"I'm going to sleep on the FAT couch, if I can fit through the door"-Jack Butler, Mr. Mom

   What I'm thankful for. My first Thanksgiving with family in years.(We used to do "Fakesgiving" around my work schedule. The San Diego family is the best for putting up with me.) Having Katie's grandparents so close we have a large group of family to share holidays with. The snow we received on Thursday. And, The Kenley Family Fitness Challenge.

   About the fitness challenge. First off, Kenley isn't just my daughter's name, it is my Mother-in-law's maiden name, but more about that in a different post. Back in San Diego last year, all of Katie's family participated in a "Biggest Loser" style weight loss challenge. Katie had been wanting to do something similar up here and get her cousins involved. It is based around more than just wight loss, it includes healthy living habits. Points are earned for things like drinking 48 ounces of water a day, five servings of fruits or vegetables, no eating sweets(except on Sundays, our free day), a minimum of 100 minutes of exercise per week, and so on. To participate, there is a $35 entry fee, weekly weigh in, and a points check in on Sunday.  I was reluctant to do it. I didn't think I could give up my snacking and I didn't want to lose the money. I told Katie I would support her and do most of the changes with her, but not as an official competitor. On the last day to commit to the challenge, I decided to enter it. That was the second week of October.

   Fast forward to today. I wasn't huge, but I was definitely gaining weight. Walking up my stairs at home, I started to feel a little more jiggling than there should be.To date, I've lost about 15 pounds, 3 inches off my waist, and my moobs. But the best part is, we feel better. Katie is doing a great job too. We eat better. We are exercising more than we have in a long time. Even our kids are noticing that we don't eat the junk we used to and even expect us to exercise. The down side? When anyone in the family gets together, it's all we talk about. We talk about points, exercise, healthy eating(dinner ideas and recipes), cravings for anything sugary, and on and on. I'm sure it's annoying to anyone not involved, and to them, I'm sorry. It will all be over on December 19th. I almost forgot the prizes. There are CASH prizes for the top finisher for the men, and the top two women(because there are two times the number of women than men in this thing). Winning the money would be great, but the most important thing is the changes we will make that will keep us healthy.

Here's a picture of me in late summer. It shows a nice beginning of a double chin and an expanding belly. Sorry, but I didn't have any pics of my moobs.