What kind of hobbies do you have? One of my friends asked me to go on a hike the other day, and while it was a little cold I decided to go. It was gorgeous! It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and a lot of people were out for a stroll with their family and friends, some even brought their dogs!

As I looked around on this gorgeous Sunday, it occurred to me that most of the people out there were in pretty decent shape. Ah ha, I thought1! So this is what fit people do! In the past, often my weekends have been a bit 'lazy', spending time around the house, on the computer or watching TV, maybe running an errand or two (read: sitting in the car for 90% of the time and maybe walking around a store for 5 or 10 minutes), or perhaps going to a movie with my equally out of shape friends. I would tell myself I was "relaxing".

While it is good to relax sometimes, if you live a generally sedentary life (such as working a job that is seated most of the time and you don't make it to the gym very often), it would be a much better use of your free time to get out and move! And believe it or not it makes you feel better to get some fresh air and a little exercise! Best of all it can actually be quite fun to get out and enjoy nature- go for a walk, a hike, rent a kayak and float down the river! Most importantly do it with friends so you have people to share the fun with and take snaps so you have lasting memories to make you smile!

I am a huge fan of blogging and the blogosphere! If you are new to the world of blogs (derived from 'web-logs') see below for the top 5 reasons you should start your own blog too!

1. Its fun!

   If you enjoy writing about your opinions, hobbies, likes or dislikes, and product area you are interested in, you life, advice.... basically anything you can think of that you think someone out there may want to read! Pick a general topic or theme for your blog that you are interested in so you will enjoy writing about it(or posting pictures, media, art etc)!




2. You learn a lot!

   While doing research for post topics you may find out some things you never new or improve your knowledge on a given subject area! Its also an excuse to stay up to date with all of the new products, studies, and news related to your blogs topic (so if its your hobby or something you like this part is pretty exciting too!)




3. You can make some money if play your cards right ;)

Making money with a blog can be as simple as creating a blog (check out Blogger or Typepad for some free options), setting up an Adsense account, creating an ad code (the directions are on the site and very simple), and pasting the text on your page! From that point all you have to do is get people to you site so they will see and click on the ads. The more money you want to make the more people you need to get to your site (which is another post for another day- but start by telling people you know in the real world!) And of course there are many affiliate ad programs out there to choose from, all with varying payment plans.



4. Joining the blogosphere opens a whole new world of online friends and contacts!

Once you start a blog you can join the exciting blog marketing sites like Blogcatalog or Mybloglog. Both of these communities allow you to publicize your own blog while learning about other blogs and bloggers as well (because if you don't know already, one way to drive traffic to you site is friending others and posting comments on other blogs- but be a nice poster with a relevant comment not a spammer of course!)



5. Blogging is a great distraction!

   I find blogging to be more worthwhile than other less valuable uses of time (i.e. eating junk food or watching too much TV!). If you've ever had a weight problem you may know what its like to focus on food too much, and having a blog gives you something to do during all of your free time -just don't write about food! ;)

So you might be asking yourself, 'Who is this chick and why do I care what she has to say?' I can answer the first one for you, and its up to you if you care and want to keep reading (I think you will!)

For starters, as many of you may be able to relate to, I have always struggled with my weight. From the time I was in 5th grade and started eating very large afternoon snacks home alone after school (my first binges?), I have battled my body (and the mind games that go with it). I cannot claim to have tried every diet out there- but I've sure tried quite a few! Everything from the basics of just trying to 'eat healthy,' to low carb or no fat plans, extreme calorie restriction diets, to fiber pills and weight loss remedies, even as far as not eating anything and only drinking diet coke and water for 10 days (oh fasting- surprisingly not as bad as you'd think!). The short of it is I spent much of my time thinking about food, whether I was in a 'fat mindset' and I was eating poorly or bingeing, or I was in a 'thin mindset' and I was focused constantly on every healthy morsel that went into my mouth and planning every second of each day around the next time I would eat.

I have come to realize something essential: the more I obsess about food, the more I eat. When I distract myself with other things (especially things that I can get really absorbed in) I focus less on food, and thus eat less. While this seems like a simple principle I will show you how it has worked for me to lose as well as maintain weight (which can be just as hard as the losing part!) Through all of my crazy diets I've leaned a lot, in addition to my distraction principle I've got some fun tips and tricks to share as well!

I have maintained more than a 40 pound weight loss for the last 3+ years. My highest weight ever was just over 200 lbs. I've lost 30+ lbs 3 times in my life, and fluctuating up(or down when crash dieting) 10 to 20 lbs was just my norm. A few summers ago I got down to 148lbs, maintained for no more than a week, and was again up in the 150s. I''ve been stable in the low 160's the last few months, not really focusing on a particular diet, generally just eating meals at meal time, though still having some crazy cookie binges. But a few weeks ago I noticed my pants getting a bit looser. I actually had to think about what had happened! ME- crazy eating all of the time, focused on food nonstop.. can eat more than most guys if I want to (not that I ever would in public ;)... has some how managed to lose some weight without trying?!?!

And it came to me- I had found a new obsession recently: BLOGGING! I love to write and I have just recently been introduced to this new social medium. It is amazing! After years and years of being told to write down every calorie I eat, no more than 20 grams of fat, or some other extreme where you spend all day thinking about food, planning how and when to eat, preparing your foods because somehow it always takes longer when you are dieting... I'll I've done is not focus on it basically at all, and somehow managed to get my once skin tight jeans to feel loose again! I don't have an exact pounds lost because I was not on a diet and I, as a dedicated binger, would never weigh myself while not dieting! ;)

SOOO... I decided to create another blog! This one, as the title applty descibes, is dedicated to helping others get healthier by not obsessing about food, as well as how to gain a bit of cash flow from online opportunities such as blogging!

Cheers!

Hello All!

And welcome to Gain Health - Gain Wealth! A resource for all of your weight-loss and health concerns, I will be listing tips and tricks that work for me as well as links to articles and information that can help you on your health and weight-loss journey!

Take a look around- I hope you enjoy what you find here! My comments are always open so please share your advice too!