I have always struggled with my weight.  In college, I worked out consistently doing step aerobics and kickboxing classes, but I didn’t eat well and although I didn’t put on any weight, I didn’t see any positive changes.  After graduating and starting a teaching job, I didn’t have much time for exercise and fell into old routines.  I tried to change my habits and did well as I prepared for my wedding, but no long-term changes were made.  After having my first child in 2008, I wanted to get into better shape for my health and to be able to keep up with a new baby, but my usual pattern continued and I was unable to make a lasting change.  Therefore, when I saw an email about boot camp for summer 2009, I decided it was the time to make that change.  I enrolled in July and have loved it ever since.  I had such a positive experience during the 7 weeks of boot camp during the summer that I decided to participate in the fall 2009 60-day challenge. 

My goals for the challenge, and boot camp in general, were to lose weight and make lasting changes that I could stick with in terms of eating well and incorporating exercise into my normal routine.  I wanted to improve my overall health and help to avoid or postpone many of the medical conditions that run in my family such as high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes. 

In order to accomplish my goals I made small changes to my diet that I knew I could stick with.  Being a picky eater, I thought it would be difficult, but with guidance I learned that eating the same food everyday was okay, as long as it was healthy and of a good portion size.  Based on this information, I have been able to stick with the changes I made.  I also learned to measure my foods and be more aware of calories.  Using a food scale and pre-measuring my meals has been a big help as I try to eat healthier. 

One of the biggest obstacles I encountered was fitting exercise into my daily routine.  During the summer months, it was easy since I was not working, but once the school year started it became much more difficult.  Having a specific place and time to workout was a big help.  Learning various exercise options during the classes and having access to online video demonstrations with a schedule of activities for each day allowed me to vary my routine and easily workout at home.  Also, I began realizing that missing a day or two was okay as long as I continued to fit in small amounts of exercise whenever I could.  Getting to know the other participants and knowing that I would be missed from a workout encouraged me to attend boot camp on nights when I would normally have gone home and not exercised.  It was great getting to meet other people and share stories of successes and struggles as we went through weekly workouts and learned new eating strategies. 

As part of my boot camp experience I learned that I could achieve my goals and lead a healthier life style.  I do not have to rely on old patterns of diet and exercise.  I also learned that I didn’t have to be perfect.  It was okay and necessary to indulge every once in a while as long as I had a good base of exercise and nutrition to lean on, which boot camp helped me to build.  The only drawback I’ve encountered is needing to buy new clothes each month.  This was necessary as I dropped from a size 14-16 in June to a size 6-8 in December.  But I don’t mind and I look forward to extra shopping in the upcoming months.  I highly recommend the boot camp experience and I am looking forward to continuing to improve, as I become a healthier person.