I finally got back to the gym today and did two miles on the treadmill in 45 minutes. I felt ok. My feet hurt because the shoes I now have to wear don't fit as well as the athletic shoes did and don't have a bunion opening with mesh like the drews did to prevent rubbing. When I finally get the money for a custom pair of athletic shoes I am going to see if I can get those bunion openings as they were wonderful for my feet. Anyway, exercise felt good today.


Another thing exercise did for me was to help me control my appetite. I had a suspicion this was the case, but now have it confirmed that it works this way in my body. I need to get my heart rate up to a certain point for at least 45 minutes for it to work on me. Walking the dogs doesn't seem to cut it. I really need a good work out to get the sensation of being content with the lower calorie count.

Water also helps me feel satisfied with my calorie count. As I cut down on diet sodas and go to water I find that my stomach doesn't activate into hunger mode. It seems sodas activate my appetite. Maybe it's the sweeteners. ( splenda in my case ) So, I save drinking my soda with a meal or a snack and use water through out the day now. OH, there are some exceptions. I'm no angel !!!!!!


Now, I must concentrate on getting enough sleep which I haven't been doing to also help with my hunger. We all know if you have followed my blog what lack of sleep does to weight loss and appetite control. Well, for me late night is also my kill hour. It is the time when I am most likely to binge or eat more calories than I am suppose to. Whether it is because I am watching TV, or because my husband who is my accountability partner has already gone off to bed and I can sneak it by him, or because I can not sleep due to the pain my body feels, I will hit the pantry with a no consequences attitude. My husband has often told me if I would just get into a better sleep routine I could miss these opportunities. He's wise and so right.


I'm nearing the three year mark of when I started my journey. I have basically maintained for a year, except for this 5-7 pound weight gain I have done in the last three months. What better way to get back on the band wagon and celebrate my May 14 anniversary of starting my diet but to start the final stage of losing the last 25 pounds. I have taken a full year off and finally feel ready to get back on the road to cutting down once again. I can't tell you why I now feel ready, but I do. Maybe it's the tight underware, or the general feeling of pudgyness with just a small weight gain. Maybe it's because so many of you never gave up on me and continued to encourage me when I had burn out. ( thanks Nadine and Amy and the rest of you ). You all have kept me in the game when I got plain worn out from the routine.


How do you like my new format ? A friend of mine asked me to put more white between my writing. She even told me how to do it. I'm not very computer literate and have forgotten or just plain get lazy on following my grammar lessons. I didn't take typing either so I am never quite sure how or when to put punctuation when typing. I do try to use my spell check though. So, I hope this makes reading my blog a little easier on the eyes for everyone. Have a nice day.