We're shrinking

[caption id="attachment_472355" align="alignright" width="300" caption="I have no idea who this dude is."][/caption]

We now resume your regularly scheduled programming.

Sorry about the lack of updates last week. I didn't hear from Alan since he was dealing with a flat tire last Monday morning. Then every time I got around to posting, I'd get busy with something else.

Alan may have had a flat tire, but what he doesn't have is a spare tire. Since we started this weight loss challenge Jan. 3, he has lost a total of 15 pounds!

Me? Well, if you remember the last time I wrote, I had gained 2 pounds. That was two weeks ago, and I've since lost 9 pounds.

I can hardly believe it, but since Jan. 3, I am now down 22 pounds (and down 46 since last March)!

(I admittedly might still be a bit dehydrated from helping my friend Karen celebrate her 60th birthday Saturday. But I'll take it.)

I'll leave you with this today, posted recently by my friend Tammie: "If you keep focused on the future, you'll always have a clean slate."

It's great for anyone trying to make a positive change.

It's a brand-new week. What will you do with it?

Just what the doctor ordered

I got such a gift last night.

I had just walked into a funeral home visitation when I saw my dear friend Kristy and her boyfriend, Dr. Tony.

"Wow, girl, you look amazing!" Tony told me.

Or maybe it was "fabulous"? I just know it was an adjective I'd neither heard nor felt about myself in a very long time.

I so needed to hear that.

Tony hadn't seen me since last spring, when I first started this weight loss journey. I've had so many ups and downs since then that I honestly forget to stop and appreciate the fact that I've lost a total of nearly 40 pounds.

It's obvious to someone who hasn't seen me every day. And it meant the world that he noticed.

It was just the boost I needed this morning to get my butt out of bed and to the gym in the bitter cold (it's up to a sweltering 4 degrees as I write this).

If you notice something good about someone today, take the time to tell him or her.

It could make all the difference.

Not so super

Stupid Super Bowl.

Sometimes I am an example of what to do. Many times, I'm an example of what not to do.

This week I'm the latter.

Slacking on exercise all week and then overindulging on beer and delicious Super Bowl party foods the night before my weekly weigh-in? Not smart.

Alan, my weight-loss competitor, doesn't even like football, which points to two thoughts:

1) He had an obvious advantage going into this week.
2) I'm not sure how we're even friends.

So he lost 2 more pounds for the week, and I gained 2.

But the beauty of taking charge of your life means that each new day can be a brand-new start. And I chose to start this day with 3 miles on the treadmill.

I'm standing up, dusting off and moving forward.

Have a great week!