Today's Weigh-in: 164.2

Week 1 Loss: 7.2

Total Loss: 7.2

Today's Workout: 5 miles

Today was a good day!! :) I finally got my butt out the door for today's run around 11:30 and it went well. Today was my long run for week 1 of Hal Higdon's Half-Marathon training, so I took it at a 1-2min mile pace slower than my usual runs. Came out to a 10:27 pace, which I was pleased with. It's hilly out here and I have to run on grass sometimes when the sidewalks peter out and the shoulder doesn't leave much protection- but, it all makes me stronger...and, eventually, faster!

The weight loss is an obvious WOOHOO!! for me. Like most people, I had my obligatory high loss for week 1 and I'm pleased with it. I know that next week will probably show 1 or 2lbs at most, which, again, I will be pleased with. You can come to expect certain things when you're losing weight and the first 2 week results are the most predictable. But, to be that much closer to the 150s makes me feel good. :)

I meant to mention yesterday that I joined a Biggest Loser challenge in a local mom's group!! There were BL challenges going on throughout the year on the Nutrisystem boards back when I was on the NS program in 2008. I loved them and, trust me, those challenges were sometimes the only thing keeping me out of the kitchen and stuffing my face with cookies. I had considered going back to the NS boards this year, but I didn't feel quite right about it since I'm no longer on the NS food program. Anyways, while catching up on old e-mails, I saw an ad in my local mom's group newsletter regarding its Biggest Loser challenge and, as luck would have it, Friday was the last day to sign up! So, I did and I'm really excited to share my weight loss journey with these other local moms.

Finally, I want to close by mentioning an experiment my husband, Josh, has set up for me. I'm currently doing 3 different exercises, 3 times a week that, in total, take less than 5 minutes to do. Right now it's like 15 butt raises, 15 alternate Supermans (not sure what to call them), and 50 kettle bell swings. And, since today was free day (eat what I want!!), I did 40 squats right after lunch and I'm about to do 40 more since I just had a big sushi dinner. These are all ideas that Josh got from one of his new favorite books, The 4-Hour Body. It's all about doing the least amount possible to get the most benefit. We'll see how it goes for me- so far, I find no faults with the time commitment! :)