My Apologies and a tip

I haven't been posting lately, had a lot of things going on in what I call "Life".

I have continued to lose weight, however. At my last weigh-in, I posted a total loss of forty-five pounds. That's since May.

I've had weeks where I lost ounces, and a couple where I'd gained ounces. The good comes with the bad and luckily, I've had more good than bad. I'm about half-way to my goal, and I plan to continue on until I meet it.

At a recent weigh-in, the nurse told me a tip she had gotten at a recent bariatric seminar. While you are doing your normal activities (not exercise), wear a one pound weight on your ankles and/or wrists. Nurse J had round ones that were kind of fuzzy. As soon as I left the office, I went to Walmart (I was headed there anyway), and checked out their sporting goods section. I couldn't find the same weights Nurse J had (and apparently they can't be found for love or money), but I did find other weights that would do the trick. Walmart has packs of wrist weights, ankle weights, ankle and wrist weights that come in different weights. I couldn't find ankle weights of one pound, but did get wrist weights. I figured that I could try it out and at some other time get the ankle weights.

For the next week I didn't exercise, but wore them for my "normal", non-exercise activities. I wore them at work and when I went shopping, ran errands or the like. I watched my food intake as always, but as I said, did no exercise as such. I gave myself the week off for the experiment. I lost, only about a quarter pound, but it was a loss.

My weights are by Danskin and happen to be pink and black. Hey, I am a girl, after all.

The ones pictured at purple and black and happen to be two pound weights. More than one pound weights are not recommended for normal routine, but would be fine for exercise.

How to Maintain Your Weight

By Craig Ballantyne

Oprah recently featured some former contestants from "The Biggest Loser." Unfortunately, some of them had regained up to 100 pounds since they left the show.

While losing weight is hard, not enough attention is given to the equally difficult process of maintaining weight loss. And what most people don't realize is that the method you use to lose weight helps determine how difficult weight maintenance will be.

Researchers from the City University of New York studied folks who were successful at losing at least 10 percent of their bodyweight in the past year. They were separated into three groups. Group one had lost the weight with a very-low calorie diet (VLCD). Group two had lost the weight with a commercial weight-loss program. And the third group had lost the weight using a self-directed approach.

Initially, the VLCD group had a greater average weight loss (24 percent of bodyweight) compared to the two other groups (17 percent). But the researchers found that they quickly regained the most weight. On the other hand, the folks who had lost the weight on their own - as a result of making lifestyle changes - were able to maintain their weight loss.

What can you learn here? Well, it's like many weight-loss experts keep saying: You must make simple, easy-to-stick-to lifestyle changes if you want to lose weight and keep it off. Crash diets and excessive exercise programs might work for a while, but they won't help you in the long run.

Start your long-term weight-loss program today by finding a form of exercise you enjoy and a diet that suits your personality, and by surrounding yourself with social support - people who are genuinely interested in seeing you succeed.

[Ed. Note: Extending your life and living out your years in tip-top health is really a matter of making simple lifestyle choices. For more easy-to-implement ideas about how to live longer and feel better, click here.

Looking for exercise that is enjoyable and can help you lose weight? Try fitness expert Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training exercise program.]

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I removed the links above as they went to sites offering to sell you something. If you want more information, click here.