The madness that happens in March will soon be upon us. This is the time of year when the college basketball season wraps up with a monster tournament. Some people who usually don’t watch games during the regular season will tune in and follow a favorite team. This is also a time when gambling pools are set up, so you have the opportunity to make a wager and pick the winners of each game. If you successfully predict the winners of all 63 games, you’ve created a “perfect bracket” and win the prize.

Experts say that the odds of picking a perfect bracket is something like 1 in 120 billion. You may have heard that billionaire Warren Buffet offers a million-dollar prize to any one of his employees that correctly submits a perfect bracket. Nobody has collected it yet.

When I refracted on Buffett’s challenge, the phrase “the greater the challenge, the greater the reward” came to mind. There are many unrealistic challenges, and some tend to deal with taking a gamble.

In my opinion, losing weight is the ultimate challenge — and what we’re gambling with is our life. Losing weight isn’t seasonal and you can’t wait for tournament time to start. It takes a lifelong commitment. Since life is marked by years, I look at each year (bracket) as having 52 sessions (games). My challenge is to lose weight or stay the same for each session. I have yet to get that “perfect bracket.” Somewhere during the year, I have a gain.

Now, just because my bracket gets busted with a gain, it doesn’t mean that I quit. I just start again with a new week and try to get to week 52 without a gain, creating a new bracket. If I get that perfect weight-loss bracket, I won’t get a million dollars from Warren Buffett, but I know I’ll feel like a million dollars.

This challenge takes courage, willpower and support. I’ve started many brackets on my journey; however, I’ve increased my odds of being successful now that I am part of TOPS Nation.

Special note: My next blog will start a new series. It will be a personal challenge but one I’m willing to take on. If you enjoyed Aim for the Stars and A SENSE-ble Look at Healthy Living, I hope you enjoy the next series: The Periodic Table of TOPS.