Briana has broken into the 100s! As of this week's weigh-in, she is 199 pounds! As always, she was excited and nervous about her weigh in. Once she heard the news, she exclaimed, "I am going to be in the fashion show for sure!"
Every year, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation hosts a fundraiser and fashion show. The show features a designer line with paid models, then features models who have Down Syndrome. The fashion show is an exciting event for the men, women, girls and boys who are selected to be models. It is a great honor to be in the show, which takes place in the fall. Last October, before beginning her weight loss journey, Briana attended the fashion show as guest. At that time, she weighed too much and was too big to fit into the clothes. She was happy to be a guest, but she really wanted to be a model. Since October, Briana's goal has been to be in the fashion show. Her motivation to lose weight comes from her drive to succeed and have the opportunity to be up on stage this fall.
"When I'm in the fashion show, I am going to have my whole family come up on stage so everyone can see how much I love them," Briana told me as she did her warm up on the treadmill.
"That will be wonderful, Briana. They will all be so proud of you."
Briana beamed from ear to ear and finished her warm up without a complaint. She was happy to start her workout and gave it her all. I cheered her on and encouraged her when it got tough. She finished strong and told me she would see me next time. As I hugged her goodbye and helped her out the door, I couldn't help but think how much I love Weigh Day.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Weeks 17 & 18
I have never seen anyone look forward to getting weighed the way Briana does. On "weigh day" as we now call it, she is always in good spirits. It's like she knows she will be getting good news and can't wait to hear how good it really it is. Weigh in after weigh in, she is never disappointed. This week was no exception. After two weeks, Briana lost another four pounds! This brings her total weight loss to 26 pounds! Her starting weight was 227 pounds and her current weight is 201 pounds. At this rate, she is more than half way to our initial goal of a 50 pound weight loss.
Aside from successful weigh ins, Briana is doing great things in her workouts. She is now comfortable on the reformer and we are slowly adding in new exercises. I do my best to keep most of the exercises familiar so that she doesn't feel overwhelmed as I continue to challenge her and push her past her comfort zone. She is doing her strength work at home twice a day on the days I don't get to work with her. She even does them in the morning before she goes to her program on some weekdays. She seems to be dedicated and is always happy to tell me what she has done at home.
Briana is also making good food choices. She doesn't ask my permission for cake or treats anymore. Instead, she tells me "I'm not going to eat it anymore. I'm not."
Briana and I began this weight loss adventure with nothing more than will and desire. Neither of us knew how it would turn out. To be perfectly honest, I was more worried than confident when we had our first session. I believe she was, too. I had to work hard to gain her trust, to bring up her confidence and build her endurance. Now that she trusts me and has more strength, I believe there is nothing she can't do. In fact, I believe that by the end of the year, Briana will have surpassed her goal of 50 pounds. I believe she can get her weight down to 150 pounds, which is truly a healthy weight for her height. Call me crazy, but I have faith!
Aside from successful weigh ins, Briana is doing great things in her workouts. She is now comfortable on the reformer and we are slowly adding in new exercises. I do my best to keep most of the exercises familiar so that she doesn't feel overwhelmed as I continue to challenge her and push her past her comfort zone. She is doing her strength work at home twice a day on the days I don't get to work with her. She even does them in the morning before she goes to her program on some weekdays. She seems to be dedicated and is always happy to tell me what she has done at home.
Briana is also making good food choices. She doesn't ask my permission for cake or treats anymore. Instead, she tells me "I'm not going to eat it anymore. I'm not."
Briana and I began this weight loss adventure with nothing more than will and desire. Neither of us knew how it would turn out. To be perfectly honest, I was more worried than confident when we had our first session. I believe she was, too. I had to work hard to gain her trust, to bring up her confidence and build her endurance. Now that she trusts me and has more strength, I believe there is nothing she can't do. In fact, I believe that by the end of the year, Briana will have surpassed her goal of 50 pounds. I believe she can get her weight down to 150 pounds, which is truly a healthy weight for her height. Call me crazy, but I have faith!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Week 16
Briana learned a new exercise this week!
I have been waiting for the right time to introduce the Pilates reformer to Briana. Unlike the tower, which is stable, the reformer is unstable. On the reformer, there is a small mat (a bit less than three feet in length) that is connected to springs and glides back and forth. I knew that the movement of the mat would be challenging because Briana would need strength to be able to shift her weight and move into position correctly. The small surface means that coordination and control are necessary to simply get on the mat before starting any of the exercises. If Briana got scared or frustrated and lost control, she would be at risk of falling off the side of the mat and injuring herself and me.
Getting off the reformer is even more challenging. To get up, Briana needs abdominal strength and the ability to sit up without assistance. As the she sits up, she must have the strength to pull her body weight onto the mat or she will fall into the springs. Although I am there to assist her, she needs to be able to support the majority of her body weight in order to be successful and prevent injury. From start to finish, Briana would need to have concentration, control, will, and desire in order to succeed and keep us both safe.
After observing the amazing progress Briana has had during our first three months of training, I knew she was ready for the challenge. She has demonstrated that she can support her body weight and she has more strength and control than she did when I first started working with her. She is able to sit herself up without my help now and she is focused. When she understands what is coming, she is committed to success. Knowing this, the first thing I wanted to do was get Briana excited about learning the new exercise. I showed her the exercise in January and told her I was excited to teach it to her in February. Each time I saw her, we talked about the new exercise. By the end of January, she was looking forward to it. She even reminded me the week before that she would be learning the new exercise the next week. By the time the day came to learn the exercise, Briana was excited and eager.
We talked about the exercise while she did her warm up on the treadmill. I told her that I would teach her the new exercise first before we did the rest of our workout. I wanted to make sure that her attention was fresh and that her body was not fatigued when she learned it. When she finished her warm up, I demonstrated the exercise once more and told her everything I was doing as I did it. I showed her how the mat moves and told her not to worry if it moved when she sat down. I showed her how she would need to sit up carefully when she was finished and to make sure she stayed on the mat.
"So that's it?" she asked.
"Yes, that's it, Briana," I replied. "I am here to help you. I know you can do this."
There was some trial error helping Briana onto the reformer. It took time for her to feel secure in laying down and placing her body just right on the mat. The third attempt was a success and there was only one moment of frustration. Once she was in position, I gave her time to recover and feel comfortable. She then placed her feet on the foot bar and pushed the mat out with her legs.
"Look! I'm doing it!" she exclaimed.
"You are doing it! What do you think?" I asked.
"I love it! Oh, this is nice! My mom is going to be so proud!"
She completed ten repetitions. I gave her time to recover once more, then I reminded her how she needed to be careful getting up. Again, it took us a few tries, but in the end she was successful! She used her strength. She stayed focused and in control, and when she got frustrated she didn't give up.
So this week's accomplishment marks the beginning of a new chapter for Briana. As her strength and focus continue to increase, I will continue to introduce new and more challenging exercises. I am confident that will she achieve her weightloss goal of 50 pounds. Even more than that, I know that she will be stronger, more agile and coordinated when the year ends.
I have been waiting for the right time to introduce the Pilates reformer to Briana. Unlike the tower, which is stable, the reformer is unstable. On the reformer, there is a small mat (a bit less than three feet in length) that is connected to springs and glides back and forth. I knew that the movement of the mat would be challenging because Briana would need strength to be able to shift her weight and move into position correctly. The small surface means that coordination and control are necessary to simply get on the mat before starting any of the exercises. If Briana got scared or frustrated and lost control, she would be at risk of falling off the side of the mat and injuring herself and me.
Getting off the reformer is even more challenging. To get up, Briana needs abdominal strength and the ability to sit up without assistance. As the she sits up, she must have the strength to pull her body weight onto the mat or she will fall into the springs. Although I am there to assist her, she needs to be able to support the majority of her body weight in order to be successful and prevent injury. From start to finish, Briana would need to have concentration, control, will, and desire in order to succeed and keep us both safe.
After observing the amazing progress Briana has had during our first three months of training, I knew she was ready for the challenge. She has demonstrated that she can support her body weight and she has more strength and control than she did when I first started working with her. She is able to sit herself up without my help now and she is focused. When she understands what is coming, she is committed to success. Knowing this, the first thing I wanted to do was get Briana excited about learning the new exercise. I showed her the exercise in January and told her I was excited to teach it to her in February. Each time I saw her, we talked about the new exercise. By the end of January, she was looking forward to it. She even reminded me the week before that she would be learning the new exercise the next week. By the time the day came to learn the exercise, Briana was excited and eager.
We talked about the exercise while she did her warm up on the treadmill. I told her that I would teach her the new exercise first before we did the rest of our workout. I wanted to make sure that her attention was fresh and that her body was not fatigued when she learned it. When she finished her warm up, I demonstrated the exercise once more and told her everything I was doing as I did it. I showed her how the mat moves and told her not to worry if it moved when she sat down. I showed her how she would need to sit up carefully when she was finished and to make sure she stayed on the mat.
"So that's it?" she asked.
"Yes, that's it, Briana," I replied. "I am here to help you. I know you can do this."
There was some trial error helping Briana onto the reformer. It took time for her to feel secure in laying down and placing her body just right on the mat. The third attempt was a success and there was only one moment of frustration. Once she was in position, I gave her time to recover and feel comfortable. She then placed her feet on the foot bar and pushed the mat out with her legs.
"Look! I'm doing it!" she exclaimed.
"You are doing it! What do you think?" I asked.
"I love it! Oh, this is nice! My mom is going to be so proud!"
She completed ten repetitions. I gave her time to recover once more, then I reminded her how she needed to be careful getting up. Again, it took us a few tries, but in the end she was successful! She used her strength. She stayed focused and in control, and when she got frustrated she didn't give up.
So this week's accomplishment marks the beginning of a new chapter for Briana. As her strength and focus continue to increase, I will continue to introduce new and more challenging exercises. I am confident that will she achieve her weightloss goal of 50 pounds. Even more than that, I know that she will be stronger, more agile and coordinated when the year ends.
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