50 Million Pound Challenge Info

I added a new link to the useful links that Mom told me about this morning. You may have seen ads about it. It is a State Farm campaign. The website has lots of free weight loss tracking tools and also has good tips and tricks. Here are some I just ran across that I thought were interesting:

Dr. Ian’s Tip #1
If you’re ever feeling hungry between meals and you’ve already had a snack, brush your teeth with toothpaste that has a strong peppermint flavor. You can even floss your teeth for good measure. This will dampen your urge to eat.
Dr. Ian’s Tip #2
Soups can be your friend. Eating soups that contain chicken, beans, and/or vegetables can provide a tasty meal, and load you up on vitamins and other healthy nutrients. Avoid adding things like bacon bits, cheese, crackers, and cream cheese, as they will pile on unnecessary calories. Soups can be great low-calorie meals.
Dr. Ian’s Tip #3
The milk switch. Get rid of the calorie-laden whole milk, and instead switch to 1%. Let’s say you drink 1 cup of milk (8 oz) each day. If you don't change anything else you normally do, you could lose approximately 5 pounds in one year just by switching to 1% milk.
Dr. Ian’s Tip #4
Variety is the spice of your exercise life. Don’t limit your exercises. Instead, try to mix up your workout so that you don’t get bored with the same routine. Also, when your body grows accustomed to a routine, it’s more likely to hold on to the fat and make it more difficult for you to lose weight.
Dr. Ian’s Tip #5
Liquid calories no more. Calories hidden in alcoholic beverages can be sneaky and fattening at the same time. Take a look at the numbers: for 1 gram of fat, there are 9 calories. For 1 gram of carbohydrate, there are 4 calories. For 1 gram of alcohol, there are 7 calories. Did you ever think that a glass of alcohol could be almost as fattening as french fries?

Anyway - pretty cool tools out there - no excuses!