Health Update

It is the time of year where it seems everyone makes some kind of resolution to lose weight, exercise more, drink more water, and eat right. I have to say that I love this time of year - it is a new beginning! A great time to start fresh, regardless of what has taken place over the last year. 

Here is an update on how things wrapped up before Christmas:

1. Remember the family competition I mentioned here? My SIL, Sarah, won! I was a close second though, with only about 1/2 lb keeping me from the gold! I was a bit disappointed to lose, but glad that we both had some success. We are doing round 2 of this family contest, to last through March 31st. We will see who wins this time (watch out, Sarah! I'm gonna win this time!). 

2. My final weigh in after the 18 week competition left me at minus 13.4 lbs. I am happy with the loss, but I know I could have done better. 

3. I remained gluten-free until my mother-in-law broke out homemade raisin bread in Maine over Christmas. I couldn't resist! It was wonderful. I have been eating more gluten since then, but still limited. 

My plan for the new year is this:

1. Family competition: beat Sarah. Haha, just kidding! But my goal is to win, of course. 

2. Remain on a limited gluten diet, avoiding it when possible, but not being obsessive about it. I tried to cut out sugar which lasted all of 1/2 a day, but I am going to keep that limited as well. These are both for medical purposes only, not in an effort to lose more weight. I do think I feel better in general when I stay away from these two things in particular, so limiting them should go a long way without taking too much from quality and convenience of life. 

3. Along with the family contest, I am doing an 8 week competition with my two accountability buds through FB. There is a monetary prize for this one as well, and I can earn points for exercise, eating right, drinking water, etc. I know it is cheesy, but I'm excited to have a chart and see how many stars I can get! :) 

4. I'm still following The Lord's Table Bible study, which is helping me to stay focused on God and knowing Him more. It is a great encouragement with my eating habits. 

I have more specific goals for exercise and scripture memory, but I will document those as I go. Rather than a weekly update, my plan is to blog once a month about my health accomplishments. Should keep it from getting too mundane every week. 

As an update for my back, there isn't much change. I survived our 38+ hours in the car for our holiday travel, but honestly it wasn't very comfortable. It would seem that this is simply something that I am going to have to live with, at least for a while. My hope is that as I lose more weight, the natural shift of weighing less will make an impact on the pain level. We shall see! 

I really appreciate all of the support I have from friends and family, encouraging me to stay the course. I couldn't do it without you! So by all means, please feel free to ask how I am doing and if I'm on track, focusing on God, eating right and exercising.