Dr. Jo's No Big Deal:

Is 2011 the year you will finally take off the extra weight? If you know WHAT to do, but just can't seem to follow through, this book is for you.

The book title comes from the people I interviewed for this book. These are people who have lost weight and kept it off. They told me, "Oh, it's no big deal, all I did was..."

Speed Up
Dodgeball

When my (grown) niece told me she was playing Dodgeball with her friends, I thought, "I thought that was a kid's game?" and "Ouch, doesn't that hurt?"

Turns out the sport IS active all across the country. You can find out more at the National Amateur Dodgeball Association website. And, it doesn't have to hurt. Megan plays with her friends from work - and they use foamballs.

She told me, "We do it as a fun activity to keep us moving, relieve some stress in our lives and just have fun.  We play 10 people against 10 and if you are hit you are out." 

What fun things do you do to "play" (and burn calories) during the winter? Send an email to contact@drjo.com and let me know what you do for fun.  

It's simple to stay in shape with two tools - a pedometer to keep track of your steps (no programming needed) and an exercise resistance tube (complete with Dr. Jo's 30 minute full body workout).

Just $14.95 each! What a bargain!

Slow Down
New Year's Resolutions

Most people either plan New Years resolutions and break them a short time later OR they decide not to even make them at all.

I take a middle of the road approach - and decide on no more than THREE small things I can do differently. As you read in the introductory letter, I've decided to continue to keep my diet coke intake to just a few a week (actually, I started that back in July but it still requires a conscious effort). And, I try to make sure it includes some fun things. John and I take a lot of dance classes, but we frequently forget the steps the following day. So, we made a commitment to practice every night - even if it's just five minutes. And, we started that the week before New Years.

If you want to stretch yourself, improve upon the fabulous being you already are, here are some suggestions:

• Make no more than 3 (small) specific commitments. In other words, don't say you want to lose 30 pounds... decide instead to eat breakfast every morning or walk 10 minutes. Start small.
• It's perfectly perfect to be imperfect. No one here on earth is perfect. Give yourself a break if you can't keep to your commitment every day. 
• Any day is a good day to make healthy changes. Don't wait until New Years or Monday or tomorrow. Start today.
• Make it more about fun, than deprivation. Many people make promises to NOT eat sweets, NOT smoke, NOT spend money. Make at least one of those changes something about doing something fun for YOU!