We have survived the “Cleanse” part of the 24-Day Challenge (the first 10 days) – and now that we’ve made it through the detox, we’re moving on to the metabolism boost! We have opted to do the full 24 days, and will soldier on, continuing to adapt our eating and exercise habits to help us set the stage for a healthier future together.

I figure his is a good time to take stock of our goals and how we’re progressing.  We set out, basically, to improve our health.  The plan, for us, was to be faithful and structured in exercising, getting more and better sleep, and overhauling the way and things we eat. As part of all of this, we hoped to lose some serious weight, and, as much as possible, do away with arthritis, asthma, and the spectres of hereditary diabetes and heart disease.

How are we doing?  Well, we’re definitely sleeping better. As he exercises and eats better, the asthma that had plagued my beloved has quickly abated.  Both of us have noticed reduced arthritis pain, and we’ve pretty much stopped taking NSAID’s to help with that. This is huge!

Why?  Well, the pain meds have caused stomach pain over time, resulting in more medication to reduce that, and some OTC pain reducers have the potential to do liver or kidney damage as well.  These are some of the drugs we hope to kiss good-bye as we eat a healthier, more organic, less inflammatory diet!!

On the weight loss front, since ten days ago when we embarked on this adventure, together we’ve lost over 13 pounds and 2.5 inches on our waists. In our “ramp-up” diet to the challenge (not a normal piece of this process) we lost another total of about fifteen pounds.  We’ve both been doing moderate exercise, but with our improved energy under the next challenge phase, we will also be increasing that.

Yesterday, we opened up our “boat house.”  This is the shed we gave ourselves for our anniversary & Christmas a few years ago. It really was a gift because it meant we had a place for our patio furniture, kayaks, canoe, paddles, car top carrier, life vests, etc. to safely spend the winter – freeing up our garage! So, the boats and equipment have been dusted off and cleaned up, and we will be hitting the water over the Memorial Day weekend.  I also have my deck & porch furniture back, and can start enjoying my morning tea outside again!

Overall, I think we’re greatly enhancing our prognosis for a long, healthy retirement together. There are so many ways to kick-start this kind of lifestyle shift, but so far this one seems to be working for us.  

We know we’ve only just begun, so stay tuned!