My "Weight No More" contest adventures continue with an unexpected compliment from a highly unexpected source...

I have a friend who is a marathoner, a lean string bean Queen! "Hang in there," she consoled me. "I still get fatigued when I run 19 miles."
I get fatigued when I drive 19 miles!

The Wayne Independent and Wayne County YMCA are once again sponsoring the "Weight No More" contest, which this year attracted more than 170 participants. With just two weeks remaining, we still have 115 diehards eating right, exercising and living healthier lives.

You order a salad and they bring you the Rainforest. You ask for the fish and Shamu shows up with a parsley sprig! What's a kid to do in the face of that kind of temptation?

Yup. I reached 170 pounds this week. Down from 186 at the start. In celebration, I treated myself to a double cheeseburger at Burger King. I also chatted with Tina Hoehn at the Wayne County YMCA about programs tailored specifically for seniors...

My evil hand actually picked up a box of Thin Mints (the most sarcastically named cookie on the planet!) "I could have just one," I thought, "and then feed the rest to the raccoons."  Right.

The music was lively and my fellow Zumba classmates accepted me as one of their own...meaning mostly that they didn't collapse on the gym floor in hysterics watching me try to do some of those sexy salsa moves.

First we did these deep, walking 'squat/lunge' moves where you strut across the gym looking a lot like Groucho Marx, or maybe Monty Python's silly walks! Amazingly enough, no one laughs at you.. at least not to your face.

This past week I tried to get outside each day in pursuing my rediscovered dedication to a healthy lifestyle. On a couple of occasions, I jogged on over to the Glen Dyberry Cemetery and attempted to attack the hills which I once ran in preparation for football season.

Fat Tuesday.... What? Will I have different thighs on Wednesday?? Oy...