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Boot camp, week five – you gotta want it

Baby weight is so last season. Follow me as I try to get in shape and shed a few pounds following Denver trainer Anne Parker’s TRX Mini Boot Camp.

Read week one here.

Read week two here.

Read week three here.

Read week four here.

Watch the video here.

By Lesley Kennedy

So, the first four weeks of Anne Parker’s TRX boot camp were great. I don’t have the stats yet, but even if I lost no weight, I know I grew stronger.

Here’s why: The fist week of boot camp, I remember being asked to do planks and plank crunches and plank pikes. I think I did, like one of each. In 30 seconds. I mean, serious failure. My arms were like Jello.

But this week, I counted, and I did 14 plank crunches before I fell to my knees. My arms were shaking like crazy, but I held the plank the entire interval. I was proud of myself. And, so I decided to keep up the boot camp workouts, because having someone there to lead me in my exercises motivates me in a way I can’t do for myself.

I’m excited to see how many of those crunches I’ll be able to do at the end of this four-week session. I bet I won’t even have to drop down! Hey, it might not seem like much, but, to me, it’s an accomplishment.

Now, like so many others, the nutrition part is the stumbling block. I hate dieting. I mean, I HATE dieting. Did you get that? Dieting just plain sucks. The second I go on a diet (and believe me, I’ve tried many), all I can think about is food. So, my goal is to simply eat clean five days a week. That means natural, unprocessed foods — lots of fruits and veggies and nuts and lean protein. And, sorry Anne, but there has to be a little cheat built in, too. Oh, and Diet Coke. Lots and lots of Diet Coke.

I’ve been going off the books a bit, because I work and freelance full time, have two little kids and a husband who need attention and a house to take of. And I’m just not good at planning. I try so hard. I make lists constantly. And then I promptly lose them.

So, I look for convenience. A Lara Bar and banana for breakfast. Lunch is cottage cheese with cherry tomatoes from the garden and a package of Green Giant seasoned boxed vegetables. (I know it sounds totally disgusting, but they’re my new fave find. There was a special at Safeway, so I tried them – the whole box is 100 calories. They’re super easy and they’re lightly seasoned and taste really good – and I am not a veggie gal — at all. Go figure.)

A snack is an apple and an ounce of cashews or string cheese or peanut butter on a Wasa cracker or another Lara bar or Mojo bar. And dinner is grilled fish and tomatoes or scallops with a few corn chips and guacamole or an Amy’s frozen dinner when I’m really running late. And because I just have to have something sweet or I’ll go crazy and end up eating an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s in less time than I can hold a pike, I started buying their little single serving packs — they’re $1 each at Safeway. Around 200 calories, I figure life is too short to not eat ice cream.

I’m a little worried about the weekend. Saturday night we’re going to Frasca for our anniversary, and I don’t plan to hold back on the wine or the food. But we’ll go on an extra long hike to sort of make up for it.

So, no, I’m not perfect on the eating. But I’m a hell of a lot better than I used to be. And, you know what? My jeans did feel a bit looser today. I’m not giving up yet.

Related posts:

1. Boot camp, week nine – pump you up!
2. Boot camp, week seven – out of town and no workouts
3. Boot camp, week 12 – mixing things up
4. Boot camp, week four – no rest for the wicked
5. Boot camp, week 13 – Halloween makes for a scary diet