Feeling so good I could sing about it

When I was a young kid, I loved the James Brown song “I Feel Good” and would often do special performances for my mom and her friends.

Lately, this song has been dancing through my mind because, well, I feel good!

Since the challenge has started, I have lost more than 10 pounds, which isn't a drastically huge number, but the positive changes supersede this small number.

My clothes are much looser and I'm starting to feel more comfortable in my skin.

I've never felt good wearing clothes, with the exception of dresses since they hid the massive belly that I tirelessly would suck in with any other garment.

Ab workouts were always a challenge and I felt like my belly just pushed me back whenever I would try performing a situp.

But, Josh, my trainer, likes to sneak in some bizarre ab workouts, which leaves a nice rewarding soreness in my belly.

Lately, with more core work, I've realized the importance of the core, since it supports the rest of the body and it seems to make other exercises easier to accomplish.

Another joy is how my breathing has improved.

I've always struggled with breathing while exercising, often not regulating breaths and pausing during reps.

Through the years, my breath has improved greatly from yoga and meditation, but recently I have found running to be a great aide.

My distaste for running arose from my inability to pace myself along with poor breathing, but now, with the right tools under my belt, I am beginning to refine my running and actually enjoy it.

The other day I decided to run 3.2 miles to train for the Human Race 5K we will be running at the end of this month.

With my trusty partner Mark, we were able to run the entirety with no stops. I also remembered Josh's previous advice, to start out slow and increase speed, and to finish strong.

Not only did I run one mile, I ran over three!

My core and legs felt strong, my breath was constant and I was determined to overcome the mental battle telling me to stop.

Lately, between running, yoga, and meditation, I am experiencing stronger breaths that activate my diaphragm — which is such a great feeling!

I've also been experiencing joy with my overall appearance.

I recently saw some old friends that I haven't seen since beginning the challenge and some of the first things said were, “Did you lose weight?” and “Your face looks different.”

The fact that others are noticing is an additional reward and helps motivate me even more.

The Fittest Loser program is completely changing my life and I have been able to accomplish things I never thought was possible.

I cannot wait to see what else I can accomplish!

“WO! I feel nice, like sugar and spice!”

• 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> 146

<span class="fact box text bold">Week weight lost:</span> 0 lbs.

<span class="fact box text bold">Total weight lost:</span> 9 lbs.

<span class="fact box text bold">Percent weight lost:</span> 5.8%