Applebee's

After working in the morning at the Health Fair, my husband took me to one of my favorite restaurants, Applebee's, here in Elk Grove. What I love most about Applebee's is the fact they have Weight Watchers meals on their menu! These meals are delicious and provide you with all of the necessary information regarding calories and how many points for each entree. This is a huge plus for all of us who want to enjoy a lunch or dinner out, but want to stay within our lifestyle limits. So, go enjoy a meal out at Applebee's; guilt-free!!!

Cover the Kids

Saturday, April 24 was Cover the Kids Day at Edward Harris Middle School. I was allowed to be a special guest and share my platform regarding the importance of good, sound nutrition and exercise. I was also able to MC their raffle and gave away many prices which were beneficial to supporting their program. Cover the Kids (CTK) is a program that pushes forward that ALL children have access to affordable, comprehensive health coverage. Parents were given the tools on how to be an active part in their child's health. They were supplied with the information on how to get health insurance for their child, where to go for help, and how to work with their child's doctor which will help to keep their child on the path to good health. To find out more about Cover the Kids go to http://www.coverthekids.com/. Special thanks to Kathy and General produce for supplying all of the yummy fruit!

Albiani Middle School Jogathon

March 24, I volunteered at my son's school, Katherine L. Albiani Middle School for their annual Track & Field fundraiser. Their team is supported by Traci Seto and Justin Pereira. The objective was to raise money to pay for uniforms, transportation, and various training equipment by getting sponsors to pay for each lap run around the track in a one-hour period. As we all know it is so important our students have active outreaches after school and with the lack of school budgets it really is a must to have such events as this. I was very impressed with the organization of the whole run and of all the parent volunteers who came out to support our track team! All students were successful in their endeavors! And I know the event will benefit our school greatly!!

Florin High School

With March being National Nutrition Month I have been a very busy advocate to fight childhood obesity. Tuesday, March 23, I had the opportunity to visit Florin High School's Home Economics Department taught under the leadership of Mary-Anne Adams. We were promoting our new Champions for Changes, Harvest of the Month program. As I mentioned in my earlier blog, each month a new fruit or vegetable is introduced. Through this program students have the opportunity to taste various fruits or vegetables they may have never tasted before! Our vegetable of the month is carrots! We were very busy washing and peeling carrots to hand out to the high school students at their lunchtime. We were also assisted by Anne Gafney, R.D. Nutrition Specialist for Elk Grove Unified School District. It was very rewarding to see how the students responded to trying and eating our carrots. Many even asked for seconds! Thank you to Florin High for allowing me to not only be their guest teacher at times, but also to share with them my mission: Fight Childhood Obesity!

Other Stories of Weight Watcher Supporters

These are the two ladies I was speaking of that have such inspiring stories! They felt that by sharing their stories, they truly hope they can inspire at least one person to change their lifestyle and live healthier, all of it would have been worth it! I am so proud of these two individuals and what they have accomplished. Please read their success stories below:

Nichole C. Wofford
My journey with Weight Watchers began in April, 2007. At the time I joined Weight Watchers, I was 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighed approximately 457 lbs and was extremely unhealthy. I'd wanted to have gastric bypass surgery through Kaiser Permanente-Fremont in order to save my life, but needed to lose 57 lbs in order to qualify for the surgery. I thought this was impossible! At the time, I was pre-diabetic, had hypertension, sleep apnea, high cholesterol and a lot of bodily aches and pains. I could hardly walk 1/2 a block around my neighborhood. Through the support of Weight Watchers, I lost 57 lbs that qualified me to have the gastric bypass surgery in February, 2008. Since then I have lost a total of 213 lbs and now weigh 244 lbs. I have approximately 45 lbs to go. This is the closest I have ever come to reaching my weight loss goal. Today, I am active and healthy, I exercise daily through doing the elliptical machine, riding my bike and walking around my neighborhood. I participated in my first triathlon and duathlon last summer with my Weight Watchers leader, Cara, and my Weight Watchers receptionist, Carol. They have been so wonderfully supportive and have been there every step of the way along my journey. Although I've had the surgery, I understand my health relationship with food is something I will have to manage the rest of my life. Weight Watchers offers a program I know I can follow for life and remain successful. I am determined to reach my weight loss goal and I am planning to reach my final weight of 199 by December, 2010.

Bethany V. Smith

At my heaviest weight, I was 511 lbs. I had diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, knee problems and had almost died due to a pulmonary embolism in the summer of 2007. I was dying and needed to do something drastically different in order to change my life. I'd heard gastric bypass surgery could possibly save my life and I would be approved if I lost approximately 80 lbs. I joined Weight Watchers in order to help me lose the weight I needed to have the surgery. Through Weight Watchers, I lost 86 lbs and had my surgery in June, 2008. Since then, I have lost almost 250 lbs and now weigh approximately 265 lbs today. I have about 70 lbs more to lose which will put me at 195 lbs. A healthy weight for me since I am 6 feet 2 inches tall. Today, although I am not fond of exercise, I try to exercise daily by riding my recumbent bicycle, watching what I eat and attending my Weight Watchers meetings regularly. My lifestyle has changed so much since joining Weight Watchers. I now know appropriate portion sizes, know hot to order food when I am dining out and have learned to manage my food triggers. At the meetings, I feel a great deal of support from my group and group leader, Cara, who has been there with me since the beginning. I am confident I am going to reach my weight loss goal by the end of this year and when I do, I plan to treat myself to a long vacation! Look out world, here I come!

Personal Journey with Weight Watchers

To my fellow followers,
I want to share with you my own personal journey with Weight Watchers. I want you to know how much I truly value such an amazing company and realize what a remarkable program they have! I started Weight Watchers right out of college. My first year of teaching I had gained some unwanted pounds due to the stress. I lost 25lbs and became a lifetime member in April of 1992. I kept my weight off after having my son at 30. I was able to maintain my weight thru Weight Watchers from 24 to 40! That's 16 years! But, getting remarried at 37 and a whole new lifestyle I found it harder after 40 to keep it off. I deviated and went for the quick fix! Jenny Craig and Nutri-System, but both those programs are not real life! Yes, I lost the weight, but didn't keep it off! At 42, after rejoining Weight Watchers in the summer, I am finally regaining my old, thinner, but muscular body back! Weight Watchers was the inspiration for me to run for Mrs. California! I will never leave Weight Watchers again!! It truly is a lifestyle, not a DIET! I have recently purchased and read the "Jean Nidetch Story," and was truly impressed that a housewife from Queens, New York who had no formal college education or nutritional background could start such an amazing company! And with such a simple concept!! Real life!! I will always be a Weight Watcher member! And do what is the only thing that works. The program that enables you to build the habits you need to keep the weight off for good!!! Slow and steady wins the race!!!

Sheldon 4H Cooking Project

Friday the 19th, I was the guest speaker at my son's 4H meeting. His class in 4H is the Cooking Project and is led by Kim Gillin. Each month they meet and practice different types of cooking techniques and recipes. During my visit I was able to review the USDA Food Pyramid with them, show them examples of balanced meals, and talk about the importance of daily exercise! I also had them play a fun game of Fruits and Vegetables, Who am I? Mrs. Gillin and her daughter, Nicole, were the grand-prize winners and both received Baskin Robbin gift certificates. (You know, from the milk group!). We followed the meeting up with cooking a well-balanced meal of quesadillas with tortillas, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, avocadoes and cheese! Thank you to the 4H Cooking Project for letting me be your guest speaker for the day!

Stay tuned! On Sunday I will be introducing my Weight Watchers family with you and showcasing two amazing women who are truly inspirational to all who read their story!

Kinders at Adreani Elementary School

March 16, I had the opportunity to speak to the kindergarten class at Adreani Elementary School. I was able to share the Champions for Changes, Harvest of the Month program. Many of our local schools in the Elk Grove District are participating in this nutritional based program. Harvest of the Month is taught at all different grade levels (K-12th). Each month a new fruit or vegetable is introduced. Through this program students have the opportunity to taste various fruits or vegetables they may have never tasted before! This month students were learning about the vegetable, carrots, and about the different things you can make with them, their nutritional value and the benefits they do for our bodies. During my visit, I was able to share information about the USDA food pyramid, what makes a balanced meal, and the importance of daily exercise. Each student left with a bag of carrots and were crowned queens and kings for the day! Thank you to Mrs. Mack and Mrs. Theo for allowing me this wonderful opportunity to share such an important message.

Thank you also to Leanne Teuber, the Principal at Arnold Adreani Elementary School.

"Promise you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think," said Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh

Davis Stampede Half Marathon

February 7, 2010
I walked the Davis Stampede Half Marathon sponsored by the Change of Pace Foundation. The Change of Pace Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Aside from producing community-oriented events such as the Davis Stampede, they are involved in after-school exercise programs that promote fitness amoung our community's youth.