All the links below are linked back to the Marilyn Denis Show. They will be taking them down soon so if you want to see our experience, check it out.
Last year at this time, I was nervously a twitter. It was a less than a couple of weeks before we were about to go on a national television show and I was going to say my weight OUT LOUD. On Marilyn Denis. You know…cause nothing like putting it out there for all of Canada to know.
We knew that we had let ourselves have “Too much fun” and had gone from being a little heavy to officially overweight.
I also hadn’t actually stepped on a scale. When I did I almost crapped my pants.
213.
How on earth did I get to 213 lbs?
I didn’t really eat horribly but I loved having a glass of wine every night when we got home. Between that and the fabulousity of a Gin called Hendricks, I was pretty much done for. I also ate late at night. Didn’t drink hardly any water. I just wasn’t taking care of myself. We weren’t taking care of us.
And we certainly weren’t teaching our kids any kind of good habits.
Our first show was Jan 22nd where Marilyn introduced the Couples Weight Loss Challenge. We each were challenged to lose 40 lbs in 5 months. We were #TeamPowell and we were going to do it together. Our plan was to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to celebrate our anniversary/ my birthday and I had a personal goal of fitting into my wedding dress.
We were so lucky. Marilyn, Sharon (our producer), the camera crew and production team were amazing. Right from the start we could feel that we were totally supported from the show.
They set us up with Samantha Montpetit-Huynh, our trainer and Miranda Malisani, our nutrition consultant. We cleaned our cupboards and started fresh. We got a weekly routine to workout to and a meal plan to stay connected. We went Gluten free, low salt, low sugar and ate as naturally as we could. Chris teased both of them relentlessly with quips of us going out for poutine and I have to say, the ladies were amazing. They took it in stride and asked how they could keep us on course.
We had a check in with the show in March at which point they surprised us by installing a home gym. That gym and being able to exercise at home first thing in the morning has made an absolutely HUGE difference. We talked about how we were doing and discovered a new term for what I am like when I am hungry. I get hangry but we were focused on getting #TeamPowell to the finish line. We had a challenge and a goal and a timeline to get there.
In the timeframe we also went with our family to Scotland. Let me tell you, there is nothing sadder than saying no to Guiness every day when you are in the land of where Black Velvet flows.
By June, we were back on the show with a summary of our experience. It was a roller coaster but we made it and in the short time we had…we got to our goal and showed our REVEAL on the show.
This is important because today, January 7th, you will see us back on Marilyn Denis and showing you the heights we got to climbing Mt. Kili. Yes, we have gained some weight back but we are applying what we learned to just get back on the horse with a new challenge and a new goal. It changed our life.
We live healthier. We choose smarter. Exercise is now always with us. The kids expect us to workout. Its a beautiful thing.
Many many thanks Marilyn. It truly was an experience of a lifetime.
