Last week, I started a new "game" with myself. I call it Five For Five. I focus on five healthy habits for five days, earning points as I go and working toward a reward. Each week, the points accumulate for an even bigger reward.

I'm proud to report that I earned 23 of a possible 25 points last week. My daily habits were drinking three liters of water, exercising for at least 30 minutes, doing 25 sit-ups, testing my blood sugar three out of four times and not eating any junk. I expected finding 30 minutes to exercise each day would be my biggest challenge, but it turns out that wasn't the case.

The two points I missed last week were for sit-ups. The first one, I'd gotten as far as 15 when the little boy started having a melt down next to me. I thought I'd get back to the other 10 in a little while, but the day got away from me and I forgot. Then on the last day of the game, I didn't do them at all.

When it came time to collect my reward, however, I decided against it at the last minute. I was going to treat myself to a skinny latte at Starbucks, but since getting off meds and having to cut the carbs from my diet, I decided the latte wasn't worth it.

I did, however, reap other rewards from the game. First, I successfully lost a little over 2 pounds last week, and if you've been following my weight-loss drudgery, you'll know this is a really big deal for me. Also, my skin is clear for the first time in ages. I don't know if it was all the water I drank or the avoidance of junk foods (like chocolate and fried food), but I'm going to keep it up.

This week, I'm going to continue to drink three liters of water, exercise for 30 minutes and do 25 sit-ups a day. I'm switching my other two habits however. Instead of not eating junk (which isn't allowed on Atkins anyway), I will not eat any starch or fruit and I will take a daily multi-vitamin (a habit I have historically had a hard time sticking too).

The other habit I'm trading in is blood sugar monitoring, which I was very successful with and don't feel I need to include it in my challenge. Instead, I'm committing to a habit I have had a really hard time getting into for years: a bedtime beauty routine including brushing my teeth, washing my face and putting on lotion.

My reward this week will be a new CD for dancing around the house with the little boy. I've also decided my long-term reward will be a facial, a treat I fully deserve!

Many people expressed excitement about playing the Five for Five game, so if you played along, please let me know how you made out. I hope it's as fun and rewarding for you as it's been for me.