It's been a long time

Haven't posted in quite a while. I do have a trip to England and Scotland planned for the end of April, first 2 weeks in May. The first part of the trip will be 4 of us and then we split up and my friend Catherine and I will be in northern England and the other 2 will be in London. We will all meet up again at the airport. No Palm Springs this year :-( . Will go next year for sure.

I am going to start blogging on my weight loss journey. I was hesitant to write anything on that for fear of failure. I have started so many diets and failed, usually at around 6 weeeks after losing 8-10 pounds, then just gain it back. This time is a little different. I have been on the program for going on 9 weeks and have lost 18 pounds. I lost 5 before I started the program, so I have lost a total of 23 pounds. It is like something has just clicked in my brain.

I started a program through a local health club January 12, 2010. It cost $150 for 3 months. This includes using the club facilities, meeting with a trainer once a week in small team groups of 6, keeping a food diary and weighing in once a week. There are about 8 teams and the person who wins the largest percentage of weight at the end wins $1000.

I go to the gym or get some form of exercise 6 days a week for 1 to 1 1/2 hours and I SWEAT....a lot. I walk outside, on a treadmill, use the rowing machine, bike, Zumba, weights, eliptical and plan on starting playing raquetball. I haven't played raquetball since the early 80's. I am loving the exercise!

My diet is pretty simple....low carb, low sugar, low fat, no artificial sweetners...you know, the way you're SUPPOSED to eat. I do allow myself one cheat meal a week, which usually includes desert. I don't waste my cheat meal on junky stuff. If I eat ice cream, it is GOOD ice cream. If it is a hamburger, it is NOT from fast food places, it's more gourmet type.

Several months ago I cleaned out my closet and got rid of a ton of stuff that I hadn't worn in years because it no longer fit or was totally out of style. Fortunately I kept some things, because now I can just go shopping in my closet. This morning I tried on 3 pairs of pants that did not fit a month ago and now are perfect. Same with tops. Every week it is like I have new clothes to wear. I have put 4 extra notches in my belt. I have 2 pairs of jeans that I wore last week for the last time. I had them belted to keep them up and the waist was gathered under the belt they were so big. Feels GREAT!!!!

Now, I still have a ways to go to reach a healthy weight for me, but I feel this time I really am on the right track and will reach it. I have another 44 pounds to lose to reach my goal.

I am going to blog every day as my food and exercise diary. This is for myself, but if anyone wants to comment or give me pointers please do.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!