Looking forward to the challenge

Day 1 -

Well the day has come … the first day of the 2010 Trim 2 Win contest.

My first task of the day, outside of the house, was to get over to the AT&T Sports Complex and do the weigh-in portion of the contest. Then it was time to meet with the marketing director to get the paperwork for the gym membership completed, as well as learn about different options for classes and see the facility.

The competition runs from now until the middle of April. There is a chance to win anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000, but I am not eligible to win anything.

But that’s okay, it is not about money for me.

Mission accomplished.

However, I definitely weighed in at more than I would have liked to. I would prefer not to talk actual numbers at this point in time, but I will say that I weigh more now than I ever have. That means that I weigh more now than I ever did when I was pregnant with either of my children.

And that is truly scary to me.

It is definitely time to make some major life changes, so that I can be here for my kids long-term. I do not think I look like I weigh as much as I do, and to me that means I can definitely work hard and lose plenty in the months to come.

For those who do not know me, my name is Amber. I am a longtime Valley resident who currently resides in Palmer with my husband, two children and the family golden retriever. My husband and I are both local professionals – he works at the Frontiersman and I work for Mat-Su Services for Children and Adults (MSSCA). Neither job pays a ton. But for both of us, the type of work is more meaningful than the money we take home.

I graduated in 1996 from Colony High, attended the Alaska Job Corps Center, and have since earned Associates and Bachelor’s degree in Human Services with an emphasis in work with Family & Youth.

Currently I am employed as a care coordinator (case manager) for people who experience developmental and physical disabilities. I can enthusiastically say that I have found the career path I was meant to take. I absolutely love my job, I enjoy working with others to ensure that their needs are met in the best possible manner.

As for my family, my husband and I are committed to doing this together, as we extend a million thanks to Kari, the publisher at the Frontiersman and Dana, the marketing director at the AT&T Sports Complex for giving us the opportunity to make these life changes now.

Our two beautiful children are growing so fast. Our oldest will soon be 5, and although she has faced many challenges in her life, and is likely to face many more, she is such a blessing and I am committed to doing all that I can for her. In order to do that I am going to have to get into a healthier state.

Our youngest just turned 1 and she is a mover-and-shaker. She is already hard to keep up with at times and she’s not quite walking independently — although I do think her crawl can be as fast as 90 mph sometimes.

As I said before we also have a wonderful golden retriever named Wrigley.

She is just the same as having two more children I am convinced. She is a good dog and we hope to train her to be a service dog.

I am looking forward to making these major life changes. Our refrigerator’s contents have changed drastically over the past several days and now include many fresh veggies & fruits.

We have decided to go back to the Weight Watcher’s point system to change our diets. We both did this a couple of years ago and had a decent amount of success at it. I will talk more about that system in a later blog. I am drastically increasing my water and returning to the commitment of taking supplements and of course returning to the idea of a consistent workout.

Here is to our endeavors in the 2010 Trim-2-Win competition and yours. I really hope we can be as successful as we would like to be.

May all your successes be fruitful and your loses (weight wise) be great. Check back frequently for updated blogs from my day-to-day experiences to tips and information I have learned along the way.

Until Next Time,

~ Amber ~