Courtesy Photo | Tech. Sgt. Melissa Johnson, 332nd Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron Operating...... read more read more
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SALAH AD DIN, Iraq - There are many motivations for losing weight: to earn higher points on your physical fitness test, to have a body you feel good about at the beach or to fit into your “skinny” clothes.
Tech. Sgt. Melissa Johnson, 332nd Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron Operating Room non-commissioned officer in charge, had a different reason to lose weight: her father.
Two months before her deployment, which began this past February, Johnson’s father passed away.
“I lost my dad because of a heart attack,” said Johnson, who is deployed from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. “I don’t want to end up like him, so he was my motivation to lose weight.”
Originally, Johnson wanted to lose 40 pounds.
“I ran a lot and did weights,” said Johnson, who is a native of Louisville, Ky. “I also ate better here by cutting out fried foods and sweets, and I counted calories. I also ate healthier since I didn’t have the luxuries of home.”
“The last two months I did the workout program ‘Insanity’,” she continued. “I didn’t want to continue it after the first time, but I stuck to it because it was an eight-week program and I had about eight weeks left, so it brought me to the end of my deployment.”
Despite working out six days a week, Johnson’s weight loss still took time.
“It didn’t come off easy,” she said. “I didn’t see any weight loss until three months later, then it kept coming off, so my advice is don’t give up if you’re not seeing results.”
Johnson’s deployment recently ended and she lost a total of 25 pounds.
“I have 15 more pounds to go,” she said. “It was easy to do it here without the amenities of home, but I am going to keep working hard as soon as I get home.”
Johnson also completed a practice physical training test before she left.
“I took a minute off my run time and I maxed out on my waist, push-ups and sit-ups,” she said. “I feel pretty good about that because when I take my next test, I won’t have to take the test for another year.”
“I also want to show my subordinates that it can be done,” she added.
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2011 07:43 |
| Story ID: | 75474 |
| Location: | SALAH AD DIN, IQ |
| Web Views: | 88 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Red Tail Fitness: NCO loses weight in honor of father, by Capt. Amber Kelly-Herard, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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