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...

Weeks 23 & 24

Briana and I took time off for Week 23. It was Spring Break and I took a small trip with my family. Before I left, I gave her specific instructions: make healthy food choices, exercise every day, and take a walk around the track by her house. I asked her to call me and check in when she did her walk.

When we met again after our time off, it was time to weigh in. For the first time, I was more nervous than Briana. I wasn't sure what to expect since she had spent a full week on her own. I was confident that she made good choices because she promised she would and I knew she exercised and walked because her mom had left me a voicemail.

I took Briana to the scale. "I am so nervous!" she exclaimed.

"I'm nervous, too," I said. "Let's see how you did while I was away."

She stepped onto the scale and let out a deep sigh. I checked her weight, asked her to step off, then checked it again. Both times, the scale read 190. Briana had lost five pounds since her last weigh-in! This made a total of 37 pounds lost in five and half months. She was so excited and happy when I told her the good news.

"Briana, I am so proud and so impressed! You really did make good choices while I was away."

"Yes, I told you I would," she replied with a huge smile. "Only three more pounds to 40!"

She was right. I told her that if she works hard and stays focused, she will have lost 40 pounds by her next weigh in. She clapped her hands in delight and said "Let's get to work!"

Her workout was a little tough, but she hung in there and stayed positive. She worked extra hard and loved it when I was pleased. I acknowledge her progress, especially the amount of control she showed in her strength work. My encouragement and the news of her weight loss fueled her workout. She left in good spirits, and as I watched her drive away, I felt a surge of gratitude for being able to take part in something so special.

Weeks 21 and 22

The good news is Briana lost another two pounds. She is down to 197 pounds for a total weightloss of 30 pounds!

The not so good news is that week 21 was a rough week for Briana. After the weigh in, she worked hard and did a wonderful job. Then, by the time I saw her again on Friday she was complaining about her shoulder. Anytime she tried to move her arm, I could see the pain on her face and she would say "Ow!" At one point, she looked like she might cry. I asked her if she had fallen or done anything to injure herself. "I don't know. It just hurts." She tried telling me that she would be fine, but I insisted that she take it easy that day. I didn't want to push her or aggravate her shoulder, so I told her we would do all of the leg exercises and let her shoulder rest. Although the workout wasn't our most productive, it was better than nothing. More importantly, Briana seemed to feel successful. I sent her home with some ibuprofen and instructions to rest her arm and ice it over the weekend.

By the time Briana came back on Tuesday, everything was better. Her shoulder had no pain at all, she was feeling better, and her mood was lifted. During her treadmill warm up, I told Briana that we would start walking more now that the weather was getting nice again. I told her that Wednesdays would be our walking day. She was apprehensive and doubtful. She didn't like the idea of walking outside for some reason. I assured her that we would start with a short distance then increase over time. It took some gentle coaxing,but she finally agreed to try it.

When she arrived on Wednesday, the weather was perfect. Briana told me that she wanted to walk by herself. I explained that it was my responsibility to make sure she was okay and that I needed to go with her. She was not happy. Knowing how important her independence is to her, I agreed to let her walk ahead of me. I lingered behind her, close enough to hear her cheering herself on, "Come on. You can do it. You're almost there."

Listening to her made me smile. Every so often she would wave her hand back to me and say, "You stay there. I'm doing this myself."

When she made it to the end of the street, I caught up with her to see how she was feeling.

"I feel good! I did it myself," she said.

"Yes, Briana, you did it yourself. I am very proud of you," I assured her.

She took a deep breath then turned around to walk back to my house. Again, I lingered behind and let her walk ahead. The entire walk was less than a quarter mile and took about ten minutes. I was pleased with her effort and told her it was a great start.

"Next time, we are going to walk a little further. Then each time after that, we will walk a little further," I told her.

"Okay. I need some water now," she replied.

Her reply made me happy. When Briana agrees to do something, I know she will do it. So I gave her a water bottle, and we headed downstairs to finish the rest of our workout.

Hooray for Briana, and hooray for Week 22! We are back in business!