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 155

Starting of week 23. Sure went fast. I have been doing my best to stay on track and keep going with my workouts and eating right. With family in town from out of state and from the barbeques and the baseball games and trying to cook right.  have been faithful.  I STILL haven’t missed a workout. I have done a lot more cardio than weights, but I am doing a minimum of three miles a day and usually more. I really hope that after this week with ALL STARS for baseball and birthday celebrations over, I can get back to working out with Antonio and getting back to my regular routine. This morning I was up by 4:30 a. . and to the gym for a nice long run. Every time I am adding distance and reducing time. I’m feeling great about that. I race home, shower and out the door to work. I try to be quiet and not wake anyone so I bring my breakfast to work. Bowl of fruit and two pieces of turkey bacon.  Race to the first of two baseball games and bring my waters and piece of chicken for later. Probably should have eaten more but at least I wasn’t pigging out on junk food. By the time I got home it was after 8:40 at night and no way was I going to eat dinner that late.

Day 156

The scale showed my lack of dinner last night. It sure is my friend when it continues to drop. I am only 14 pounds from my first GOAL.  I actually feel like I could make it if I keep up dropping like I have been. I am reunited with Antonio today. So happy! I’m sure he will put me through a tough one, but I am willing and ready. I arrive for a 10 minute warmup and then we hit the leg machines. Yep, I was right. He put me through it. I did the leg press with two different positions and three sets of 25+ reps. It was a killer. Talk about feeling it instantly. We moved to the back room and we did the worst things ever…bear crawls. FORWARD AND BACKWARDS. Oh man do I hate those. Not only are they hard as heck, but I just look so stupid doing them. While upside down I keep yelling out “am I doing these right”? Antonio assures me I am and doesn’t let me quit. I sure missed working out with him. He always makes me feel like I can conquer the world. We continue on with lunges, squats and side-to-sides. I finish out on the treadmill with a one mile run. I got home and could literally eat a horse. I couldn’t wait for Mike to get home from the gym. I had to eat. I just grabbed a plate of leftovers. Vegetables, tri-tip and salad. Hit the spot.

Day 157

Another evening of baseball so you all know what that means. I head to the gym at 4:45 a.m. I can barely walk since the leg machines yesterday. I know once I get going I will feel better and I do. I do the elliptical for 50 minutes and hit 4.5 miles. Leave dripping with sweat! I have to take my daughter to the doctors to remove her splints and stitches from last week’s surgery. I do this while I am at lunch so I have to find something to eat healthy and quick. I order a chicken burrito from Freebirds. I choose wisely. Chicken, vegetables, and salsa…hold the cheese and sour cream. Myklyn types it into her calorie counter and it shows 420 in calories. OUCH. 220 of those were the tortilla. Not even worth it really. I just couldn’t drive and eat a bowl so I had to get the burrito. BUMMER! I had better work harder at the gym tomorrow!

Day 158

I do! Work harder that is. I don’t hold back and get in 5.5 miles. I feel like it’s almost a competition with me now. How far can I go before my hour is up and I have to get home, shower and get to work? I HATE not working out with Antonio, but this summer schedule is crazy. We have had 6 games so far this week and with Myklyn recovering, it’s impossible to get into the gym in the afternoon. I feel myself getting flabby just waiting to workout with Antonio.

Day 159

At it again! Day in and day out. Same thing — work, work, work. I push myself again and finish with a 4.5 mile run. A lot of cardio this week. I can see it on the scale but I don’t really know if it’s helping me look better. I don’t want to be saggy and flabby. I want to be toned! We have a baseball game again today and for dinner I order a plate of small chicken tacos. I pour the meat, the salsa and cilantro over lettuce and dump the tortillas. I eat three and I am stuffed. I know in the morning I will be up, working out and then heading right to the grocery store. We are LOW on food, fruits, veggies etc.

Day 160

I do my first round of shopping at the regular grocery store and buy the things you can’t buy at Costco. The family helps me unload since its 100 degrees outside and I am miserable. I sit for a few minutes in my recliner and all I can think about it having to get up and go workout. I don’t want to. I really just want to sit here and do nothing. BUT…I don’t. I go to the gym like a good girl and hook up my headphones and turn on a good show on my phone and got to work on the elliptical for 50 minutes. I complete at just over five miles. For the first time, my knee is hurting and it makes me nervous. I can’t afford to start injuring myself. I have a long way to go on this journey!

Day 160

I wake up and get started on making my fit-buns. Oats, banana, pecans. I bake 6 for the week and wrap them up so I can take one a day for my breakfast. They are so good, easy and 110 calories of all the “right stuff”. I make up some wheat and pecan pancakes for the family along with turkey bacon. Everyone loves them. I use sugar-free syrup and no one was the wiser. Mike and I battle Costco. We load up on all the stuff for the week. Nothing better than having a fridge filled with healthy foods to be able to eat and not have to think too hard. We all unload and decide as a family we are going to have REAL HAMBURGERS. You know, like buns and cheese and lettuce, tomato, pickles etc. I am literally salivating thinking about it. We agree that the burger will be enough of a meal and don’t need anything else. Mike and I break for the day and head to the gym at 2 p.m. I do my thing and he does his. I do arms, chest and abs. and he does his workout. I finish in 35 minutes and head over to the Stairmaster. I jump on at level five for 15 minutes. Within a couple minutes I am literally in so much pain. My knee is killing me. I only make it 10 minutes and have to get off. It makes me scared. I don’t want to be hurt! I head home and jump right into the pool. Mike assures me it’s “past the sunburn time of the day.” You can all guess what I’m about to say…NOT!!! I lay on the raft for 20 minutes and I am fried. Like I look like FLOUNDER! We have the best day. We barbeque, play in the pool and then sit down for a game with the kids. The burgers were amazing. Since we basically just had a big-ole-burger and nothing else, hopefully it wasn’t too bad for me. I can tell you it was so worth it and I will just work harder tomorrow! I am 13 pounds from that first goal. Other than my knee I am feeling great. All my old clothes are fitting me so I feel like I have an entire new wardrobe. I am ending week 23 and I am down 48.6 pounds.  That’s about two pounds a week. I have just signed up for my second 5K. Needless to say with hard work, determination and perseverance…this is working! I am starting to see the “old Jeni” resurface and I’m starting to get my groove back!!!  Thank you to each and every one of you for the kind words, the encouragement and the support. I hate to say it but I need it. I wish for anyone attempting this journey to have the same support that I have received.