A longer, stronger, healthier life for me! Yea!

Wow! The thought of the Healthquest competition ending this week makes me sad, and honestly, it makes my stomach hurt a little bit! Silly, huh! But I have loved getting to know my team mates and sharing this experience with them all! We've shared in the struggle to get up each morning before the sun, to get our bodies to move in ways we've not moved in years, and to overcome the toll of eating packaged and processed foods on the sofa in front of the TV.

I joined this competition to get healthier and stronger, and I have done that, but I've also gained some wonderful friends on this journey! I would love to see everyone back on the field next Monday ready to grunt, groan and sweat with me. And I hope that we all stay in touch and continue to encourage one another, one way or another!

Carter and D-1 have been an amazing physical challenge. Carilu has given me so much information on nutrition that I feel better equipped to eat healthier meals and snacks and steer clear of "fad" foods. Fitness Wave has provided a window into my body's efficiency and provided information to help me lose weight and maintain it. Dr. Gupta has shown me that I need to take better care of myself.

While I am still struggling to achieve greater strength and better health, I feel stronger, healthier, and happier than when I began this competition in September. I've made life changes that are now habit. A longer, stronger, healthier life began a few months ago, thanks to this wonderful experience with my wonderful team mates and trainer!

The "Eyes" have it...

Eye Health Partners that is! They have been wonderful to sponsor and partner with me in my journey to better health! They have been supportive and encouraging, taking interest in what I am doing each morning and the results so far!
EHP is not a primary eye care facility, but it provides specialized care of eye diseases and vision enhancement procedures in partnership with your Opthalmologist. For those with diabetes, they offer the highest standard of care for Diabetic Retinopathy. Other specialized services are Cataract, Glaucoma, Pediatric eye diseases and strabismus, as well as Ocular Plastic surgery.
I have had the opportunity to use this facility myself! Several years ago, I had the Lasik vision correction procedure done. I had worn glasses and contacts for over 20 years, and the Lasik procedure is one of the best decisions I have ever made! Dr. Bregman was wonderful in making me feel informed and comfortable, and I couldn't be happier with the results!
I hope that you will consider them should you ever need specialized eye care or decide that it's time for Lasik eye surgery! They have 3 locations here in Middle Tennessee and 7 in Alabama. I'm glad that I did, and I will most definitely use them again for my specialized eye care needs!

a two-fold celebration...

In four weeks, my youngest daughter Lilly will celebrate her 15th birthday! She is anxious to get her driver's license and learn to drive (Yikes!). And we will celebrate her birth...such a blessing in our lives!

This time is also a time to reflect back to 15 years ago, on the day she was born, to my mother in the hospital getting a bone marrow treatment for breast cancer at age 46. She was in solitary confinement to prevent infection on that day, and she learned of Lilly's birth over the phone, unable to come and visit or see our new bundle of joy! 7 years they gave her, 15 years ago.

So, you see, I have reason to celebrate two-fold in several weeks...God has blessed me with two precious lives, two precious miracles of life.

I am 43, and I am at a high risk of getting breast cancer myself. So, as I get older and closer to my mid-40's, as I gain weight and further increase my risk of cancer, I am looking for ways to reduce that risk. That is where On the Homestretch Healthquest comes in!

My BMI, originally thought to be 25%, is really 32%. I want to get down to the 20% range. I am changing my eating habits, thanks to Carilu and Carter! I am stepping up my exercise to increase my metabolism and muscle mass. Carter is increasing intensity and the weights we use each day, and I feel stronger than I have in years!

It is my hope that I am taking all the right steps to prevent getting breast cancer myself. But if I do develop breast cancer, how much stronger I will be to fight it...physically, mentally and spiritually.

Thanks to Carter for pushing me each day to do more than I thought possible! Thanks to Carilu and the rest of the support team for giving me the tools to be healthy and strong! And thanks to the team of women that come each morning and exercise with me...your inspiration, encouragement and support mean so much to me! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! God Bless!

A dream come true

Once I reached 40, I began to notice that my waist was expanding. My clothes were getting tighter day by day, and I wasn't doing anything different. So I began to walk, and I worked up to 6 miles a day at Radnor Lake. It was hard, but I leveled off for a while. But a year and a half ago, I began to balloon up again, and the added weight was making my back hurt and wearing on my knee, so that it popped and became very sore. I began to try to eat less and less until I stopped expanding. Trouble was that it wasn't enough food! I had reduced my intake to 750 calories a day. I was frustrated, tired, had no energy, and moody! I had blood work run and was put on medications. I felt better, but the added weight would not come off. My back and knee still hurt, and I could not run or jog for any distance.
Flash to now and my participation in Healthquest. I am rising early to meet a group of women who are teaming with me to get a healthier life! The first week, I thought that I may not be able to do the competition after all. It's hard...very hard! I am moving in ways that I haven't in years and making demands of my body that do not feel natural. But when it's over, I feel good...very good!
I would love to visit Macchu Picchu in Peru and climb all around the sight. I want to climb mountain trails from the Appalachians to the Rockies to the Italian Alps to the mountains of Belize. I love looking over all God created from what seems like the top of the world! I want to run in the Music City Half-marathon. I don't know how much I will really get to do, but I want more adventure in my life and not be limited by an out-of-shape body. My participation in the Healthquest competition is making my body and mind more able to do these things. I am able to do more than I dreamed possible. On the Homestretch Healthquest is helping me to make a dream come true!

Week 2 and still sore!

So, this is week 2 for the On the Homestretch Healthquest competition, and I have adjusted to getting up at 4:15 in the morning for a quick breakfast of peanut butter and banana and heading out the door by 4:40 to get to my workout at D1. I am beginning to recognize the weaknesses of my body and how out of shape I really am. I am also beginning to see how I can push myself harder than I thought possible and do things I haven't done since I was a teenager!

It's funny to think back to several years ago, when I tried to do a cartwheel! Call it temporary insanity! In my mind, I still had the ability, and I didn't hesitate to try it. Well, I did it, and it was so jarring to my body, it sent pains from my feet to my teeth! I haven't tried to do one since, but I think I may try it again when this competition is over! I'll have to let you know how that goes! I DO feel younger already! Anyone want to join me in the celebratory cartwheel in December? The more the merrier!

Day One at D-1

I am sooo excited to have this AWESOME opportunity to turn back the clock on my body and my health by partnering with Eye Health Partners and participating in Healthquest! Over the last 7-8 years, I have been challenged with migraine headaches, depression, above normal cholesterol levels, lowering metabolism/weight gain, a slipping disc in my back and a sore knee. A couple of years ago, I started to exercise by walking every day. While I have a little more energy, the weight wasn't coming off, and the additional weight was causing increasing back and knee pain. I have been really frustrated at my inability to overcome these results of time and age!

I look forward to having more energy and less aches and pains. Of course, this week has been all about aches and pains! I am using pieces and parts that I haven't acknowledged in years, and they are making themselves well known this week! I carry most of my weight in my abdomen, and I have heard that fat storage in this area increases my risk of stroke, heart disease and cancer. With Ibuprophen and the encouragement of my family, friends and supporters, I will get through this first week and move closer to my goal of better health and fitness!