Sticking to the plan

Week three of the program was about sticking to a plan. I've been using the My Fitness Pal app during the past three weeks. I log in my meals, snacks, water intake and exercise each day. It helps keep me accountable and makes me think twice about what I put into my mouth. There's an online website as well that provides even more features than the app. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but plan to do so in the coming weeks. Check it out...it's free and totally worth it! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

The biggest challenge for me this week was finding time workout. My husband was sick the majority of the week with the flu that's been plaguing everyone this holiday season. I was pretty much on my own with the girls all week and trying to prepare for Christmas at the same time. It was a stressful and overwhelming week. However, for the first time in my life, I found that finding time to exercise was a stress relief to everything else that was going on during my week.

I also started the Couch Potato to 5K workouts this week. I've probably mentioned before that I get bored with workouts so mixing it up is a necessity in my case. I was shocked and surprised that I was able to do it. I've never been a runner, and to be honest, I'm not sure I want to be...but this was another way to get my workout in by doing something different so I gave it a shot. It really wasn't so bad...and my knees held out which is what I was most concerned about.

I was happy to end the week visiting with the other challenge participants. We got our "before" pictures taken on Saturday and were able to reconnect with each other to see how everyone was doing. It really is an amazing group of women that were chosen to participate and everyone is making the program work for them in their own way. I'm looking forward to the big reveal at the end of the 12 weeks. It's going to be a fun celebration of our journey!

So at the end of week two, I had lost less than a pound. At the end of week three, I'm happy to report that I lost 2 pounds for a total of nearly 6 pounds in three weeks. This was the motivation I needed going into week four that coincided with several Christmas celebrations.

My goal in week four is to really tackle the nutrition aspect of the program. I've purchased two new Cooking Light cookbooks and I'm carving out time to plan our meals for the upcoming weeks. Like exercising, I think it will need to be a deliberate process of getting meals scheduled into our hectic calendar. I know we can do it! I'm working hard in week four to maintain my weight loss and hopefully lose a little as well. We'll see how it goes!