Looking forward to figuring out how to keep new habits

We are coming close to the end of the Fittest Loser Challenge and I'm starting to feel really bummed.

This challenge has completely changed my life for the better and I definitely couldn't have done it without the support of my trainer Josh Steckler, the Fittest Loser contestants, At Work participants, family, and friends.

I've also received some very inspiring emails in response to this column, along with some nice phone calls, including June who said she is “rooting me on.”

With only a couple of weeks of the program left, I have been thinking about plans on how to retain my healthier habits.

I'm the kind of person who obsesses over something in the beginning, but if I get sick, exhausted, or bored, then out the window the obsession goes.

Thankfully with each passing year this bad habit lessens its hold on me, but old habits do die hard.

To help keep me in line, I have been compiling a spreadsheet with different food items, rating them with best sources of protein, fat, nutrients, along with marking which items have a higher carb count.

I'm hoping to discover quicker and easier options to add to this list, since the Arlington Heights Memorial Library has an abundance of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks with countless recipes to choose from.

My diet has expanded a little bit since the stir-fry phase early in the challenge.

Breakfast usually consists of sautéed zucchini or other veggies with a couple of eggs, while snacks consist of homemade chocolate yogurt with berries, plain protein shakes for on the run, and delicious meat alternatives which don't have high carbs.

I also have been a lover of ice cream so lately with the changing weather and stress, I have found the cravings begin to consume me.

Luckily, we live in an age with “low calorie” ice creams and many that are also low-carb and low-sugar.

Whenever I have a bad sweet tooth, I grab one of these pints and I am golden.

Since I have been meeting with Josh twice a week and amidst a busy time of year for us in events, I haven't been able to meet my fiancé Mark as often for my lunch break.

When the challenge first started, we replaced my lunch break with workouts at my local gym, which really aided with my energy for the remainder of the day.

I'm hoping that Mark and I will be able to make these lunch workout dates a routine once the challenge ends.

My family has also been very supportive and accommodating during the challenge, and we work around my diet if eating out or in — and eating out can be a real pain when trying to find an accommodating place without being an annoyance to the server.

I receive comments almost every day about my appearance (no, not the crazy hair when I don't pin it back) and how good I've been looking.

I appreciate everyone's support during this challenge and I really couldn't do it without you and everyone's support.

I hope that after the end of this challenge, that I continue moving forward with losing weight and building both strength and a healthy lifestyle.

• Kat Polomsky is a Daily Herald events specialist and also helps manage the Fittest Loser At Work Challenge.

By the numbers

<span class="fact box text bold">Starting weight:</span> 155

<span class="fact box text bold">Current weight:</span> 143

<span class="fact box text bold">Week weight lost:</span> 2 lbs.

<span class="fact box text bold">Total weight lost:</span> 12 lbs.

<span class="fact box text bold">Percent weight lost:</span> 7.7%