The slump. We all hit it, and Trent and Tara hit it hard.
After going all gung-ho at the gym, and even changing their eating habits, something funny happened: one missed day turned into two, turned into three, and so on, until even they thought of returning to the gym became an insurmountable task.
But were they just going to give up?
Of course not! (Actually, if their challenge wasn't in the newspaper, they would have given up - so you, as readers can be happy knowing you are the only thing standing between our reporters and a lifetime of sloth.)
Tara
My family was in town. It's too cold outside. I'm tired. Ooooh, hello doughnut, you're so small and cute, I'm sure you wouldn't possibly do mean things to my body. (a belated thanks to the mayor for trying to discourage me from eating that doughnut)
That's what happened to me, and it wasn't easy to bounce back. As poor eating habits creeped their way back into my lifestyle, my energy went out the door, taking with it the little motivation I had left.
After missing over a week, going to the gym was painful. I panted my way through what used to be an easy warm-up on the treadmill. My arms shook their way through weight exercises and my face turned into a giant tomato.
My body was sending me a clear message: stop exercising again and I will kill you.
Consider the message well-received. Losing momentum is a bad idea. Back to the gym - and maybe even the running trails, as the weather is cooperating for once.
Trent
Like Tara, my gym routine had slowed down just when I needed to pick it up the most. After returning from an all-inclusive trip in Mexcio, the scale, to no surprise, went in the wrong direction for the first time since this challenge started.
I have been back to Lifetime Fitness a few times since and have been able to push myself to work out and try to carry on as we head into the final six weeks of this challenge.
One positive thing is that for the first time in years, I stepped on the scale last week and it said I was less than 220 pounds.
I was happy about that revelation, but then went out and celebrated on St. Patrick's Day and had a weekend away from home. Not such a good idea I'm sure. This final push will be crucial to see if I win the challenge or if Tara has just been hustling me for 10 weeks.
The mornings are a bit nicer making it easier to get out of bed and hockey is over, so my evenings are free for the most part now, too - there are no longer any excuses.
