I completed my very last Best Body Bootcamp Round 5 workout on Saturday. I felt…a sense of accomplishment and pride. I followed the plan and worked my butt off (often outside my comfort zone) for eight whole weeks. I didn’t quit – through our move, weekend visitors, busy work weeks, etc. – I kept going. Woo hoo!
The last and final phase of the bootcamp focused on timed workouts (think tabatas). While I love tabatas, this wasn’t my favorite phase. And that’s not because the workouts weren’t tough or anything even remotely close to that. I think my love for true strength training workouts (with weights) has fully blossomed. And now, nothing else will do! But the variety, change of pace, and new moves were more than welcome.
I don’t have any quantitative results to share with y’all. I didn’t weigh myself during the eight weeks, and I didn’t take any measurements. Instead, I tuned into my strength and endurance capacity and focused on the way my clothes fit. With that in mind, I’m happy to report that my weights have increased (I use 12 pound dumbbells for some exercises), I can run farther and faster than ever before, and my clothes are a little bit looser. Oh and knee pain seems to be a thing of the past (knock on wood!). Success!
There is one thing I want to talk about that didn’t go so well for me, and it’s not really related to the bootcamp. Over the past 2-3 weeks, my eating habits have been less than stellar. It’s not that I ate junk food for every meal, but I did eat more than my fair share of dark chocolate. And cheese (in some form) found it’s way into most of my lunches and dinners. Eating out has also been a regular thing for the past 2.5 weeks (last week alone I ate out like 10 times!!), and with that, the wine was also flowing.
Some of the above is work related, some of it is because I’ve had friends in town, and some of it is because we’re not 100% settled yet and won’t be until Vishnu is done with his boards. That’s just life. And don’t get me wrong. I’m super proud of myself for completing the bootcamp and accomplishing what I did. However, I feel like over the past 2.5 weeks, I tried to out exercise a bad diet. FYI…not a good plan.
Now you’re probably wondering how I know this when I didn’t weigh myself or take any measurements. Well, I don’t. All I know is how I feel. And I feel as though I could’ve done a better job with my food choices. That’s all. But I’m not going to beat myself up over it. I truly did enjoy some of the meals I’ve had over the past few weeks. And at the end of the day, each and every one was enjoyed with people I care about. In the grand scheme of things, it’s no big deal. But I do want to clean up some of my poor eating habits moving forward.
So here’s what I think. For the next round of bootcamp, I’m going to focus on the “food as fuel” concept along with the 80/20 rule. Also, I need to go back to my roots and plan ahead, especially when I know eating out is on the agenda.
Overall, the past eight weeks were incredible…life changing even. I learned a lot about myself and what I’m capable of. And I can’t wait for the summer round to begin! Are you going to join?!
Woo hoo- well done on completing the full 8 weeks…you sound like you did great :)! I love that you didn’t use the scale as an indicator of your progress…very smart and sensible approach. As for your eating habits, just the fact that you pinpointed that they have been less than stellar and you want to clean them is up is already a step in the right direction :)! Have a great weekend, P!
Thanks, K! And I just know how much the numbers mess with my head, so I decided to stay away from the get go. Glad I did!
And you’re right…the first step to figuring things out is admitting that there is something to figure out!
So inspiring to read your post Parita! I love your commitment and your honesty and your positivism(is that even a word?). Thank you for inspiring your readers to take action.
Thanks, Gia! That means so much. I really do believe in being authentic, so I’m glad it comes across on the blog!
It’s so hard! I’m trying to find the balance of eating what my body craves (which I didn’t used to do) vs. eating healthy and it’s HARD. I’m still trying to figure out what makes me feel my best!
It IS hard!! Personally, I have a feeling I’ll always be a work in progress. 🙂
Congrats!!! Sticking with a program is not easy. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Ummm… and no judgment on the flowing of the wine. LOL!
Haha! Thanks, Laura! It is really such an awesome program. Tina is amazing!
I agree with Laura I think inspite of everything that was happening – you stuck with the plan and with food- it happens and you are aware of it and already game planning 🙂 so proud of you. Now that I have a little pup I dont know how homeworkout is going to be possible for me – shes at a very hyperactive stage right now 🙁
Thank you!! You can make BBB work for you! Your puppy can join you. 🙂
Great job sticking to the program, girl! And don’t beat yourself up over a “less than stellar” diet… Trying to follow a strict diet sucks way too much fun out of life, and if you’re enjoying yourself, feeling good, and still seeing results, then you’re obviously doing something right!
Thanks, Amanda! Honestly, a few years ago, my “bad diet” would have thrown me off completely. But now…not so much. Still working through it but in a much better place! Maybe that’s what age does to you!
Congrats to finishing the 8 weeks! I always feel so accomplished when I finish something without missing a day or two. I also have been doing more snacking and eating then I’d like to admit, maybe it’s just the time of the year or something. I’ve noticed the same pattern in a lot of my friends as well!
I blame summer! 😛
I feel you on the eating out thing. It’s my kryptonite. I definitely try to out exercise a bad diet even though I know it won’t work. Sigh. But I’m so glad you loved the program and got results!
Thanks, Kacy. Eating out is dangerous when you live in a city where the options are endless! This is going to be interesting. 🙂
Eating out used to be really difficult for me but then I discovered that if I order off of the appetizer menu I can totally keep things under control.