WEEK 8

This is the final week of Boot Camp. I have missed only one day throughout the 8 week session. Friday is my last workout and Saturday is my graduation! I will immediately sign up for the next Boot Camp beginning in April. I am enjoying it.

This week I have spent two mornings with O'Shun. Her classes do not include running around the parking lot but let me tell you....I hurt! I appreciate the tender care she exudes when she works with us. She makes me feel like I truly deserve to be there which at times, I am always second guessing myself.

My exercise abilities are coming along. My balance is one thing I have to figure out how to work on...it is bad! I am definitely more flexible now.

Pound wise and inch wise I know I have lost but Saturday will be the measurements.

I'm hanging in there!

Week Six - BOOT CAMP

I WILL SURVIVE!

O.K... it is now at the end of Week Six of Boot Camp at the YMCA and I have not given up. I have not missed one session and have even showed up at 6:00 a.m. on Mondays so that I can attend my choir rehersal in the evening.

I am most likely the oldest and the fattest participant and also have a cadaver ACL ligament in my knee, a plate and 8 screws in my ankle and have had surgery for a ruptured disc in my back. My family and friends will remember that the ironic thing of this is.....I broke my leg and ruptured my ACL dancing to the YMCA at a Catholic Woman's Convention!!! LOL! Even with all these problems...especially the age and fat issue, the trainers still make me feel like I can do anything.

The trainers are Rico, Mikey, O'Shun and Judy. I have only attended Judy's class once as she does the 10 a.m. and I am at work. I attend O'Shun's 6 a.m. class most Mondays and find it challenging but different from the evening class. When O'Shun looks at you, you know that she cares deeply for you and wants to make an impact on your life. She just doesn't know how thankful I am to her. She is a tiny woman who is very powerful and she blends in yoga along with the heavy exercise. It is a hard work out.

In the evenings we have Rico and Mikey. What can I say about the evening class? It is B>>>R>>>U>>>T>>>A>>L!

It is tough, hard and strenuous training and you do not get to drink water until they tell you that it is o.k. You do not move unless they tell you it is o.k. Rico is NUTS but it is a good nuts. I hate him during the hour but love him after as I know he pushes me to my physical limit but never makes me feel bad for not being able to keep up with the younger ones...especially when running. He makes me try harder. Mikey pushes limits just like Rico and there are many days I don't like him until it is over also.

I will admit that I am still having problems with running. It is not the pain from running or anything, it is the fact that I cannot get my breathing regulated. I'm working on it hard and hope to get it under control. I actually think I am beginning to enjoy running a little. Gee...did I say that?

What can I say about the group of participants in the Boot Camp? They mostly consist of much younger and definitely much skinnier participants. I have come to form such a great respect for these youngsters. They seem to have more faith in me than I have in myself. This is so humbling to me. When I feel like I can't move another step or lift my leg one more time, they are there to encourage me. I have been brought to tears several times just thinking about the love and support they have shown me. They tell me how proud they are of me....me....the one who is running slower than the rest.....breathing harder than the rest.....and trying to keep up with them. THEY are proud of ME! They just don't know what they mean to me. THEY do not know the impact they are making on me.

I just cannot thank these people enough. They are slowly changing my life for the good. O'Shun, Mikey, Rico and the participants in our group are the reason I am there. I signed up alone and now I have the biggest group of supporters ever. How can I ever fail with them behind me?

MILESTONES:

1. With legs together I can not only touch my toes but now can touch the ground. (When I started I could not reach my toes)

2. I am finding that getting up from the ground is easier.

3. I can now complete approximately 10 leg lifts.

4. I may have stated that I have gone down one shirt size and I think a pants size but haven't tried it out yet.

The pain is brutal but....I WILL SURVIVE and be the better for it thanks to this wonderful group of people...trainers and participants alike!

WEIGH IN FOR MID WAY POINT OF BOOT CAMP

Today was my mid-way weigh in for Boot Camp. We were also measured. In the four week period that I have been attending Boot Camp, I have lost 11 pounds and lost inches all over except my chest. I am so thrilled because I can really feel the inches and didn't think I had lost that much weight. I guess the pain and soreness has been worth it.

I have gone down one size in my shirts so far. I am no longer a 3X-4X but a good 2X now. My pants...24/26 are looser and hopefully soon I will move down a size there also.

I have never admitted it but will now....as of my first weigh in, I weighed in at 294 on their scale. Today it read 283 and I am happy with that number as the trainers said we may not lose a lot at first as we are building muscle.

Even though the weight and inches are great, the biggest thing that I am proud of it the fact that I have not quit, I do not take short cuts, I run like everyone else in the group and I am determined.

More updates to come!

Week 4 of Boot Camp

Today I started week 4 of boot camp. I thought I was going to die on Friday as we were running all over the place and I just could not catch my breath. They say breath in through your nose and out through your mouth but I just cannot do it!

Today I attended the 6 a.m. class. I really like this class as well as the evening one. I felt good after today's workout and going in the morning helps me be alert as to what I am eating for the rest of the day.

This coming Saturday will be our mid-way weigh in. I don't know if I have lost anything but I will tell you this....I know I have lost inches. I have already gone from a 3X blouse to a 2X. I wore two shirts this weekend that I have not been able to get over my arms or my chest. It was a good feeling.

TAMAQUA AND HOMETOWN, PA

A Dying Area

AARP recently did a video on my hometown area of Tamaqua, Pa. It is a sad thing but it is also a sign of the times. Go to the link below for the video.

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/money/laid_off_hometown_pa_video.html

A NEW BEGINNING...AGAIN

O.K...never give up is my motto.....I have not posted here since September and I have been in Weight Watcher hell!

On January 10th, I began a new journey....not just diet...but a commitment to something that I am proud I even went so far as to commit to.

On January 10th I signed up and weighed in for Boot Camp at our local YMCA. What is even more exciting is that I did it by myself....no friends in class with me...just me to be responsible to get there and do it.

Today started my third week of Boot Camp. We are encouraged not to get on the scale as you gain weight first and I have not but I know it is doing nothing but good. I have time slots where I can choose to attend. I can go from 6 to 7 a.m., 10 to 11 am or 6:30 to 7:30 pm, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I have basically stuck to the pm class led by Ricco and Mikey. Let me tell you....Mikey may sound cute but he is a former drill sargeant and a slave drive and Ricco is just as bad. Our evening consists of heavy duty work-outs in the parking lot of the Y. Running sprints....jogging....lunges....running with weights....curls.....crunches...you name it. If you forget your dog tag in any class, you are punished.

On Martin Luther King Day I tried out the 10 a.m. class led by Judy. Judy is a sweetie and very helpful. We did a spinning class and I was just happy that when I got off the bike the seat wasn't stuck in my crack!!!! LOL! I did pretty good and then we also did elastic bands.

From today forward I have to attend the 6 a.m. class on Mondays. Yes....6 a.m! This means I got up at 5 a.m. and left my house at 5:30. Got to the gym and this morning class is led by a lady named O'Shaun (sp?). O'Shaun was great also. Don't screw up because then everyone has to do 10 more push ups! We did ball tosses, sprints, lunges, band work, frog hops, leg lifts, etc. I finished class and got a shower there in COLD water as we live too far away from the Y and I had to get to class. I did feel good today after exercising but I will probably fall asleep early.

My muscles ache....I keep finding body parts that I did not know I had but it is a good thing. I have been watching my diet along with the exercise so I am hoping for some good results.

We don't get weighed in again until the following Saturday as it is an 8 week session and we get weighed in the beginning, middle and end. I'm hoping for some great results or I'll die trying!

SEW FUNNY!!!!!

On Sundays after mass, a group of church people get together and go to breakfast. Our conversations run from football, computers, music, teeth to who knows what. This week I was telling everyone how excited I was because I watched a You Tube video on how to fold fabric! I then tried it and took every single piece of fabric out of my sewing room closet and began folding. I was like a kid in a candy shop....sew excited. It took me two days to fold everything.

After explaining this to the group, I noticed that they just weren't as excited about it and stared at me like I had two heads. My organist, Dan Cotter, shook his head in disbelief wondering why anyone would spend two days folding fabric and told me that he could not believe my enthusiasm for it. He said I should have my own crafting show. I guess it is a sewing female thing! LOL!

Anyway...I'm sew excited sew here are the pictures of my sewing room to prove just how neat, organized and spacious this folding method has made my room!!! Men...you could only wish your tools were so organized