A year in review

A little more than a year ago I had an epiphany.  Okay, I had a crazy idea to lose weight - 40 lbs. to be exact, by my 40^th birthday.  I called it My Journey to 40 and Fabulous.  My intentions were good, but the pressure that I put on myself was not.  

Long story short, over the past year I have tried.  I failed.  I made excuses and failed again.  But instead of giving up, I tried again and this time I was successful at doing the things that started me on this journey – being a role model for my family and learning to eat healthier so that I can prolong my time on this earth with them.

Month after month, you patiently listened and supported me on this journey and I am grateful for your readership.  I hope that you continue to read on because my journey is not yet over.

 On April 1^st I began an intense 90-Day Fitness Challenge after being selected one of six contestants to participate in the program.  The program, which would normally cost me $1,500 for nutritional assistance, gym access and a personal trainer, was graciously offered to the six of us for free by The Institute of Health and Fitness here in Chula Vista (http://theinstituteofhealthandfitness.com/blog/), AKA Body By Bobbie.

After almost being disowned by my family and friends, who saw very little of me these past three months, I emerged a new woman.  June 23^rd marked our 90^th day and the six of us, along with our personal trainers and the gym owners ended it with a celebration to reflect on all the hard work that everyone put in to reach their weight-loss goals and our plans for the future.

Although I did not win the challenge, I still came out a winner.  I lost a total of 24 lbs. and 7 percent body fat, which is the most important piece of the equation.  Don’t get me wrong, I still want to lose 40 lbs., but my main focus is to get my body fat percentage to about 22-25 percent.

You see, it’s all about burning fat and gaining muscle.  Not to sound braggy or anything, but I can’t wait to show you the before and after photos.  You will be amazed at my body’s transformation.  I could not have done it without the help from Bobbie and Ty Valkanas, owners of BBB, and of  course, my personal trainer Valeria Cieja, who not only trained me, but taught me some sign language along the way.

Because of these wonderful people, I have regained control over areas of my life where I felt I lost all control – my eating habits, poor choices and appearance.  Now, after 90 days of continuous pain, lots of sweat and tears, my confidence is soaring through the roof at the notice of my weight-loss from random gym goers who have sweated along the side of me during those grueling work-out sessions.

 I’ve lost weight before, but never like this.  The best part of it is that my family was there with me every step of the way to see me through. They each sacrificed their extracurricular activities, family time and play dates with friends so that I could live in the gym. 

I know that in their eyes, I am a winner.  They arose Saturday morning for my last day of boot camp as a 90-Day contestant and cheered me on as I ran down the road hoisting a pole of unknown weight on my shoulders.

 My husband joined me in the day’s activities.  My son, who is usually all about himself,  walked with me as I continued to hold said pole while doing several laps of walking lunges (forwards, sideways and possibly backwards) around the parking lot of the facility.  He gave me words of encouragement like “Wow mom, you look really skinny.  I just noticed all of the muscles in your legs and how flat your stomach looks.  You look really strong,” he said.

Coming from the kid who can be brutally honest about everything, that was all I needed to get me through the last leg of lunges.  Lastly, there was my sweet Ladybug, who was waiting inside the gym to do her part.  

We ended the boot camp as a family doing push ups and sushi rolls. Don’t bother asking what kind of exercise it is.  Let’s just say I wasn’t as excited about doing it and I usually am about eating them.

With my baby girl and my son behind me, and my husband on the side of me, giving it their all to show their support, who could ask for a better ending to my challenge?  It was bitter sweet, really.

I was going to miss my new friends who became like family, but I couldn’t wait to get back to my old ones.  This past year has been full of gains and losses.  I am so happy to have lost some much needed weight, but grateful to have gained knowledge about myself; my health, my strengths and weaknesses and my faith.

What I learned through this whole process of my journey is that I am and always have been fabulous.  Duh, God made me that way.  The outter appearance of me doesn’t dictate that quality.  My belief in God and the many blessings that he bestowed upon me does.

 I also learned how to be humble in the face of my failures and successes.  Although the program itself came to an end, it’s the beginning for me.  I am on too much of a roll to stop now.

I’ll admit that I took a moment over the weekend to let loose and go off the menu for a bit, but you can believe I was right back on the saddle Monday morning giving it my all with a 3-mile run in the morning and finishing the day with an hour of boxing with the bag.

My life will forever be changed by this experience.  Even if I fall down, I know that I can get up because I have the right tools in which to do it, and for that, I will forever be grateful to the folks over at Body By Bobbie.