This has been a rough week.  Finding it really hard to stick to my calorie goal all week.  And my knee is really stifling my workout regimen.  Somehow I need to get myself refocused and get back in the groove of things.  Not giving up on the working out but do need to figure how to stay committed to the eating portion of it. 

Shame on me!! I missed a week of blogging!!  Sorry Laura - the nice weather afforded me the chance to get outside and do a lot of spring cleanup in the yard and around the house.  As much as I hate cleaning of any type, my mind was overcome with CLEANING UP  .  But, good news is  that I got a lot done so the little bit that's left I can do over time.  I hope that the reward for all that hard work last week is that it will show on the scale.  No time for worrying about eating or sitting about. 

One setback for me though is that I am having a lot of discomfort with my knees.  My ability to really give my "all" to boot camp has been seriously compromised for the last month or so.  Have an appointment with the ortho doc tomorrow.  I hope he can figure out what I need to do to get some relief.  Boot camp has been my main motivator to keep working out and I DO NOT want to have any interference with that part of my weight loss progress.  Jess has been awesome with modifying some of the things we do so that I can still move but I have to be able to have a good, hard, physical workout regimen to work off these pounds.  I'm not sure what my progress will be in the future if I can't rebound!!!

I wanted to walk at Girdled Road on Sunday, but after this past week's boot camp and working in the yard, I just couldn't do it.  As it was, Alleve did not give me much, if any, relief. Not an excuse, but when the reality of pain sets in, I can only do so much before I have to give the joints a rest.

Otherwise, the eating regimen is going well.  I thank goodness everyday that I have Myfitnesspal to keep me on track!  Besides boot camp, this has been a wonderful tool to help me keep tabs on my food intake.  It's amazing how may calories I was consuming before I started Lighten-Up...........I thought I was eating somewhat healthy but I was way off base with that thinking!!!!!!  What was I thinking????  Anyway, I now have a better grasp on my diet and I know that will be an ongoing asset for me even if I can't do as much physically for a while.

Enjoy the week - warm weather still ahead - a great motivator to get up and out when possible!!!!

Busy week over with!!  Was able to get in my 3 bootcamps this past week but my eating suffered a little at week end. I guess that I have been diligent enough so far that a day of off limit food choices is not too bad since I got right back on track the next day.  And amazingly enough, I really don't feel guilty about the contraband food I ate, but more conscious of the need to get right back in the saddle of healthy eating right away.  So I really feel I am in better control of my diet than I ever have been before!  That being said, I am more confident that I can stay with this new healthy routine long after Lighten Up is over with.  It's all about self control and being OK with yourself if you wander off the path a little and then knowing that it's just a small step away to get back on the path again.  Just can't wander off that path too often or too far!!!

I have a small wager with my military daughter as to who can lose the most percentage of weight by the end of June.  This will keep me motivated also.  She has knee problems and has had a hard time keeping up with her PT , so she wants to lose some weight also.  I think we both want the $100 bucks enough to put some effort into this competition!!  I know there's nothing more she would like than to get that money from a bet with her Mom!  So I have to try really hard to make her EARN that money - if she can beat me:>

I have another busy week ahead of me so there will not be much down time to get into any trouble   - good for me.

Wow!  This past week FLEW by!  Started a new job and last week was my first full week and I was so focused on learning that , oh my, where did last week go??

So now, with this new job, I work on Saturdays and because of that, I miss out on Sat. A.M. boot camp   I'll have to get an extra workout in on my own to make up for that. I'm pretty happy with my progress so far and work or no work, I am not going to slack up on this.  Timing and scheduling is going to be a bit challenging but I will make time for that much needed extra exercise.

Eating this past week has been a little challenging also.  Found myself wanting to nibble on things I really shouldn't - like a Snickers bite!!  Had 2 but could have eaten 1/2 the bag!!!! But I stopped myself and put the lid on the candy jar (reluctantly I might add) and walked away.  I felt just a bit guilty and then I reminded myself that I have been soooo good at eating healthy thus far - this one treat won't be the big bust in my eating habits now - I just need to be strong and walk away!!!!  Which I did!!

Saw an ad for the Johnnycake Jog walk and run in the paper - am contemplating doing the 5K walk.  Maybe??????

This weeks mantra - "Keep on keepin' on".   HAVE A GOOD WEEK EVERYONE!!!!

OMG!!!! I almost forgot to post for this week!!! Glad I remembered today!!

Good Luck to all who are weighing in today!  I know the anticipation of getting on that scale is a love/hate feeling, but it's what we all need to either get or stay motivated to continue on this journey!!  I had to weigh in on Tuesday and I walked out of there much happier with my results from this past month!!  So, staying mindful of what I did to make this weigh in successful, I vow to continue thru April with the same path of healthy diet and as much exercise as I can fit in to my daily schedule.

That being said, come on Spring!! I have found that doing my walking outside is so much more enjoyable and actually refreshing!  And, not being on a treadmill that sort of forces me to keep a regular, even pace makes a difference in the effort that I put into walking.  It's so much easier to change my pace to get the extra burn and when I have my buds in, the music always challenges my pace too!  Not that it doesn't on the machine, but if I want to add a little extra bounce and dance shaking to my walk, I feel much safer doing it on my own than on the treadmill when I don't have to worry about pushing all those buttons!! 

I am so thankful for the MYFITNESSPAL app on my phone.  I have been so much more diligent about recording my daily food intake than I ever was when I kept track on paper (which basically didn't happen after the first couple of days).  And the app is way more user friendly than the VITABOT program.  With this app I have been able to really pay attention to what I'm consuming and I really know now what my portion sizes should be to stay within my self-imposed calorie range for the day.  And my food choices are so much better than they were before.

As we move on into our third month, I am quite sure that this will be another good month.  Stay positive and focused and good things will happen for all of us!!!

Today I have my second assessment at the GHD and am positive that I have made progress this last month!!!

With Easter weekend on the horizon, I am now feeling that I can absolutely forget all the "bad" food and stick with a healthy and lean menu to indulge in.  I don't know if anyone else has had any changes in food cravings with a healthy modified diet, but I know that I do not crave sweets like I did before this program (which is a GOOD THING!!!).  We have had some things come into the house that normally in the past I would have nibbled on constantly til it was gone but that is not the case now.  I can let someone else to that "dirty job" ;>   I do have some nights that I am too restless to go to sleep when I should, but when I finally do, I sleep much better than I did before.  Those are the two most positive benefits that I have noticed this month.

Exercising on a daily basis has been the biggest asset to making this work.  I say now that I will keep up an exercise routine once this challenge is done.  And as of now I am going to try my best to make it work to that end!!  The experts don't lie about having some type of fitness regime scheduled into your day.  I just chose to ignore that advice before now.  Not happening anymore!!!  It's worked into the day and will stay there as long as the body co-operates!!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend - and pray that a warm-up is around the corner.  I am going to take the advice that I saw in a magazine article - when the weather is warm enough to do so, I am taking my exercise ball and weights along with my tablet and do my workout video outside!!!  Fresh Air should be really motivating along with the sunshine and birds singing!!

HAPPY SPRING TO ALL!!

I hope everyone had a Happy St. Patrick's Day and were able to stay on track with your own individual program.  I L-O-V-E corned beef and also Irish soda bread so this was especially challenging for me to be reasonable with the portion control!!!!  I did OK (went a bit over my calorie allotment for the day - actually for the weekend) but I figure some extra workout and walking will take care of it.  I tried to keep in the back of my mind that my progress so far has been kinda hard to get to so I didn't want to impede the process by knowingly indulging in too much of the "bad stuff".

I really felt the absence of Jess this week.  I have become so used to the routine of bootcamp that even just missing one day made a difference in how I felt this past week.  Back to it this week though, thank heavens!!  I now know that when this is over, I will definitely have a good schedule in place to continue with exercise and I am sure I will be able to maintain as I go forward.  And by then the improved eating habits should be well into place.  Therefore, I will have no excuse for not continuing a healthier and more active lifestyle down the road!!

I am so very thankful that I have taken this challenge  I have been given a chance to change my health for the better and also along with that change comes a better attitude in general.  I feel so much more positive about other aspects of my life and I find that I can think clearer about different life events that come my way.  I am confident that when the big "60" day comes (very soon at that), I will feel nothing but renewed and ready to age in a healthier and more positive way.

Hope everyone has a wonderful, fulfilling week!!  Stay focused and be positive comrades!!