Sunday, January 21, 2007

I’m a Las Vegas Loser

As of today, I am a Las Vegas Loser.  Not the kind who comes to town to say goodbye to their paycheck, but the kind who signed up to participate in the Las Vegas Review Journal’s “weight-loss contest”.  In fairness, it’s not a contest as much as it’s a group effort to lose weight (I wish someone else could do my share!), but there are small prizes along the way for people who are meeting their weight-loss goals.  There are about 112 people involved (I think that’s what was said), and today we had our first official weigh-in, and we posed for a group photo.  The event will run for one year.

I’m not exactly sure what compelled me to write in to the newspaper to volunteer.  I’ve wanted to lose weight for a few years now (I’ve gained about 30 lbs. in the past four years), and I think the casual, experimental feel of this event appealed to me.  There are people of all ages and from all walks of life involved; we can follow any diet and/or exercise plan that we wish to achieve our goal.  There are tentative plans for a few guest speakers to talk to the group, but other than our required monthly weigh-ins, we’re really on our own.  I’ve always been a bit of loner and have never done well working under a buddy system, so this type of setup is perfect for my personality.

I have no idea how well or how poorly I’ll do.  My goal is to weigh 135 in one year.  Today, after getting home from the weigh-in and photo shoot, I was so exhausted that I took an oxycontin, an oxycodone, and a Skelaxin, and I’m still in pain, as well as suffering from extreme fatigue (I’m writing this entry from bed, on a laptop).  I have visions of daily walks on the treadmill, but this illness is so unpredictable—that treadmill walk may leave me so incapacitated that I’m unable to work, and that will be unacceptable.  I want to try to lose weight by exercising rather than changing my diet, but I’m not sure how much exercise I can tolerate.  Sometimes a trip to the grocery store is all it takes to send me back to bed for the day.  I know that increasing my strength and endurance would improve my quality of life, though.  This process will be a lot of trial and error.

My preferred weight-loss plan has always been Weight Watchers, so that’s what I’ll defer to if I decide to start formally planning snacks and meals.  I love to cook, but that’s another taxing activity—will I be able to cook every day and still get my paid work done?  Will my medications allow me to lose any weight?  All these things and more will be answered in the next twelve months.  I really, really want to work hard to achieve my goals, but if I can’t reach the goal, I’ll get satisfaction from knowing I did all that my body will allow.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 01/21 at 12:21 AM
Las Vegas Losers • (4) Comments • Permalink
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