Small setback

This last week we haven't done so well. I'm not terribly surprised. We've had so much success that we were bound to have a few setbacks. After all, losing weight isn't easy, right?

This is how I'm feeling right now.

In the last week we've been dealing with Lee's new job, my disappointment with not finding a better job (interview after interview with no luck). I think we just slacked off. We've exercised a little, but not to the extent that we have been. We also slacked off on our eating habits. Today's measurements showed the results: I haven't lost anything at all in the last week, but on the bright side, Lee has still lost a little in a few areas.

This is why they say that losing weight is a hard road. There are so many ups and downs, so many barriers to overcome. Breaking a lifetime of habits isn't going to come easily. I went shopping the last two days, however, and I didn't pick up any snack foods. We will allow ourselves to have a snack if needed, but only purchase it when needed. It really is true that if you have it in the house, you eat it.

I also think that we're falling back onto old excuses in terms of exercising: namely that we are exhausted or don't have the time. We started this journey saying that we are going to do something every day. If we don't have time to go for the mile, we can at least go around the block. I think we forgot that. We determined together this morning to get back to that idea. We don't always have to keep making improvements with our exercising, we just need to keep going.

Ups and downs

I was going to post more this last week, especially when we were able to increase our walk (once or twice) to a mile and a half. We've had some personal issues to deal with that didn't have to do with losing weight and I totally forgot. Sorry about that.

We did our measurements again this weekend. Lee has lost 1/2 an inch to an inch in some areas but gained a little in others. I've actually gained about a 1-inch average. It's a little disappointing, as you can imagine.

We did such a great job of walking for 3 1/2 straight weeks, every day. Then with those aforementioned personal issues, we missed a little. We tried to at least do our upper-body exercises, but missed both yesterday. I am proud to say, though, that we went out again today. Here are our 2-month photos:

Right: March 31; Left: June 1

Right: April 1; Left: June 1

I don't know what the difference is, but for some reason, this time when we miss a day or two, we get right back on track. In the past if we missed a day, we would get discouraged and give up for a few months. We have done so much better in the last 2 months. Maybe we really are more motivated, or maybe it's just time to make some changes. They say that when we are truly ready to do something that has been tried before, it will be easier to stay on track. Whatever the reason, it does feel good to know that we are able to keep going.

We were told by our nutritionist that as we add the good foods into our diet, we will start to crave them more, and the junk food won't taste as good. We're starting to see a little of that. We are craving fruits and vegetables more, and when we treated ourselves to a little fast food this weekend, it wasn't as satisfying as it used to be. However, most junk food is still hard to give up. . . . That's okay. We're not trying to give anything up, right? We're just going to keep focusing on adding the healthy foods and limiting our intake of junk food. As Lee likes to say, "Team Earl!"