Week 5

I have decided to weigh Briana every two weeks. When she arrives on Tuesday, I tell her it's time to get weighed and she is actually excited. "Let's do this!" she exclaims. She easily steps onto the scale. I check the numbers, walk to the other side and check them again. "Step down for one minute," I say. She steps off, then I ask her to step back up. I look at the numbers one more time.

"Briana, you have lost five pounds!" I exclaim.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! My mom is going to be so proud!" she yells.

"How do you feel, Briana?"

"I'm so excited! I love it!" she says.

"I love it, too. I am so proud of you. Are you ready to get to work?"

"Let's do it!" she says, clapping her hands together.

The workout is great. She has energy and is excited. I notice that she is moving easier and getting stronger each time I see her. We start with Pilates tower exercises, move to weights and intervals, then finish with the treadmill and stretching. Today, Briana has come ready to do nine minutes on the treadmill after completing seven minutes the week before. By this time, she is able to get onto the treadmill without my help. She likes me to stand next to her with my hand on her back. When she gets tired, she says "Don't touch me." Then when I take my hand away she says, "Hold my back, please."

I sympathize with Briana because I hate cardio and have to motivate myself to do it, so whatever she needs (hand on her back or hand off her back) I will indulge her. I stand close to make sure she is safe and try to stay quiet unless she talks to me. If I offer encouragement or comment too much on her progress, she gets agitated and says "Will you stop that please?"

Briana hits the seven minute mark and says "Oh my God! I'm doing it. I'm doing it." She is tired and frustrated, but wants to make the nine minutes. "I want to quit. I can't do it."

"Briana, you ARE doing it. Don't give up."

"I hate this!"

"I know it's hard, but you can do it. Don't give up now," I say. Then the treadmill hits eight minutes.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Wow!"

"Can you believe it Briana? What do you think?"

"I can do it," she says, and she does. She is ecstatic when the time finally turns to nine minutes. She can't wait to tell her mom this news. I help her off the treadmill and sit down with her to stretch. When we finish, I take her up to meet her mom. She shares the news of her weightloss and her success on the treadmill. Her mom is so happy that we have all been successful. It has been up to her to make sure Briana sticks to the nutrition plan. I tell her that she is doing a great job and that I appreciate her hard work. I am truly grateful, because we couldn't make progress without her support.

As I walk back to my front door, I feel happy. I am happy for the opportunity to do this work. I am happy for Briana for making such great progress, not only on the scale but with her physical ability to move and do the work. I am also happy for having such great support from Briana's mom. I have a feeling that I will be learning so much through this process and feel nothing but gratitude and joy for that.