Fittest Loser Challenge leads to new discoveries for writer

For the past seven weeks, I've been living in The Twilight Zone.

Every day brings with it an unexpected twist. OK, sometimes that's just my arm or ankle reacting to my new exercise regime. But most of the time, I find myself discovering something new every day.

Since joining the Fittest Loser Challenge, my days have been a series of unrelated stories filled with action, drama and fantasy.

I fantasize about fitting into my size 7 jeans again (I'm only two sizes away). Stepping on the scale is a daily psychological thriller filled with suspense — and an occasional spurt of violence when my foot kicks the apparatus for being rude.

On certain days, I find myself horrified.

That's especially the case whenever my personal trainer reminds me that we'll be running a 5K race soon and that he intends for us to finish within an acceptable amount of time — acceptable according to him. He also likes to point out that the candidate he trained last year ran the entire race without slowing down to a walk.

No pressure intended I'm sure.

When it comes to working out at Push Fitness in Schaumburg, my workouts are filled with action and adventure.

My personal trainer, Joshua Steckler, who also owns the gym, always invents new ways to torture me. I jump around, lift weights, push 70-pound weight bags around the gym and run on the treadmill until I want to throw up. We've also experimented with boxing — definitely an action-packed adventure.

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm enjoying my life in The Twilight Zone. The unexpected twists in my days have added healthy elements into my life. Physically, I feel incredible.

My body is stronger and leaner. During every workout, we keep track of our progression. This includes heart rate, speed, repetitions and weightlifting maximums — to name a few.

It's a beautiful feeling when you see yourself become faster, stronger and progressive in your workouts.

Of course, the minute I'm beginning to get good at a certain type of exercise, my trainer ups the difficulty. “Change starts at the end of your comfort zone.” That's one of the many mottos at Push Fitness.

I can't argue with that because I'm beginning to see results. I have more definition in my muscles, my stomach is flatter and people tell me that my face looks thinner. If I wear body-hugging clothing, I often receive comments about my weight loss.

Another great change that I've experienced in the past few weeks is mental in nature. It's become easier to manage my stress — instead of allowing it to manage me. My fuse, which has occasionally developed a reputation for being shorter than average, appears to have grown longer.

Finally, I've also discovered that the voices in my head (which I stubbornly believe to be common among many writers) speak much more clearly. This allows me to process my thoughts at a much faster pace and without confusion.

Plus, between the workouts and my new diet, I feel like the Energizer Bunny on crack. I've always been an energetic person, but now I feel even more kinetically peppy. It's like my body has a new power generator. I haven't figured out how to operate it to its fullest capacity yet, but I'm beginning to understand it much better.

Accepting change into one's life is never easy. But without change, there wouldn't be any butterflies. Not that I've ever considered myself to be a colorful butterfly. I'm more of a moth — darker and attracted to flames. But that still falls into the butterfly category.

So in the next five weeks of the competition, I plan to further dig myself out of my silky cocoon. I expect much more adventure in my path before I fully morph. I welcome the battles ahead. When it's over, I'm going to miss living in my Twilight Zone.

• Kat Zeman is a freelance journalist who has been living in The Twilight Zone for the past seven weeks. She enjoys the adventure. Currently, she resides in Darien.

By the numbers

<span class="fact box text bold">Starting weight:</span> 163

<span class="fact box text bold">Current weight:</span> 158

<span class="fact box text bold">Total weight lost:</span> 5 pounds, 3.1 percent