Week 1 of 4

On Wednesday's weigh in, the results were:
Me = Down 1 pound
My sis = Up 1/2 a pound
Mom = Up 2 pounds

Just a few weeks to go.

Healthy Vacations

This is the perfect time of the year to put in my two cents on healthy vacations. My mother, sister, and I managed to have a relatively healthy vacation last year near Gulf Shores, Alabama, by renting a condo where we could prepare most of our own meals. We did eat out some (must enjoy the local fare!) and did stop once at an ice cream shop, but those outings were well balanced against the rest of our meals. We also made sure we got in walks/runs on the beaches.

The trickiest part of managing my food, now that I am not traveling Monday through Thursday for my project, is when I go to the in-laws' river house on the weekend. They are always preparing yummy food, and the hardest part is moderation. I definitely need to make sure I am not treating my weekend trips there as vacations from healthy eating!

I came across an article on America's healthiest beach and lake getaways, for those of you who head toward American waters for holidays.

iPhone Weight Loss Tool - A Secret Weapon

One of my weight loss weapons in the 4 pounds 4 weeks bet, is a free application I downloaded on my iPhone. The app, called "Lose It!," automatically tracks calories and exercise against a weight loss goal of your choosing. The app calculates calories for foods in its large database, has some brand name foods, will track calories burned in a day, and will estimate your daily calorie needs based on your weight loss goals. It also allows you to enter your weight each day and makes a nice little weekly chart of your weight loss.

Lose It! has been very easy to use so far, and it may become my secret weapon in winning this bet with my mom and my sister who is now joining in the fun. (My sister has an iPhone, too, so she may try to find an even better app to try to beat us out.)

4 Pound, 4 Weeks

It's on. Again. My mother, sister, and I have bet: 4 pounds in 4 weeks. Who would like to join us?

The Obesity Numbers Are In!

I love the time of year when the new obesity numbers by state are released. Mississippi is still the fattest state, with a 32.5 percent rate of adult obesity.

The report: F as in Fat 2009

The report does note some positive trends in policies enacted by states, including more states with nutritional standards for school lunches and required screening for child obesity.

This report also notes that the current economic recession may exacerbate our health/weight issues due to an expected rise in food costs, increasing rates of uninsured and unemployed, and stress.