I thank God my hubby arrived home safely. I was so excited to see him and he felt the same. He was very happy to be home, too. Now I feel more relaxed and safer, and I slept better last nite, too... not waking up every hour, like I did when he was gone.

Yesterday I ate 1361 cals and exercised for 50 minutes. Today is going to be a great day, too. I already planned out my menu and ate a good breakfast. Now it's time for me to exercise.

If anyone else would like to join me, please do.

Hugs, Dena :)

Yesterday I ate 1442 cals and exercised for 52 minutes. I'm so proud that I haven't overeaten or binged... although there have been times when I wanted to so bad. I want to stay strong for Our Lord.

Thank you all that are reading this for listening to me. I feel you are giving me strength. God will bless you. :)

Hugs, Dena :)

I think I did pretty well yesterday. I'm not sure how many cals, though. I had a light breakfast and lunch and then we went out to dinner for Chinese food. I only ate half of my meal and drank plenty of hot tea to fill me up. As soon as I got home, I got on the treadmill for 102 minutes... 1 hr & 22 minutes! (All I know is that in the old days I could have easily eaten the whole thing without exercising... so I remained strong yesterday.) :)

Hope you all have a great day!
Hugs, Dena :)

This is going to be a great day! Whatever problem comes up, and there always seems to be something, my God and His Son will help me handle it. I choose to be happy, strong and know that God and His Son are guiding me.

Yesterday I did well. :) I ate 1214 calories and exercised on the treadmill for 45 minutes. I also make sure I drink plenty of water throughout the day. I already planned out my meal for today and plan to exercise. :)

Here's wishing everyone a great day!
Hugs, Dena :)

You know, yesterday I said I was going to have a great day, and I did! (Even though I was working on tax stuff.) For me, it's seems to be about programming my mind toward the positive and choosing to be happy, and then anything negative that comes up appears not to affect me. I know God and His Son are guiding me, and that's all that matters. And besides, I have a lot to be grateful for. So... this is going to be another great day! :)

Yesterday I ate 1382 calories and exercised for 1hr/16min. on the treadmill. :tread: I feel stronger and more confident each day.

Hugs, Dena :)

Hi Guys,

I would really appreciate it if someone would stop by and say "hello." I'm starting to feel all alone here. :sad: Hi Twirly. Hi Blue.

Yesterday I ate 1367 calories and exercised for 45 minutes. You know, it's been more than 3 weeks already. Wow!

Here's to another great day!
Hugs, Dena :)

Happy Friday! :carrot:

I guess I'm all alone here... so, I'm just going to go for it. ;) Hoping that what I write will inspire someone along the way.

I am so grateful to God and His Son for being alive and feeling well again. It wasn't long ago that I had major, major surgery (through no fault of my own, just one of those things in life), then developed complications, had to stay in the hospital for over a month, was in terrible pain (not even morphine could help me), couldn't walk for months, and when I could walk... I had to stay indoors and away from people for 6 months (because my immune system dropped so low). I'm pretty gregarious, so just me and the four walls was challenging, to say the least. I prayed to God daily to please let there be a day when I felt good again, and in the midst of my pain and not being able to walk, I ordered a treadmill. :dizzy: I stared at it everyday, hoping some day I would be able to walk on it. Well, I'm walking on it for at least 45 minutes to an hour everyday. I can't thank God and His Son enough!!! I'm crying just thinking about what I went through and what I can do these days... even my doctor is amazed.

Before my surgery, I finally got down to a reasonable weight (and it took me long enough), only to regain more than 20 lbs. instantly due to all the meds. they put me on! Boy, was that ever heartbreaking. When I was wheeled out of the hospital, I couldn't even fit into the clothes I brought with me. I had to cover myself with a blanket. :o Anyway, in the last few months I started really working on it again. I'm almost there, but none of this was easy. It's still very difficult. You know, these last three weeks, I've been working pretty hard at it... and haven't lost a pound :( But I'm not giving up. I feel God and His Son want me to be the healthiest I can be! And being strong during Lent is the least I can do to repay Our Lord.

Some days are harder than others, but I'm too grateful to God and Our Lord for everything... the birds around me, being able to go out again to see the trees, the sky, the traffic :lol:

I hope I haven't droned on too much and haven't bored you. I just hope, in some way, I'm inspiring someone else to try to be the best they can be, too. It's one step at a time, with God guiding us along the way.

Hope you have a wonderful day. Now it's time for me to exercise. :)

:hug: Dena

Just checking in really quickly, because we're going to our taxperson in a few minutes.

I did great yesterday. I ate 1362 cals. & exercised for 50 minutes. :cp:

Happy Saturday, everyone!
Hugs, Dena :)

Happy Sunday!

Well, our taxes are done and turned in. Whew... that's over with! :cp:

Yet, there's always something. I injured my knee, so I won't be able to go on the treadmill for a while. And my filling fell out of my back molar, so now I have to go to the dentist. :dizzy:

However, I stuck to my guns and ate 1400 cals. and exercised 1/2 hr. to one DVD and 10 minutes to another one. I used my arms a lot and tried not to bend my knee too much. Something must have worked, because I finally lost another 1/2 pound. :yay:

Hugs, Dena :)

It's Monday!

If anyone would like to stop by and say "hello" or would like to join me, that would be sooo great!

Yesterday I ate 1376 cals. However, because my knee hurt so bad, I couldn't get on the treadmill. :( It's funny... that has become my favorite exercise. :dizzy: But I did do a lot of upper body exercises. I needed to do that, anyway. So that forced me to do so. :)

Today I go to the dentist. :( Oh, well.

Here's wishing you all a great day!
Hugs, Dena :)

Yesterday I ate 1365 cals and because my knee still hurts, I did a lot of upper body exercises. I did a lot on my own in the morning and in the evening I worked out with Denise Austin's upper body. I'm proud of myself that I continued exercising, even though I have a sore knee. :)

I went to the dentist yesterday. (I chipped my back molar and part of the filling fell out.) Now I need a crown. :( I thank God I have insurance. At least, they'll pay for half of it. And I don't have to go until Wednesday, so I can enjoy today!

Hugs, Dena :)

Happy Wednesday!

Yesterday I ate 1382 cals and did an upper body workout. My knee is still giving me a little trouble, but I thought I would get on the treadmill anyway. I did a total of 20 minutes... 10 in the morning and 10 in the evening. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm really exercising when I get on it. Maybe it's because I actually see the cals I burn. But I know you burn more when you weight train. So I did a little of both yesterday. :cp:

Today I go and have my procedure done at the dentist. :( Even so, this is a great day. Each day is a blessing! :)

Hugs, Dena :)

I did great yesterday in spite of the dentist. :D My appt. was in the late afternoon, so I had all day to think about it. I've had so many obstacles in my way tying to make me stop my Lenten Challenge, but this is not about me anymore. So, I stayed within my cal range and exercised anyway. I had 1320 cals and did a 30-minute upper body workout with Denise Austin (because my knee is still giving me trouble).

Here's to another great day!
Hugs, Dena :)

Happy Friday!
Yesterday was a rough one for me. I could only eat soft foods, because my back molar has a temporary filling and it's still in pain. I found out foods that are soft with no fiber tend to make you want more food. I was hungry all day! But thank God I got through it with 1399 cals under my belt. And I did my upper body workout, too. Today is going to be a great day ... I can start eating normal again. :D (Better go plan today's menu.)
Hugs, Dena :)

Good Morning! :cool:

It's going to be in the 70's today and it's already a beautiful day out. I fed my birdie friends and the leaves are starting to grow on the trees again. :D

Yesterday I ate 1389 cals and exercised to Denise Austin's upper body workout for 30 minutes! :strong: My knee is getting better, so one of these days I'm going to hop on the treadmill again. I don't know why, but I feel so much healthier when I hop on that thing. :dizzy: Do you know it's been more than four weeks that I've been strong about eating right and exercising! I thank God and His Son for giving me strength!

Here's wishing everyone a great day!

Hugs, Dena :)