Well, we are a week in to our new lifestyles, and so far, so good!  Mom has managed to lose a total of 9.5 pounds and I have managed to lose 8.5 pounds.  We weren't able to work out together the way that we had hoped, due to some medical issues with Mom.  She is continuing to have back pain that is often severe.  She went back to the doctor earlier in the week, and they did some x-rays...and it turns out that she has several discs in her spine that are rapidly deteriorating.  Right now, they are just treating it with pain meds and the like, but eventually she may need disc replacement surgery.  Exercise will be good for her though, so we are planning to work out together this week as we have planned to do.

 

I'm starting back to school tomorrow, and starting a job on campus as well.  This first week will likely be stressful, just getting the schedule down.  But I'm planning to combat the stress by packing a lunch, water, and snacks to take with me to campus each day, and working out before going home at least a few days.  Hopefully that will help.  I just need to do some pre-planning, so that I have everything I need for my lunches all ready to go.

 

I've added a new list with our weights, where we can track our progress as we go.  I'm pleased to see that we've both lost close to our short term goal amount within the first week, and without including as much exercise as we planned to include.  Hopefully with adding more exercise, we can keep it up.

 

I've stuck within my calorie goal range every day but one, and that is even with eating out on multiple occasions!  The one day that I went over my calorie range, it was only by about 100 calories.  Not too bad.  I've had at least 64 oz of water every day since starting.  I just have to keep it up.  But I'm already starting to notice that my body is adjusting to the eating schedule that I've set for it.  I start to get a little bit hungry right around the time that I will be eating a snack or a meal.  My meals have sometimes been more food than I can actually eat.  It's a good feeling to know that I can have that much, but I don't necessarily need that much.  I'm trying to plan my meals to have a serving of protein, a small serving of carbohydrates, and two servings of fruits or vegetables.  So far, so good.

 

Thanks to everyone for all of the encouragement!  We're working on it!

 

~Mindy