I'm in the home stretch... and a huge plateau! Monday's weigh-in showed more of the same. I haven't lost any weight in about 3 weeks! Next week is my final weigh-in. Hopefully I can lose a little more for that last one!

One thing I just started this week is taking group exercise classes at my gym. One is called Cardio Blast - it's 45 minutes of Hi-Lo cardio, then even more stretching, legs, abs, etc. And for the first time last night, I tried yoga!

It wasn't what I expected, but I still think I did pretty well. I didn't sweat as much as I do during a normal cardio workout, but I can definitely feel it today. I think I'll keep doing both new workouts, just to change up my routine a little.

One of my biggest challenges is coming up over the next couple weeks: VACATION! We're going to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, and I know it will be tough to stick with my 1,300 calories a day plan. But I do plan to eat a lot of fruit and chug water.

Be sure to tune in May 2 to see our final Why Weight story!

We always hear people say how much easier it is to put on the weight than it is to take it off. Isn't that the truth!? Going through the Why Weight? program has also given me a better understanding of how difficult it is to stick with one plan.

Although what Kirk, Cari and I are doing is more of a lifestyle change rather than a "diet", it's not easy to eat healthy all the time!! The last few weeks it's been harder to say 'no' to treats at work. In fact, I haven't been saying no lately.

Left over Easter candy, barbecue ribs when I'm out to eat and cookies at work have definitely snuck their way into my weekly eating! My original 1,300 calorie plan can fluctuate between where it's supposed to be all the way up to 1,900 calories on any given day!

Plateaus are normal for everyone, but it's so frustrating when you're the one whose weight isn't budging! I've been stuck in the same 3 pound range for about a month now. It's so much easier to give up or want to eat something "bad" when you're not losing weight.

When it gets this difficult, I'm finding the most productive thing to do is be positive about how much weight I've lost so far. Yes, I'm in last place to Kirk and Cari... but I've still lost about 15 lbs in three months!

I'll admit -- "fashion shows" are becoming popular at my apartment. It's a fantastic feeling to try on clothes that didn't used to fit and see that now they do. In some cases, I've even tossed a few summer skirts into the "too big" pile.

I also want to thank a special work out buddy at my gym. She noticed I hadn't been there for a week or two (I've been running outside more with the warmer weather), and she asked me about it. She even convinced me to try a new class next week. She said she thought about e-mailing me to make sure I hadn't given up. How awesome to have a support system like that!

If you're struggling to get fit, lose weight or eat healthier, my advice to you is don't give up! It's going to be really tough, but the rewards are incredible.

-KC

The weight is still coming off, but it's really slowed down over the last few weeks. I read somewhere if you reach a weight you maintained for a long time, it's more difficult to get past it. My dietitian Laura said that does happen to some people.

Still, I've lost about 12 lbs in 9 weeks, and I feel great. People compliment me all the time at work, when I'm out and about and at the gym. It's nice to hear the feedback and to know Kirk, Cari and I are really inspiring others to make changes in their lives.

A big wake up call for me was at a doctor's appointment last week. I weighed 20 lbs less than my last visit in October! (I lost a few pounds on my own before we started Why Weight).

I still want to lose 10-15 more pounds, which obviously won't happen during the last 3 weeks of the program (especially since I'm vacationing in Mexico next month), but I will keep this up when our little competition is done. I've made too many lifestyle changes to go back!

Another HUGE change I'm noticing is in my clothes! Almost all of my pants fit much more loosely than before. I wore one pair for the last time this week — they're so baggy it looks like I'm wearing a diaper!

If you've ever lost a lot of weight before, you know what I'm talking about when I say the loss can be bittersweet. You're proud of all your accomplishments, but having to buy a new wardrobe can be expensive!

This is getting long, but I do want to mention a funny thing happened last night when my boyfriend and I went out to dinner. When we walked into the restaurant, Laura (my dietitian) was there with her family! Just seeing her there helped make me more conscious of my decision.

I met with Laura earlier this week, and I kind of figured my weight would be up a little. I gained 1.5 lbs this week.... but for a lot of different reasons. First, we ate pizza LATE Sunday night and my weigh-in was at 9:30 Monday morning. Not planned very well!

Also, Laura said I'm probably retaining water. I don't think I was as disappointed about the gain this time because I was expecting it. On top of that pizza, I think we ate out 3 or 4 days last week. I didn't eat horribly like I would have 6 weeks ago, but I didn't do as well as I could've done.

I did, however, have a pretty decent week at the gym. I lifted weights 3 days and did my cardio circuit 3 days.

Anyway, all this is motivating me to have a big loss when I weigh in again next Monday. It shows how weight loss is a challenge, and you can't lose ALL the time! PLUS, I've been getting awesome e-mails from viewers like you. One I read yesterday was from a woman who is actually using one of the links on our web page to lose weight.

She's lost 9 lbs in just 5 weeks through SparkPeople -- and it's free to use! She also found a support group right here in South Bend through the site.

Are we inspiring you to make healthy changes in your life? If so, share your story! Send me an e-mail and put 'Why Weight' in the subject line.

It's true - and that single statement pretty much sums up my whole weekend at the end of 'week 4'. I honestly wanted to forget my food diary at home, or even 'lose' it on the way to my appointment with Laura.

But when I walked through the door, she could tell by the look on my face that I had 'fallen off the bandwagon.' I'll start from the beginning of the downfall. Last Thursday was Valentine's Day. I did pretty well... the only 'bad' thing I ate all day was a single Hershey's Kiss. But Friday was a date night and my boyfriend took me to a very nice restaurant in New Buffalo.

Our appetizer was baked brie with apples and bread. For a pre-dinner drink I ordered a grasshopper (there's ice cream in that, so it CAN'T be too healthy!). Then before my seafood pasta dinner arrived, I had a dinner salad. Of course, we couldn't skip the bread pudding soaked in bourbon for dessert.

By the time the main course came, I was full, but ate a little because it tasted good. I felt VERY guilty during the drive home, but chalked it up to a 'special occasion' dinner. Friday night truly would have been ok, but I let it spill over into Saturday and Sunday.

As Laura sat looking through my book, she understood what happened on Friday night, but didn't see why I let it extend for the next 2 days. Sunday's food consisted of a banana and 2 slices of french toast (without syrup) for breakfast, some jumbo jelly beans later, and a couple of huge sugar cookies.

That's what prompted my dietician Laura to say, "After 10:45, you ate nothing but crap."

Fortunately, I was (a little) off the hook because I lost another pound this week! That puts my total at 8.5 pounds. It's pretty exciting, but Laura said I probably would've been down another 2 if I hadn't blown it so badly over the weekend.

Oh well. Cari had an appointment with her dietician at the same time as mine on Monday. She lost more weight too. We celebrated with lunch at Panera. :)

Ok, I made it through the end of Week 3 and actually came out alright. Another 1.5 pounds down this week puts me at a total loss of 7.5 pounds... in 3 weeks! I really feel great and people are starting to notice. But when they say it to my face, I never really know how to say thank-you and not be embarrassed.

At my appointment this week, my dietician let me see and feel a pound of "fat". It felt more like a rubber ball, but was almost as big as both of my fists... and I've lost 7.5 of those. GROSS! It really did help give me extra motivation though.

Anyway, back to the week. I actually ate peanut M&M's and some of a Chocolate Charlie last Saturday -- oops! But I worked out really hard 5 days of the week and managed to still lose. Basically at the gym I'll do 35-40 minutes of cardio 4 or 5 days and I'll lift weights 3 days a week.

I vary the cardio between the treadmill, the stationary bike and the elliptical. Sometimes I switch it up with 1 minute of jumping rope for every 5 minutes on the elliptical.

Check back soon for a food diary of what I eat on a daily basis. I'll try to get some of those posted. Also, let me know how your own weight loss goals are coming along!

We're right in the middle of Week # 3 of this whole weight loss thing and I had a little breakdown. Up to this point, being hungry really hasn't been bad. I've noticed I'm satisfied on less food than before, because I'm eatng so much healthier.

But yesterday (Wednesday) I fell off the bandwagon a little bit. I left work around 12 p.m. (which is normal, considering what time I come in), and went home extremely hungry! I had already eaten what I usually eat for the day, but still!

So the first thing I had was a turkey sandwich -- not too bad. The whole thing - including cheese, meat, bread and mustard - was about 210 calories. I should've just stopped there!

After that, I had about a cup and a half of popcorn from a tin. It's still left over from Christmas... so buttery and yummy! And then I had some home made salsa (still pretty healthy) with chips. It's like that 'once you start, you just can't stop,' saying.

Without any more ridiculous details, I ate over 1,000 calories within 45 minutes! My dietician Laura is NOT going to be happy with me.

However, I did manage to get everything turned around after my nap. I went to the gym last night and did about 35 minutes of pretty intense cardio. After that, I had a small steak and broccoli.

Grand total of calories for Wednesday: 2,000. I don't even want to mention my carbohydrate and fat intake numbers!

Here's to making Thursday (and the weekend) a little healthier. Too bad I'm going out to dinner at Hacienda tonight...

It's the end of Week 2, but technically the beginning of Week 3. I meet with Laura, my dietician, later today. I'm not sure if she's going to see the kind of progress on the scale as last week, because I had a rough weekend for eating healthy!

Friday was a rehearsal dinner, then the wedding was on Saturday. How can you say no to the traditional Polish buffet? I can't. However, I was extremely mindful of my portion sizes. Part of what they're teaching us in this program is to know how much we're eating. For example, one measuring cup of something is about the size of a fist.

That makes it easy to calculate later when we're trying to figure out how many calories, grams of fat and carbohydrates are in that particular food. When I finally did get around to writing it all down the next day, I realized there were more calories in what I drank than the food I ate! Oops! But I had a great time, and I wasn't too far off my calorie intake range.

I did get back into the gym last week, and I went both Saturday and Sunday. I'm getting back into the swing of it, but it's not necessarily easy. I'll have to admit, I haven't used the exercise band Memorial gave me. It's supposed to take the place of lifting weights at the gym if I can't make it.

One question I have for you: have you started your own weight loss program yet? Remember, all WSBT viewers get a 10% discount off the program at Memorial Bariatric & Weight Loss Center through the end of March. What are you waiting for?!

Feel free to e-mail me your own success stories at kcheatham@wsbt.com. Put Why Weight? in the subject line.

I just went to see my nutritionist, Laura for my 1 week check-up. She was very excited at my progress … and so was I! The scales showed I lost 6 pounds over the first week! I guess if you consider the changes they’re already making to my eating habits, you’ll understand why.

Last week, Kirk, Cari and I took a metabolic test as the first part of the original assessment before we could start the program. I had to lay still and breathe into a tube for about 10 minutes. Just those breaths showed that I burn almost 2,300 calories a day! But get this, nutritionist Laura cut me to 1,300 calories a day for this program. There are also specific protein, carbohydrate and fat guidelines I’m supposed to follow.

Plus, I have to keep a food diary. That means writing down EVERYTHING I eat and drink. But in just one week, it’s surprising how much healthier I’m eating. I haven’t touched a donut or the three birthday cakes that were in the newsroom over the past week.

Greg, the fitness expert over at Memorial Bariatric, told me I need to hit the gym 4-5 days a week to help me build muscle and lose weight faster. He said 3 of those days should include resistance training (i.e; lifting weights). This is going to be the tough part! I like working out, but I find it hard to make the time. I didn’t get to work out at all last week because of a cold, so hopefully this week will be better.