This has been a heck of a summer!

...possibly the most tumultuous summer of my life!

Over the past month, I have been struggling with a few pounds. Those of you who know me, personally, know what is partly to blame for this. Let us just say that it has to do with dealing with some "health" issues. No one needs to worry, however; I am fine.

But my doctor did put me off of working out for several weeks. I have finally been cleared to workout as usual, but on my first day back I discovered that those weeks off really cut into my stamina. I was only able to workout at high intensity for 30 minutes, and I'm used to putting in 1 hour of high intensity cardio. So the plan is to start increasing that duration a couple of minutes each time until I am back to where I was.

I have had to deal with a lot of personal issues lately. I just sent my oldest son off to college. We moved him into the dorm a week ago today, and I cried when I left him. He's only 25 minutes away and will be coming home on the weekends. So it wasn't the separation or the distance, it was the acknowledgment of a change in life. My baby is growing up, and I am getting older.

Other than that, there have been some other things going on that have made life especially stressful over the past couple of months. But as I have said all along here, this kind of stuff will happen. Life is never a smooth and freshly paved road. Times like this prove to be the true test of our abilities to stay on track. If I can get through this and still stick to it, then all will be well. At this point, I am not worried.

So in the interest of full disclosure, I need to admit to being up 4.8 pounds over my lowest weight. I am back on track now with plans to visit the gym 3 days this week, and I should probably set a new goal for myself.

How about 10lbs in 8 weeks?