Sunday

For many years I have been overweight. Like so many others, I have seriously tried almost every diet and program out there, but at the same time, and for a long time, I was not really open about my struggle with weight with very many people. And like so many other people out there, I have lost and gained weight over and over again.

Many of you know that in the last year, Juan and I have both been focusing on our health and working to lose weight. To date, I've lost give or take 50 pounds. This is down from my highest weight ever in June of 2007.

It's been a fun yet challenging experience, and one not without many bumps along the way. At some point, I realized that this is going to be a life-long journey, and that I'm never really “there” or “done.” Precisely for this reason, I've decided to (and it's scary to even type these words) fully embrace physical fitness as a lifestyle and a passion.

One part of that process for me has been the decision to spend a week (and a chunk of money!) at a place called Fitness Ridge near St. George, Utah. Check out Fitness Ridge's website at www.fitnessridge.com

Over the last few days, I've thought of the idea of blogging about my time here as a way to share some pictures, as well as my experience, with friends and family. But I also hope to continue to use this blog into the future to document my journey, to keep me committed, and hopefully to inspire others in their journey.

So..with no further adieu...

Sunday 9:30 p.m.

I arrived at Fitness Ridge today! I got up early and got dressed and all packed up (after not being able to find my tennis shoes – tell me, what would I have done at a place called Fitness Ridge without tennis shoes?!). Juan and I stopped off for a coffee and a scone at Peet's and headed to the airport. I flew from SJC to LAS and after playing a few nickel slots in the airport, took a shuttle to St. George. It felt like it took forever to get here (probably because I was so anxious to get here and see the place!), but the drive did get prettier as we went. Fitness Ridge was the last stop on the shuttle bus route, and I arrived just in time to check into my room and get down to dinner on time.

We had dinner (salad, pasta with turkey spaghetti sauce, and some sort of cheesecake – I'm guessing it was tofu-based), all introduced ourselves, and then had an orientation. I would say there's about 35 of us here this week, most just arrived like me, with a handful who are here for 3 or 4 weeks. My room is on Week 3 of 4 weeks. People are from all over the country and all seem excited about focusing on their health and fitness.

It's getting a bit late and I really should go to bed, but I promise to write more and include pictures tomorrow.