Shirley Delorme Russell (Team Captain)
Thirty-three years old and 185 pounds – Shirley wants to finish in the 130-150 pound range. She’ll fit in gym time between volunteering at a school and taking a 5-year Bachelor of Education course at the U of W. She knows the importance of creating a routine to set a good example for her 2 kids. Plus she wants to look “hotter at graduation”.
Tricia Hokesma
A 36-year-old child care worker and mother of 2, Tricia has been dealing with some recent stress caused by changes at work and in her relationship. She wants to find “self-worth” in herself and for her children by teaming up with her friends to lose up to 65 pounds – an average weight for her 5′4″ height.
Marie Christian
Twenty-nine and 393 pounds, Marie finds it difficult to do the things she once enjoyed, like walking long-distances, playing with her nephews and standing for long periods of times. Now she goes for a seat after only a few minutes and walks by herself so that people don’t hear her breathing. She’d like to do more traveling, but will stay grounded until she can take a seat “sans seatbelt extension”. She wants to lose 240 pounds to shop at regular stores, take long and exotic vacations, go bowling, hike, and feel confident about herself and her abilities. She knows she’s creative, intelligent, smart and warm-hearted, but feels it’s often hidden “behind her size”. Similar to what she has to do at work, she wants to inspire people to not only survive, but thrive – living life to its fullest potential.
Jerri-Lynn Chester
A stay-at-home mom with 3 kids finishing an education degree, Jerri-Lynn has always sturuggled with her weight. Since having her baby, she’s put on extra weight. But she wants to learn now to exercise and eat right to look better, and wants to teach her children to make the right choices.
GO TEAM INTERN!!
The only person I actually know is Marie and I super proud of her. However, I feel like I am getting to know the other ladies by following your stories! Good job, you are inspiring! Thanks Shirley for all the blogging..you have a gift with words and it’s fun and informative to read!
you know what is really wierd as i sit here and think about it?
when i am done, i will probably no longer be “the funky chunky beauty of a babe”.
hmmm…
i have always thought of myself as chunky-more or less depending on period in life, but chunky,
if i look back at high school, i was NOT chunky, i was simply not toned.
as i got into adult life, i was chunkier, maybe 5-10lbs over where i wanted to be
when my 1st one was born, i was slim! never happened in my adult life except the summer i walked everywhere with the babe in the stroller and breastfed, sucked the fat out of me for sure and toned me up a bit.
i love my body. whatever size, shape, tone-d-ness it is in. its mine. if i always have to “wait”till im in shape, i will always be wasting the time i could be loving who i am on the waiting.
if i want to be hot now, i will be hot now, not when i lose 30lbs.
if i want to be confident with my flubby belly, i will be confident now, not when i lose the flub, and on and on.
i love my body, i love what it did for my kids, i love what it does to men, lol, and i love how it works for me.
but.
i dont know what i look like slim.
i dont know what i look like fit and built
i dont know what i look like without my roundness.
for example, i have always been a big chested girl. c in high school, d in adult hood, dd now after pregnancies and wieght.
will i still have big boobs? will they be proportionate, just smaller? will i be a c again?
will i still have a flat bannock butt, just smaller?
will i still be curvy? or is my actual body type different underneath my flub?
and will i still be chunky babe?
it will be wierd, like getting to know a new me.
i had grad picture done in january, and i didnt recognize myself-makeup which i never wear, my age showing a little more, i thought i looked like my gr12 grad photos still (im 33).
so, if i dont recognize myself in pictures, how will i recognize myself without my chunkiness?
wierd.
Hello Team Intern! I just wanted to say how much we are rooting for you all!! Trish’s experiences so far have been an inspiration to all of us in terms of keeping an eye more on what we eat at home, and making sure we are all getting enough excersice! I have also enjoyed spending some extra time with my nephews on Wednesday nights while she’s working her a** off!!! There has been a time or two where she can hardly lift her arm up to knock on my door, but she’s there with a smile!! We love you lots & are here for you always! Shannon, Jared, Austin & Emma XOXOXOXO GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!! WE THINK YOU’RE THE MOST AWESOME, AMAZING, ENERGIZED TEAM!!! KEEP IT UP!!!!
Week 2 is done. We have all weighed in and we are all down. 2lbs, 10lbs, 6lbs may or may not seem like a lot, esp when you cant see it yet, but we are getting there. our lungs are being worked to the max. our hearts beat like they are going to pound out of our chests. it is crazy. but i know my lungs are getting stronger (and you know, amazingly, i have mild asthma, which includes excercise induced asthma, and i have yet to wheeze during a workout!) i can feel my heart wait longer before it panics, lol.
today we did a few things that took me for a loop. my shoulders were apparently already sore, because as i row, row, rowed to warm up, my arms were asking me to stop. it didnt help that during burpees i used my arms to hold me weight. ouch screamed my shoulders.
then i did jumps. JUMPS UP ON a box. oh man! i say the box was 2ft high. We had to do 16. i decided to do 4 jumps, followed by 4 rapid steps, 4 jumps, 4 steps.this was me modifying it for success. those jumps were so hard to do. i really felt like i had to gather all my energy in my thighs, then somehow send the message to my feet, and POW! my legs jack rabbit-ed. but oh they were hard to do. and there was no 1/2 doing them. say with the steps, i could step fast or slow. but with the jump, i just had to JUMP!
oh man!
we were the only folks in the gym and we had 103 on. lloyd (who is our totally awesome team mentor!) was on the air…so we phoned in…lloyd! its us! we are getting set to do 200 burpees! yep! we are! we are beat, but oh we are doing good!
and off we set as 4 of us to do a total of 200 burpees for time. it took us 7min36secs. i think i did 60 or 70 in that time. our beautiful gorgeous marie did a whack-50? even though she fell on her hand the wrong way going down. trish, who consistently amazes and inspires me with her energy did 60 or 70 as well! she was still going when i was struggling to decide if my shoulders burned more than my lungs trying to breath. and as always, our amazing jerri-lynn finished feeding the babe (see! breastfeeding moms BURN calories! lol) she did em too.
my team rocks! they are an amazing set of women to work with. tania is this ripped, buff, tough teeny tiny chick who never loses faith in us! merci tania! vous etes belle!
so, my own lesson for today was…
keep going, then the 4th gets easier than the 1st round.
keep going. your shoulders will be fine in a few hours
keep going. however your girlfriends are inspiring to you, you might just be inspiring them.
team intern rocks!
Well,
is it really week2? and where did week 1 go? and eek? only 10 weeks left?
This challenge follows my last term ever of university schedule. as of today, i have 1 reading week, 6 weeks of classes and 4 weeks of student teaching. in the end i will be ALL done May 1st. I hear May 3rd is our weigh in. So, this challenge is matching me step by step.
i had a rough week. which reminded me that getting healthy is about more than just losing weight. my emotions ran amuck. i used food to comfort them (although, by far , the uw cafeteria has the worlds best vegan, local, fairtrade brownies and local hot chocolate. mmm…so good! thank goodness i generally stick to the healthy stuff in the cafeteria- bison burger without the bun (again, local bison, from mccreary i think), bison jerky, only ingredients being bison and spice, or…umm..thats it.
we are doing a nutrition plan which is high on protein (in meat form), veggies and a dash of fat each day.i am getting better at it. but i still struggle some days with wanting spaghetti and sauce.or a fat sandwich or wrap. or a delicious bowl of cereal. all really healthy choices, but not part of our plan to burn fat, eliminate sugars and build muscle.
after my meltdown this week which included : (its a long list)
-20 candy covered chocolate eggs
-1 cheese bun
-1 organice, vegan, fairtrade local brownie
-1 local hot chocolate
after my meltdown, i absolutely needed tonights workout. even though iwas emotionally exhausted, i knew that endorphins would kick in and i would feel better.
that is the dragging myself to do it part because i know it will pay off.
see? getting healthy is much more than losing weight. it is also keeping track of WHAT you eat and how it affects you. it is also keeping track of your horniess;) and your poops and pees to see what they tell you about your body. it is also recognizing your emotional needs and working with them. it is recognizing your triggers and your challenges.
and in this case, it is absolutely about doing it friends, supported by a trainer and propped up by an awesome 103 dj and his station.
its now 9:01. a presentation on at risk youth. initial work on a metis family history paper. a “never work harder than your students”book review-ish. a sit down thought process on just and effective schools. a unit on arctic sovreignty for grade 11s. a journal on working with students who have english as a second language. make 2 lunches and snacks. make tommorows supper. make my lunch and snacks. and then bed.
think i can do it? i think i can. because i have trish, marie, jerri-lynn, monique, tania, lloyd and hot 103 behind me!
thanks guys!
wow! week 2..and guess what we get to keep track of this week?
how HORNY we are! lol, and when! this will give us an idea of when our energy is highest. our trainer tania suggests that first thing in the am, hormones should be highest. we should wake up wanting to pee and have sex!
oh man! i look forward to that upshot of hormones! lol..
now, i just need someone to have sex with each morning at about 5:55, before i wake up and get the kids up and start the routine:)
lol!
tania you rock!!! what an awesome way to get us thinking about our energy and then laughing and creating endorphins every time we think of it! lol!!!!
(yep, thought of it 10x while writing that)
Wow- this is incredible! Thank you everyone! I am glad to be a part of this team!
Endorphin high- there’s not much that can beat one.
Hey guys! .
I had so much fun tonight i just have to share!
ok…so tonight was my active rest- do something fun tania said – box, yoga, dance.
i decided to take the dance and make this the night i do it with the kids. i get home at 630 from class, fridays are always student teaching, so in the grand scheme of things , life is MODERATELY less nuts on thurs nights, unless i have to teach the next day, but lol,likely not until my block in april.
so, my basement is the kids bedroom in a big open space, bordered by dressers, with a punching bag in the middle. it used to just be a basement before it was their room.
the boy has a cd his dad made him of rocking songs…black eyed peas,let it rock (kevin rudolph),plenty of starwars music, house of pain, and more…
i asked if they could help me tonight. we had to dance, tickle torture, and play until we were sweating and our hearts were beating very hard.
we put on the music, momma’s hips started moving and we danced. e got the idea to toss the giant excercise ball back and forth in contest to see who can catch it consistently. this was really good because he still struggles to catch and this was his idea. we had a little dance party/ball throwing thing going on. then house of pain comes on. now for all you who were teens in the early 90s, this should bring back mrs doubtfire and high school dances. lol.. for all those who will be teens in the late 2000teens, haha, it is from the telus commerical with the goat. i remember “dancing”to this song in high school and all we did was JUMP! jump around, jump up, jump and get down …whoahahh, lol, or however you spell that sound.
in our house, it is ok to jump on beds. so we got to HOP and we JUMPED! ohmygosh! i bet the song is 3minslong!~i was SO SO tired afterwords! i did knee-to-chest tucks, i showed keeks (my girl nickname) how to do pike and split in the air. e had me jumping bed to bed and doing “stylishes”, something he learned from mario brothers…and we kept going! i was SO SO tired! i actually only did about 3/4 of the song, but it was so much fun! my goal is to do the whole song, with lots of tucks, pikes and splits..ohmygosh was that fun!!!
i dont know what the bed jumping rule is in your house, but if it is all good..then JUMP away!!!
after the jumping, i taught the kids to do the thing we did yesterday with the foam roller, but on the excercise ball, not as hard, but they liked it.
then we did wall stretches. this is actually something i learned at yoga. stretching for the legs, but low impact on your back. skootch over to the wall and get your butt right against it. when you are flush with the wall, twist so your legs are up on the wall. this is already a stretch. then flatten your feet.! wow! another one is to put your feet feet-to-feet and open your knees. this stretch isto get your knees back to the wall. super super low impact and super super stretchy.
i attempted to teach them pushups, but they were def bum-accordian things, lol…
so much fun you can have with the kids.. and the music SO helps!
I am soooo stoked for Tricia and the rest of team Intern!!!!!!! you are brave health warriors and I admire you all! Go HARD!!!!!!!
GO TEAM INTERN!!!
I am so rooting for you guys and I know you are all going to do FANTASTIC!!! Shirley and Jerri-Lynn are both amazing women and though I don’t know Trish and Marie, you both seem like absolutely phenomenal women and I am so excited to see you guys do this!!! Best of luck to you all! Hugs n’ high fives to all of you!!! 
Go team Intern….Trish, if the rest of your team has the drive, passion and balls to the wall attitute as you do…I have no doubt that you will all be successfull and kick some bouty-ass. Work it, Work it hard and Work it well….have fun….
T
Well! here i sit, ready to do homework (any other student “losers”out there?)…and i am tired!
tired from all my walking…well not walking, i always walk, but purposefully walking BRISKLY, lol…
tired from yesterdays workout…nuts!
tired enough to look forward to tonights yoga…(yay for yoga and stretching!)
team intern is rockin this contest!
we are all over the place…west end, riverview, st b, and we are ROCKIN IT!
the other day we took bra and pants pics…(or just tucked our tshirt into our bras)
and though our “pouches”, our “mommy tummies”, our “road map of the love for our babies in creating them and going through their stages” were hanging out in full force, there is no denying that we are incredibly strong beautiful incredible confident women!
i have always loved my body, no nmatter the size (which turns out is only 170! wow! i havent actually seen a scale in months!). i love what creator gave me and i work it! i know my body can nurture babes, heck, create and birth babes….i know my body can turn mens eyes and i know my body is curvy, wonderfully full… and i love it!
now, i am so excited to take that body and make it fitter, healthier, so i can do the things i like more often, easier.
only thing…im ojibway and metis.. what can i do about my bannock butt? lol.. i will have to ask my trainer.
but check us out, at http://www.crossfitwinnipeg.com/2010/01/winnipegs-biggest-loser/ (our shirts are pulled down though,lol..dont worry, i will posting the baby belly on my fb…)
woot woot marie! trish! jerri-lynn! and lloyd! it will be awesome!
team intern, aka ENERGIZE ME! is rockin it all!
Well today will be our second meeting with our trainer Tania from Crossfit. She is amazing, and I can tell already she will push us hard, but I am so ready for this! Our team will do awesome and I am looking forward to going through this journey with them. Well, wish us luck, I am pretty sure today we will be finding out about muscles we didn’t even know we had…lol!!
Good luck Team Intern! Based on the stories…you are an amazing team.
Tricia I am so proud of you for taking on this challenge. You will do fantastic.
Good luck to all the members of this team. Be proud of yourself for joining the team and committing yourselves to a program that will required hard work and dedication to achieve your personal goals. In my mind you are already winners for joining such a contest.
Go Team Intern Go!
Hi guys! This team is going to have amazing energy. You couldn’t find 4 women with more fun, enthousism, and heart anywhere!
Love you girls!!!!!
Louise
Team Intern rocks!!!!!
A familiar prayer:
The ladies on this team are beautiful, tenacious and strong, and we know how blessed we are to have this life changing experience. Continue to help us live our lives to the fullest with a new confidence and self worth as we push through the pain. Please promote us and cause us to excel above our expectations as we take this journey together. Help us shine in the darkest places where it is impossible to love and we push ourselves to exhaustion knowing it will be worth it. Protect us at all times, lift us up when we need you the most, and let us know when we walk with you, we will always be safe.
Amen Sista’s.
Our team has so much love and support coming from all over…Extra Lovin from Deep River, Chalk River and Toronto, Ontario. Thank you to all our family’s and friends for your love and support.
Hi there Tricia! We are routing for you!! I know you can do it! Anything you put your mind to you can do!!!
GO JERRI-LYNN….You can do it…..Yahooooooo!!!! Way to go!!!!!
Yes!! So I even have more motivation to do this!! I can’t wait to get started, and I am doing this with 3 AMAZING woman, we will cheer each other on, We CAN DO IT!!! Go TEAM INTERN!!!!
Jerri-Lynn is also a bride! She is getting married this summer, has her amazing dress already and we all know that the beauty within will shine and glow on july 10th, a little bit of confidence coming from the energy she gets after the big loser event will only boost her beauty!