More on Marilyn Fitzgerald and Journey Towards Health

Chicago, IL - The recent statistics showing that roughly two-thirds of the general population suffers from obesity are no secret. By now, most Americans know that obesity can lead to heart disease, diabetes and other potentially fatal ailments. What most people probably don't know, however, is that these problems can be overcome through serious personal evaluation which Marilyn D. Fitzgerald says can be done through journaling. Health care professionals tout a variety of surgeries and medicines to deal with the wide-spread problem of obesity but Fitzgerald, a nationally recognized speaker and author, says that journaling is a tool which can be used to confront the circumstances that lead to obesity and other physical and emotional challenges. She credits a strict diet, exercise and journaling regimen for helping her lose more than 70 pounds and regaining her health and sense of self.

Fitzgerald is the author of a new journal called Spirit of a Winner (ISBN # 1-60013-013-5). The journal is designed to guide readers to the root of their problems over a 31-day period by asking a series of very personal and thought-provoking questions. After a month of daily journaling, Fitzgerald says readers will have a snapshot of their "emotional fitness" (or lack thereof) and can begin to work toward personal and physical improvement.

"Journaling literally saved my life," said Fitzgerald, a former, self-described "emotional over-eater."

Throughout her adolescence and early adult years, Fitzgerald struggled with her weight. At her heaviest, she weighed more than two hundred pounds. "I was not well, physically or emotionally," she said. Later, she found herself dealing with a serious health condition called Candida, an overgrowth of bad bacteria in the body. "I didn't want to medicate the problem because that would only mask it temporarily. I wanted to find out exactly what thoughts and feelings led to the problem so that I could eliminate it once and for all," Fitzgerald said. She then set off on the journey of journaling and began recording every detail of her life daily, including how she felt, what she ate, how much water she drank and how much she exercised. After journaling daily over a period of several years, she was able to determine that feelings of inadequacy and low-self esteem led to poor diet choices-thus causing a multitude of chronic health problems including obesity. "Once I started digging deep within, asking myself tough questions and having the courage to come up with answers, my eating changed and my physical and emotional prognosis improved significantly," Fitzgerald stated. She eventually dropped more than seventy pounds "thanks to cleansing, better diet choices and journaling."

It wasn't long before Fitzgerald began writing a journal that she says "will help others realize the same 'truths'" she did. She wrote The Spirit of a Winner as a self-empowerment tool that she says "will assist people in releasing pain, frustration and negative emotions such as fear and anger and will help track and reveal unconscious self-defeating and self-sabotaging thinking that can hinder personal progress."

Fitzgerald maintains that journaling could be the key to unlocking complete wellness for people of all walks of life-as it did for her. The Spirit of a Winner Guided Journal is self-published and is available online at www.spiritofawinner.com and by calling 708-720-4317.