Breaking A Cycle

Have any of you ever heard of breaking a cycle in a family? Well I think I'm beginning to successfully break another cycle in my family. There have been emotional cycles broken, developmental cycles broken, spiritual cycles broken from how I was raised and how I raised my daughter and she is an exceptional young lady because of it. The HealthQuest on the HomeStretch is allowing me to break another. A health cycle. You see I was always the skinny one in my family when I was growing up because I had a super great metabolism and was constantly running here, playing there and constantly active because when we were young we didn't have computers, gameboys, PS360 (or whatever they are), Facebook, and T.V. was something you did at night as a family and talking on the phone....well we did that on a landline and it usually was answered by a parent and they determined the length of the call and IF we'd even be able to talk at that particular moment. Cell phones had not even been thought of until I was in my early 20s. But....you see in my family was obesity... I was determined I was not going to be fat. My sisters were heavy, my mother was heavy, my aunts were heavy. And most of them were depressed for some reason or another. And ate to compensate. In my 20s, as I've shared before, I weighed 119 lbs and thought I was FAT and out of shape, even though the scale told me differently and I worked out 5 times a week and danced or played sports and such all the time.

Okay, so when I matured and life started hitting me full on and I found myself with a daughter to care for....that was my focus and my health was not the focus...being fit was not the focus....making sure she had a roof over her head and food in her tummy was my focus. And that she had a strong foundation in her faith. That was my focus. My daughter and her growth was my focus. As I said before, all of this was not done for naught.....she is a healthy, self secure, happy young girl, who has a relationship with her Lord and stands firm on that foundation when faced with any challenge. So, several cycles have been broken. And this week we are taking the steps to break another. You see while I was busy breaking those cycles I was still fully immersed in the most unhealthy one....the lack of focus on my health. I didn't eat right, I either didn't eat when I was depressed or I ate the wrong things, I didn't devote time to exercise and my weight went up and my health suffered. When my daughter was 6, I weighed 120, when I began this HealthQuest I weighed twice that and then a little. Arrgh! And so this is a cycle that needed to be broken....not only in me, but in my daughter's future. I do not want her to be where I am right now, ever. I don't want her to have to worry about her health. I want her to know how to care for herself and eventually her family. So...as I said....this week we are taking steps to break that cycle....or should I say she is....and I have this journey to credit for that...

She is basically a healthy girl. But she loves her soda and sweets. Typical kid. Well, she came last Friday with me to D1 and then she came again today for Friends and Family Day. She still says I'm crazy to get up at 4:15 a.m. every day to come and work out at D1 but she wants to begin regular INTENTIONAL exercise and today she made a commitment to give up soda for a year. I gave up soda about 5 weeks ago and I feel awesome. I'm so excited that she is doing so as well. The chemicals alone are bad enough, but the sugar just promotes the desire for more sugar (and so does artificial sugar...so lets not go there) and you know where that ends up....on the backside. I told her this morning that I am taking strides now to teach her, so that when she's 46 she won't be having to re-direct her teenage daughter because she will have already shared with her the benefits of good nutrition and exercise. They might actually WANT to get up every morning at 4:15 because it's just that important. You make time to be healthy. And it 5:00 a.m. is all you've got, then you do it then!

At D1 this morning, she once again was challenged, but she did the workout! She did an awesome job and I was very proud of her. She did mountain climbers and burpies and pushups and leg lifts and crunches AND did bear crawls pushing a lightweight cushion first 10 yards and back, then 15 yards and back, and then 20 yards and back and then 25 yards and back. And when I was struggling to do the same......in the midst of other verbal encouragement I heard "Come on Mom, you can do it!" How cool is that!!!! Yep, I'm breaking a cycle! Praise the Lord!

She is one of the most important reasons I signed up for this.....to get her healthy from the inside out (along with myself). Today....the beginnings of the cycle started!

Thanks Carter. Thanks Kara for encouraging Savannah to join us again! It was great to see 4 teenage girls there working out with us today! 4 teenage girls who live in a society where sedentary activity is more popular than getting out and getting exercise. PRAISE the LORD and thank the Lord for Carter Hays, HealthQuest on the HomeStretch, D1 and Carilu Robinson for her nutritional advice.

How blessed am I? My cup overfloweth!

See you roosters in the morning.....although we'll be without the little "chicks" .....let's do this thing!

I'm here because of Magazines.com. Check them out!!!!
Blessings,
Juji

Friends & Family Day at D-1!

Brian and Savannah joined me today. Although you can see I worked much harder than they did! LOL!

It was great to have my daughter and Brian with me there today. It allowed them to see what we do regularly. Savannah was pretty impressed and said "Mom, I'm proud of you. I can't believe you go there and do THAT every DAY!!!" She did a fantastic job! She did say she was sore when I dropped her off at school, but I'm hoping she will join me again before the end of this HealthQuest. I'm getting healthy from the inside out and she is one of the reasons why.

Brian did pretty well. He only suffered in a few of the repetitions, but survived and didn't spill his grape nuts before the end. I was very proud to have him with us as well. He is the one I share much of my journey thoughts and tidbits with and he has been one of the most encouraging of my friends on my time on this HealthQuest. He knew it was a tough workout, but today he found out just how tough! He also gave me much credit today for sticking with this for 9 weeks. What a blessing and fuel to finish the journey.

I was blessed to have both of them with me today. And it was great to meet the family members of some of the other girls! We have all grown into a close knit group and that is another one of the many blessings of this HealthQuest on the HomeStretch.

And if I'm not mistaken.....my backside in that picture looks a little smaller than it did when I started this thing. Go ahead...scroll back up and check for yourselves. :-)

I am fond of the solid instruction we are receiving from Carter. He ROCKS my face off! and his workouts kick my butt ....off! I'm currently squirreling away my acorns to be able to continue this journey after December 5th. I've even put "Carter Bucks" on my Christmas List! Seriously....instead of receiving gift cards to stores I've asked for "gift certificates" to continue my journey with Carter.

Besides having my daughter.....this HealthQuest is the best thing I have ever done in my life! It is hard, but it is FUN! Believe it or not!

Another HealthQuest is starting in January....do you know someone who might be interested in making their lives healthier from the inside out? Check out the website! onthehomestretch.com

Have a great day fellow Roosters and all others reading this.

Blessings,
Juji

7 weeks, 2 dunkings and 4 big ole pounds of F A T!

Good news! Today I'm saying bye bye, adios, farewell, shoo, skiddaddle...get on out of here! to 4 lbs of Body Fat!!!!

Let me explain! Yesterday I went for my second "dunking" and received the results of a change in my body fat. I've lost .8 percent body fat (YEP, 4 lbs of ugly old fat!!!). I couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad about that. But it's official.....it's FANTASTIC!!! All of us were a little concerned this morning when talking with Carter about our results yesterday. We pretty much all had around the same % change in the body fat %, but the other numbers were different and a bit confusing. I personally was confused how I could lose 4lbs of body fat and not gain ANY lean body mass....yep, the number stayed exactly the same after 7 WEEKS of strength training and working my tail off...which is basically what I said to Carter. He assures me that that is FANTASTIC! So I am content in that. He's the expert and I trust him completely. David Harris from FitnessWave told me it was good as well....but Carter cemented it in my mind. In all of our minds. We just need to keep doing the work, fighting the good fight and we will do well and the numbers will eventually line up in "our minds" with what we're doing. Interesting fact he told us is that you have to burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 POUND of fat, but have to consume 2,500 to build lean body mass. Feats that are not possible at the same time. Most lean body mass begins to build AFTER you have lost the excess fat. And alot of people lose lean body mass when they are working out....so he was okay with the fact that my number hadn't moved. I'm sure I have most of that right in my head even if it didn't come out right here. At any rate....Like I said I trust Carter. He has a lot of knowledge that he shares with us and I continue to be blessed.
He told us that we need to be aware and maintain three things diet, exercise and sleep. It's baby steps here girls and we are doing it. So let's keep it up. I continue to be blessed and amazed by all the women on my team. Each week I get to know another one a little bit better. Each week we all make progress in areas we never thought possible. And Each week someone tells me good job....and that means the world to me in this journey. The support of Carter Hays, my other team members and the other people who come in to train occasionally with the Roosters.....is awesome. Thank all of you. But mostly, thank you to my wonderful friend Cindy....it's because of her that I am here. She works for Magazines.com and she suggested them as my sponsor when I thought I wouldn't be able to find one. She is my hero and I am forever grateful. Blessings to you all. May God Bless all of you tremendously this weekend and reveal Himself to you in ways beyond all understanding.

And Carter...Thanks for your words of encouragement, your creativeness to always make it new and still working us until we want to scream, for the smile I leave with each day because it totally rocked that I was able to do it and for your wisdom in your blogs and your heart for God. How awesome!

Have an awesome weekend! (And to my fellow squirrels...you know who you are....keep squirreling away...this journey isn't over when the HealthQuest ends on the 5th of December!) :)

Juji

Our Buddy Andrew

Hello fellow "Roosters"....I came across a series of videos by Andrew today on-line and KNEW you would all be interested in seeing the one in the attached link. What an inspiration this young guy is to all of us! I personally love having him come "play" with us at 5 a.m. He rocks and he's had an amazing transformation. For all of those people who still believe it can't be done...check this out! Yea Andrew!!!!! Just click on the link below and then hit the green arrow! I found it by Googling Carter Hays and then looking at all the videos by Andrew. There are several if you have time to watch...beginning in March and through May. Enjoy.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual
&VideoID=29965612

Blessings,
Juji

Week 6 is Officially OVER!

Week 6 is officially over and am I'm wondering if I'm the only one that is sad that we only have 6 more left. I am loving this. This week has been the "week" for me. The week when I can actually see I'm going places with this HealthQuest on the Homestretch. Don't get me wrong, I have loved it all the time...well most of the time. But this week when we had "Form Wednesday", I actually felt like I was missing something all day long because we didn't actually have a workout. CRAZY! I know.
I loved Form Wednesday and getting some informative answers to some questions and I was excited that we would have some "lecture time" with Carter. That man KNOWS things. :-) But I did miss our workout. This week I can do many of the things I COULD NOT do even a week ago. Is that amazing or WHAT??? I am personally seeing changes in my skin, in my face, in my arms (yeah...the giggle in my arms is not so much....just ask several people at youth group and they will tell you how I was showing off on Wednesday night...LOL!.....leave it to Ms. Juji....always being goofy!!)

Anyway, I'm in a bit of a need to buy a few pairs of pants because I KID YOU NOT....mine are so loose I if I walk for a bit I start to feel a little bit "gangsta" with the baggy britches! So a new wardrobe is in order at the end of this journey.

My accomplishments of significant mention this week.....

...I did 3 burpees PER LINE for 50 yards, coupled with pulling a 50 lb sand bag 5 yards each time and then something else all the way back, but seriously cannot put a finger on what I did on the way back because I was so happy about the burpees (squat thrusts)....until this week I've managed to do probably a total of 10 in good form of the I'm sure hundreds Carter has given us in the previous 5 weeks. It was a challenge and this week I made progress.

...I am mastering the Bear Crawl by way of pushing a 125 lb Hummer tire 20 yards and back.....several times.

....I can do 10 push ups nearly perfectly now without totally falling flat on my face afterwards.

....I stayed in the plank position the ENTIRE last 30 seconds.

....I am learning that I am stronger than I think I am. Mentally. And as Carter says...although not in these exact words....your mind can be your worst enemy when it comes to doing things....if you think you can't do it...you won't be able to do it...even if you are the strongest most fit person ALIVE.

...I was reminded that I am just a few weeks away from wearing those jeans that hang in my closet still with the tags. Hard work, pushing through is paying off. Thanks Carter....that meant a lot and were the words I needed to hear that day!

....I gave up sodas of any kind FOR GOOD this week. And here is why......I found out several things, but the one that was relevant to me is for years my legs have hurt and I just thought it was because an increase in weight. Well along with the HealthQuest I am on, I decided to finally listen to someone and go off soda completely...I did that for two weeks....I didn't notice that my legs had STOPPED hurting. Well on Saturday I went to a Band/Color guard competition with my daughter Savannah and "allowed" myself two fountain cokes throughout the day. I also walked about 1/2 mile (NOTHING for me these days since I usually RUN at least that during our workouts each day). At any rate, when I got home that night my legs were THROBBING...not muscularly, but in the tissue. Anyway, after some thought and some Motrin...I realized the only change I had made during the day was soda. I consulted with Carter on Form Wednesday and told him my self diagnosis...he told me that I was probably right to some extent..given the fact that soda dehydrates you...(you need to drink 12 cups of water to replenish what one soda basically zaps from your body)....and you have veins that provide circulation in your body....arteries that go down your legs and little tiny veins off of those that take blood back to your heart after the larger veins brought it down to circulate in your legs....when you are dehydrated not only are those little tiny veins constricted and so are the larger ones to some extent. The heart has to work harder, etc. etc. to circulate blood throughout your body. The fact that blood is trying to rush through those veins and return to your heart is causing the pain...the throbbing. I have always been a person who said "yeah, yeah, yeah, I need to give up the soda because of the sugar, or the chemicals or whatever....but never really did. And I can tell you that pain was real enough and strong enough that I don't want to have another soda EVER!

I had recently read a study about fibromyalga and MS and how some patients that admitted drinking diet soda regularly and had been told to completely remove it from their diets. They did and several had been misdiagnosed and the cause of the pains throughout their body was due to the excess of chemicals and sugars in their bodies from the Diet Coke.

Since I hadn't been diagnosed with either of those illnesses. I just read it for info....until Saturday happened...and I remembered my years of pains in my legs at various times.

Anyway, that's not all we learned, but I have learned enough over the last six weeks of this HealthQuest to completely take myself and my daughter off of soda. I won't drink another one. And it took an incident like Saturday to make me realize the seriousness and the accuracy of what I've been told for years. For myself. But also for Savannah. I'm working on getting it totally out of selections of drinks.

Wouldn't it be great if all of us just listened to the experts and saved ourselves a lot of grief to begin with.....Getting Healthy from the Inside Out took on new meaning for me this week. Marked events that will change not only my life, but my daughter's and her children and so on and so on. Breaking cycles in families is another benefit and blessing of this program. My family cycles have been changed on many levels throughout the years from a spiritual, emotional standpoint. My daughter's life is very different than mine because of it. Positive cycle changes. And NOW this cycle will be added. What a blessing all my new friends are to me. What a gift from my God who promises to bring me through anything He takes me to. He has changed my life in so many ways....and He's not done yet. I'm a work in progress and Week 7 of this part of the journey begins in a few days! Thanks God.....you spoil me.

If ever you feel that I am bragging about myself at all...remember this... I KNOW I can do all things through He who strengthens me....and my life is what it is today because of that one thing alone...that one comfort and promise. I boast to His glory and not my own.

Have an awesome weekend everyone!
Juji

Good and Happy News!

Well, at least to me......at nearly the end of Week 5, I am making better food choices daily....it's not too hard after working with Carter in the mornings....you are DEFINITELY more conscious of what goes in your mouth throughout the day.....and it's paying off....because the good and happy news is that I am wearing a shirt today that in recent months has stayed in the closet because it WAS uncomfortable...bunching up in all the wrong places, etc. and while it could fit better (and will eventually)....it is not bunching up in all those wrong places and I actually am comfy in it. Now...the next goal is those jeans I bought years ago because I thought they were my size and they weren't and I haven't worn them yet. Soon I'll be taking the tags off those babies and slipping into them. And I'm getting healthy in the process.....and all thanks to being given the privilege of being on this HealthQuest On The HomeStretch.

Thanks Carter!

Anyone ever seen a smiling Rooster?

A happy smiling Juji!

Week 4 Complete!!!

Well ladies and gentlemen, we did it. Week 4 is history. And history is always a look into where we are today and why....Well, I for one am happy and amazed! 1 month ago today I was one of the girls there at D1 after the first work out thinking...."I might not be able to do this"...."I'm going to do it, I want to do it, but I might be so far out of shape and still recovering from a fractured ankle that I might not be able to do this". But I've done it. Struggled, forged on and did it. I have done the bear crawl, although I am still in the "perfecting mode", still working on the burpee (squat thrust thingy)...but I will conquer it as well. And TODAY!.....today I stayed up the entire time during the front facing part of the Plank on the last 1/2 minute! I almost jumped up and shouted Hallelujah!! And TODAY, I pushed a Huge tire 30 yards and didn't fall on my knees! I did it....my body can do this!!! But, you know what, I have to give credit where credit is due..."I can do all things through He who strengthens me.." rings truer and truer each day that I go to that gym. I pray every morning as I do my walking warm up, that God give me strength to do at least one thing I think I can't do and that He sustain me through the workout...I ask Him for this with the promise that I will always give Him the Glory for the work He is doing in me. He shows up every single day! He blesses my efforts. He created me and I have allowed the world and too many other things keep me from keeping this vessel in the condition it needs to be to fulfill all the great plans He has for me. And, like Carter told us one morning....It's not God telling me I can't do this! This morning that voice started telling me at 1 am.....you know that calf of your's really hurts...you might want to skip your work out today.....I seriously thought about staying home....taking a day off...because I was hurting....but I said ...NO! I am going, if I can't do it all then I'll do a little and if I can't do a little then I'll wait til the end and at least hear Carter's talk for us today....Well, I went and within a few minutes....the cramping wasn't as bad and I was doing EVERYTHING being asked of us....God created our minds and He gave us free will. But we also know that He can take all the bad and make it amazing so that He may be glorified. He did that in my life, He does it daily , He did it today and now He is doing it in my transformation. My transformation in not only of my body and my health, but of my mind.....solidifying that promise I've read so many times and applied only to a few areas of my life........"I can do ALL things through He who strengthens me". He means THIS too!

I know I sound like a broken record, but I am so thankful for this opportunity. I'm thankful that I get this chance to improve the REST of my life by being on this HealthQuest on the HomeStretch. I'm thankful to have Magazines.com as my sponsor. I'm thankful for my new "girl" friends. I'm thankful for Andrew....a 31 year old INSPIRATION that shows up to work out with us 5 a.m. Roosters two or three times a week who is so encouraging in his words....I'm thankful for Jimmy.....a man that comes every day and works out with us and puts his all into every movement and NEVER gives up....I'm thankful for Holly.... a mother of seven who is a positive encouragement to all us girls and Jimmy down on the "Mall side" of the gym even though she is not officially on our HealthQuest team....she rocks....and, YES, I'm thankful for Carter.....he's tough sometimes, I almost walked in and said "good morning Jillian" to him on Wednesday morning after our VERY tough workout on Tuesday, but then he told us how proud he was of us and that NO we weren't imagining it...it was the toughest workout thus far....and honestly since that moment, I've heard every "good job guys"...."you guys are doing great"...."way to finish strong", etc. he has said. Thanks Carter!

Today, I feel like there is nothing I can't do....it's just a matter of time until I can do it. Thanks to everyone who is on this journey with me....whatever place you land in that scenario. I am honored by this opportunity and call it a JOY to not only know you, but to be blessed by knowing you! God has big plans for all of us! And like I always tell my daughter.....waiting to see what those plans are is like a kid on Christmas eve! Sometimes we get things that have been put on a well thought out list....but sometimes we get the most unimaginable treasures! (even if it comes by way of....50 jumping jacks, 6 burpees and a bear crawl....)

Sorry if I rambled on and on ....but I'm really, really excited! This is happening! This is happening to and IN me! How amazing is that!

May each of you have a tremendously blessed weekend!

Love you guys!
Juji

Week Four and the Dreaming is In Motion!!!

Today was the first day of week 4 of this HealthQuest on the HomeStretch and it was a good day! My knees are still very achy when I'm doing the squats (150 or so today) and going up the stairs and I still can't do that squat thrust thingy the correct way, but I'm not giving up and I was told by Dawn, one of our mentors, today that she had the same thing happening with her knees when she first started and now her knees don't ache at all.....A GOAL for sure!!! and good news to my ears (and knees)!

But onto the dreaming....a few little things I'd like to do in the future that I think this HealthQuest on the HomeStretch will help me be able to do.......for years I have wanted to go white water rafting, but when I was thinner, my daughter was too young and by the time she was old enough, I didn't feel I was in adequate shape to go without completely embarrassing myself. My goal is that if I fall out of the boat, I want to get myself back in it! So, THAT is something I definitely look forward to doing after this quest is over and my goal weight is reached...which will be a few months after the quest ends. Additionally, I want to go two-stepping and waltzing. I used to go dancing all the time and now while it would be good cardio, I'm a little self-conscious and want to be much smaller.

It will also be a blessing to make my annual mission trip to Belize much lighter and healthy than I am now. I'm headed there again in June 2009. We always have an excursion to see the Mayan Ruins at Xunantunich and while I always make it to the top, I'm definitely winded and need help to climb the huge hill before you even get to the ruins. Yeah, not so much fun!! But next year will be different, much different.....because even after this HealthQuest is over, I am determined to keep up the workout and diet disciplines needed to continue my quest for being healthy from the inside out as well as much, much better numbers on the scale...a goal weight of 155. And a Body Fat Goal of 18-22%. Those are my goals and I am so thankful for this opportunity.

I would also love to run in a marathon with several friends who run them regularly. First one on the agenda.....the Country Music Marathon as well as one ran on behalf of the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home that my church participates in yearly.

BUT....my ultimate goal is to be here to see grandbabies graduate college!!! I know I am only 46 and my daughter is only 14, so that is a long way off....but changes we are making today and all the information we are learning from our HealthQuest Support Team can only help in that process and ensure that not only will I see my grandbabies graduate college...I might even see great grandbabies do the same. Wouldn't THAT be awesome!

But...now, back to the present and how much I am looking forward to tomorrow. My friends keep asking me how I like it and I guess I'm really enthusiastic when I say I AM LOVING IT, because they say...."no, tell us how you REALLY feel"!

I continue to be thankful to Magazines.com for this opportunity to join a great group of sisters and friends (which is what they are becoming) on this very fruitful journey....I continue to be encouraged by the team helping us on this Quest and I still believe that Carter is the MAN!!! I was encouraged by Carilu Robinson (nutrition) and Dr. Gupta (internal medicine) yesterday and believe I may actually have a grasp on nutritional life style changes and how to bring some of my numbers to a level where I'm not pre-diabetic. My numbers were within ranges, but if I had continued my lifestyle prior to the Quest....I was certainly headed to a grim health path and future!

Thanks everyone and thank you God for this opportunity to care for this vessel you have given me!

Blessings,
Juji

I Can't See It....But They Can!!!!

Yep, people are coming up to me and saying I can see results in your face! Some think it's that I've lost weight, but honestly I think it's just a glow I have!

Maybe it's lack of sleep making me slap happy, but I don't think so.....I think it is actual happiness!!!

A gentleman commented on my behavior in the elevator this morning on my way out of the parking garage....people usually arrive in the elevator headed to work and honestly are...kind of grumpy...you know them, you've seen them, you may have been one of them and I KNOW I have been....but this morning, I was smiling and said good morning to everyone who entered the elevator....Well I exited last with another gentleman headed in my direction .... he said ..."you seem to be in a really good mood this morning"....(total stranger)..... and I comment..."I am definately trying to be"...."well," he said..."it's working". and we chatted all the way until we parted ways at our buildings wishing each other great days. That made my day and made me stop and focus on that...Yes, I was in a really GREAT mood!!! And I have a little place called D1 and CARTER to thank for my new energized mood! And a great group of ENCOURAGING ladies and a great week on the HealthQuest On the HomeStretch. ....

Today was the most challenging I have had this week.....I thought I was going to absolutely not be able to grab one more breath out of the air after our last trip up the steps carrying a 10 lb weight and pumping it into the air as we went.....And I think ..."where does he come up with the variety of this stuff! It is AWESOME!"....

But even after an incredibly hard day....I felt awesome after taking my daughter to school for early morning CRASH Thursdays, rushing back home for a quick shower and then heading into work AND arriving in the parking garage a little late~ I felt awesome!

And it's 3:34 in the afternoon and I still feel awesome.

Oh and did I tell you, I can now tie my shoestring without that much effort at all after lifting my foot gingerly onto my knee!!! Baby steps, baby steps....but my goodness this is working! I am getting stronger....I am doing things this week I couldn't do 2 weeks ago....and ....and....wait for it......I did a version of the bear crawl this morning while pushing a weight 5 yards at a time, standing and doing crunches over my head and/or lunges and then down for another 5 yards of bear crawls!!!! and so on for 25 YARDS!!!! AWESOME!!!! Carter is the MAN!!!

It is not unimaginable to me anymore that I will be able to do all of these things with EASE by the end of this HealthQuest On The HomeStretch. I'll be more healthy on the inside and on the outside and already have a healthier outlook on everything in my life...beginning with my health. I continue to relish in the blessing of it all. I continue to be excited and I'll continue to work on the perfecting my bear crawl.....mastering the dreaded plank ....and figuring out how to do my "new challenge" ....the Squat Thrust!!!

Shhhh, don't tell Carter this...but either he's taking it easy on us, or we're getting really good at this! :)

Let's do it Roosters!!! (and visiting Dawgs!) We're getting healthy and becoming stronger together! What a blessing you all are to me~

Okay....I'll go put all this energy to use somewhere else for a while!!!

Looking forward to the tomorrow!!! Who am I .....and what did I do with Juji! LOL!

Blessings to you all and say good morning to someone in the elevator tomorrow! or at the store! It just may make their day!

Juji

Blogging Champion

We are becoming girls who have hearts of a champion and now we are blogging champions!!!

Let's do this girls!!!

Juji

Still in AWE on Week Two!

Orange is not normally a choice of color for me for blogging, but today I am choosing a bright and wonderful color! Because that is how my world looks from here on out!!! Bright! Yes, I am still in awe of the fact that I am here on the HealthQuest on OnTheHomeStretch.com....a true blessing and gift from above that came out of no where...which they usually do! I've been praying for a real change in my life....a change that will impact the life of my daughter and here I am....getting up at 5 a.m. every morning, meeting with a wonderful team, an awesome trainer and literally working my BUTT off! This week has been just as amazing as the first.....I am totally hating every aching muscle by the time I leave the gym, but all day long and the next morning I am excitedly expectant of the challenges and opportunities the next work out will bring. And I continue to be blessed and honored by the fact that my friend Cindy who works at Magazines.com felt lead to ask her boss about being my sponsor and to send me on this journey on the HealthQuest. I need this. I need Carter kicking my butt every morning. I need the accountability of the new friends I have been blessed with. These women don't know my journey thus far, but yet they step up to the plate at every opportunity to encourage me on the next step...whether it be the dreaded BEAR CRAWL or that last trip up the flight of stairs...I hear them......cheering, rooting for me and I gain strength in that...sometimes enough to finish, sometimes not and still they cheer and encourage.....How Good is My God that He gave me them. He always gives much more than I deserve....He always has! And as my favorite line from one of my favorite movies, Forrest Gump, says....."God Showed UP!" Many of you who read this do not know my journey, so I hope to share that with you. I hope to share with you a hope that you can have to make the second half of your life better than the first....by showing you my journey, my struggles, and my hope for a better future for myself and for my daughter. A healthy future I am traveling towards on the OnTheHomeStretch HealthQuest.

So, let me tell you a bit about myself prior to and what I have experienced these past few weeks.

In my teens I was a string bean, you could have duct taped fat to me and I wouldn't have been able to hold onto it. In my 20s the trend continued and I was always slender and in great shape...I was even a trainer at a local gym in San Diego where I lived...but being from a family where most were heavy set, I was terrified that I was going to become what I am now....FAT....in fact at 119 lbs and 5'8" tall with barely an inch I could pince anywhere I thought I was fat. Little did I know....I wasn't fat, I was seriously ILL! I say that non-chalantly now, but at the time it really stressed me out to find that my bathing suit dug into my thigh just a little too much, etc. I smoked, I drank, I partied and I worked out! I was determined not to be a BAHAMA MAMMA, which I negatively and cruelly called my sister when I was an immature teenager. Which I desperately regret.

At any rate, in my late 20s I met and married my ex-husband. I quit smoking and gained 30 lbs. in 6 months time. A year later, I became pregnant and gained more up to about 195. In 1997, I divorced my husband, became a single mother and started my old habits again....the pounds flew off....either from not eating, smoking...which I'm told speeds up your metabolism....stressing about taking care of a child on my own or what....in no time I lost 65 lbs. after losing about 20 after the birth of my daughter. I was now down to about 119 and stick thin and swore!....I will never be heavy again......in stepped God....He came into my life and transformed it....I quit smoking after a very direct friend told me just how selfish I was being with my daughter....I prayed and told God I had tried to quit again and I needed His help....I needed him to tell me every time I wanted a cigarette to ask him for help. And He has been faithful to that request....I have smoked only 2 cigarettes in 7 years and that was when my father died and I thought I "needed" it.....well....just like before...even though it was a blessing....along with quitting smoking and a job change, came the poundage. A short time before quitting smoking, I was fired from a job managing a horse farm where I walked nearly 20 miles per day along with all the elements of farm management including harvesting hay, cleaning horse stalls, maintaining the barn, bushhogging the fields, mowing the lawns, pulling weeds from the flower beds and maintaining a horse arena, just to name a few tasks....I also managed the full operations financially as well. It was a great job for activity and weight loss. So within about a span of a year, I went back to a public relations job (more sedentary) and quit smoking....and as I said before...the poundage returned. And then a few years passed and more came. And before I knew it I was beyond any weight I had measured to date. I began trying to diet and exercise....and several people told me to lose weight you had to keep your calorie intake under 1500 calories per day and also exercise at least three times a week for 30 minutes. WRONG!!! and then came TheHomeStretch HealthQuest and my enlightenment as to why I have been unable to make the scale move down more than 10 lbs in over 3 years time....and usually it has gone up.

Move forward in time....... After a fracture to my ankle in April 2008, my plan to workout had been sidelined for nearly 2 1/2 months and I was finally able to work out and had been for about 2 months at the local recreation center. Every morning I got up and went to the gym and rode a recumbent bike, swam or walked on the track....I was developing a habit, but not any great weight loss. That habit has paid off. In August, my dear friend from church Beth Dundon, sent out an email notifying me and several others about the second HealthQuest offered by OnTheHomeStretch.com. As I said earlier, I mentioned to my friend Cindy (my normal workout buddy) that I might be bailing on her for a bit if I found a company to sponsor me for this HealthQuest "thingy" I was wanting to do....her words to me were "Honey, I will go by myself , so if you get a sponsor...don't worry about it" and then she said "and let me tell Jennifer about it to see if we (Magazines.com) would be interested in sponsoring you." FAMOUS words if ever there were. I had been asking several companies to sponsor me and hadn't gotten an answer and within DAYS, Cindy had talked to Jennifer and Jennifer had talked to Debbie Alan and HERE I AM! on TheHomeStretch HealthQuest. Do I have a blessed life of WHAT!!!!???? I am so fortunate, so thankful and so blessed to have this opportunity given to me by Magazines.com, my friend Cindy and all the wonderful people at TheHomeStretch, Carter Hays our trainer, and all the participating companies and doctors who are helping us to find out where we are healthwise and helping us to reach toward the place we want to be!

Our journey began last week with our workouts and a bit of nutritional and strength training advice cushioned within each day. The first few days, I was still thankful, but a little worried about if I had bitten off a bit much....5 am was a piece of cake....someone making me do 20 lunges, 20 pushups, 20 squats altogether might be too much....WRONG! I CAN do it, we do AT LEAST that every day, PLUS a whole lot more and as I tell friends daily, "some mornings are hard and some days I have to force myself to walk...unsure of which muscle I can pinpoint hurts more....but I absolutely LOVE it!"

On Tuesday of this week and Wednesday, I did all of my initial testing. The testing that will determine where we are physically that will be measured against the same testing at the end of our journey. I can tell you since I had my first tests on Tuesday, I have been shocked, cried, been mad at myself and others and been more determined than ever to help myself and then others, including my 14 year old daughter, to make the rest of our lives HEALTHY from the inside out. To lose weight, but most importantly to be healthy. We've received alot of tests, some we have results for already and some we do not but that will be posted on this site as they come in.

The tests that I do have the results to were the most devastating to me thus far....I learned on Tuesday after a VO2 test, Metabolic testing, and a hydrostatic "dunking" test at FitnessWave that not only do I not eat enough calories to lose weight, I've probably sabotaged myself, but also that I have a 50.6 percentage of FAT in my body.....I realize that the fat in my body NOW weighs MORE than my whole body weight in my 20s when I thought I was FAT.

HOW did I get here? I am to blame. And I'm the one that will get me to where not only where I WANT to be, but where I NEED to be, if I am going to be around to see grandbabies one day! A combination of things have added to it. A myth that I've long adhered to that women who want to lose weight need to maintain 1500 calorie diets and work out at least 30 minutes a day is WRONG.

You cannot base your calorie intake on that thought process....you can only know how many calories you need to have by knowing your body needs. I found out that because I have been depriving my body of the number of calories it NEEDS to work every day, I have in a sense put it into starvation mode and so it hangs on to whatever I put in it for energy....I have learned that you must give your body calories for it to maintain and then calories for it to burn fat! Is it a shock to me that I am suppose to be eating 400 more calories per day to lose weight, yes, but the bigger shock is that that number will go UP, not down as I become more healthy. My body will require more energy as my body becomes more lean and less fat. Of course, the choices for calories are equally important, but I feel so much more prepared to address this lifestyle change with educated knowledge behind me....knowledge I would have never been able to have on my own, because as a single mom....I would probably not be able to or even think of providing such a "luxury" (as I see it now) on myself and having myself tested. I would have plugged right along doing everything wrong and wondering WHY ME, why am I depriving myself and seeing no results.

And I truly believe....like He always does...that God stepped in......Do I have a blessed Life OR WHAT???? I REALLY am feeling like His favorite this week. I know I sound like a broken record at this point....but I am sooooooo thankful for this.....I am so excited about what lies ahead for me in this HealthQuest offered by TheHealthQuest.....I am so excited about the workout that Carter has planned for us tomorrow and every day between now and the end of this Quest on 12/5/08 and I am so excited to see my friends and companions on this journey meet their goals and receive the blessings of this opportunity as well.

Thank you David Harris for FitnessWave testing, thank you LifeLineScreening for all the testing received yesterday that could be life changing, thank you Vanderbilt Medical Center for doing our bloodwork to test our cholesterol, thank you Perry Smith of ProMotion Physical Therapy for helping me figure out how my body works.......Thank you, thank you, thank you all! I am blessed....

Let's do this!!!!
"Juji"

Week One at D-1

WOW, all my excitement in one small paragraph! I don't know if that is possible. What a blessing these first three days have been! Hard! But such a blessing! We've done jumping jacks and ran and lunged and sprinted and bear crawled…urgh… and ran up flights of stairs and PUSHED a 40 lb. HUMMER tire 60 yards after having pulled it 20 yards. How cool is that! And what a tremendous workout! I have alternated between aching and screaming for joy and excitement and sometimes pain over the three days…..but I am so THANKFUL I have been given this opportunity to get healthy from the inside out! I am energized and I am READY to make the rest of my life better! AND, AND....I am part of an incredible team I am enjoying seeing and getting to know every morning....even at 5 a.m. :)

-Juji