The pounds go marching 2 by 2, hurrah, hurrah!

Down 2 pounds again this week. It feels great to be on a downward track again. I have significantly increased the exercise this week. Back to walking the extra two stops in on Metro, doing the walk a mile at home, and walking the dog after the walk a mile. Randy and I are doing a pedometer challenge. Whoever has the most steps gets a 15 minute back rub. If both of us make it to 10,000 there is no winner (except both of us for getting to 10,000 steps). I got over 11,000 last night and Randy was at 9,400. He's doing great with the steps. I may increase my minimum to 12,500 since it's a little easier for me to get my steps in. That will really push me outside of my comfort zone.

The holidays are coming. If I can maintain, I will be extremely happy but losing pounds over Christmas is a feat worth awarding. If I continue to lose weight through the week including New Year's Day, I will get a pedicure for myself.

Home-stretch for the holidays . . .

Well, the trip to Utah and diversion from my healthy eating plans accounted for a 6 lb gain between November 16 and November 30. I guess that equals 3 lbs a week and also pounds I never wanted to see again. A bit depressing but after a much-needed pep talk from my Mom, I'm back on track with my meal plan. Afternoon and evening munchies continue to plague me. I finally got rid of Garrett's cauldron o' candy leftover from Halloween. Unfortunately, I got rid of most of it by eating it.

After the last year of increased exercise, hiking, kayaking, and in general getting used to moving a lot more - I have gone from that to nothing. I could blame it on the cold weather these last few days but that only accounts for a few days. I have to make it a priority to start exercising again. I purchased two DVDs that I can use in the house but I also need to take Hunter for more regular walks -- it's important for him as well as me.

Follow the yellow brick road . . .

Mom and I went on a trail walk near her home. Took the WB&A trail from Route 450 to the 4 mile marker. We were hoping to make it the entire 5.6 mile trip and then back but we ran out of daylight. Mom needs new walking shoes and then we're tackling the trail again. It felt great and I had 10 miles on the pedometer at the end of the day. Woohoo!

1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . Go!

Just starting this blog. Should be interesting. Today was a good day. Weighed in this morning and I've lost 2 pounds this week. I'm down to 209. I'd really like to be under 200 very soon. I've been stuck on a plateau since April. However, I can't forget where I've come from. I weighed 241 pounds in November 2006. I found http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/ and also http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/. I get my meal plans from the diabetic living site and journal and meet challenges with friends on my calorie counter. I don't feel like I'm on a diet as much of a major lifestyle change. Yes - I wish I would have made these changes years ago but I'm not on this road alone. My Mom started with me in January and has lost over 55 pounds. She looks great, feels great, and is finding a whole new person in herself.

My son and my husband have been positively affected. I've changed some of our eating habits to include whole wheat bread and pasta. I cook more often with ground turkey and make a lot of chicken. They don't complain and have been fully supportive. They both walk with me occasionally and Garrett has talked me into tennis and even a little jogging.

Here's a before shot from December 2006. It was just about a month after I started this change.

Here's a shot from this past July at Great Falls. Is there a difference? I think so.