Is anyone doing a self-help program of some sort (like actively working with Dr. Clay's book) that they've devised and have been working on for some time? Serious/consistent journaling even that has offshoots for behavior/change?

I got the idea a couple years ago when I was looking through all my journals from the previous 6-7 years and copying thoughts, ideas, and projects I still liked into my new journal so I could tear up/trash my old ones, to then transfer some of the ideas and projects to 3 x 5 pieces of paper which I folded in 4 and put in a "special" bowl. Then, every Sunday I picked a piece of paper from the bowl (started with about 80+ but got up to 100+) and "did" whatever it said. I had essays to write about quotations I loved (to help me "learn" them) and literal projects I kept saying I was going to "do". I kept that up for 6 months-year until I moved.

On vacation in Florida in January 2006 I bought Chef Kathleen's Cooking Thin Daybook: A 52-Week Plan to Lose Weight, Get Fit, and Eat Right and when I got home I started it the end of February. A few weeks later, I joined a gym and hired a personal trainer and was going well until my asthma acted up and I had to cancel a few sessions and never got going again :-( Chef Kathleen has a website with community board I joined and I tried to do my exercises at home but quit it all about the end of May. In August I had to go to the ER for my asthma and I restarted the book as an "asthma journal" testing various foods, vitamins, etc. but gave that up even sooner.

Now I've joined Curves 2-3 weeks ago. I had to go to a new doctor and didn't want to go on meds yet for blood pressure, etc. so made a "pact" that I would lose 20 pounds by a certain time and included a before/after quiz that the American Heart Association has, showing what that would do for my blood pressure. I joined another online medical food/diet site for the DASH diet and included that paper as well as the AHA papers and my sign-up sheet from Curves. I presented this to the doctor (who was impressed :-) and hopefully this will help me keep with this program since I signed my name and "promised" to do several things. So far I'm doing well with going to Curves 3x a week but the eating has problems still :-( I'm going to have to step up and figure out another way to get the eating under control.