That pesky New Years Diet resolution

How's it going for ya?

Hopefully well and you've lost weight and you're on your way to fabulousness.

This entry is to help you stay on track and also to motivate you to keep going. For the procrastinator, time has value so, start now.

Did you ever wonder what a portion size actually looks like?

According the the United States Department of Agriculture, yes the USDA...

On your plate:

• A serving size of fruit, vegetable, or legume looks like a scoop of ice-cream.
• A serving size salad is about the size of your fist or a tennis ball
• A serving of dried fruit is about the size of a golf ball.

AND you guessed it, what we like most of all, MEAT...well (ahem):

• A serving size is about the size of a deck of cards, all 52 stacked, not layed out.

Just like the picture. Mmmm Hmmm.

Now you ask yourself: What tha?

Just kidding.

A good question would be:

How do I shop at the my local market, grocery store or SUPERSIZED MEGA STORE and avoid all the baaaaaaaaad stuff?

• Well, you probably know that corn syrup isn't good for you right?
• You probably know that too much salt (over 1500 mg per day) is not serving your body well.
• You probably know that fried food and fast foods should be eaten sparingly, right?

Yea, you know that last one but it's so hard to not drive around "THAT" buiding, knowing in 2 minutes...okay who are we kidding...15 minutes, you will have a tasty meal?

YUM...just the thought, right?

Well, I'm not here to enable so, lets think about that meal...

It probably has a burger, fries and a drink.

How far off am I? DID YOU SUPERSIZE?!?

• OK now how much salt and fat is in that burger?
• Those fries...where did they just come from?

A deep fryer....grease & salt.

• And the drink...lemme guess, a soft drink?

High fructose corn syrup, some food coloring and oh yea...a bunch of chemicals that you can't say 10 times really quick.

So I went off course a little, on purpose, so you can realize when you take the easy road...that one that goes around that lil ole restaurant and a bag-o-food pops out...you're really not getting alot of nutrition or energy food, just a gut full of ....well...you tell me when you sit on that throne...nah, on second thought.

Let's get back to the grocery store.

So, how to shop before you drop?

Have you ever noticed all the nutritious foods are on the outer edges of the store?

All the hidden food glued and sealed away from your sight, in a plastic bag, cardboard box, a can, are in the those aisles where you can't find anything anyway?

Does it make more sense to shop where you can see your food? Also that you can choose to add a pinch of salt, flavoring, sugar, etc to as you prepare your food instead of wondering what you just did to yourself after that meal?

Nike has a saying: Just do it!

Now getting back to that resolution.

I challenge you to shop and eat responsibly. Eat food you recognize to be more free from those chemicals, dyes and coloring.

You know what I mean:

fruits, veggies, nuts, grains like oatmeal. some dairy, eggs. meat, sparingly of course.

And drink water.

While you do these things, I bet a few things occur:

• You probably will be more energetic.
• You'll probably feel better about what you're eating...
• And you'll probably feel healthier,
• you'll feel better about your choice,

Remember:

Just do it today.

Tomorrow will be a today...

Just do it today.

One day at a time.

A comparision November 2009 to November 2010 U.S. new house sold/for-sale and U.S. Regions explained

Hey Peeps!

Good morning and Happy TUESDAY January 11, 2010.

I realize this submission pertains to all including LGBT peeps. That said, please feel free to share, link and follow this blog.

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ARTICLE:

Preliminary 2010 U.S. Census statistics (stats) are out for new houses sold/for-sale by price; state of construction and median number of months on the market. Figures for preliminary stats are not sorted by U.S. region, also known as sector.

New homes by price, stats are by "Thousands of Houses" for houses $500,000 and above, this past year, sold/for-sale remain the same.

• New homes sold/for-sale priced from $400,000-$499,999 have declined from 2,000 to 1,000
• New homes sold/for-sale priced from $300,000-$399,000 have remained the same at 3,000
• New homes sold/for-sale priced from $200,000-$299,000 have declined from 8,000 to 6,000
• New homes sold/for-sale priced from $150,000-$199,000 have declined from 5,000 to 4,000
• New homes sold/for-sale priced under $150,000 has declined from 5,000 to 4,000.

November 2010 stats, compared to November 2009, for New houses sold/for-sale priced by stage of construction and number of months on the market are as follows (not by price):

• Homes planned for construction but not started have fallen from 6,000 to 5,000
• Homes under construction has fallen from 8,000 to 5,000
• Homes completed has fallen from 12,000 to 11,000 from last November.

GOOD NEWS: The median number of months new houses remain on the market for has fallen from 13.9 months to 8.2 months!

These 2010 U.S. statistics are for home sales/sold in the thousands.

It appears ranking for new home sales would be by region, sometimes referred to as sector. The strongest growth is in the Southern states by far above any other region, followed by the Western states, then the Mid-West, followed by the North-East. (NOTE: An Explanation of the four regions (states in each) is at the end of my article/message)

Looking at the current stats, notice each region has declined this past year. The December 2010 statistics are not yet out but November 2010 are. I've compared the November 2010 to November 2009 stats. The pecentage in new houses sales/sold decline this past year is as follows:

• Southern States: -16.45%
• Western States: -9.1%
• Midwest States: -53.5% (yes this is correct)
• Northeast States: -29%

Even though the annual decline reflects the Southern States is more than the Western States, the South remains the strongest region/sector. Since the strongest areas in new home sales/sold appear to be in the South and West, these two areas would seem to be where more intensive focal advertising should be placed. As far as cities, I haven't yet gotten that far, even though that is what you requested of me. I am still attempting to get those statistics.

Below is an explanation of the United States Regions listing the States as ranked above, starting with the South:

The South, known as Region 3 is divided into three divisions:

• Division 5 (South Atlantic) Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida
• Division 6 (East South Central) Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama
• Division 7 (West South Central) Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana

The West known as Region 4 is divided into two divisions:

• Division 8 (Mountain) Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico

• Division 9 (Pacific) Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii

The Midwest, Region 2 is divided into two divisions:

• Division 3 (East North Central) Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio
• Division 4 (West North Central) Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa

Lastly the Northeast, Region 1, is divided into two divisions:

• Division 1 (New England) Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
• Division 2 (Mid-Atlantic) New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey

Thanks for reading!

LELE

follow me on Twitter:

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PS REMEMBER:

PLEASE visit my website: http://win1today.com/lelandmorrill

NOTE: We have a $9.99 special running until February 28,2010 so NOW is the time to JOIN!

Also looking for distributors, you can sell WIN's product for an additional $34.00 once you pay the full price for the product!!

IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY!

Source document: NEW RESIDENTIAL SALES IN NOVEMBER 2010, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Personal spending habits and perhaps a new resolution

At the Grand Central Market yesterday I realized the grocer at the Sun's Produce & the the lady at the Hawaiian BBQ don't automatically give out a customer receipt. I go there three times a week and know how much is usually spent. Now wondering: How many people actually keep track of these "blind" purchases?

It's so easy to not request a receipt, leave the receipt at the bottom of the bag, the floorboard of the car, or just toss it in the garbage and not record them.

Reason I bring this up is because they all add up. Personally, I use cash to purchase and know many people use debit cards. Using cash has the benefit where you actually see the money transfer into someone elses hand and you know how much you receive back in change. A debit card also has the benefits of only spending how much you have in your account and showing up on a monthly bank statement. Credit cards have that same benefit only there is one deterent...you can choose to carry the balance at the cards rate of interest and pay only the minimum amount due every month. YIKES!

I often wonder what percentage of "blind" purchases contribute to the total household debt. Do you realize that the average household with credit card debt is $15,788?

Amazing to think the minimum monthly payment would be $380.00-$475.00 (based on 16.99%APR). That's a hella-lotta dough, no? Think about it: Right now, can you say out loud how much credit card debt you have without having to add it up?

Now as the New Year has just started, perhaps something to throw out to the world would be a New Years Resolution: Keep Track of all purchases and pay down some of the debt.

Here are some suggestions:

• Make a permanant place to put receipts in, and for those not received, write these down on a daily log...as simple as a post-it-note or piece of paper. I use a shoebox to put the receipts in. Sounds kinda corny until realizing it really was a good place. It's portable, has a lid, I can put a hole in the top, label it, and then do my end of month accounting by lifting the lid, stacking the receipts, adding them all up & then paperclip/rubberbanding each month's bundle/stack.
• Have an online/computer program to record purchases. If you don't currently have one feel free to check out my website :http://win1today.com/lelandmorrill and JOIN. By the way, you can use this system until February 28, 2011 for $9.99 and then decide to purchase. :)
• Stick to a realistic budget. Of course everyone kinda cheats here and there. If you mess up one day & forget to record or drop the receipt in your "permenant place", DO IT when you remember. Also note: The only person you're cheating is you.
• Make monthly payments ontime to avoid that nasty late payment fee and if it's a credit card or loan, a possible interest rate hike. Those should be incentive enough to make the payments on time.
• Spend responsibly. Personally I LOVE COFFEE! So Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Famina, and 7/11 are always calling my name. Understand your weak areas, be it the shoes, clothes, candy, fast-food, whatever & choose to have control over these.

Well, that's a lot to think about right now so...just mull it over, you'll probably come up with other ways to be fiscally responsible. Think of that as a compliment to self.

Signing off for now.

Lele

P.S. Please check out my website: http://win1today.com/lelandmorrill