Truckin' Along....

I still have to remember to drink my water! I bought fresh lemons, and I think squeezing some lemon in will help me out a lot. I'll buy limes and oranges as well, when I get to Market Basket on Friday.

My trip through Walmart last night, looking for organic and/or GMO free foods was quite the failed mission. I think Market Basket, Hannaford and Shaw's have much more to offer in that department, and the produce is so much nicer than Walmart.

I also want to get to Trader Joe's. I'm thrilled that the entire store is GMO free. I am reading up on cross-pollination, but I'll come unglued if I start worrying about bees wandering in the corn and soy fields of America.

Ready to Start a New Week!

Great meeting tonight. I lost three pounds, which is great - but gained a lot of wonderful tips and had some great connections with people.

Here are the goals for the week:

• Keep watching portions! Fist size portions, and smart choices.
• WATER, WATER, WATER! It was suggested that we start our day with 16 oz. first thing each morning. That is a simple and important thing to do starting tomorrow.
• Eat less, exercise more. A calorie is a calorie!
• Research GMO (Genetically Modified Food). I've already found a list of GMO-free brands, and will have lots more resources and information about this.
• Do what you can to replace soda, juices and sugary teas with water. Dress up your water with cucumber, mint, ginger, oranges, lemons, limes, etc. Small steps - if you drink a lot of soda now, try to replace every other one with a glass of water.
• We decided last week to stop all soda in our house, and also avoid getting soda if we go out to eat.
• Keep those healthy foods visible for the whole family!

Finally, bring your problems to God. If you eat something you shouldn't, bring it to God and He will help. Don't get down on yourself!

Have a blessed week!

Sunday Afternoon

I have two hours until my weigh-in. I've had a pretty productive week - although I know there is room for improvement. Portion control and food choices are great - so that's awesome. However, I need to work on more activity and drinking water!

I just hauled in a bunch of wood - I'm finding that I feel even better if I do something useful, like mucking out the chicken coop (not my favorite, but it sure builds up a sweat) instead of just going for a walk or going to the gym.

Will check in later with the results of my weigh-in....

Portion Control

I am really pretty shocked that I am not having any issues with portion control. I'm using the "size of your fist" analogy at every meal, and drinking a big glass of water and eating slowly is making me feel plenty full by the end of a meal or snack. I guess I thought the first week would be a nightmare.

The First Day of the First Week

I attended my first meeting last night, and it was great. I was a nervous wreck at first, because none of my friends were able to make it. However, the other folks were so inviting that it didn't take long at all to feel right at home. I had already read the first chapter of Bod 4 God, and the DVD Segment was about that chapter. I learned some really valuable BIG IDEAS that I started implementing right away:

• Portion Control! Your stomach is the size of your fist, so don't take a portion the size of your head.
• Drink Water! Take your weight and divide it by two. Drink that many ounces of water each day.
• Think Small! Use small plates to make your meal seem bigger. Use small utensils to make it last. Drink sips of water and put your fork down between bites. Try to be the last one to finish eating.
• Substitute! I really wanted a gorgeous cupcake last night with a cup of tea, but was more than happy with the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich I chose instead. Sure - a few nuts would have made more sense - but that was certainly a much smarter choice.
• Focus on inches and how your clothes fit - not on your weight. Yes, we do weigh in each week - but the main focus is on building a healthy lifestyle that will carry you through the rest of your life. I'm excited about that.

OH - and I resurrected my MyFitnessPal account - downloaded the app on my Kindle. That really helps track food and activity.

Laying the Groundwork

When I found out that my church was planning to run a "Losing to Live" twelve-week program, I knew that I had to sign up. I immediately ordered the book "Bod 4 God" on my Kindle, and began reading the first chapter.

I've tried to lose weight and create a healthy, lifelong lifestyle for myself and my family, and I sure know what to do. It's actually doing it and sticking with it that needs to happen.

The first meeting was January 15th, and I did not attend. My husband and kids were rolling in from a wrestling tournament, and I felt badly not being here when they arrived home. During the week, however, I began to realize that I can't allow anything to stand in the way of these very important weekly meetings.

Several friends planned to go, and I am sure now that I was very apprehensive about attending without someone to lean on. More about that later...