Ready, Set, Go!

I received an email today that is just what I needed!  My gym is holding a weight loss challenge beginning next week.  There will be a fitness test to begin the contest, followed by two more over the course of three months.  The winner is determined by overall improvement in fitness and the highest percentage of fat loss.  Woohoo!  I am so in!  This was just the motivation I needed right now.  Funny, I don’t even know or care what the prize is.  I just want to win!  Not to gain any prize from the gym, but to show myself that I am still a competitor.  I know I can do this!  So, after my initial fitness test, I will share my stats and detail my daily plans.  Getting to the gym at least five times a week will be a priority – and I am aiming for a nice long walk or good swim on my two off days.  Just need to stay active every day.

On a side note, I caught an episode of the show Ruby on Style Network tonight.  The show chronicles an overweight woman in her quest for health.  She has already lost over 150 lbs. and still has at least that much more to go.  In tonight’s episode, Ruby and her friends participated in a Race For The Cure event to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.  She walked the entire 2.7 miles, even though the furthest she had ever walked before was 1 mile.  It was such an inspiration to see her keep pushing when her body was tired and hurting.  It gives me new resolve to keep going even when I feel like quitting.  Ruby – you have shown me that my weight loss efforts, as daunting as they seem to me, are all about perspective.  Thank you for putting yourself out there to encourage and inspire others.  I can only hope to do the same.