Well, like everyone else on the planet, I’m trying to lose weight. After doing my due diligence on what the best diet is, I came up with my problem!

I’m getting older now, so things are a-changing (no comments, please!) so even though I’ve always tried to eat healthy and watch the calories……methods that used to always work for me don’t seem to be working anymore! aaarrgh!

Well, we all know things aren’t always what they seem, but the reality for me was in the numbers. I had always estimated my calories, but even though I didn’t think I was overeating, before I realized it, I had 50 pounds to lose. Never in my life did I ever think I would be faced with this much to lose!

Well, after a discussion with a brutally honest friend, (the best kind) I was challenged to measure and count calories exactly, and I had a rude awakening! I was taking in many more calories than I had thought, which probably somewhat accounts for those pounds that just seemed to sneak up on me. Duh.

For those of you over 45, or under 45 if you’re forward thinking, you have probably noticed how much faster time seems to be going. So a year goes by in a snap, right?
Well, take a look at these FACTS:

How to gain 50 pounds in under a year:
The average woman, 45 years old, 150# that gets less than 2 hours exercise per day burns about 1612 calories-I hate to tell you, but that’s not much. Calculate your calories

Just 500 extra calories/day = 3500 calories/week = 1 pound… (500 calories is surprisingly easy to snack away!)

1 pound x 50 weeks (I’ll give you 2 weeks off) = 50 pounds /year. Now, with years going by in a snap……..

Challenge: write down everything you eat for a week, or even a day or two, and calculate exactly what you eat and you might be surprised like I was! Even if you’re not overweight right now, this is a great homeschool project, a life skill that is nice to know BEFORE the weight adds on! Of course, increase your exercise, and you get more calorie allowance, and add those recommended extras each day like take the stairs, park farther away, etc. – it all helps out.

Some Free Tools:

There is an easy calorie counter (by Coheso) you can put on your Google page that has a huge library of restaurant foods, and another that will calculate your daily calorie needs. These can be found if you click where it says “add stuff” (top right side of page), then in the search box, type “calorie calculator” and I use the first two on the list. There’s lots more to choose from, I just haven’t tried them yet, let me know if you find a better one.

This has been a great eye opener for our whole family, we’ve all been making better choices and already feeling better and have more energy. It’s amazing all the little things you can do to shave a little here and there off your totals.

CalorieCount.About.com has a new free service that helps you keep track of your calories, and RealAge.com is fantastic with all their tools and helps-they even have online video workouts.

We also found in the Sports and Fitness area on our Comcast On Demand a (no added charge) 17 minute “Walk a Mile” workouts you can do inside. I know it’s always better to go outside when possible, but I also know there are many days I just won’t go out. This has been a great find, and there’s many other workouts on there, too. There’s so many free places online to help you make these changes, it’s easier than ever to get fit and thin!

Be blessed!

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