Who's the Biggest Loser?

When Shaunna was here this last summer, we were talking about how we need to lose weight and get in better shape. Mom had been struggling with her diabetes and blood sugar levels that were so screwy she didn't know what to do. Then she told us about Mike on The Biggest Loser, whose Dad was diabetic and on lots of other medications for his poor health and by the end of the season was off all his medications. She said, "That's what I want. I don't even care if I'm skinny ever again, I just want to be healthy and in control." Kristina had just had Kassandra and with her gestational diabetes experience, was feeling much the same way. So, we talked about doing our own special brand of Biggest Loser, working together for support and encouragement.

Shaunna and Kristina worked out a good and fair way to administer the challenge and invited each of us to participate. We had such excitement among the Dixon girls that we all agreed to participate and Krystal's sister, Shamae and Kristina's daughter, Shannon are also on board! We had to re-vamp the exercise portion and worked it out to have a weight loss winner and an exercise winner (since we all need to exercise and be fit, but only some have a significant amount weight to lose). That way, we all have a goal and a chance to win!

We each agreed to put in $35 to the winner's pot. That's $280 for winnings!! ($180 goes to the biggest loser, and $100 for the exercise winner.) We have to weigh in every Monday morning and report our weight that day and hours of exercise the past week. Kristina calculates the percentage of body weight we lost (or gained) that week and gives us one exercise point for each half-hour we spent exercising. I built a blog (...sorry, it's private to protect our losers) where she posts the results and we can go in search of support and encouragement from each other. We started on August 31st, and will end on March 29th (7 months).

At this point, I've not done very well with the contest results. I'm about in the mediocre range for exercising and second-to-last in the weight loss. But, it is helping, and I am doing (and feeling) great! My ultimate goal in participating in this little (okay, huge) challenge is to be healthy and feel good about myself. With all the heart, blood pressure, and diabetes issues in my mom's family, I'm determined to be healthy and avoid them as long as I can. In order to do that, I have to make some lifestyle changes and commit to being healthy, and therefore...happy. The thing I've noticed is that because I have to be accountable for my weight, I am much more careful what I spend my carbs on. Last week, I imposed a diet upon myself, combining some things from South Beach, some from Jilian Michaels' Master your Metabolism book, some from an insulin resistance Link and Balance Diet, and the common sense things I've known, but not followed, most of my adult life. Also, my desire to exercise has increased dramatically. For starters, we have to exercise at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week for any of our exercise to count. So, who wants to have only 3 points at the end of the week? Not me! So the intensity and drive is so much greater than ever before. And the more I exercise, the better I feel after a good workout, the more I want to feel it again the next day. Kind of cool how that works. The more energy I use, the more energy I gain, and the more energy I have to spend.

So far, I've only lost 2 pounds. But, in the last week, I've noticed that my body's changing and some of my clothes are fitting differently. You know, a little more room around the thighs, bum and arms, not quite so tight on the belly. It feels so good, and is so motivating! Can't wait to weigh in the morning and see if my new "diet" is really working! Actually, I can't wait til next March to see how I look and feel then!