Week 40

Briana's spirit and drive continue to amaze me. With everything happening in her life, she definitely has more reasons to give up this fight than she has reasons to continue. I think of what the "average" person would do under similar circumstances, and I know that health and weightloss would take a backseat to everything else. For this reason alone, I am more dedicated than ever. This week, Briana was bubbling over with excitement. At the end of last week, she auditioned for the Be Beautiful, Be Yourself fashion show. This is the fashion show she attended as a guest in October 2011. At that time, she was too heavy to even audition. She would not have been able to fit into any of the clothes. After watching the fashion show, she was determined to lose weight so she could audition for it in 2012. I had the honor of being with her at the audition. She was excited and confident. She was the first person to audition then sat and cheered for her friends when they auditioned. When I saw Briana on Tuesday, she was giddy. "Oh, I hope they pick me," she said as she did her treadmill warm up. "If they pick me, I will be up on that stage and be able to thank everyone that loves me." She named the list of people who have been there to support her in her journey. "I sure hope my mom will be there to see me," she concluded. For Briana, the realization is setting in that her mom is very ill. She has been diagnosed as terminal and Briana understands what that means. In spite of that, she stays hopeful that her mom will have enough time to see her accomplish her dream and be there at the fashion show. This makes it even more important to her to be chosen. As we worked out that week, Briana was motivated to do her best. I offered more praise than normal and she lit up every time I said something to her. She pushed hard, never complained and stayed on task. "Briana, I bet they will pick you," I said at the end of our last workout. "You are working so hard and you are so amazing. I know the judges could see that," I assured her. "Really? You think so? I can't wait to find out!" she said as she headed up the stairs.

Weeks 33-39

There is a saying "it takes a village to raise a child." During the last six weeks, Briana's mom has been in and out of the hospital. As her mom's health is dwindling, I have seen a village of people gather together to support Brianna. Friends, family, neighbors, caretakers, and acquaintances have all stepped up to provide healthy meals and transportation, assistance with cooking, and support with hygiene and laundry. It is because she has had so much support that Briana has not missed any of her special activities or workouts and has continued to follow a healthy eating plan. In June, Briana was able to be a cheerleader with the Broncos cheerleaders, continue her classes at Pure Barre, and see me three times a week. We took a two week break from the end of June through the first week of July. During that time, Briana attended her first Hollywood Ball. I had the honor of being a guest. It was a treat to see Briana dressed in her gown, socializing with friends, and dancing to her heart's content. Following the ball, Briana left for camp. Her aunt reported back to me that last year Briana had a difficult time at camp. She was unable to do many of the physical activities and could barely find the strength to walk from one part of camp to the next. This year, she had strength and stamina. She was able to keep up with everyone. She rode a bicycle for the first time and loved it so much that she snuck away to do it on her own. When I saw her for the first time after camp, the first thing she told me was "I rode a bicycle all by myself!" Upon her return from camp, Briana was ready for her weigh in. After several weeks off, the Hollywood Ball, and camp, I was praying that she at least had maintained her weight. She had lost three pounds at her previous weigh in, bringing her total weight loss to 51 pounds one week before our break. Hitting the 50 pound mark was such an accomplishment for her. I didn't want to see her slide backwards. She needed to get some good news on the scale. When she stepped on, I tentatively glanced at the numbers. I promised myself that regardless of the news, I would let her know how proud I was and offer support to boost her confidence. When I saw 174, I asked her to step off then step on again. 174 showed up again. "Briana, you lost another two pounds!" I exclaimed. This brought her total weight loss to 53 pounds! I couldn't be more thrilled and either could she. She made her round of calls immediately and was beaming from ear to ear as she shared her news. As she got on the treadmill that day, she told me how she ate healthy at camp. "I didn't have dessert, not one little bit," she said with satisfaction. "I had a hamburger and french fries one time, just like you said I could, and that's it. I ate healthy!" I swelled with pride knowing that Briana is beginning to advocate for her own health. I feel confident that by the time the year is up, she will be able to choose wisely, exercise on her own, and live a healthy, active life. Briana's village has given her a quality of life she may never have known otherwise. I am so proud to be a small part of that village.

Weeks 31 & 32

Week 31 was a challenge for us because Briana's mom was in the hospital. Instead of three workouts that week, we only had two. We accomplished quite a bit in the two workouts, so I felt good about the week. I was able to collect several nutritious meals for Briana, so I knew that she was mainly sticking with her healthy eating habits. I also new that there were neighbors offering help and providing meals. I felt confident that we could get through the week without Briana losing progress or gaining weight. Week 32 was our weigh-in week. Briana was eager and excited. She was hoping for five pounds, because she really wanted to be at her 50 pound goal. As we went to the scale, I was happy to see her enthusiasm and tried to be optimistic. I must confess that I had my doubts about this weigh-in. Can I tell you how surprised I was when Briana got on the scale and she had lost THREE more pounds? That's right, THREE more pounds lost! During a week of stress, undocumented meals, and a few meals of spaghetti and meatballs and mashed potatoes (offered lovingly by her neighbors), Briana lost three pounds. This takes her total weight loss to 48 pounds. She was thrilled and I was, too. "Only two more pounds," she exclaimed when I told her the news. "That's right, Briana," I replied. "Keep up the great work!" The next two days of workouts were rocky. On Wednesday, she broke down ten minutes into her treadmill warm up. She never asked to stop, she just cried and walked. "I want to see my mom," she sobbed. "I miss her so much." My heart broke in two. I could see how worried she was about her mom. I told her that when she finished her time on the treadmill we could sit and talk. "I will give you some water and a tissue and we will talk about it," I said. "And a hug," she replied. "What was that Briana?" I asked. (Sometimes I have a hard time understanding her words and the sobs made it more difficult). "A HUG," she repeated. "For sure, Briana. I will give you water, a tissue, and a hug and we will talk about your mom," I replied. "Okay. Hug first," she told me. She finished her 15 minutes and we sat on the sofa together. I hugged her and she sobbed. I gave her a tissue and listened and told her that we would work through everything together. I told her we had to believe that her mom would get well and be back home soon. "Briana, it's important that you keep working hard and getting strong and healthy for your mom. She needs you to be healthy right now," I told her. This seemed to fuel her energy. She dried her tears and got straight to work. She was in great spirits and positive. "I'm doing good today!" she would exclaim every so often. "Yes, you are doing an awesome job today. I am so proud of you," I told her over and over again. At the end of the workout, Briana asked me to say a prayer for her and her mom. "Dear God, please watch over Briana and her mom. Help her mom get strong and healthy so that she can be at home with Briana, and bless Briana with peace and strength while her mom is in the hospital. Amen."

Week 30

This is the second week of Briana's new workout routine. We are now doing 15 minutes on the treadmill to warm up, 35 minutes of exercises, followed by another five minutes on the treadmill to finish. Her exercise sequences consists of Pilates tower exercises, hand weights, and cardio bursts. I am giving her little time to rest between sets so that she keeps her heart rate up to trigger her metabolism. I have also added in two rounds of stairs for her at the end of her hand weight sequence. The first week of this new program was challenging. Briana tired quickly and kept wanting to rest between exercises. I did my best to keep the resting moments short, but she became very irritable. "I refuse," she said when I asked her to do a second set of power circle exercises with her arms. I tried to talk her into it. I tried cheering her on for encouragement. Nothing worked. She crossed her arms and said, "You can't make me do it." "Okay," I replied. We will move on to the next exercise then." "No. No. I can do it," she said to me. This happened a few more times during the workout and I finally said, "Briana, you seem really upset today. Should I call your mom and ask her to get you early?" "Oh no, no, no. I'm sorry. I'm just so tired," she answered. "I know you're tired, but I am so proud of you for not giving up," I encouraged. "Your body is working extra hard to learn these new exercises and to not rest as often. I know it is hard, but you can do it." So, we made it through the week, each day getting a little easier for her than the previous one. Which means, that as we entered Week 30, I felt confident that she would do a great job. When I saw her on Tuesday, it was time to weigh in again. After two weigh-ins of two pounds or less, I was nervous. Briana was nervous, too. She climbed onto the scale and I took a look. I asked her to step off and get on one more time just to be sure. I looked at the numbers again and they were the same. Briana now weighed 182 pounds! She had lost five pounds in two weeks! We were both ecstatic. She gave me a huge hug and asked if she could make her calls. She called her program first. "Are you sitting down?" she asked when they answered the phone. "You better sit down to hear this. I lost five more pounds for a total of 45 pounds!" she exclaimed. She made the same call to her mom and was thrilled at how happy her mom was to hear the news. Making her mom proud is her number one goal in this journey. When her mom is happy and proud, Briana has awesome workouts. Which means Tuesday was no exception. She got through the treadmill without a complaint. She did all of her exercises without becoming frustrated. She tackled the stairs with enthusiasm, then finished strong on the treadmill once more. I told her that I was proud and happy with her hard work. "I am definitely going to be in the fashion show now," she told me as we finished our session. "I'm getting skinny and I feel healthy now." Being healthy is what this is all about, Briana, I thought to myself. I gave her a hug and told her I would see her the next day for another great workout.

Week 29

I went through Briana's meal plans for the last three weeks and discovered that overall she was doing well with her eating. The red flags appeared at breakfast and dinner. She was having cereal for breakfast every morning and potatoes were on her dinner menu too often. Since budget is a huge factor in Briana's meal plans, each week I give her mom lists of foods that are okay to eat. Cereal and potatoes are foods that they can get easily, so in the beginning I left them on the list as okay foods. I did recommend specific cereals that are high in fiber and low in sugar. I also recommended that dinner consist primarily of vegetables and protein. For the first five months, this seemed to work fine for Briana because she was losing weight. Now that she seems to be losing less weight over the last month, I had to talk to Briana's mom about diet. The conversation was not easy, but she was willing to do whatever she needed within her means to help Briana continue to lose weight. Ideally, I wanted Briana to add protein to her breakfast and take potatoes off the menu completely. Removing potatoes was easy but adding the protein was difficult due to budget. We were finally able to agree on a breakfast menu of whole grain toast with peanut butter. Although not the ideal breakfast choice (like the Greek yogurt I prefer her to have) it will have to do. After looking at her meal plans, I needed to dive into her workout plan. Although we have steadily added exercises to her base from day one, she was still performing the same types of movements. I knew it was time to change the entire routine in order for Briana to continue to see results on the scale. When she came on Tuesday, I had her start with a 15 minute warm up on the treadmill. As she was working, I talked to her about her meal choices. "I had peanut butter and toast for breakfast today," she said. "Briana, that is great to hear! I love it!" I replied. "And," she continued "I am not going to eat potatoes anymore, not ever again." "I think you will be able to eat them every once in awhile once you lose the weight," I told her. "Right now, we just have to be very strict to help your body keep losing weight. It's important to make healthy choices." "Oh, good," she said. She went on to talk about the camp she is attending in July. She is very excited to go to it. "At camp, we always have hot dogs and hamburgers and french fries and smores," she told me. "I can't have any of it." My heart broke when she said this. I could feel her disappointment. "Briana, I will make you a deal. If you don't eat potatoes between now and camp, you can have one hamburger with french fries and one smore at camp. The rest of the time, I want you to make healthy choices for your meals and stay away from the desserts." Her face lit up at this news. "Okay! I can do it! No potatoes anymore, then one time at camp. I can do that!" So we were both pleased now, and I felt like she was beginning to understand about choices and moderation with unhealthy foods. Huge success!

Weeks 26-28

I have had some technical difficulty with my blog. Google has made some changes that weren't helpful to me. I wrote a post last week, saved it as normal, then went to preview it. I could not exit the preview, so I closed out and went back in and the post was gone! As I tried to find it and retrieve it, I accidentally deleted my post from Week 25. Frustrated, I put it aside for a little while until I could play with the new settings and feel more comfortable. So, I am back in business now but have some major catching up to do! Briana has had two weigh ins since my last post. In Week 26, she weighed in and had lost two pounds. I was mildly disappointed because this was her first time falling below her average of 1.5 pounds per week. I wasn't too concerned, however, because the weigh in came the week after her birthday and Easter. I knew that her diet had been a little looser during that time, so I felt like we could get back on track by working harder in our sessions together. I worked Briana hard for the next two weeks. She got mad at me, got over it, and gave me her best effort. She was even putting in extra time at home to work out. Her mom said that she was exercising in the morning every day and in the evenings on the days she didn't see me. So, with two workouts per day, her Special Olympics training on the weekends, and the Pure Barre class she had started again on Saturdays, I was feeling good about the next weigh in. Disappointment hit for the second time on the scale in Week 28. Briana lost one pound. I hate saying I was disappointed, because a pound is a pound and that is progress. I can't be disappointed in progress. I tried finding the good for Briana's sake. She looked to me for encouragement and wanted me to be happy and proud. I had to shift gears and put things in perspective. The truth was she had lost a total of 40 pounds since October! How could I be disappointed with that? Honestly, she is only ten pounds away from her target weight loss of 50 pounds, and we still have five months to get there. That means Briana has achieved 90% of her weight loss goal in six months! Again, how can I be disappointed with that? I decided to switch gears and take measurements. The last time I had measured Briana was in January. In four months, she had lost another 1.5 inches in her waist, an inch in each leg, and an inch her neck. When I told her this news, she was thrilled. She was also thrilled that she had finally reached the 40 pound weight loss mark. As it turned out, switching gears was good for both of us. While Briana did her treadmill work that day, I told her that I would need to go through her meal plans over the last few weeks and see where we might need to make changes. I also told her that I would begin to give her new exercises to help her muscles work in new ways so that she would continue to lose weight. She liked these ideas and told me she would do whatever it takes. Now, as we approach Week 29, I feel like we are back on track. We may have hit a small plateau, but I am confident that Briana will continue to progress and do well. I am also confident that she will surpass her initial goal of 50 pounds! I know we are both prepared to put in the work it will take to get her there. The odds are now in our favor. Right?

Week 25

I had a great post here about Walking Wednesdays. Unfortunately, the blog was lost. I have now learned to print my postings each time I write. Read on to Week 26...