The Battle of the Bulge contest has been the best thing to happen to me. I have improved my health and found a new attitude about myself. The contest finished up on Friday, April 21st. It is hard to believe that 12 weeks have passed. This contest has gone so quickly and yet it is something I will do for the rest of my life.

I managed to come in under the wire and barely edge out Jack Little. The contest took into account the weight lost by percentage and inches lost. It was very close. Jack has made incredible changes in his life and he looks great.

I will receive a shopping spree at Belk and a day of luxury treatment at a spa that includes a makeover. I am planning on holding off on buying anything until I loose more weight and get closer to my goal. Likewise, I plan to hold off on the makeover for awhile, too.

I am down 31 pounds and have never felt better! I am doing super intense workouts with Kipp and am doing cardio at a higher level. It is all good!

I am still just blown away by the kindness and support I receive at Omni. It is now my second home and I appreciate all the people that work there. They have such great motivation. Thanks guys!!!!

Just two days left in the program. WOW! It has gone so fast. I am thrilled with my results! I am looking forward to continuing this program and seeing more results. I thank God that I have gotten to do this. Thank you Bryan at the Beaufort Gazette!

Whatever you do, get outside. The day is beautiful! I just finished a bike ride in the sun and breeze. It was exhilarating.

I am continuing to lose weight - down 30 pounds as of this morning! I believe my cardio workouts are now kicking in. (Pardon the pun!) My eating regularly has kept me from "hitting a wall." I feel great!

With the beautiful days of summer fast approaching, I am anticipating more outside activities that will continue to help me reach my goal. I will continue regular training with Kipp and add sports and biking to the list. I love playing tennis and look forward to challenging matches!

What a beautiful day! I took a walk from my home to the fishing pier at the Broad River this morning. Five miles in the sunshine. It was beautiful! I even found a dollar bill! The guys fishing were pulling in whiting and having a great day. (Any day fishing is a great day!)

The warm weather makes me want to get out and get moving and with my new found energy walking is just the ticket.

Only eight days are left in the program. I am looking forward to continuing the workouts and seeing more results. I am committed to this long-term - I have no choice - my life depends on it.

Kipp is the key to success I have needed. I can't imagine reaching the goals I have already achieved without him. I am still amazed at how far I have come in a short while. Thank you, Kipp for your patience, understanding, motivation and caring. You are the silver lining in the cloud; the sunshine on a cloudy day; and the wind beneath my wings! Yes, You da' Bomb!

I can't believe that we only have until next Friday! This program has gone so fast!

I weighed in this morning and am down 29 pounds. This is 10% of my body weight. Statistics show that losing 10% of your body weight decreases the risk for stroke, heart attack, diabetes, and more. It feels great to have weight off. I wake up in the morning so excited that I have already put a dent in changing my lifestyle and saving my life!

My training has increased and I am doing some pretty intense resistance work. I can’t believe how strong I have gotten.

I continue to do cardio workouts. This morning I did Tara’s class and got my butt kicked. She is an incredible teacher and presents an interesting and diverse class.

especially when you have to carry it from one end of the parking lot to the other! I was winded and my arms hurt. But it was cool to see how much weight I have lost and what that extra weight was doing to my body! Wow! Twenty-five pounds gone! I am down two sizes and have lost 26 inches overall! I actually got back on the scale this morning and had lost 2 more pounds. Twenty-seven pounds gone and I am still kickin' along!

Trainings with Kipp have intensified but seem easier. I can really feel the strength I have gained. I am following a good cardio routine, too and find it's getting easier. My stamina has really increased. I had no idea how much I needed this!

I am looking at the front side of 10 weeks with the Battle of the Bulge program and am at a good place both mentally and physically. The program has been tough but the routine has taken over and now I look forward to working out and really miss it when I am unable to catch a class. My training continues to intensify. Kip has me doing a tougher workout and is quick to praise my success. He is the strength and motivation to keep me on the forward movement. He is incredible. The knowledge he possesses and shares is outstanding. I have learned so much about myself and my body. Starting with core strengthening has created flexibility and inches lost. I thought I needed to lose the pounds to succeed, yet have found the core strength may not enable rapid weight loss but provides a lifestyle change for better health for the REST OF MY LIFE! It is the key to decreasing risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and more. Core strength is tough to gain. I was surprised at how weak I was when I started. I was also surprised at how hard it was to increase that strength. Now I don’t know how I functioned without it!

and I could not be more excited! I am succeeding at The Battle of the Bulge and have regained an incredible amount of strength, strength that will make fishing the monsters easier. I have an energy that will make the best Cobia day even better. You bet!

My love of Cobia fishing is accentuated by the pleasure I feel at losing weight and inches. I enjoy boating and know that this season will be better because of my flexibility and strength. Man, I can’t wait!

My passion for fishing is gonna rub off on my trainer Kip – oh yeah! He’s in for the greatest fishing around. Of course, coming from the north this will be like nothing he’s ever seen before! Hearing that reel sing! Seeing the monster jump, feeling your heart hammering in your chest! Oh, so soon the Cobia will be here and I’ll be in the river awaitin’! and I’ll be much smaller and stronger – watch out South Carolina record!

I cannot believe how great this program is going. I just started week nine and have 23 pounds gone, 22 and 1/2 inches gone and am down two sizes. I feel great and have recovered much of my self esteem.

Yesterday I did an intense workout with Kip that included resistance training harder than ever. We are doing more reps with more weight. He said that when I first started I would not have been able to do any of the workout we accomplished. He certainly keeps me in a positive spin - and I love it!

The "Pulse" is a weekly program that requires a minimum and maximum of cardio workout. Total of 280 for the week. Last week I had trouble making it. So far this week I already have 117! This is the key to the weight falling off!

I had a great workout this morning! Crystal did a kick butt workout with the step and then stretch and tone with the exercise ball. It was amazing and felt wonderful! Thank you Crystal for your commitment of time and resources to provide this class at Omni! It is incredible and so are you!

I measured on Friday and have lost an additional 8 inches overall for a total of 22 ½ inches! I lost more weight and am now down 22 pounds! I love this feeling and am so excited to be continuing this program. We just finished week 8. Four more to go!

When I think about where I was when I started and where I am now I am just amazed and thrilled. I wake up every morning with a song in my heart because I am on my way! It is a hard road to travel but so very much worth the trip.