What a week? How did you like that Pail of Pain Today?

We made it and we are now starting on Week 2 of Ultimate Loser 3. I want to call this Ultimate Winner because we are all going to be winners at the end of this 8 week journey.

I lost 6.6 pounds today. I was the Ultimate Winner! I am tooting my own horn.

Yippee!

My friend came in at 5 pounds and she always beats me..........I am so proud of her. I hope she signs on and comments and then you might learn from her. She was the Biggiest Loser for UL1 for the females. She has been an inspiration to me. I have a lot of respect and admiration for her and I am looking forward to competing with her this time around. Let's do it, girl.

Anna gave each of us our own personalized nutrition plan. She calls it Health Management System, Weight Loss Program. I am going to try to follow her guidance and see what happens next week. We also were provided with a new red T-shirt with ULTIMATE LOSER on it. We are to wear it to work out when we go to the gym. This was a nice present from Anna and I am grateful.

I am trying to find a way to move more that is right for me. I think I need to look at “blooming where I am planted” and looking at my environment more. I did clean my frig and my cabinets out last Saturday on Day one. I got out all of the bad stuff that my body does not need nutritionally. But face it; there is more to my environment that I need to look at and change. I want to take the exercises and skill that I have learned from Anna and get creative by getting more activity into each day. In the past; I have used the excuse that my environment does not allow me to do that. I use the excuse that I am too busy or have too much work to do to exercise. I use the excuse daily that I am too tired to exercise. I have changed my priorities this time around with UL3. I am taking charge of my life so that I can include not only the day-to-day tasks I must complete but also the things that are good for me. This includes my mind, my spirit and my body.

My well-being needs to be top priority because if I don’t get and stay healthy then as I age, I will not have a happy, fit and healthy life journey. So fitness has to be a part of my life. I am not saying that fitness has to be perfectly structured, but it will need to be something that I will enjoy doing every day as part of my regular routine. I believe that Anna is teaching us these activities with exercises such as jumping jacks, high-knee walking (or we could do it jogging), stair climbing, lunges, and cardio. We don’t need a gym all the time; these are things we can do at home around the house or while on the beach or on vacation. There are a lot of no-cost cardiovascular exercises we can do to get moving more; whether at home or at work. Walking and jogging is the cheapest form of exercise and we can do it anytime, anywhere with a good pair of shoes that we need to keep handy. I love to put my favorite music on and dance. I have two plaques in my kitchen that say, “Dance as if no one is watching” and “Sing as if no one can hear you”.
Have you ever “crack danced” in your car while driving or in your office chair at work? Hootie, Hoot, I do it a lot!

My goal this week is to find ways to move more that is right for me and that I can fit into my life even if I am near or at the gym. I know that I can get up 30 minutes earlier and walk. Walking is a weight-bearing exercise, so it can help prevent osteoporosis. Walking is one of the cheapest and easiest exercises I can do anywhere. I can walk while watching Biggest Loser on TV by getting on my treadmill instead of sitting on the couch. All walking requires is a pair of walking shoes and my commitment to put them on and go out the door or get on my treadmill. Walking helps to strengthen my hamstrings, quadriceps, and my hips. Okay, I convinced myself. I will add more walking into my activities of daily living this week and let you know how I do. I am taking charge of my life with week 2 of UL3. I did good last week, I was happy with my results. I know Week 2 is rough, so beware.

I would love for you to comment and share in this blog, so please leave a comment or share this blog with others. Join me and let’s share during this journey.

I read that Eleanor Roosevelt wrote or said-“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Anna has pushed each of us to do the thing that we thought we could not do this week. Anna, I thank you. Let’s see what week two has in store for us. She did say that we were not going to do the "Pail of Pain" again, didn't she?

See you at the gym on Monday,
Cheryl