Goal Weight: 195 lbs.
This morning’s weight: 205
It was dark, rainy this morning and we were at Madison Central High School instead of Jackson State. The crowd was thinner but still healthy. Paul Lacoste put us through one more workout. It was tough but even with a bad leg, it was fun. And I can’t believe I am saying this but I will miss it.
But I’ll really miss the people.
Over the past 12 weeks, I developed four things: Muscles, endurance, friendships and memories. Here are a few of my favorite memories:
1. Falling off the back of a treadmill. Not that it was that much fun, but the mental image of me flying off like whale off a catapult makes me laugh.
2. Running with a parachute. That was just cool to me.
3. Conquering the towel. I will never again look at a folded towel on a gym floor the same way.
4. Michael Guarino’s 100-pound weight loss day. Seeing his son’s look of respect as his dad was being cheered was priceless. Running with the 35-pound plate he had to carry was an honor.
5. The coaches. I know it was their job to push me — and I am thankful they did.
6. Clark Bruce. He’s done fat to fit and therefore, cut us no slack. Conquering his core workout was the sign that I had finally truly gone from fit-to-fat-to-fit.
7. Line Two (my group). Being moved up to their group pushed me hard. They challenged me and I respect each and every person in my group.
8. Exile. I felt like a hamster, running in circles around the track. But I had great results the weeks I was out there. And I developed a taste for JTRAN bus exhaust.
9. The Nipple drill. Not that I liked the drill, but the name made me chuckle. Kind of like “Titty Twister”.
10. Going from size 40 to 36-inch waist pants.
11. Writing this blog. I loved the comments and feedback I have gotten. It was good therapy for me to jot down my thoughts every day.
12. Watching my teammates achieve their goals. Seeing them excited about weight loss and improved fitness was inspiring.
13. My original line. I’ve never met a more supportive group of ladies in my life. I’m proud of them for finishing the program.
14. Running in the rain.
15. Inch-worms, burpees, crab walks, mountain climbers, wall sits, suicides, etc. No, I don’t fondly remember them. But they tried to break me and failed.
16. Working through injury. I rolled my ankle on a weight after two weeks and fought the pain for weeks. I developed a problem with my right leg (might be a relation) and managed to still run the 5K in 29 minutes. Life throws you curves sometimes. You still have to keep swinging.
17. Being able to run with my sons. Fitness is a gift. Being present for my boys is a bigger gift.
18. Getting up at 3:45 a.m. Um, no.
19. The days when I gave my all and left it on the court. Those where the days when I truly improved and learned something.
20. Paul Lacoste. His training is hard on the body but I have the numbers to prove you get results. I’m in better shape than I was before the marathon (I can’t run as far, but my numbers are better.) He’s dedicated to improving the fitness level of the people in Mississippi and is on his way to bigger things. He’s tough, but does it because he wants people to succeed. And outside of the gym, I think he’s a great guy. I appreciate him for allowing me to tag along in Fit4Change. He gave me the opportunity to change my life. And on this last day, I can truly say I’ve gone from Fit-to-Fat-to-Fit.
