Weekly Check-in, New Habits

Well, I can't say I was totally successful this week.  My goal for the week was to incorporate healthy, Daniel Fast-type lunches.  I ended up pretty much eating regular lunches.  Part of the reason for this is that we had so many leftovers this week, it seemed wasteful not to eat what was already in the refrigerator and make myself something else instead.

In addition, I made myself some allowances for both Girl's Night Dinner on Saturday night and Superbowl Sunday.  Some friends and I try to get together about once a month for dinner.  We meet at one of our houses, we pick a theme for the evening, and we each bring a dish.  So, this time our theme was Moroccan food.  My friend Sarah made a Moroccan cocktail & I tried one of them.  And my friend Jamie made an orange Moroccan cake and I tried a piece of that.  And, Superbowl Sunday?  Well, I figured I'd just relax and enjoy myself, but I actually came away from eating so much junk feeling quite icky & head-achey.

The lovely table that Paige set

Our girl's night crew

And here's a shot with our hostess, second from left

When I did my weigh in on Saturday I saw that I was only down a few more ounces from my last weigh in....bringing my total weight loss since beginning my healthier habits campaign a month ago to a mere 3 pounds.  At first I was really discouraged by this.  But, then I thought about it a bit more.  And, you know, the most major changes that I've made so far are eliminating caffeine, alcohol, sugary treats, and night-time snacking.  I haven't altered much else in my diet at this point.  And, if I am still losing weight (albeit slowly) making these relatively small changes, then I'm still on track.  And it makes this all seem more do-able.

So to recap:
Week One:  Eliminate caffeine and adult beverages
Week Two:  Eliminate sugar
Week Three:  Eliminate night-time snacking
Week Four:  Eat a healthy, Daniel Fast-type lunch
And, this week:
Week Five:  Add three days of 30 minute exercise   Goal:  Get moving!

I really dreaded adding this one in.  I'm not a huge exercise fan.  At all.  When I first was thinking about what I wanted my weekly goals to be, I knew I'd eventually be incorporating some kind of exercise.  And, initially I was all gung-ho about making it serious.  I thought I should totally make it 5 days.

But, the point of this whole journey is to take things in small increments.  I'm still working on each of my goals from Weeks One - Four.  And, it's ok to go slow.  I want this to be sustainable. I want it to be a new way of living.  So, we'll shoot for three days of exercise (which will be difficult enough) and aim a little higher later.