Off like a turtle...

Reading about the other challengers and their motivation is probably the best medicine I could have.

And I need it -- first day of the challenge, I woke up with a cold and a stuffy nose, the whole megillah. That makes counting calories a little easier, and it certainly is a good way to get plenty of liquids (need it to swallow those big Vitamin C tablets, 1000 mg).

But still, it's not easy to do a really good workout when you're coughing and feeling all dried up, so I got my exercise in the form of a brisk 30-minute walk in the afternoon with Isaac the dog. I remember Dr. Branyas saying that walking him would be a good form of exercise, especially since "dogs love to run, and you can pick up the pace..." OK, we did NOT run, Dr. B, but we definitely did our thing together. And we were both better for it.

I love that the other challengers have been so honest, listed their goals and cited inspirational passages to get the job done. The sense of gratitude is also very powerful, and I embrace it.

My goals are pretty simple:
I learned long ago that starvation/binging was not going to take the weight off, so I'm concentrating on eating healthy and modestly -- small portions -- three times a day. Yes, breakfast is best!

In order to bring my cholesterol levels down, and peel off the pounds, I need to cut out about 200 calories a day -- can do it thru cutting back on food AND ramping up the exercise.

My biggest goal, frankly, is to carry this with me wherever I go, not to get discouraged and not to fall victim to all-or-nothing thinking. Slow and steady wins the race....trust, faith and thankfulness.

So I am "off like a turtle" and grateful for it.

Good luck to all of us!