Today I am rewarding myself! That's right, I am going to buy myself a gift or two because I am making huge progress in my weight loss. I am getting a new bike! I know sounds like a grade-schooler, but losing weight makes you feel younger. (Oh, did I just hear my wife saying that's a lame excuse for male immaturity?)

They have gifts for teachers such as apples and school bells. There are gifts for retired people including: recliners, rocking chairs and clocks that don't work. Getting gifts for fat people is pretty easy; from Supersized fast food meals to Velcro sneakers, they're covered.

I started thinking (usually a dangerous occupation!) what would I get for a soon to be skinny person?

If you are honest about losing weight, you know that you can't just go on a diet no matter how substantial it is. Although what we eat has more to do with losing weight than a days worth of exercise, we have to come to a place where we can live it out until we die. If you are on the journey, remember wight loss gets harder and harder as you get older - take it from and ex-old fat guy. After a long time your fat and you become pretty good friends!

On your way to being skinny, here are few gifts you might enjoy, I know I did. When you are done you can regift them along with the Christmas fruit cake.

Food Scale: You think you hate the scale on the floor? This one will kill you! Try weighing everything that goes on your plate! If you are like me there will be 3 or 4 outside the newly fixed kitchen window!

1 Cup Measuring Cup: It's all you need. You get 2 cups of whatever veggies you are eating along with your protein of 3ish to 6ish ounces. When it is not in use you can cover it in tin-foil and wear on your head - well not in the microwave!

Smaller Dishes: A plate that holds 2-3 cups of food is quite big enough! You certainly can keep the bigger ones that have a designated elbow rest. A desert dish that holds 6 Hershey Kisses is also a good idea!

Heart Rate Monitor (HRM): One of my pet peeves is the Relaxation Diet. It is against running the heart rate over whatever it is when you are standing at the refrigerator door, and it is resistant to working up a sweat. A truly healthy lifestyle has sweat and a little huffing and puffing, or lots of sex. Either one will do for a sustained period of time of 10 to 30 minutes 3 times a week. If you are not healthy enough to do some cardiovascular exercise, work your way up to it. I did. (Yes, check with your doctor!)

The HRM tells you when you are in a good fat burning mode. For most, that is over 120 BPM and even over 130. There are lots of styles to choose from, but I like the continuous monitoring of a chest strap. All the Android apps and touch watches are cheaper but you usually need to get to a non-cardio pace to check it. You are worth it.

Android or iPhone for MFP: Logging on to MFP everyday to manage your diary is a breeze with the smart-phone applications. I use the voice activated feature to make comments and encouragements with my Bluetooth Speakerphone while I am driving (synonym for sitting in Boston traffic). Just be sure to disable the auto-post feature in case some one cuts you off and you need to call the stupid &@&@#* jerk or your MFP friends will dump you! And you can do some Social Not-Working while you are in the bathroom.

Skinny Jeans: When you get to the weight where wearing tight jeans doesn't look like two Volkswagen Bugs trying to pass each other on the sidewalk, go for it. The same rule applies to bikinis.

Photo Shoot: Come on, most fat people are not into having photos taken unless they are aerial shots from outer space. Treat yourself to a well photographed portrait. You'll be glad you did. And if you have kids, they'll appreciate them some day - well when they get older. At 16, all of mine were at the pinnacle of their intelligence. The good news is that 3 of them are on the downside of Know-It-All mountain.

How about you, on your way to skinny, what did I miss?