Monday Milestones

 

This was an encouraging week for me.  I utilized Calorie Count and kept a really good record on their food journal.  It analyzed my diet and told me exactly how much protein, fat, fiber, etc. I was eating and gave recommendations to improve.  For example, I was trying to eat at least 60 grams of lean protein every day, but the nutritionist recommended 80 grams to help maintain the muscle I am gaining from The Shred!  The nutritionist also said I wasn’t eating enough calories, so I bumped up from around 1200 to about 1500 per day. 

When I weighed in this morning, I had lost 2 pounds, which brings my total to 46 pounds in 18 weeks. 

My Shred challenge will be finished on Thursday, and I really want to keep a good thing going, so I’m joining another 30-day exercise challenge with my blog friend Kim, which starts today.  Her challenge is to get at least 30 minutes of activity in each day through walking, running, aerobics, weight training, basically anything that gets your heart pumping.  She’ll be using her new Wii EA Sports Active game.  If you want to gain some accountability in your exercise routine (which totally works for me), go join in the challenge!

Grace and I are leaving for Mimi and Granddaddy’s house this Friday (woo-hoo!) for a short visit before we head to Orange Beach, AL for Youth Camp!  Unfortunately Todd can’t go because he has an education conference in Austin, but Grace and I will enjoy the time with family, friends, and good biblical teaching.  Because several of the camp speakers and counselors have young children, I’ll be helping to coordinate a mini-Vacation Bible School for the preschoolers.  I did it last year, and it was a lot of fun, and this year we’ll have twice as many kiddos! 

Our family will spend the majority of June traveling around the Southeast to visit relatives (that’s what happens when the closest family member lives 9 hours away).  But, although that means I won’t be able to do The Shred every day, my goal is to get SOME sort of daily activity in over the next few weeks. 

Also, traveling to visit relatives presents challenges with what I eat.  I want to be appreciative of the hospitality we receive, but I also don’t want to “fall off the horse” so to speak with my diet.  The key for me this summer will be bringing plenty of my HMR shakes and entrees on the road and using portion control when I choose to eat something that is provided.  If I can get home in July without gaining any weight, that will be good enough for me.