Hallelujah!

Can't believe I spent a week at BLR and lived to talk about it!  Today was check out day for me (a change of plans due to some family issues in San Diego).  Before you leave the resort they weigh and measure you again and check your BMI.  I am very happy with the results - lost 6.6 lbs. and 4.25 inches in 6 days.  This has really been a kick off for me, showing me what I can do when I put my mind to it.  Exercising for 6 or 7 hours a day is not something most of us can practice in our "real lives" but I can certainly do 1-2 hours.  Since I do not have a personal chef who will cook me healthy, calorie controlled meals I need to make good choices myself, all the time. 
It was great to meet so many interesting and motivated people who are making the same healthy changes in theirs lives.  I loved Saturday night and getting a chance to sit around our pretend fire pit and laugh as Chelsy did a stand-up comedy routine talking to the rental car clerk.  That poor clerk will probably never be the same!
The challenge for me now is to carry on what I took away from this great program, I won't have Megan kicking my butt in the classes or Mikalia to encourage me on hikes.  The kindness and genuine concern of the entire staff was amazing - I know they had a hard week too.  They handled it with grace and strength.  It is wonderful to know a staff so caring that anyone doing less sticks out like a sore thumb!
So onto the "do it yourself" portion of my battle.  You will be happy to know that I hiked this afternoon with my son and grandson.  We had lunch at subway and I went over calorie counts with the 14 year old grandson - an eye opener for him.  I am looking forward to continuing the adventure.  Stay tuned...

Terrible Thursday

Thursday was a hard day but good.  I ended up burning 4163 calories so you have to say that all the hard work was worth it right?
We hit the core class at 6am and then off to breakfast.  This was one of my favorites meals here - thin muffin (used all the time here) with peanut butter, banana, fruit spread, and strawberry.  There are quite a few of us not doing the hikes and so we did over an hour of high intensity kick boxing and then two hours of cardio in the pool.  The kick boxing is a fun class but it is called kick boxing cause it kicks your ass!  I burned more calories in that class than anything else I did during the day.
Lunch was "Hawaiian pizza" which did not look like much (another thin muffin) but tasted OK.  The tortilla soup was great, something I would make at home.
After lunch was the dreaded treading class, they only do this one time a week because it is intense.  You get to pick your machine and after the warm up you go like a bat out of hell for five minutes.  Fast as you can, hard as you can.  Then five minutes at reduced intensity.  Repeat with four minutes intervals, three, two, one, and another one and thank god it is over!  My biggest problem throughout the week has been the a/c issue.  The gym was HOT, like 92 degrees when we were doing this.  Again it took me until after dinner to get rid of the nauseousness.
Dinner was probably my least favorite meal since I got here.  I was looking forward to stuffed chicken with wild rice but the chicken was very dry and the veggies were tough.  They have a bit of a problem with chicken here, it has been dry both times they served it.  Too bad because the recipe was a good idea.  During dinner the producer and casting director from Biggest Loser were here and answered questions about the show.  They will be doing some filming here, it should be fun to see a little behind the scenes action.
Well time for breakfast soon, TGIF has never been as meaningful before!

Whose idea was this???

Tuesday was a better day than Monday in many ways.  Instead of the hike some us worked out here in the pool with Megan.  Sounds better right?  Well, the good thing was that I didn't get heat stroke and I didn't feel trapped on a mountain.  However, this was not like any water aerobics class I have ever been in, it was an hour and forty-five minutes of intense work-out and yes, I did think it was possible that my arms would fall off.  After that our group had another pool class!  Pushing muscles past what you think they can take is what they do best here.  After lunch (I ate but I am not caring much about food) we had a cardio interval class where you ramp up your cardio machine of choice in 8-30 second intervals and then ramp down.  You do the same thing again with 1 minute intervals and there were some sprints thrown in for good measure.  I like the concept and the class but the gym was hotter than hell and I got sick from the heat again.  It took until dinner to get rid of the headache and feel better.  Thankfully it is cooling off a bit here and they are working hard to get the a/c fixed.  The lectures are OK for the most part, good information but nothing I have not heard before.  We me it is not about not knowing what to do as much as not doing what I know needs to be done. 
Wednesday has been a good day although everyone seems pretty tired.  We started out at 6am with the optional stretch class which is worth doing every day.  Megan killed us in the pool again for almost two hours and then another stretch class.  Lunch was a Greek pita which looked kind of gnarly but tasted great.  In the afternoon there was another pool class and then kick boxing.  I wondered how much I could do with a bad knee but there was really only one move that hurt.  What a great work out, Ersela had us moving and punching and kicking the whole time.
Dinner was salmon with couscous and asparagus, I hate salmon so got a substitute boca burger and was quite happy.  Just as dinner was ending Daris from Biggest Loser season nine came in and sat at our table, what a sweetie!  It was fun to hear how he is keeping the weight off and balancing his life.  If he can do it so can we - right?

I survived the day (barely)

  I woke up at 3:41 this morning and could not go back to sleep so decided to blog about our arrival yesterday, of course Jenn woke up too. We went to the optional stretch class at 6am and then had breakfast at 7. After that we were divided into vans for our initial hike.

 

You may not be able to tell from this picture but I was very,
very, very hot here.  Our hike was in a mountainous area and there was a lot of up and down the hills.  It was record hot out today and I felt it.  Thank god for Mikala, the hiking manager, who really encouraged me and got me through it.  When we got back we had a pool workout class and then lunch.  With only 1200 calories a day you would think I would be excited about lunch but I was feeling sick from the heat and the hike so didn't really eat.  After a rest and some aspirin we did another pool class  and then dinner.



Dinner was good and I was hungry after not eating lunch.



Dessert was a substitute because the power has been out off and on today with the heat wave but it hit the spot.



This is the cabin set up, each room is a modular with it's own porch.

 Well this has been a long first day and tomorrow is another day...

We made it!!!

First I apologize for not posting last night, we were busy from the time we arrived here at the BLR until we fell asleep (which was pretty early).

So... the drive from Monterey to Malibu was beautiful and we did not get really nervous until we turned onto Dexter Canyon Road and started the winding climb to the resort.  It all became very real and Jenn said she though she was going to be sick.  I asked if it was the road and she said she was no, she was nervous.Then I asked if she was worried for me, she said the hell with you, I am worried about myself.  That actually made me laugh and feel a little better.

So we follow the small signs to the resort and pull in to unload our luggage (it looks like we are staying for 2 months not 2 weeks). Let me just say right off that the staff here at BLR has the customer service thing down pat!  Everyone seems genuinely interested and committed to the guests having a great experience.  Someone parked our car for us, others helped us take our tons of luggage to our room.  The atmosphere here is a bit like camp, it smells like redwood and has a rustic feel.

We barely had time to put our stuff in our room before we had to be back to be weighed and measured by the trainers.  Then the Life Coach took us into another room for an introduction to the philosophy of the program - excise, nutrition, education, and relaxation.  She is young, a licensed psychologist, and has lost 100 lbs. herself.  Inspiring!

Dinner was next and, because the salad bar is not in yet, we had a small starter salad at our place setting.  These salads are not included in the 1200 calories a day we will be eating here and since dinner was a Cafe Salad I didn't eat it.  The dinner salad was pretty good, chicken, black beans, rice, lettuce, and a ww tortilla.  Mine arrived without any chicken but they changed it as soon as I told them about it.  Dessert was a pudding? and fruit parfait that needed to be colder but tasted good. 

After dinner everyone introduced themselves, people from all over the US, Canada, and one from Australia.  The lecture was an intro to the program and what to expect for the week. Our schedule is 13 hours a day, the 6:00am optional class is not really optional.  If you miss a class or lecture someone will come to find you unless you let the front desk know why you are missing.  Tomorrow will be the evaluation hike and then eveyrone will be put into a hiking group according to their abilities - I am planning on being in the turtle group.

We headed back to our room to unpack.  The rooms are small, probably about 10x10 with a good size bathroom.  There is an armoire, desk unit, a bed and bedside stand.  Towel racks, hooks, toilet paper holders and privacy shades are coming on Tuesday.  We managed to get stuff put away and were off to the pool.  It felt great after the hot day and the whirlpool is just the thing for sore muscles.  I don't know what everyone was doing but we had the pool to ourselves!  Back to the room and lights out for tomorrow we hike...

No work for 17 days!

Last day of work is over before BL Resort - nothing to do but get ready for Malibu.  We have lots of things on our to do list for tomorrow but I am thankful we are driving and don't have to fly all day to get there.  The list of what to bring (posted on the Biggest Loser Resort Alumni discussion board ) really helped, I think we have everything we need.  Just need to pack, load the car, and we will be off.
Monterey is about five hours north of Malibu so we are looking forward to a beautiful drive Sunday morning.  We should have time to take pictures when we get to the resort and will try to post them Sunday night.  Stay tuned for more info...

Life could be easier

Isn't it the juggling we do everyday that makes us want to run for the comfort food?  It has been a crazy week at work along with worrying about my granddaughter who is having difficulty coupled with trying to work out enough that I don't make a total fool of myself next Monday at the BL resort.  I try to remind myself that balance is the key and that things have a way of working out with time and perseverance.  And love.  So to all of the people I love I hope you feel the good thoughts I am sending you this morning, I know you are also juggling a lot.  Do something good for yourself today and I will do the same.  We are in this uphill battle together...