And the Winner Is….

As I mentioned in my last post, Chris and I made a bet around the beginning of the semester. Whomever lost the largest percentage of weight, would not have to pack anything in preparation for our upcoming move. The deadline was last Saturday and by a narrow margin, I am happy to announce the winner of bet is…..

ME!!!

Down 14.2 pounds, I can say that I have not seen those numbers on the scale since the first few months of college!  Last weekend was great for many reasons (graduation, family in town, extra day off work, beautiful weather, etc), one of which is the sense of victory and pride at my hard work. Another was the dress that I wore to graduation fit much better than it had when I bought it a year ago. 

That's not to say that Chris didn't work hard too because he did. He lost 26.5 pounds and is really happy about that.  As we make healthier choices about food and exercise, our bodies feel better and are getting use to their new source of energy.  For example, in making healthier choices with my food, I had (unintentionally) drastically cut back on my sugar intake.  I went to a baby shower the other weekend and ate a piece of cake. As I was eating it, I found that I could not finish it. And for a self-identified 'sugaraholic' that is impressive!

About 6 months after Chris and I got married, we attempted a different diet bet which included several friends. We each chipped in $20 and at the end of May, whomever lost 5% of their body weight would win the pool of money. We found that none of us were successful in that endeavor. For me, the stakes weren't high enough. It was a nice idea but losing $20 wasn't that big a deal.  Knowing that, this year the stakes were much higher and, for me at least, more motivating. 

My advice to someone who wants to participate in a lifestyle changing bet: make sure the stakes are high enough to make it worthwhile for you but not so high that they are unobtainable. Also, it helps if you are a very competitive person!  Mini-goals help too. Chris and I signed up to participate in a 5K at the beginning of May. That helped motivate me to run on the towpath more. Although it turned out that the race was through an orchard in the Cascade Mountains so the flat towpath was not a very good training route. I ended up only running a little bit and Chris walked the whole race. But the important thing is that we both finished and were very proud of how well we did! Unfortunately Chris injured his ankle during the race in one of the many holes or ruts on the course. He did say that was is first 'sports injury' so that was exciting.  Three weeks later, it has mostly healed. (Although standing for 4 hours at graduation did not help!)  

My new goal is to run a 5K while we are in Northern Ireland. Hopefully we can find a more flat, hopefully road, race!   (And continue with our new healthy habits.)