Probably my last post

I have to say that this challenge has been one of the greatest things that has happened to me in a long time. My health has made a 360 degree turn around. Three months ago, I could hardly walk up and down the stairs in my house. Last Saturday night I went outside and ran 5 miles and I wasn't completely tired out yet. It felt really good. The only problem was being able to walk for the next couple of days. I can't believe that all of the exercise that I have done on the bicycle and the eliptical; didn't really prepare my legs for this. I love it when my muscles are sore. I really feel like I have accomplished something. I was really disappointed that I didn't lose any weight last week. I am excited to see thee rest of my numbers. So far I have lost 35 pounds. I hope I can maintain that until Friday.
I am going to miss having a trainer to meet with a couple of times a week. That has really helped me to get my but out of bed in the morning. My wife likes to run, so maybe this is something we could start doing together. In the past I have always had a bad attitude about running. These last few months have changed my perspective.
I just can't believe that I let myself get as heavy as I did. I have always enjoyed exercising, especially, I have been a heavy weight lifter. I just let the food get the best of me. I am thankful for the nutrition class that has taught me more about what I should be eating and how much.
I could continue all day about how good I feel. I hope that I can keep up this attitude.
I wish all of the participants good luck for their future and it has been great getting to know all of you.

Small set back and now I am back on track

After a long weekend of ward camp outs and a family reunion, I am setting my focus back to my goal of changing my lifestyle. It is hard to stay on track when there is so much good food around. I went crazy with the cookies and brownies on Saturday; and by the end of the day I was really regretting it. Man was I sick for a couple of days; I don't ever want to feel that way again. It is amazing how fast the body can go down hill.
I am back on track and feeling good again already. It is great to be back in clothes that I haven't seen for several years. It is almost like a whole new wardrobe again. I am down 32lbs from when I started the challenge and I have lost 50lbs since March.. That is how much my daughter weighs. I was packing her around with me everyday and now I almost feel light on my feet already. I am really excited to see all the other changes in my body.
Everybody that I have seen lately is looking really good and I am hearing a lot of good feed back of how much better they feel. It is great encouragement.

A pleasant surprise

I had a very pleasant surprise on Saturday. I decided that I had not been on a bike ride up Santaquin canyon for a long time. I got on my bike and headed up the canyon and at the point where I am usually almost completely dead; this time I was feeling really good. I passed that point even in a higher gear and decided to keep going and went farther than I had ever gone before. I ended up going over 3 miles up the canyon and it is a pretty steep road. I have been thinking all of this time, that I had not been progressing on the bike. It was an awesome feeling and I am really excited. I ended up going up again on Monday and going a little farther again. It is just an awesome feeling to be 30 pounds lighter and I feel like I can move like a kid again.
It is great to see the other participants at the gym and to see and hear how they are progressing. I can't believe that we are now almost down to 2 weeks left. I look forward to seeing the numbers at the end and see more than what the scale has been telling me.

Time has really been flying by

I can't believe how fast the time is going by. Less than 5 weeks left in the challenge. So far this has been a great opportunity and a jump start to a better life. I still really struggle with getting fruit and vegetables into my diet. Every day when I log my food I only have one fruit and maybe one vegetable. Other than that, I have stayed away from the food that put on all the weight. When they call it a challenge, it is a challenge. I feel so much better now and I am walking places a lot more than driving. I used to drive my van from the North West plaza to the building just east, the UVOC, to the sports med clinic to work on computers. Now I walk and I have more energy to get out of my chair and do my job. I feel good.
It is still a fight some days to resist what it seems like everyone else is eating. I hope I don't offend anyone, but I have found that I have to turn to God for help to resist and to eat right. I turn to him more in times when I am depressed and stressed out when I usually turn to food. That is what helps me go on.

It has been a really bitter sweet last few days

The last few days has been really hard to keep up on food tracking. I have had a lot of stress in my life and I have wanted to take it out on food. I am trying to train myself to find another way to deal with my stress. My son made a family favorite home made chocolate cake with home made chocolate fudge frosting. I broke and at a pretty good sized piece of it. It tasted really good, but I suffered all night with my sinuses from the chocolate. I have known for many years that I have an allergy to chocolate. I didn't eat the whole cake and life continues to go on. I am continuing to lose weight. I still wish it was as easy to take it off as it was to put it on.
I am really grateful for this program; it keeps me going and trying harder.

We are now over the hump in the challenge

It was really good to see so many members of the heart challenge at the gym yesterday. I had one of the best weight workouts that I have had. I went up 5 to 10 pounds on almost every exercise. It felt really good to get such a good workout. At the half way point I have lost 20 pounds and I already feel like a different person. I am finding that y colleagues at work are aware and don't really even offer the junk food to me anymore. I am even seeing others that are inspired by what I am doing and are trying to eat better themselves.
It is not only the weight loss; it is my pocket book that is doing better on the challenge. I was spending up to $3 a day on a 44oz soda and a chocolate doughnut. For lunches I was spending sometimes $11 for a burger fries and a drink at Five Guys. I am even finding that I am enjoying healthy food that I normally would not even eat. I still struggle with getting enough fruit in a day. I mostly just forget to eat it. Overall things are going well and I am enjoying time with my children that I didn't enjoy before; because I was so obsessed about getting to the gym. With that, I will take another 24.

I keep forgetting to blog

We have hit the half way point I am feeling pretty good that I have lost 20 pounds.About 40 more and I will be at a good ideal weight. I am still struggling to get enough fruit during the day. I have never been a fruit eater; so this is a complete change in lifestyle.
My eyes are opened every time I try to go out to eat. I am amazed at how much fat and calories are in the food that I used to eat. I went out to eat with my family for my wife's birthday last Thursday and we went to one of our favorite places to eat, El Azteca, We usually get the Chimichanga combo each. Instead we split one meal and I was only able to eat half of my half of chimichanga this time. It feels really good to be aware of my feelings of when I am full.I hope that I can continue this direction when the challenge is over.