OVER 50!!!

I lost 3 pounds this week bringing my total to 50.8 pounds
in 16 weeks. I am enjoying the fruits and veggies of summer
and still loosing the weight. This is GREAT!

I have had a lot of you tell me you are reading my blog, and
I want to say thank you for letting me know. Many of you
are not making commits, so unless you say something to
me I don't know. Just knowing people are reading helps
me with my accountability and is so encouraging. Thanks.

I am taking some time off from work in a couple of weeks
and have been debating a mini trip. I keep hearing other
peoples stories about vacation, and how things didn't
go well..."vacation" scares me a little. I will let you know
what I decide and the results.

Thanks again for supporting and encouraging me on this
journey.

-2.2 This Week

I have lost 47.6 pounds in 15 weeks. I hope
to go over the 50 pound mark next week. I am
still enjoying the fruits and vegetables that were
added to my routine. They have made sticking
with it so much easier.
I have been getting up early and going for a walk
before work now that the evenings are getting
hotter. I plan to carve some time for the bike
into the evenings now, but haven't been consistent
with that yet. I have not yet got to a point where I
would say I enjoy the exercise, but I don't dread
it like I used to. I hope to learn to enjoy it before
too much longer, so I can start building good habits.
I know in order to have long term success I will have
to develop some really good habits and strategies
that will help me the rest of my life.
Thanks to all of you for the encouragement. This
is not an easy rode, but to know I am not on it alone
is comforting.

Fruits and Veggies Taste Good, AND...

they help you loose weight. I am down 3.1 pounds this week, so
last week must have been an adjustment week. I am soooooo
excited. It would have been hard to give up the fruit and
vegetables after having had some, so I am glad my weight
loss counselor was right and I just needed to adjust.
This week I have enjoyed baked potato, corn on the cob,
asparagus, green beans, squash, and stir fry vegetables.
Also, bananas, strawberries, pineapple, oranges, apples, and
a new grape recipe. For all of you who are moms, this is one
way to get the kiddos to eat their fruit. You take one cup of
grapes (I used green ones) and wash them. While they are
wet, put 1 teaspoon of jello (so far I like cherry best) in a
zip-lock bag and add the grapes. Shake well and put them
in the freezer for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until they are just
crunchy. Pop them in your mouth and enjoy - just like candy
only healthier. If you have any good "in the box" recipe ideas
please feel free to share. Until next week...

Fruits and Veggies taste good, but...

my weight stayed exactly the same this week. I was
told not to be too concerned, that with the transition
my body had some extra adjusting to do. We will see.
I have enjoyed the variety that f/v have added to my
meals. I had forgotten how good green beans taste.
Hopefully next week will be a better week for weight
loss. I will let you know.

The Official 12 Week Total Is...

Drum roll please - 42.3 pounds! That is right, I have
lost 42.3 pounds in the last 12 weeks. I have a long
way to go, but I am off to a good start.

I am an official Healthy Solutions girl now, and to
celebrate I went out with some friends and had
a baked potato and small salad for supper. It
taste so good. After supper I went to Kroger
and bought fruits and vegetables for the rest of
the week.

Last week I didn't get in as much exercise as I would
have liked, so this week I plan to bump it up a little.
I am going to try to make sure I walk and ride the
bike everyday this week. Last week there were
days when I only did one or the other.

Thanks friends for being so supportive. You all
have been such a blessing to me and I know I
can count on your continued support in the weeks
and months to come. See you soon.

-4.9 This Week

Wow, even I am amazed with this weeks loss. I thought I had done okay,
but I never dreamed I would loose 4.9 pounds. This officially brings me
over the 40 pound marker and I have one more week in "core". I am
going to bump up the physical activity this week by riding the bike in the
morning and walking in the afternoons to try for another good weight
loss to end my core program. After next Monday night I will be transitioning
to healthy solutions and adding fruits and veggies to the shakes and entrees.
I am sooooooo excited. I have been "planning" menus in my head that
include vegetables and/or fruit at every meal. Anyway, I will let you know
how that goes later. I am off now to walk with a friend and burn more calories.

-3.4 This Week

This brings my total weightloss in 10 weeks to 36.4 pounds.
Tonight our leader told us that our class has hit the "gold"
standard for physical activity (PA) calories burned in a week
for two weeks straight. She said that is a first for a Jonesboro
HMR class. Last week I burned 3700 calories - my largest
burn in a week so far.
For anyone wondering about the decision I have been trying to
make, I have decided to transition to Healthy Solutions when
my core class is over. I should be adding fruits and veggies
in about 3 weeks. Thank you to all who have prayed about
this decision for me and encouraged me as I struggled to make
the decision. I believe it is the right decision for the summer
anyway because it will allow me to add so much variety to
my program. If at any time Healthy Solutions is not going
as well as I want, I can switch back to Decision Free.
I still have a long way to go, but I am off to a really good start.
Please hang in with me and keep the encouragement coming.
I need all I can get. Thanks!!