Slim People in Progress

2010 is my year to get back on track with my weight loss goals

I know it's a cliche -- the number one New Year's resolution is to lose weight -- but I've got get back on track this year. 2009 wasn't so great for me in terms of keeping my weight off. In fact I put about 15 pounds on due to poor eating habits and not so much working out.

Though I continue to run and go to a Pilates class once a week, it's just not enough. It's been proven over and over that exercise alone will not help you lose weight. Got to cut the calories too.

So, I'm thinking about going back to Weight Watchers. It's the one system that actually worked for me. Not sure if I want to go to meetings. I may join the online version instead because I like the tracking tools. I know what works and I've got to get back in the habit and do it...

...portion control

...more whole grains

...less sweet stuff

...measuring my portions

...writing everything down

....move more

Not so hard, right?

I also am committing to run more frequently. Currently I get a run in on Sundays with friends and sometimes I do a group run at the local Nike store. I need to get at least a third day in every week in order to maintain decent endurance. I'm running a half marathon on January 10 and I have to confess that I'm not that well prepared.

OK, that's it for me. What about you? What will you do to improve your health and fitness in 2010?

Get Fit by Tracking How Much You Move in a Day

My favorite tech writer, David Pogue of the New York Times, features two cool gadgets to help you lose weight in today's column.

Pogue reviewed the Fitbit and the DirectLife, both of which take the pedometer to a whole new level. Essentially they monitor your daily activity which can then download and track on your computer. You get feedback in various ways about how much more you need to step it up to burn more calories. You can track your calorie intake and how much you sleep with the Fitbit.

Two new tiny wearable motion sensors are on the loose, backed by Web sites that graph the collected data on daily activity for your motivational pleasure. There’s the Fitbit ($100) and its rival from Philips, the DirectLife ($80). In both cases, the idea is to make you aware of your daily activity and to challenge you to step it up. But despite that similarity of goal, the two gadgets are wildly different in approach.

The Fitbit has more features, but the DirectLife has activity and nutrition coaches that motivate and comment on your activity for the first 12 weeks via email. That's pretty cool.

I think I should put one of these gadgets on my Wish list!

Running Memories (video)

On my weekly runs I usually bring my phone which has a camera. I like to document most runs, to capture the moment and to amuse myself when it's long and may be feeling uncomfortable.

I started my running journey in January 2007 so it's been nearly 3 years! I can hardly believe it. I have quite a few photos so I put together a montage video for my running buddies as a holiday gift. Thought I'd share it with you to show you some of my accomplishments and the beauty of running in California. Enjoy!

The video is made at Animoto. A fun site that lets you easily create video from your photos.

Pound for Pound Challenge Kicks Off After Biggest Loser Finale

I received the following announcement today and feel it's important to pass along to you:

Tonight The Biggest Loser will announce new stats from the U.S government citing more than 49 million Americans struggled to get enough to eat in 2008, the highest total in 14 years. To wake up Americans to the hunger issue, trainer Bob Harper will reveal that General Mills is making an unprecedented donation of 49 million bowls of whole grain cereal to Feeding America.

General Mills is also encouraging Americans to fight hunger in their own communities and help Feeding America deliver millions of pounds of groceries to local food banks by joining the Pound For Pound Challenge. Americans can get involved by pledging to lose weight online at www.PFPChallenge.com.  For every pound lost, General Mills will donate $0.14 to Feeding America (up to $800,000), enough to deliver one pound of groceries to a local food bank.

With your help, last year the Pound For Pound Challenge helped Feeding America deliver more than 3.5 million pounds of groceries to local food banks. The second year of the Pound For Pound Challenge kicks off tonight after the season finale of NBC’s The Biggest Loser (8 p.m. EST).

You can make a difference in your life, as well as the lives of those in your community.