Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Day 82....Sweet victory.....1 rock at a time...go KATHLEEN!

You know even though I have become an "at home" Lose A Ton contestant, I still feel the excitement and anxiety for my buddies still "on the air" during their challenges or weigh ins.....

On Monday, the 5 remaining contestants had the challenge of climbing a rock wall....wow, I thought, I would love to have had the opportunity to do that! Easy for me to say, I didn't have the opportunity! I did, however, have the opportunity to hear about it from my friends, after the fact, and to see them on SHOW ME St. LOUIS today....they were amazing....this I have to share....

One of the remaining contestants is my dear friend, Kathleen....she is an adorable, amazing young woman who shared with me that she has battled weight her entire life....she and I were actually in the bottom 2 the week I was eliminated from the "on air" contest....I must admit, as sad as I was to lose, I was even happier that Kathleen won...you see Kathleen is just one of those women you meet, that you instantly like and respect and want only the best for...but most of all, she DESERVES to be in the finals for this contest....let me explain...

While Kathleen didn't WIN the challenge this week, she was, I understand, 1 "hand" away from winning....Kathleen has come that close on most of the challenges and many of the weigh ins...but that doesn't slow her down or stress her out...she keeps on going and trying and working hard..

The rock climb was a particularly tough one for Kathleen and apparently when she heard they were going there, it really got to her...you see, years ago, when she was only in 8th grade and overweight, her class went to a rock climb and she had to sit out because of her weight....can you even imagine how tough that must have been for an 8th grader?! Fast forward, years later, and here she is, again faced with this challenge and wondering CAN I DO IT THIS TIME?!?!

Well, I'm proud to say (I AM old enough to be her mother, for goodness sakes, so let me act like she is my 3rd daughter for just a minute or 2.....), she DID IT! She made the climb, fought through her fear, and while she didn't win the "prize of 2 tickets", she won WAY MORE THAN THAT YESTERDAY! She won her sense of pride and accomplishment back, which is something no tickets could EVER compare to!!!!!! Kathleen, you are truly a ROCK STAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(no pun intended)...I am sooooooooooo proud of you, I almost cried when I watched you on TV!

Today was the "weigh in" for the "final 5"....on Friday, the final 5 becomes the "final 4"....
1 more contestant becomes an "at home" contestant.....and this group of 4 will have 1 more weigh in, before they announce the final 3, from which 1 winner will emerge! I don't want to spoil the results from today, as I do have "connections" so I know the results, but will wait until the show airs tomorrow before I spill any more details....

You go girls! Congratulations to all 5 of you - you rock!!! I'm with you from the "sidelines" working my darndest to keep up!

Until tomorrow, what can you do to "rock", since "rock" seems to be the word of the day!?
And don't consider "rocking" yourself to sleep, that won't burn enough calories....

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Day 80 - When the going gets tough.....find your MOMENTUM!

Wow, it has now been 80 days or so since I started this journey.....seems impossible in some ways. Some of this seems so routine now, yet sometimes things are still a struggle..

What's routine?
-Knowing I need to go to the gym almost daily
-Knowing that I need to watch everything that goes into that pie hole...you would think that would be getting easier, and in many ways it is, for example, I don't even consider that big old chocolate cake or candy bar that I see someone else eating....however I must confess (it's the Catholic in me) that I did eat a couple of chips and salsa last night out with the girls....and I feel guilty about it! But I already told myself, I would make myself pay for that at the gym today! But I also chose the roasted chicken and had a few beans and guacamole, along with a side of cabbage and green bean salad (doesn't sound that great, but it was tasty!) - I guess I have been so incredibly "clean" with my diet, having a few "minor compromises" really scares me.... Once I get to my goal weight, THEN I need to figure out how to start adding back some food that I like in moderation.....MAINTENANCE is the term Weight Watchers always called it....
Going out to eat has been ok for me, as there is always something on the menu you can find that is okay.....as long as you make the right choice...
-Knowing I want to be successful at this and working towards my goal - having my clothes fit a bit looser and going into the "next size" in my closet (doesn't EVERYONE have multiple sizes in their closet - ha!).....for me the trick is to put those "big clothes" away as soon as there is too much room, and put the next "tighter size" on, so you don't think you have lots of "growing room"! It has been so rewarding to get into another size and definitely gives me some inspiration to keep going....

Struggle......
Ironically some of the same things that are "routine" are sometimes a struggle.....

Time - Fitting it all in is tough.......it would be so easy at the end of a long work day, just to go home, have dinner and relax......but instead I work hard at balancing my work day, enabling me to get my work done (NEVER successful at that, is anyone!?!?), leave work in time to head to the gym to get a good workout in, and still get home before it's time to go to bed!

Preparing your food - This is a MUST for me...that is, having something available at all times to eat, JUST IN CASE....the other night I got home from the gym....starving! It would have been so easy to get into the chips or better yet, the frozen Girl Scout cookies, but instead I popped my fish in the oven and my veggies on the stove and LEFT the kitchen! I kept myself busy with the dogs and other stuff, and within 20 minutes or so, I had my baked fish and full plate of veggies and was quite satisfied! I also must prepare for breakfast and lunch at work - although I'm fortunate, there is a nice cafeteria at work, that does offer plenty of options for me, it is just so much better when I plan ahead and have lots of good food ready, especially when sitting on conference calls all day!

Momentum - How do you "keep it going"?! I have tremendous support at home and work and feel very fortunate! The clothes fitting loser, the positive comments about your results, the way you feel, all help! But the momentum seriously must keep coming from INSIDE! It is really about what you WANT for yourself, how you want to CHANGE, WHY you want to do this! That is really where the momentum comes, especially when you need help to get through that last 30 minutes at the gym, or to help you walk away from that Easter candy that is in a bowl just an arm's length away.....No, momentum isn't always readily available....sometimes you have to hunt for it, just like Easter eggs :)..................... that's when you remember WHY you need it and what a good FRIEND it has been for you on your journey...

So today, on this rainy Sunday, while my daughter is out running 12 miles in the rain, preparing for her 1/2 marathon 2 weeks from today, I am going to FIND my momentum, not just for my workout today, but also to catch up on lots of other things around here...i.e. laundry, cleaning, some work stuff, to name a few.....

Just for today, can you FIND your MOMENTUM and put it to work for YOU today?! What are you waiting for?!!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Day 72 - Time to catch up....

No, I didn't fall off the ends of the earth....or off the step :).....again.....here's what's been happening since we last "talked"....or "bloggered" (I love making up new words and sounds more fun than "blogged")...

-Went to NYC for work for 8 days - made it to the gym or pool every day but on the weekend instead of the gym, we walked miles (and I mean MILES!) and managed to survive the pouring rain and high winds (in spite of the no less than 150 "dead" inside out umbrellas littering the streets and subways) both Sat and Sun....kept a very clean diet (do you even know how hard it is to go to dinner each night and be the ONLY "non drinker" boooooorrrrrrrrrrinnnnnnnnnnnng, not to mention passing up daily trays of rolls, bagels, chips, cookies....but I did it....Thank goodness I packed my healthy food! It came in quite handy on a daily basis!

-I stayed at the Milennium Hotel, located immediately across Church street from the twin towers site, now referred to as the "pit", where 24-7 construction is going on to erect 6 new buildings there.....it was overwhelming to see it all and hear more stories, and walk through St. Paul's Cathedral, where the firemen/women and policemen/women would go to rest inbetween shifts during that time, they still had cots set up and boards with letters and pictures...went to the Sunday morning service there and after walking around afterwards, reading the letters, broke down in tears, unbelievable what happened here...You may remember it as it was site we saw daily on TV back in 2001 where the tall wrought iron fence was, covered with letters, pix of people looking for their loved ones, or leaving a tribute there....

The hotel we stayed at was closed for 2 years due to the impact.....my work building 195 Broadway is located immediately behind the hotel, so walking down the street everyday to the office, I envisioned all the people running down this exact same street that day covered in dust from head to toe....all so much more real now.....even almost 9 years later...

-My uncle Omar is in Heaven now with his folks and many of his siblings......He was such a sweet Uncle, always had a smile on his face which made you sort of wonder what he was up to :)....
We will miss him dearly and will keep his sweet wife, Ginny and wonderful kids (and grandkids and great grandkids) in my prayers.....

-Good news - The boot is OFF! The broken bone from Feb 14th is healing......At my appointment on Wednesday, I got the go ahead to abandon the boot once I could get my foot into a shoe...he told me I may want to use it as needed, but come Thursday, I kicked the boot off! I got back on the eliptical for a little bit on Thursday, kicked it up to 45 minutes on Friday and was on the treadmill and ARC trainer today! He said do things "as tolerated", so even though my foot is speaking to me a little, I am plugging through! Soooooooooooo excited to have it off and get back to a better workout..,

-Although my training sessions went away with my "tv elimination", I'm biting the bullet (actually biting the wallet :)) and treating myself to some more training sessions at least through the end of April. We go back for the "final weigh in" on April 27th where I found out today that we will be "blindfolded" with the weight loss "reveal" aired live on Friday, April 30th on Show Me St. Louis....that should be fun!

-Leaving for Abu Dhabi April 15-26, so will definitely be walking my 2 granddaughters every day which will help keep the weight thing going for the final weigh in....with the weather perfect over there, it will be a great way to wind down the contest! Not to mention having 11 heavenly days with my kids and grandkids....cannot wait!

In the meantime, full steam ahead.....had a great workout Thurday and today with my trainer....I only know that because I can hardly stand up or sit down without feeling it -ha!
But it is soooooooooo good to feel that soreness again....seriously did I really say that?!!?

Still keeping tabs on my buddies still on the Lose A Ton Contest on TV and rooting them on via phone calls and emails...miss them a lot!

So 72 days into this journey, I'm feeling better than ever.....with more than 20 inches of FAT gone from my body, I'm more energized than ever.....so I guess the bottom line is you CAN do it if you set your mind to it....so if you have been doing this with me from the beginning, a big congrats to you....if you have been THINKING about doing it with me, NOW is the time, don't wait any longer......YOU are the only BARRIER to making this critical change in your LIFE!
PLEASE take this opportunity to make a change in your life starting TODAY!!! You will never regret it....you may FEEL it, but that soreness will only remind you of the great choices you are making to a healthier, happier you!!! You should be doing this for YOU, but if it takes more than that, do it for your KIDS or GRANDKIDS!!!

Ok, stepping off the soap box now....but hoping that just for today, if you haven't made the choice to come along on this journey, you HOP ON RIGHT NOW!!! Have a great weekend, Spring arrived today!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Day 59 - The weekend is over....NYC here I come!

Well in spite of now being an "at home contestant", i had a great weekend at the gym....
Friday night solo, Saturday am with the trainer (1 last freebie since it was already booked :)) and Sunday solo.....Sweating and working hard - got some great tips from Megan this past week and put them into play...like the V-Crunch - OUCH! DIdn't think I could get through all the layers on the abdominals, but I think I will be feeling that one tomorrow!

My sweet Uncle Omar is in the hospital, quite ill, so decided today I would run over there to visit my wonderful Aunt Ginny and all my cousins.....I decided that some cake and brownies were in order to bring....scary as that was to think about actually making something like that after 2 months off "sugar" including dough and batter :).....

The good news is I SURVIVED CAKE AND BROWNIE BATTER! For all the die hard bakers out there, you know that is BIG! Not a single lick of the bowl, spoon NOTHING! In fact, some of the chocolate landed on my ibuprophen (still trying to get the swelling out of my foot!) so I had to wipe that off....I thought, you aren't slipping in the pie hole that easy!

Please say a prayer for my Uncle Omar and his sweet family.....they can use the support right now as they go through this tough journey...............

Tomorrow, I head to NYC for 8 days....excited although it will be lots of work too....both speaking in terms of my job and my diet and my workout regimen! But I am up for the challenge....armed with lots of healthy food, workout clothes and my laptop!

Oscar party tonight at my sister's house...she was Sandra Bullock from Blind Side, I was ELLEN...I had to do it, you know since we are such "buds" now :).... It's an annual event full of fun women, dressed up in all kinds of get ups and of course FOOD....Seriously, do we do ANYTHING in this country without SUGAR, SALT, CHOCOLATE and some kind of CHEESE!?!
But I came armed with celery and hummus and some good water crackers with flaxseed (Seriously I never ever thought I would be thinking all that would be so delicious but it is?!!?!!)
....funny thing is, with all this other stuff around, everyone really liked that celery and hummus!
GO FIGURE! But I sure enjoyed a bit too and it kept me away from these seriously dangerous round small chocolate lava cakes that almost jumped off the plate onto my plate, thank goodness I didn't dawdle in front of it too long, as I did a driveby drool........or the sopapilla with icecream that my good friend Debby made.....DEBBY ARE YOU CRAZY BRINGING THAT?!?!

Anyway, home now, free of temptation...time to really seriously pack......................made it another weekend.....I won't be going to the Monday gathering with my peeps from Lose a TON which makes me sad, but I will be there with them in spirit...and once I land in NYC and check in at the hotel, I will have my own "Monday workout" and be thinking of them all the way.....


Until tomorrow, think about what you should win an Oscar for.......and then go for the gold!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Day 58 - The elimination may be over, but my journey is FAR from over...

The votes are in....Kathleen and Monica made the "cut", Jacqui and Maureen are "going home"...
That was the word on Friday's SHOW ME ST. LOUIS Lose A Ton elimination show....

And that was it....
Not the END, but a new BEGINNING.....
No, I didn't want to go home, but yet, I did want Kathleen to continue too...For those that know me, you know I always want a happy ending where everyone wins :).....

But remember, it is all how you LOOK at things...
The reality is that I have had almost 2 months on "the show" and despite a week or so of "trainer changes", I have had personal training and workouts 6x a week...less a day or so when my foot was broken...
I have been given the opportunity of a lifetime with this contest...
I have met AMAZING women who have become dear friends.....
I an in "that place" that is always so hard to find and stay, you know the place, where you are determined to get to your goal and are "in the zone"....
I have a membership to a gym that will continue until next January!
Although I lost my free training as of Friday, I plan to sign up for some sessions to continue with my trainer through this content the end of April...
So no crying for this girl.....

This girl has proven to this girl that she can DO it! Despite my 3 pound loss on the last weigh in, which really weighed me down, I have already broken through that plateau, since the weigh in on Tuesday!!! You know how pounds can flucuate for women, well apparently that is what happened to me...but I don't care, as long as the scale keeps going down...and IT IS!!!

Next steps?
-Keep working as hard as I can....I left the show yesterday, went back to work for a few hours and then headed to the gym - I biked for 1 hour, moving between level 10 and level 15, with arm weights on and off....WOW, the bike can be quite challenging I'm finding out!!!
-Heading to NYC for 8 days on Monday, but going with my own "food" to keep me honest and on track.....don't want to get caught up in any of bad stuff they will be bringing in to the workshop! Plus my hotel has a pool and gym, so I have already talked to my coworkers who are also on a weight mission!
-Gym workouts will continue

You see, I didn't plan on stopping just because I'm not on TV any more....I must admit I never knew quite how OLD I looked until seeing myself on high definition - YIKES, not sure I will miss that!

So, don't let the valleys get you down on your journey....keep plugging away.....I will and I hope you are right with me on this!

Thanks for your AMAZING support and votes......I could feel it and was so touched by it, I couldn't believe it!!!

So until tomorrow, don't give up.....hang on and keep pushing....we can do it!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Day 55 - Up for elimination :( - Nobody said this was going to be easy....

Well yesterday was tough, that's for sure....I anticipated possibly falling into the bottom 2 since there are just 4 of us left on each team and 1 of the 4 already had a 2 pound advantage....and with my foot and losing the ability to do the bigger calorie burns on the eliptical and treadmill with my bad foot... What I did NOT anticipate was only losing 3 pounds since the last weigh in.................OMG!

-How on earth could that happen working out 6x a week?
-How on earth could that happen with eating such a clean diet, barely making my 1200 calories per day and writing everything down that went into the pie hole?!
-How on earth could that happen when I gave it my all, my very best....
-How on earth could that happen when every day I visualized my weight loss, how many pounds it would be......I was sure that would work

How on earth did it happen? Who knows and at this point, the answer isn't going to show up....

More importantly, what next?
My friend, Kathleen, whom I adore, is the other person up for elimination...she lost 9 pounds for goodness sake, but still fell into the bottom 2...that's not fair at all....
So my first instinct as we hugged each other, was to make sure she didn't get voted out but instead it would be me.....So off I went talking to the other contestants and then home to tell my kids and husband and a few friends and siblings....don't vote for me, vote for Kathleen....

I was quite surprised by the responses.....flat out - NO, we are voting for you...
YOU deserve it too
YOU are working hard
Yes, you lost 3 pounds but your foot is fractured and has been since February 14th

Wow, I must say I was blown away and did a lot of painful soul searching.....
Yes, I know I do deserve it too, we both do.....but
Yes, I want to stay, and so does Kathleen.....but
Yes, I worked even harder once I hurt my foot, but
Yes, I stayed faithful to my diet, but

That's a lot of "buts"......................................

So today I called Kathleen and we had a great talk....we both are at peace with what comes next....and I always believe that whatever is meant to be will happen and it will be for the best.

So, as my brother told me, just let the chips fall where they fall....................................
Dang, he is still right sometimes, don't you just hate when that happens?!

So here's the story....the deciding factor on who stays and who goes "home" is all decided by a vote on the website:

http://www.ksdk.com/sales/splash/lose_ton/winter_2010/vote.aspx

The voting began today and ends at noon on Friday....we will go down for a live elimination show on Show Me St. Louis on this Friday at 3pm......

Good luck to Kathleen and Maureen....they both worked hard and both deserve it.....
Whatever is meant to be will happen, I'm sure of it! But regardless of what it is, both Kathleen and Maureen will WIN, you see, because we already are winning and the contest isn't even over!

It is truly all how you look at it, isn't it?!
Just for today, think about that one!

Thanks for the love and support!!! I can truly feel it!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Day 53... and we're back on the air :)

Well, the olympics are over, but the LOSE A TON is back on Channel 5 :).....I'm sure the ratings aren't the same, ha, but glad to be back to a "routine".....

Normally, we film every Monday, whether it is a workout 1 monday or a challenge the next Monday, but with Channel 5's coverage of the Olympics, we haven't had a weigh in since early February....although they did a "surprise" weigh in, just to make sure we were still staying on track on Feb 22nd....and actually showed that on SHOW ME ST LOUIS today....2 girls (Diane from my team and Taira from the other team, both got themselves a 2 pound advantage for tomorrow's weigh in)...ironically, both Diane and Taira had been "up for elimination" at the last weigh in, so good for them - they worked hard and both deserved it!!

Today we had a challenge - it was the 1st "team challenge" that we have had. It was like a game of charades with words that relate to personal training....1 woman from each team went up to the front and each of them had to give clues (1 at a time) to the rest of their team....they had 30 seconds for the team to guess the word and if the team didn't get it, the other team had the opportunity to guess.....Although the words were "randomly" positioned, I seemed to keep getting some dandy ones....the woman next to me would get "treadmill"....my word KINESIOLOGY! That was a tough one for sure -ha! Unfortunately, the other team beat us out by a few answers...but the good news is there weren't any more pound advantages given out....instead tickets to a few shows....don't get me wrong, who doesn't like free tickets? But our focus now is POUNDS....

Tomorrow is it - another weigh in day.....
4 women left on each team
2 of those 4 on each team will be UP FOR ELIMINATION
1 of the 4 (on each team) already has a 2 pound advantage...YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not the best odds, are they??! But regardless of what happens, I will keep going at this until I get to my goal!!!! I have worked as hard as I possibly can...stayed on my diet faithfully, in spite of trips and parties and whatever other excuse we need to eat....
I have worked hard, both before and after my boot....and inbetween the old and the new trainer....so I feel good about that...

I'll be back tomorrow with an update on the weigh in...

Just for today, feel good about what you have accomplished and be grateful for the gift of good health!

PS Hope you got to see my sister Kathy on the ELLEN show today, she was so cute, dancing her heart out! Just love that girl!