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 211
It’s Monday and the start of week 31. I had an amazing weekend and I totally over-indulged. I splurged and enjoyed. At the wedding, while taking my kids back to college, and now the drive home. The wedding dinner was way too good to not try everything, we had tri-tip and chicken smothered in a white cream sauce, roasted red potatoes and the best part — the banana cake for the wedding cake. You can bet that I didn’t skimp on the piece either; I had the biggest one there. I danced all night so hopefully I burned it off! On the way to take my girls we had Denny’s and IHOP and basically all kinds of bad stuff. We stopped and picked up Chipotle burrito bowls for dinner and came home and crashed. I was literally sweating thinking about what I would be at when I got home. 205! OMG, that stinks!
Day 212
Tuesday morning and I feel much better. 202.8. Much better seeing that number vs what I saw last night. We barely have anything in the fridge; I scrounge up something for breakfast and lunch and head off to work. I meet Mike at home and we head to the gym. Today is strictly cardio and a lot of it! I was determined to do a full five miles. I did, and I traded off going from jogging to walking to incline to no incline. Mike was jogging next to me and shhhh — his heart rate was 174. Mine was 129! Yep, that is me bragging!!!!! We got home and headed straight out to Costco. Restocked the fridge with fruits, vegetables, meats, waters, nuts, protein etc. Expensive but healthy! We race home to grill up a pork loin and some broccoli. It’s just us two so it’s the perfect amount.
Day 213
Now that the fridge is full, it’s super easy to pack for the day. I have my routine again of a good breakfast, lunch and then a snack right before going to the gym and then a good lean, healthy dinner. Today I arrive at the gym and Javi tells me we are scheduled for HIGH INTENSITY WORKOUT. He asks me if I am ready for it and tells me it’s possible I could vomit from the exhaustion. Ok, yes, little nervous. We do a form of circuit training but its high intensity so it’s not something I have done before. We start with a three minute run on the treadmill. Move over to the floor and do 15 reps of deadlifts, move over and do clean and snatches and include a squat while doing it. Our final activity is taking the heavy medicine ball and throwing about 10 yards over a rope and then dropping down for a burpee. Can you say HOLY COW???? I did all this four times without stopping (one quick breather in the middle of the third round). It took a full 45 minutes. Sweat was pouring off of me. My hair was drenched. I could feel the fat dripping off me! I finished off with a mile on the treadmill and left for a good dinner of ball steak and asparagus.
Day 214
OMG I forgot to get my measurements yesterday. I have NEVER forgotten. I eat well all day and prepare for a hard day of cardio. Before I start my cardio I do all my measurements. I am pleased with the results. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a LONG way to go but I am on a good path for great results. Here are my results to date: I have lost 60 lbs. I have dropped 8.5 inches in my chest, 1.75 inches in my arms, 9.5 inches in my core, ready for this — 10 INCHES in my hips (wooohooo) and finally 2.5 inches in my thighs. For a total of 32.25 inches gone!!!! Mike and I head to the gym for our cardio. Another five mile day. I do three minutes of running, three minutes of walking for 2.5 miles, and then I switch to two minutes of running, two minutes of walking for the final 2.5 miles. I feel great. Tonight my sister and I meet up for dinner (so we can talk about the wedding and look at pictures) so fun. Since I burned more than 800 calories today at the gym, I order what I wanted — I didn’t feel guilty. Chicken salad AND probably the worst thing for me — a cup of chicken enchilada soup.
Day 215
It’s Friday and I’ll be training with Javi. I look so forward to the torture he will put me through today it ends up being upper body. Chest, biceps, and triceps. I definitely felt the burn. Trying to get rid of the flag that waves under my arm when I wave hi or goodbye. It’s so not pretty. I end the night with a 20 minute Stairmaster session. It was the first time I was able to maintain the high intensity the entire 20 minutes. Very proud of myself.
Day 216
It’s Saturday and a day to clean, laundry, organize, and get my life back together after the girls left for school. I am up early making breakfast, cutting up a big fruit salad for the weekend and making bacon and eggs for Mitch and Mike. I am busy doing much of the stuff I needed to get done when I decide to take a little break and watch some Little League World Series play. It’s about this time that I realize it’s late in the afternoon and I have yet to make it to the gym. Believe me, this is when I want to just brush it off and give myself a break. I don’t. I drag myself to the gym. That is the hard part you know…just getting there. Once there you are good to go. I decide today I am going to go less time and higher impact. I crank up the treadmill and crank up the incline and get to work. I come home to a great dinner of grilled flank steak, asparagus and salad.
Day 217
Start my day with preparing food for the week. I make some fit bars for breakfast for the week and then put together lunches. Salads, wraps, etc. I do a little running around town and some errands and then race home to get to the gym. I do the elliptical today. Put on my TV app on my phone and put the incline at 15 and the speed at 10 and go to work. Makes for a quick hour when you are just zoned out and cruising on your machine. For dinner we have stuffed bell peppers, steamed spinach with red wine vinegar and Italian salad. Oh man it was good! We finished the weekend off with a great movie — The Longest Ride! I remain focused and determined. My body seems to be staying right at 202. Not really happy about that but I know for a fact I am gaining muscle. I had someone at the gym tell me that she could see the definition in my arms —— wow, I have definition! So I will keep trying, keep working and keep giving it my all. I know the pounds will fall.
