Day 13 - "I deed it" :)

As my adorable almost 3 year old granddaughter, Hannah Isabel, would say:



I DEED IT!!!



I am NOT up for elimination - YAY!

I lost 10 pounds - YAY!

I didn't fall off the treadmill at the challenge - YAY



So, in case you missed the fun, on Monday, we had, of all things, a TREADMILL challenge!

What I didn't know is that I would be competing against the "fit" team that I was telling you all about before! So they line the 6 of us up on the treadmill and after a 2 minute warmup, they bump up the speed to 4.0 mph; which is a nice quick walking pace......3 minutes....feels more like 10 minutes...

After 3 minutes, they bump it up to 4.5 mph....okay, now I'm walking very fast and every so often have to do a little "mini run" to keep up so I don't slide off the end of the treadmill..and come on, did the clock stop or what...that can't only be 3 minutes............

Another 3 minutes, and they bump it up to 5.0 mph....okay, now I'm doing my own version of "running" and puffing in and out like I did when I gave birth 27 years ago....quite a pix of me on the tv if you haven't watched the comedy yet... about 20 seconds before they were going to bump it up to 5.5 mph, I jumped off......Of course, they filmed me as I leaned over the side of the treadmill trying to catch my breath again (dang radiation - I do know it isn't just radiation that did this to me, it's being out of shape too, but those 35 treatments on my lungs are responsible for some of this huffing, i'm sure of it!)..anyway, i'm sure it was a pretty funny sight.....



Next thing you see - the contest is over - all the running has stopped, but if you look down at me, I'm now back walking on the treadmill, the only one now as everyone else has stopped :)! You know me, I'm always a bit behind....



So 3 out of 6 on our team did get "pound advantages" for coming in 1st (3 pounds), 2nd (2 pounds) or 3rd (place)....the rest of us just had to be thankful that we didn't do a faceplant in the middle of a runaway treadmill....but just watch out, I'm going after that treadmill this week in my workouts....



So leaving there, I was a bit disappointed in myself, I knew I had done my very best...in fact there were times long before I quit that I thought I needed to quit, but just kept pushing myself (that is only because my trainer is helping me to realize I can push myself harder than I have been in the past!)....I had ridden with my trainer and another trainer, and riding home reminded me of those rides home in gradeschool, where you dropped the ball, your team lost, but your parents were still telling you how well you did....you all remember those.....but I did realize through listening to them that I DID DO WELL, I could or would never have done that before, so I had made some progress (plus I didn't chip any teeth by falling on the treadmill :))....so the point is, BE GOOD TO YOURSELF, CELEBRATE YOUR VICTORIES NO MATTER HOW SMALL!



I went back to my gym afterwards, did some more time on the eliptical, went home, walked the dog a while and called it a day......



TUESDAY was WEIGH IN DAY!!!! I felt good about what I had eaten and how much I had worked out...well I did until I got to the hospital where we weigh in....then I was hearing the other girls talking about what their trainers had them doing or not eating or blah blah blah....

and I started thinking - OH OH, did I do enough???Then I remembered the 1, 2, 3 pound advantages I was up against....



One by one my team got up there and by this time, I was so involved in celebrating each of their victory weight losses, I was teary eyed and happy! I knew whatever I had done, it was a victory for me too - and if I fell in the bottom 2, then I would have to figure that out too....

I stepped on the scale, unfortunately, I couldn't see the numbers because I left my glasses on my chair....but I just stood there and listened and waited....

starting weight ....189....

your weight today......................... 179!!!!!!!! You lost 10 pounds!!!



10 pounds - in 12 days - that's a record for me! I didn't starve or run a marathon but I did work as hard as I have ever worked and ate as healthy as I have ever eaten! I lost my cravings, I got over my soreness and I LOST 10 POUNDS! I was on cloud 9!



As they calculated up the scores, they soon announced who the bottom 2 were on our team who would be up for elimination....I waited as I really wasn't sure because I thought it was pretty close....then I realized my name was NOT called and although I was sad for those 2, I felt so good about my accomplishments thus far! As I'm sitting there PINCHING MYSELF, realizing that I really did make it through this first weigh in, the producer says,

OH WAIT A MINUTE, I FORGOT TO ADD IN THE POUND ADVANTAGES FOR THE 3 THAT GOT THEM ON THE CHALLENGE YESTERDAY....

I felt my heart sink to my toes................dang.....................I knew this was too good to be true.....Could I just sneak out of there now and not hear the rest??????????????????

But after a few more calculations on her calculator, she announced that the names she read were correct.............WHEW, I squeaked through on this one with my 5 plus percent weight loss.......



So, 2 more weeks of a trainer to help me on this journey......lucky me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to make the most of it....I realize now more than 13 days ago, that I'm stronger and I can push harder, do more, eat healthy and get this weight off! But mostly, I want to be able to breathe better when I run up the steps (or on a treadmill) and I know I can get better at that too! Who knows, I may go out for soccer.......after all, my son in law, Luis, is an awesome soccer coach, maybe he could coach me......JK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Poor Luis, he was probably getting a little nervous just thinking about trying to coach me, his favorite mother in law :) on the soccer team - think I will remain on the sidelines for that sport..............

So today, I decided I'm going to take advantage of every extra step I can make - started off with walking up 3 flights of stairs to my doctor's visit this morning.....Yes, still winded, but I made it!
And YOU CAN TOO! Take the opportunity to walk a little further, push a little harder, say no to those temptations at lunch or dinner.....WE CAN DO THIS, in fact, WE ARE DOING THIS! Everyday, I hear more success stories! Blog them in here - let everyone know just what you did and what you are proud of!

So until tomorrow, pat yourself on the back, walk a little further, push yourself a little harder, get to that goal - don't let yourself be the barrier in the way!!!