Well, it hasn’t been a completely smooth road, but I am headed in the right direction. I’m down to 169 lbs from 185 lbs, and have lost about an inch all over.

I’ve been carefully tracking my calories in/out, counting food/beverage items and exercise. Initially, I was doing this on my own with a Google spreadsheet, but then I got turned on to www.sparkpeople.com, which is so much easier to use. They offer their services completely free of charge, too, so I highly recommend it.

My program has evolved to the following. This is what I can live with, so far:

Cardio 30-45 minutes, 4-5 days/week

Weights 30 minutes, 2 days/week

Diet: 1450-1800 calories/day, with an emphasis on healthy choices; whole grains, vegetables, fruit, lean meats, lean dairy, beans… as little processed food as possible. No soda (I wasn’t a big fan anyway.)

Water: 64 ounces or more daily

I’ve had some real “over” days on calories, but I’ve managed to compensate with exercise for the most part. I’m getting there.

This month I’m re-motivating myself with new exercise DVD’s. I’ll chime in again when I have tried them out.