Dear John F.
Xuereb,
Please accept my
application for your 16 week challenge.
I would love
to say that I would like to participate in the
challenge so that I can lose 10 pounds and not have
to lie on the bed to do my jeans up. Or that I
would like to be a role model for others to follow.
But the facts are that instead of merely 10 pounds,
I have about 100 pounds to lose. And the
kind of "ROLE" model I am is probably not
what people have in mind. I want to
participate in this challenge because I hate what I
have become and I need help. I have tried to
do this on my own, with no success. I have
tried Weight Watcher's with success in my first two
weeks, after that I bombed. I have tried
various other forms of diets and routines.. and if
they had succeeded (rather, if I had succeeded at
them) I would not be writing you today.
Time for the
brutal stats...
I am 33
(just turned) years old. I weigh 240 pounds -
give and take five pounds from one week to the next.
I am so appalled by how fat and un-fit I am that I
am very uncomfortable being in public. The
fact that I am willing to take this challenge
"in front of the public's eyes" is quite
remarkable, and a sign of hope for me that I am
finally willing to do whatever I have to do, to
become acceptable to myself. · I get out of breath
if I have to walk more than a block, and if I have
to run for any reason - well that just doesn't
happen! · My knees and ankles hurt from carrying
the extra weight.
What I hope
to achieve...
I hope
that I can once again look in the mirror and not
hate my reflection. · I hope that I can go out in
public without being ashamed. · I hope that I can
get to feeling that when people are looking at me
they are seeing a beautiful, healthy person instead
of knowing the are looking at me because I am so fat
and appalling. · I hope that I can go for long
walks (yes, more than a block) without feeling like
I have done a marathon. · I hope I can get back
some of the strength and fitness I once had; I used
to be very competitive in athletics when I was
young. · I hope I can sit in a Starbucks chair
without wondering if I will break it; or if I will
have blobs of fat hanging out over it.
Most
importantly, I hope that if I am allowed to
participate in the challenge i will learn a new way
of living.
Well, with
what I am hoping for from this challenge, you can
imagine my surprise when I found out that there are
actual prizes. I thought that the result of
the challenge, the "transformation", was
the prize.
Truthfully,
I still think that the results will be the prize.
I work
Monday to Friday, 8am until around 5pm. Some
days I have to work late. And I have year end
inventory coming up the first weekend in February.
Other than that, I am available, ready and willing
to do what must be done.
Sincerely,
Carla Parsons
