Total Makeover Fitness challenge Journey

Wow, it is hard to believe that 3 short months ago I was merely applying to be a contestant in the Total Makeover Challenge in my city. I was fat, depressed, riddled with pain, insecure and angry at the fact that I had allowed myself to get there. On Jan.23, 2010 the phone call came in that I had been accepted, along with 19 other women to compete in the challenge. Instantly my life began to change.
For the next 8 weeks we were given a free gym membership, weight loss coaching, weekly support meetings and a personal trainer who much resemles Jillian from the biggest loser, lol. Fear set in at first but to my quick surprise, I found that it all was getting easier with time. So...8 weeks has passed and I am full of energy, my attitude has turned around and I am rarely feeling  the pain often brought on by an autoimmune disorder I was diagnosed with 2 years ago, Lupus. I am alos in recovery from drugs and alcohol. When I got clean and sober 2 years ago I was 111lbs, very underweight for my bone structure and I was sick. In no time at all I managed to pack on a whopping 100lbs and because of the Lupus pain and my new sedentary lifestyle as well as some of the meds the doc had put me on I just kept gaining weight. As I slipped deeper into a terrible depression I was unsure if I would ever see "myself" again. I was scared, not only for my physical health but for my emotional and mental health. I was refusing to partake in activities I had in the past and often times my condition left me physically unable even if I had wanted to participate.
I am so happy to say, I have had a change of life, lol. Being a contestant in the challegne has given me a life back. I have a restored sense of faith and focus which seemed impossible prior. I am able to get out of bed in the morning pain free and have the desire to continue making health and fitness my number one priority.
Last week the challenge's first phase came to an end and the online voting to keep the top 10 in the challegne began. I felt confident going into the voting as our total scores are based on weight loss, inch loss, leadership, participation and sponsor votes. We have some amazing companies sponsoring this challegne and each company rep had to cast a vote or the gal they wnat to stay in the challenge. Oh yes, we ourselves, as contestants also had to choose one gal, other than ourselves tht we felt deserved to be in the top 10. This was a difficult excersise for me as there were a few that I had to decide from. Not only having seen some of the other gals at the gym on a regular basis but getting to know several of them personally made this a hard choice for me. It was very encouraging to me to find that 4 of my peers had vote me into the top 10 basically giving reasons that they felt I was dertermined, inspiring, enthusiastic, driven, gentle and genuine to name a few. Wow, coming from a group of my peers this let me feeling amazingly proud of myself and my recent accomplishments.
So after a long week of voting and promoting myself in the contest as well as the gym tht has put on this awesome challenge I was both happy and relieced to find that I had managed to rope in 368 online votes fromthe public, world wide! I had thougth I wouldbe able to get more BUT I did come in first. Upon the calculations by the challenge accountant I also found out that with all of my scores added up I had come in first place for the first portion of the Total Makeover Challenge 2010! 1st place, it has been many years since I have been able to say I have been first at anything positive and good in my life. Needless to say, I have now been accpeted into the second phase of the challenge as one of the Top 10.
For the next 4 weeks us 10 gals will be taking part in modelling classes, continued weekly meetings and a professional fashion show which I am sooo excited about. At our weight in on Thursday I was happy to find out that my original start weight of 207lbs will now be erased, never to be seen again, and that 187.6 lbs is my new official start weight! Yippeeee! I have a long way to go but feel confident I can achieve it. I was looking over my inch loss...27 total inches in 8 weeks and I had to laugh as I thought to myself, that is like 2 feet, lol. So having blogged all of this, I have to go prepare for my Easter feast. I havenot yet had a holiday meal since beginning this challenge and am a tad apprehensive as I know the amazingly lovely meals my mom generally prepares. Even so, it seems sinceI began this journey, the entire family has taken on a new way of eating and living too so I am trusting we will all eat within reason today!
Hopefully I will have some people out there intersted in reading my blog posts and I do hope to be able to connect with other like minded people. Wishing you all a Happy Easter and continued blessings!
Lisa C