What works and What does not

Things to work on next week (week 6) -

Getting to bed earlier and waking up earlier

Drinking most of my water earlier in the day

Remembering to take Glutamine after work out and before bed time

Take it easy and do not over do it with working out(until DR gives okay)

Have food made ahead of time

Next time I go on a mini vaca -

Weigh in day will be Friday prior to leaving as opposed to usual Sunday.

Pick 1 treat for the weekend. Incorporate it with healthy food.

Lose the all or nothing attitude!

Last weekend my hubby, 2 boys, and I went on a camping trip with a few people from our church. I was feeling really great about myself. I was wearing clothes that were fitting loosely. My track suit that Dan got me as a anniversary present was quite flattering.

My mistake was going to Costco the day before we left and getting "campy food". Tried to keep it healthy, but still got off track. Trail mix with m/m's, beef jerky, Costco cookies, gummy bears, items to make Smores. I didn't go crazy when camping. I had 1 smore. A few handfuls of trail mix and gummy bears. The cookies were the biggest mistake. They are my weakness. When returning home I ate like 4 in 1 day! Awful!

Dan and I went into the weekend with the mind set that we would not be following the meal plan on the weekend. So when returning from camping Saturday night, I was in the mind set that we were not doing the meal plan that weekend......so we could order pizza. Naughty me! :) We felt totally gross after eating the pizza. Sunday we were so ready to make a healthy dinner. And we were SO very ready to get back on the plan Monday. And I am proud to say we did. Yah us! We also got a new scale. It reads Body Fat percentage, weight, and H2O. And as of today, I am now officially down - 11.8 pounds in 5 weeks! That is totally a healthy loss ratio.

On Tuesday when working out, I was having chest pains. I was also having chest pains on the drive up to the mountains last Friday. I have a DR appt on Monday. And a neurologist appt on the Monday after that. I am trying to really follow the food plan. But I am not focusing on the exercise until I figure out what is going on with my body. I still do not know the reason for having the stroke a month back. Hopefully I will find something out soon.

REWARDS

So Dan and I have decided to reward ourselves. Each week that we finish a week, we each get a $20 or lower prize.

My rewards have been:
Week 1 - Eyebrow Wax, nail polish, and a polka dot make up bag
Week 2 - Puffy vest from Costco
And this week after finishing week 3, I got a Fall wreath! I have wanted one of these for SO long. And Costco had one on sale! YAH!
Dan's week 1 reward was this work out jacket! Looking good Dan! Our goal is to complete this 12 week program. November 22nd is the last day of week 12! At the end we will be rewarding ourselves with getting a family picture to hang on the wall. And my personal reward, is if I lose the weight I have set my goal for, then I get a full spa day! Either way I am getting new jeans at the end of 12 weeks!

* Final Goal * After 29 weeks, I should be at my goal weight. If I hit that goal, then I will be buying a bikini. And Dan and I will be going on a cruise! This should be around June 2010! So that is motivation!

Week 4

So I am in week 4 of my program. My main goal is to become a healthier person and example to my family. Dan and I are both doing this together. And as nice as it is to drop weight. Let me tell you how good it feels, to drop points in my cholesterol!

Back about a month and a half ago, I decided to be pro active and get a physical with my DR. I had all my numbers ran. BP, weight, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol. Everything was great.....except that my main cholesterol number was borderline high! EEK! My DR suggested that I take fish oil supplements, and eat a high fiber/low fat diet. And guess what's included in this program?? All that! And guess what? After having the stroke, I had blood tests. One of the numbers was my cholesterol. And it was down 36 points!!!!! Just in a month and a half.

So last week, I kept it mellow. I got back to the gym after a crazy week 2 and recuperation. And, I kept it mellow. At the end of the week, I was down another pound, and some more inches lost all over my body!

So now I am in week 4. I am doing the best I can. I am so proud of myself. And I am so proud of Dan. We are truly changing our lives for the better right now. And it feels great. :O)

Week 2 down - On to week 3

I stuck to eating and exercise Monday and Tuesday. Then Wednesday am ended up in the ER. I had a blood clot go to my brain and had a mild stroke.......not even kidding....seriously...not kidding. As you can imagine, last week I took it easy. I have been completely exhausted and wiped out. And on Sunday when I weighed in I only lost .5 pound. But that is okay. I am alive and I am okay.

So, tomorrow I will be getting blood tests up to wazoo to find out what is going on. And this week is week 3 of the program. And so far Dan and I are both doing great.

Here's to healthy living!!!

PS I will keep you posted on what is going on with the test results.