How to not sabotage your diet: Start small

January is a popular time to start a diet, and many people in our community are offering support. (WKRC)

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - January is a popular time to start a diet, and many people in our community are offering support.

A former University of Kentucky and NFL quarterback is inviting you to start a challenge with him to get back into shape. Jared Lorenzen launched the Jared Lorenzen Project a few years ago. As part of his journey to lose weight, he hosted fitness events.

On Sunday, he issued a new six-week challenge on Facebook. He wants to open a discussion for others with weight issues to talk about exercise routines and diet options. The goal is to see a change by Valentine's Day.

And since Monday is one of the top diet days of the year, if you want to change a few habits, you might need to stop sabotaging your own weight loss.

To Juliette Kitenda, a social work student, nutrition is a big part of benefiting the mind, body and soul. And she's right; if you want this year's changes to last, Maria Adkins, a registered dietitian with the Recovery Center of Hamilton County, says stop sabotaging your own weight loss.

"I think the biggest thing is to make small steps, one at a time," Adkins said.

So first, rather than trying to give up everything you like to eat at once, just make small steps that you think you can keep.

Second, pick one habit to tackle at a time, whether it's food, drink or activity.

"If you're drinking five or six sodas a day, [try] to decrease by one soda per day and add a cup of water," said Adkins. "Same with exercise, just to start out with 10 minutes a day, perhaps even five minutes, and add a minute each time."

Third: Choose better foods, not a better diet. Try loading up on plant-based foods.

And finally: Meet up with others. Not having accountability can sabotage healthy habits too.

You can call 513-241-1411 if you'd like to find out more about participating in healthy eating on a budget or other programs at the Recovery Center. There is no charge for the programs, but you do need to meet certain criteria for mental health and wellness.

Losing weight, eating better and exercising more are the top three 2019 resolutions, according to a recent survey.

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[unable to retrieve full-text content]On Monday, the Wake Tech Board of Trustees approved a transition plan that has Ralls begin his tenure April 12 as the fourth president of the system – bumping up his original start date by 19 days. Th...

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So you want to get into bullet journaling. Where do you start?

When it comes to keeping track of all your work projects, household chores and social activities, one method that's gone viral (ironically) involves good old-fashioned pen and paper. 

Bullet journaling — which inventor Ryder Carroll describes as "the analog method for the digital age" — has inspired legions of fans to organize their lives using his note-taking system.

The system includes a practice known as "rapid logging" where you jot down tasks you need to complete or information you don't want to forget using bulleted lists, and "monthly logging," where you create a minimalist calendar aimed at providing a birds-eye view of the month. 

But the appeal of bullet journaling is that you can modify it any way you want to. 

"Whereas a lot of different kinds of journals and diaries have really strict formatting, the bullet journal is very free form and it's designed for people to figure out what it is that they need from it exactly," Carroll told Marketplace.

People use bullet journals to create detailed, useful systems to keep track of everything — from important work tasks to their sleeping habits to how they're feeling on a particular day. 

"My main purposes for bullet journaling is to stay organized and to keep my anxiety low. I suffer from anxiety and depression and bullet journaling has actually helped keep me calm while also motivating me to do better in school," said Star Masterton, a bullet journaler based in Los Angeles, California. 

While it's important to note that bullet journaling doesn't have to be intricate, we asked some people in the bullet journaling community to share their favorite products. 

Journals

When it comes to the backbone of the entire bullet journal, the answer was pretty much unanimous: The Leuchtturm1917 (specifically the dotted A5 notebook).

"Leuchtturm1917 journals have been a staple in the bullet journaling community for obvious reasons. The quality is fantastic, and there are a wide variety of colors to choose from," said Nicole Barlettano, a Wayne, New Jersey, resident who's been bullet journaling for about two years now. 

Cindy Thompson, a bullet journaler from Portland, Oregon, who's also been doing it for two years, said she's been using this journal ever since she started. 

"I've stuck with it because it takes many inks well, has consistent printing from page to page, and the pages come pre-numbered," she added. 

Another favorite of some of the bullet journalers we spoke to: Scribbles that Matter in the A5 dotted variety.

Pens and pencils

"I especially love the Pigma Micron pens in different sizes in order to add dimension to the drawings I include in my bullet journal," Pierson said. 

"[They're] great archival pens that have minimal ghosting in most journals," Alexandra Louridas said. 

"It writes smoothly and I appreciate the barrel's sleek aesthetic. It has interesting features such as the flush grip to combat sweaty hands without being bulky," Alvarez said. 

"I regularly use technical drawing pens over gel or ballpoint pens because they require less pressure to produce sharp, bold lines, and are less likely to smear and bleed," Thompson said.

Brush pens

If you want to incorporate calligraphy into your bullet journal, many of the bullet journalers we spoke to recommended the Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens (soft and hard tip) and the Tombow Dual Brush Pens, which come in a wide range of colors. 

"I really enjoy the Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens. They're great for anyone who's looking for an easy-to-handle brush pen that performs excellently. The great thing about it is that it has a small nib, so it's perfect for writing headers in your bullet journal," Alvarez said. 

Whitney Baker, a pharmacy technician and online business owner from Gulf Shores, Alabama, who maintains a website devoted to bullet journaling, said the Fudenosuke pens are great for beginners while the Dual Brush pens are for those who are more advanced.

Other pen recommendations for hand lettering: 

"I love Faber-Castell products. I use them every single day. The Pitt Artist Pen is my absolute favorite for bullet journaling because the ink is dark and rich, and doesn't bleed through my pages," Barlettano said. 

Rulers/Erasers/Correction tape

"I love that this ruler is so small and portable, yet big enough to work on any journaling projects I might be working on. The backing is cork, which is so helpful so the ruler doesn't slip all over the page," Barlettano said. 

Miscellaneous decorative items

But, again, bullet journaling is as elaborate as you want it to be. 

"Start simple, all you really need is a notebook and a pen. Remember the purpose of why you're keeping your journal and what its intent is. If it helps, create a ritual and set aside 20 minutes a day to sit down," Louridas said.

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IRS sets start date for tax season, will issue refunds during government shutdown

The IRS announced on Monday evening that it is prepared to start processing 2018 tax returns on Jan. 28 and that it will pay tax refunds despite the partial shutdown of the federal government. The agency has been operating under a contingency plan that has furloughed 88% of the IRS's workforce. It says it will recall "a significant portion" of its furloughed staff for tax season. The agency also says it will issue an updated contingency plan in the next few days.

Under the IRS's original contingency plan, which officially ran through Dec. 31, the agency would process electronic returns (and paper returns up to a certain point) but would not issue refunds. However, the IRS believes it has statutory authority to issue refunds under 31 U.S.C. Section 1324.

The IRS is shut down because it is one of the government agencies that did not have its budget funded through fiscal year 2019. The agency's funding ran out at midnight Dec. 21, and since then it has been operating under a contingency plan that allows for preparation for filing season and a limited number of other activities.

— Alistair M. Nevius, J.D., (Alistair.Nevius@aicpa-cima.com) is the JofA's editor-in-chief, tax.

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Trial to start in California over Census citizenship query

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SAN FRANCISCO — A trial will begin Monday in federal court in San Francisco over the Trump administration's decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. Census.

Judge Richard Seeborg is scheduled to hear a week of testimony from experts and other witnesses. The judge will decide whether to allow the question.

Seeborg is presiding over lawsuits by California and numerous cities in the state that argue the citizenship question was politically motivated and would discourage immigrants and Latinos from participating in the Census.

The plaintiffs say that would result in an undercount that would jeopardize their federal funding and the state's representation in Congress. Data from the Census are used to determine the distribution of Congressional seats to states and billions of dollars in federal funding.

The lawsuits want Seeborg to keep the citizenship question off the Census.

The U.S. Department of Justice argues Census officials take steps to guard against an undercount, including making in-person follow-up visits, so the final numbers will be accurate. Households that skip the citizenship query but otherwise fill out a substantial portion of the questionnaire will still be counted, Justice Department attorneys said in court documents.

Seeborg is the second federal judge to hold a trial on the issue. A ruling in a trial in New York that ended in November is expected soon.

The Commerce Department announced the addition of a citizenship question in March, saying the Justice Department had requested it and it would improve enforcement of a 1965 law meant to protect minority voting rights. The move sparked an outcry from Democrats, who said it would disproportionately impact states that favor their party.

All households were last asked whether individuals were citizens of the U.S. or not in the 1950 census.

Documents unearthed as part of the litigation in New York appear to show that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was pursuing the addition of the question well before the DOJ's request and spoke about it in spring 2017 with former senior White House adviser Steve Bannon and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

There was enough evidence "to infer that Secretary Ross was motivated to add the citizenship question for the partisan purpose of facilitating the exclusion of non-citizens from the population count for congressional apportionment," California and other plaintiffs told Seeborg in court documents.

They plan to use testimony from academics to support their claim that the citizenship question would result in a costly undercount. That would violate the Constitutional requirement that the Census include everyone in the U.S., even non-citizens, they argue.

"This week we'll bring in witnesses who will demonstrate just how critical an accurate 2020 Census count is for our state and people," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement.

The DOJ plans to rely on its expert, Stuart Gurrea, to argue the citizenship question would cause no change in congressional apportionment in any state and only a negligible dip in the distribution of federal funds to California.

In a court filing, they said the plaintiffs had failed to show ulterior motives for the question. Ross's request that his staff look into adding it to the Census does not show he acted improperly nor does the fact that other officials might have supported it for different reasons, DOJ attorneys said.

"It is unremarkable for an agency head to enter office with predispositions toward certain policy choices," they said.

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