Last night the Minnesota Twins were down 0-1 until the bottom of the ninth. They rallied and fought back with two runs to win the game! On Sunday, I was watching the Tour de France. Did you see that finish? Wow! Talk about exciting!! There was a trio of leaders ahead of the Peloton for most of the race, up until the last 4 minutes or so, when it became a sprint to the finish with Michael Cavendish from the UK coming in with the same time as the USA’s Tyler Farrar!! A marvelous finish to an over 4.5 hours ride.

I am in no way close to a finish, but I am closing in on my official weigh in on July 23. I am aiming for a WIN!!! I worked really hard these past few weeks and am hoping that I will finally break through and have an actual weight loss. In the meantime, there are tangible ways that I can see results of my good habits whether or not I see a scale difference on Saturday. Here are some of my
other wins:
1. My clothes are loser and in the case of some: downright baggy. I can bunch up a ball of lose fabric in my summer Capri pants especially at my waist and around my upper thighs. I am in no hurry to trade these lose clothes in either. Everyday I wear them is a reminder to me of how far I have come. Which leads me to...
2. I wear my clothes with more confidence, even my swimming suit. No buttons are about to pop off or fail to stay closed, either!
3. I wear sleeve less shirts now. Well, it is summer, so even in Minnesota it is hot. I NEVER wore sleeveless before. Now, I do and with confidence.
4. 10 miles on my bike is almost a “warm up” now. Now remember I live in Minneapolis so there are not too many hills, but I easily complete 10 miles and do almost every day.
5. Because I have ridden so many of the trails and bike paths around Minneapolis and St. Paul I have learned better ways of getting around all together, whether by bike or by car. Today, I finished a meeting in St. Paul and took the Minnehaha Parkway home (by car). Nice.
6. Speaking of that meeting: I make a lunch just about every time I go to a meeting. Most of the organizations where I meet provide a lunch that is catered or ordered out, rarely are any of the lunch fixings appropriate for me and my calorie budget. I do let the folks in charge of the meeting know that I will bring my own, too. I do not want them to order something for me and then it goes to waste. I have no problem eating my lunch, either, with everyone else. Honestly most people do not even notice.
7. I can walk a good clip up that flight of 48 stairs, near my bike trail. I would not say that I am sprinting, but, I definitely have some skip in my step. Thanks Alan for planting that seed.
8. I drink a tall glass of water before I have my morning coffee and all day long I pour refills. It is a habit.
9. I am not afraid to go out to eat or to a birthday party or whatever. I do not let the occasion be a reason for me to eat more than I should or foods that I shouldn’t. Last Sunday was my DIL birthday. I knew (since I bought it) there would be a Dairy Queen ice cream cake, one of my favorites. I budgeted 300 calories for a small sliver of that cake. It was fantastic and I enjoyed EVERY bite.
10. When I go out to eat I can find a salad on any menu that will work for me and I do and regularly.
11. Most of the time, I can have one bite, one taste or one sip of something that I should not have. And most of the time one bite, taste or sip is enough.
12. I have become a super tracker of my food. I just completed 7 full weeks of doing it every single day. No matter what I ate. No matter how high or low the calories.
13. My shoe size is smaller. Okay, this might be to aging, too. But, I was an 8 and now I am a 7.5. For real. Check out my new size 7.5 sparkly shoes for the wedding!

14. I am so excited for my son’s wedding on July 30th! Of course I love his future wife and it will be a GREAT celebration with my family and extended family, but, I love what I will be wearing to all the festivities, including this dress below that is a size 16 (I have not been in that size for over 15 years!).

15.I am NOT afraid to speak out about making the decision to take care of myself or for all of you: yourselves (some of you have received comments from me about just this on your blog). This getting healthy and fit lifestyle is the most important gift you give to yourself and your family. Take yourself and your own worth seriously and just DO IT!! You all know that I waited way too long, 57 years. Time to make THIS time count, like I am and stop being wishy-washy about it. It is hard. But, it can be done. Just do it. Get ‘er done!
16. Okay this one is personal, but here goes: I can use a regular bath towel to wrap me up when I am done. Enough said, but wow is that something!
17. I am looking forward to doing new or near new physical activities: like paddling (thanks, Julie!), hiking, and playing tennis.
18. Mostly what I want to tell you is how terrific I feel about myself. I know I have made progress in getting healthier and fitter. I am taking care of myself. I feel it in my stamina, I see it in my clothes, and I feel it in how well I sleep.
All together, lots of wins for me! So, how about you, where are you winning your own race lately?
Thanks for stopping by. Stay cool and stay strong everyone! Michele