Well, it looks as if nearly 7 months have passed since my last post...I really hadn't realized it has been that long! After reading my last post I noticed that some updates are in order.
YankTON update: Our team placed second in the competition and we were extremely proud!  We donated the $750 in Chamber Bucks to two different local organizations. I was one of the top 5 as far as total weight loss is concerned-I lost a total of 18.8 pounds-10% of my starting weight. I was extremely proud of myself.  I don't remember my exact ending weight (because it was 7 months ago) and I have the number on my work computer but not my home computer.  I do think I just barely broke into the 160s though!
Winter/Debate Season update: This has always been my pitfall. We eat out of gas stations and it is extremely hard to eat healthy (and stick to any sort of budget) this way.  I tried to do my best by bringing my own fruit and healthy snacks but I was usually exhausted and craving comfort food. Exercising also took a back seat when I started having some foot pain-it seemed to be the worst when using the elliptical so I stopped and the pain seemed to wane. Then I discovered Just Dance 3 for the Wii and thought I was going to finally get back into a regular workout routine. Shortly after starting, the foot pain was back with a vengeance to the point where it could no longer be ignored. I also noticed a bump on the top of my foot where the pain was. I really wanted to be able to work out so it seemed a trip to the doctor was in order. I visited Dr. Pederson the local foot doctor fearing a stress fracture and was relieved when he told me that the x-ray was normal. It turns out I had a cyst that had formed at one of the joints in my foot.  After a shot of cortisone in my foot I was immediately feeling better. After a week the cyst had completely dissolved and my foot pain was gone! I was back to dancing in no time.
I would love to say that I hit my stride and got right back into a workout routine but another setback was right around to corner. In the beginning of May I had to have some surgery that left me out of commission for a few weeks while I healed-it also prevented me from working out for about 4 weeks prior to the surgery. So after all that I bet you wonder where I am at...
I am currently at 180.8 pounds as of this morning. I could say that I am disappointed that I gained back around 12 pounds but that just isn't the case. I am proud of myself for not looking at that number as defeat. I am still in a better place than where I started (192.6 pounds starting last summer in July). Even if I yoyo a bit I still know what I want and I am still going to go for it-I want to be HEALTHY! I plan to hop back on my bike tomorrow morning for a nice little morning ride and as soon as I finish this post I plan to go start a new 7 day challenge in Just Dance 3. I am looking forward to getting back into writing and back into working out-I hope you enjoy following along!