Day 160 - Where in the heck did the last 20 days go....

Wow, I have really missed blogging the last almost 3 weeks....Not sure if anyone is even still reading this or not, but it sure is good therapy for me.

I have been smothered in work for the last month and will continue through the end of June.
I have been back and forth to NY a few times and leave again tomorrow until late Friday night.
NY sounds fun and I'm sure it is, if you aren't working 15 hours a day! But hopefully this week will be a bit lighter than the last one there....and I truly am grateful for the job, even if it is killing me right now - ha!

So how am I doing?
Well, handling the stress okay.
Still working out....eating is going pretty well, except for the last week so need to get back on track with that
Weight is the same - that is the best part! My metabolism seems to have stepped up with the weight loss and apparently some muscle gain - ALLELUIA! What was DEAD is coming ALIVE :)!

I have been trying to get together with my "LOSE A TON" challenge friends, but seems we are all pretty busy....some of the girls have babies, others have new jobs, vacations, etc...but I did get to catch up with Diane, the LOSE A TON winner today. She and I hit it off from the very beginning of the contest. We were the "senior" players and from the start, we wanted to represent the "seniors" well :)! And she did, she WON the whole dang thing! However, shortly after the end of the contest, she hurt her back so bad, she couldn't do anything for several weeks.....she was on steroids and gained some weight back but is already getting it off again!

We talked today about how we want this time to be "different" from the other times....And we both think it is....How so?

Well, for 1 thing, we are WATCHING it....that is, checking in on the old scale and if the number goes up, we take some action....
We are supporting each other.....this isn't easy and we know we will have some weight gain here and there and falling off the wagon....so when 1 is down, the other can pick you up!
When we were in the contest, we were strict with our diet and working out daily.....
Now, we are no longer working out daily and our diet is not so strict.....
Today we talked about the need to find the balance between BEFORE and AFTER.....

So we talked about setting up some definite times to meet up and work out together as a group - keep the momentum going as a LOSE A TON team....You see, we not only lost weight together, we bonded :)......

So for this week, I will eat better, work out more and try to enjoy NY while I'm working up there! And then hurry home for next weekend - my siblings will be in town for my brother in law's 60th birthday extravaganza party followed by the arrival of my kids and grandbabies from Abu Dhabi! But tomorrow, I get to watch my daughter Kelly, who already graduated with her Masters in OT, now graduate as a soon to be licensed Massage Therapist! Today I watched her as a "wedding singer" at my church....boy, that girl does it all!!! So proud of her!

So just for today, do something to make you proud of YOU! What's it going to be?! Wedding singing, mountain climbing, bungee jumping or just some healthy living!? You make the call and you hold yourself to it!

Until next time, hang in there! The effort is worth the results!