CaraOnSugar

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I enjoy sifting through catalogs as much as magazines. I am a perennial viewer of style, trends, and news, and although catalogs show the items from the makers' point of view, it still gives me creative ideas on how to play with the clothes, spruce up my home, or try something out of of the ordinary .

I am not a fan, however, of wasting paper. For nearly five years now I have refused catalog subscriptions, and instead look for the latest product offerings in the companies' websites. Unfortunately, the user experience is just not the same. For most websites, the information is organized differently. Each assortment, for example,  garment stores that carry pants, dresses, and accessores would most likely show these in different landing pages. Unlike the editorial look of catalogs, not all these sites show the locations, events, people, surroundings, or other aesthetics that make browsing the catalog fun.

Fortunately, Google is reaffirming its title as the 'King of Searches', by offering a simple way to browse your popular and favorite catalogs through a free ipad App called Google Catalogs. Access is easy. Just open a Google account (who doesn't have one nowadays?) and start browsing! They carry my favorites: Urban Outfitters, Neiman Marcus, IKEA, J.Crew, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Bare Escentuals, and many more! And purchasing is a breeze through their direct online ordering.

But here's some good news to budding Entrepreneurs! You can have your catalog listed with Google Catalogs. They will feature not only the established brands but the start-ups as well! So instead of spending marketing monies developing your own catalog app, try looking into Google's solution.

Google Catalogs...a greener way to shop and an ease of use tool for small business!

Here's an intro:

Things have gotten a bit out of hand in the weight department two years and counting. After a following a rigorous running program and preparing for a half-marathon, for the very first time I began to suffer an intense back pain that I endured for three months before I had the courage to see my physician. After a series of X-rays, it turns out I have low-back arthritis. The impact of my running and unproper stomach exercises triggered the inflammation of my joints. The regimen I was following was a 6-day plan. Interval days of training and rest would have been more approriate for a person with my condition. But I did not know, and thus,  I suffered immensely and had grown a fear to get back on the work-out wagon once I healed.

The result of my hiatus from running is weight gain. I continued my usual food intake (which was usually three full meals and two snacks), but I did not engage in any activity to square off the calories. I also stopped drinking 135 ounces of water because my body did not crave the thirst as it used to. Soon I found myself with fewer wardrobe selections and a partial attraction to draw string pants. My husband purchased a weighting scale which he purposely placed near my side of the vanity. In the beginning the added pounds was not a big issue. But after I seeing the weight gain go to double digits I had a panic attack! What happened? Will I be able to lose the weight? What if I worked out and my back pain returns?

Getting up and going to the gym was more difficult than I anticipated. My self-esteem hit a low point after realizing I was far worse than what I had been before I started the running program. I had the biggest weight gain, I was scared of low-back pain, and I just did not have the same fitness stamina. In all my life I had never tried dieting, diet pills, or measure my calorie intake. My metabolism had always been fast. I could eat carbs and burn through them. But that was then. Today, losing weight is an arduous task. But if I didn't do anything soon the situation will get a lot worse.

The first thing I had to do was to get over my depression. The second thing was to evaluate my health goals and ensure that whatever objective I had set I could maintain in the long run. The third thing is to act, or simply put, just lose it!

And thus, I began my way back to a healthier me. I tapped into co-workers and friends who were facing the same struggles and received tips on how to start losing weight. The first advice I got was to keep a fitness and food journal. It had to be accessible and simple to use. And it can give progress reports on my activities. With these requirements I did not look any further after my brother recommended the Apple iPhone App program called, "Lose It!" This is a free application that effortlessly creates a personalized weight loss program and tracks your daily food and exercise. It is so straightforward that I created my account and completed my weight loss program straight from my iPhone all in under two minutes. Daily tracking is a breeze because my iPhone is always with me.

Lose It helps you stick to your plan using simple mathematics. You have a budgeted number of calories per day (depending on your weight loss plan). This is subtracted by the number of calories of your food intake. However, if you exercise, you can add the number of calories you lost from the work out. Then the program tracks the remaining calories you have left. Similar to Weight Watcher's point system, Lose It helps you become aware of the amount of calories you consume on the food you eat. That piece of cheesecake you thought was only 250 cal turns out to be 700! Knowing means you can decide whether to just take a bite or skip it all together!

Utilizing this cool app is just the beginning. As of last week I started doing the elliptical and the threadmill at the gym. It is not as rigid as my running work out, but that is okay. It is my first step without succumbing to diet pills. And my goal, for now, is simple. If I can burn enough calories to have my daily piece of chocolate and still stick to my weight loss plan then I am a happy camper!