How Long Will This Last

Everyday, I get on the scale expecting to see a gain. But, instead I see a loss. I can't say that I'm minding it but I'm just waiting for the eminent doom that I can expect soon. I've been back to my normal eating habits now for about 2 days and I haven't gained, I just keep losing.

Now that I've said this, I'm sure tomorrow morning I will have a big gain just in time for my weigh in day! :-P But as of this morning I was slightly over a pound from my 30 lb. goal!! If I lost that amount by tomorrow I would be beyond excited!

Feels So Good

Today was a back to normal day for me! I am finally starting to feel better and I'm LOVING IT!!! I still feel like I need to give my body a little more time to get better before I bring on the exercise though, but I'm ready when it is!! I've lost a lot of weight since I got sick and I'm really hoping I don't gain it all back! I'll keep my fingers crossed but I can't get mad at myself if I do gain some back.

They started putting Grape Crush in our pop machine at work. I couldn't resist today. But I do have a an accomplishment to report. I wanted some grape pop and I ALWAYS drink diet pop. So, I drank exactly one cup (serving size) and put it away. I haven't touched it since! Now that's an improvement for me! I have to say that I really enjoyed it too. Little steps! :)

Bikes

My husband and I would really like to get some bikes. I'm looking for a bike for comfort, so that my back doesn't hurt so bad I never want to ride it. It seems like the mountain bikes you have to bend over so far it looks painful! I don't remember the last time I rode a bike!! I found this one on the Wal-Mart website that looks comfy and for a good price:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4990074#ShortReviewTitleBar

Any recommendations on good bikes that aren't going to break the budget?

It snowed all day yesterday... so the ground is covered with a white blanket. :( I really thought spring was here!!

The Surprise From My Hubby

I almost forgot to post about the surprise from my husband for meeting my 25 lb. goal!!

That's right! He surprised me with a new iPod! It's a 16 gig pink one, exactly what I wanted! My old one (that he bought me when we got married) was so full I couldn't put anymore songs on it. Obviously, it was a couple of years old so the technology has improved. This is the perfect gift to help me in my exercising! Thanks hunnie!!

Update

Let me tell you, I am so tired of sleeping and laying in bed. I just can't seem to get to feeling better! I went back to the doctor last night and they put me on more meds. They gave me a nebulizer treatment and took blood work. The blood work was ok. She gave me an inhaler that really helps to open me up so that I can breathe better, so I'm a little more comfortable! I'm starting to wonder how long I will have to put up with this! It's been a week today.

My eating hasn't been good but it hasn't been bad either. I'm just barely eating, which I know isn't good because then my metabolism won't be working at the best rate. Last night I had a chocolate milk shake which I don't regret the least bit. It felt so good on my throat.

This morning my husband said, "You're really looking smaller!" Which of course made me feel good! :) I have to be looking smaller after losing 26 lbs, right? I can't wait to meet that 30 lbs. lost mark!!!

I miss you, Exercise!

I know that when I move more, I lose a lot more weight. It's easy math. The problem is, I haven't been moving since a 20 min. walk on Sunday. I haven't felt good. I know that I have to be very careful when I get anything in my chest area or I'll end up with something worse. Today I had to walk about 5 minutes from the parking lot to the building where my classes are, and I felt terrible. Burning in my chest and could hardly breathe. Not to mention, I was moving at a snail's pace! So I guess the exercise will have to wait but I'm really hoping I don't GAIN any weight. This morning I had a small gain, I guess I have to expect that after yesterday's loss! Still doing good though, and it only REALLY counts on Weds. :)

So the good news in that is that I got myself out of bed and to work and school today. I am exhausted with big black circles under my eyes. They're going to let me work tomorrow, Yay! So I will have somewhat of a paycheck for this week. Not feeling 100% yet. A little scared with the breathing trouble. I guess I just need to keep an eye on it though. I felt a little tipsy trying to work while on my cough meds from the doctor. My speech was a little slurred and I kept getting confused. (My job requires a lot of technical thinking) Thank goodness it was a short day at work! Let's hope tomorrow goes better!

Weigh in Day

I am ecstatic about my weigh in today. Granted, I haven't been feeling well, but yesterday was the only day that I did not eat a lot (1 cup oatmeal, 1 1/2 cups milk, pudding, chicken noodle soup and slice of light bread all day), but I only lost .4 from yesterday.

*** DRUM ROLL PLEASE ***

I lost 5.6 lbs this week!! I have now surpassed my 25 lb. goal for a total lost of 26 lbs. so far! Not to mention, today I hit the weight that I was the day we got married. Good to know that I am making some progress. Obviously, I can't expect that kind of loss every week, but it always seems to happen that I won't lose much for a couple of weeks and then all of the sudden I have a huge loss. I'll take them when they come!

I am home again today. My doctor wrote me a note for yesterday and today. Of course, my work doesn't accept doctor's notes unless it's for a prolonged period of time, so I'm taking today unpaid again. I had Friday off because my mom and I were planning on a shopping trip, but we've decided to put that off to next week so that I feel my best. So I'm going to see if they will let me work on Friday, and I'm thinking they're not going to let me. I may have to see if I can get someone to let me work their Saturday, which I don't think would be a problem. I've been off work since Saturday now! I've never been more ready to go back to work. I'm not really sure what is going on, doctor said it wasn't an infection and they tested me for strep throat and that came back negative. They are sending in another test to double check though and I'll find out in 2 days. I really don't think that's the problem though now. I feel sooo much better this morning. They gave me some cough syrup with codeine and a few days worth of anti-biotics in case I have strep so I can get a head start on it. My fever was gone this morning and I think that's why I feel so much better. I still have a cough though, but the syrup is helping a lot with that.

By the way, my husband has shown me the 25 lb. reward...which I am way excited about!! I'll post more about that later! :)

Home Again

This time not because I want to be. I am sick with something. It's weird though because it's different than anything I ever remember having. I don't have any severe drainage from my nose or anything, hardly ever have to blow my nose. But I have an incredibly sore throat and a productive cough. Last night my temp was 100.1. I'm not sure what it would be now as I took meds and I believe they lower your temperature. My face has been very red though, which probably means a temp. This is only the second time in my life that I have ever called in sick to work. While I don't lose my performance status (thankfully) at work, I do lose my attendance bonus which kind of sucks. I don't think I'm going to venture out to school either. Nobody wants to hear somebody choking and hacking! YUCK! Professors are much less understanding when students miss school than they are when they decide to cancel class! Isn't that the way it always works? I'm not sure if I should go to the doctor or not. I've felt like this since Saturday. I know that antibiotics won't do anything for you if it's not a bacterial infection, but how much longer should I put up with this? I painted on Saturday and a little yesterday so I'm worried the paint fumes got to me? Anybody know what that can do to you? I'm thinking it wouldn't cause this, but who knows.

A little update

Today is a good day because both my husband and I have the day off of work and we can spend it together! :) That doesn't happen very often.

The scale has been seeing some losses, although I don't want to jinx myself. I'm sure it can be attributed to my increase in activity. Over the course of last week, I exercised 5 out of 7 days, which is amazing for me.

Yesterday, I wasn't feeling well but I went for a 20 minute walk but I started to feel terrible so we went home. Anything is better than nothing, right?

I painted our very small, upstairs bathroom on Saturday and I'm afraid the fumes got to me or something? I'm not really sure. I have congestion in my chest, but no congestion in my nose or sinuses. Let's hope this goes away!!

Happy Weekend!

I am so happy that this week of work is finally over! The sad thing is that my spring break is almost over too, though. But, that just means I'm that much closer to summer vacation. :)

My doctor has once again switched my BP medicine to a higher dosage because the last one she put me on wasn't working. Today, I've had another headache ALL day with no relief. My BP has been sky high, higher than it was on the last medicine that wasn't working. I'm going to give this one about 3 weeks too. If this doesn't work, I don't know what the issue is? I guess I shouldn't worry, as that will just make the BP go up even higher!! I hate having this problem since I am so young. Another reason I want to lose weight.

Not much to report, today has been OP so far. Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Weekend! :)

Conversations with the Wal-Mart Checker

Today I went grocery shopping after work because we were starting to run low on fruit. Remember last week when I wrote about being proud of my grocery cart? Well, today my checker commented on how healthy everything I was buying was. She said everything was so fresh and natural and there wasn't a thing that she wouldn't eat! She asked me if I was dieting and when I said yes, she told me that she had lost 40+ lbs. on a soup, salad and sandwich diet and then gained it all back. She said that it is so important that we make a lifestyle change. I couldn't agree more and that's exactly what I'm trying to do!

I always pack my husband's lunches for him and I always tried to give him the foods that he likes, mostly the ones that I don't eat because they are too many calories. But he doesn't have to worry about calories (lucky guy)! So I thought to myself, I'm responsible for packing his lunches and here I am loading him up with junk. So I've been making a conscious effort to make sure he's getting his 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day too. After all, I want him to be healthy too! He's really enjoying the fruit, which is why we were running low on it. :)

I bought some peaches today, I know they're not in season and I was apprehensive to buy them, but they are delicious!! I cut one up and had it for dessert and I loved it. I can't wait for all of the summer fruit to be in season. I love peaches and nectarines. I also bought a pineapple, I've never cut one before, but maybe I'll have my husband cut it tonight. He's got bigger muscles! I also found Naked Juice and another brand of 100% juice, they're usually around $4.00 and they were on sale for $1 a piece!! I loaded up on those! I love those so much and I never buy them because of the price. It's like getting 2 servings or more of fruit in every bottle. I also found some Flat bread, Italian herb flavor. I was excited to give them a try so I made a wrap out of one for lunch. I have to say I wasn't all that impressed, which was a disappointment. I might try making pizzas out of them though. I think those are the only things I got that were different from what I usually get.

Today is a little cooler than it has been, high of 49 I think. I'm really looking forward to my walk this afternoon!! It's really sunny, so I'll just throw on a hoodie and I'm sure I'll be just fine. I'm looking forward to my 25 lb. reward! As of this morning, I was 3 lbs. away!

Weigh in Day

I lost .4 this week. Not a great weigh in, but I didn't have a very good week either. Probably the worst so far since I started! BUT, I think I got more AP's this week than I ever did. I got 16 AP's. I'm hoping to beat even that next week, or at least meet that again. I think I can contribute my loss to my being extremely active yesterday. I had over 11,000 steps on my pedometer at bedtime.

Today has gone really well for me points wise and I feel great. I haven't given in to any cravings. I've eaten lots of fruits and veggies today too. No exercise today partly because I don't have time for it today and partly because I've exercised for the last 4 days in a row and I do need a rest day at least once a week.

I really want to keep this up and get the weight off! This kind of behaviour is what will get me there.

Keep on Tryin'

Today I have been on points. I have to tell myself that. I am just so hungry that I want to snack. I've had a wrap for 3 pts, and pretzels for 2 points. Not bad. I must stay out of the kitchen.

I have been reading through everyone's blogs and I have to say that it makes me feel better to see that other people are struggling too. I'm not the only one! Some people seem to just be able to say, "I'm going to diet." And they stick to it and lose everything and keep it off. I'm struggling. I know that certain foods have so much more nutritional value than others, but I'm just so hungry and don't want to eat fruit, which I know would fill me up! I don't want to be stagnant at 20 lbs. lost. I want to lose more! I want to look good in a swimsuit. I want so much more out of myself!

I need to be dedicated. Am I dedicated to this? That's something for me to think about. Am I dedicated to myself in the way that I am dedicated to my husband? I wouldn't possibly think of being unfaithful to him. I've promised to love him forever. Why don't I have the same kind of dedication to myself? I owe it to my body to be faithful and eat the kinds of foods that are good for my body. I owe it to myself to have some self-determination and a meet a goal that would make me healthier, make me look better, and most importantly, make me feel better. I have a relationship with food and I really need to take control of this relationship. No more drama!!

Ok, maybe I've gone too far. hehe.

I am dying to get outside and go for a walk. Here's the deal. I am still aching and hurting from the 30 day shred on Saturday. Yes, that must be how out of shape I am!! I am having a very difficult time doing stairs and walking uphill. I have never been in so much pain from exercise in my life. But you know what, it doesn't hurt so bad just to WALK. Maybe I'll do it anyways. How do you know when to stop!?

Shreddin'

My husband surprised me this morning when the mail came with the 30 day shred workout DVD. He knew that I wanted it and I guess he had been watching it on ebay and bought it for me! Wasn't that sweet?

After I started the workout I started to wonder if he loved me or if he wanted to kill me! :-P Wow, is this workout hard! I am sore all over! I'm looking forward to seeing my improvement after doing this for a while!

What am I doing?

Losing weight and getting healthy means a lot to me and yet I still get discouraged and eat things that I shouldn't. Yesterday went A LOT better than the last few days and I actually had some points left over, which I know I shouldn't do on a regular basis...actually...I NEVER do that, so I'm kind of proud of myself. :-P Yesterday was finally the day that all of my stress from school was over and I could relax. It's amazing how much better my choices were, despite coming home and having two girl scout cookies after going out with the in laws... see? Stress! :)

But SERIOUSLY! If this means so much to me, why am I giving in to bad habits? I need to WAKE UP and get serious about this! I have come a long ways, but I want to keep going. I have lost 20 lbs. since October, slowly but surely.

I thought it might be helpful to come up with a list of reasons why I want to lose weight to remind myself of how bad I want this:

1. I want to get healthy and obtain better eating habits so that when my husband and I decide to have kids, we can teach them healthy eating habits.
2. I like the extra confidence that I have in myself after seeing results.
3. I feel better about the choices I am making.
4. I want to lower my blood pressure.
5. I want to lose enough weight so that I can run for long distances without stopping and not be completely out of breath.
6. I want to be able to go up 3 flights of stairs like it's nothing.
7. I want to be able to shop at "regular" stores.
8. I don't like the way that I feel physically or emotionally after eating unhealthy.
9. I want to look good in a swim suit.
10. I don't want to be judged by my weight and not by my personality.

Ok, so there's 10 reasons, I'm sure I could think of even more! This weekend is supposed to be really nice so I want to get outside and go for some walks. I haven't exercised in over a week again. I didn't get any exercise at home last weekend and that just kind of messed me up. NO EXCUSES! IF I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT, I BETTER GET MOVING!

Here's to a fresh start!

Proud of my Grocery Cart

I'm one of those people who feels guilty if I put something into my cart that's not really a healthy item. I guess I'm self conscious and think that people probably look at me like, "Well, no wonder she's so fat." Yes, that's pretty mean of myself.

But today as I was getting some groceries I had to be pretty proud of myself. My cart was loaded with fruits and veggies and not one item that wasn't a healthy choice. And what's funny is that if you look at other people's carts, they're loaded with all kinds of unhealthy foods. Skinny or not, they're bad choices.

So even though I might not be thin (yet) at least I'm making choices that are going to get me there.

I am slowly recovering from my overexposure to sugar and chocolate. I really think that is what is bringing me down. Each day, I eat a little less. I'm trying to keep myself out of the vending machine at work. Today, I had a dark chocolate dove bar for 4 points. It satisfied my craving for chocolate without going overboard with another choice of chocolate.

I am really excited for the weather to be getting nicer this next week. I enjoy walking outside. I'll be on spring break next week so I'll have a little extra time for some nice, long, relaxing walks.

I better get to cleaning the house! Who knew that you could earn AP's for cleaning!? It usually takes me about 15 minutes of continuous vacuuming and mopping, so that's something!

Weigh in Day

I gained 1.4 lbs this week. The good news is, I haven't gone over my 20 lbs. lost mark, thankfully. I don't know what's up with me but I keep craving sweets and that's counterproductive to my diet!

Today, I stuck with the plan and haven't gone over my points. I'll have 2 points left after supper. BUT, I got hungry and bought a pack of wheatables out of the machine for 5 pts and then later I wanted something sweet so I got cookies for 10 points! That's terrible! I did enjoy the cookies though. I think it's all of the girl scout cookies we have in the house. I have the rest of them in the freezer and that's where they're going to stay after this last box that we have out is gone. I think that once I start eating something like that, I start craving them. Instead, I should be eating fruits so that I am craving them instead. I did have grapes and strawberries today, so I am still eating fruit. I did have an orange with me at work today and I chose the cookies over the orange, very bad decision on my part!

What do you when you start to lose your motivation to continue? I keep thinking of the big picture and how much I really want to be healthy and thin, so that keeps me going, but I'm just so afraid of failure!!! I don't want to mess up. I really want to get back on track so I don't keep adding on more pounds. Please help!

A Sack of Potatoes

This time change is just messing my body up! I have been so tired for the past two days, despite going to bed early. I had a huge midterm test today and I have a presentation on Thursday, so I'm a little bit stressed out too. I was on points all day but just fixed up a quick supper tonight and I definitely went over my points with that. Tomorrow is weigh in day, and after this past weekend and tonight I think I can expect a gain. Let's hope for the best though!

I've decided to stop taking pictures of my food. It definitely helped me lose some pounds, but It's a little bit of a hassle. The deal is that if I don't lose for two weeks, I have to start taking pictures again to hold myself accountable if I'm not losing.

I do have a little bit of good news! This past weekend I saw someone I haven't seen for about a month and she asked me if I had lost weight. I said, "Yeh, a little bit." She said, "I don't think it's a little bit, how much have you lost?" Which of course made me feel good! When I told her 20 lbs, she was like, "That's not a little bit! That's like losing a sack of potatoes!" Now if I can just keep this up...and I will!!!

A Review of Saturday

Ok, so yesterday could have gone better, but it could have gone a lot worse too. We went to Applebee's for lunch, and you would think I would order off of the WW menu, but I had it planned out I would get a 1/2 size of the Oriental Chicken Salad and a cup of soup. But when I got there I decided to have the Oriental Chicken salad WRAP instead, and ended up getting baked French onion soup. I didn't eat the fries, but it was a 24 point lunch! I did have 2 small cake balls and a small cookie later, too. Other than that though, everything was healthy food. My mom has decided to try to diet too, but doesn't want to follow points or anything. So, I need to try a little harder today!





By the way...I forgot to mention that I decided to go ahead and buy the Puma's I wanted, despite the price! I WORKED HARD FOR THEM AND I DESERVE THEM!! :) Here's a picture:

I wish I could have found a better picture because this doesn't do them justice. :) They're Puma Alacron's in the teal color.

A New Day

Last night we made our way to my parent's house, which is about 4 hours away. Of course we were starving when we left and so decided to have some Mexican food. I had 2 tacos, a very small enchilada, and a chili con queso. Not the best. I didn't get a chance to track my points yesterday, but the rest of the day was low on points. I should track them now!

This morning I can't sleep because of the way the food made me feel. I feel like there was so much sodium that it sucked all of the hydration right out of my body. It's weird to think that I used to eat like this a lot. I'm almost happy that it made me feel so miserable, because it makes me want to grab some fruit and veggies today so that I can feel good again! The good news is that we chose not to have any dessert later and we would have definitely had some before. Baby steps. :)

I'm really excited today though because there is this store here that sells TONS of produce for awesome prices. For example, Apples for 49 cents a pound. I am going to stock up and haul them back home! I'll let you know what treasures I find!

Now, to an on points weekend! I plan on going for a walk once the sun comes up a little more, as long as it's not raining. That will be a good start to the day.

Beautiful Day

Today was a beautiful day! It was 70 degrees, which was awesome! We actually had class outside for one of my classes. Nice to be outside.

When I got home I went for a 40 minute walk outside. I got 3 AP's and have been on track for following my exercise calendar. I have exercise planned for Saturday, so I'm hoping I can convince my mom to go for a walk with me.

Today I had a few extra things that I didn't necessarily need. I was really craving a Frapuccino for Starbucks. I get the light kind, so not too many points. I ordered a tall and they gave me a Grande and charged me for the tall. Nice, but a few more points that I wanted originally, no way I could only drink half! But it was realllly good! Then to top it all off, tonight my husband and I went to Subway for supper, where I kept within points, but the local ice cream shop opened for the season and so we had to stop there for dessert, which ended up being about 14 points! So I used some extra weekly points to say the least!

I'm really excited for the weekend! It seems like this week just flew by. Have a great weekend!

Weigh in Day

I am happy to say that I didn't not go under my 20 lb loss, which I was afraid of doing. I lost 1.4 lbs this week! Total weight lost = 21.4 lbs. I am beginning to think that I had hit a plateau for quite a while before last week, it seems like it is finally starting to come off. *Not to jinx myself*

This week I earned 10 AP's which is a lot more than the 0 that I got last week! I am trying to do better at setting a plan for my exercise instead of just saying, "I'm going to exercise *however many days this week*," and saying "I'm going to exercise, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday" and specify what I am going to do each day. The important thing is, is that I get exercise on those days that I have something planned, if I decide to do a different exercise than what I have on the calendar, so be it.

For example, today I do not have any exercise planned, but on one of my breaks at work, I did the stairs for 10 minutes to get a little more activity in my day. I work in a 3 story building, so walking up and down the flights of stairs actually wears me out! I can't wait for the day that it doesn't.

This weekend we are going to my parent's house. I always worry on these weekend because my mom is a great cook and my whole family loves to eat. I tend to forget the consequences and eat whatever I want when we go home, but I don't want to do that again! It took me so long to recover from when that happened at Christmas time. So wish me luck on that one! My mom is aware that I am trying to lose weight and would prefer some lighter meals, so hopefully that will help!

Now onto the pictures from yesterday's eats.

For breakfast I had an egg and 1/2 slice cheese on a light multi-grain english muffin. 1 cup of 100% Grape juice, and 1/2 cup canned pears. (8.5 ptsFor a snack I had 1 apple and 1 cup of 2% milk. (4 pts)For lunch I had a turkey and cheese wrap, Baked Cheddar Lays, 2 clementines, and 1 WW Strawberry yogurt. (7.5 pts)

I got hungry before supper and had a left over eggplant round. (.5 pt)

For supper I had lemon-peper salmon, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese and 1 sweet potato broiled into fries. (9.5 pts)For dessert I had 1/2 cup FFSF Vanilla pudding, and 2 FF Devil's food cake cookies. (3 pts)For a snack later on I had 1 serving of Mike-n-Ike's. (3 pts)
Total Points: 36. I used 2 weekly points

Exercise: 30 minutes of Core workout with stability ball (3 APs)

Steps: 4,002

Monday

First, I have to say that Monday went a lot better than Sunday did. It feels so good to be on track.

For breakfast, I had 1 serving banana nut cheerios (These are absolutely delicious by the way!), 1/2 cup 1% milk, 1 cup 100% Orange Juice, 1/4 cup blueberries and 1/4 cup strawberries. (5 pts)

My first break is at 9:00, so instead of eating on my break, I walked up and down the stairs for the remainder of my 10 minute break. It felt good to get up from my desk and get a little movement in. I wear a pedometer and I really need more activity on these ordinary work days! When I got back to my desk I had 1 orange and 1 Nutrigrain blueberry cereal bar. (4 pts)
For lunch I had about 1 cup of lettuce, 1 roma tomato, fat free ranch packet, fiber one peach pudding (delicious and just the right size!), and I had 11 Peanut M&M's as the candy machine guy was there and he gives away free candy when he's there, who can say no to that? :) I also had a Bumblebee Sundried Tomato Basil Tuna. (8 pts)On my last break of the day, I did the stairs again.

On the way home from work I had 1 package of Girl Scout Daisy Rounds. (2 pts)
For supper I had 2 servings of Asparagus Quiche and 1 slice of light wheat toast with a small amount of ICBINB and jelly. (12 pts)

For dessert I had 1 strawberry smoothie and 2 Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie. (3 pts)

After supper I did my Stability Ball Core workout for 30 minutes.

For a snack later on, I had Smart Pop Kettle corn. (1 pt)

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday:

For breakfast I had 1 slice of light wheat toast, 1 tsp ICBINB, one egg, 2 small clementines and 2 cups of 1% milk. (7.5 pts)

For lunch I had BBQ beef, 1/2 cup sweet potatos and 1 cup of cooked carrots. Of course I had to have dessert, 2 Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. (14 pts)
For a snack I had 1 little debbie 100 calorie nutty bar. (3 pts) I had a coupon for these, but I don't think I would buy them again. They're not worth 3 points!For supper I had a pork tenderloin chop, eggplant rounds, green beans. For dessert I had 2 chocolate chip cookies. (10.5 pts)

For a snack later on I had Smart Pop kettle corn. (1 pt)

I obviously had a lot of sweets on Saturday! Too many cookies! I need to make some fat free, sugar free pudding to have in the house. I know my best bet would be to make smoothies, which is a serving or two of fruit AND dairy. I stocked up on fruits and veggies this weekend so I'm all set!

Sunday has been another story. I started my day off right with 1 cup of Fiber One Caramel Delight cereal, 1 Tangelo, and 2 cups of 1% milk. We were invited to my in law's for lunch, and the food is delicious. I cut the meat that we were having in 1/2, and tried to estimate my servings of the side dishes, but with dessert, etc. It all adds up. We had ground sirloin (I think), potato salad, Beans with this delicious brown sugar type sauce, peach jello, and homemade bread. For dessert we had vanilla ice cream and apple cobbler. I estimated lunch alone to be 28 points, I overestimated everything I ate. The good news is, at least I got a few servings of vegetables. For supper I had 2 Carb Smart tortillas with a small amount of shredded beef, salsa, lettuce, tomato, and guacamole and 1 serving of Baked Lays. I'm not really sure about the points as I already felt like I had ruined it with lunch. For dessert I had 2 Girl Scouts cookies. What a day for my diet. Actually, this isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle change. I'm going to run into days like this for the rest of my life, but most days won't be like this. Move on, right?

The good news is that I have worked out for the past 2 days now!! I have earned 7 APs for the week for far. I created a calendar so that I have scheduled my workouts. I have a different workout for almost everyday to try to mix things up a bit. I was getting some pains in my arm when I ran the last time and it made me worry I was pushing myself too hard with trying to run at this point in the game. I just walked 30 minutes yesterday and altered the speed and incline throughout the workout. It was much more enjoyable. When I run, I end up coughing for the rest of the day too. Any exercise is good, right?