I have recently found a bond with 25 women who I don’t actually know. Okay, well I know a few of them but not most of them. Although I think all of them have children, we didn’t bond because we are moms. We didn’t come together because we went to the same school or joined the same book club or gym. Yet, we encourage each other every day, tease each other as old friends would and support each other.

Prior to having kids, I was extremely thin without effort. Once I had children, I put on the weight very easily and have gone up and down over the last 10 years quite a bit. Only six years ago, I weighed about 120 pounds (I’m nearly 5’6) but I had started smoking again and that contributed to the weight loss. I loved being so thin again but I had to make a choice – smoking (being stinky all the time, exposing my kids to second-hand smoke, setting a bad example for the children in my life, cancer, etc.) or a few extra pounds. I decided to go with a few extra pounds. But those few extra pounds gradually turned in to more than that. I always had excuses. Well, I just quit smoking, I’m working full-time, I sit at a desk all day, I’m always in the car running the kids to soccer, etc. Over the last six months or so, the extra weight has really been bothering. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not obese nor do I expect to weigh 120 pounds. I just want to set a good example for my kids and be a healthy weight that I’m comfortable with. I don’t want to have to tuck my muffin top in when I sit down or worry about sleeves because of chicken wing arms. So after thinking about it a lot and never really coming up with a plan, one was thrown in my face one day.

My friend Chris posted on Facebook that she wanted to host a weight loss challenge. Women would sign up for $20 each and the person who lost the biggest percentage at the end of 10 weeks would win the money. Now, I’m a very competitive person so this sounded awesome to me. Knowing that I probably wouldn’t know too many people, I messaged several of my own friends and family asking them to do it with me. Crickets! No one responded. Although I am very outgoing, I was a little shy about doing this on my own but I decided I had to. And so did about 25 other women, most of who I don’t know personally. So we started by weighing in at Chris’s house one night. Some of us shared tips on dieting, calorie counting, our favorite aps and exercise videos. We weigh in every Thursday night to see our progress. But it doesn’t stop there.

My favorite workout video

We have all come together because of one friend, a social media site and the desire to lose weight. But it has become so much more than that. We laugh together about our challenges and encourage each other. We give each other parenting advice, babysitters’ names and daily support. We are going to have a social event at the end of our challenge with Gallery to Go. Some of us have connected in other ways and are becoming social outside of the group.Although I don’t expect to win, I have lost weight, am living a healthier lifestyle and have made connections with a wonderful group of women. I’ll always be thankful to Chris for making this happen.

Have you ever connected with a group of people you don’t know? Tell us about it!

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