Weekly Challenge #7 - De-clutter your life!

This week’s challenge is to de-clutter your life!

Clutter can be draining and de-energizing. By getting more organized, you simplify and live a more meaningful life!

Pick a drawer, a closet, or a room depending on your time and ambition this week and get rid of the junk, give away things you no longer use, and dust off the things you forgot you had! You will live more simply and freely as you de-clutter one step at a time.

Have an outstanding week!

Beauty tip: Glow from the inside out!

Did you know that eating lots of fruits and veggies actually gives your skin a healthier glow than the sun?

In this photo, the center image shows the woman's natural skin tone. The image on the left shows the effects of the sun and the image on the right shows the results of a diet high in fruits and veggies. Participants in a recent study thought that the fruit and veggie glow looked healthier.

Photo credit

Don't forget to get some sun too, though- you still need to get your vitamin D!

For more details on the related study and the reason for this glow, click here.

Weekly Challenge #6 - Start your day with Five Minutes of Core!

This week we focus on exercise. One of the most important aspects of creating a strong and healthy body is working to have a strong core. Your core supports your entire body, and core training helps prevent back problems.

This week, start every day with five minutes of core training. Plank three ways (front, left, right) for one minute each, do a minute of bicycles, and finish off with a minute of torso twists (with or without hand weights). It literally only takes 5 minutes to help create a stronger healthier core!

See the side bar for Lorri Ann's core strength training video.

Have a GREAT week!

Weekly Challenge #5: Sugar Free Week!

After all the indulgences of the holidays, you may be feeling a little tired and rundown. And am I the only one with jeans fitting a little tighter? Here's a challenge to help you get back to basics and start eating clean once again.

This week, eliminate the refined sugar from your diet. No soda, cake, cookies, scones, muffins, candy, ice cream, etc. One week. GO!

(But you weren't eating that stuff anyway, right?)

Of course this doesn't mean eliminate fruits and veggies and other sources of natural sugar - keep eating your fruits and veggies as usual.

What non-sugary food item satisfies your sweet tooth? Share your favorite in the comments - it might become someone else's favorite, too.

Have a great week!

Weekly Challenge #4 - A Complaint FREE Week!

In week one, we talked about paying attention to the positive things in your life. This week's challenge is a play on the same idea: Whatever you feed grows.

This week, continue to feed the positive by eliminating negative words from your life.

How many times in a day do you engage in negative self talk? "I can't do this!" "My hips are too wide!" "I'm too slow a runner!" And how often do you complain about other things? "My husband never puts his dirty clothes in the hamper!" "My mother in law calls too early in the morning!"

We all do it, and it can a hard habit to break!

Give yourself a little visual (and physical) reminder of this week's challenge. Put a rubber band around your wrist and wear it like a bracelet. When you catch yourself in a complaint, give the band a tug. SNAP SNAP!

When you stop complaining, you have no choice but to focus on the positive. And by feeding only the positive, the good stuff grows and grows.

Have a GREAT (and complaint free) week!!

Stefanie found her Mojo!

My name is Stefanie Valencia. I started Mama Bootcamp in March of 2009. At the time I was 25 years old and had 205 lbs on my 5'2" frame. I went back and forth between a size 16 and size 18 dress size. I had always been overweight. I remember as a child in the 3rd grade thinking, "I can never wear what those little girls are wearing. I'm too big." I eventually grew up into an overweight preteen, teenager and finally adult. I had never once looked at myself thought, "I look beautiful." Instead, I avoided mirrors, cried when I went clothes shopping, and hated every single picture of myself. Year after year after I told myself, "This is the year, Stefanie. This is the year you get healthy." And, year after year the days came and went.

I was working at a preschool when I met Pantea Dunn. Her children were enrolled in our school. A co-teacher and I had been talking to her, and she had mentioned how she goes to Mama Bootcamp. The two of us decided to go. I was not really sure of what I was getting involved in. I didn't exercise. Run was not a part of my vocabulary. BFAS was definitely not on that word list either. Water? I only showered with it. I drank a soda or 2 a day. Fast food was not a sometimes food but almost an everyday occurrence.

So there I was, with all of these healthy women, at 7:30 am in the morning, ON A SATURDAY!! I made it through the core warm up and then came time for cardio. I remember Lorri Ann asking, "Who's walking?." I sheepishly raised my hand. Obviously, I was going to walk. She said to follow a woman because she knew the route. I thought, "Great! she's pregnant. I can keep up with her." Little did I know, the pregnant woman would pass me up by a quarter of a mile. The whole time I'm sweating, I have shin splints and I'm strugging to keep up. This woman was pregnant! So pregnant I didn't see her again because she had her baby. Then as if it wasn't bad enough I hear feet quickly coming up from behind. An old man, who I believe to be bionic, begins to pass me up. He says, "you're not going to let an 82 year old man pass you up are you?" It was at that moment that I decided enough was enough. I was 25 years old, and a pregnant woman and 82 year old man passed me up. P.S. He caught up and passed the pregnant woman. I signed up that day. I got my measurements done that Monday and by the next Saturday (after lots of Epsom salt baths and unbelievable muscle soreness) I officially began my new journey.

The process was not magic, as Lorri Ann continually reminds us. After all, 25 years of lifelong bad habits are hard to kick. Its been a little over a year and a half, and I have to admit, I still fight those habits. I hated vegetables, and still am not a raw vegetable kind of girl. BUT! I found ways for me to like them. I made sure that I threw vegetables into almost everything that I ate. I gave up soda, and if I needed a fix, forced myself to drink diet instead. My 32oz water bottle was my every day, every where companion. It still is. I stopped the fast food and I did my homework. I began walking 30 minutes a day around Maidu. I then decided I wanted to run. I wanted to be one of those outer loop girls. So I started giving myself small goals. I would jog 10 feet then walk. Until I was jogging 20 feet, then 30 feet, until finally I made it around the whole loop. I'm sure I scared a lot of people. Because I was huffing and puffing so badly that I sounded like i was in Lamaze or having an attack. But I kept on going.

Which brings us to today. I am 57 lbs lighter. 102 inches smaller and in a size 8 dress size. Today, "run" is a part of my daily vocabulary. I even have love and run in the same sentence now. I can look in the mirror, I don't cry when I go shopping anymore, and I jump in front of that camera.

As far as my ultimate body goal, I still have not arrived. I am still in process. I will keep running until I hit my goal, and when I do, I still won't stop running.

I have to remind myself that its not about my size, its not about the numbers on the scale, and its not about I look to everyone else. Its about being healthy and loving myself enough to take care of my body. Movement and healthy eating is my new lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, I still eat that cookie, and I eat out for dinner with friends, but I know that I am in charge of my body. I am the only one taking care of it. When I eat a little too much, its OK. I do the next right thing for me. I go for that run. I add in another bootcamp session. I say no when I need to say no.

The most important message I could say is love yourself. You're worth it. Oh, and "nobody ever died from the burn." So, "Go to your happy place! and give me 20 torso twists, 20 bicycles and 20 push ups! 5 sets!"

Meet Stephanie:

Heidi found her Mojo!

I started looking at Mama Boot Camp when I saw an article in one of the local children's magazines. I saw the before and after photos and testimonials from women who had been successful with the program. I knew I was ready to make changes to live a healthier lifestyle because of all the reasons you hear, but never quite give credit to (I wanted to be around to watch my son grow up, I wanted to look in the mirror and be happy with the self I saw looking back, and I wanted to try to get off the medication I was taking for hypertension). I had heard people give these reasons for weight loss/getting in shape, but until I hit "the breaking point" (150 pounds), I never took it seriously.

I can only say that I loved boot camp so much I decided to sign up for another 12 weeks. Now my goal is to continue to lose inches and body fat percentages (maybe a few more pounds too). Marilyn (the Elk Grove coach) was so supportive, as were the other "campers" that always pushed me to do better. I found running partners and friends that knew words of encouragement I did not even know I needed. I loved that I was held accountable through food logs and code enforcers. Being a teacher, I think I was afraid of what Marilyn's red pen could mean (only kidding). She was never harsh, only constructive ideas were given as feedback to help me be even more successful. I could have never imagined looking forward to getting up on a Saturday morning to meet and work out at Elk Grove Park, but even on the rainiest, coldest days I was there. I can honestly say I had never been committed to working out and losing weight until I found this program. Now I realize this is a lifestyle change, and I love it! Of course sometimes I "fall off the wagon," but I realize that this is not my lifestyle now, so it is easy to pick back up on the things I know I need to do for myself.

After the first 12 weeks I feel amazing. I love getting comments from people I haven't seen in a while as well as from those who have helped me meet my goals along the way. I am excited to see what the next 12 weeks bring, and I am looking forward to completing more 5Ks in the new year.

Here's Heidi before Mama Bootcamp:

And here she is after just 12 weeks of MBC:

Way to go Heidi!!