5%

Yesterday was a momentous occasion in my ongoing quest! I received my first piece of Weight Watchers "bling" that means I met a milestone accomplishment on my weight loss journey. I received my 5% lost award. That means I've lost 5% of my total body weight through this program, which equaled 14 pounds. Officially, I've lost 15.2 pounds overall, and I really do feel wonderful about it!

I am hitting the gym every morning, and getting really hot, sweaty and nasty, but by the time I'm done, I'm okay with that. It gives me great appreciation for my morning shower! My routine has been 30 minutes on a treadmill doing an interval training program. I've increased .1 mph on both the low end (currrently 2.2 mph) and the high end (currently 3.7 mph) and will continue to do that until I'm sure that I can meet the time requirement of the Diva 5K in DC in September, which is 5K in 50 minutes. After the treadmill, I do a stationery bike program for about 20 minutes. While I'm trying to keep my heart rate to 117, I haven't been very good about that, so I'm staying in the "Basic" programs for now, because I don't like to see my heart rate above 145. I'm getting too old for that! Then yesterday, because I had church right after the gym, I did just 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer. But in those 30 minutes, I burned 300 calories!! I was floored to see that! I think that's going to be my standard Sunday workout for the time being. I also follow the 30-day workout challenge that I mentioned in my last post. After the first couple of days, the soreness has gotten better, and while I still am feeling my workouts after them, the pain is absolutely manageable. I feel great going to the gym. It makes me happy, and I am really proud of myself that I didn't let my illness derail my fledgling efforts.

On a note slightly off the weight loss topic, but still in keeping with the self-improvement, my husband and I went on a Date Night on Saturday. We went to a local shooting range - Colonial Shooting Academy, if anyone's interested - THEY'RE AWESOME! They were really friendly and very helpful. I hadn't been to a range in about fifteen years, when I "stole" (according to my dad) my grandfather's .357. I still contend that I won it fair and square, and that if he didn't want to give it to me, he shouldn't have offered it. Can I help it that I out-shot him and my big brother on the range? Anyway, I took that gun with us, and it was amazing to shoot it again. I remembered halfway through that the first time I was shooting .38 special rounds through it, and .357 rounds are quite a bit more explosive. I did pretty well, but Hubby out-shot ME this time. I didn't like being on the other side of the fence, and have slightly more sympathy for my dad than I used to. Hubby and I also rented a couple of .45 semi-autos. I have to say that semi-automatics make me nervous. The flying hot brass coming back at me scares me just a tiny bit, but I enjoyed shooting those guns. I did okay, but more practice is definitely needed. We made a new friend on the range that had a couple of really LOUD revolvers, and we traded some shots on each other's weapons. It was a great night, and definitely something out of the ordinary for me. Of course, hubby and I didn't get to talk much, but we had fun, and it was nice to be without the kids for a block of time. I'm hoping to get to sign up for the Ladies Basic Pistol class and get my concealed carry permit. Not that I think I need to wear a gun, but it would definitely give me confidence to know I could take down someone who tried to hurt me or my kids.

All in all, really happy with how things are in life. My husband told me just today that he wants to make a concerted effort to be more of a spiritual leader in our home, and I'm excited about that as well. My goal in life is to honor God with what I do, and to demonstrate my faith in ways that the world can see. I fall down....A WHOLE LOT...but I know that God isn't going to give up on me even in my many mistakes, and it will be great to have my husband fulfill his role of a godly man and head of his family.

Nothing but good news here tonight!
MR

Measurements

Neck - 15.5 in.- No Change

Bicep - 14.5 in. - No Change

Bust - 49.5 in. - (-1.5 inches)

Chest - 46 in. - (-1 inch)

Waist - 49.25 in. - (-.75 inches)

Hips - 57.5 in. - (+1.25 inches)

Thigh - 25 in. - (-2 inches)

Calf - 18.75 in. - (+.25 inches)

TOTAL CHANGE - (-3.75 inches)
WEIGHT - 262.2 (-15.2 pounds)