Halfway through my challenge!

The first three weeks of the Laura's Lean Beef "Resolve to Stick to It" challenge have gone past so quickly! All in all, I’d say I’ve been doing well. I can’t say that I’ve followed my plan perfectly, but when I messed up, I got right back on track within 24 hours.

My youngest daughter drew this picture of me... I'm flattered that she drew me so skinny!

My progress is showing, both on the scale and with the measuring tape. I’ve lost the five or so pounds that I put on due to some Christmas indulgences, so I’m back to the lowest weight I’ve been in more than 20 years. Every pound I lose now takes me into new territory, closer to moving down a size. I like the way my jeans are getting looser and my stomach is visibly smaller (as my oldest daughter said, “Mom, your gut is gone!”). When I look in the mirror, I think there's something different about my face. I think a little bit of the new weight loss came from my face.

My successes in the first three weeks give me motivation to keep going, even though it’s been a bit of a rough week. There have been a number of food temptations. Even though I have been sticking to a strict detox diet this week, I still made some foods for my family that I couldn’t eat. It was torture to take a delicious-smelling pizza, or loaves of fresh-baked bread, from the oven and not be able to have any. My girls also did some baking this week, making cake and cookies. I stayed strong and stuck to my plan.

The hardest thing for me this week has been getting my exercise in. It has been cold here in the Buffalo area, and the cold, dreary weather just seems to sap my strength. Add to that the fact that I got hit with some sort of stomach bug or food poisoning mid-week, and I really felt wiped out. I didn’t feel like doing anything but in my favorite chair, cuddled up with an afghan. You know what finally got me moving? It’s going to make me sound like a little kid, but I realized that if I didn’t get up out of my chair and get in half an hour of exercise, I wasn’t going to be able to put a sticker on my chart! I got up out of my chair and did 2 miles of the new Biggest Loser Power Walk DVD. That is one of the most challenging DVDs I’ve come across for doing a walking workout in your living room. I borrowed it from our public library, but I think I’m going to put it on my birthday wish list! It was hard to get started, but once I finished the workout, I felt much better.

I'm warm & cuddly & I don't want to move!

I’m looking forward to finishing strong in this challenge. I lost about 5 pounds in the first 3 weeks, so if I can lose another 5, I’ll only have 20 pounds left to lose. That sounds wonderful!