THings have been a little hectic right now. We are repainting some of the rooms in our house. So chaos is my middle name. When I have time I'll post Recap and Week Eleven goals a little later.

I am still counting steps and trying to eat less.

Some Challenge followers have observed that this challenge is not nearly so interesting as the last one. So here are some 2011 Challenge photos...

Say it with white chocolate!

It's been a while since we last had a Maddie photo. So here is The Best Cat in the entire Multiverse helping me unpack the dishwasher.

Kevin has been preparing many new dishes as part of HIS challenge. Many of them contain chilli. Here he displays his Chilli Protection Equipment.

Still managed to maintain the seven pound weight loss since beginning of challenge. Kevin assures me I am getting my waist back.

Eat Less:

Continue with what works! Photo food diary, Starbucks Savings Plan, and Buy. No. Cheese. Try to have at least three servings of fruit this week. Ugh.

Move More:

Since I didn't meet challenge for this last week, repeat challenge. Try to average 6,500 steps per day, and try to have at least 5,500 steps 4 out of 7 days this next week. Resume the 90 second wall sit and plank.

Another week has simply flown by. Personally I can't wait for spring. I am not a cold weather person (go figure that!) and spring and autumn are my favorite seasons. So how did Week Nine go?

I am feeling super good. I don't mean that in a smug kind of way. But I really feel better overall. The weight is coming off slowly, and I don't feel as though I am starving myself. I still have no will power - but I play some power games, that make me think I have will power. For example, the Cheese Intervention Plan - by simply removing the object of desire - in this case, cheese - I can pretend that I have the actual will power not to have cheese, if it were there to tempt me.

I tested myself out yesterday with a visit to Longmont's Cheese Importers. Kevin had given me a gift certificate to this Cheese Heaven. This is a fabulous store with cheeses from around the world, and some gorgeous gifty type stuff. I was marginally bad - I took advantage of the cheese snacks left out in the cheese room, and bought myself a white chocolate Toblerone, and a slab of pate. I also got 2 kinds of parmegano reggiano - one from Italy and one from Argentina. Hard cheese is not the kind of cheese I am prone to snack on - and it is great grated over pasta, or veggies. Sigh! But I still have no cheese to tempt me into snacking. For obvious reasons, the Toblerone will feature predominantly on the photo food diary for this week, and next. But I am trying to see how long I can make it last.

I am eating more salad and rabbit food. Still not getting enough fruit.

Now let's get to the move more part of this challenge. I have stopped the 90 second wall sit and the plank. Don't know why, but just didn't do it at all this week. I really should. It is weird but it really works. Hard to know why - I mean it is only 90 seconds, and ahem! if you are like me, I can't even get to 90 seconds. 90 seconds is a REALLY long time.

I have become quite addicted to my step counter, and trying to reach the goal of 10,000 steps per day. Kevin has even bought me a more super duper step counter.

For the week beginning 2/27/2011 I walked a total of 42,475 steps which average 6,067 steps per day. My goal for this week was to average 6,500 steps per day. So I didn't manage to meet that goal. I know why - I had a busy week with a number of meetings, that didn't really help the steps, although I did have one day where I managed 10,888 steps all largely due to a number of meetings around campus which I walked to. I was also supposed to walk at least 5,500 steps 4 out of the 7 days which I managed.