My sister flew in from California for a month long visit.  She had been sick before she came and I told her I was going to get her to gain some weight.  She had gotten down to 97 pounds before the doctor got her medicine regulated correctly for her.  

She decided to help us with our lawn service.  I thought to myself, how am I going to get her to gain weight after she’s been pushing a lawn mower 4/5 hours a day.  Using a lawn mower has been helping me lose weight.  I tried to talk her out of helping but she wouldn’t hear it. 

I realize muscle weighs more than fat so I figured yard work might help build her arm and leg muscles.  She was here for about a month.  I could see her strength and endurance grow each week as she was mowing.  She felt good too. 

I working on changing her eating habits.  She had been living on candy smarties and yogurt.  I fixed balanced meals and made sure we sat and ate as a family.  I fixed desserts for everyone but myself before we ate so I wouldn’t be tempted.  I also kept cheese sticks on hand when she wanted a snack along with some ritz crackers.  I told myself those were hers and didn’t eat any of them.

She flew back home this past Sunday.  She got on the scale before she left.  Much to my amazement, she has gained 6 pounds during her stay here.  She told her husband what a good cook I am and wants my recipe for spagetti and bread pudding.  I hope she will continue to gain weight slowly until she reaches a heathy weight.

On the other hand, I also got on the scale, I have lost 4 pounds during her stay here.  It’s all about calories in and calories out.  It’s been a positive month for both of us.  I hope we can both stay on the road to good health.  I’m doing it one yard at a time.

The summer is in full swing and there are lots of outdoor activities that can help you tone up and lose weight.  I have been having weight loss success mowing lawns.  It’s a great form of exercise.   My husband has a lawn service and I help him cut grass and trim trees.

 I am building the muscles in my arms and legs using the push mower (I’m scared of the riders) and the tree/bush trimmer.   As the season progresses, I am able to push the mower  at a faster pace and I’m not so exhausted when I’m done.  I also don’t need to take as many breaks as I did when we first started cutting lawns this summer.  The trimmers use to feel so heavy when I first started using them.  I don’t notice the weight now when I use them. 

I’m getting a great tan, losing weight, toning muscles while providing a service for people as well as  earning  extra money.  It’s a win-win situation. 

An individual employed at a Texas LA Weight Loss Center has informed me the offices in Austin, Corpus Christi, and the Victoria LA Weightloss Centers are closing. The employees have been instructed not to tell customers the offices are closing but to tell them they are shortenig their times of being open.

This employee along with a few of her coworkers, are saddened by these tactics. She emphazised how much these employees really care about their clients. She wants the readers to know, there really are lots of good, caring counselors.

She wants people to know the truth about these LA Weight Loss Centers.

Thank you for sharing this information. I know it will help many people.

To the clients: Although your weight loss facility maybe closing, stay focused and continue on your weight loss journey. Take what you have learned and stay on track. YOU WILL SUCCEED!!!!!!!…….one pound at a time.

Thursday my husband and I volunteered to help pass out food for a county organization. We both grabbed a bottle of water and headed for the armory at 7:45 am. We weren’t sure what to expect but were looking forward to helping in some way.

Wow…talk about a great workout. We spent almost 4 hours loading 30 pounds sacks of food off the floor into a grocery cart and then taking the cart to a client’s car and unloading it. Depending on the family size, they got either two or four bags. Up and down….back and forth…wow…I could really feel it in my legs and my shoulders after a couple of hours.

I forgot to bring my pedometer so I’m not sure how far I walked. I wore a pair of cheap tennis shoes with no support. My feet started hurting after a couple of hours. The hard concrete really takes a toll on my feet. Next month I’m wearing a good pair of shoes. I usually wear cobbie cobblers…they are great.

I really enjoyed helping this organization. This was the best workout I’ve had in a long time. I woke up Friday morning with sore arms, sore shoulders, and sore legs. I wonder how many calories I burned. I’ve never been sore after working out at the gym. I guess it goes to show I don’t push myself hard enough on the machines.

I met some nice workers as well as nice participants. People were so genuine. I heard some heart-wrenching life stories from a few of the clients. I sympathized with them and put them in my prayers.

This day was not only a great workout on my weight loss journey but an eye-opener to the despair felt my so many in this community. I hope my words of encouragement and prayers help.

(I retired from the post office. This postage stamp says it all.)

This last case of poison ivy sure threw me for a loop. I know I should have went to the doctor’s but I’m stubborn as a mule and wouldn’t listen to my husband or mom. Needless to say, it was a bad experience. In fact, my hands still aren’t back to normal. I still have sores and the dried skin is itching like crazy.

During this last bout, my face was so swollen and red I couldn’t go anywhere. My hands were swollen real bad and itched to the point I felt like I wanted to cut them off at the wrist. All this lead to little sleep for about 2 weeks.

The bad part of not sleeping is eating. I got on the scale and saw I had gained back those 4 pounds I had lost. I was totally bummed out. I decided that was it. I had to make some changes.

I decided to start my new life changes with a hair cut. I drove into town Thursday and made a hair appointment for later that day. I also decided to do volunteer work at our local hospital.

There were two lady volunteers working the front desk at the hospital when I asked for an application to volunteer. They were so friendly and told me how bad they needed help in the gift shop. Since I don’t know anyone down here, they had me write them down as references. I kind of laughed to myself…thinking…wow..they’d never do that back home. They always ran serious background checks on people. They also had my sign up for Senior Circle ($27 per year for a couple $15 for a single) and Healthy Women Program(free).

While I was filling out my applications, I noticed a group of people lined up signing up for something at a table set up in the lobby. Low and behold…it was sign-up day for an 8 week weight loss program sponsored by the hospital.

I knew then and there, God must have sent me to the hospital to get involved in that program as well. That sign up experience will be my next post.

I was so happy to see I’ve lost 4 pounds in 10 days. I’ve shown myself that when I make a commitment to myself, I can accomplish it. My husband and mom don’t realize I’m trying to lose weight. I’ve decided not to tell them. I think it’s kind of funny they haven’t noticed any changes in my eating.

These are the changes I’ve made in the past ten days to lose 4 pounds.

1. I’ve quit eating nutty buddy ice cream cones (270 calories each)
I had been eating two of them a day. I now eat grapes when I want a
a snack.

2. I’ve quit eating white bread. I’m now eating whole wheat bread. I’m
eating less bread because started eating more oatmeal. Sometimes
I’ll fix a bowl of oatmeal for a snack.

3. I’ve increased my exercise. Five out of the ten days, I worked outside
more than two hours each day. I spent time hoeing in what I hope will
be flower beds this year around the house and garage. I spent hours
spreading wood chips and last year’s grass clippings in our huge garden.
I spent many hours raking and cleaning up brush in the back part of our
property. I also fired up my treadmill. (when I saw one of my dogs
using it as a place to sleep, I knew it was time to put it back into
service.

4. I have also increased my water intake dramatically. I’m drinking 8-10
glasses per day.

5. I am faithfully documenting everything I eat and drink. I also write
the time and why I was eating. (ex: hungry, bored, special tv show, or
happy) Doing this makes me more accountable.

All of these factors has had a positive impact on my weight loss journey the past 10 days. I plan to continue working outside….just not when my husband is burning brush and leaves. (Finally learned by lesson about poison ivy)

I haven’t been able to blog because there was one pitfall to all this outside work. I have gotten the worst case of poison ivy I’ve ever had. My face and eyes are so red and swollen. My lips are numb and so is part of my tongue. My eyes are almost shut and have been watering so bad the past few days it’s hard for me to see. I’ve also got it real bad on my hands and arms. It’s hard for me to type without stopping to scratch.

I’m off to soak my hands. I try and tell myself my home remedies are doing some good. (sighs)

There are so many diets to choose from when we are deciding to lose weight. A few of the diets:

* low-calorie diet
* low-fat diet
* vegetarian diet
* low-sugar
* low-carb diet

I’ve tried several different diets over the years. Each one of them having lists of foods to eat and foods to avoid. It can be confusing to say the least.

I was reading a section at Ivillage what has the best foods for your diet. They have several diets listed and the foods that are acceptable for each one.

Seeing so many different diets at one place makes it easier to choose one that will best fit your needs and lifestyle. This website has a wide array of helpful information.

I know that “Eating To Lose Weight” sounds like an oxy moron statement. It’s true…we do need to eat to lose weight. The key is eating healthy along with portion control. I just finished eating a bowl of Curves cereal. It was a sample box I got in the mail. It’s actually similar to bran flakes. I love the fact it was one serving.

I know many people think they can’t lose weight if they eat breakfast. I think it is because they are not able to figure out exactly how to make a single portion. Thus, when they think they are eating a 200 calories meal, in actuality is 400 calories.

I bought a double unit Zevro dispenser. I have one side filled with oatmeal and the other with cereal. All you have to do is turn the handle once and you get a one ounce serving. Using this dispenser is cheaper in the long run than buying the single packets of cereal. There are always a couple in the variety pack I don’t like so buying that is a real waste of money for me.
I bought my dual Zevro dispenser on Ebay for $17.00 plus postage. I checked Ebay today and there are several single and double units for sale at a reasonable price. This dual unit sells for $169.00 on the Zevro website. I also checked on Amazon.com and they have Zevro dispensers available at prices starting as low as $16.95 for a single unit.

Zevro is a product that helping me on my weight loss journey. Anyone else using this product? How do you like it?

If you are between the ages of 18 and 64, you may be interesting in participating in a nutrition and diet study conducted by the University of Virginia. The study will be comparing two different diets. Each phase lasts for 4 weeks with a 4-8 week break. All food is provided for the 4 week diet and compensation is $300.

This study also provides the participant with other pertinent information such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood fats.

Centerwatch is a great place to find other diet and nutrition studies that are being done in other states. It also covers studies being administered in many other fields.

There are several other sites which provide information on clinical studies. I have them listed in a previous post.

When we fix meals it’s often hard to figure out the calories, carbs, or proteins in a serving. This can play havoc on any weight loss program you are following.

Like most women, I have more cookbooks than I care to count. Most of them never leave the bookcase. I have found it is much easier to look up a recipe online. So whether I’m looking for a low calorie, low carb or high protein recipe…it’s easy to find.

I enjoy the Betty Crocker recipe site. It is a computer friendly site making it easy to find recipes for a specific item or requirement such as low fat or low calorie. The recipes directions are easy to follow and use basic ingredients. You can rate each recipe as well as read and give a review. Each has a picture of what the finished product should look like.

How about a Chinese Pork and Pasta recipe? The recipe is for a serving of 6 with a calorie content of 255 per serving.

Another appetizing recipe is Skillet Beef & Vegetable Stew. It is a recipe for 6 servings and only takes 25 minutes to make. It has a surprisingly low calorie content of 175 per serving.

These are just a few of the low calorie recipes at the Betty Crocker site. No matter what kind of weight loss program or diet you are on, you will find something at this site that can fit your needs.