2 more weeks!

Yep - only 14 more days until the Ragnar SoCal Relay race. Training has been quite the experience! While I certainly wish I had more time to prepare, I am also pretty pleased with what I've been able to do in only 2 months. I spent so many years believing that I wasn't able to run. Sure, I had a lot of valid excuses. But when I just decided to do it, no matter how slow, I suddenly found that excuses mean nothing. Like everything else, it is just a choice. Do I use my excuses to justify not doing it or do I do it regardless of the challenges involved? Come on - there was a guy with ONE LEG who ran the marathon! The truth is, people do what they choose to do.

Ragnar Relay Biggest Loser contest

I have to admit, I hadn't taken running very seriously. Sure, I did jogging/walking intervals sometimes but I had never had any aspiration to be a 'real' runner. Until I saw the Ragnar Relay Series and Biggest Loser alumni were teaming up and offering 4 fans the chance of a lifetime. The prize: running the Ragnar Relay SoCal with a team of Biggest Loser alumni. But in order to be eligible, I had to be able to run a 10k with a 14 minute pace. For some people, that is a brisk walk. For my short little legs, that is definitely a sustained jog. So I waited until the last day to apply, just to make sure I could do it. The next thing I knew, I had won a spot on Sione's Blue Team! Now I have 2 months to become a runner!

Here is my application video:

Bondi Bands

Another great 'tool' that I use is Bondi Bands. They are sweat wicking headbands that have fun sayings on them (or you can get plain colors, if you prefer.) I absolutely can't stand sweat dripping into my eyes during a workout!! Here are some of my favorites:

GMap Pedometer

One of the things I want to do with this blog is share some of the best tools that have helped me along on my journey. There are several different sites to help you figure out how many miles you are walking but after trying a few, this is my favorite: www.gmap-pedometer.com/

There are many reasons it is helpful to know how far you walked. For example, I now know that a little miscommunication caused me to walk an extra 1.1855 miles tonight. It "turns" out that I had to make an actual right turn to finish off my circle. Without an accurate map, I may have assumed I only walked an extra mile, which obviously would not have been correct! Okay, so maybe that much accuracy isn't important. But it is good to be able to plan out a route and know how far it is. That way you can work on improving your distance and times, without having to walk the exact same route all the time.

Obsession and Priorities

A friend commented tonight (not unkindly) about my weight loss process being obsessive. I've been thinking about it and the truth is, she is correct. But I also think it takes a bit of obsession to lose 165 lbs (which is my final goal.) Face it - this isn't a quick journey. And any LONG journey is born out of obsession, otherwise why would you keep at it for the long haul?

A couple of years ago, I reached a point where I needed to decide what my priorities were and then make my life reflect those decisions. It wasn't easy. There are a LOT of great and important things competing for our attention and time. And it is easy to get caught up in what is most urgent rather than what is most important. But sitting down and deciding what to spend my time on was so helpful. I chose four areas to concentrate on. It was hard to chose only four but it is also hard to do all four well. I'll often be cruising along and then suddenly realize I've only been working on two or three of my areas for the last several weeks. So I'll juggle things around, only to find out a few weeks later that a different area has been slipping through the cracks. But here is what is nice about deciding what my priorities are: I don't feel guilty spending time on them and it is easier to turn down other things.

So, do you want to lose weight badly enough to become somewhat obsessed? Are you willing to make it a priority in your life? Will you do more than talk about losing weight? There isn't a temporary diet out there that will change your life. This has to be a whole person lifestyle change and THAT only happens when you make the choice to live it out day after day after day ...

It's time

Now that I'm 100 lbs into my weight loss journey, I've decided it is finally time to blog about it! Yeah, should have started sooner, I know. But with the success I've had, so many people are asking me about it, so I figure it is better to put it out there for everyone, rather than answer the same questions over and over.

The first several posts will be filling you in on the journey thus far. I have to say, it has been AMAZING! And I have so many plans for the future ... moving to Hawaii, hitting my goal weight, being a personal trainer, leading boot camps on the beach ... it's going to be a BLAST!

I auditioned for season 10 of the Biggest Loser. I didn't get a call back and wouldn't have been eligible by the time they left for the Ranch anyways (had already lost too much weight at that point.) But I got to meet some of the former contestants and that was a huge inspiration for me. More about that later, I'm sure. But the other cool thing is that season 10 is about paying it forward. And even before I knew it was their focus this season, that was already my goal. More than anything, I want to help others on this crazy journey.

There have been a lot of things I haven't been able to do, because of finances. One of my major goals as a personal trainer is to have a scholarship program so that money doesn't have to be a road block. This is what I'll be doing for a living, so of course I have to make money. But there has to be a balance ... a way to help others who need it the most, regardless of their financial situation.

I also want to specialize in working with people who have 100 lbs or more to lose. I've been there and done that! There are certain things about being morbidly obese that other people just can't relate to and don't understand. I recently flew for the first time since I've lost a majority of the weight. As I was passing a guy sitting in first class, he was asking for a seat belt extender and my heart broke for him. That was me only two years ago! Okay, not the first class part. But I know what it is like to squeeze into a seat, suck it in as far as you can and still not be able to get the seat belt around your belly. Then I got back to my seat, easily fit in, hooked the seat belt and, for the first time ever, had to pull the strap to tighten it. Seriously, tears of gratitude filled my eyes. It is these small victories that make all the hard work worth it.