How to Lose Weight and (maybe) Get Rich!

I want to look like the perky gal over there. Truth is, I wasn't built like that even when I was built like that...  It is almost Thanksgiving, and if I don't do something about my weight, I will have to buy clothes in the next size, which is Petite 16. This is an oxymoron. There is nothing petite about a Size 16!  (I call this size Jumbo Shrimp.) As a Lifetime Weight Watcher member, I'm convinced that if I return on January 1, confetti and balloons will fall from the ceiling as they announce that I have started over more times than any Weight Watcher in history. Hooray! Without members like me, they'd be out of business. Have you tried the new Weight Watcher Red Velvet Snack Bars? I have. 16 of them in one sitting.

So I am back to wearing my Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer, walking 10,000 steps a day and eating sensibly. A pedometer is a good fitness motivator, but I have another surprising suggestion to help you - or someone you love-get moving. A few years ago I met a wonderful woman at the Pritikin Center who had lost lots of weight with the 10,000 steps a day/eating right program. But she had trouble getting her overweight husband to walk. She would drive to scenic spots; he would sit in the car. Then she got him a METAL DETECTOR. He got hooked on finding treasures: watches, jewelry, old coins. She walked, he walked, and (naturally) he ended up losing more weight than she did! 

A metal detector is a great idea to get kids going, too. You can find cheapies, but you usually get what you pay for. Consider quality American made products such as White's Metal Detectors which start at $200-300 for basic beginners and go up. Try a hobby store for good products and advice. There are detectors for different terrains, such as beach, woods and concrete or urban environments. Click here to see a selection of Books on Metal Detecting. A book with a detector would make a unique (and possibly life-changing) gift. I read one story about two kids who found an $11,000 diamond ring with a very inexpensive detector--on their first outing. Maybe you can get rich and thin at the same time! At least you can have fun trying.