A New Beginning

by Tami Newton

Tuesday night, February 9, found about 70 people congregating at Crosby Church for the Second Annual Crosby Community Meltdown Challenge. Sheila Hall shared some sobering statistics about the growth of obesity in the United States. Sheila pointed out that there are 3 components to good personal health and likened it to a three-legged stool. Every person must get the proper amount of exercise, get quality nutrition and then supplement with a multi-vitamin, calcium and omega 3's.

Afterwards, I was introduced as a speaker and I shared my journey to losing 62 pounds and 55 inches since last year's meltdown. My journey started with my first meltdown meeting and continued with my introduction to the Curves Circuit. Then I began attending Curves Weight Management Meetings and getting educated about eating more nutritionally dense foods. I even got up and demonstrated the weighted hula hoop, which I use at Curves every day for 10 minutes.

From there, everyone began breaking into teams of 2 to 4 and getting signed up for the Big Loser Contest. The team who loses the highest percentage of weight between February 16 and March 23 will be awarded the honor of Big Loser and will receive a Big Loser Prize.

Last year the prize went to the FAB 4 (Connie Harding, Lana Robbins, Janice Cooper and me). We received a wonderful spa day to TNT Spa in Pasadena. The team names this year include Team F.R.O.G. (Fully Relying on God), Crosby Losers, Blog Heads (H&R Block People), Skinny Cows and Determined to Lose (My team).

On Tuesday, February 16, Dr. Rob Rosenbaum from Crosby Chiropractic will be our guest speaker. His topic will be "Dr. Rob's ..No Nonsense--Commonsense, Top 10 List for a Healthier, Skinnier You." Those of you who attended last year, all remember his discussion about addictions and his ultimately urging us to physically bury the containers of foods which trigger us to overeat. He kept us in stitches and I am sure he will be just as informative and entertaining this year.

As a reminder, anybody who is attending the Meltdown is able to attend the "Free" Curves Weight Management Classes that are being held before the Crosby Meltdown Meeting on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. These classes are very informative and help you understand correct portion sizes and the right portions of proteins, carbohydrates and fats to eat.

Curves innovative program incorporates 3 Phases. You are on Phase 1 of the program for only 1 week and take in only 1200 calories. You stay on Phase 2 of this program for 23 days and take in 1500 calories. Phase 3 is a metabolic recovery period that you stay on for 2 to 4 weeks and you ingest 2000 to 2500 calories. Come and find out about this unique way to keep your body burning calories and losing weight.

This week we will receive our tote bags, t-shirts and journals when we come to our meeting. Do not forget to give your weights to your team captain by Tuesday, so, they can be reported . Every week, you will weigh in and give your weight to your captain. Your captain will then total the entire weight of your group and have it recorded.

Do not forget, everyone is invited to all of the Meltdown Meetings every week. So, talk to your friends, neighbors and co-workers and let them know what we are trying to do to make Crosby a healthier and less obese community. See you at Crosby Church on Tuesday night.