So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!

I remember telling a physician friend about PCP at the start of this program, and he predicted that I would probably see little change compared to other participants that might have more weight to lose, or poor diet habits that need correcting. While he was right in that the changes in my body have been subtle (and I wasn't looking for huge shifts either), the real evolution isn't something that you can capture in a photo.

Let's start with the physical changes:

Losses: .5" from my waist, hips and thighs

Gains: 1.5 lbs. (which I'm going to chalk up to muscle, given my loss of inches), .5" to my flexed upper arm, 1" to my flexed upper chest/back

On top of that, my core is rock solid! As in, I might be tempted to invite family members to punch me in the stomach over the Holidays just to show off a little.

What else did I gain? Let's see, there's the tons more energy now that I'm properly fueling my body. OH, and I finally learned that I really do need to eat breakfast -- a sizable one at that! In fact, my greatest take away on the diet front is that I haven't been eating enough all these many years. Not a bad thing to learn that I get to eat more food!

On the subject of food, the PCP has also brought me to the writing of Michael Pollan. If there's anything that I can pass along to you, mysterious readers on the internet, it would be to stop what you're doing right now and pick up one of his many books. America is slowly killing itself on the route to making "food" cheaper and more "nutritious". The ONLY way this tide will ever turn is if we the consumers begin to make smarter choices and vote with our ever dwindling dollars. Please do what you can! Buy organic, locally-farmed, whole foods. Know where your food comes from and what your food eats/is exposed to. If you eat meat, please support the small farmers who believe in raising free-range livestock. Join a farm share program or shop the farmer's markets. The greatest investment that you can make is in the health of yourself and your families. As Patrick has reminded us many times over the course of this program, good health is true wealth.

Lastly, I think the biggest gain is a newfound respect for the amazing, organic machine that is my body. While there are some creaky joints, and a few more wrinkles that weren't there 10 years ago, I feel so fortunate to have my new levels of strength and flexibility. When I started the PCP, I was only thin and now I'm LEAN -- there's a tremendous difference between those two adjectives. At six months shy of 41, I can honestly say that I'm the fittest I've ever been (and I did it in 3 months AT HOME)! Yeah!

So, I've not yet mastered my much desired yoga forearm balance pose (still can't get off the wall), but that just gives me something to shoot for next. Believe it or not, the real stumbling block is working with my new ab muscles -- I've got to learn to balance with these babies all over again! That's on my list of things to do in 2010, as well as find the right yoga teacher training program for me!

Big thanks to Patrick and Chen for the fabulous PCP! You made it sensible, challenging, even fun -- sure, it was grueling at times, but I couldn't be more pleased with my results.

Thanks to my group of ladies, Emily, Jonti, Denise, and Naomi -- it was a true joy to share this journey with you! Best wishes to you all, and I hope you have a smashing 2010!!

I'll leave you with my final photos... oh the joys of amateur photography. After much light adjustment...

and a giggle attack...

and more light adjustments... we finally got the closing shots.