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Saturday, January 2, 2010

X-Weighted Challenge

Happy New Year everyone!!!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful time over the Holidays. Santa was very good to all of us here in the Jenkins household and it was good to have some time off and spend it with family and friends.

If you were like me, you probably ate and ate and ate and ate over the Holidays. I stepped on the scale yesterday morning after a good New Year's Eve party of food and drink and had a "That can't be a good thing" moment when I saw the number on the scale. All I could think of is that the X-Weighted Challenge can't come soon enough.

What is the X-Weighted Challenge you ask? If you have ever watched the show X-Weighted on Slice, you will know how they go into people's homes and lives and revamp their eating and exercise lifestyle. I have always loved watching the show when I can, seeing people who have struggled with weight loss and the emotional issues that tend to go along with why they are overweight in the first place. Now the experts at X-Weighted are putting together a National Challenge for people to "Get Fit and Lose Weight". I follow X-Weighted on Twitter and found out about the challenge initially through Twitter, and said I would join the challenge, which has now put me on their blog here , and caused me to think, "I can't believe I am doing this"

When I was asked to be featured on their blog I was at first hesitant, "What if I totally fail and at the end of the Challenge I am still at the same weight and fitness level as I was at the beginning." I decided to go for it, that this will force me to focus and stay on track, make me accountable, because a lot of people across Canada have now seen my face splashed on a National Blog......gulp (I still can't believe I did that)

Some people will look at me and think I don't need to lose any weight, but underneath I know I need to get my act together. My muffin top is getting bigger and I have my family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and osteoporosis to think about .

I have always been a skinny girl growing up, I was teased in grade school for being so skinny some times, I can still hear "Skinny Minny Miller". But in my teens and early 20's being the "skinny girl" was advantageous at times, I could eat whatever I want and still wear my size 6 clothes. I was also very active so I burned off the excess calories. But eating whatever I want has caught up with me. I have also had three children and am not as active as I used to be, combined with being 41 years old with a slowing metabolism the pounds have crept up on me. In 2006 I saw myself in the family pic of my sister in law's wedding and was shocked at I how I looked, that is not me. So two girlfriends and I joined a small private gym, I lost a fair bit of weight and was about 15 lbs away from my goal when the gym closed, tried another larger chain gym, but then the recession hit, Dave's company got hit and we had to trim corners financially, so I gave up my gym membership. We purchased a treadmill with some income tax money and got a Bosu ball thrown in. I told myself I could continue the regime on my own. Nope, among other things human laziness has gotten the better of me ,the pounds are starting to creep back on again, I am not as heavy as I was in 2006, but if I don't smarten up I will be soon.

Am I nervous about doing this challenge? You bet I am, since I have made it very public to do this.....there is no turning back. I am also overwhelmed by the prospect, I have a very full life. My oldest daughter Laura is in an International Baccalaureate Program for High School, which means we carpool with other families to and from the school which is about 1/2 hour away from our home, the other two need to get to their school as well. Almost every single weeknight is taken up with at least one child's activity (horseback, dance, karate, swimming, piano), and there is all the other "Life" stuff.

As some of you know, I have uterine fibroids, one of which is quite large and they literally knock me of my feet for a few days to a week each month. Because of the fibroids my hemoglobin is starting to get low, not too bad yet, but enough to make me feel it, which will also affect my exercise program. I am booked for surgery at the end of April to have the fibroids removed, once that is done and my hemoglobin gets back up to normal, I can ramp up my exercise program.

I will have to tweak the challenge to suit my life for now and whatever is thrown at me in the next six months, but I know I can do it!!!! How about you?

The Challenge starts January 9th, who is in?




6 comments:

bananagirl said...

I will check out your links, this Christmas holiday, I did the same as you, just ate and ate and I am still eating as I am typing!! Not sure if I will commit but will certainly check it out and follow your progress. Good luck.

Marissa said...

Count me in with you!!! I will be signing up on the x-weighted blog as well!!! Have it bookmarked already!
Thanks for the link, the encouragement, and knowing that WE CAN DO IT!!!

Heather said...

Way to go girl!!!! You can do it!!!! And with Marissa doing it too you guys are going to succeed!!!! Woo hoo!!!

Deanna said...

My new years resolution is to gain 10 lbs and I am an overacheiver so you know I will gain 15!

Ilissa said...

I just saw a link to your post on twitter and I thought I'd come and check it out. Thank you for sharing some of your concerns about struggles you think you may face during the challenge. I'm positive you aren't the only one feeling that way. I am also joining the challenge and I worry most of all about failing. But, if we all join groups to keep us motivated and accountable, we are sure to succeed! You've made a good start with getting all your feelings out in the open via your blog! :)

Best of luck!

Carla said...

Way to go Ria! And congratulations!