I am HOME!!!.

Well....I got home yesterday later afternoon! It took us forever because traffic was so bad. I was soooo excited to see Jim when he came to pick me up! I will never leave for that long again! Ok....here are my results from being at camp for 4 weeks! I lost 16 pounds!!! Chest - lost 2.75 inches, Hips - lost 2.75 inches, Thigh - lost .75 inches, Calf - lost 1 inch, Arm - lost 1.25 inches and in my Belly - I lost 9 inches!!! My body fat went down by 2%. I could wear my skinny jeans that I took hoping I would wear! When I finally got home...the kids were waiting by the door. When I walked in, my daughter was sobbing and so was I. My son just kept saying "oh my gosh...are you really my mom." That made me feel good. I walked into my family room and alot of my friends were here to welcome me home!! THere was even a big banner on my garage saying "welcome home mom/lori." It was awesome!! It was hard to leave the ridge! I have made soo many great friends there. THey will be friends for life. I want to thank everyone who read my blog during my month of adventure! Everyone that commented to me, text me, called me, emailed me!! You guys truly made it easier to get through each day! I love each and everyone of you. Remember to "Dominate the Day."

I see the finish line and it looks GREAT!!!

Sorry I didnt blog last night!! I was PACKING!! Getting ready to go HOME!! Can you believe it....4 weeks have past! Yesterday wasnt too exciting except on the hike I took my friend to the big hill that I climbed the day before...she was afraid, but I guided her to the top!! I couldnt believe that I was taking someone on a hike that I was too afraid to do before. All of our guides wear yellow jackets, so she was joking that I earned my yellow jacket! Then we walked back to the resort for a total of about 9 miles. If you walk back you get out of you 11:15 class! After the classes we had a lecture with the dietician to make sure we were on track for eating right. Todays hike wasnt too exciting...all the regular classes...I ran on the treadmill longer than I have before...so I was happy. I did 2 classes of cardio disco jam which is by far the most fun class. Someone said if you go on you tube and put in cardio disco jam it will come up....it is funny. Today after both classes...they had a surprise...about 4 of the guys here and the instructor made up a dance to "all the single ladies" and performed it for us. It was about as funny as when Justin Timberlake did it on SNL...except these boys didnt wear tights! What a great way to end my stay. Tomorrow I still have one walk and one class and then DONE! I have to attend the graduation Sat night and because I have never missed one class, one lecture or one anything...I get a jacket!! I cannot wait to see everyone. I will blog tomorrow night and let you know the results...I weigh in tomorrow morning!! I actually have some muscles!!! I was kidding the girls at dinner last night....told them I was going to have a "gun show" when I got home. Just kidding! My arms are starting to show muscle! Now, if I can get the bottoms of my arms to stop moving when I wave...I will be happy. Oh...didnt tell you...we had some drama...there were a mom and daughter around 17 that were changing in and out of their bathing suits right by the pool!!! Can you believe it!! They must be from Europe or something! They were told not to do that. I am sure there are some guys that werent happy that they were told to stop!! Anyway...thank you for taking the time to read my blog. You guys are truly amazing! Remember to "Dominate the Day."

Out of my confort zone today!

Today went on a hike that consisted of walking up a big hill that I was afraid of walking up. I finally did it and was so proud of myself!! One more thing I did that I didnt think I could. After our hike I had circuit class, then kickboxing, then mountain class and finished with pool. I kicked butt in all classes! It felt really good. Went to quiznos today for lunch...what a treat that was! Nothing too exciting tonight! Very tired!! Can you tell I am done with this place??? My blogs are getting shorter and more boring! 3 more days until I see my husband!! WOO HOO!! Can you tell I am excited??? Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!! Remember to "Dominate the Day."

4 days left!!

Today started with a 5 mile hike. Nothing too exciting....I am going to try something different tomorrow to change it up a bit. After the hike we had stretch!! You know we love stretch class after the hike! The next class was total toning and finished it with 2 pool classes. The second pool class was taught by the same trainer that taught our total training. She is our Jillian, just doesnt get in our face and yell. We love her though. I totally thought see was trying to drown me today...was sooo tired after that class! There are a bunch of us leaving this weekend and we are doing the countdown! I found out today that one of the guys here is a poker player on the big poker circuit and is on tv quite a bit. I told him I never win at poker (texas hold em) when we play with our friends. We are now having a poker tournament this Friday!! Cant wait. I told him I need a lot of pointers!! I am so excited to come home, but I will miss everyone here for sure!! These people become your close friends and family while you are gone! Tomorrow starts at 6 am for me. Dont know if I want to go to open gym or pilates/yoga!! I guess I will figure it out tomorrow. Thank you again for taking the time to read my blog...I really appreciate it. Remember to "Dominate the Day."

My last Monday is DONE!!

My new roommate came in yesterday...she is very nice. I am so happy! It was hard to fall asleep last night because of the time change. I woke up and went to the 6 am pilates class...it was pretty much just stretching. We had stop sign hike again today....I made it to the top and the big hill was sooo much easy than before. I was very happy about that. As silly as it sounds....that song "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus really helps me when I am struggling with the steep incline. I think that sould be my theme song for my trip here. When we came back I had Mountain class. I was like...are you kidding...I just climbed a mountain!! It wasnt bad at all. There was so much energy in that room. I think I was just happy because it is my last Monday!! After Mountain class...I had open gym where I did the machines, then circuit class and finished off with 2 pool classes. I felt really good. Very tired today. Wednesday I go on another field trip to Quizinos to learn what is good for us to order. Thursday I am going of site to a cooking class...they cook low fat foods and you get to eat it for lunch. This week they are going to cook baked egg roles and noodles. It sounds good. Plus we do departing guest lectures...hopefully I will be busy so the week flies by. 5 days left! WOO HOO!! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I really appreciate your support!! Remember to "Dominate the Day."

Friday is Done!!!

Woke up and did the 6 am kickboxing class. It was alot of fun. I changed up my hike alittle...instead of hiking in the mountains, we walked from the state park back to the resort. It is alittle over 4 miles. I then had cardio intervals, total body toning, cardio disco jam and pool. Disco jam is the best class ever!! It is soooo much fun. A great way to end a Friday. I had an 80 minute deep tissue massage. It was great! We have the stop sign hike tomorrow. Everyone hates that hike. All I keep thinking about is....I am almost done!! I hope my new roommate is nice. I was so lucky with my rommate that I had for 3 weeks. She was such an inspiration. We now have had some nice sunshine. People are now eating lunch and dinner outside...much better than being snowed on. As usual...your support continues to amaze me! I hope I continue to make you proud as I continue my journey at home. I know I will still need your support. I also want to thank my friends that supported me when I was getting ready for my journey to fittness ridge. The difference is....now I know what I am capable of. Sorry if this blog is alittle short and boring...I am TIRED!! You probably wont hear from me until Monday night. Lets hope this week goes by fast. I cant wait to see you guys. I will continue to Dominate the Day....hope you do to!

Cant believe tomorrow is Friday!!

I was tired this morning....didnt even hear the alarm. Thank goodness I woke up in time for breadfast and our hike. On the hike I walked about 5 miles..of course my legs and knees hurt. They seem to warm up after an hour. I was laughing while walking on the hike because some of the songs on my ipod made me laugh. Lets see....Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Little Mermaid and Winnie the Pooh!! Those songs reminded me of my kids and my niece. My niece used to love the song from little mermaid. After our hike we had gym glass..our teacher had us on a cardio machine for 20 mins and then had us running around the buildings...up and down stairs...jumping jacks etc. It was crazy. I couldnt run really because my knees were hurting after the hike. After lunch I had ball works, I hadnt done that class since my first week here....I was much stronger this week. After that class I had treading and finished with pool. We finally had a sunny day. My roommate and alot of other girls I have bonded with leave on Sunday. They will be missed. One of the girls lives in Santa Monica and we already have plans to meet up for lunch. I will have a new roommate, thank goodness I am down to one week. I am truly counting down the days. Oh...I didnt tell you about our other field trip yesterday..we went to the grocery store and was shown what was good for us and what wasnt. I guess donuts and cookies are not good for us. All kidding aside...it was pretty informative. I am sooo glad tomorrow is Friday. This is the day we have our disco cardio jam. Everyones favorite class. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. Remember to Dominate the Day.

Blog for Wednesday

Today was a hard day. Everyone says the third week is the hardest..it is! At week three, everyone is ready to go home and is very home sick. This morning when I was getting ready to leave for another hike...I thought....I really dont want to do this! I looked at my phone and had a text message from my friend Greg Gibson (the originator of the saying "Dominate the Day"). It said to do the best of my ability and to challenge myself. That was exactly what I needed to get me through the day! Thank you sooo much Greg!! The people that say week 3 is hard...say week 4 is great! During our pool class today it started to rain and then snow for just alittle bit. Crazy!! Some of us went on a field trip to Target. It was great going to a Target! The people at my Target probably think I moved because they havent seen me. I am sure the workers at Jack in The Box are ready to put my picture on their milk cartons since they havent seen me!! Cant imagine what the ladys at Star Bucks think!! Thank you so much for reading my blog. Remember to Dominate the Day!!!

One day closer to Friday

I updated my blog tonight...a long one. Went to post it and something happen and it disappeared. I am tired and going to bed. I will update it tomorrow.

Thanks so much...Lori

One more day done!

I cant believe tomorrow is already Wednesday!! Well today was a first....when we left for our hike it was raining. We all thought maybe they would cancel...of course not. We were getting rained on, but the higher we hiked the rain turned into full blown snow!! I was so excited!! Freezing cold and wet....but excited! I dont see snow that often! After our hike I had open gym and walked on the treadmill, then 2 classes of cardio intervals and finished with total toning class. Hardly anyone went in the pool today! We had vegetable lasagne (sp?) for dinner and our chocolate covered strawberries for dessert! Last night I actually ate a salmon burger! I didnt want to try it but the girls talked me into it and I loved it!! I really have loved almost everything here. The only thing I wont eat is tuna. Anyone who really knows me....knows I cannot stand tuna! So I usually have hummus when everyone else has tuna....perfectly fine with me. Today I talked to my sister. It makes me feel so good when she tells me she is proud of me. She even told me my dad and step mom are following my blog and that they are proud of me. That really makes me happy! I was thinking today while on the treadmill and I really havent done a lot of stuff that people would be proud of. My greatest accomplishments are my two children and my marriage! To hear that people are really proud of me.....that makes this month away from my friends and family all worth it! When I first was planning on coming here....I was totally concentrating on losing pounds. Now...I am not worried about pounds or inches....it is knowing I am strong enough to do whatever I want to! Dont get me wrong...of course would love to see results, but now I know that knowledge is sooo powerful! Tomorrow they are taking a group of us to Albertsons to show us how to shop for the food that is good for us. I am really looking forward to that. Tomorrow night is our field trip to Target! Well...I better get to bed. Tomorrow morning will come very fast. Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my blog! Your support continues to amaze me! I will see you all soon! Remember to Dominate the Day!!

Beginning of Week 3

Where do I start?? Lets see...Saturday morning we had our dreaded stop sign hike! I think I mentioned before, we start at 3000 ft elevation and end at 4000 ft elevation. It is a timed hike. Everyone hates it. I only made it to what we call mini stop sign and back down which is about 6 miles. Every muscle in my body hurt and I was so frustrated! I had a circuit class after that and was done for the weekend. A bunch of us went bowling Saturday night! We had such a good time. I almost didnt go, but I am so glad I did. I truly have bonded with these people here. Sat night and Sunday we had to say goodbye to some good friends. Sunday we welcomed more inmates...oops I mean guests! Dan Evans from Biggest Loser season 5 is here with his mom, they were together on the show. He doesnt seem very friendly. Today was the dreaded stop sign hike AGAIN! Everyone gets so nervous they cant sleep! I iced my calves and knees this weekend in hopes that every part of my body would work properly. We started the hike and my shins began to hurt!! I was like REALLY!! What else will hurt!! I was determined to make it to the top today!! My roommate suggested I wear my ipod, I hadnt before. Well I did and it must of helped. When I was climbing one of the hills I hate, I would listen to a certain song and things it reminded me of and next thing you know I was at the top! I actually shaved 15 mins off my time! I hate that hill, but nothing feels better than touching that stop sign. One of the songs I listened to was on of madison's favorites...The Climb by Miley Cyrus. Just listening to the words helped! I know that sounds dorky. The other one was Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. That reminds me of Jeffrey, Corey and Suzy! Of course Bestfriend by Queen reminded me of my amazing husband! My whole experience would not be possible without my amazing husband. How did I get so lucky! Ohh...I forgot the rest of my day...after stop sign I had mountain class, then circuit, then step and pump and finished with the pool. It even started raining while we were in the pool. I have started my count down! I only have one Monday left and 3 stop sign hikes! After tomorrow I will only have one Tuesday....etc. Thank you so much for all your support. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Remember to Dominate the Day!!

Thank goodness its Friday

Today started off with a hike that I really didnt want to go on. Everyday a hike! I started walking by myself and my friend Seth walked with me so it wasnt so bad. We ended up walking 6 miles. Seth is from New York and he is a character. He is going home on Sunday and everyone here will be sad. He is everyones cheerleader! He even had me climbing on some rocks that I didnt want to. After the hike I did cardio intervals, then we had lunch, then circuit, then cardio dance jam and lastly pool. In cardio intervals and in circuit, I ran on the treadmill. It is so easy to do that when everyone is cheering you on. I ran for 3 1/2 mins and my heart rate was so high I thought I would have a heart attack! It felt great!! Fridays around here are kinda fun and easier than normal. Our dance class was fun..just kinda danced around. When we got to the pool class there was so many people we convinced the teacher just to let us pretty much hang out. She really has good music and we sang all class...totally fun! I got a massage tonight and it was awesome. Hopefully I am in good shape for the stop sign hike tomorrow. Time for bed. Sorry it is kinda short tonight...I am tired. Thanks for reading my blog. Remember to Dominate the Day!

Almost Friday!!

I woke up this morning to rain! All I could think was...no...they will not make us hike!! Yes...they did. They handed out rain ponchos and sent us on our way. I went on a 5 mile hike and walked with my friend Shalaine. It rained a little and the wind was crazy! My back, calves and ankles hurt again! After the hike we had stretch class. That is an awesome class. Today I did 2 pool classes since I was in pain. After the pool classes we finished with treading. I think I explained it before....5 mins as fast as you can give, 5 mins recovery, 4 mins as fast as you can go, 4 mins recovery...etc. I was at a 12 incline on the treadmill. On the last min..all the girls on the treadmill were running. One of the girls said..."come on Lori, you can be a runner." So I did! If felt good. I think the next two weeks here I will start running on the treadmill...baby steps. I went to the chiropractor tonight for my back and he aligned me. It feels good! They had a jewelry expo, but nothing grabbed me. THen I sat in the lobby with some friends. It was nice. You really connect with these people...and then they leave you! I was showing some friends my facebook pictures and they couldnt believe the difference in my face. I dont see it. I hope they are telling the truth! I totally feel stronger! I really believe I am ready to come home and continue this. I miss you guys! Thank you so much for following my blog. It really makes me feel connected! Remember...Dominate the Day!

How many parts of a body can hurt at one time??

If you were to walk around these halls...you would think you were at an old folks home. Everyone moans and groans because of their pains. Everyone is hunched over and their bodies need to warm up before they work properly! Today during the hike...my knee, calves and ankles hurt! It was so hard to put one foot infront of the other. Again...not drinking enough water! I am trying! We had circuit after the hike, then after lunch we had open gym, then mountain, pool and kickboxing. I pushed myself even more today! Didnt think I had much to give...but you just find it! When those trainers are yelling..."2 more minutes" "give it all you got"...it is hard NOT to give it everything. Their saying is "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable." At the end of the day when we had kickboxing...I thought no way...I am soooo tired. Well...I did so much better this week in kickboxing than last week. It is amazing the difference a week makes! In circuit...I was on a treadmill in the front row and another lady was in the second row....she later told me she didnt recognize me from behind becuz I was losing weight!! I told her I wanted to jump off my treadmill and kiss her!!! I dont see it yet....hopefully I will before I get paroled from this place. Just kidding! We found out Devin Alexander (the chef) isnt going to make it here...she is sick. I also found out tonight that Madison told Jim she didnt think she wanted to see me becuz it would be hard to leave me again. I told Jim I understood and he didnt need to come out either. I must be getting stronger! THe weather has been nice, but I think it is supposed to rain tomorrow! I am glad my time is going by fast! I miss my family, friends, dogs and my home!Thanks for reading my blog! Dominate the Day!!

Another day down!

Today was a good day! I took the hike I took last week with the petroglyphs (sp?).. this week I did it faster and easier. I wasnt the last one up the moutain. I came back and then had weight training, lunch, open gym, pool, cardio intervals and then total body toning. Did you guys know that you can actually sweat in a pool??? I learned that today! Some of these trainers are just pure evil! But we all love them! I pushed myself today to more limits...it is amazing what our bodies are capable of doing. A bunch of us went into the gym and they set up chairs and a big screen tv and we watched the biggest loser. It was great. I am going to miss some of my friends that are going home this Sunday. If any of you watch Fit TV...on the cooking shows there is a girl named Devin Alexander...she is coming tomorrow to stay here for a couple of days. I watch her cooking show all the time. Next week Damien and Nicole are going to be here. If you watched the biggest loser tonight, you will see the girl Nicole at the end that is supposed to be here. There were on biggest loser a couple of seasons ago. They were engaged and on the red team. That should be fun. For breakfast I had cereal, for lunch we had turkey sandwich and tomato soup and for dinner we had chicken enchiladas with banana ice cream. Everything was very good. Jim is looking forward to having so many new food dishes! I didnt weigh in last week. You can weigh in when you want to, but they only re measure you when you leave. Some of the girls weighed in after week one and were disappointed. Maybe the end of this week. I am going to go to bed...I am very tired. I appreciate you reading my blog! Remember to Dominate the Day!

First day of week 2

It was so nice to have Sunday completely off! All I did was laundry. All day the newbies were arriving. I am so glad that wasnt me! We had dinner and then went back to our rooms and went to sleep. Today was the day for the dreaded stop sign hike! Just the thought of it makes everyone around here anxious! I FINALLY made it to the top! I was so excited! That last 1.5 miles of uphill were KILLER! When I got to the top...all the people that had made it already, were up there cheering me on! My roommate came over and gave me a big hug. I was so moved and emotional that I started crying! You truly are a family here. I have made some life long friends. After the hike I had stretch class. That is the best class to have after the hike! Then open gym, step and pump, pool and then circuit!! During open gym I worked on my arms and shoulders. For breakfast I had ceral and fruit, for lunch we had tilapia tacos and like a squash soup and dinner was chicken with wasabi mashed potatos....oh...dessert was pineapple sorbet. It was all very yummy! Jim and Maddie are planning to visit me this weekend! That really gives me something to look forward to. I really appreciate all the support from everyone! I truly feel the love from everyone! I have heard from people that I havent heard from in a long time! I love it. I have pics, but will have them posted later...probably when Jim gets here. Thanks for reading my blog! Remember to Dominate the Day!