Picnic Double Header

Yesterday was a fun day as I had two picnic scheduled.  

The first was a work-related picnic.  I belong to a great organization at the company I work for; all great people to work and party with.  We get together at picnic or other social gatherings several times a year, and this is our annual summer picnic.   We had a good time grilling chicken, ribs, and salmon and after eating all that great food, we headed up to the ball-field and played a fun and competitive game of softball.  

I hadn't played softball since my knee and elbow replacement, but the workout must be helping cause I was able to hit, throw and even run the bases with some degree of confidence and very little, if any,pain in the joints.  Granted, today, the day after, I am a bit sore in places, but overall I was happy with being able to participate in a sport I used to enjoy.  BTW, our team won with a clutch  pitching save by yours truly.   

After the fun of that picnic, I headed to a great park on the western shores of the Puget Sound to meet up with some old friends for a birthday bash picnic.  These are friends I had in Seattle before moving to NYC and it was nice to catch up with them and their lives (and their kids!).  Three of the folks ll have birthdays in close proximity, so we had a big cake for them and celebrated with more good food, great conversation, and a beautiful view of the sun setting behind the Olympic Mountains.  

I was tuckered when I got home, but it was a fun way to spend a beautiful sunny summer day here in Seattle.  Plus I managed to do both picnics without gaining any weight.... YAY!

Loosing Weight

When I last updated y'all on the diet at the end of May, I had lost roughly 34 pounds.  I got back on track in June, but progress has been slow.

It is now early July and I have been at the weight loss thing for 6 months now.  Per the scale this morning, I have now lost 38 pounds and over 2 full sizes of clothes.  I am not complaining at all cause that is a great achievement for me.  I went clothes shopping the other day for some summer shorts and it was so nice to go down 2 whole sizes in pants.  I only bought 2 pair of shorts cause I still want to loose more weight and drop a few more sizes before I go out and pretty much have to get a new wardrobe.  But, it is a great feeling to be able to take your jeans on and off without having to unbutton the waistband or unzip the zipper.  

Then I read this article this morning and realized that when I started this diet, I kept a food journal for the first 3+ months.  I stopped after getting back from Japan and that's when the diet stalled and the progress slowed down.  I have only lost 8 pounds since returning from Japan in early April.... I should have lost more and I think the main reason the progress slowed is because I was no longer keeping the food journal and counting my calories daily. 

So, today, I am back to keeping the food journal.  Based on a recommendation from a friend, I use SparkPeople.  Weird name, but it is a great website where you can keep track of your daily calories and food intake and keep account of your workout routine and weight loss.  Plus there are recipes, forums, and a whole bunch more.  

My goal is to loose 80 pounds total by the end of the year, so I got to kick it in gear and get busy loosing the weight.  42 pounds to go!