DAY 20 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS 10 LBS

Today was a better day, primarily because I started working on achieving my goals early in the day. I drank 40 oz of water before I got to church this morning. I planned to exercise after the family dinner which worked out great.

Friday and Saturday were tough because I got too busy and did not make my 5 simple goals a priority those two days. I was exercising and reading my Bible at midnight! Not a good plan!

It is 9:50 p.m. on Easter Sunday night. I'm in bed, getting ready to read which will lull me to sleep by 10:15. I will get 6.5 hours of sleep, my Bible and prayer journal are on the table ready for the morning, and my workout clothes are laid out for bootcamp in the morning. It's gonna be a great day!

DAY 19 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS 10.4 LBS

100% Green, but it was tough. I haven't done my Bible reading/praying early in the day the last two days and it makes a difference. I'm starting to "think" about losing weight and getting stressed about it. I need to focus on meeting all of my daily goals as early in the day as possible. The weight will come off if I stay GREEN, I know that is true, I just need to trust that truth.

DAY 18 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 11 LBS

Today was not a stellar day. Not enough sleep, which is clearly an issue, and I'm over on calories. However, I see where some pitfalls occurred today and know how to fix them. Tomorrow will be back to 100% GREEN!

DAY 17 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 10.4 LBS

All Green today.  Headed to bed now so I can be green again tomorrow.  Also, I am adding a picture of me at the "10 lbs lost" stage.  Same clothes as my "Before" picture.

100% GREEN Today, AVG GREEN to date is 87%

Milestone---10 LBS GONE FOR GOOD!!
174.2

DAY 16 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 9.8 LBS

All green today. Overall average to date 86%

DAY 15 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 10.4 LBS

DAY 14 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 9.4 LBS

It was a great day. I was 100% green and my green average to date is 84%. It really isn't difficult to go green in every category but I do have to be INTENTIONAL and begin early in the day on reaching my goals.

I have discovered that I must begin drinking my water first thing in the morning to drink all 100 ounces by the end of the day. Plus, I used to drink several cups of coffee and diet Dr. Pepper every day. I don't have time or room in my stomach for all the additional liquid. After I drink my first 40 oz of water, I have a large cup of coffee with unsweetened almond milk and then it is back to water for the rest of the day.

I initially began this journey writing my prayers in a journal. Now, I pray out loud on the way to and from bootcamp. I still write some prayers down in my journal but I make sure to spend time praying first thing in the morning. Also, the mornings are crazy at my house so I read my Bible after I take the kids to school. I have even taken my Bible to appointments and read it while I wait. This is an evolving process so I will continue to work out ways to successfully meet each of the five goals every day.

DAY 13 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 9.2 LBS

All green today, even the sleep category!  100% Green Today, Avg to Date
Up .2
175.4

I found an interesting article on WebMD about the connection between weight gain and lack of sleep.  Here is the link if you would like to check it out.

Article on connection between lack of sleep and weight gain

One part of the article makes perfect sense to me:

“It’s not so much that if you sleep, you will lose weight, but if you are sleep-deprived, meaning that you are not getting enough minutes of sleep or good quality sleep, your metabolism will not function properly,” explains Michael Breus, PhD, author of Beauty Sleepand the clinical director of the sleep division for Arrowhead Health in Glendale, Ariz.

On average, we need about 7.5 hours of quality sleep per night, he says. “If you are getting this already, another half hour will not help you lose 10 pounds, but if you are a five-hour sleeper and start to sleep for seven hours a night, you will start dropping weight.”

I never dreamed getting enough sleep would be my biggest challenge in the Green vs. Red system.  However, after 12 days, it is clear I am not getting enough sleep.  With that thought, I am off to bed!

DAY 12 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 9.4 LBS

ALL GREEN!  

My Fitness Pal is a great way to track food and exercise.  

DAY 11 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 8.6 LBS

 I had to revise my calorie count because I remembered I had eaten a banana for snack and avocado on my salad.  Luckily, I was still in the green zone.

I felt great today. We had company for dinner and I was able to stay within my calories and still feel very satisfied. The food part of this deal has been surprisingly easy to manage so far. Not getting enough sleep is what I am focusing on improving at this point. Even though I drank a lot of water today, my hands are swollen, probably from the taco meat on my salad tonight.

DAY 10 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 7.4 LBS

100% Green Today,  Avg to Date 82%
Up +1.0
177.2

Today was much better.  I was literally gone all day.  However, after the pitfalls I experienced yesterday (primarily getting too hungry and not logging or measuring my food when I ate it) , I knew I needed to have a better plan.  I ate salads for lunch (McDonald's) and dinner (Chick-fil-a) and drank lots of water.

I'm headed in the direction of bed now so I can do better with sleep.

DAY 9 - - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 8.4 LBS

40% Green Today, Avg to Date 80% Green
Weight down -1.2
176.2

Today was a hard day.  I'm over on calories but I ate healthy.  I ate a lot of fruit and didn't measure so I may not be as high as I seem.  It was super busy today, too busy, and I didn't take care of my priorities very well.  I'm happy with weight loss so far and have been surprised to see my biggest challenge is getting enough sleep.  6 hours a night really isn't enough and I'm not even getting that regularly.  So off to bed I go.

DAY 8 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 7.2 LBS

Today is 100% Green, Avg to Date 85% Green
Down .4 - Total to Date -7.2 lbs
177.4 lbs

This is what all of my completed cards look like on the fridge right now. 

It is very motivating to see more and more green and less and less red.  Even my kids (ages 9, 7 and 5) are enjoying watching my progress!  Every day they get more and more excited saying things like, "Mommy, you have LOTS of greens!"  One night, when I hadn't spent 15 minutes praying yet,  we sat at the kitchen table and prayed as a family for 15 minutes.  It was a sweet time and we prayed for some friends and teachers of the kids with issues going on right now.  Had we not prayed as a family we probably wouldn't have had those particular people in our prayers that day.  

I just received a text from my sweet husband asking if I am coming to bed soon.  That text was then followed by the next picture.  Even he is trying to motivate me!  Ha! Ha!  If I hurry, I can still get a green!

DAY 7 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 6.8 LBS

Today is 80% Green, Overall Avg To Date 83% Green
Up .8
177.8

One week into this process and I feel great.  I LOVE this system!  The best thing about the Green vs. Red system is it is PROACTIVE!  With old diets, I would always try to STOP eating this food or that food.  I would feel deprived and defeated when I ultimately gave into the temptation.  With the Green vs. Red system, I am focused on HEALTHY HABITS.  I used to get up each morning thinking, "I can't have ________, because I HAVE to lose weight."  Now I get up and think, "I need to start drinking my water so I can reach my goal."  Or, "I can read my Bible after dropping the kids at school."  I am thinking about and planning ways to reach each of my goals.  On the days I have had a RED mark, instead of feeling defeated, I immediately begin thinking of ways I can turn the RED into a GREEN the next day.  One week into this system and instead of feeling the pressure of NOT BLOWING THIS DIET THIS TIME, I FEEL EMPOWERED TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES!  BIG CHANGE----AND I LIKE IT!!

DAY 6 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 7.6 LBS

ALL GREEN!!,  Down 1.2
177 lbs

I am feeling great and focusing on the "Green Goals" keeps me in the right frame of mind.  Menu planned and shopped for the week tonight so eating healthy should not be a challenge this week.  Boot camp starts back tomorrow morning so I can knock out exercise at 5:30 a.m.  Will still try to take advantage of the evening walks/bike rides with the kids because it is just a fun way to spend our evenings!  Off to bed now, I'm in danger of being in the red zone on sleep for tomorrow.

DAY 5 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 6.4 LBS

Day 5

Another ALL GREEN day.  Up .2
178.2

My weight was up a bit but that is a natural fluctuation.  Normally, when I am eating and exercising and I have even a slight weight gain, or no weight loss, I become very frustrated.  Because I know I am making healthy choices, I feel great!  The weight will eventually come off.  My body is probably so confused from years of of losing and gaining it doesn't know what to do.

DAY 4 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 6.6 LBS

ALL GREEN!!!  Woohoo!! Down 3.4
178

As you can see, my weight has really dropped over the last 4 days.  I attribute the loss to all the water I am drinking.  I tried to move more the last two days and will strive to be active this weekend.  Bootcamp starts back up on Monday and I am ready to get back to my morning workouts.

DAY 3 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 3.2 LBS

I'm becoming GREENER! Down 1.2 lbs
181.4

I felt great today.  100 oz of water is A LOT of water.  It is surprising how much I am using the restroom and it is making me realize how little water I was consuming before now.

DAY 2 - TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 2.0 LBS

Calories still too low but still didn't exercise.  Down 2 lbs this morning.
182.6

DAY 1

I am a little surprised.  Thought it would be easier to do all 5 things. 

My calories are too low.  Since I didn't exercise and have been eating large quantities of food for the last week, I'm not going to worry about it too much.

The Basics

I'm striving to meet all 5 goals every day, but it is unrealistic to think that will really happen every day.  I tend to be "all or nothing" in my eating and exercising.  I'm either eating super healthy and exercising regularly or I'm eating poorly (self destructively) and not exercising at all.  The Green vs. Red system helps me in two ways.  First,  it is a visual reminder of the choices I am making. I can see that I am still making a lot of healthy choices even though I may not be perfect. Secondly, since I have over 2 months worth of daily cards taped to my refrigerator I can get the big picture of how I am doing.

There is not one goal concerning how much  I would like to weigh.  I just want to have a normal perspective concerning food, feel strong and energetic and be consistent in my healthy lifestyle choices.

I will post my progress at the end of every day.  I document sleep from the night before as this impacts how I feel mentally and physically the next day.  The rest of the goals are documented at the end of the day.

Red vs. Green System