WOW! You look stunning and definitely the fairest of the fair! Congrats! Hugs, Stephanie

I'm checking in too! heres a new map link, I don't know why the other one was so small!! http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1609/9234421/16931981/281113964.jpg we went for a walk this morning to the dunkins further away and I plan to walk at lunch. BF knows about our walks so I'm hoping he's as excited about it as I am. Surprisingly, he decided to walk on the treadmill last night so its a start. We're booking our Cape Cod trip for this weekend and plan to stay in Brewster which is in the middle of the Cape Rail Trail, the trail runs 34 miles, can I count that for our walk?? We're hoping to do half of it one day and the other half 2 days later! I'll have to remember my camera for some folliage pictures along the trail! its so good to see everyone participating and getting back on track, we can do it Marchers Rebeka hope you're ready for us!!

and that's just what they'll do....One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you...Are you ready boots? Start walkin'! OK so now I am humming that old Nancy Sinatra tune - not that it was a motivation song for walking - more a get even love song....but the message is good in theory! Today begins our MARCHers WALK-A-THON across America. Hope everyone is fired up and ready to go! I have my trust pedometer hooked to my hip and I am ready to move! If you are just reading this post about walking...our goal is to walk across America, from Penn Station in New York to Union Station in LA. (picture map in this link! thanks to STYLZ) http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1609/9234421/16931981/280980629.jpg It is about 2,780 miles from one to the other and we are all going to contribute to this (on paper!). It's easy - keep track of your miles each day, week and once a week - next Monday I will ask everyone to report in and then we will see how far we have gone in a week. At the end of the month, everybody who has helped will get a certificate of participation from me and a small gift to the MARCHer who walks the most during the month. Laura A. gets double miles because in addition to walking, she is also undergoing chemotherapy and that brave woman who wants to help with this endeavor earns double mileage from me!!!! Be sure and send me your address by my email so I can send your certificate to you at the end of the month: [email protected]. ARE YOU READY BOOTS? START WALKING..... Barbara

Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Concentrate on your strengths instead of your weaknesses, on your powers instead of your problems.....Paul J. Meyer What are our strengths? What are our weaknesses? What are our powers? What are our problems? Our strenghts were pretty much determined when we made the decision to have WLS. Our weaknesses is what got us to the point of needing WLS!!!! What are our powers? Our power is to continue on with this journey until we meet our goal and then our power is to continue to maintain our weight loss. Our problems we face right now is the need to get to goal and what we can do to overcome those problems that are preventing us from getting to goal. Talk about strength? What about Laura A. making a decision to walk in our October walk-a-thon...talk about problems? She is going through chemotherapy and yet she is making an effort to walk. What a woman...talk about power? She is my hero! So in conclusion - we have the strength to continue on to make our goal...our weakness is if we chose to make the wrong decisions. We have the power to make the right decisions - more water, take our vitamins, more exercise, more protein and our problem is when we make the conscious decision to not follow the rules. What strength will you exhibit today and what power will you have to overcome the wrong decisions? Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat - you can do it MARCHers going to goal!!!! Hugs to all...Barbara

# 1 Weigh yourself everyday, one study showed that daily weighers lost 12 pounds per year while weekly weighers only lost 6 pounds per year # 2 Spend no more than 2 hours per day watching TV or sitting in front of the computer, TV junkies miss out on calorie burning activities like walking, gardening or playing with kids. TV watchers are sitting ducks for food ads. Record your favorite shows so you can fast forward through the commercials. # 3 Contact a support person. Long term weight loss requires support. It is suggested we contact a support person at least 3 times a week for accountability, for encouragement and to give back what you have been given. # 4 Eat fiber at every meal. Eat 4 grams of fiber at every meal. A survey showed that woman who ate less than 13 grams of fiber per day were 5 times more likely to be overweight. We can get our fiber from raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains in bread, cereal or cracker. There are 5 grams of fiber is one small apple or one cup of broccoli. # 5 Add 5000 steps to every day. The average person takes about 5000 steps to do their daily activities. Adding 5000 steps for a total of 10,000 steps could result in a 50 pound weight loss in a year. Walking lowers blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and pounds. I will conclude this tomorrow. Which of these areas are you strong in and which are you continuing to struggle with? Life is great, Rick