Finishing Up the First Part of My Enlighten Weight Loss Journey

Hello everyone!

I haven't blogged in a while, but I have been busy! It seems like just yesterday that I started the Enlighten program, yet here I am, one week away from completing my initial 6 month journey. I find it hard to believe, but time has really flown by, and so much has happened.

The Enlighten program is booming, with all sorts of new people signed up and ready to change their lives for the better! Its nice to see the new faces, hear how they are doing, and help them out with some of the things I have learned along the way. Its very encouraging to talk to people who are experiencing some of the same things that you are, while at the same time sharing our success strategies. We congratulate one another, commiserate, complain (of course!), and most importantly support everyone's efforts. It is nice to feel like you are in this together with someone!

Since I started Enlighten, the inches have come off from all over my body. One of the most stubborn areas has been my arms...6 months in and not much change. I decided to discuss this issue with some of the fitness specialists, and they gave me some exercise tips and ideas. For the last few weeks I have followed their suggestions, and made these additions to my workout program. When I was measured yesterday, I had lost an inch in each arm! This is one of the things that I find to be so great about this program. I can individualize it to myself, working on the problems that are most important to ME. You can't argue with results!

I've learned that in order to make any program like this work, I will only get out of it what I put into it. Sure, you can join Enlighten and not lose a pound, just like any other program. But for people who want to truly make a change, it is simply a great program, worth its weight in gold. At this week's weigh in yesterday, I am down 3 more pounds, for a grand total of 60 pounds lost. For those of you who have never read my blog, I started out with wanting to lose 26 pounds over the 6 months (a pound a week). I truly blew that goal out of the water!! I look better, feel better, and just AM better in general. I've always been a glass half full kind of girl, but the changes that I have made in my life over the last 6 months has even improved my attitude and outlook on most things. It has been a game changer.

I still have weight to lose, so I have made the decision to keep doing what I am doing. After the initial 6 months in the program, an Enlighten participant goes into the maintenance phase. Since I am not done losing weight, I am choosing to continue my fitness center membership, and proceed as I have been since January. As an enlighten (current or former) participant, I am always allowed to attend exercise classes and support group meetings and weigh ins. The staff are always just a phone call or email away for any concerns or questions I may have. This has worked well for me so far, so I am not going to change a thing in that regard!

One thing, though, that I HAVE decided to add to my routine is to add some personal training sessions. Debbie (fitness specialist extraordinaire:)) has finally convinced me that it would be to my benefit to learn some new things, and work some different muscle groups. This coming week, this is what I plan to tackle. I like to work out individually, so when I think about it logically, this is probably the perfect thing for me. I'm excited to get started on that.

I've come far, but still have far to go...I'll keep you posted as I continue this long journey toward a healthy me. It is hard, but very, very worth it. Have a good week!