Week 2 for our challenge, week 6 for Deb and I….

Drum roll please…….…. I made the goal I set for myself last week. I wanted to weigh in at 195 and today I was 195.2.  I have lost 11.4 pounds in 6 weeks. It’s so very slow but at least it’s moving. Deb and I are working together at this with daily e-mails, sharing our calories and exercise and me asking her tons and tons of questions. My latest question was, if myfitnesspal allows me 24 grams of sugar a day how can I get the fruit and milk in I need for a healthy body. You can’t unless you take supplements and why should I have to take them when God gave us all we need with the natural stuff. So Deb did some talking and found out we, at the size and age we are, can have 50 grams and to keep 25 grams or less of that added sugar and the rest natural sugar. She said do not skip the milk and fruit. YEAH!!! I don’t eat candy often, I don’t do chips often, I don’t use sugar on or in anything, I don’t do cakes or pies, I do, do cookies but if I don’t bake them I don’t do them either. I do, do fruit and milk and yogurt and homemade jams/jellies, peanut butter, I do cold cereal but not the presweetened stuff, oatmeal (yes prepackaged since it’s palatable instead of that homemade stuff I have yet figured out how to make yummy), I love veggies and even some of them have sugar in them like carrots, squash, peas…..so I was just have troubles eating healthy and staying within the 24 grams. Now knowing I can have 50 grams I can have 2 glasses of milk,  2 servings of fruit, 2 servings of veggies and be right around 50 grams.

So I’m learning and that is what this is really all about, learning to eat right and be able to do it for a life time.

Now I have got to get in more exercise. I have only been able to get in 3-4 miles of walking each day. Not counting my every day walking, this is 4 mph or better walking for up to an hour each time. I need to get some more exercise in but I just haven’t been taking the time to do that. My days are filled with so much that when I do finally sit down exercise is the last thing on my list. Maybe once Mike is home in his new home I can get my mind into better exercise but for now I’ll keep getting my miles in and keep trying to do a bit extra here and there.

So my goal for this week is going to be very simple. Not to gain an ounce while away with Mike. I leave Wednesday at 4:30 am and will be home very late Saturday night. It’s my birthday tomorrow and my parents are taking me out for a steak dinner but I can choose smart for what to have with it. Mike and I are taking out his friends from school and I will do my best to stay within a good calorie range. We will be driving home for 18 hours so I am sure there will be quick stops along the way at fast food places but I will try had to eat wisely. I am planning lots of walking at the airport, we will be hiking Mount Rushmore and the badlands. While Mike is taking his finals I will be out getting some exercise and while we stop for gas I will do some trotting around just to stretch and not let the fat settle. 1 goal this week, 195 I must stay in.

Deb and I are trying to get into the 180’s before Mother’s day. She is doing awesome and I’m following in her footsteps. We are learning together, sharing and being in this challenge has been such a treat to read and share with you all. I do greet each of you during the week and love reading about your successes and mess ups because this is life and it’s all about learning along the way.

I wish you all the best of luck this week. I’ll be back this coming weekend with graduation pictures, travel pictures, Mike pictures galore and hopefully an update that says “I did it, drum roll please!”

Blessing my friends!!