The Rhyme & Reason of the Challenge

The Rules of the Challenge

• Eat a “sum total” of 1500 calories or less every day. (I should add that none of those calories will come from sugar or wheat, which I’ve eliminated from my food plan for the last 3 years.)
• “Getting’ Sweaty With It” exercise at least 4 hours per week.

The Reasons Behind the Challenge

Although I haven’t eaten sugar or wheat the past several years, and I have lost weight, I’m still quite a ways from my goal weight. My Super Best Leader (SBL) Kathy suggested the challenge so SBF Marji and myself can see what slim feels like.

Sounds good to me!

After going through yet more resistance earlier this week, and discussing it with my SBF, SBL and SBS, I’ve concluded that I’m going to go for 1500 for the first few days. If my energy levels fall, I’m going to 1800 (but no more), as long as I do additional daily exercise to burn at least those additional 300 calories. It’s a bit convoluted (this isn’t a rule you’d be seeing on The Biggest Loser) but it gives me the peace of mind I needed for me to buy into the Challenge 100 percent. And that’s worth it to me.

I also got a big boost of motivation because I weighed myself earlier this week and am at my lowest weight in more than 10 years—271. How great would it be to get to 269 or below to start off the challenge? (My next mile marker after that is below 257, which is what I weighed shortly before my dad died nearly 15 years ago.)

That said, some other thoughts on why I’m all hip to the Challenge now:

• I want to experience noticeable weight loss—and a big leap toward my goal weight of 157.
• I want to increase my already high levels of energy. As Sam once said on The West Wing, "It’s a big world and a short day. You gotta move fast."
• I want to inspire future participants in Kathy’s program—it’s cool being a trendsetter!

Sooner Than We Thought...and Some Resistance

Originally set for more than a month out from now, the date of the 90 Day Challenge has been moved up significantly--to Jan. 22. I talked to my SBS (Super Best Sister) Teresa about it, and we agreed it was for the best. "Otherwise it could be a month of 'last suppers,'" she said. So true.

Yesterday Marji and I did some thinking about why we want to do the Challenge. Frankly, I couldn't come up with many ideas of my own, so I stole some of Marji's. ;) Since those reasons will help determine my level of commitment, I think this is an important step, though! I'm going to give that and menu planning more attention in the next few days.

The resistance that showed up this morning...I still debating (read: fearful) over the 1,500 calorie limit. I chatted a good while with Marji about it, though, and it was revealed that my "little girl" (hey, don't blame me, blame my therapist) was frightened of being hungry. Food has been a comfort for me for years and years--and the reason I got here today.

But three realizations came out of the chat. First, completing this challenge could mean a whole new life for my "little girl," where she'll be able to do fun things (like run faster) that she hasn't been able to do before. Second, there really is no reason she has to be concerned about "adult" matters of metabolism and food tracking--leave that to me, I can handle it. Lastly, and this was a brilliant stroke on my SBF's part, "Little Donna" has been invited to come play in this challenge by "Little Marji." So she doesn't have to be alone! Just knowing that my "little girl" has a SBP (Super Best Playmate) lightened my heart immediately. The resistance is gone and Donna (all of her) is back on board and ready to rock and roll!