The initial Lighten Up 2014 weigh-in was January 18^th and I was excited to participate in this contest.  A good challenge over a six-month period, I’m up for it!  On my 10 minute drive to LEAN Living I had the radio on, and guess what song was playing?  Helen Reddy’s ‘I Am Woman’

On February 22nd I was on my way once again to LEAN Living for our second weigh-in, and guess what song was playing?  Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’

Interesting to have these songs playing on my car radio at these seemingly random times.  Yes, of course I had the volume cranked up, and I was singing along!  So now that I have these songs stuck in your head the rest of the day, I hope they are as empowering and inspirational to you.  Can’t wait to hear what song will be playing today!

I am really looking forward to tonight’s dinner of chicken and kale.  My son and I will be fixing the kale the way he has prepared it, and the chicken will be baked.  Quinoa and now kale joining my expanding healthy food choice list!  I have to say I am really enjoying this journey eating healthier food and working out more.  Both my kids offering encouragement, recipes, food choices and workout tips, priceless!

The winter weather keeps going and going.  Will it ever get warm and stay warm?  March 20th is the first day of Spring, and I'm not anticipating any great change in the weather that day...  What I will do is keep going to the gym and I will keep going to Aladdin's to enjoy a delicious meal every Monday at Aladdin's.  I will keep going to the grocery store and choosing my food wisely.  I will keep in mind that losing weight is a process and I just need to Keep Going!!!

I love vegetables!  I'm experimenting and trying new vegetables that haven't been on my regular shopping list.  Eggplant is this week's new vegetable.  Made a black bean lasagna (Trisha Yearwood's recipe) and substituted eggplant for the noodles.  It was absolutely delicious and very filling.  I have also made baba ghanoush a few times this past month and it is great with pita. 

Next week I will incorporate kale into my diet, my son has described how he cooked it and I can't wait to try it when he is home on spring break. 

In order to keep motivated as I move forward with losing weight, I will try new recipes and use vegetables that I don't normally eat.  Really looking forward to discovering some new favorites~

According to dictionary.com the definition of habit is: ‘an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary’.

 

I can honestly say I am developing some great habits: 

 

1) reading food nutrition labels (and better yet understanding them!);

 

2) working out at the gym – sometimes driving right from work as my bag is packed and in the car;

 

3) planning meals out for several days – at least in my head, and accounting for eating out for lunch or dinner.

 

These habits are becoming a lifestyle change that I am happy and excited about!

Today starts a new month!  Spring officially starts in March, at least on the calendar!  My first weigh-in result showed that I'm on the right track.  At the grocery store this week I was reading the nutrition labels on packages and making good choices instead of just placing items in my cart.  Vitabot is helping to identify where my trouble areas are in my diet, this has been a great tool to use.

I started March with a nice workout at the gym.  I will be kicking up and changing up my workout routines this month.  My positive attitude is going strong!!