I HATE Recovery Weeks!

Is that what you are thinking? Maybe you just started training with us and you are unfamiliar with the concept, or maybe you just believe that your body is different than anybody else’s and you just don’t need it!

I assure you we absolutely love the fact that you want to keep working and getting better – it’s my mission today to reason with you and explain why time off absolutely makes you better!

The Recovery Curve

I saw the recovery curve for the first time during my time with Australian physical preparation coach Ian King. His principles laid the foundation for the way we program, train and especially recover here at Get Fit NH. The principles that work with professional athletes apply to us too!

The following illustrates a “good” recovery curve:

The green line represents what we are all looking for – continual, never ending progress over time. We are getting stronger, faster, thinner, better looking (ok at least that’s what I wish for).

Reality Check – ain’t gonna happen. The process of changing your body is not linear, in fact what we are looking at in an optimal training environment is more of a “One step back brings me Two steps forward”.

A closer look at the chart will help explain what I mean.

The red line represents Equilibrium. This is where your body wants to stay, no matter if your goal is losing fat, gaining lean, or both. As you have no doubt found out, forcing your body to change is hard work – really hard work. When you walk into Get Fit NH, our training is designed to elicit that change. But it’s not as simple as “working out” day after day after day. In fact as I am about to illustrate, training without proper recovery is actually hurting you, not making you better.

The blue line represents the “recovery curve”. Starting at the left hand of the chart all the lines intersect. For this illustration that point is where your first training occurred – you “worked out”.

But what’s going on?

Instead of performance going up, that line is actually heading down – this is what is called Depletion. If you think about it makes sense – you have worked hard, you are fatigued, your body is depleted of nutrients – you are spent!

Don’t worry, your body will get over it, if you treat it right! This is what we call Adaptation. Your body wants to be able to handle the increased demand that was placed on it, and starts the process of getting better.

You are in charge of if and how fast that happens. A few of the factors that influence this adaptation include Recovery Nutrition (read up!), stress levels, sleep habits, supportive nutrition, age, and training history.

The recovery curve continues with Supercompensation. Here is how Coach King describes this process:

“It is only when recovery is allowed that we see the super-compensation effect, the unique phenomenon where the bodies physical capacity is elevated in response to training, in anticipation of another exposure to the same stimulus.” – King, I, 1999/2000, Foundations of Physical Preparation

In other words your body has gotten better in response to your training, a new Equilibrium is established and this state  is when we will ideally train again. Our programming at Get Fit NH is carefully designed to give this the best chance of occurring, but as I hope you are discovering, you have a lot to do with this with how you treat your recovery!

As you can see, when things are clicking, this process when repeated over and over means you are getting better and better, the blue line is headed up – pretty cool!

The flip side to all this is what happens when the recovery process isn’t working so well.

This chart represents recovery gone “bad”:

When we continue to train in a state of “Depletion”, regardless of the reason,  the adaptation to supercompensation effect doesn’t occur, and instead of getting better, we find ourselves in a downward cycle. This can happen when we train the same muscle groups too soon, when we haven’t taken the steps described above to recover optimally (sleep and nutrition for instance) regardless of time between training, when we train too hard coming off an illness, etc. The last thing we want to happen is new equilibrium to be established in a downward pattern – not good.

The long and short of it is your body absolutely needs to recover from hard training. Consistently training in a fatigued state results in injury and illness. Your body is an amazing machine designed to put up with a lot, but it was also designed to need rest.

Which leads us to:

Recovery Weeks

Face it – you can get beat up anywhere. Our responsibility at Get Fit NH  is to help you get better!

That includes recovery weeks. We have found that somewhere between 8 and 12 weeks of training is just about right to take a full week off and let your body recover.

That doesn’t mean that you spend your training time on the couch eating bon-bons, but if you insist on going down to PF and hitting the weights or running 10 miles every morning, your body will suffer in the long run, and perhaps even in the short term.

If you find yourself fighting this concept, ask yourself this – Is your unwillingness to take a week off a well reasoned decision based on what you know to be true, or is it that your attachment to training is so strong emotionally that makes it so hard? You will not lose all you have gained by taking the week off, I assure you! Again to quote Coach King, “…if you don’t (take time off)…most of you are going to lose it anyway!”

So now that we have established you are ready, willing and able to embrace recovery week, what do you do?

Glad you asked!

Three Steps for Successful Recovery

1.) Physical Rest and Regeneration

–        Our bodies must rest and recover to prevent over-training (or under-recovering) issues so that we can come back 100% healthy and energized for the next phase of the program

–        Focus on maintaining and/or increasing flexibility and tissue health by stretching and foam rolling daily. 15-30 minutes is fantastic!

–        Daily restorative walks are beneficial during this week. 30-60 minutes briskly walking (not jogging/running) will keep your body refreshed and active, without negating the purpose of this week. Don’t overdo it!

2.) Physiological and Psychological Rest and Regeneration

–        We must normalize key anabolic hormones, refill muscle glycogen, increase caloric intake, and prevent any diet induced catabolism (losses of lean body mass) so that we can enjoy greater fat loss for the next phase of the program

–        We have taken the road less traveled by being flexible eaters with a long-term approach to success and thus we will take a break from our aggressive fat loss nutrition plans. This is not a free for all, so stay away from your “trigger foods” (junk foods and sweets) that open the door to excessive calorie intake.

–        Instead plan (key word) and enjoy 2 or 3 controlled free meals to reward yourself for all of your hard work, but do not overdo it!

–        Caveat: If your nutrition habits have been less than optimal, more than likely none of this applies to you. Instead now is the time to plan and prepare to make the changes necessary to see the results you want. Spend some time in our “Practical Nutrition” archives and get started!

3.) Celebrate the Fruits of Your Labor

–        Take some time to reflect on how far you have come since you joined Get Fit NH Bootcamp in terms of improving your overall health, body composition, and performance

–        Enjoy your results!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

We would just like to take the time to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your hard work and dedication to improving your health and fitness… keep Making It Happen!

You will never know how much this means to us and how much this is appreciated. It has been a total team effort from the start and though we provided you with all of the necessary programs to get the results that you were seeking, YOU DID ALL OF THE WORK! We cannot wait to get even better results during the next phase of the program!

The KING Reigns Supreme

“Lord Almighty, I feel my temperature rising”…(must be Marvelous Monday at Bootcamp)

Monday night, 6pm Bootcamp had the whole Big Family in attendance. That would be Big Daddy (40KB), Big Mama (36KB), and Big Boy (32KB) rockin’ and rollin’ on the gym floor. If they weren’t doing the KettleBell Swing they were Deadlifted. Our Motto: GO BIG or GO HOME! Since no one left, we went BIG!

“Higher and Higher, Its burning through to my soul”…(and my core right down to my gluteus maximus)

Our Mantra: “You can do anything for 40 seconds” (or 2 minutes, or whatever is required for time). This is the class if you need motivation, they’ve got it in spades! When you are pushed to your limit… they’ll push you a little more.

Add in: the HOTTEST Trainer this side of Memphis who whispers the Challenge, “the other classes did 21 partner band rows”. With a twinkle in her eye and a slight grin, “I’m just saying…” – oh it’s ON! Green Band!

“Girl girl girl, you gonna set me on fire… it’s hard to breathe, and my chest is a heavin…”

When we are all done with our Tabata Tuesday workout someone says (& it doesn’t matter what day it is, someone always says…) “Lets go do some Hills”. Today I replied all proud of myself, ‘I already did Hills’ (yeh me!). I was then informed that I had done “PRE-Hills”, it was time for “POST-Hills” (really?!)… and out the door we went. Lynn  is doing 10 hills now (U go Girl!), making our Fran proud (we miss you Fran!).

I gotta say 6pm is definitely not made up of slackers…

“My hands are shaking, and my knees are weak. I can’t seem to stand on my own two feet.”

“Who do you THANK when you have such luck, I’m in LOVE… I’m ALL SHOOK UP” (side note: I ran out of lyrics and had to switch songs, gotta love THE KING… who knew he was singing about Bootcamp?? Sven needs an Elvis soundbite- can I put in a request?)

Blog you later.

gretchen

Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown Winner Jeff Huckins Tells His Story

For those of you who don’t know Jeff, you are really missing out! This guy gets in here and makes it happen every single day! In the story below he references that his weigh in November of 2010 was over 375 pounds. Here we are in mid-May 2011, and at last weigh in Jeff was 286.4. Do the math, that is nearly 90 pounds lost  since that time – that’s Making It Happen! Read Jeff’s story below for his “super secret” strategy 🙂  Great work Jeff! – Coaches Dean & Nancy

Well let’s see here, where do I start? For those of you who do not know me my name is Jeff and I am one of the crazy people who drag themselves into the Concord gym at 5:00 in the morning.

I have fought with my weight my whole life and by November of last year tipped the scale at 375 plus pounds. I knew something had to be done to lose the weight and improve my overall health but also felt as though I had tried, and failed at, everything.

In the preceding year I watched three of my overweight coworkers lose dramatic amounts of weight. Two of them had bypass surgery and took the weight off at an amazing rate. This “easy” option intrigued me and I had many very candid conversations with both people. I even went so far as to attend a seminar at CMC with one of them and get my doctor’s blessing to take the next step.

This option comes with many risks, no guarantee of success, and quite frankly scared the %$*# out of me.  This being said, I was still seriously considering it.

Over the last year, I had also been watching my good friend Karl very closely and started to notice several changes. Even before his weight loss became obvious his lifestyle changes stood out to me. Here he was still eating a good amount of food, although very different types then before and losing weight at a steady rate month after month.

I also would see him leaving work in shorts and a tank top wearing shoes that made him look like he had monkey feet. Dean may know the type of shoes I am talking about. I started talking with Karl more and more about what he was doing and he convinced me with his words and actions that this was for me.

The next thing I am about to say is perhaps one of the more difficult things I have ever had to admit. So here it goes “Karl was right.” There I said it. If you’re reading this Karl take a minute to enjoy it because you are not likely to hear me utter those words again. On a serious note, thank-you for steering me towards boot camp.

It was November and I had made up my mind to give boot camp a try before I move any closer to the surgical option. I figured if nothing else it would help me lose the required amount of weight mandated before I could qualify to go under the knife.

I was on Dean and Nancy’s waiting list for around two months when I got the call to come give boot camp a try for a couple of weeks. I enrolled in the program full time starting the first of January.

I showed up to boot camp on the first morning expecting that it would be like a fat farm or an episode of the biggest loser. Boy was I wrong. The first member I met was Dennis, a tall thin man in incredible shape. In the name of conversation, I asked “what are you doing here?” He answered by saying that this is how he stays in shape during the triathlon off-season.

I remember thinking to myself, “Boy am I in trouble!” and I was right.

I remember watching as the rest of the members walked in, most only slightly overweight if even at all. I was and still am by far the largest person in our class. By the end of the first “active warm-up” I was ready to start cooling down. I did what I could on that first day and left feeling pretty discouraged by the end of class. Everyone was patting my back and telling me I did a great job, and that I started one of the most difficult days that they had ever seen, it will get easier.

Looking back, I greatly appreciate the positive commentary even though the truth may have been being stretched just a little bit. In the past few months I have seen several new people start the program and amazingly, just like me, they have all started on one of the most challenging days ever.

The truth is every day is challenging for me, and everyone in every class. There is no finish line, if you can do ten push-ups today, try for eleven tomorrow. The first two weeks were definitely the most difficult for me. I remember wishing that my truck had an automatic transmission because shifting was so painful. I hurt in places that I didn’t know I had muscles.

Since that first morning my overall health has improved dramatically. I feel that I have made positive and meaningful changes in my life that I can live with long term. I try to follow the PPW (Protein, Produce & Water every 3 hours) concept 95% of the time; however I do allow myself to indulge also. In the past I have been way too strict on myself, causing me to fall off the wagon completely and regain all the weight I would lose along with a few bonus pounds.  Now, if I have cake and ice cream at a birthday party this afternoon I enjoy it and eat a healthy dinner.

As far as exercise goes, I am hooked on boot camp. On the days that we do not have class I  seek out other ways to fill the void. I spent the winter months on snowshoes and am now starting to do some running. I have worked up to the point where I can jog five miles fairly comfortably. I feel that I am a positive person for the most part. I love life and hope that these changes will give me a few extra years of it.

The most important factor for success is anyone’s life is their support structure. Mine is huge and solid as a rock. My wife is a constant source of encouragement. Although I know she would still be there for me if I weighed 500 Lbs., I also know she is pleased to see my overall health improving. Karl’s and Jill’s continuing success and his constant ribbing keep me motivated. Dennis has been so supportive and has encouraged me from day one. The poor man has sacrificed himself as my band-buddy.

Considering the size difference he is incredibly hard to drag across the floor. I am looking forward to doing a 5K with him by the end of the summer. Dean and CJ do an incredible job keeping the workouts fresh and fun. They really do believe in what they are doing and are great at it. I have never met Nancy in person, but according to what I have heard she is a lot like Dean only better at everything she does. (Sorry Dean, but that’s the word on the street)

The entire 5AM class in concord is AWESOME. Thanks for the encouragement and sorry to anyone who has slipped in one of my puddles of sweat. Finally, I would like to thank the five pounds of simulated fat that occasionally shows up for a work out, gets tossed around the room, and motivates us all.

Thanks to everyone, Jeff

S3 Reaches beyond Bootcamp – The Wolfe Family Story

I know it’s the weekend, but this inspirational letter was just too good to keep to ourselves! Thank-you so much to Paulette, Matt and the whole family for taking the time to share not only your results, but so clearly telling us what got you there. Please, please, please take the time to read and absorb what this letter has to share, and then take action. I know it will get to you like it did us! – Coaches Nancy and Dean

Coach Nancy,

I wanted to let you know how thankful I am for you, Get Fit NH Boot Camp and for the S3 contest. S3 couldn’t have come at a better time for our family.  It was just the tool we needed to get our family’s health headed in a better direction.  It was never about the points or the prizes of the contest for us – it was about helping us improve our family’s health.

Our daughter has been under the care of a doctor for nearly a year for her weight and we had tried everything we could think of to get her to improve her eating and exercise more, but nothing seemed to work. As the number on the scale climbed higher, her confidence and motivation plummeted.  Her next doctor appointment was just days before her 13th birthday and I was expecting to go to that appointment, throw up my hands and ask the doctor where to send her for help because I couldn’t help her myself.

I felt just like any parent would feel – it broke my heart to see my child struggle with this and to watch her health and happiness decline as her weight increased.

Then we learned about Get Fit’s S3 Contest. The timing couldn’t have been better!  I had gained some weight last summer and hadn’t been able to drop those pounds and Matt was getting frustrated because, although he wasn’t gaining weight, he wasn’t losing any either.  We felt we had nothing to lose by following the S3 food plan.

Our family has a couple of mottos: “Go Big or Go Home” and “If You’re In, You’re All In”, so when we decided to commit to S3, we decided to go “All In” as a family.

Our new eating plan was certainly met with resistance from our 9 year old son (our “Carb King”) and my diabetic elderly mother (who lives with us and lives vicariously – sugar wise – through my children). But, I was surprised that our daughter was excited to start the plan.

We needed the structure that the S3 plan provided –it took the pressure off of us as her parents – we weren’t the bad guys anymore, we were just following the program.

The week before S3 started, I studied the eating plan (panicked more than a little as I focused on all the foods that weren’t on the plan) I peppered Nancy with questions that all began with “So, we can’t have . . . ?”).

But, once I stopped over-thinking the eating plan and started focusing on the foods that were approved instead of the foods that weren’t, things got so much easier for us.

My friend, Deb and I attended Nancy’s workshop on Meal Management and I began to feel like I could actually do this meal planning and food prep thing.  PPW and eating every 2-3 hours became automatic after a while and we felt like it took the emotion out of eating.  As an emotional eater, this was a HUGE help to me!

We kept track of our measurements as well as tracking our weight throughout the entire 8 weeks of S3, and the three of us lost a combined 42 pounds and over 24 inches overall. By tracking our measurements, I could see that even if I didn’t have a good weigh in, I was still losing inches. That definitely kept me motivated.

The success we all were experiencing began to perpetuate itself. The more weight (and inches) we lost, the better we felt and the more we wanted to stick to the program.  Matt and I certainly experienced success, but it was all secondary to how proud we were of our daughter.  We watched her literally transform before our eyes (both physically and emotionally) in just two short months!

We’re so proud of how well she’s done and all that she’s accomplished and her doctor is as well! And, even our “Carb King” son now enjoys lettuce wraps and more veggies than ever!

A few things that helped us succeed with S3:

We did it as a family: Our family made the commitment to the program, so it made meal prep easier because ¾ of our household was eating the same things.  Our son ate what we were eating almost half the time.

We were “All In”: We tried to stay on plan all the time.  There were no “cheat days” or “cheat meals”.  Although not every single thing we ate was 100% compliant all the time, it was easier for us to stay on track if we aimed for 100% compliance.

We made Meal and Food Prep a priority: S3 was definitely an exercise in organization.  If we had sufficient amounts of compliant food in the house and it was washed and prepped, then we knew had a better chance of success and we were less stressed over what we were going to eat and when.

We kept our food logs: We did our food logs every week.  We only did the required 3 days per week, but we kept our food logs in mind the other four days.  We didn’t want to eat anything that we would feel guilty about writing down and having Nancy see.

We ate at home: We found that eating out was too stressful (Nancy talks about not having control over your food when you eat out) and too expensive.  For example, salads taste better (and are way cheaper) when they’re made at home.

We followed the PPW principle: We tried to make sure that every meal contained protein, produce and we drank lots of water.

We had Great Support: We had the support of each other, of our trainer (thank you, Nancy!) and our friends (thank you, Gretch and Deb!).  Having people around us that were not only encouraging but were working toward the same goals we were was great motivation.

We didn’t stop when S3 ended: We’ve continued to stay on the S3 eating plan even though the contest is over because we have more work to do, more weight to lose and a lifetime of health and happiness to enjoy.

– Matt and Paulette Wolfe

There is no good reason you can’t Make This Happen too  – Get Some!

Client Goal Assessment Breakdown – It’s All Here

Wanted to share with you a fantastic goal assessment worksheet from one our our Get Fit NH Bootcamp “Supahstahs” (Your second goal sheet for S3 is due Friday the 22nd – make it happen!)

It includes an evaluation of her last 4 weeks and sets new goals for the next 4 week period. It is honest, thorough and specific, which are all keys to both setting and reaching your goals.

I have edited for length and content, to protect the not so innocent 🙂  There is a lot of great stuff in here – read and then take action!

***

Did I reach my specific goal for this period? What are the reasons I did or did not reach my goal? What did I learn this month?

I did not lose 8 pounds this month, but I did lose weight and bodyfat.  I may not have reached my goal because I continued to give myself a “cheat day”/meal the first two weeks and ate a piece of pizza and some macaroni and cheese during recovery week.  Also, my body may be unable to lose 2 pounds every week now that I am closer to my goal weight.  I learned that I can live quite happily without any processed foods or alcohol AND that I can survive social situations without drinking at all.  Additionally, I learned the importance of rest and recovery despite how much I hate it.  I learned that I have gotten much smaller than I thought and that I may have to focus on goals outside of the scale pretty soon.

What will I do differently next month? (complete sheet for next 4 weeks)

I will allow a small cheat snack rather than a cheat day or meal every two weeks rather than every week like before.  I find that if I do not give in to cheat meals my cravings for the food disappear entirely.

What do I want to accomplish in my fitness program (nutrition, exercise, and mindset)? The following are my outcome goals for the next four weeks:

Outcome related goal: I would like to lose 3% bodyfat in the next 4 weeks

How I will achieve this:

I will eat more greens each day
I will get my healthy fats in, and I will work to get them in a variety of forms
I will not eat after 7pm
I will workout hard during bootcamp
I will workout one day during my weekend  (Coach Dean says – still struggling with that recovery, huh 🙂

Why do I want to accomplish these goals? How important are these goals to you?

I want to accomplish these goals because I want to see how much I can improve my body.  Now that I am starting to appreciate my figure I want to see how far I can take it in a healthy mindful way.

How do I know I want those results?

Because I visualize being successful every night before I fall asleep. I went to this store (several but this one in particular) and it had this fabulous green dress only available in a (size). I could never have worn it before.  Now, not only did it fit, it looked awesome and I am wearing it to Easter.  I can’t give that up.  I also feel powerful because I know that not only do I look fit, I actually am fit.  I didn’t think of myself as an exercise person in high school or college, now I not only see myself as an exercise person… I get grumpy without my daily workout.

I’ll do just about anything to reach my goals but this: (Be as specific as possible)

I will not resort to extreme measures [liquid detoxes, stimulants, or exercising with sweats on to cut water weight] nor will I completely cut fruit. (I have already cut alcohol and refined carbs so I have gotten past those hang ups)

When I reach these goals, what will I do for myself and how will I feel?

I will continue to feel fabulous, revamp my wardrobe, and be fearless.

My past record of attaining my fitness goals is:

Good. As far as attaining fitness goals I normally do, however I tend to be lax on my eating habits.  I am not falling off the wagon.

What will make this time different?

It totally is different because I am a force and I have decided that it is time to be fit and thin.  When I decide to do something in my life, nothing can stop me.

***

Absolutely love that attitude – the only one that can stop you is you!

Be Unstoppable!

Coach Dean

Life Is More Than Showing Up

I have heard it said that “Showing up is half the battle”, and while that may be true you still have to do something once you get there to achieve victory.

You can have plans out the wazoo, but if you don’t implement them, you aren’t going to get very far.

I was reminded of this as Nancy and I head down to Louisville (Jamaica -yeah right!) for a coaching conference today. It is the fifth time I have been to Louisville, and every time I come back with a tremendous amount of “actionable” information on coaching and business.

Every year the hosts of the event hand out a book with outlines of all the presentations and workshops. I can look over my left shoulder right now and see the ones from past trips.

Here’s a couple questions for you: Does having that manual on my bookshelf make my coaching any better? Does that 300 page book cause my skills to improve and our business to serve our clients better?

No, and No.

Because if I don’t take action on the information in those books, a tree got cut down for nothing – just a big waste.

I’ll admit that my shelf is littered with business books that did me no good for years, because I read them, put them back on the shelf, and did nothing about it. Until I stopped chasing “shiny objects”, the latest and greatest theory or method, I never got anything done, and my training business floundered.

When I think back on it I give a lot of credit to Danno (Dan Yeaton) for getting me off my duff. I was training a few clients one-on-one, and he kept asking me to do an early morning class. Finally we did the one thing that changed everything. We set a stake in the ground and set a date and time of May 8, 2008 at 5:00am for our first Get Fit NH Bootcamp training session, and then we actually held the class – action was taken!

While taking that step didn’t guarantee the measure of success we have had, without it there would be no Get Fit NH Bootcamp.

So what does that mean to you?

Are you distracted by shiny objects? I see many people who want to lose weight get distracted by the shiny objects of the diet industry, reading book after book, watching show after show, and never getting around to doing anything.

What is the one thing you are going to do today that will make a measurable difference to your goals?

Don’t just think about it…

Make It Happen!

Coach Dean

I get by with a little help from my friends…

I know I’ve said it before but, really really, Bootcamp offers so much more than just a workout. There is something to be said about the friendships/camaraderie/bonds we build at Bootcamp.

The S3/2 Challenge is just that, a challenge, at least for this junkfood junkie it is. Its my circle of Bootcamp friends that are Facebooking me, texting me, and talking with me that keeps me on track. Let me introduce you to my friends:

Its the Drill Sargent Jill holding us accountable with attendance at Bootcamp. If you can’t make it you better call.

It’s the Monday morning text: “Do you have a plan? Veggies and Protein Covered?”  reminding me to stay on track. Gotta love my sister in law, she knows I needed that reminder. Happy to say that at the time, I was eating celery and peanut butter. Veggies-check, protein-check, add the bottle of water-check and I get an  A+.

It’s also the fabulous Paulette, who I am texting ‘stop me cause I need to either eat myself sick or drink to oblivion’ because I am having a horrendous day… She talks me off the edge with a simple “it’s not worth it!” And she’s right, especially knowing that I have to turn in a food log and step on a scale in the next two days keeping me grounded.

There is Kathy, who we’ve come up with an incentive to follow the plan. If we gain, money gets paid to the other; if we lose, we keep the money. At the end of the 8weeks, we’ll have enough money for a new article of clothing.

Then there is my Donna who is carpooling or meeting me at Bootcamp. Or she is facebooking ‘words of wisdom’.

And of course our Trainers, with our daily motivational anecdotes and health facts. Yup, I get by with a little help from my friends.

Stay on track my friends! Oh and here’s DK’s quote:

Blog you later.

gretchen

Ramblings of a Procrastinator

I have plenty of time… I have 24 hours to get my goal sheet done, I mean ‘passed’ in. As well as my food log for three days. Nancy says I have until 11:59pm on Friday. No problem, plenty of time says the Procrastinator.

“Don’t f- this up” states our Drill Sergeant (ed-I VERY much doubt she said that 🙂 overseeing the 6pm accountability. She is down right scary! So I spent this evening filling out forms, signing onto websites and it  hits me, I believe I’m a procrastinator?! It is not as though I like to wait until the last minute, I tend to get off schedule. I’m easily distracted, or just not in the right frame of mind to complete these tasks.

Sunday, I was so excited for S3 to begin, I had my plan, shopping, prep for the week & ready to go… ‘ooh look, shiny bauble’, instead of Grocery Shopping. I opted for going Snowboarding for the day. Really? do you blame me?? if there was a ‘Dislike’ button for grocery shopping I would be hitting it repeatedly. So, how’s  that snowboarding now that there is no food in the house?

It caused a little issue while I had to bare my soul on the ‘food log’ for the past 3 days. I am so not compliant… and I expect to lose weight?! Who am I kidding?? I did manage to stop at the store on Monday for a bag of salad and celery. My food log is pathetic, but I could atleast document a few green items and it wasn’t even green beer!

We are now 5 days into the S3/2 Challenge and I’m still on the porch!  Of course the easy thing to do would be to just say ‘forget it’. Of course that would mean I am backing down from a Challenge… haha- uh no! I’m still in the game, just got a slow start.

It may not be the end of my poor choices throughout the next 7weeks however, I don’t give up. Some of you may find yourselves in my shoes. Just remember, you can’t  undo the situation but you can learn from it, forget it and move on…make good choices and get back on track.

Blog you later.

gretchen

Jim, Kim, Alicia and Bobbie are Making It Happen!

Four more quick stories to share about how YOU are cranking it and reaping the rewards of all your hard work!

Jim – 13 pounds down since January and in the “2-teens” for the first time in 20+ years

Kim – Shared that while she didn’t come specifically to lose weight, but gain performance, the 15 pounds she has lost doesn’t bother her! 🙂

Alicia – Down 10 pounds

Bobbie – Down 13 pounds

Shout it from the rooftops! Each one of these incredible bootcampers are making just the progress we want to to see. Between 1 and 2 pounds of regular, sustainable loss per week.

Think about it – What will the result be in 3 months, 6 months, or a year down the road?

Do the math – It’s Exciting!

Jeff is Down 40 Pounds in 8 Weeks, Step by Step!

Jeff (5:00am Concord) first contacted us because he saw how his friend and co-worker Karl (who lost 102 pounds last year) was finally losing the weight and getting healthy, and he thought – why not me?

Why Not Indeed!

Over the past 8 weeks Jeff is literally transforming before our eyes. It was incredible when he shared with his teammates and training partners that in the 8 weeks since he has started he has lost 40 pounds – wow!

Now Jeff is a big guy, and he has a lot to lose. He joked with us Monday that he was no longer “morbidly obese, just regular obese”, and you know what, it’s that kind of sense of humor and attitude that keeps you from looking too far ahead and instead focusing on all the great things that are happening in the “now”.

Jeff told me he is not starving himself, not doing anything crazy. I will tell you that since he started he has not missed a training session, in fact he is almost always the first one through the door.

Attitude Is Everything, and Jeff has a great one.

There’s a good chance Jeff is going to break Karl’s record, and if I know Karl, he’ll be the first one in line to shake his hand.

So what about you?

It’s March, 2 months into the new year.

Are YOU on track to reach your goals?

Make It Happen!

Coach Dean