A Fresh Start

It's April 1st. Easter was yesterday. Spring is in full swing. Everything is fresh and new and ready to start.

Me too!

Time for a fresh start. A renewed dedication to weight loss and healthy living. I realized with horror that I have gained back 20 of the 102 pounds I originally lost. Today I am 199.0 pounds. Sure, some of it is muscle from marathon training, but some of it is the late night fast food, the sodas, the potato chips I just have to have with tuna fish sandwiches, the chocolate eaten after the kids go to bed.

I've fallen back into some bad habits, but I'm going to do something about it before I fall back to the weight I was almost two years ago.

To motivate myself and hopefully others who have been asking for some help, I started The Jolly Green Giant Health and Fitness Challenge. It officially began today and there are a lot of positive vibes and motivational stories floating around over there. Over there being Facebook where the group is online.

There are nursing moms, working moms, single moms, moms over 50, people who aren't moms, people who battle depression, people who endure chronic conditions, those who want to lose 10 pounds, those who want to lose 50 or more, those who are in the middle of moving, a few overseas people, a few students, a few runners, several who don't exercise at all, and all ready to make a change in their life. It's very inspiring!

I have great hopes for all of them and for myself!

I challenged them this week to make one (or two) realistic goals for the eight-week challenge and to write them down. Here is mine:

No sugar five days a week. Only one serving of treats the other two days.

Sugar really is my biggest nemesis when it comes to weight loss. If I could lay off the sugar I could unlock all sorts of possibilities. More energy, more success on the scale, less emotional eating, less self-depreciation. It all seems to lay on my ability to avoid the sweet stuff.

Of course I'm hoping if I can stick to that goal that I will see lots of other goals come to fruition. 20-40 pound weight loss. Fit back into wedding dress. Run marathon without dying. Have more energy and physical ability all around.

Here's to a fresh start!