Ron Treend is such an inspiration. I came across this article the other day and was completely blown away by his story.  Ron has created the ultimate bucket list.  Some of the things on his list include racing in the Delta Triathlon, riding a horse, and hiking the Grouse Grind in Vancouver

It was hard to believe three years ago none of this could have been possible for Ron because he was nearly 400 pounds.  Like many of us, Ron’s weight gradually caught up with him over the years (especially since he’s a chef) and soon enough he hit his limit.

Ron tried every diet in the book, and finally got it right when he joined Jenny Craig. His wife, Jennifer, had been on the weight loss program and lost almost 90 pounds, so Ron figured he’d give it a try.  Boy did it pay off!

He said the best lesson he took away from the program was learning portion control, not to mention having a consultant and confidant who you could go to for support.

Ron’s weight loss started to slow down after he hit the 295 mark, but that didn’t stop him.  What did he do? Started exercising!  He had small victories and eventually went from 10 minutes on a treadmill to participating in the Delta Triathlon this weekend!

Today Ron weighs 185 pounds, and has completely done a 180 on his life! The almost 50-year-old now has time to add more to his bucket list, and has definitely inspired me to keep with it, take everything a day at a time, and expand my personal bucket list!  Good luck this weekend, Ron!

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I did it! Sunday was the St. Patrick’s Day race, and I successfully ran the 5k!

I must say, I was completely terrified when I first got to the starting point. I didn’t sleep the night before out of pure terror I’d miss the race because of daylight savings. I got down to the start line at 7:40am and waited for my race to start at 8.

Although my friends were there to cheer me on, I felt completely out of my element. There were over 7,000 runners in the 5k alone, and 21,000 total (5k, 8k, and 15k combined). People were stretching in the streets, beside trees, and against lamp posts. As I stood there in my minute-mile section I started to get really anxious and thought, “What am I doing here? I’m not a runner”.

Seconds later the horn went off and it was my section’s time to go. All feeling of nausea and anxiety flew quickly out the window as I started jogging along with everyone in the streets downtown. I instantly felt a wave of confidence come over me. This was different from my daily jog down the street and back. I felt like I was a part of something. About halfway through, I passed my friends on the sidewalk. They screamed my name and cheered me on, and gave me another boost of confidence to keep going.

I surprised and impressed myself when I could see the finish line in sight. I thought, “I haven’t stopped running the entire time!” A couple of blocks before finish, my friends had caught up with me one last time. As I passed them I felt a surge of energy and excitement pass through my veins, and I sprinted the rest of the way to the finish!

I was so proud of myself for accomplishing my goals. I successfully completed a 5k, I ran the entire time, and surprised myself when I found out I ran the 3.1 miles in under 30 minutes! I felt like Valerie Bertinelli when she ran her first half-marathon! If you put your mind to it, you can succeed at anything! Looking back, I was so scared and terrified I almost let it get in the way of achieving my goal, but now all I can think about is the next race I’m going to run! I’ve found a new hobby and am excited to see what other goals I can set and achieve next!

Normally when I achieve a goal, whether it’s getting in exercise for the day or I lost a pound in a week, I like to reward myself. I don’t give myself a mere pat on the back, but instead I treat myself to something tangible and reinforce the good habit.

Like many people I know, I usually reward myself by getting a delicious dessert. Sweets and I have been in a steady relationship for years now (longer than any boyfriends have lasted!). I’ll either get cake from this phenomenal bakery in town or I’ll be sure to ask for the dessert menu when I’m out at a restaurant for dinner.

I’ve decided it’s time for a change. I need to rethink my rewarding strategy. I’ve realized that although desserts are yummy, they definitely can pack on the pounds over time. I began asking myself, “Why am I rewarding myself with sweets after I work out? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose and put me back to square one?”

After coming to this realization (which honestly, I probably knew deep down all along), I decided I need to come up with a different method for my reward system. I’ve wanted a new dress, manicure, and new workout shorts for a while now, why not reward myself with something like this? I’m going to start rewarding myself with something other than food.

I constantly think about what meal I’ll have next, what I’m going to make for dinner, what kind of cookies I can bake to bring to the office, or what kind of dessert I can have after I successfully worked out everyday of the week. This isn’t a healthy mindset to have. One afternoon I inquired about where we’d be going for dinner that night, and my friend said, “You know we’ll figure it out when it’s time for dinner. You think about your next meal too much. Relax. You’re going to have a next meal.”

It took that friend to make me realize how obsessed I’ve become. I’m not on death row or starving, so why do I need to think about what meal I’m going to have? I will have a next meal.

Once I start getting on the mindset that my life doesn’t have to revolve around desserts and food, I think I’ll see I don’t need to rely on these comfort foods as much. Jason Alexander just posted a great video blog about how he has come to the realization that comfort and joy are not the same thing. I could not agree with him more. I’m choosing joy from now on.

I’ve decided that after I RUN this race on Sunday I’m going to reward myself, but not with food. Maybe I’ll get those new workout shorts to prepare myself for spring and get motivated to continue my running…or maybe I’ll opt for that manicure!

I’ve had some stressful and frustrating moments at work over the last couple of days, but you know, I have just decided that feeling frustrated and stressed is fine, but destroying the goals I have for myself is NOT acceptable. At least not because of how someone else is behaving. My consultant gave me a care call last night. Just one of the many reasons I love this program. Lately hump day has been a tough day of the week for me. Remember last week I had a total meltdown with those dangerous 100 calorie snack packs. It doesn’t help that they come seven to a pack! They should call them what they are….700 calories of snacks because you can’t eat just one. THAT would be much more accurate, but I digress. So my consultant reminded me of my goals and reset my focus for the remainder of the week. Did I say I love this program? I mean who else would’ve called me to talk about my weight management goals on a Tuesday night? NO ONE…at least that I wouldn’t have hung up on.
So what did I do to handle my stress and frustration? I made the decision to be even more diligent with my program. Tonight when I got home I listened to a song by Pink called “SO WHAT” and turned it up as loud as my ipod would go as I worked through interval training on my elliptical. So now after 60 minutes of sweat and the “So What” lyrics ringing in my head, all seems well.
There aren’t many guarantees in life, but you know I never regret following my program or the guaranteed feelings of empowerment I feel afterwards. On the other hand I ALWAYS regret deviating…that too is a guarantee. It still comes down to the power of choice, but tonight SO WHAT…I’m feeling like a rock star! I made it over the hump……woohoo!

Hope

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