll see that they have 3 male and one female before-and-after photos, so there are women who are also opting for this surgery.

What do you think about this? Is it going too far, or do you expect (and accept?) that society will become even more focused on appearance, no matter what the cost?