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!!

Last week was a really good week for me.  Worked out every day for at least an hour or more and was able to stay in my calorie range EVERY DAY!!  And the scale co-operated with all the work effort!  My scale told me I Have lost 6 lbs since the last weighin.  Now, I hope  that the Lean Living scale is in agreement when the time comes!!

Cabanas continues to be one of my favorite parts of the week.  Have yet to be disappointed with my meals. 

The nice weather this past weekend was the invitation I needed to get outside and do some fresh air activity - and I enjoyed every second of it.  Just a teaser for what is just around the corner.

Hope this week is a great one for everybody!  Keep on keepin' on and the results will show.  They have for me!!  YAY!!

Just a little off this week.  Hurt my knee during workout Tuesday morning but by Saturday it was almost back to normal.  However, I did the best I could at all the classes and I know it's paying off; I can definitely feel and see changes happening.  I started using MyFitnessPal also and am finding it much easier to navigate thru it rather than the VitaBot program.  It's much more user friendly and less time consuming.

I was also able to get my equipment training completed at the Mentor Senior Center, so now I have the workout room there available also.  I will be working out there on my days off from bootcamp until the weather gets a bit warmer and then I'll take my walking outside.

The dinners at Cabanas are AWESOME!   I am so happy that Jamie and Mike were able to put this wonderful perk together for us!!  It's a nice time to get out, meet some of my fellow Lighten-Uppers, and see that wonderful meals can be had -- just need to be more vigilant of looking at menu options and ASK if changes can be made to menu offerings to suit diet needs.  I have found that most places will accommodate special requests (within reason).  I am also finding new flavor combos that I can replicate at home with my own cooking and that certainly helps make meals more interesting and more fun to experiment with.  Not so sure my spouse will agree with that, but he is being a good sport in that he tries to eat whatever I fix for my dietary needs which means I don't have to cook separate meals for each of us - YAY!!  Anyway, he can actually benefit from the new way of eating - he really needs this change too!!!!

So - a new month - a new week and new challenges to take on!  Let's hope this will be a good month for all of us.  Keep working hard and stay positive.... I'm cheering for everyone to keep going and have success    BTW - HAPPY ST. PAT'S DAY TO EVERYONE.