Little victories

     Weighed in this morning at 198lbs!!! Have you ever watched The Biggest Loser? Typically the contestants do not lose, or lose very little weight the 2nd week of that show. I LOST THREE POUNDS MY SECOND WEEK! That feels great!! Puts me at a grand total of 10 pounds lost in two weeks.

     Was this easy? Absolutely not!...was it worth it? More than I could ever say. I already feel some of my confidence coming back. A couple of years ago I had good self-esteem. I felt confident talking to anyone anywhere, I felt sexy to my husband, and I loved being able to shop without being sent off into depression mode because everything at the store looks "terrible". I love that I am doing so great, and feel the difference in myself daily.
     I think it is so important to celebrate all victories, big or small. This weekend I went and stayed in Jacksonville for the night because I was running my 3rd 5K this year already!! I ran one in February, mud run in march, and this one was a color run. I think it was really cool. I got to run with my cousin and two friends, it was my cousins first one. She did excellent. I kept saying that I wish Zak would have went because there were a bunch of kid and he loves to run with me...next time.

     The pink stuff that is in the bottle in my hand...well that is Spark! That is this momma's best friend! It really does make me exercise better, run faster, and run longer when I drink it. I was drinking daily a few sodas, an energy drink or two, and two cups of coffee. I am changing that..another small victory for me is that I have not had any of that yuck stuff for 10 days and do not miss them! I look at my beautiful Keurig sitting in the corner of my kitchen counter. I have not made even one cup because I have the Spark that satisfies all the need/ want for that other stuff that is very bad for you. I feel so good and hydrated. My skin feels and looks really good too. I think that is partially because I have been eating healthy, and staying away from sugary products.

     I cant believe that I still have 10 more days to go! I am excited what my final results are for my 24 day challenge. I am going to keep my grind going. I am currently looking for another race for next month. So far my favorite has been the mud race because after one of them you just feel like you have conquered the world.

     My favorite recipe that I tried last week was my baked sweet potato fried. I cut up a sweet potato, rubbed just a little olive oil on one side with some Mrs. Dash seasoning, and then I baked them in the oven for 30 minutes. These were delicious!! I love sweet potatoes there are so many uses. When I eat something like this I feel like I am cheating because it is so delicious, but really is it good for you.

     That is it from me to date. I am 10 days in and still happy. I have had no negative side effects of this weight loss program, just motivation to keep on keeping on. Before I go... I forgot I had one last small victory. Yesterday after the morning 5K, we went to lunch and everyone chose Chick-fil-A(one of my old favorite fast foods). Two weeks ago, if I would have went into Chick-fil-A, I would have ordered a #1 (A fried chicken sandwich with waffle fries). I went through line and ordered a small cup of water with no ice. I then mixed, right at the table with my fellow racers, my meal replacement shake from Advocare. They all had food!! They looked at me like they felt bad and even said so...I told them to not feel bad because I do not want it. I do not miss it. I happily drank my surprisingly delicious and filling shake. I did not want to blow all the calories that I had just burned from running the race that morning. Not to mention, the place smelled really bad like chicken grease when we walked in. I left feeling really happy about my choice!

    I found this article when I was writing a paper about diseases the other day. I thought that it was interesting and thought I would share.

http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/jan2012/feature1