I ended last week full of intentions, plans and the determination to succeed. I went grocery shopping, prepared my lunch for Monday, kissed my children good night and went down for a full night’s rest before the alarm went off at six for my workout. Then… IT happened. The mother of all de-railers – the FLU.

Monday morning and I am so ill I can’t leave my bed. Unable to take my children to school and daycare I begin one of many, many runs to the bathroom. During the course of the day I actually lose four pounds! The BEST weight loss plan ever! Well except that it wasn’t a plan… Knocked out for four days, I truly do not have time to be ill. On Wednesday I was scheduled to head out to Ottawa for a work conference. I certainly could not cancel as there really wasn’t anyone to take my place. Needless to say, still determined, I pack my Total Body Revolution kit to come with me – I’m going to work out in my hotel room! Well except that the first meal I can eat comes on Thursday and energy is abysmal. I begin my road to recovery on Friday – eating small meals and walking through Ottawa. I am so exhausted for the next two days that it is all I can do to make the most of my trip. However, like a trooper I diligently do my workout – yeah right, nope, I play the tourist, walking miles during the day. So sadly, I did not work out once during the week I was ill. Am I disappointed? Certainly not as much as I thought I would be – having the flu really was out of my control. Once I was able to rehydrate, I was able to gain the four pounds back along with my energy. However, as much as I was completely away from my comfort zone and out of my routine, I was STILL able to use lessons learned from Total Body Revolution. Namely – food has been instrumental in my weight loss journey – proper portion sizing, high calorie drink abstinence (I tell EVERYONE I would rather eat my calories than drink them – works wonders!) and as natural food as possible. I also tried to eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day as I did not want to lose the metabolism momentum my body had created up to that point. I tend to avoid sauces like mayo, mustard, dressings and butter which cuts the calories immensely and allows me to experience the NATURAL flavors of the food! When it came time to write this post, I realized that although I didn’t get the workouts in, I still excelled – I was able to exercise by walking for days in Ottawa and still ate well. I consider this an incredible success!

– Felicia Dewar