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. These are her thoughts and feelings shared with you.
Day 57
EXTRA, EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! Finally, on my scale I hit 20.8 lost. Sure seems like it took forever to get to that 20 pounds. I hope this is the start of the weight coming off. I now have 41 pounds to get off before the wedding. Five months. I can do it! I can do it!
Today is work out day with Antonio. I love it, but dread it. I know he will kick my butt. I also love the feeling when it’s over. I feel like I accomplished a lot and I am on track to getting fit. We do a lot of abs today. My dreaded leg lifts, one-legged box steps, planks. The works.
Day 58
Corned beef and Guinness today … for everyone but me! Not worth it to cheat for it, even though I LOVE corned beef and cabbage.
I’ll stick to my protein shakes, my salads, fruit and lean meat for dinner. I’ll save my cheat meal for another day.
I hit the gym and finished 3.5 miles in 63 minutes. I’m feeling good and proud of myself. Every cardio day I seem to push it a little further. I kept taking pictures of where I stood and at what time. I kept sending them to Mike for encouragement. He applauds me and also sends a little warning that at that pace I won’t make it to my goal by the end of the 60 minutes. So, I run. Fast! Or I should say, the fastest I have so far. I finish at 3.46 miles at 60 minutes and with a five-minute cool down I actually hit my goal. The best part about it I never lowered the incline, even when running!
Day 59
I take a vacation day to spend some time with Myklyn. I wake up early and meet Antonio at the gym for a morning workout. He has me work on arms, chest and back. One-legged squats are death! Probably not for skinny girls but for ones like me that carry most of their weight on the lower half, OMG it hurts! We do weights for my arms and back and, other than the horrible faces I make, I manage to get through. Isn’t it crazy that us woman can carry around a 15 pound purse with ease, but ask us to lift a 12-pound weight over our head repeatedly is like asking us to climb Mt. Everest? I am pathetically weak.
We have a day planned of fun and we even sneak in a nice lunch at Chili’s. I order a lunch special of chicken Mex-bowl. I remove the cheese and the tortilla chips and eat about two-thirds of it. I am stuffed! I have two things in the back of my head: One, I won’t eat again the rest of the day; and two, weigh-in is tomorrow. It makes me push the bowl away and call it quits!
We have a long baseball game and don’t get home till after 7:30. Usually we are done eating by then but we hadn’t even started. I bat my eyes and hope that Mike will let us get Chipotle and like usual he gives me the “Honey, you are doing so good, of course you can get it … But not for me, I’ll make something at home”. UGH! Hello? Like I’m going to cave in after that? NOPE.
Day 60
Today is the day, the second weigh-in and measuring will happen at the gym in front of the world. I have butterflies most of the day. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s not the weight on the scale, it’s the overall. But seriously, we all know it’s the weight, let’s be real! I weigh before leaving for work and on MY SCALE at home I am at 238.4. That is 23.6 pounds down. The gym scale is lighter and it’s great for stepping on and feeling better about where I am, but it also means I started lighter so the results aren’t the same as my scale. I am sticking to my scale since I have become a little compulsive at weighing myself several times a day. I KNOW, I KNOW that is not a good thing for the psyche but I can’t seem to help it!
I arrive at the gym and do a 20-minute warm up with Myklyn.
The “team” arrives and I get to meet Josh and Robert before the activities begin. Josh looks AMAZING. You can so see his progress. It’s a little intimidating because most people can’t really see much of a change in me yet.
We do our weighing in and our measuring with the camera rolling and all of us together. I have come A LONG way since Day 1. I would NEVER have done that when this started. Just like my hubby predicted, that beginning number was just that … the beginning, I WILL NEVER SEE THAT AGAIN!
I am a little disappointed in my results. I know it can’t come off over night or even in eight weeks, but it would be nice to see it more. I ask Antonio if he is “disappointed in me” and he assures me ABSOLUTELY NOT! He said we are right on track and exactly where we should be. Any faster and it’ll just come back and we certainly DON’T WANT THAT!
I close out the day on the Stairmaster. I do 25 full minutes on the hills.
I get home to an awesome barbeque of tri-tip, spinach and broccoli. I have a little melon for dessert.
Day 61
Up early and at the gym by 4:45. I set a goal to do three miles in 50 minutes. Just the other day I did the 3.46 in 60, so I want to push myself a little harder today. Shortly after I begin, I jump right into a nice jog. I hit the one-mile mark and decide to change my goal. I am now pushing for three miles in 45 minutes. After two miles I realize I am not going to make my goal so I increase my speed to 5.2 (mind you I have NEVER been over 4.5). I DO IT. I finish three miles in 45 minutes, take a picture and send to Mike. It’s nothing for him but for me it’s a HUGE accomplishment and I am super excited. If I had more time, I think I would have pushed for four miles, but off to work I go.
I pack a great lunch and afternoon snack since I won’t be home till after 7. I am prepared this time and shouldn’t be hungry or have any urges to stop on the way home for dinner.
After the game, Myklyn and I talk Mike in to stopping at Chipotle. This is embarrassing, but I am so excited! I do well. I order a bowl and just stick to the “healthy” stuff. I avoid the “extras.” I enjoy it but push it away after starting to feel full. I was proud of myself for not over indulging.
Day 62
Up early to meet Antonio for a morning workout. We do triceps and biceps. Do I feel it? Oh, heck yes! It blows me away how weak I am. I can throw a case of water around, I can pick up 20 bags of groceries, I can move furniture and lift 50 pounds of dog food, but when it comes to weights that concentrate on specific areas of my arms, I am so weak! I finish on the Stairmaster with a full 25 minutes. I feel great!
The rest of the day was a little challenging. We had a baby shower to go to and all the food looked amazing. I stuck to the salad and fruits and avoided the amazing desserts. LOTS OF WATER!
Day 63
I get to the gym at 8:30 a.m. today and it’s crowded. Very unusual for a Sunday morning. I do a 3-mile walk on the treadmill and call it a day. It’s not exciting or much of a challenge but since I am now on Day 62 with no breaks, I feel like this is considered the “rest day.”
