My Personal 100 Day Heart Challenge Journal

What a great opportunity! Randomly chosen via computer, I am one of fifteen lucky women who gets to learn and put into practice UVRMC's directives for healthy hearts as part of February's Heart Month. We've been introduced, initiated, tested, weighed, measured, given our personalized eating recommendations with accompanying record-keeping charts. We have been given passes to the Wellness Center's Gym, received our exercise programs and our individual interns to workout with us 2 out of the recommended 3 times a week.

All for FREE. Deliciously, unbelievably, incredibly FREE.

And what is our incentive to get up on those machines or pick up the weights and go? The proverbial carrot (and that is one serving of a non-starchy vegetable, thank you very much) is that the woman who improves her numbers for weight, exercise, cholestoral, etc. wins $500. The rest of us, along with her, get to have healthier, happier hearts pumping inside our fabulously re-sculptured bodies. At least, that's what I'm telling myself as I roll out of bed at 5:30 AM, pull on my gym clothes, and head out the door. I'm actually just hoping that near the end of the 100 days, close to Mother's Day, there is noticibly less of this mother to honor.

I was initially thrilled. Nearly three weeks into the program, I'm ecstatic! The "newness" has worn off and the "drudgery" has begun. BUT there really is no drudgery; just a nice change of pace that is already yielding results, friendship, more energy, and a "shock-er-oo" or two. I really have been eating way too much, way too often, and for many more complex reasons than hunger. And who in the world defined those ridiculous "serving sizes" I'm observing! They certainly haven't eaten out anywhere in the USA for some time.....