Missy's Boot Camp Challenge Pictures and Essay

Let me introduce the person I was six months ago. I was a 47 year old working mother of 2 girls (preteen and teen) who enjoyed sitting on the couch, reading a book, drinking coffee and snacking on chocolates! Working out was not on the agenda! If anyone would have told me that I was going to do a boot camp challenge – I would have laughed in their face! (Between bites of chocolate of course!)A couple weeks later, a dear friend of mine got me started in Concita’s boot camp! This was a feat in itself, as I am not a morning person and I could not make the evening boot camps. So, it started – 5:30 am 2 days a week and I was hooked. Fast forward about 5 months and I am currently at the end of the eight week boot camp challenge and love it!

Now, that is not to say there were not some challenges along the way! The first weekend of the challenge was a 4 day trip to New Orleans with my daughter’s cheer team. I could not imagine going to New Orleans and having to workout every day and eat according to guidelines. I have never worked out on a vacation in my life, but I guess I was going to start now! Everyone was talking about the good food we would be eating and going down to Bourbon Street for Hurricanes! Well, I packed my blender, my protein powder and all my snacks, some of my meals and drinks in my ice chest and headed down! I was up every morning in the workout room in the hotel and actually felt better the rest of the day! I carried my snacks with me to make sure I ate my 6 meals a day. I saved my splurges for the week for the trip and it all worked out! The funny thing is - my splurges were actually not that bad! I came back from the trip feeling like I had achieved a big accomplishment!

There were days during the challenge that I just wanted to grab some cookies or some chips, but the motivation of seeing the changes that had occurred in my body were enough to just pass it up! Having the accountability of having to check in every night also played a big factor in not cheating. Previous to starting the challenge, I went to boot camp twice a week, but was not good about working out on the off days. I had gotten into a good eating routine already, so the toughest thing was doing the workouts on days we did not have boot camp. This obstacle was easily overcome by having a next door neighbor who was also doing the challenge. We got up at 5:15 every morning that we were off (except our rest day) and met at one of our houses and did our workout!

Now, at the end of the challenge, I am still 47, still working, still have 2 girls, but I feel like a new person! I have much more energy, feel better about myself, am much happier not to mention – smaller! I am living proof that boot camp is a great way to get the body that you want. Healthy eating and exercise has become my new lifestyle!