Khankinson's Blog

OH MY GOSH….

khankinson — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:45:08 +0000

Last night, I received my final body composition results from Coach Paul….and all I can say is WOW…I am completely amazed at myself…in 6 months, I have lost 4.25 inches in my abs, 4.75 inches in my hips, and 1 inch in my thighs…for a total of 10 total inches….YES….10!!! YAY for me!! Now, the even more amazing thing is in just 6 MONTHS, I have lost 13.05% total body fat..WHAT??? WOW…I was about to cry…I cannot believe it…Coach said that was pretty amazing to do in 6 months…and I should be very proud of myself..and ya know what??? I AM…for the first time in a LONG, LONG time, I am actually PROUD of myself and what an amazing feeling that is! I could not wait to call my parents, my brother, tell everyone at work, and all of friends!! All of my hard work (through sickness and all) has completely paid off…and honestly, I’m still in awe!

I’ve gotten new, SMALLER clothes, and everyday, people tell me how good I look…how different I look…and I LOVE IT…I love that people are noticing my change…sometimes, I really can’t hide my excitement!!!

Tomorrow is our LAST official weigh-in…I honestly can’t believe it’s actually coming to end…so, tomorrow, I’ll find out the total weight I have lost…I know I’m not gonna reach my original goal of 80 pounds…but that’s ok…I’m not done yet…I’m on a roll and I’m NOT stopping ’til I reach my goal!!!

I haven’t blogged in a long time…

khankinson — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:40:53 +0000

I know..I know..and I apologize…with the holidays, work, being sick, etc, etc…I just haven’t found the time…and here it is a WEEK before the finale…WOW…I cannot believe it…the journey is coming to an end…and it makes me sad!

Since being chosen for Get Fit Club Season 3, my life has been changed drastically! I am officially out of the “BIG GIRLS” clothing department…and the day it happened, I had tears in my eyes!! I have been overweight and shopping in the plus size department for more than 10 years…my parents were here for Christmas and we went shopping…I was trying on some clothes and they were too big, I took a chance and grabbed some clothes from the “regular” department and to my complete surprise, THEY FIT…what a completely AWESOME feeling to know that I can actually shop in the regular clothing department and clothes actually fit!! Oh yeah, by the way…I’m down 47 pounds and 7 3/4 inches…WHOO HOO…so, with my new “smaller” clothes…I’m looking pretty damn good…and feeling pretty damn good about myself…so, look out all you single men out there….KEELY IS BACK!!!! hee hee…

Another way my life has changed is, I have met some absolutely amazing people..and have formed wonderful friendships that I hope to carry out long after the GFC3 is over…when I moved down here, I knew only 1 person…was lonely and homesick….thank you to all who had a hand in picking me for this journey…it is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me…and I am truly, truly grateful for everything that has been given…these 6 months have flown by so quickly….and I have become very close with a lot of people…and I am so thankful for all of you…thank you WKMG for having the Get Fit Club…thank you Central Florida YMCA for all you do and being a sponsor…thank you Healing Laser Clinic for also being a sponsor and allowing me to experience a laser body wrap…LOVED IT…thank you to Psychological Affiliates for all of the seminars and helpful tips…thank you to all of my teammates…without you, I really would not be here…thank you to all of my family and friends back home, and friends here in Orlando, without your encouraging words and support, I would also not be here…THANK YOU ALL…I cannot say it enough…without all of you, I would still be sitting here, overweight, unhappy, lonely, and depressed….feeling sorry for myself…

Because of the Get Fit Club, I have realized that I AM WORTH the effort…I deserve happiness….and I shouldn’t settle for anything…I have regained confidence in myself that has been lost for all these years…Keely has finally made it back…and she’s not giving up…EVER!!! the next journey….to find me a nice guy to share this wonderful new take on life!!! (yes, I am single…and looking!)

back to ME…finally!

khankinson — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:45:25 +0000

Ok…so after 3 weeks of feeling like complete crap, I got to the doctor and got some good meds and now, I’m BACK!!! Although, my cough and chest congestion is not completely cleared up yet, I’m 110% better than I was..and I feel like I’m not “knocking on death’s door” now…*whew*…glad that’s over!

So, last week at our group workout, Coach Paul had us take spinning….WOW…30 mins of that and I was about to die…but, I made it…and I enjoyed it….

Thanksgiving came and went and I really, really missed my family…the first year of being away from them and not enjoying the fun times we spend together at the holidays really had me a little sad…however, I spent the day with my great friend, Tammy, her kids (Josh and James), her husband, Phil, and her step-dad, Donald…and I had a great time…food was good and I didn’t over eat…thank goodness!!!

This week, I’m gonna hit the gym hard…we have our next weigh-in on Thursday..and to be honest, I haven’t even stepped on a scale since our last one…I guess I like the element of surprise…I know I’ve lost more…because of my clothes…they are WAY HUGE…and a lot of my work clothes, I can’t even wear anymore because they are soooo big….WHOO HOO….

stayed tuned for more to come this week….especially the BIG weigh-in!!!

Sick of getting sick!

khankinson — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:11:06 +0000

So, I moved down here in May and I have been sick 3 times….ugh…the most recent was this past week…this time, it’s respiratory stuff…I have completely had it with being sick! I am not a sickly person and had nothing like this back home….it’s absolutely frustrating!!! Last week, I only worked out on Monday because after that, I felt like complete crap…my week was spent going to work coming home and going straight to bed….I missed the group workout on Tuesday, I missed the Healthy Chef demo on Thursday, AND, I missed the American Lung Association Climb at BOA on Saturday…which I am so completely bummed about..’cause I really wanted to support that cause….DANG IT!!

Today starts a brand new week…and I’m feeling much better….so, after work, I headed to Crosby for my workout…30 mins on the elliptical…20 mins on the treadmill..and did my strength training on FitLinxx…and I feel good…and starting the new week off great!!

WOW…

khankinson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:13:32 +0000

Yesterday, all the GFClubbers met at Local 6 for a seminar on goal setting, prioritizing, etc., which was put on by one of our sponsors, Psychological Affiliates, Inc. I got a lot from this seminar and it was nice to listen to everyone in discussion. Afterward, Bob took Team Z88.3 on a tour of the station…what a cool place! We got to meet anchors, Lauren Rowe, Jacqueline London, and Mike Garofalo…and got pictures taken with them too…everyone was so nice and welcoming, it was a blast! Bob also took us into his office where he got to see his Pride & Joy….his Emmy!!! What an incredible accomplishment…and I actually know someone who has an Emmy!!! how cool is that??!!?

After the seminar and the tour, I headed to Crosby for our group workout and, when Coach Paul said he was gonna turn it up on us, he wasn’t kidding…when I was at Crosby for my workout on Monday, I had talked to Coach and he told me that for the group workout, we would be doing cardio intervals…so, when I got there early on Tuesday, I figured instead of standing/sitting around waiting for 5:30 to roll around, I might as well get my strength training in…so, off to the FitLinxx circuit I went…completed it…and felt good! HOWEVER, to my surprise, YET AGAIN, not only were we going to do cardio intervals…we were going to do strength training…OMG….and I just finished mine!!! Coach told me that I didn’t have to do it, since I had already did mine….BUT, me being me, I would have no part of that!! To add a little “motivation” to our strength training, Coach had Nadia work with us….and let me just say, WOW…that lil thing is something else…she pushed all of us to our limit…and IT FELT GREAT!!! She is definitely someone I would like to have around me all the time when I’m working out…she doesn’t take any complaining (as evidenced by poor Linda…getting additional reps for complaining!!!)…and she doesn’t let you ease off…FULL THROTTLE is the only way with her…and I LOVE IT..I pushed myself to the point of fatigue..to the point where my muscles were shaking…and then I did more…this was definitely the BEST workout I have had yet…and welcome more of it….completely!!!

To my surprise this morning when I got out of bed, I was not sore…my muscles were not aching…and I felt great!! So, now that we know what Coach expects of us when using these machines now, I’ll be pushing myself to the point of BURN and SHAKE…and I’ll feel much better and get better results because of it!!

Tomorrow is our shoot at Crosby…and I am soooooo looking forward to it…it’s all designed around decompressing and stress management…which I totally need, as I can’t ever seem to relax…ever….so, we’ll see if I learn some new techniques and some new exercises to aid in helping me!

Week 7 down!

khankinson — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:13:49 +0000

Another busy week but, week 7 is in the books! The challenge this past Thursday was full of drama…losing sucks…doesn’t matter if there is a prize to be won at the end of this journey (other than the obvious) or if there isn’t…if you are competitive and passionate about winning (such as myself), then you’ll understand where I’m coming from…and I’m the type of person who doesn’t take losing lightly…and I will be the first to say something is BS and voice my feelings about it…it’s part of my personality and who I am and something that I will not apologize for…

anyway….I’m not gonna dwell on it…move on, I guess….my teammates are great…and they are also passionate about winning…regardless…so, we’ll continue to stick together…do our thing…and have a blast!

on a lighter..more exciting note..I decided to get out and hit a couple malls and try on some clothes…something I have been avoiding because it only depresses me…and to my complete surprise, I can now fit into a size that I haven’t worn in who knows how long…it’s been YEARS…I was so excited…I was dancing in the dressing room!!

Week 8 is ahead of me…and Coach Paul says he’s gonna turn it up on us….and I can’t wait!

The end of a great week…

khankinson — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:45:39 +0000

Today marks the end of Week 6 and I couldn’t be happier! Everything I’m doing to become healthy and lose weight seems to be coming together, as evidenced by our weigh-in…but, let me start at the beginning of the week…

Monday, I headed to Crosby for my scheduled workout…felt good..had a great workout and left feeling wonderful!

Tuesday is the day that some of my teammates and I meet at Crosby and workout with Erin, our trainer…so, since I get off work at 4, I just headed over ’cause, for whatever reason, I thought that our session with Erin was going to be stretching exercises and such. I arrived at Crosby at 4:30 and thought to myself, I have an hour, so I might as well get my workout in before I meet with Erin…so, off I go for my 30 mins on the Elliptical, 15 mins on the treadmill and my strength training on FitLinxx…I was all worked out and ready for some stretching at 5:30 with Erin! TO MY SURPRISE, that’s not what was on the agenda for the evening…Coach Paul tells us that we will be doing some strength training on different machines, as well as, being timed on how long it takes us to run/walk a mile…WHAT??? I about died…but, I sucked it up and I did it!! I did all of the weights and then it was time to head upstairs for the dreaded mile…11 laps around the track…TIMED…so, off I go…I ran the odd laps and walked the even…and finished with a time of 13.58…Erin was pushing me all the way…and I felt good, although my legs were complete mush!

Wednesday, I was excused from my workout because my best friend from back home, who got married last weekend and I was unable to attend, was honeymooning at Disney (Congrats Dina & Aaron!!) and I met her and her new husband for dinner/drinks! It was so nice to see them…and we had a blast!

Thursday was the day of our on-camera weigh-in…my teammates and I all met at Crosby and one by one, we all weighed in…my teammates are so supportive and we ALL lost and we all felt good…I lost 15 pounds…and was soooo happy…I must say that, before being selected as a participant for GFC3, I had lost 20 pounds on my own…so, in total, I’m down 35 pounds, since August…AND…I can fit into my jean shorts that have been taking up space in my dresser drawer for about 3 years…I couldn’t be happier…my original goal is to lose 80 pounds and I’m just about half-way there….and quite frankly, I haven’t found it extremely difficult….

Ok, so, after the weigh-in it was time for Team Z88.3 to start the 1st leg of our TRIATHLON….yes….you read it correctly, TRIATHLON…that Coach Paul put together for us…20 mins spinning, 1 mile (walk/run), and 200 yards in the pool…*WHEW*….I told everyone at work before I left, that if I didn’t make it to see Friday, it was nice knowing them…’cause I just knew that this triathlon was gonna send me into cardiac arrest…so, we all started our 20 mins in the spinning room…and it was actually fun…OK…the 1st leg down…now it was upstairs to the track for the 1 mile…again, I ran half and walked half…2nd leg down…then to finish, I headed to the pool for the 200 yards…and I finished…I ACTUALLY FINISHED…6 weeks ago, I woudn’t have ever done anything like that…what an accomplishment for myself…and for the first time in a long, long time, I can say that I was actually proud of myself…and that felt so good…

Today, it was my turn to appear live on Local 6 news…how fun…got up at 4AM…was at the station at 6AM..and on camera at 6:20AM…I was nervous, but it turned out to be much easier than I thought, and I didn’t appear too nervous, I don’t think…as I was leaving the studio, Rachel was bringing in a lady who was gonna appear after me (not sure of her name), but, she stopped me and said that she just had to tell me how amazing I look…I gave her a BIG thank you…and was smiling from ear to ear…

All in all, Week 6 was great…my teammates and I are on our way to becoming healthy…I am so gracious for this opportunity given to me by WKMG and the Central Florida YMCAs….I have met some really great people on this journey and with the support of my teammates, friends and family….there’s nothing gonna stop me….I’m half-way to my goal…and I can’t believe it…I’m feeling good!

Week 5 recap…

khankinson — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:16:49 +0000

OK….Week 5 has come to an end…and I’m feeling better than ever! This past week was busy, busy, busy…Tuesday, both teams met at WKMG for a seminar by one of the docs at Psychological Affiliates…we were given information and shown some techniques to “de-stress.” All of the information was wonderful…and I loved having the doc walk us through one of techniques….it was great to learn…however, with me, I’m such an anxious, uptight, short-fused, never able to shut my brain off long enough to calm down person, that nothing seems to work for me…I know the techniques we were shown takes practice…and I have been trying….but, it’s just not working…maybe with practice it will come to me…*sigh*

So, this past Thursday, the teams met at Dr. Phillips YMCA for our weekly challenge….the first part of the challenge was each team picked 5 people to do a sort of relay race…going down the huge, red, twisty waterslide and then swimming across the pool….it was a BLAST…from our team, the 5 people were, myself, Fred, Lucinda, Tim, and Stacy…and well, WE WON!!!! by 1 second….but WE WON…redemption at last!!! it felt so good for all of us…that momentum carried on to the 2nd part of the challenge, which was water volleyball, playing the best out of 3 sets…with Fred serving, we took the first set…WHOO HOO…the 2nd set was going well for us, Team Z88.3….and then the lightning came…DAMN IT…so, it was outta the pool..and into the building…the match has been postponed…

Once inside, Coach Paul asked Tim and I to help him out with the “Tip of the Week”…so, onto the elliptical we went…I looked a HOT MESS because we were all wet from being in the pool and the rain…then, my shirt, shorts, shoes were rained on…ugh…the worst possible time for me to be on camera was then, and there I was…hee hee..oh well..so, after the elliptical, Coach Paul asked me to help him with a stretching tip, so, onto the mat I went and we demonstrated the proper way to do a hamstring stretch…

After helping Coach, it was back down the hall, into the exercise room for some Zumba…DEAR GOD…if you have never experienced a Zumba class, I encourage you to check it out!! WOW…what a workout…and what an absolute blast….it’s so high energy and fun…and, although I looked like a complete idiot, it was soooo much fun!!! That’s something I’m going to do again very, very soon!

To end challenge day, we all met with Sharon and Camille, who did a presentation on food labels…and learning to read them…what everything means…what to look for…and how deceiving they can be…it was very informative and I learned a lot!

On Friday, the new episode came out, Episode 6, which has my video as part of it…I was very reluctant to watch it because I didn’t know what I would look like…or how it would come out…but, after watching it, I think I did ok…and with everyone’s thoughtful comments and encouraging words, I’m very reassured…like I have said too many times, I am very, very hard on myself…and I don’t give myself enough credit for things that I accomplish…and though the GFC3, I am hoping to, not only become a healthier person on the outside, but also a healthier person on the inside…I have not liked myself a very, very, very long time….so, with this experience, I hope to change that and somehow find love for myself.

So, that was Week 5….tomorrow starts Week 6…and Thursday we weigh-in on camera…I haven’t been on the scale for 3 weeks…so, I’m hoping for some BIG results!!! If you haven’t watched Episode 6, check it out…

A brand new week!

khankinson — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:32:17 +0000

Today starts a brand new, refreshed, refueled, rejuvenated week…last week, and being sick was such a complete disappointment for me…I was doing so good with working out and everything, the last thing I needed was to get sick…but, I did… it’s over…and now, I’m back!! I was off today for Columbus Day so, instead of waiting until my normal workout time at 5:30 PM, I went in this morning…I got in a good workout, albeit, difficult…I found myself tired and out of rhythm…which was very disheartening….however, I worked through it and pushed on!

I know not everyday is going to be a good day…I just felt let down by the way I felt while working out today…it’ll pass and I’ll get back to where I was before getting sick…I just gotta work that much harder to get there! I have a goal and nothing is going to stop me from achieving it!

WHEW…

khankinson — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:55:35 +0000

Ok…so, I’m back among the living! I haven’t blogged in so long because I have been sick…since Sunday! Today, I finally went back to work, and right now, I’m worn out…I hope this passes soon…Team Z88.3 was supposed to have a taping today at Crosby and do a “mini triathlon” (quite the oxymoron!)…and I was going to suck up any strength I had to do it because I didn’t wanna let my team, my friends, my family, myself down; however, it was cancelled…there was a scheduling conflict and we are doing it at a later time…WHEW…I haven’t been able to work out all week (which has completely sucked for me)…and I still feel so run down and without energy (which also totally sucks)….I think I need a couple more days to refuel what has been drained outta me….but, watch out….this weekend, I’M BACK AT IT!!!