EDITOR’S NOTE: Jeanette Balmut has been selected to participate in the Year of You, a fitness challenge hosted by The Manteca Bulletin, CalFit Manteca and CORE Athletic Performance. Balmut is keeping a weekly journal, highlighting the strides and struggles of her fitness journey.

Day 274
START OF WEEK 40. Start of the final quarter. WEIGH IN DAY. Well it’s the first time I have “gained” weight since starting this. I was kind of disappointed but not really. When I came home from Vegas I was so devastated to see the scale up five pounds that I freaked out and panicked. I dropped weight fast, too fast I’m sure. I got to 196.6. Today is weigh-in day and I am at 198.8. Up from the 196.6 but exactly the same as last month’s weigh in. So am I upset that the scale isn’t moving??? A little, but I know what shape I’m in, and that’s ok. I have dropped a total of 36 inches overall. Majority of that is in my core (waist is down 11 inches — can you believe almost a foot?) and my hips down 10.5 inches. My thighs are down a total of 3.5 inches). Those stats are way more exciting than the scale at this point. Don’t get me wrong, I still want that scale to go down and stay down but I want my body to show it more. If I end up looking like the bionic woman, than that’s ok too!!!
Day 275
I arrive at the gym and know that it’s going to be high intensity cardio. I do three miles. I do high incline (the highest at level 15) and then after a mile I drop it down to level 5 and do a fast mile. I finish off with an off and on pace for the last mile. Tonight was a good dinner — turkey chili and a big salad with yogurt dressing. Hit the spot!
Day 275
Today my friends I am trying something new. I will be boxing. I am scared. People tell me I will love it, It will release my stress. I can’t imagine at this point. I’m not a fighter. I don’t spank or throw things or get mad like that. So this is going to be weird. I have been assured it’s the best cardio workout I can do. Here we go! OH MY GOSH I LOVED IT. It was exhilarating: The fastest half hour of hard cardio ever. I can’t wait to do it again! Not to toot my own horn but I was good! I raced home to tell Mitch and Mike and after laughing at me for being so excited and fired up, Mike said “I knew you’d be good at that”. I’m making him film me next week!
Day 276
Up at 4:15 a.m. and to the gym by 4:45 a.m. I have a ton of stuff to do tonight before leaving for the weekend for USC. I do an hour long work out, shower and off to work I go. We load up and prepare for the weekend. We are leaving at 5 a.m. I can’t wait. It’s going to be a great time. Dinner and dancing at the Red Dress Gala for our daughters sorority, Game day (nothing like it…seriously one of my most favorite things to do) and we’ll all be together so I can’t wait! 
Day 277
Up and out the door. We head straight for USC and Myklyn’s sorority house. They serve brunch every Friday and we arrive and jump right in. Wow, talk about an array of good foods to choose from, eggs, bacon, salmon, fresh fruits and cheeses and homemade mac n’ cheese like nothing you have ever had before….quesadillas and homemade guacamole….YEP…….I HAD IT ALL! It was too good to pass up and I have worked so hard. I just helped myself and enjoyed it all!
Later that night we attended the Red Dress Gala at the Sheraton downtown LA. It was beautiful and so much fun! We had a great dinner starting with salad and then steak, veggies and mashed potatoes…yep...had those too!  Then came the dessert. SERIOUSLY, I get teary-eyed talking about how good it was. Trying to explain to my coworkers just how incredible the dessert was, I can’t even do it justice. I don’t even care how many calories it was, I would do 10 work outs for just another taste of that dessert… What a fun day and night and tomorrow will be even better. I go to sleep thinking about the nachos at the game. I have been craving them for 10 straight months!
Day 278
Its game day, USC vs Utah:  It’s going to be a big day. We have tailgating all day then the game and I’m sure we will end with dinner. We start at the local hangout for the students; it’s called the 9-0. It’s quite the hangout. A true “college bar”.  So much going on and so much fun. We move on to “the row” (where all the sorority and fraternity houses are) and Myklyn takes us all around, introduces us to the entire student body it seems. We make our way to the campus and make our rounds there too. Only 150,000 people on campus partying and getting ready for the game. CAN YOU SAY CRAZY????  We have awesome seats and enjoy the game from start to finish. I decide half way through the game that I am going to forego the nachos that I have been thinking about and waiting for. I have already splurged so much that to me, it just didn’t seem worth it. I remain in my seat and drink my water like a good girl. I’m sure dinner will be worth it later on! YEP….sure was.  Myklyn takes us to Blaze. It’s a pizza bar where you order individual pizzas and they are cooked in 3 minutes. I have been anxiously waiting not only trying this place, but also having pizza. It’s been one of the things I have been holding out on and saving for that special occasion. Well tonight is that occasion. USC just won, we are starving, and it was so damn good. I LOAD my pizza up with good stuff, meats and veggies, spinach and feta and enjoy every bite. I couldn’t finish it so passed it to Mike. I was proud of myself and looking back, I did ok for my crazy splurge day.
Day 279
Wake up and meet the girls for breakfast. McKenna and I split our meals so we get a little taste of all good things. We say goodbye to our babies and head home. It was a great weekend and I’m sure the scale will show just how great of a weekend it was.  We get home and make a quick dinner of grilled hamburger patties, grilled onions and peppers, green beans and a big salad. Back on track! I feel like I have learned to enjoy myself within limits and then get right back on track the minute I can. If I can maintain that the rest of my life, I might do ok!