Back on Track

Happy to report that I'm back on the healthy lifestyle train! I got back on track thanks to a sweet friend coming back into my life who has challenged, encouraged, and worked out with me. Any of you out there working on weight loss, I highly recommend teaming up with a friend to spur each another on. It's not anything that I sought out, but now that we're in our routine of keeping up with one another throughout the week, working out together twice a week, and encouraging each other as much as possible, I see the tremendous value of having a workout buddy. So, having a new friend to workout with has been the biggest help, but the second would be that I've started keeping a food journal (thanks to the suggestion of my workout buddy). I'm keeping track of what I'm eating, even being as specific as writing down when I've licked the bowl after making a cake or eaten some of the babies' left overs. It's been eye opening to say the least, just seeing exactly how many calories some things have. I highly recommend checking out the website www.calorieking.com if you're trying to keep track of calories throughout your day. Another tool that has helped me this week was the introduction of an interval training class at Viquest. I was so intimidated to walk through that door and join this class, not knowing if I would be able to keep up. But, once we started, I really enjoyed myself. I couldn't do everything that the instructor was doing and there were times that my feet felt like bricks, but it was an awesome workout and I think I'm going to try to start going twice a week. A final change is that I've quit obsessively weighing everyday and only weigh once a week for accountability. It gives me something to look forward to all week and makes seeing the results that much sweeter. All of these additions to my lifestyle change have helped me get back on track and this week I'm excited to report that I lost 5.15lbs! I've set short-term and long-term goals and I'm looking forward to the future! I hope this will be an encouragement to all of you out there who may be trying to implement similar changes in your life. I write what works for me because you never know, it might work for you too:) I also have to say, it's not all about me. I realize I've used "I" a lot in this summary, but without God, none of this would be possible. He brought my friend back into my life, he knew exactly what I needed to get back on the train. Thank you Lord for giving me the strength, motivation, and ability to do all of this!