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.
Hi Chris, nice article. Amazing to think that you can build muscle and put on weight from simply mowing the lawns. But it sounds like your sister needed to improve her eating habits as well. Good luck with your weight loss and congratulations on being a positive impact on your sister.
Wow, that’s awesome–why was she at 97 pounds to begin with? Unless she’s a 4′9″ Asian girl or something, that really doesn’t sound healthy.
Don’t forget to tell her that she needs to keep up the working out now that she’s not mowing lawns anymore–that muscle she gained will go away after a few months if she doesn’t keep up with it and get to the gym.
This is a really motivating story. You manage to find some thing that increases heart beats and burns calories while actually tending to the garden….well with an eye for calories in and calories out as you say, its a regular case of 2 birds with 1 stone etc etc.
I’m not that comfortable with a part of the last comment:
“Unless she’s a 4′9″ Asian girl or something, that really doesn’t sound healthy.”
Does that means that if you are Asian you are ok? Please clarify.
David
In addition to a healthy diet, any kind of resistance training like weight lifting will ultimately burn more calories than a cardio workout or no workout. The more muscles you have/build, the more calories you need to sustain them. So, you burn more calories and lose body fat even though you may gain weight since muscle weighs more than body fat by about 1.5X
Thanks for the post,
Rich
Good for you! I have three sisters and its always interesting to read about the family dynamics of others. We all are at very different places on the scale — just like you and your sister. Thanks for writing.
David, We are of Irish/German descent. She has been having problems with her thyroid. She is now on medication which is helping her. She is still having a hard time eating. I think her stomach has real shrunk. She’s feeling better so hopeful this is a start for her on the road to recovery.
I’m glad you wrote about your sister’s weight gain. It is a good example of how our emphasis should be on BEING HEALTHY. In your sister’s case, she may have been thin but her diet didn’t sound very healthy. And there is such a thing as being a “skinny fat person.” I believe if more people would focus their attention on “what is healthy for me to eat” and moving their bodies—the would look and be healthy. The most attractive people are the ones that look HEALTHY.
Jules, I’m her sister. LOL But guess gender doesn’t matter. She’s coming back to visit again soon. I hope I can continue what I started.
Hey Chris,
I love your blog man! It’s great and this article is just another cool look at building strength and losing weight.
I was wondering if you’d like to read my book, Eating for Energy?
When it comes to losing weight this book will blow your mind and revolutionize the way you might look at losing weight through healthy eating.
Let me know and I’ll send it your way.
Yuri
Amazing to think that you can build muscle and put on weight from simply mowing the lawns.
David, We are of Irish/German descent. She has been having problems with her thyroid. She is now on medication which is helping her. She is still having a hard time eating. I think her stomach has real shrunk. She’s feeling better so hopeful this is a start for her on the road to recovery.
My son and I had a similar experience. We started a small service business and he started gaining weight and I lost weight. Man, exercise is great. It gives you what you need!
I love your blog and your stories about yourself. I would like to read more.
this is an inspiring story, your such a sweet brother. Here’s a thing, a woman weighing 150 pounds with 19% fat will look much smaller (and be much healthier) than a woman at 150 pounds with 35% fat. They weigh the same, yet the composition is different. Because muscle is more dense than fat the person with less fat and more muscle will look smaller.
Stop being so obsessed with body weight and start paying attention to body composition. How much body fat do you have compared to muscle? Simply seeing how much you weigh isn’t very helpful.
Great. You are really good. You helped your sister to gain weight while you must lose weight. How can you do that? It was really nice. Many people really want to lose weight, but not all. Some wants to gain weight. Why not write an article on how to gain weight? I’m looking forward to that. Keep it up.
Thank you
great info thanks for the blog. I have bookmearked it