1. What motivated you to start bootcamp?
“Mommy, are you getting a baby in your belly? Because it’s REALLY big!” The week my 4 year old had that conversation with me was the week I signed up. I’d slowly been gaining pounds for a couple of years, and although I had been trying (I thought) to lose weight, I was getting nowhere. I was frustrated, getting tired of wearing baggy shirts all the time and felt out of control. And I wasn’t pregnant by the way.
2. Describe your bootcamp experience so far.
At this point, at the end of Week 6, I can look back and see I’ve been through all sorts of emotions as I’ve worked through different aspects of the program. I can tell you though, I LOVE IT. I’ve had some moments of struggle, days when I’ve felt tired and aching beyond belief, but I am seriously loving it. I feel back in control again. Well I say that, I’ve managed to fall off the scales at weigh-in and knock over the giant water bottles in class - but you know, MENTALLY I feel in control…
3. What’s been your favorite part so far?
THE RESULTS! I feel so much better about myself, and can wear parts of my wardrobe again that I thought were banished to only my younger self. I’ve loved seeing my strength improve and the ability to complete a class that I had to (literally) crawl around in my first week.
4. What has been the most surprising part of bootcamp?
I’ve learned so many things - about myself and about good eating and exercise. I’m most surprised about the effect of accountability. I thought I was one of those supposed ‘adults’ who was pretty good at doing things simply because it was the right thing to do. But apparently not - because having to report my eating habits to someone every day has been the thing that’s really changed my behavior. The shame of either lying or owning up to my cheats has really kept me on track - I’m not too different from my four year old really. [P.s. Coach Ray - I’ve owned up to all my cheats, for the record!]
5. What has been the most challenging part of bootcamp?
Getting my feet in the TRX straps. Seriously - I need a class for that whole ‘get your feet in and flip over’ move.
In the beginning, it was hard not weighing myself every day. In my ridiculous cycle of non-weight-loss that I was in, I’d weigh myself every day, and reward myself if I’d dropped a pound, and punish myself if I’d gained it back. Only weighing in every two weeks has forced me to keep my eye on the longer term goals and make better progress.
This week, it’s been tough fitting in all the minutes of exercise. However I’ve found little corners of time when I can sneak in an extra 15 minutes here or there, and then I really feel like a winner!
6. How has your interaction been with your coaching team and the NGPT community?
There’s a lot of love for everyone coming from right over here. The highlight of my morning is getting my daily email from Coach Ray with his feedback on my progress. Mostly it’s positive, but when he tells me I need to be tough and stay the course, that really motivates me for the day. Every instructor is SO GOOD at what they do. They are motivating, challenging, good looking (fewer burpees please.) Did I mention how good looking they are? And then to the NGPT community in general - everyone is so encouraging of each other and helpful (including trying to shoe-horn my feet into the TRX straps. Thank you kind lady ahead of me in class this week.)
It’s been nothing short of a wonderful experience, my only regret is that I didn’t sign up sooner.
