How am I doing?

Well, I've been feeling a little defeated since starting my program.  I did quite well, up until the week between Christmas and New Years.  I am off my target date for sure, but I am not giving up!
Currently, I can run for about 7 minutes before I start to feel like I am going to die!  According to my schedule, I "should" be able to go for 35, but 7 minutes is 7 minutes more than I could run in November, so I will happily take it!  I noticed that I wasn't burning nearly enough calories on my running days, so I have added 30 minutes of elliptical training to boost the burn.  I am to the point now that I feel exhausted and amazing at the same time once I have completed my workouts, and that makes me happy.
Even with all my working out, I had not lost a single pound, which was quite frustrating.  People kept telling me that it's not all about the pounds, which I know it's not, but it still is nice to see that number change.  It was suggested to me that I start keeping track of my calories, so I recently joined My Fitness Pal.  I thought I was doing really well at eating the "right foods."  Turns out, a lot of days, I was consuming way too many!  Since joining MFP last week, I have lost a little over two pounds!  Finally seeing scale progress is such a wonderful thing!  I've never been a huge fan of counting calories, but it's not your typical fitness tracking website.  It is kind of like the Facebook of fitness.  You create your profile, determine how many pounds you want to lose a week and it sets a calorie range for you.  You can be "friends" with other users and celebrate in their progress as they help you celebrate yours.  There is an app for iPhone and Android with a barcode scanner, so you don't have to manually enter every single item you eat-which is WONDERFUL!  My user name is hjohns003.  Once you sign up, be my friend and I will cheer you on your own weight loss journey!
In other news, I have my first Band adjustment in over a year scheduled for next Tuesday.  I finally got all my records together so I don't have to drive all the way to Idaho Falls any time I need something.  I am positive that having this support system moved to my home state will help me be more successful.  I am so excited to get this part of my life back on track!