August 11-Last Day Weigh In

42.5 42.5 42.5 I am pleased to say that my lose while at Core Fitness was 42.5 pounds it was alot more. I learned more about me and what I need to do. I earned about moderation. I am pleased to have a great support mechanism when I get home and I am actually looking forward to getting back to work. This is the start of the journey and I am looking forward to all the new chapters in my life. Core helped me once before and they have given me another chance. I will be making some aditional changes at home to ensure that I do the right things. Having great friends both in Chattanooga and around the world have been great. So thanks too all of you.

August 10- Last Night at boot camp-Weigh in tomorrow

So my 6 weeks has come to an end and I have survived. I was blessed to have had a great time hear. I worked out hard even when I did not think I could. The trainers and staf were amazing. Halah worked on my brain, Gay tought me better eating habits, Emily and Lynn kept me going with great massages without them I would not have made it. The workouts were tough and there were days when I thought I would not get out of bed as I was so tired or exhausted. I only missed two workouts one because I was exhausted and one because I was sick. I pushed myself harder then I have done in a long time. I had friends come and workout with me and suffer as I did....lol. It was great. Thanks to Rosie, Aaron and Clair for joining me on a part of the journey. Last time I was here I had learned the tools that I would need I just had a slip up so I needed to come back and get a little help to jump start on the weight loss and I got it. Tomorrow morning is my last weigh in but regardless of the number I win!!!! Thanks too all of you who have supported me. Now off to the real world.

Week 6- Clair joined me-Weigh in on Saturday

So this week Clair joined me from Chattanooga. Last week I had Aaron who did very well. He lost 7 pounds in one week and learned how hard he could push his body. I myself continue to struggle thru. My first 4 weeks were great but the last two have been tough as my injuries have affected me and now I have a cold but I ran my mouth....what a shocker to John and he just kicked my everloving ass today. Here are some words from my guest Clair. "For the record, I did not think that this was going to be a cake walk. What I have learned the most is how really out of shape that I am, I new I was out of shape but not this bad. Yesterday I couldn't even do a simple sit-up (I was able to do them in the early morning assessment, but after I got beat up fugediboutit), while Ira was cranking them out. I am proud of Ira and his hard work and how he has been sticking with it. I am glad that I am only doing this for 1 week and he has been doing it for 5 weeks. The trainers push you hard and want you to succeed. Aaron set the bar for me and I feel that I have some work to do so I can out do him - that is what matters the most that I don't get bested by him." As always thanks for all the support. Weigh in is on Saturday

Sunday August 5--Last Week-Learning Preperation

To those of you whom have e-mailed me I am very sorry for not writing sooner. When I left you all Aaron had joined me for a week on my journey. It was a rough week for both of us. Aaron worked out amazingly hard and I was very impressed with his effort. I also learned something about him. He can be on time especially early in the morning....lol. I on the other hand have had continued problems with my shoulder. It is progressivly getting worse and I realize that I will need to eventually have it fixed. The trainers have been very good at working me out and being cognizant of my pain. They have been creative and have still found a way to bust my ass. This past weekend a dear friend got married so I flew in to Chatanooga and laid low. I brought my meals and arranged for my personal trainer to meet me Saturday morning for a great workout. While there we set up my schedule for my return. After the wedding there was a large contingincy going out to Downtown Chattanooga and although I wanted to go I knew that my place was in my bed as I had a 5:45am flight back to boot camp and I wanted to be well rested. I have had the tools but now I have gotten more. I will be ready when I go home. What I have learned is the need for preperation and planning as it is when I do not plan for my eating and when I get too hungry I eat poorly. As I enter this last week I will work as hard as I can as the numbers do mean alot to me but not as much as I have learned mentally. This week my partner Clair will be joining us for the week. He seems to feel as if this will be a walk in the park....little does he know. Again thanks for all the support.

August 1----11 more days to go

Today was Aaron's second day here at camp kill me....He is doing well and I have been impressed with his attitude. It is tough to jump into working out at this level after doing nothing for 20 years. This week has been hard as I want to push myself harder and my body is holding me up. Yesterday we had a good day as it included cardio tennis. One of my favorite events. Today i started with cardio at 6am then we had a brutal beach boot camp with Sarah. She really pushed us to the limits of exhaustion only to expect us to be ready in 15 minutes for a bike ride. Need I tell you I was blessed to have PT with Sarah. This is just not about losing weight it is about finding myself. Part of finding myself also means finding new habits and things that I will enjoy and continue to partake in. I have been blessed to get this opportunity and I will survive and grow.

July 30- End of Week Four- Wiegh In Day

So today was weigh in Day....9.5 pounds for a grand total of 30 pounds. I miss my companion from last week Rosie and I am so happy that she did so well. I have realized that it is not all about the weight. The weight means nothing if one is not happy and content with themselves. Learning how to say no to people and not worry if they will be mad at you is a difficult concept but one I need to embrace. Today I woke up with bad shoulder pain and my hip replacement side has developed some inflammation of my piriformis muscle...really painful. I took an epsom salt at 6am prior to my weigh in. Today boot camp was brutal. It was just me and Molly with John. We had a series of stations that had a very thick heavy rope and two 40 pound kettle bells then I rode my bike home. I had PT with Sarah and she decided to make it leg day. She makes me do alot of jumping. I had to jump on a tire and not a little car tire but a truck tire and then she makes me do lateral jumps over some bars. I tried to explain that large men should not be jumping over things she just smiles and says keep going. It was a long day and I was grateful for my massage and then my toughest workout with Halah the therapist. Bottom line is I survived another day and I am growing in certain ways that I hope will pay HUGE dividends. Thanks for all the support.

Saturday July 28- Rosies Last Day

Today is Rosies last day. It was nice to have a friend here that was going thru this with me and someone who competitively motivated me. Rosie took the morning off to pack...lame excuse....lol I had a brutal beach boot camp followed by a 16 mile bike ride and then Core foam rolling. I do not know if any of you have ever foam rolled but that shit hurts. They say that it is good for you but it hurts more then the damn bike ride... Anyway Rosie wrote some parting words...So I survived my week at "Camp Kill Yourself" and am in the Tampa airport waiting to return home. I lost 4 pounds and 4 inches this week (2 around my waist which is nice) and found that I am not that far off from my optimal weight and fitness level. I also found out that: I like kayaking, I am good at pilates, kick boxing irritates my back, there are bicycle seats that don't hurt my butt, food choices make a huge difference in how you feel and perform, I can survive on 1200 calories a day, I really like having a chef prepare all my meals, epsom salts really work, I can easily adapt to weekly massage, I remember how much I love to play tennis, was turned onto cross fit training and many other things too numerous to itemize. The primary takeaway though was a great deal of respect for Ira, what he has undertaken and how committed he is to achieving his goal. Getting up at 6:15 to work out everyday was not on my vacation wish list and I could've easily slept in many days. But, Ira encouraged me to go to all the activities and participate fully. He was signed up for more activities than I was and attended them all. Did I mention how hot florida is in the summer? I am not sure which is worse, the blaring sun until 9 pm or the relentless humidity (who am I kidding they both suck). But exercising under those conditions for 6 hours a day is torture. Yet he didn't miss a single session and he diligently stuck to the meal plan. I was starving most of the time and accosting the other campers for their extra food (I still can't believe Ira threw out that oatmeal!). It was one of the more rewarding, educational (and costly) vacations I have ever taken. But it was great to challenge myself, succeed, feel better and have more energy. One week was plenty for me. Don't know how Ira is going to make it through 6 weeks! If anyone deserves to achieve their goal its him. Get there! Stay there