Recapping a BIG, BIG, BUSY week and crossing off goals.

Lots of business to get down to here gang! Grab a cup of tea or glass of water! And since I have the flu, I want to crank this post out so I can get back to bed! Even after taking too many naps to count today, my bed is pulling me like a fierce magnet.

So let's get to it shall we? It is time for a wrap up of Week 4 in the Power of One Challenge over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans

Last week's weigh in: 196.8

This week: 194.2

Loss: -2.6 (!!!)

Loss for the challenge to date: 1.6

 I was very excited about my loss this week, especially in light of a 1.6 gain last week. Good to see the scale heading south again

Next order of business:  My Biggest Loser competition kick off at my gym! You may remember I set this as a goal for 2011 and posted about it here here.

The kick off took place Sat. Jan. 22. I had my first weigh in (which was higher than Power of One because we had street clothes on). I met my teammates on Team Teal and picked up my T- shirt!

AND we had to post our weight loss goal for the 8-week program and write down three goals. These sheets of paper will be displayed on a bulletin board for the whole gym to see. Here's mine:

I know how important it is to write these goals down and to have them visible. I wrote them out again on a piece of paper at home where I can see them on  a daily basis. I WILL meet these goals!

It was a great kickoff event. There is much more I want to write about it -- the previous year's winner spoke and shared some great tips about health and fitness in general and she wants to win again, of course, but hey she doesn't know about ME! lol. That Tribe Green from Shrinkvivor has me primed for competition!

My team consists of another woman and two men. At 43, I'm the youngest by quite a bit. I think one of the guys is probably about 70 and the other 65. The woman may be around 50. Who cares? They all inspire me already just because I know they signed up for this, plunked down money and are taking it seriously! I plan on rallying us throughout the 8 weeks to keep us tight and strong.

We had our first session with our trainer, Emily, on Monday night -- I was feeling lousy but still went because I did not want to miss the first meeting with my team and trainer. It was awesome! Got home took my temp and it was 101. To anyone at the gym, I am sorry. I really did not know I was THAT sick! And I won't go back until I am better I promise. (Yay's tonight's session was cancelled due to the weather! So I didn't have to miss it after all!)

Anyway, I have a lot i want to share about the insights the nutritionist provided. It has changed the way I am thinking lately and will give you something to think about too (ppsstt I am hoping the Sisterhood may let me do a guest post about it someday).

Lastly the update on my 2011 goal of doing one 5k per month. Time to cross off January!

Granted, this was on the treadmill. I was not able to get to a 5k in my area in January. I hit the 5k program on the treadmill at the hotel gym where DH and I had a mini staycation (I won an 2 night overnight stay in a silent auction for charity) and I ran/walked it until the 5k was complete.

Naturally, it is my best time! This was right after my Biggest Loser kick off and I was all ramped up and ran in my Team Teal T-shirt!

But I am not so much interested in the time as I am in the fact that to me, this counts even though it was not a "real" race. I AM signed up for 5ks in Feburary and March already. 

The 5k in Feb. is NEXT weekend! My flu better be a zillion miles down the road by then!

PS -- I went to the dr. and she could tell I'd lost weight. She asked me how I was doing it. I told her all about The Sisterhood! And my re-commitment to WW and joining the competition at my gym. When I said i was 20 pounds lighter she said "That is the size of the turkey we had at Thanksgiving! You've lost a whole turkey!" Too funny!

If you have made it all the way to the end, I ADORE you! Here I am feeling like a dishrag, but I am endlessly excited about this journey that I am on and I am excited to be sharing it with you!

Power of 1 Challenge - Recapping Week 3

Hello hello gang o' mine. Notice no exclamation point after that little greeting. It's time for another update in the Power of 1 Challenge at The Sisterhood

Maybe I should call this the Power of 1.6 challenge

since that was my gain for the week. 

Ugh!!

 I am not going to spend time beating myself up for it.

I will just keep on keepin' on.

And improve.

As I saw the woman on that new show "Heavy" say the other night - "I don't always like it (meaning working out, or paying attention to what I eat). But quitting is not an option."

Been tracking everything every single day since my weigh in at WW on Saturday (which is the weigh in I use for this and any Sisterhood challenge).

I have been on the move

My head is still in the game.

And come THIS Saturday, there will be a new game beginning, in fact.

It is the start of my Biggest Loser competition at my gym.

My first weigh in

For the team I have not met yet

And the trainer I haven't met yet

I am ready for this.

Bring it on.

There will be NO Power of 1.6 next week!!

Power of 1 Challenge - Recapping Week 2

Hello gang o' mine!

This week's weigh in: 195.2

Last week's weigh in: 195.8

(Same darn weigh in ever since the beginning of the challenge. My middle name at times is Plateau!)

Loss this week: -.6

Can I Just say I have never been happier to lose .6 in al of my life? That eenie weenie teeny tiny loss brought me great joy.

I am putting it mildly when I say it's been a hectic, rough week. My mom was in the hospital, giving us all the scare of our lives. I am several states and a 4.5 hour drive away (or 3.5 hour drive when you are driving with what I call "controlled purpose" and your mom is in the hospital).

She's home now, thank God, and doing much better. I drove home to help take care of her and didn't spend much time on taking care of me. Add to it, TOM, and I sure burned a lot of calories crying. Are there activity points for that on WW? If not, there should be!

She is going to be OK. My family had a wake-up call. It was a rude awakening that sharpened all our eyes. For me, it spotlighted how important a role eating right and exercise plays in one's health. There are going to be changes made in my extended family now. We are all on the same page in how important this is, and there is no turning back.

Greetings from my future self

Over at The Sisterhood I speak so highly of and tell anyone who will listen about, it's time to get down and do some of the hard stuff  -- the stuff you actually have to think about, beyond what foods are going into your mouth or how much cardio is getting done.  They call these exercises The Monthly Project.

I get the concept. We are supposed to envision ourselves in the future, on Jan. 1, 2012 to be exact, and what we would have  will have achieved by then. They do this also on The Biggest Loser. It is one of my favorite parts of the entire season. Where in a split screen the "before" contestant has a message to the same contestant in the future. It is extremely moving and powerful. Not sure this letter will be! But I write it from the heart, so we shall see what happens (oh yes we will, won't we!)

January 7, 2012,

Hello my dear friend. Enjoy a cup of tea while we catch up a bit, shall we? 

I have been so eager to get in touch with you because I see you have not given up on all the things you set out to do! I never doubted for one minute that that would NOT be the case!

Congratulations on WINNING the Biggest Winner competition at your gym! You really thrived once you were under the guidance of a personal trainer. I know how much you had wanted to do that in the past but were intimidated by the idea or the expense. You registered for that 8-week Biggest Loser-style competition at the start of the New Year in 2011 just like you told your friends and family you wanted to. They were not surprised one bit that not only did you enter, but that you won!  I knew you could do it!! I saw the fire in you every time you were with your teammates, working to win another challenge after another. Your fantastic experiences at The Sisterhood, especially with your  Tribe Green sisters (and one hubby), PREPARED you for this competition. You thrived in Shrinkvivor. You thrived in the Power of One. It was only natural that you register for this competition at your gym! A no brainer!

It can now be said that 2011 was the year you became a runner. You ran your first 5k without having to take any walk breaks, and you completed one of your biggest goals of the year, participating in one 5k a month. That's 12 races under your belt!! I still say, get rid of some of those T-shirts from previous years. You need to make room for the new ones, girl!! 

You ran the Baltimore Women's Classic - I know it is one of your favorite races and you have been in it several times. You continue to be moved by seeing a tidal wave of women, of all ages, sharing a common goal of health and fitness. Not only did you run that race, but I know this was the first year you pulled a team of friends together so that you could raise more money for the important cause of ovarian cancer research. Who would have thought you could lead a group to do that? YOU thought it, that's who!

You inspired many along your journey this year. Even in January, people were joining you for workouts when they had not been interested in the past. I heard your friends saying "If Mary can do it, I can do it I will register for that race too." You had a nice group going there for the St. Patrick's Day 5k for your March race.

At Beth's wedding in September, you were simply stunning. Down another 40 pounds by then from your highest weight. All because you kept up with your motivation and WW! Way to go!

You did much better this year with that all or nothing mentality in terms of fitting exercise into your day, and with recognizing the triggers that set off emotional eating and finding alternatives to binging. 

I know there have been dark moments. Let's be real. They still exist. Your heartache over not being a mother fills your pores at every baby shower, christening or even at times a run by the park. Those tidal waves of pain still crash over you, but no longer does each wave knock you down, sending you tumbling, tumbling. Mother's Day? Yes, that was one of those times again for you this year. How you get through that day I will never know other than you make sure you are with your own mother that day. She knows your pain though you have never spoken of it. You have recognized how to feel the pain and that it is OK to feel it. And you have continued to know the benefits of exercise in keeping those waves from becoming a tsunami. Thank goodness for realizing what a healer moving one foot in front of the other can be.

I am so glad that throughout the year, you remembered the important things:

You are strong.

You are loved.

You are not afraid to try new things.

It's ok to cry.

You can kick some butt in a friendly competition!

You transfuse light and hope and strength to everyone around you.

Many blessings my dear friend,

Your 2012 self.

All signed up! I'm in the Biggest Loser competition at my gym!

And I WILL win! Ha! Don't even know yet what the heck color T-shirt I will be wearing but I am five exits past excited!

The competition is actually called The Biggest Winner (which, come to think of it, does sound more positive dontchathink? But it's due to copyright and trademarks and all that jazz). You can read more about it the Biggest Winner from our local paper (pssst.. keep this under your hat as it is NOT from the local paper I work for, but a competiting paper).

I'd been thinking about entering this competition for the past few weeks. It was always at the back of my mind and being a bit pushy, bit by bit edged its way to the front of the line in the thoughts department. Other than the challenges at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, I have never participated in something like this. But these challenges over the last few months, combined with the support of the folks who use the site, and my fabulous teammates, really inspired me, motivated me and for the first time in a long while, I began to see results. I grew excited about health, fitness and weight loss. I no longer think of it as a chore. I think of it as an adventure and I can't wait to see what is in store for me. That is what led me to sign up for the Biggest Winner. In fact, I was the first person to sign up at my gym. I knew it was first come first serve and I did not want to miss out! So I went extra early and now I'm an official participant.

The program kicks off Jan. 22 with my first weigh in and a kick off party. My team will be competing with teams at two other gyms. We will meet twice a week with a personal trainer and workout as a team, plus have mini challenges over the course of the program. Ya KNOW I want to win the whole shootin' match!

It was not cheap to join but as I told the woman at the front desk, "I consider this my 2011 investment in ME." And I know already, no matter what, it will be worth every penny.

You can bet I will be blogging about my progress. Go TEAM _____!  (I will fill that in once I learn my team on Jan. 22!)