A lifetime adjustment, not a short-term diet

I have five kids (ages 21 months up to 17 years) who keep me quite busy. Before this challenge, I often skipped meals and usually just grazed during the day, thinking I was too busy to make myself a decent meal or snack. When I dieted in the past, it just meant I grazed on more healthy foods, like vegetables, and didn't have any substantial food until dinner. I knew about the "starvation" mode my body could go into if I wasn't eating enough calories, but figured as long as I was losing weight, that was OK. (eventually, I'd stop losing as my body held on to everything I fed it) When Jalaine let us know what our personalized caloric intake should be she mentioned that some of us might think it's too much to lose weight with but, because we are exercising, our bodies need the energy. My number, 1500, didn't seem high to me until I started planning and preparing meals and snacks. I'm eating lots more food than I used to and am losing weight! I've discovered that it really doesn't take too much time to prepare a meal or snack for myself and I'm really enjoying the tastes of my food choices. I know this way of eating is healthier and is a lifetime adjustment, not just a short-term diet.

I love to see the calorie counter on my treadmill show how many calories I've burned. I don't know how accurate it is, but the number is lots higher than when I could only do about 15 minutes before giving up. I've had this treadmill for 5 years and have never been able to go for more than 30 minutes at a time and that's with no incline. I'm amazed at the energy I have to not only briskly walk for an hour, but at a number 4 incline! This is only after 3 1/2 weeks. I can only imagine what I'll be able to do at the end of the 14 weeks of this challenge! I'd love to be able to run that 5K in May!