It's the end of Month 1---Week 4---Round 2!

I know, the titles are boring...feel free to suggest something a little more exciting!

Another day late on blogging, but I'm traveling for work this week and sometimes I just can't fit one more thing into my day. I got to my hotel room last night at midnight-not about to start then!

Work is crazy when we have Agency Expo weeks, a few different cities, a lot of agents and the same message over and over and over again...wait...that sounds like a complaint...Always good stuff, but lots of moving parts to setting up an agency meeting and working with hotel catering staff. Which brings me to a great point...(see, this was going somewhere)....

Did you all know...The hotel catering staff is happy to accommodate special orders for food for your guests (or yourself if you are the guest) attending a meeting? All you have to do is ASK! Why do you care? Well, you are reading my blog, either because you are part of Dr. Garcia's program, staff, stumbled upon it because you were bored and clicked that "next blog" button, or you are my friends and family who I shamelessly send an email to every week, encouraging you all to read this because it's about ME! LOL

Anyway...why do we care? Well, because typically our lunches for agents are comprised of chicken (mass amounts of people, chicken is relatively safe)and some sort of a STARCH (BAD!) and then some sort of a SAUCE (really BAD!) and maybe, maybe some veggies and we can't forget the decadent desserts. I've so far, attended two events in the past week...two special order lunches for Michelle to stay on program. Chicken (no real option there) and steamed/grilled veggies of my choice typically, with my ever so famous "Ceasar Salad w/ no dressing, no croutons & slices of lemon wedges" (I think my boyfriend could order my salad in his sleep he's heard it so much!) Y'all should try it, it's really tasty!!

I'm just super happy to say that really, there isn't anywhere that I've been in the last month that I've had to say "yeah, there's nothing here I can eat". I'm still eating out, I still very much live my normal week, whether it's eating lunch in my car on a drive from agency to agency, out to lunch with friends, out with an agent or whatever. The only time the choice started to become difficult was at a hockey game last week. I was desperately searching for something from a concession stand that I could eat...Thanks, Outback Steakhouse for providing me with Steak tips and mushrooms, and by the way...those fries you put in my basket, ya know, the item that there was the most of in my $9.50 supper...yeah, those...I didn't eat a single one of them...HAH!

So today, I want to really remind you all that in everything that we do, whether it is diet, health, job, family etc... we have choices. Our choices, of course, have consequences. As long as you are informed of your options and clearly understand the consequences, the choice is yours to make.

I've consciously made choices every day, several times a day, to stay on program, to do what I am doing because it's the right thing for me...and have really brought back my whole feeling of it doesn't matter what's on my plate as compared to yours. It's the exact same premise I used in "Round 1" of the program, and it works. However, it only works when you consciously make an effort to choose the path that you know to be the right one for you. I choose to stick directly to the program, some people may deviate and not "give up" things they feel they don't want to go without. I know what I'm doing works for me and I hope you are all making the decisions that work for you.

It doesn't bother me in the least to sit in a movie theater, holding a bag of popcorn and not eating any (I was sitting in the middle of the popcorn eaters!!) Don't get me wrong, I stuck my head in the bag and smelled and smelled and smelled that popcorn...but that was it. Smelling has no residual effect on the size of my ______ you can complete that sentence however you see fit!

So all of this crazy talk about choices and consequences and meetings and stuff, all good things, so it must have been a good week, right? Well....

To close out the first month, week # 4 produced a 4.4# loss for a total of 19.8 pounds for the month. I just looked back at Round 1-Week 4 completion and I was at 22.2...well, I have nothing to say on that. This time is different and maybe I should stop comparing where I was to where I am. The one thing that isn't in that post though is a few measurements. They now do waist measurements at the beginning of the program and then at each monthly interval. I lost 4.5" in my waist this month...My clothes are too big, kinda frumpy looking...but I have a closet full of things I can switch to, and gladly!!

So, things are going well. Choices are being made and I couldn't be happier with the progress. As for now, it's time for more water...more and more and more!

Thank you all for your support, encouragement, comments you leave here, emails you send. It's encouraging to me and it makes it so easy to write this every week!

Remember to make the best choice for you, every day, in whatever it is you do!!

Until next week....Happy Spring!!! (And for those of you still in snow and ice...uh, sorry....my pool is ready for visitors!!) xoxo