The changes are, um, changing!

Let's step into the weighback machine and set the dial to, um, August 19th. I admitted to you that I have a weight problem and was actively working to make a change. Well things are a changing and it would appear for the better!

This past holiday weekend, my family gathered at my parent's camper for a day of swimming and togetherness. It's nice to see my brother and his family. They live about a 1 hour drive north of us and it just doesn't seem like we have the time to get together like we should. Well...that's another post.

In talking to my sister-in-law, she mentioned to me how excited she was to hear I was trying to lose some weight. She thought it would really help her to stay motivated if we would work together to motivate each other. I couldn't have agreed more. So we decided to start a blog about this adventure. Seeing as how I have 3 blogs (here, here and you are already here) already, I volunteered to set it up.

Here's a cross post to give you the flavor of the blog...

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Let's kick things off with what my plan is and what's happened so far.

My plan is to change my lifestyle gradually. From what I've read, drastic changes to my lifestyle will only end with me giving up. It's unrealistic to think I can become a fitness freak and eat super healthy over night and stick to it. So...here's the items that I'm changing...

• Drinking less soda. I was drinking diet pop already, but it was pretty much the sum of consumption. I brought a glass to work to for water. It's free and pretty low cal.
• Think about what I eat in the cafeteria. I used to just order everything that looked good. No more. I don't need to be full in the afternoons so a light lunch will do.
• Take the stairs more. I know MumblingSages doesn't see it everyday, but I actually do hit the stairs quite frequently now. The elevator still looks appealing in the morning. That may never change.
• Use the power of the Wii for good not evil. Well...more good and less evil. I'm not giving up on video games, I'm just shifting my diet to a bit more of the Wii Fit variety. So far this game is really fun and best of all it's tracking my progress for me. In a weird way this is working. I like challenges and this one is documented so each night I hope to show a decline.
  

I figure just starting like this will be gradual enough to keep me interested. The Wii thing has had an effect on me that isn't just from the exercise it provides. It's the feedback that things are working that really helps. I started using it 2 weeks ago and already I've lost 3.2 pounds. I know, I need to lose a lot more, but I like to celebrate progress. It reinforces to me that things are changing for the better.

My goal is to lose about 3 pounds every two weeks. I realize that I'll have weeks where I don't quite make goal but then there will be times when I exceed goal. If my math skills are correct, I'll reach my target in 40 weeks. With 2 weeks down, I only have 38 weeks to go!

We can do this family!!!!