Sticking with the program..

I just kept working out ... although I had agreed to work out 3 times per week I frequently went 4-5 times per week. I was so excited to have found exercise that I actually liked. The instructors at LWE all made impressions on me. They were willing to share my success and they helped me to find ways to change up my workout so that I was working new muscle groups and challenging myself. After my first twelve weeks I just kept trying new things. I have continued the food journal because it keeps me honest.

I never really say I am on a diet. When people ask what I am doing I just say that I am using diet and exercise. But if I want to eat something like chocolate or cake...I eat it and adjust my calories accordingly. I have found that for me it is really hard to stick to 1200 calories. I was fine with 1500 and I do well between 1300-1400 but dropping to 1200 leaves me feeling hungry all the time. I try not to be to hard on myself because the weight has been coming off on a fairly down ward trend. I had to start charting my progress so that I would remind myself that I was really doing well.

The weight came off - Feb 310, mar 295.1, April 292, may, 286, Jun 282, July 275, aug 270, sept 269, Oct 267, Nov 265...

I did things along the way for boosts...in July i did the Firecracker challenge at work. It was a 9 week program where we kept track of weekly exercise and did weekly challenges. It got me over a slow spot.

Then I decided to do a 1/2 marathon. A coworker was putting together a group of runners and walkers to do the Tucson 1/2 marathon so I decided to sign up! We started at 12 week walking program in September. Thanks to my neighbor and her daughter I stayed on schedule. The first time we walked 6 miles at one time I thought I would never make it home.

Then we made 8 miles and that seemed easy. 10 was hard evey time we did it, (we did 10 three times because we were ahead of schedule). We did 11 on a week we wanted to do 13 but my body couldn't take it...I had fallen a few days before and I just wasn't up to it. Now we are on the down side and the marathon is next sunday Dec 7th, '08. I am so excited. I know I can do 13.1 miles and it is amazing to me that just 12 weeks ago four miles was a challenge!