I keep all of you updated on my walking regularly, so you know I’m pretty much ready for the Arizona Distance Classic in two weeks. But I haven’t written about other fitness objectives recently.

The Push Up Challenge is much more difficult than I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong, when I originally planned to work up to 100 push ups, I thought I had six months. As you may recall, the program is actually only 6 weeks! That is not much time for someone with no upper body strength to work up to 100 push ups. After the second week I knew it was going to be too hard to do in six weeks. So, starting with the third week, I am doing each week twice. So, it will really take more like 11 weeks instead of six. It’s still shorter than six months.

My goal to lose 10 (or 12) lbs started strong, but has slowed down quickly. The first two weeks, I lost 6 lbs. and got down to 126. I thought that losing weight is actually easier than I had made it the last few years. I’ve been watching what I eat, counting calories, balancing food choices with exercise. It’s been great! Then I gained back 2 lbs. over a weekend and have re-lost only 1.5 lbs. over the next week. Argh!

So I am back to realizing that losing weight and keeping it off is not easy. Obviously, something I did that weekend was not conducive to losing weight. (Skyline and a couple beers maybe?) Then again, the first few pounds came off quicker than what I had expected, so that 1.5-lb. loss this past week was probably closer to reality.

In the meantime, I still have body fat I need to lose, but I’m not sure I will get down to 120 lbs. It might be too light for me. I am happy that I am looking better and might even be able to tuck in a shirt now and then. Woo hoo! And I now have to buy clothes. I need a couple of suits for a business trip next week and all of mine are WAY too big! (Because I work in a casual environment, I’ve been postponing buying dress clothes until I get a little lighter.) I found one suit tonight that needs hemming, but otherwise fits perfectly! Maybe I can find another jacket and wear the same pants twice. Hmm.

So, the good news is my walking is progressing, my push ups are progressing (more slowly than I would like), and my weight loss is progressing. And now I’m buying new clothes. Yea!

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