I did it! Finally! I'm down 50 pounds! It's been a goal for me for quite some time. These last ten pounds have not come off as the first 40. But now the exercise is starting, so I'm looking forward to the next 50 lbs.
At work, there are two things going on.
One is with two of my co-workers. First person to lose 20 lbs. wins -- losers buy drinks. I have 13 lbs. to go.
The other thing is thru Blue Cross (in a way). It's a climb to Mt. Everest. It's to promote good health all around. You pay a $5 entry, and my employer matched it. There's a pot of about $250 ... so there are five $50 prizes. I wouldn't mind one of those. Here's how it works. Mt. Everest is a ridiculous amount of miles to the top (don't remember how many right now). Over a five week period, you keep track of how many 32 oz. glasses of water you drink, how many flights of stairs you climb, how many miles you walk or run, how many hours of aerobics you do, etc., and each of those things is with a certain amount of miles. We keep weekly track, and did a starting weigh-in and took measurements. There's a prize for the biggest loser, the one with the most inches off, the one that's first to the top, etc. There are quite a few employees involved. What's great is the level of support ... the encouragement from your co-workers ... motivation, etc.
This is the first week. I've already done zumba twice (fun, but man do I have two left feet!) and found a 3 1/2 mile loop at my house that I will walk every day. There's also a very busy flight of stairs at work, too. Love seeing that.
The thing that prompted me to start losing weight (other than my son, of course) was how much junk food is at this job, and I knew I'd be as big as a house in no time. It didn't take much of an excuse (a birthday, a Friday, a holiday) for a shit-ton of sweets and fattening fabulous food to show up. And it's not easy to resist at times, but it's gotten much easier for me now. The reward is worth it.
And I feel so much better. And what's even better than that ... I have health insurance, and have gotten all my tests done. All of my test results are within normal limits -- sugar, kidney, liver, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. I couldn't be happier and so looking forward to summer! I will still look like a cow in a tank top this year, but anything will be better than last year.
