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 106 

Here we go…start of week 16. I guess if you look at it that way, and your goal is two pounds a week, I am right on track. Antonio keeps reminding me that I don’t want to lose more than that or I will be saggy and a lot of excess skin…I DON’T WANT THAT!

Its game day so you all know what that means…up early and out the door to the gym. I arrive a little early and jump on the treadmill and do a straight two miles on an incline. It seems almost easy at this point. It still gives me the workout and I still sweat and raise my heartbeat, but it’s almost like a break when I just do this. 

I do my normal meal prep for the day. Start my day with a protein shake, salad and grilled chicken for lunch and fruit for a snack. For the first time in a long time I am actually starving at the game. I rarely eat protein bars but today I had to have one. I wasn’t going to make it the rest of the game without it.

We come home and make up a quick dinner of cabbage salad and chicken breast. 

Day 107 

Happy Cinco De Mayo, boy would I love a margarita and a plate of enchiladas. I opt for none of that and stick with my salad, fruit, and grilled chicken! I remind myself it will be worth it in the long run.

It’s our last game of the regular season so I get to the gym early. I do my mile and a half and then hit the floor for a hard workout on the dumbbells, resistance bands and the mat. I do full sit ups as well as my squats and pushups. I even do all of this right there on the floor in front of the entire gym. At that time of the morning I actually feel like I am the one at the gym who is in shape and able bodied. 

We close out the season with a win and a lot of people wish me well on my journey. I even think to myself what I will look like NEXT year at this time? If all goes as planned, I will be at least another 60 plus pounds lighter. 

Day 108 

Unfortunately I had an eye doctor’s appointment so I had to miss my workout with Antonio. I do my own thing at the gym and push myself on my legs. ALL of my legs. Inside, outside, upper, lower, calves. The works! I finish on the elliptical with 2000 strides. 

While I am working out, another trainer from CAL FIT comes up to me and tells me that I am really looking good and asks how I am doing. He asks me about what Antonio has me doing. It dawns on me that I have no clue. I love the fact that every single time I work out with Antonio, we do something different. I tell the other trainer this and he explains that Antonio is working each and every muscle and building strength for all parts of me. I think to myself…it’s just like Mr. Miyagi. The Karate Kid was told to “wax on-wax off”, “pick up the sweater, hang up the sweater”…when it came down to it he was training his body to do these amazing things. That’s me, that’s going to be me — I am going to be fit, solid, and ALL of my muscles will be strong. I’m going to have this amazing body and people are going to ask me, how? I’m going to have to be honest and say, “I have no clue” it just kind of happened! Waahlaa…

Mike makes us an awesome dinner. Thank God he is back from his trip. I need him to keep me on track in the evenings. We have steak; we split a sweet potato and salad. In his word the “perfect dinner”.

Day 109 

After work I head to the gym to meet Antonio. I do a one mile warm up and then we hit it hard. Once again we do something I have yet to do. Another new machine! It concentrates on my back. We move on to pushups and then we increase my heart rate by do an exercise where I stand up on a beach and switch legs then step off over and over 40 reps and four times each. We do squats with a 25 pound weight and finish by holding the weight outright and “driving” like a steering wheel. Ha, you think that sounds easy, try it! We move to the back and do a few more intense drills. I run into a friend from the gym that I haven’t seen in weeks. He seems to notice my weight loss and it makes me feel proud and gives me the lift to finish strong for the night.

I have to stop at my parents’ house tonight so I run in wearing my leggings and sports tank. My mom tells me “I am finally starting to see it”. She even says to me “even your critical mother can see it coming off”. So folks, right there is a HUGE accomplishment! 

Day 110

I have a good day, eat right and stay on track. I head to an appointment in Riverbank after work and don’t get to the gym till after 6:30. It’s Friday night and I have never been here on a Friday night. It’s fun. People are all in good moods and happy to be there. I warm up and then tackle a few machines. I work on my flabby arms and core and leave feeling like I put in a good workout. I also know I will be right back in the morning!

Day 111 

It’s a busy day for me and I have to get to several places first thing in the morning. I debate on going to the gym first and then to all the appointments. I decide to forgo the gym till later today. I have a great day and end up getting to all my activities. Throughout the day, I am approached by at least five people that follow my story and cheer me on. They are full of support and all of them state that they are rooting for me and know that I will succeed! I am asked at least twice “are you that lady? The lady in the paper?” “WOW, you are looking good…” One lady actually said I was skinny….ha! Sure makes me feel great! I love all the support, I love all the comments, good and bad, and I love that it’s finally starting to show. 

At about 5 p.m. I realize I HAVE to get over to the gym. I am NOT going to miss. I drag myself in. Once there its ok, it’s just getting there that’s hard. It’s nice and quiet and I get to work. I do hard cardio and to finish off my day I step on the scale. UGH, why do I do that? I really hate it!

Day 112 

Happy Mother’s Day! It’s a great day. I don’t start my day with breakfast like usual because we are going to be having brunch later today. We head to church and then to my parents for the day. By the time brunch is served I am STARVING. I rarely let myself get to that point but today was an exception. It was worth the wait. I skip the pastries and the breakfast casserole and stick to eggs, bacon and fresh fruit. We spend all day hanging out in the beautiful gardens and all I can think about is when am I going to squeeze in my work out? I can’t miss, I won’t miss. We get home at 5 p.m. and I am sure that the gym is closed. Mike helps me map out a run/walk that I can do on the streets instead of the gym. I decide to run by the gym and sure enough it’s open! I have one hour before it closes. Perfect! I jump on the treadmill, crank it up, set the incline to 6 and plug in my phone. I talk to my oldest for 25 minutes. Love it, sure makes it go fast. I finish at three miles and head home to a great dinner prepared by Mike. PERFECT DAY!