Went and saw the movie Chocolat last night with my mother. Wonderful movie! Delightful storyline! I highly recommend it, and it's even squeaky clean enough to bring adolescent-age children to (should you posess any of those.)

However, it might not be the best movie to go to when you are on a strict diet.[grin]

The Health dare continues on, and I feel I am making slow but steady progress. I'm losing about two pounds a week and about a quarter inch off my hips per week. My "big" jeans are so loose now as to be almost unwearable, and my jeans that are a size smaller are fast approaching that state. I don't think I will go buy new clothes any time soon though, since I am nowhere near my goal, and why waste the money? So in the meantime I will belt them tight and have ultra-comfy-loose jeans.

I continue to be very glad that Linda put forth the idea of doing this dare. I had already decided to embark on an intensive fitness/diet program at the beginning of this year, but having the support of Linda and James has kept me going far longer and harder than I probably would have otherwise. I've started training programs before, and always fizzled out and gotten sick of the dieting and intensive exercising after about 5 weeks. We've only done three weeks of the official dare, but it's been six weeks since the beginning of the year, so I'm already ahead! Having to post my progress and my food intake, and knowing that the other darers would be reading it and counting on me to keep going to keep them going (just as I count on them to keep going to keep me going)... it, well, keeps me going.

But, though the other darers have been unwavering pillars of support, I admit I was a bit surprised and mildly dismayed at the total lack of support from other areas. I honestly didn't expect that, but I guess some people feel threatened or made to feel inadequate. This kind of dare is not for everyone, just like a novel dare is not for everyone, so I don't see why people would be intimidated. Maybe people don't see the point in all this. I dunno. I do know that it's very hard work, and that I'm incredibly thankful for the support that I do get.

And my goals have altered slightly as well. Not for the 12-week dare itself so much as for the rest of the year. I've seen now that I can clean my diet up and eliminate most of the sugar, and I've seen that I can lose bodyfat at a fairly steady pace when I eat right and exercise properly. So, I've decided to train for a local-level fitness competition this coming June. I will have to work on my flexibility (since I have next to none) and I have zero gymnastic skills, but I can dance halfway decently, so I think I could put together a routine that wouldn't embarrass me too much. Oh, and I would have to keep up with the diet and exercise as well--if I have something to shoot for, I think I'll do better at maintaining the pace.