Category Archives: Barbara O'Neill

Barb is ready to continue her journey

One chapter ends and another begins in this never-ending quest to lose — and then maintain — weight and live a healthy, active lifestyle. If I’ve learned nothing in these past 10 weeks, I’ve come to truly understand that this is a lifelong journey.  It is difficult to adequately express my gratitude for having been given [...]
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Barb knows her pattern, and she’s heading it off at the pass

I’ve always been good at honoring commitments. At work, my deadlines are always met and I put in whatever hours are necessary to get a job done well and on time. Friends and family can always rely on me to show up when needed and to do whatever is required. I never had any doubt I [...]
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Using the other racers as inspiration

At the start of this race, almost all of us stated our hope was to lose at least 20 pounds in the 10 weeks. At this time, almost 90 percent of the racers have achieved and surpassed that goal. Although the initial goal has been achieved, it shows how easily our psyche can work against us. Rather [...]
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Metabolism, Barb’s gunnin’ for ya

  The gauntlet has been thrown and the war declared between me and my agonizingly slow metabolism. Frankly, it has completely ticked me off! I set my goal this week to push harder than ever, determined to have a 5-pound loss.  Gym workouts six days (cardio and weights, all with increased intensity). Three mornings of 4:15 risings in order [...]
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Which number is Barb’s real number?

Last night, the scale again proved its power to make us question what we know, see and feel. For the first week there were few shouts of joy as each person weighed in, not because there weren’t good losses but because, for several of us, the number on the scale didn’t warrant a celebration. Why I walked [...]
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A little validation for Barb

This week had some hurdles to get over but also some rewards. Only the commitment to this contest gave me the drive to push through the tired — primarily caused by long commuter hours and a mind-numbing work project – to get myself to the gym when I just wanted to go home and “veg” out. Also challenging [...]
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The scale is Barb’s friend … for now …

As I weighed in last night fearing a potential gain due to two days of bloating, I was relieved to see that there was instead a 2-pound loss. Afterwards, though, I also realized that when being weighed in, I experienced an emotional disconnect while in the weigh-in room. I didn’t notice who was in the room with [...]
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How it all happened for Barb

The up-and-down nature of my weight, in part, helped me stay in denial as pounds began to permanently accumulate. The first 10 pounds were explained by water weight and my normal see-sawing. When clothing became tight, it was blamed on a dryer that must be too hot. The next 10 bothered me but not enough to take action and a [...]
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Barb’s seeing a change in her body

This first week was both exhilarating and exhausting, both of which I can attribute to the trainer I was fortunate to work with, Joe at Elevations at Marshalls Creek. He showed an amazing ability to balance compassion and understanding with rigorous workouts, juggling three of us simultaneously and keeping each one of us working at our [...]
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Barb’s biggest problem is getting off the couch

My greatest motivator for wanting to take on this challenge was to try and get back the level of fitness, strength and motivation I once had. Although never described as thin, I was generally within a close range of my ideal weight, was fit and very strong. Those characteristics have been lost over the past few [...]
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