Well here I am ready for the last day at my daughter’s in Pa. Thought we were staying till early evening, but we left around 2:30 after lunch and after I got packed , which is a story unto itself. My husband is an Amsoil Dealer and he usually put’s in an order which he picks up at the warehouse. Well he had so much , my suitcase had to stay there till next time. Had to put everything in bags. The car was packed to the hilt and you couldn’t even see out the back window. Good thing I didn’t go shopping this time. But now home, all unpacked, cleaned up, did laundry, and worked out. Now to get another issue of Carol’s Corner in the bag. The picture I’m putting up next is me wearing my daughter’s coat. In a million years I bet she never thought I’d be fitting in HER clothes. It was fifty there today, so she gave me this to wear instead of my winter coat. The first day we were there, I wore her long workout pants and a jacket , when I did a two mile walk, on the walking trail they have in their development. It boggles my mind that I can wear some of her clothes. She wears a smaller pants size , and I weigh a little less than her now, but we are totally different body types. I think I look pretty good in her coat.

So to get started. Now not knowing what I was going to talk about today, I started doing my trusty google searches . They rarely fail me. I am going to take some material from health.com. Haven’t even read the whole thing, so we’ll all learn as we go along. If I don’t find something to be useful , we’ll just skip that part. The material is taken from something entitled ” 16 Ways To Lose Weight Fast. The premise seems to be , tweak your lifestyle in ways that can result in a 10-50 pound weight loss, and all the tips come from readers. If you’re having problems staying on a strict regimen and end up quitting your diets, there may be a better way. Swap the all or nothing approach , for one or two healthy switch-ups in your daily routine. You may be surprised by the results. So here we go. Let’s see what these readers have come up with. They are called slim down secrets to transform your body the real-world way. The first one is, “swap your to go order”. If you eat out a lot , try cutting back to just once a week. Instead of a large bowl of pasta order a grilled chicken salad instead. The reader who did this lost 20 pounds in just one month. The next tip , is called ” skip the salty aisle”. The person who suggested this said they reached their goal weight , when they routinely stopped buying snacks at the grocery store. If they wanted chips or a candy bar, they had to walk to get it , and that usually stopped their food cravings. The next tip comes from a person who never ate breakfast. Now they never go without. They usually try to have a healthy mix of protein and whole grains. Their go to meal: a sandwich with natural peanut butter & apple butter. It keeps their hunger down & they snack less during the day. This reader shed 65 pounds in a little over a year. The next tip is called, “get fit in five”. This reader suggests trying to fit in small bouts of exercise whenever possible, like doing jumping jacks or crunches during television commercials , or dancing while washing dishes. This burns extra calories and keeps you from mindless munching in front of the TV. You’ll find your clothes fitting better than ever. How about the next one they called , “kick the habit”? This reader quit smoking , joined a gym and got a personal trainer. There was no way they could exercise and feel healthy, if they were still lighting up. They dropped 37 pounds in three months. Now we have one called , “purge you pantry”. Totally clean out your pantry and replace your high calorie foods & snacks with lower calorie , healthier versions. Right away you will find yourself making better choices automatically. The reader who did this found herself slimmer than she was before she had her two children. The next suggestion is dubbed ” healthy up your happy hour”. This person would grab dinner with her colleagues after work , and this usually meant deep-fried. So they decided to change things up. Instead of nights out , they started walking & running around a local track. A year later , this reader was 40 pounds lighter. The next reader entitles their suggestion, ” get fired up”. She loaded up her I Pod with tunes that made her look forward to going to the gym. They energized her , allowing her to pick up speed on the elliptical, and because she wanted to hear the rest of her playlist , her workouts became longer. In two months she lost thirteen pounds and got what she described as killer legs. The next one is called ” pile on the veggies”. This is one everyone should be trying to do. Add vegetables to foods you love like pizza. This reader topped hers with Arugula & Green Peppers . The more veggies you eat , the fuller you will feel. You’ll feel fuller quicker, and won’t have room for those chips or high calorie desserts. This reader went down four dress sizes by doing this. If you happen to be a runner try this suggestion entitled “run your butt off”. When this reader wanted to fit in her skinny jeans again , she decided to run 20 minutes on her lunch hour , every day at work. In two months she lost 20 pounds, had tons of energy , and ran her first 5k. And those jeans, they’re too big now. The next one is called ” downward dog it”. You probably guessed this involved yoga. When this reader started doing yoga a couple times a week , they were more in touch with their hunger cues , so they ate intuitively , and stopped when they were full. They’ve gone down a jean size and got rid of their cellulite. This next one is a good one entitled,”don’t supersize it”. If you have a craving for fast food just order one of something , in a small size, just enough to satisfy your craving. This reader shaved off 16 pounds in seven weeks , and she is on track to being thinner for her high school reunion than she was then. I thought we had a reunion this year and was so excited for people to see me this time , and for some reason they never had it. Was I disappointed!! What we have here next is called , ” save room for your dessert “, something I love. Budget for the treats you love by eating healthy low calorie snacks , so you can splurge on something you love when you want it. By doing this, this reader still managed to lose 20 pounds in three months. The next one is called, ” brave a new class”. Two months ago, this reader started going to a Zumba class twice a week. The crazy dance routines really tone your muscles, especially abs, and provides a heart pounding cardio workout. The reader who did this lost eleven pounds , almost bringing her to her goal weight. Next up is,”nix nighttime eating”. This will work for most people unless you keep crazy hours like me. This might help you lose some weight fast. Pick a time you will stop eating in the early evening and do this five days a week. Most of what you eat then is junk food anyway. Stick to this and you’ll find yourself shedding pounds. The last one is one many of you will like,” walk with Spot”. If you are a dog owner, go walking with your dog every day, even if it’s only 10 minutes. The reader who does this says when the weather is horrible, her dog’s enthusiasm gives her the incentive to go out , when she wouldn’t dare lace up her sneakers otherwise. Doing this she lost over 50 pounds in a year. So there you have it, a bunch of great ideas to put into practice from real people who actually put them into practice themself. Hope you found some useful ideas to incorporate on your own journey to health and wellness. Going to end today’s edition with some more Christmas Pics from my house. These are in my living room and you will note on the organ bench , my piles of workout DVD’s which I use almost every night.

Hope you enjoyed what I put together for this issue. It is quite a challenge to put out quality material each and every day. I hope you find that I am living up to the challenge, and please remember, I need & want your suggestions, so don’t be shy. Till next time , God Bless.