Another fitness challenge

Yup. Another challenge. I'm a sucker for these things, even if I'm not optimistic about winning. This time, my gym's co-owner (who is also the trainer for my usual class) proposed a challenge to me. He asked me what my current weight was and I told him. He asked my goal weight, which I told him to be about 85 pounds lighter.  Then he proposed the challenge:  "If you lose 70 pounds in 7 months, I'll give you a free year membership. That's just 10 pounds a month which is do-able."

At first, I was excited at the thought. 10 lbs. a month? Yeah, I should be able to do that if I focus.  Of course, since he was putting something on the line, he expects me to do the same if I don't pass the challenge.  He gave me a few suggestions, one of them paying for a year's worth of membership in a lump cash sum at the end of the challenge. Hmm. It would be a pain in my wallet, but it's money I'd be paying anyway over the course of a year. I think I could do that. It's probably going to be the easiest option if I'm to put anything on the line. I could save up for the amount I'll have to pay and if I win, that's a nice chunk of bonus money for me as a reward. 

However, I started thinking more about it. My original goal was to lose 85 lbs. I only have to lose 70 lbs. But that would be without gaining any muscle mass. If I'm exercising 3 to 4 times a week and eating right, I'll be gaining lean body weight.  How much muscle would I gain? Is it possible I'd gain enough in muscle mass that I wouldn't lose enough weight in shedding fat to break the 70-pound goal?  As it is, I've been wavering around the same weight for a few weeks now while my belt gets tighter and tighter. I can't imagine I'm gaining enough muscle to compensate for a lack of decrease in weight on the scale, but I can't argue with the evidence. Another thing to consider is the difficulty of staying on track with a diet of some sort, or at least healthy eating, while getting through the holiday season. It also means cutting out alcohol—at the very least, beer.

I'm pretty sure I'll accept the challenge.  The reward is worth it. It’s not really a loss if I lose the challenge the way my trainer suggested. But my mentality needs to be that I'll win. Focus!