Wow!

I think this is the longest I've stuck with exercise that's been on my own. I can't say I've been 100% faithful but I've at least done some type of exercise almost everyday. Either I get up at 6am and do the 30 day shred or I'll take the kids to the park on bikes or walking.

I'm somewhat food conscientious. Meaning I try to keep it to portion sizes and less snacking cause lets face it, I love food, we all love food! I read an article that stated most people consume more than 1800 calories a day so just consuming 1800 calories or less a day without doing much else one should loose weight. I'm not much of a calorie counter so I use the smaller plates for my meals and force myself not to go back for seconds (most of the time). I try to stay away from the Halloween candy and rarely buy candy for myself. If I eat chips I try to just get out a handful and put the bag away and just snack on the handful. Some days I care more than others what I put in my mouth and that is probably why the pounds aren't just falling off!

There is a challenge coming up in January at a local gym where people from the community (you don't have to be a member of said gym) put in $20 a person and who ever looses the higher percentage over an 8 week period wins the money. I believe for this last challenge the "weight loss pot" totals $360! I don't know about you but I could use money like that and stand to loose some weight to get it! Now it isn't all painless they do weigh in every Friday and the totals are posted on a public blog! So there's a little incentive for you! If you don't have a competition like this in your area feel free to start one! Either at your local gym or with friends! I think it's a great way to motivate those of us who are prize motivated doers!

I have found or have been introduced to a number of sites that offer meal plans with shopping lists to help keep you on track. If it is a weight tracker or exercise tips you are looking for there are sites for that as well and some are FREE!! I'll list them at the end!

Loosing weight and becoming healthier can be a struggle but nothing worth doing is going to be easy. You have to want this as bad as you want to breathe when someone is holding you under water! You can't force anyone and no one can force you to loose weight, it just doesn't work!

So here are some sites I have found along with the Jillian site. (not free)
sparkpeople.com this site is free. They offer meal plans, shopping lists, exercise routines, weight tracker, articles. Just about everything. They also have a sister site called babyfit.sparkpeople.com that is geared toward women who are trying to conceive, pregnant, post pregnant and breastfeeding.
Eatingwell.com is a site full of healthy recipes and they also offer a 28 day meal plan. You pick the calories they pick your meals for 28 days. They give you a shopping list and recipes and you loose weight and learn how to fix yummy healthy foods!

I always thought that to eat healthier I'd have to stop eating foods that tasted good. When I started with the Jillian Michaels site and started making their meals I was amazed to find that they tasted awesome! They were better than the quick, hand me down, eat what tasted good meals I've known! Best part is that most of them were quick and easy to fix! Bonus! So research, sacrifice, win!