"Before"

Two weeks ago, my Mom talked me into doing The Biggest Loser Challenge at the Eastside Athletic Club here in Clackamas, Oregon. I didn't really WANT to do it, but I knew I NEEDED to do it.

You see, I've gained about 40 lbs over the last four years. That's right folks... I just got put in the "obese" category. UGH! Since I'm "older" now, it's a lot harder to lose the weight. I can't just walk around the neighborhood with the kids and expect the pounds to fall off. I decided I needed to do something drastic. What I lacked was the motivation. When my Mom approached me about this challenge thing, I figured God was giving me a big neon "motivation" sign.

So, I signed up.

The Challenge is 8 weeks of your team (in my case, me and seven other people) meeting with your personal trainer twice a week. You compete against the other teams to see who loses the most weight.

Of course there is nutrition advise (which is depressing) and team accountability.

Tonight was our first session. My team seems pretty cool. Our trainer is one of those played-football-in-college-jocks, but he was very encouraging when I got on the scale tonight and burst into tears.

My goal for the 8 weeks is to lose 20 lbs. My overall goal is to lose 45-50 lbs. I'd like to have that accomplished by March. (Before our Ireland trip)

One of the fitness motivators I'm supposed to use is a journal, but I suck at that, so blogging is my solution. (Ya know, cuz I like blogging!) I debated about posting my starting weight here, but am completely mortified by it. So, what I will do is post my progress each week on our weigh-in nights.

Here is the "official" BEFORE picture, taken by my biggest cheerleader, Eric.