Travel Planning & Preparation

Thursday morning Steve and I took off for the east coast. The night before I set aside a few meals to bring with me during our day of travel, leaving nothing to chance, and being completely prepared with four meals, just in case we got delayed for any reason. It ended up being an easy day of travel and I was able to feed Steve all across the country and help supply him with a protein bar when he was having a blood sugar crash moment (which is very obvious when he starts acting like a little baby for absolutely no reason). These moments still catch me off guard, and after being together for over eight years now, you'd think I'd be able to pick up on when he just needs something shoved in his mouth to take his bad mood off.

Regardless, before getting to New Jersey, I had planned Christmas dinner would be my meal off and Saturday exploring NYC would be my day off. I enlisted the help of my sister Kara to get some Game friendly food in her house so I wouldn't have to worry about not having the right food once I got there. It's gotten so much easier to do this game because I plan ahead and have no problem asking people for help. I don't worry about it being an inconvenience (even though I certainly understand it can be) so much as focusing on doing what's necessary to take care of myself. So, for example, while everyone else ordered and at chinese food for dinner on Christmas Eve, I had a chicken breast, brown rice and a salad. And on Christmas day, I was able to stay completely on program, with the exception of my meal off, because there was food I could eat.

It's hard to believe I only have one day on program left of the round of the game. I've been completely motivated by the prize for having the most points ($150). It's the only thing that's kept me completely on track points wise. Knowing I had a real shot at winning this in the beginning was fun, and then one other woman I've been playing with, Melissa, was determined to beat me and that put my competitiveness into overdrive. And then last week, Melissa lost points, and I knew that if I was able to play perfectly for the remainder of the game, that money was mine! So I have been working so hard for that perfect score. Enlisting the help of others and resisting too many temptations to count here. But it's also felt really great.

I've typically experienced a ton of anxiety before going home to see family. I've silently hoped, wished and prayed that no one would say anything about my appearance, yet knowing that I'd be silently (or not so silently) judged for it. But this time, I wanted people to notice my hard work. I wanted to be complimented and recognized for my hard work. And that did happen. My family was genuinely happy about my progress, impressed with my hard work, admired my discipline and supported everything I was doing. It felt really great and is just the fuel I need to power me through the last day!