Progess

Today I weighed in at 177 lb.'s.  That's down from 183 lb.'s exactly four weeks ago, or, 1.5 lb.'s lost a week.

This recent success has put me on cloud nine because, at this point,  I don't feel that I have really worked all that hard to get to where I am.

I've made three changes to my eating habits since I started working out.

The first change I've made was getting back to eating fruits and vegetables;  bananas and spinach have become a regular part of my diet.  I make a Spinach protein smoothie after every workout and now feel like something is wrong if I don't have at least one a day.  (It helps that the smoothie has chocolate syrup and peanut butter in it...)

Later in the day I try to juice some apples and oranges.  It doesn't happen on a consistent basis, but I am getting better about it.

The second change I've made is to control my portions when I eat.  As opposed to eating three large meals a day I've switched to eating six smaller meals, and I feel a whole lot better because of it.  No more bloated feeling for me...  :)

One thing I haven't done yet is get back onto LiveStrong so I can start monitoring my caloric intake.  If for anything else, just to make sure I'm getting enough protein, fiber, etc, etc, into my diet.  I will have to get on that, and right soon.

The third change I think has been the most significant.  I have not eaten out or bought convenience food since I started staying at home.  I have cooked supper every day; no calling in for pizza, no boxes of Kraft mac and cheese, no frozen dinners.

No more dumping hundreds of dollars on fast food each month.  I am particularly proud of that.

I will say that, while it has gotten better, the cravings are still something to contend with.  As long as I'm at home it isn't a big deal.  However, when I'm out on the town and I can smell the greasy goodness emanating from the Spangles parking lot, it's still a challenge fighting off the temptation to pull in and order a burger and fries.  But so far I have not given in.

The cheat days I've started using have helped immensely. (Thanks for the advice Lisa and Courtney!!!)  Twice a week I allow myself a small treat as a reward for staying disciplined.

As I stated in an earlier blog, my daughter Tera and I are joined at the hip on this diet and exercise journey. And four weeks in I have seen a dramatic change in Tera.

Now, when we go to the grocery store, instead of asking for a candy bar or a soda, she asks for plums or strawberries.  When she first started asking for these things I was skeptical that she would actually eat what she was asking for.  But, to my great joy, she is not only eating them but wanting to go back for more.

Tera and I share our cheat days; Wednesdays and either Saturday or Sunday.  We might split a candy bar or get a small ice cream cone, or something along those lines.  It doesn't sound like much, but when you spend all your other days fighting off temptation that one little ice cream cone or half a candy bar suddenly becomes a huge treat.  It's been a great pick me up for the both of us.

Now what really has me excited is the little group Tera joined.  When she first brought home the flyer for "Girls on the Run" I nearly did a cartwheel.  Tera is determined to run a 5K -- although I don't think she really knows what that is.....Oh, well, we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

By the way, Girls on the Run is about a whole lot more than running......Check 'em out:       http://www.girlsontherun.org/

I'm very proud of my little girl.....She is making the effort and that is all I can ask.

As far as Toby is concerned there hasn't been a real transition to speak of.  He has always been a good eater, his only real weakness being Grape Soda and the occasional Little Debbie cake.  The Little Debbie cakes he hasn't missed at all since we got rid of them.  He does ask for grape soda occasionally, and I have no problem acquiescing to his request.

When it's available at school, Toby is a gym rat.  He loves lifting weights and he rides his bike constantly.  He also has been blessed with good genetics provided by my mom's family -- the Filipino side of the family.

I have two uncles in the Philippines that were former body builders.  They possess broad shoulders and narrow waists and, when they are bulked up, looked freaking huge.  Even if they do only stand about 5'7".

My little brother, Tim, is built the same way.  At one point, when he was lifting seriously, he packed muscle onto his wide shoulders and back, beefed up his legs.......and still had just a 27 inch waist.  He was low to the ground, quick, and by far the best athlete in our family....He was (and still is) a physically gifted freak.  Oddly, he had no interest in sports. Go figure.

So if Toby happens to follow along these lines he won't have a problem staying in shape.

That just leaves Karla, who.....is trying.

Karla hates to exercise.  As I had mentioned in an earlier blog I can only remember seeing Karla run twice the whole time we've been together.  It's not that she can't be an athlete.....She doesn't want to be.

Karla is a braniac.  She loves to read, work with numbers, talk about investing and retirement plans......in other words everything I can't stand dealing with.  So, in that regard, we make a good team in that we can both pass on our strongest traits to our kids, hopefully making them well rounded individuals.

But at least Karla is trying.  Every morning at 5:30 the alarm goes off and at 5:35 Karla groans and forces herself out of bed.  She hits the sit ups (I'd rather she do planks, but I digress) and does twenty minutes of Zumba.  But you can tell when you watch her that she would much rather be listening to a Dave Ramsey podcast as opposed to sweating and (her words) feeling gross.

I'm trying to talk her back into the swimming pool.  Karla used to be a life guard and is a very strong swimmer.  But, after work she feels she needs to be home with the kids, and I can't begrudge her that.  I want to be home with the kids, too.

Once Karla got really irritated with me about my insistence on exercising and blurted out, "You just want a trophy wife."
I grinned, despite the seriousness of the conversation....After all, that would be awesome.  :)

But then I told her that while that would be nice I would rather grow old with her.  I pointed out how expensive growing old can be if you are on high blood pressure or heart medication.  Being a money nerd, she quickly got the point.

But I also told her that there is still a lot of the world we haven't seen yet.  When I retire I want to hike and travel, not be stuck at home because my health won't allow me to leave my house.

She's trying.....God love her, she's trying.  I just know, now that our home life has improved, she will get there.  She has made every goal she has set for herself.  This one will be by far the toughest for her, but I know she can do it.

We are making progress........