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There are non profit organizations out there that do want to support people in healthy lifestyles. You don’t need expensive programs to loose weight but you do need support. The two programs I found out about are TOPs (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) and Champs which is run by The Canadian Diabetic Association. Both of these programs are under 100$ a year to join. They both have weigh in and support meetings which are educational in nature. I choose to go to the Champs meeting just because both my little ones are in school on that day. There is also Overeaters Anonymous which is a 12 step program based on Alcoholics Anonymous. There were not any OA meetings in my area but I do see that eating for some of us is like a drug, well at least chocolate is for me. 
There is also some amazing free online support for losing weight my favorite site is You On A Diet this site is amazing register and you can have daily healthy eating tips sent to your e-mail addy also there are lifestyle questionnaires that you can fill out to determine your real age. There are also customizable meal plans that give you the shopping list for what you will need for a weeks worth of food. Also the forum is there if you can’t get out to a support meeting for losing weight.
Yoga has been a huge help to me over the last year, I feel that I have gained back a lot of strength from doing yoga not to mention some peace of mind. I started by using the video, ‘Yoga For Dumbies’ presented by Sarah Ivanhoe you can take it out from your public library an good online source for yoga poses and information is the ‘Yoga Journal.’ The best thing next to eating healthy that you can do for your health is to walk. There is so much evidence to support walking as one of the safest and most effective way to get exercise.
The phrase “Walking is man’s best medicine,” allegedly spoken by Hippocrates two millennia ago, is even more timely today. This fact is particularly true in industrialized societies where new technologies have not only changed the way we work but, even more profoundly, have also affected our life styles by reducing the physical effort of most of our daily activities . Source
Walking is great it’s free you only have to do 30 minutes a day so really there is no excuse not to do it I know when I get into the routine of walking I lose weight and feel so much stronger. I like walking to because it can be social if you are in the mood for that. Or you can do it by yourself. The same is true for yoga. It’s nice to know there are cheap and free supports out there for those of us that are trying to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.
Family fun night went off with out a hitch. We all had a very good time. Evamae and Henry got dressed up and did a little performance to the poem, “Singa Songa.” That was very easy for them to do, I read out the poem they preformed the actions to it. Then they put on an improvisational puppet show with Justin. They had spent time early that day making puppets out of brown paper lunch bags, pom poms, crayons and yarn. We tipped over a table so the kids could sit behind it to preform the puppet show. Our living room is sunken so we used the dining room as a stage and put some string up and hung some sheets across it to make our stage curtains. We were able to make do with stuff we had to pull off a decent stage.
The kids also did a dance to the song, Magic Bus by the Who, which worked out well because they could pretend to be driving a bus and honking the horn. At the end Les, I and Justin did a skit for the them. It’s one I adapted from a camp fire skit. I gave Henry and Evamae spray bottles with settings set to mist. I told this story. “This is how you make a fire, you have to start with the smallest log. (Justin lies down in the middle of the floor). Then you add a bigger log (I lie down over top of Justin). Then you put on the biggest log (Les was lying on top of me and Justin). The Justin screams out “fire!!!” Then Les and I do as well, then the kids are allowed to squirt us with their spray bottles. They were laughing their heads off as they sprayed us all and so did we!
We dragged out our mattresses into the living room lit our fire place and we watched the movie Underdog and ate pop corn. It was a fun night at home for all of us. Les even wants to make it a monthly event. I can’t wait to do it again. It’s a fun way to bond with the family.
There are so many ways to have cheap fun. This weekend my husband has off and my oldest son will be coming to visit. We our going to set up a make shift tent in our living room, light a fire in our fire place and sleep with the kids in sleeping bags and make believe we our camping we’ve told them about it and they are very excited. We’ll pop, pop corn, roast marshmellows in the fire, tell scary stories and play around. The kids have some dress up clothes so I think we will start the fun early and start rehearsing for a play. I was thinking of choosing a Mother Goose Rhyme to reenact.
I’m going to make a cracker/cheese fruit plate, we’ll have popcorn and rice crispy squares to snack on too. That should be enough I have to undo the button on my pants just writing about it. I know my daughter will love to sing and dance for us too. They are so sweet at this age, really they have the most fun when they get to just play with us. I think that makes them happier then all the cheap plastic toys, we’ve felt compelled to buy in the past.
I think my husband and I should do a skit to, now lets see if I can motivate him to join in? I’m sure he will but it’s not something he’d think of that’s for sure. Fun fun fun at the Sveinson’s House this weekend.
