I know you are just sitting on the edge of your seats, refreshing your browser and Google Reader, counting the hours until my latest email comes to your inbox, waiting for me to update you on how my "step" in the right direction is going… Well, you are in luck because here it is!!

Getting Healthy…

I shared with you in my first post that I would be replacing one meal per day with a Lean Cuisine meal and my awesome find of a 6 pack of Asian flavored Lean Cuisine meals in the Sam's Club Frozen Favorites Showcase. 

You may have noticed at that time that I also picked up a huge case of water at Sam's because I know that getting healthy (for me, at least) is adding more water to my daily routine. It's not something that I enjoy (well, I love the water, but I hate the frequent bathroom breaks) but I know it's what is needed to take steps to getting healthy and feeling better. Check out more of my shopping trip by visiting my Lean Cuisine #FrozenFavorites Google Album. 

Eating Better…

I have really enjoyed eating the Lean Cuisine meals for lunch every day. It sure looks and tastes better than my husband's bologna sandwiches or hot dogs for lunch and I think he agrees because he started picking up TWO every day at lunch instead of just one for me. I usually have a mid-afternoon snack of some fruit or cauliflower, and then fill up on lots of water until dinner.

My next step in this journey is to get Hubby to include these meals in our dinner as well. As you may know, he does all of the cooking so maybe I can offer to cook a few nights per week and use these meals as a main dish, along with some sides! I think the chicken teriyaki would be great with additional veggies in it. The ginger garlic would be awesome with a bed of broccoli. The sesame chicken – my absolute fave (and that's why I have no pics because I ate it so fast!) – I would add some long grain rice and broccoli or take the chicken out before it mixed with the sauce and make a big salad out of it!! Oh…I'm getting hungry again!!

Find out more about Lean Cuisine by following on Lean Cuisine on Facebook and @LeanCuisine on Twitter!!

Getting moving…

As I mentioned, I am working with the Couch to 5K program to get moving and get fit. The app is so much fun! There are three different trainers (voices) to choose from and the workout is outlined for you each day. As you are walking or running, your trainer gives you cues when it is time to "jog" or "walk" and there is a timer that counts down (I watched that timer like a hawk during the "jog" times, not so much during the walk.. ;)). There is an option to play music during the workout as well, but I didnt' have any music on my phone so maybe in the coming weeks I can use that! <– yep, I said coming weeks..I'm continuing past this first go 'round! Above, you can see the first workout and the map that we walked. I wish you could see the monstrous hills that we had to climb (you know, barefoot and backwards, in the snow…). As you can see from my map, when the app said "Let's go!" I thought she had started so The Boy and I walked a little while before I realized that I had to hit the green button that clearly says "Go To Workout" (duh!!).

On the nights when I was ready, I could always count on my boy to be right by my side. He was excited to spend time with me and he loves to run so this was perfect for him. I told him about the app and how she would tell us when to walk and run and he loved it. He also wasn't going to let me forget that we needed to get outside and he wasn't going to let me walk instead of run!

To be honest, though, I have not made it through even the first week's workouts completely. It's very difficult to make a 350+ pound body run/walk/run/walk for thirty minutes. However, I was quite shocked that I made it to her halfway announcement on the first try! I think by Week Four, I should be able to move on to Week Two, haha!!

Being the social media junkie that I am, I loved that I could post my workout on Facebook immediately. Once I got the boy in his bath and I started to cool off, I wanted to let everyone know how I did! I also checked out the 5K Events section of the app and apparently it thinks I'm in California (I'll have to get that changed somehow) but it was okay because I'm far from signing up for my first!

Feeling Great!!

This is how I'm feeling about this whole process – great, wonderful, amazing!! I'm not just saying/typing that because I want to rave about Lean Cuisine or C25K. I'm not just trying to "sell" something or be all cheery because this program was sponsored. I absolutely feel amazing! Sure, I'm tired and a little sore (not as much as I thought I would be, did you see those huge bottle of ibuprofen I bought because I thought I would HURT?!!) and sure I want chocolate cake with chocolate fudge icing next to chocolate ice cream with chocolate magic shell and chocolate sprinkles chased by chocolate milk (yes, I just had THAT time of the month) and sure I try to make excuses to my 4 year old about why Mommy "can't" run tonight (and then he pouts and so we go…he's the best trainer)…but there's more… Some things unexpected happened… This challenge became not so much about weight loss…

The Unexpected Changes

I don't know if I have ever mentioned this on the blog, although a couple of bloggers I have met in person know this, but I am a smoker. I know..blech, yuck, tar, cancerous, stinky, bad for my boy…but I am. I began smoking when I was in my early twenties and wasn't a huge smoker until I met my husband. He was/is a one to two pack per day smoker. I had increased to a pack per day for a while. When I found out I was pregnant, I stopped immediately and didn't smoke again until I started back to work (and then stopped breast feeding) when my boy was around three months. Even then, I would normally only smoke at work or driving to/from. In the past 3-4 years, I have increased and decreased, never over a pack per day, but never close enough to stop.

When I started this program, I was out of town for work and staying in a hotel. I had picked up that huge case of water and some coffee drinks to help with the unfamiliar area so I didn't have to search for a coffee or soda every morning and would have water to drink with my dinner. The other thing you should know here is that I rarely drink water and always have a Diet Coke attached to my hand. I typically drink from a 1.25 Liter bottle of Diet Coke and will sometimes drink 2-3 of them per day. I prefer fountain drinks, but the expense can add up and Hubby just grabs me the bottles from his store when he comes home for lunch or gets off work.

Anyway, something strange happened during that first week when I was in the hotel and going back and forth to an unfamiliar office with people I didn't know. I didn't have anyone to go with me to smoke. I was in a room with 12 other women who were reading on the computer all day (that was our special assignment). The only breaks I took were the frequent bathroom breaks and lunch. At night, I was on the third floor of the hotel (obviously non-smoking room) and I don't like to go out at night in a strange place. I didn't have soda in the room so I would just drink bottle after bottle of water. The more water I drank, the thirstier I became. I was parched! 

I have basically quit smoking and rarely drink Diet Coke anymore!

What a strange and happy side effect to this program!! I say "basically" because I still have a pack in my car and I am afraid to declare it and then give in, but I'm not craving the smoke and I'm not "worried" about if I run out. I'm taking it one step at a time and for now, I'm not smoking much at all (that means 1-2 every other day or so). I don't know, you may be sitting there thinking "so what" and that's cool, but this is huge for me. I know, without a doubt, this is why I have been feeling better!! I have more energy. I don't feel so sluggish. I am more alert during the day! It's all just so strange!

Don't get me wrong, I still drink a large coffee in the morning for caffeine, but then it's water, water, water… Several days in a row, I had indigestion and/or heartburn in the evening so I did break down and start drinking a little bit of Diet Coke either during the day or in the evening (you know…to get the burp out :)) and started taking an indigestion medicine. Hubby has been feeling a little better as well and our NEW go-to meal is a healthy sub sandwich or a big salad instead of pizza. (We actually had pizza last night and both of us were talking about how yucky it was, even the boy was feeding his to the dogs ;)). I'm just so excited about the changes that are happening in my family. This is not about weight loss and looking good. It's about Getting Healthy and Feeling Better – and that is exactly what is happening in my family!!

If you remember, I have a partner in all of this and I was excited to see that Wendy from Around My Family Table has posted her Getting Fit Update as well!!

You can also find Wendy at Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. Follow us along!!

Is your family getting healthy and feeling great yet? What are you waiting for?!!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and (Nestle) LEAN CUISINE #FrozenFavorites #CBias #SocialFabric. All stories and opinions are my own.