Yup, you heard that right.

How am I feeling?

I’m anxious to leave, I’m excited, I’m a bit nervous. But mostly excited. I cannot wait to leave and start this journey. The anticipation is killing me.

What have I been up to?

• Working very part time just to pay my bills each month. I just gave my notice for the part time job I’ve been working, as I’ve gotten a new position as assistant store manager at a Halloween store. Super convenient because I can walk there from my house and I also won’t need to put in a notice because the store closes the first week of November.
• I’m also working on getting rid of a lot of my belongings and packing up my room. I just listed my car for sale so hoping someone scoops it up.
• I finally got my braces off!!
• Got 9 college credits for my EMT certification- I will make an entire post about this because I feel like more people should know about the program I did it through- which makes me eligible for E-2 when combined with the 18 college credits I already have.
• I’m going Monday to meet with my recruiter and to sign my job contract.

What am I doing to prepare myself?

I’m focusing on mental preparation because I feel this is what I will need most. I am going to Barre class three times a week which is helping me build strength. I am starting a running program this week since I have SLACKED on running. I downloaded an app that is supposed to help you run 5k in 8 weeks by running 30 mins, 3 days per week. I only have around 7 weeks left but hey anything will help at this point.

Within these next 7 weeks, I will post once per week. Topics will include packing for BMT, Fitness and more! If you have any questions thus far about anything, don’t hesitate to email me or comment below.

As I stare at the title of this blog post, I laugh a little inside because I am anything but fit at this moment. But hey- gotta start somewhere. I can’t say I’ve always been consistent with working out or eating healthy, and whenever I have been it’s either one or the other.

Back when I first started this whole process, I had heard about the Keto diet and decided to give it a go. I read countless articles and web pages about the diet and how to do it, etc etc. My first week I kept my carb intake at a strict 20g of carbs per day. Before this, I was eating 150g+ carbs per day. After week one and a scary hypoglycemic attack- I upped my carb intake because I needed to do what I felt was healthier for my body. I aimed for under 50g of carbs per day but stayed around 35/40g most days. I ended up losing 20lbs and meeting under goal weight in time for me to goto MEPS- all without exercise. While I didn’t follow strict Keto and did my own dirty version of it- it worked for me. After MEPS I’ve definitely been way more free with what I eat and I definitely need to go back to keeping track of my carb intake. I recently joined a new gym that offers classes and is very close to my house. Signing up for classes is also super convenient and done through an app on my phone. I feel like classes is something I need because there’s just that accountability. Right now I’m down in NC visiting my family for a couple of weeks but when I return home, I will be making some big lifestyle changes to prepare myself for BMT.

Healthy Eating

I’ve gained back around two pounds since falling off of the dirty keto wagon. While this isn’t a ton of weight, I will certainly be tracking my carb intake again to try to lose ten extra pounds before BMT. I plan on ordering at least five meals per week again through a local meal prep company that now offers a keto menu. Making breakfast and a quick lunch are usually easy for me to do, dinner I usually struggle with because by the time I end my day I’m just about ready to eat anything and everything in sight. I also am going to start eating three meals a day with two glasses of water at each meal- I hear this is how it’ll be at BMT so I want to be as prepared as possible by eliminating my snacking habits.

Fitness

My new gym has released their Fall class schedule and I’ve already drafted my own personal class schedule based on that. I’m going to aim for at least two cardio classes (cycling, zumba) and two strength training classes per week. In addition to my four classes per week, I’m going to start going to my local high school’s track once a week to run. Before every class I plan on running on the treadmill for 20 minutes (plus a five minute warm up and cool down). My biggest fear for BMT is the PT. Everyone has told me not to worry because they will work with you but I can’t help but worry. I’m hoping that the strength training classes will help me with my push ups and the cardio will help with my running.

Alright….. so if you read my Quick Ship Update, you know that I’ve been waiting on a new ship date and job since I was taken out for October 2nd- and I finally have one.

I will be shipping to BMT November 20th under a guaranteed General Aptitude job area (aka open general). I definitely have mixed emotional about the whole open general thing BUT I’m just going to have faith that everything will work out the way it’s meant to be. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about recruits going in under open contracts and ending up with jobs that they hate. I’ve also heard a lot of reassuring stories about recruits ending up with medical jobs or jobs that they wanted. I’ve heard so many mixed things that I’m just going to have to go and find out myself. Fingers crossed this is how I will get the job I originally wanted- Aerospace Medical Service. I’ve also heard that going in with an open contract increases your odds at getting a medical job. Again, we’ll have to see. So I guess for the next few months I will be focusing on getting myself in shape the best I can to prepare myself for eight weeks down at Lackland. There’s also sooooo many other things I have to do- sell my car, pack up my room, pack for BMT; just to name a few 😉

Yesterday I had my first Delayed Entry Program (DEP) Call. DEP Calls are mandatory once a month meetings or “check-ins” with your recruiting office and fellow Deppers. Usually you’ll do a sport activity or something within the community.

We were supposed to do PT at a park, but due to the weather we ended up just hanging out at our recruiting office and had the opportunity to chat with Airmen who were home on RAP (Recruiter Assistance Program) and had just graduated their tech schools. Luckily one was female so I picked her brain about her experience at Basic Training. The Call was short because the original plan to do PT was changed but I must say after this call I feel motivated as ever. My recruiter checked my weight and I am 168 lbs. For those of you that don’t know me, I started my weight loss journey back when I had first met with my recruiter around March of this year. I was 190 lbs- the most I have EVER weighed. I just returned from Las Vegas on Tuesday morning so I was SHOCKED that I lost weight instead of gaining. My recruiter was pleased. My max weight for my height is 175 lbs and she told me that usually they want us to be 10 lbs under our max weight so I am getting there! Another very exciting part of this DEP Call was receiving my letter of acceptance and certificate of enrollment into the Community College of the Air Force. In short, the CCAF is a federal program offered by the Air Force which grants two year Associate of Applied Science degrees in association with Air University. You can read more about the CCAF here.  I can’t wait to one day say, “I have a degree”.