Friday night was an amazing accomplishment for me personally – I WON the 6 week Fall 2013 Transformation (to transform is to change (something) completely and usually in a good way) as a Body Project Fitness HardBody!  So what does that mean?  I got this awesome golden dumbbell, certificate, beautiful flowers and a year of workouts!  How awesome is that?  Pretty Awesome – but it is so much more – I don’t even know if I can do it justice in this blog (and my apologies if I seem to ramble – it is just so hard to get all of my thoughts together).

This truly has been a journey for me.  I don’t know how many transformations I’ve participated in – little did I know then – I was just ‘participating’ – maybe even going through the motions sometimes.  I’ve worked out with many of the prior winners – and I was always in awe of hearing their stories – so inspirational.  I often wondered if I would ever get it?  And there was a part of me that thought I never would – it just wasn’t in my DNA.

In my last post, I talked about how I was MISSING my workouts – not skipping my workouts.  Little did I know that that was truly my AHA moment – and I almost missed it.

I went in on Friday morning for my measurements – I don’t recall the numbers but the biggest drop was in my hips with an overall decline in bodyfat – note – I didn’t lose any weight in 6 weeks (and there have been moments in the month where I’ve gained weight – amazes me how it fluctuates) (and you all know I’m a numbers person).  My trainer and coach asked me a question – how is this transformation different? – she always asks me these simple questions that catch me like a deer in headlights.   So we talked about how I was trying to find ways not to miss workouts when in the passed I found ways to miss workouts.  We talked about how my work travel exercise was different – I walked as much as possible (it helped I had my Jawbone working again).  She asked me what was a different – I know it is all about how I think about things – and the large muscle between my ears is so very powerful.  I think we forget or don’t realize just how powerful it can be.  I’ll be honest I walked out of there thinking I didn’t quite know the answer.   I thought about the question all day – it wasn’t until I got in the car that it hit me – missing the workouts also turns into that working out (whether it is going to BP, a spin class or getting out and walking) has become a part of my life – I don’t view it as a chore anymore or something I HAVE TO DO – it is something I WANT TO DO!  It has become a part of my LIFE.

Now this may not seem to be a big deal for you – it is for me – during the big reveal it became clear that everyone else noticed the change in me – probably even before I did.  One of the things that was mentioned that was totally me – I would come and go at BP – I joked later – We were on a break (reference to Friends 🙂 ).  There was also a reference to how much I focus on the numbers – they are still very important to me – but not the only thing – it is about how I feel too (and I’m feeling pretty good right now).

For those of you who know me personally – of course I shed some tears (I think I kept it together though) when the announcement was being read – I knew it was me when the comment came up about I would come and go (or something like that).  I had an opportunity to say a few words to everyone after my award – and I believe I touched on some of those items in this blog.  I’m so very proud of my accomplishment!  I’m still in shock that women came up to me after the award and told me – “I’m an inspiration” to them.

I’m so very lucky to be surrounded by strong and inspirational women – they’ve always been my biggest cheerleaders.  I moved to this part of NJ in 2005 – I didn’t know a single person in the area.  It would be very hard for me to leave this area not only because I love the proximity to the Jersey Shore, NYC and Philly – but also because I don’t know if I could survive with out BP and my BP girls – they are an amazing group of women!

I’m motivated as I continue this journey…