My name is Debbi ...

and I'm a sugar addict.

As evidenced by the fact that my daughter wanted to do an intervention when I begged for an icing rose she was tossing in the trash.

[Heavy sigh.]

At least it ended up in the trash and not on my hips.

Moving on! Let's focus on the positives from my long weekend getaway.

I walked 6.6 miles last Monday and Tuesday here at home, and did the same mileage in less time Thursday, Friday and Saturday on the fairly flat walking track near my daughter's home. Thursday was the best ... I warmed up for about a quarter of a mile with a fast walk, then broke into a jog and didn't walk again until the last quarter mile. I was sore the next day, but I really felt triumphant when I got back from that workout.

I averaged 1176 calories per day, 79 minutes of activity per day and burned 480 calories during those exercise sessions. Lost another pound, too, for a grand total of:

THIRTY!!!

I still, of course, have a long way to go. It feels both bad and good to say I've lost 30 pounds. I shouldn't have let myself get to the point where I have to lose again, but it feels like quite an accomplishment at the same time.

I spent four hours at the pool one afternoon, playing with the grandchildren, who actually are fish in human disguises. This is a positive in two ways:

1. I wore a swimsuit in public.
2. I was not lounging in a chair, but actually tossing little children into the water and being fairly active most of that time.

I'm beginning to think of the way I eat as the way I eat, and not a diet. I did eat cake Saturday night – so-so-so not on the menu – but I planned for it, and it's not a daily habit.

Enough positives for today. I'm glad to be home – I sleep better here, my "stuff" is here, blah-blah-blah – but it's always fun to get away and shake things up a bit. Getting away feels like less of a challenge than it did earlier in this process, thanks to a couple of cooperative kids who have my best interests at heart. Thanks to both of them.