2nd 8 week Assessments

Today was the final "weigh in" and assessments for my 2nd session of Body Back. Pictures are forthcoming, so just hang on to your hat!

Rachel allowed us to weigh and measure BEFORE we did our assessments. You do not know how thrilled I was for that! We also did our "after" pictures before assessments. Our assessments are in the following areas: Plank, Side Plank, Push Ups, Sit Ups, Squats, Bicep Curls and a 1/2 mile run. My plank at the end of session 1 was 43 seconds, today it was well over 1 minute (but I don't remember the exact time, I'll get that and share it later). My side plank was 9 seconds, today it was over 20 seconds (again I can't remember exact, but I'll get it). Push Ups: 2, today: 5. Sit Ups is an area where I did not improve... I knew this was a possibility because of my lower back... previously I did 20, today I did 19. Squats is where I saw MAJOR improvement! I went from 31 to 40! Bicep Curls I went from 31 to 37. Then on my 1/2 mile last my time was 6:43, today 6:10. Very VERY excited about the assessments, because I did not have high hopes. I like pushing myself the extra mile and today I did that. Next session, I WILL improve on sit ups! My goal is 25!

My starting weight on March 1 was 288 lbs. At the end of session 1, my weight was 269.5 lbs. Today my weight was 253 lbs. -- if you are struggling with that Math, I'm happy to help you out: 35 lbs. down since March 1. 16.5 lbs lost during this 2nd session. My goal for next session is 15 lbs, to bring me to an even 50 down prior to vacation. That will help me be motivated on vacation to keep up with the good work and not to slack just because I am on vacation. At this point, I have nothing to lose by continuing on this program, except inches and weight. And I'm happy to have those losses! Speaking of inches, last session I lost a total of 8 inches! (2 inches from each: chest, waist, hips, thighs). This session I lost a total of 9 inches. Chest: 2.5, Waist: 3, Hips: 3, and thighs .5 ... I wasn't really pleased with only losing .5 in the thighs, but I'm over the moon about the waist and hips!!!

All in all, today was an AWESOME day. I just praise the Lord for showing me how strong He made me! I thank the Lord for taking me on this journey and giving me strength to get through each class. I take this moment to recommit myself to this journey and to continue caring for the body that God gifted me. I am so blessed to be on this journey.

Thank you to Angel and Rachel, if not for them, I don't know that I'd even be on this journey right now. Their encouragement and belief in me has been a substantial part of my journey. I'll be praying for Angel this week as she leaves for vacation and visiting with family and old friends. I know how hard it can be to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you are traveling and especially when it's family cooking you haven't had in a while. I know she is going to do a great job, because she knows that she's feeling better than she has felt in a long time and she doesn't want to ever go back to where she was.

Thank you to all who have followed my journey thus far. Thank you for the positive words of encouragement. Not everyone is able to share in my joy, and while that makes me sad, I do hope that one day they WILL be able to celebrate with me and I with them. I am so thankful for each and every person that has encouraged me on this journey. I carry those words with me during my workouts, it truly helps me make it through when I'm sure I can't go on! Please continue on the journey with me. Please continue to encourage me along my path. Please continue to pray for me. I've needed this for so long and to see the transformation happening before my eyes is unbelievable. I don't want to stop. I don't want to lose momentum. I want to see who it is God intended for me to become. Help me to not lose sight of this goal.

I'll end this post on a sweet story:

Yesterday, my daughter's school had a fund raiser at Bruster's Ice Cream shop. I did not want to deny my child the chance to support her school. We loaded up the car and all six of us headed up to Bruster's. The kids ordered their treats, my husband ordered his. I decided to opt out, even though they had a coconut sorbet! While waiting for their treats, I started talking to Maegan's kindergarten teacher and she did a double take. She said, "Wait, have you lost weight?" and I said, "Oh yes!" and she said, "A WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLE LOT!" I told her I had lost close to 35 lbs. She was very excited for me and celebrated with me. -- She made opting out of the ice cream 100% worth it! I did lick Cait's baby cone because it was melting on my hand, and I did have a bite of Matt's coconut sorbet, and it was delicious, but a bite was all I needed, a whole serving would have been overkill. It was a great night and a wonderful way to go into my 2nd session assessments! I CAN! I WILL! I HAVE!!!!

Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through HIM that gives me strength.