Meeting the Seemingly Impossible Goal

Have you been looking at the days dropping off the countdown calendar and thinking today is the day I am going to put down that brownie and start the gym? You have already set a goal in mind, 20 or 30lbs to loose between today and January 31st, especially since you registered for your costume a size or two smaller than what you are now. Then, as each day passes and you still haven’t signed up that gym membership card, or curbed that craving for sweets panic sets in. The frustration comes as you make a half hearted attempt to do some exercise, starving yourself thinking you MUST loose those pounds and then you say to yourself it is impossible to loose that much weight before Carnival, so why even bother.

This is not something unique to Carnival, women set weight loss goals for different reasons and events, it could be a wedding, vacation or school reunion; whatever the reason there must first be that desire then the second catalyst is motivation. One such success story and my inspiration that it CAN be done is a young lady who I met in person this year. When I first saw her svelte body at One fete I could not believe that this was the same person from her “before” photo; she looked not only much slimmer but also younger. Then she shared her story with me, and I am going to share it with you:

Jan before:

It was August when *Jan learned from her doctor that she weighed 167 lbs, at 5feet 6 inches tall this was more than she weighed when she was pregnant. That doctor visit led to her taking the first steps to loosing the weight and in September Jan joined the gym. With a personal trainer and 3 months of working out 4 times a week she had dropped from 167lbs to 144lbs when she weighed in December. The routine with the personal trainer went like this; for 2 days it started with 15 minutes of Cardio to warm up, then one hour of weight training (squats, lunges, abdominals) and 30 more minutes of cardio. The next 2 days would be 45 – 60 minutes of cardio on the bike, treadmill or cross trainer.

In addition to working out 4 days a week Jan changed her eating habits, “diet” was not something she was comfortable with so she tailored her meals to incorporate low carb options as well as she stopped her “vice” of soft drinks and alcohol, even having an alcohol free Carnival! For Christmas, she had no pastelles or ponche a crème, a sacrifice that was well worth it! Even though Jan did not continue her daily workouts at the gym when the New Year rolled around, she continued loosing weight and by Carnival her total weight loss was close to 30lbs. Not only did she surpass her goal weight of 145lbs but her bra size went from a DD to a C; as you can see in her before photos the costume was too big, albeit she had the foresight to order the bra in a smaller size.

Today Jan has admitted to regaining “some” weight but she is happier now and at the achievement made for Carnival. Though her success may not be as easy or typical for some it surely is motivation enough for ALL of you (myself included) who have vowed to shed the extra pounds for Carnival. So, what are you waiting for? There is still time left, 3 months and 13 days to be exact! Step away from the cookie, start walking around the block or to the gym and JUST DO IT!!!

p.s. If anyone would like the name and number of Jan's trainer please send me an email at trinicarnivaldiary@yahoo.com

*Jan is an alias