Thank You!

I want to thank the Utah Valley Hospital for all the hard work and dedication they put into this program. This challenge has changed my life for the better. I never knew I could have this much success. It has been so nice to have a group believe in me and be there for me to make it happen. Thanks to Traci for listening to me and giving me "therapy." A huge thanks to Shan'tell who believed in me and kept me motivated and moving. Thanks to Riley for having the crash cart ready and close by! I also want to thank all the contestants who have been there going through the stuggle everyday. It has been so conforting to know that I was not alone in this challenge. Finally, I want to thank my mother who chose me out of her 9 kids to do this with. She is the true champion. I was so thrilled when she won the gold medal for her age catagory (60 to 69= she is 70 next month) at the 5K. What an inspiration she has been to me! Having my mom there as my partner has been an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life. What a wonderful time I have had spending time plotting our course and planning our path through this epic journey of self discovery. I LOVE YOU MOM!

Tomorrow morning in weigh out. Wow I can't believe how far all of us have come. It was so exciting to see everyone at the 5 K run. That was a wonderful experience. It was great to be among friends for the run. I loved having Traci and trainers there cheering us on at the finish line! Good luck to everyone!!!

We meet with Shantell tonight. This is the last time we meet with our trainer. Wow has the time really gone? I am still nervous about the 5K. I know I can do it but I have never ever done something like this before. I am glad I will be amound friends!

I got a lot of exercise in yesterday. I am hoping that I am building more muscle. I have noticed that I am a lot stronger in a lot of things. The milk jug from the store is pretty light now. In fact I can carry two in one hand pretty easily now! I am also finding myself volunteering to run get stuff in our house because that is MORE movement. Movement =calorie burn! Good luck to everyone!

WOW last week of the challenge. I can't believe where the time has gone. I am really grateful for the chance I had to be in this challenge. I have done better than I have ever done in the past. That includes all those diet centers with their foods and plans. I am very very happy and feel like I finally have this weight loss under control. Thanks to everyone that has been so inspirational in my journey of self discovery. I certainly learned stuff about myself!!! I am so grateful. A huge thanks to IHC for recognizing the need in our community and putting this program together! I am so grateful.

Today was a beautiful day. I went walking in the park with my family. It was very nice to not have to worry about anything except enjoying my family. In the past I would have dreaded this type of exercise but not anymore. Wow have we all come a long way! I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

We have Shan'tell tonight. It will be good to work out with the trainer. I always look forward to working out with her. She has such good tips and keeps us focused in the right direction. I can't believe this is almost over. Well the challenge anyway. I fully intend to keep up the momentum and continue to stay on the program.

Had a great workout today with Shan'tell. She is such a good coach and trainer. On monday a bunch of us are getting together at the hospital front door and walking the 5K. Meeting time is at 4:30pm. Brittany and Brenda have already walked it twice. They will be our fearless leaders. I am glad to get a walk through before the big day.

Today was the last nutrition class. It will be sad to not see everyone all together anymore. It has been a fantastic learning adventure for me. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. 100 days at the beginning seemed so far away. Now its only 15 days away!

Today is wed. Half way through the week. I can't believe how fast time flys. I had a great workout with Shan'tel on monday. She is still helping me discover new muscles. I can't believe how one little change in an exercise movement finds new areas of "wake up pain." ha ha

The weight is slowly and I do mean slowly coming off. This challenge had been "named" correctly. The heart challenge. I have been reflecting on how it has challenged my emotional heart as well as my physical heart these past weeks. It has been a hard wrestle with myself trying to change my bad habits. The accountability has been a real eye opening experience. It has been a reward to see such drastic improvements in my exercise stamina.

I can't believe it is raining again today. I was hoping for more nice exercise weather! I have been walking a lot in anticipation of the 5K that we are scheduled to do on May 22. Yep I am really worried about it. Our exercise with Shantell was excellent and I really discovered new areas that I need to work on.

It was nice to have a sunshine weekend. I walked around Temple square with the kids and my husband and really enjoyed walking and the exercise. I use to think we had to park "so far away" but now I didn't even notice until we were leaving how far we had walked just to get into the Temple grounds. It has really helped to get in shape!

It was raining yesterday morning so I walked the University mall for an hour. It was fun to see so many people that I know in there walking around for exercise. What a nice little secret place to get some exercise in. Plus I was window shopping and the same time. The best part of all was that the stores were closed so it didn't cost me anything and yet I know exactly where to go if I need a certain item. Not all the mall doors are open at 7 am but if you go thru the food court on the east side of the mall it is open. Again I was so excited to see so many of my friends in there exercising away!

I only dropped one pound last week. It is such a struggle to loose the pounds now. I am doing everything I should be. I feel upset by this. Oh well I will keep moving forward and ignore the scales now.

I hope everyone had a nice sunday with their families. Sunday is always a hard day for me because of the "sunday dinner." My family is big on eating and visiting on this day. I have to really buckle down and not indulge in the food. I made it thru the day within my caloriesd.

I really enjoyed the aerobic "70" class this morning.! What a great teacher! I also walked over 6 miles today. I can't believe how much better I am doing in that dept. The scales continue to be a struggle... I hope everyone else is finding all the success they are working so hard for.

Last night we met with Shantell and worked out. She really had me step up the intensity of the interval training on the tread mill. I can certainly feel it in my legs! The time is really going by fast. I am starting to slip in exercise here and there when I am "waiting in a line." I will hurry and do 10 reps of a leg lift. ha ha

We worked out last night with Shantell till 9:00. WOW am I tired this morning. We are building new muscles and hurting in places we never knew existed. I have been reading up on weight lifting for women for the last two days and am starting to understand Shantell more. I feel bad that I always stare at her in a stupor when I am working out. I am always so worn out that it is hard for me to keep track of what number I am on and how many reps I have done. Thank goodness she keeps everything in quantities of 10. Well onward and upward!

Went for a walk last night. sunday evening is a nice time to walk and enjoy the peaceful evening. We walked for a little over 4 miles. We were walking at 3 mph. We need to practice walking at a faster pace.