The dog days of winter

Saturday we had a fun surprise during our Knoxville Track Club training run/walk-- we were joined by former Biggest Loser contestant Joe Mitchell. Joe was featured on season 12 of NBC's hit show, starting his journey at 348 pounds. It was fun hearing about his experience on the Biggest Loser ranch, but also reassuring to hear him express the fears and concerns he had when he began his weight loss journey. They're feelings & thoughts that so many of us have ... like, "will I ever feel thin?" and "will I ever convince myself it's OK to lose the weight?"

All of his advice and words were timely for our team. I think we're all at that point where we're really starting to make progress physically, and are all trying to mentally make sense of who we are, and what defines us. My strategy for positive thinking is to just do it. The more I tell myself that I'm healthy, and living a healthy lifestyle, the easier it is for me to believe. The more I tell myself that I'm doing amazing things for myself and my future, the more I believe it. The more I focus on my progress, and give myself credit for all of the hard work I'm doing, the easier it is for me to accept that this is all really happening.

Here is part of our team with Joe & his family at Saturday morning's training!

Well, turns out this week was a week for surprises  ... but more about that later.

Today our Covenant Health Biggest Winner team was on Live at Five at Four on WBIR, and it was definitely a lot of fun! Here's the link to our spot.  I think it was just the kind of fun we needed to break the somewhat serious cycle of workouts that we've been doing lately. Our first appearance was a few months ago when we first got started, and it's fun seeing the progress we've made on camera. We tallied up today before we went on the air that collectively we've lost 121 pounds since November. That doesn't even take into account all of the fat we've converted to muscle!

Here's the great story that aired immediately after our interview segment featuring my teammate Randy. He's truly been on a journey for many years, and I'm proud to call him my teammate!  One of his sources of inspiration he mentioned in his story is my friend Michael Holtz. I worked with Michael for several years at the beginning of my career, and admire him professionally for all that he taught me, and personally for his own commitment he's made to fitness and health. Michael has provided lots of inspiration to me, as he has to Randy, and I'm sure many others. He's proof that hard work pays off!

After we were interviewed on the show we got to take a tour around the station, and take some fun photos on the news desk and weather set that weren't in use at the time.

Here are Randy & Arielle exploring secondary career options! 

Our friend, and teammate WIVK the frog decided to try its hand at the weather, too! 

Although WIVK didn't have as much luck on the green screen! 

Our teammate, Live at Five at Four producer Lee  Ann,  had a little surprise in store for us. Before I get into the details ... a little background story. 

Have you heard of Mabel? Mabel the dog? She's becoming quite the celebrity around Knoxville. Check out her Facebook page here! Here's a link to a great news story about Mabel and her struggles -- you've got to watch this! Mabel was surrendered to Young Williams after her humans couldn't take care of her any longer due to her excessive weight. I hope you'll watch the story, but Mabel (who should weigh around 25 pounds) weighed 67 pounds when she was taken it at the shelter.  Mabel is working with the great folks at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine to drop some pounds in order to save her life. They've got her on a diet & quite the fitness regime. 

Needless to say after our team heard about Mabel and what she's going through, we thought she was quite the appropriate mascot for our team! We're cheering Mabel on every step of the way! 

So back to our surprise! Our awesome team mate Lee Ann invited Mabel to come and visit us while we were at the TV station!  It was pretty cool to meet Mabel, and hear her weight loss success story -- she's down to 51.7 pounds!!

Here our team is with Mabel! 

She's such sweetheart!

I guess the moral of today's story ... or today's surprise... is that everyone's got their own struggles. Whether you're a 35 year old woman, or a 60+ pound dog, the equation for weight loss is the same ... a lot of hard work, discipline, and an incredible support system of folks cheering you on!

As usual, I'd like to leave you with a little Pinterest wisdom ...