I bet YOU can’t do this… (mom loses 26 pounds of fat!)

Guest blog post by Transformation Tuesday success story and mother Michelle Griswold:

OK, HERE YA GO!!

I remember seeing my friend Crystal’s Facebook posts about this “bootcamp” she was attending. She looked amazing from her photos so I started creeping the New Port Richey Bootcamp Facebook page.

It looked very intense with weights and tires and bricks, oh my!! I was immediately intimidated and closed out the tab knowing I’d never do that type of workout.

Every now and then I’d see Crystal’s pictures again in my newsfeed, but she was even smaller than the last post I saw and she had more muscles!! I was definitely inspired each time but wasn’t really ready to change my lifestyle yet.

Meanwhile during all of this, I’d cringe anytime I saw a mirror….

I started living in my husbands t shirts and yoga pants because my clothes didn’t fit and I was in denial. I remember stepping on the scale and saw I weighed 207.

WOW! That’s 4 lbs away from what I weighed at 39 wks pregnant with my daughter 3 years ago. I couldn’t believe it. I was just sad and depressed that I let myself get there.

I knew my weight had been creeping up but I ignored it. When I weighed myself every few months I saw 185, 190, 193, 196, 199…..ah, 199…..as long as I was under 200 I’d be fine.

Shit, 201, 203….Ok, time to get under control, you’re 3 lbs over 200.

OH MY GAWD, CAKE!….205… 207.

What. The. Hell. did I just do? Did I seriously gain all of this weight in less than a year? Enough was enough!

Then there it was in my newsfeed. Crystal’s transformation Tuesday feature! Woah!!

My mind was blown away at her results and of course I was in the right mindset finally and was ready to learn more!

I messaged her asking a million questions and wanted to try out this “bootcamp” right away.

She got me in touch with Derek who was amazing from the get go in answering all of my questions and just made me feel important.

Like my weight loss journey REALLY mattered to him and he would do everything he could to help me achieve these goals.

I went to my first bootcamp session about a week after contacting Crystal. Rich was the trainer that day. He was very upbeat and all smiles.

I was kind of shocked how nice he was being. This WAS bootcamp right?!

Why was I so afraid of this?

Then I saw all the equipment around me. Pretty sure I pooped my pants. #kiddingnotkidding

Crystal was kind enough to be my partner that day and I couldn’t even finish the workout on the board. I was going to puke. I remember shaking the entire drive home. But hey, I didn’t die. 😉

I wanted more. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and putting myself on the back burner. My daughter is watching and can see how unhealthy I am when I run out of breath while we play. I found myself driving back to bootcamp the next week.

My friend Melanie joined that week too so we were newbies together!

I found myself making friends with these amazing people in this live fit family. I never felt judged.

Everyone is on their own journey and no matter where they are in it, they invite you to workout right along side them. I have partnered with new people and seasoned people who intimated me, only to find that we’re all in this together. To empower each other and keep each other going!

This place was NOTHING like a gym. No one makes you feel like you don’t belong there.

There are people of all ages and shapes and they are nothing but inviting. It’s such an inspiring loving environment and I’m forever grateful to have found it.

Here I am, 5 months later and I am stronger than I’ve ever been in my life.

I completed my first 5K Mud run.

I completed two 4 hour Muscle Retreats.

I can finish the high intensity workouts and even do DOUBLES some days!

I catch my daughter doing lunges at home because it’s “Just like Mama.”

My husband is constantly complementing me (He always has) but now I actually believe him!!

I actually feel younger and not 10 years older anymore. My lifestyle has completely changed. My mindset has completely changed. Strong is the new sexy.

I’m not concerned with how thin I will be but making gainz!!

I still have a long journey ahead of me but I’m confident I will achieve my goals with my amazing Live Fit family by my side.

If there’s one thing I can say to hopefully inspire others, it would be to just show up. That’s it.

Just. Show. Up. You’re worth it. You owe it to yourself to be healthy.

It might be hard at first and you might even cry on the way home somedays when you feel defeated. I promise it gets easier. You will get stronger.

Then it just becomes part of your routine and you’re not just “showing up” anymore because you’ll WANT to be there. Trust me, you’ll start being sad when you MISS a bootcamp session 😉

The trainers here genuinely care and they love helping you reach new limits you didn’t even know you had!

Thank you so much NPR bootcamp and my Live Fit family for encouraging me to keep moving.