Kristin's Story - Week 12

Well, here we are at week 12. I am looking forward to seeing my twelve-week measurements and setting some new goals. I thought when week 12 rolled around I would feel like I had “arrived” at my destination, but I don’t. That’s not a bad thing. I’m not sure there is a final destination on this journey. I’d like to thing that my goals will continue to evolve as time goes on and I reach certain milestones.

I’ve made a lot of tangible progress over the past few months. Some of that progress is right in line with my original goals, some of my goals have been revised a little and some of the numbers I thought I would see were off the mark for this particular time-frame. But I get the biggest smile on my face when I think of where I might have been if I hadn’t taken that one little step back in June that set me down this path to reclaim my Mojo. I know how far I’ve come and I’m not looking back.

Oh and for all of you who were at Maidu Wednesday night with Holly….My buns and thighs are talking to me today! Guess I shouldn’t take those long weekends away from boot camp very often. Whew! How ‘bout you?

Kristin's Story - Week 11

Happy Holiday Friday!

I managed to lose another pound this week, despite being out of sorts. I have been staying away from the scale lately but thought maybe a little extra motivation was in order going into the Holiday weekend.
We are heading out on a camping trip with friends so I need to have my head on straight to get through it successfully. I am packing lots of healthy snack options – fruit, almonds, protein shakes etc. Gotta love friends with a first class trailer and blender! We also plan on doing some hiking and I’m bringing my yoga mat so I can do a few sets of planks and pushups in addition to lunges, squats and butt bumps every morning. I’m sure my friends will think I’m crazy but my toned buns and thighs and I won’t mind. ;)

Have a safe and healthy holiday weekend. See you next week!
K

Kristin's Story - Week 10

I can hardly believe that 10 weeks have passed! The time has just flown by and I feel like a different person. This past week has been one of the toughest so far, but it also brought solid proof of the amazing benefits of physical activity.

To put it bluntly, it was a heart-wrenching week for me personally. I received some news Monday afternoon that quite frankly brought me to my knees momentarily. Three months ago I probably would have gone home, curled up in a ball and likely indulged in a pint of Cookies-n-Cream. Instead, I changed my clothes and headed out to boot camp. What a difference 10 weeks makes! I ended that evening feeling more positive and better equipped to face what comes my way.

As much as I love the physical results I have seen over the past couple months, this is the kind of change that will have the most impact on my overall health and well being. I’m beyond grateful for that!
Have a wonderful weekend!

K
“The bravest thing you can do when you are not brave is to profess courage and act accordingly” Corra Harris

Kristin's Story - Week 9

This will be my shortest post to date.  You've probably noticed that I tend to ramble on...but not this week.  To put it simply, this week has not been my most stellar.  I sort of knew going in that I would have issues this week.  I have a huge event for work on Sunday and my "real" workload is nuts too. The little boys started school, my oldest is on a plane to North Carolina.....blah blah blah  You know the drill....we've all been there.  I've been at the office by 5:30 a.m. more than once this week and although I managed to run out in time for both Monday and Wednesday evening bootcamp, I missed it tonight. 

Everyone remain calm!  Oh....you weren't panicking?  I guess it's just me then.  ;)  I only panicked for a second though.  Missing one bootcamp isn't going to undo everything I've accomplished and I can work out at home or go for a run when I finally get out of the office tonight.   I'll be back on track with bootcamp tomorrow morning. Then all will be right in my world again.

Have a great weekend!

K

Kristin's Story - Week 6

Hello Mamas!

Well, it’s here…week 6 is coming to a close. Is it crazy that I have butterflies in my stomach just typing that? I’ve actually come a long way mentally since my post last Friday. I am no longer worrying about tomorrow and what the measurements say or don’t say. I’m excited to see how far I’ve come and to map out my goals for the next six weeks. I know a lot of you are journaling your food, water intake and exercise, but are you journaling your thoughts, feelings, triumphs and frustrations? If not, I highly recommend it. Somehow typing everything out sort of releases any frustrations and helps me to acknowledge the positives that I might otherwise overlook. Just something to ponder…

This week I’ve noticed another big boost in my strength. Side plank with staggered feet instead of kick stand, push ups don’t feel quite as deadly and my runs are getting faster. The best part is that I no longer curse my instructors under my breath during core workouts. Ha! Now that’s what I call serious improvement.

I’m in a routine with my diet and other than a little bit of restaurant anxiety I think I’ve got a good handle on it. I had a few pieces of red licorice after a particularly stressful afternoon, but once again I didn’t have anything with me to substitute so at least I’m seeing a pattern there. Planning, planning planning…I’m working on it.

See you next week with my 6 week stats!

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” - Jim Rohn

Kristin's Story - Week 5

Five weeks down and one to go before my mid-point measurements.  I'm a little nervous.  It's silly, I know.  I just can't help feeling a bit of trepidation as I think about next Saturday.  You're probably thinking that I fear the numbers, right?  Honestly, that's not really it.  I'm more fearful of what my reaction will be to those numbers.  If they are lower than I want or expect will I be disappointed and frustrated?  Will those feeling set me off track?  If they are better than I imagined will I get overconfident and allow myself to ease off?  These are the things that I've dealt with in the past.  I've lived both scenarios and neither will get me to my goals.  I can tell you right now that I am so thankful that Lorri Ann will be there to give me my results.  It's so great to know that she will be there to remind me that any progress is good progress.  She will have great advice on how to step it up a notch and take it to the next level.  Either way, she'll be there coaching me through it and I know that will make all the difference in that moment. 

On a much less introspective note, my big moment this week came when I wore a pair of capri pants to work that I haven't been able to wear in quite a while.  It was an amazing feeling to not only be able to wear those pants but recognizing that they fit so much better than the last time I wore them.  Awesome!   My pants are more comfortable, and I'm becoming more comfortable in my own skin.  My confidence and energy have increased by leaps and bounds.  I'm feeling really good these days.  I'm going to take those thoughts with me next Saturday.  Numbers are great, but you can't beat getting your Mojo back!

Have a great week!

K

Kristin's Story: Week 4

So many thoughts running through my head tonight…it’s been quite a week. Let’s see…almost immediately following my last post, I dropped the ball on my food journal for a few days and ended up confessing my lapse to Lorri Ann on Saturday morning. I just sort of blurted it out after boot camp was over. I’m not even sure why…other than the fact that my homework packet was only 3 pages long and I figured she would probably notice. Ha! It’s actually funny looking back on it because I was worried about what I would say on the blog this week. Lorri Ann said not to worry about it and to just say what I said to her. Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that?! So yes…I had a bit of a slip last week. Work was insane and I hardly had time to put food in my mouth, let alone write it down. At least that’s what I told myself and Lorri Ann during my confession. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it had less to do with my crazy week and more to do with the fact that I went into the week unprepared. Ahhh! The truth comes out!

We came back into town after the long holiday weekend and I crashed headlong into my work week without grocery shopping or putting together my grab-n-goes. So when I was glued to my desk for 12 hours at a time, I was stuck there without things to eat. I managed 10 minutes to run over and grab a salad at lunch, but that was it. I had a quick breakfast, a salad around noon and then dinner when I got home. On boot camp nights that meant going from noon to 8pm without food. Eek! Not good. This is one girl who is not into the whole Sumo wrestler thing! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, ask your coach..they’ll be happy to fill you in.

I’m happy to report that I made a major grocery run on Sunday and I am back to packing my food for the day and logging my meals online. My water intake is much better this week and I’m still on-track with four boot camps per week. I’m also thrilled to report I have lost 4 pounds in 3.5 weeks and I‘m certain I‘m losing inches as well. Exciting stuff!

Kristin's story: Week 3

Well, I survived the holiday weekend and I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am to be back into my routine. All things considered, the weekend went very well. We went to Sonoma for the 4th of July but, before we left town, I made sure to start the weekend right with Saturday morning bootcamp. I came home and had a green smoothie (almond milk, spinach, frozen banana and protein powder), finished packing up and off we went. My biggest concern for the weekend was food. I knew we were going to do a ton of walking and I would be able to run if I wanted, but food was going to be tricky. We were staying with family in town and I knew there would be some restaurant eating as well as big group meals.

I faced my first challenge Saturday evening when everyone decided they wanted to go to an Italian restaurant for dinner. This restaurant has great pizza and pasta…and the bread..oh my! When we got there I was happy to see it was relatively easy to find something that I would feel good about eating. They had a “protein plate” that consisted of chicken breast (or hamburger patty) with sautéed mushrooms. I ordered that with a house salad (fat free dressing on the side). The chicken breast was huge, so I ate a little less than half of that and about 1/3 of the mushrooms plus my salad. I’ll admit that I did consider pizza for a minute….but it felt so good to wake up the next morning knowing I had made a better choice.

The rest of the weekend went very well. I ate my oatmeal for breakfast every morning and stuck to my apples and veggies for snack and chose water *almost* every time. When it was BBQ time on the 4th, I filled my plate with salad and topped it with a few ounces of tri tip. It was delicious and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. I did have a couple of cocktails over the course of the weekend, but overall I’d say my diet was about 80% good.

On Monday, we went into the city (San Francisco) with out-of-town family. I packed my workout gear and planned to change at the ferry terminal so I could be dropped off at Maidu Park for bootcamp on the way home. I freaked out a little when we missed the ferry and had to take a later one. Being already two hours behind schedule and missing the ferry meant that I didn’t make it to bootcamp. When we got home I went for a run, so at least it wasn’t a total loss.

As I was reviewing the weekend, the “all or nothing” side of me was frustrated with the fact that I wasn’t going to come back home with a “perfect” report. But, then I thought about what my weekend would have looked like before Mama Bootcamp and realized that this is progress that I can (and should) be proud of.

On to week four!

Kristin's story: Weeks 1 & 2

About Kristin
Hello Mama Bootcamp! My name is Kristin and I’m so excited to share my Mama Bootcamp journey with you. Sharing my beginning stats with you did not excite me…no offense but that took a little soul searching. Letting it all hang out on the internet? Um….not really my style. But, after giving it some thought, I realized that it doesn’t really matter where I am right now because I don’t plan on being here long. After my first two weeks of Mama Bootcamp I am hooked and there’s no looking back.

Ok, I lied…I am going to look back just a little just to give you an idea of how I got here. Up until my mid-thirties I had always been thin and pretty consistently active. My diet, however, left much to be desired - it was heavy on sugar and diet soda. I had my first son in my early 20s and within a year I was thinner than before my pregnancy. I was thin, but I wasn’t being kind to my body. After having two more sons in my mid to late 30s, my old habits were suddenly no longer working for me. By the summer of 2007 I had gained an extra 40 pounds and I was miserable.

Then, in March of 2008, I was diagnosed with cancer. In April of 2008 I had major surgery and again in April of 2009. By the end of last year, I took a look in the mirror and honestly did not recognize myself. Don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful to be here and I’m proud to call myself a survivor. I’m just no longer satisfied with merely surviving. I want to get back out there and truly LIVE.

Kristin's Beginning With Mama Bootcamp
A couple of weeks ago I woke up and said enough is enough. I have to do something. By chance, I received a copy of Style Magazine that morning and saw an article on Lorri Ann of Mama Bootcamp. I picked up the phone and called her and, during that conversation, I made up my mind that I was going to sign up. We met on Wednesday night to do my intake and my first bootcamp was that Saturday with Lorri Ann herself. I was so excited and I couldn’t wait to get started! I immediately began following the MOJO menu plan and was amazed at how quickly my sugar cravings disappeared. I was primed for my first class.

I have to laugh when I look back to that first bootcamp. I honestly was in tears multiple times during those 90 minutes. It was a truly humbling (but necessary) experience for me. I was mortified by how out of shape I had become. Lorri Ann told us to modify and take breaks if we were new. But being the stubborn person that I am, I might have overdone it just a tad. I limped away from that class with my tail between my legs and limped my way through the weekend..literally! I was so sore that I had to use both hands to pick my left leg up to get in and out of my car.

Determined to keep at it, I dragged my now useless leg to Holly’s class on Monday night and *gasp* modified my way through that class to compensate for my strained hip flexor. That in itself was a huge victory. In the past, if I was that sore from a workout, I would not work out again until the soreness was gone. In case you’re wondering, that is not a good policy. I was surprised by how much I could still do, and running at that class definitely helped work out some of the soreness in my muscles. On to Wednesday night and continued modifications…I am on a roll!

Enter Thursday with a cough and sore throat. Really? Is this some sort of joke? My leg is still so sore that I can’t do any flutter kicks or pikes and now I can’t swallow either? No fever though, so off I go to Lisa’s Friday night Power Hour. Woo Hoo! Go Me! My first week was complete and, despite the body combat I’ve been engaged in all week, I’ve managed to meet my goal of four bootcamps per week.

Week Two
Week two had much less drama in store for me. Despite the crazy-hot weather for Monday night’s class and my continued battle with the cough and sore throat, I did not miss a class this week either. Not only that, but I’m AMAZED at how much stronger I am already. My hip flexor is feeling much better already and I’m able to prone plank on my toes now! No more knees for me! Just last night with Amanda, I increased to 8lb weights for the BFAS (Big Fat Arm Set). In less that two weeks, people! Can I get a WOOT WOOT?!

Kristin's Beginning Stats:

Age: 42

Height: 5’7”

Starting Weight: 160

Starting Body Fat%: 33

Goal Weight: 130-140 and/or a size 6

Goals For Week Three
One of my mini goals for week three is to stay off of the scale. As of Wednesday I had only lost one pound and, although I understand the whole "muscle weighs more than fat" thing, it’s still tough to see the scale stay stagnant. It messes with my head a little and ,to be honest, between that and my throat, I’m finding it hard not to undercut my calories right now. So that’s definitely something I’ve got to set straight. You also may notice that I haven’t said too much about my water intake. I am struggling with that. It seems so simple and yet everyday I fall short in that area…it’s definitely something I’m going to have to work on.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July! See you next week!

K