Wow, what a remarkable 12 weeks it has been! It never in a million years crossed my mind that I could exercise regularly from Halloween to New Years. Like most people, I always tried to begin a fitness regimen of some type in January to make up for those 5-10 pounds I had put on during the previous three months. But not until Lumenos introduced the Challenge had I ever considered trying. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I signed up anyway and joined a team with someone I didn’t know. Turned out we were both Wellpoint (Lumenos' parent company) employees! We’ve never met or worked together, but it was exciting and soon we began to correspond and share ideas. We have very different lifestyles and exercise patterns, but it didn’t matter. We could still e-mail and support each other. The fact that we were able to stay on track was a huge change for us both. I lost another 10 pounds and worked out regularly over the entire Challenge period. My partner also improved her habits and met some goals she had set for herself.
My entire philosophy about fitness has changed over the past year, and an important part of that was because of the Challenge. Even though I was on track all summer, I really had no plan for the holidays. Writing a weekly blog for Ignite kept me accountable, posting my activity every day kept me focused. For the first time in my life, I feel in control of my diet and exercise over a period of months (almost a whole year) and not weeks. I’ve learned that I CAN do it. I’ve learned HOW to do it. For me, committing to 30 minutes a day three times a week was enough to make a huge difference. When I did get off track, I got right back on. I feel better, I’ve lost weight, lost inches, my self esteem is back and I know without a doubt I can stay fit for life and reach my overall weight loss goal. I know I speak for partner when I say thank you, Lumenos, for giving us the tools and motivation to change our ways, to better ourselves through better health.
I’m sorry to see the Challenge end, but I hope you all will continue to participate and share ideas. I will be writing a weekly blog on my progress and will share articles, recipes, tips I come across to help me get through the REST of the challenge, which is to keep going for the rest of my life. I look forward to hearing from you all, and best of luck to winning that spa trip!
Dell- a Lumen