This (not so!) little ELF went to Bootcamp!

This (not so!) Little ELF went to a well known UK Bootcamp in order to see if this was the elixir that was eluding her!  Follow the journey below…

DAY BY DAY

Day 1 arrival. Apprehension, scared.. other participants… some lifers.. some repeaters some just like us… trying to fit in, try not to overtalk in welcome lectures with nervous frivolity…. Don’t sleep well.. nervous… need to settle in can’t work radiator or lights etc….

Day 2 Start… 6.15am Gentle but solid day with bursts of difficulty, easy to stay happy, enough food because not actually used up all the calories from yesterday’s pre loading binge yet… some lifers refuse to speak to us then explain that they have seen it all… different nationalities revert to stereotypes… lots of people looking like they are making an effort but not really… 25,000 + steps.. wth!  Very tired… fall asleep anytime you lie down…. Meeting people asking lots of questions.. not getting to the nitty gritty of why people are all really here… they say weight loss but as trainer alludes to it is also for the mind….  Great massage… had to be a good masseuse if you had seen what she looked like…. Walked past a chip shop on the afternoon walk.. one of those buildings that could have passed for a municipal loo but after only 1 day of restricted eating could have easily raided it if not accompanied by guards, I mean trainers!

Day 3… Amazing workouts… felt a bit jaded after lunch… not much energy but an ok boxing workout followed by a mental spin class followed by a 2 hour walk and stretch soon took over.. quite hungry today… great massage… don’t feel washed out at all just fatigued from exercise but mentally not feeling like you can’t do it.. this morning did a shuttle run pyramid weights work out… very hard but also you knew exactly what you had to do and you took control so could go in a zone and it was over before you knew what was happening…. Weirdly feel much fitter than most people here and more flexible and funnier.. actually a really diverse good bunch of people… all very respectful and willing to listen and talk about themselves in an open and honest manner… had a talk on the machine that weighed us in and the body fat levels.. important to take note of that as that is what I want to improve. The areas it highlights.. said my mbr was 1500 so I can eat that without putting on any weight.. think I should maybe eat that for a few weeks at home and then should naturally lose weight…

Day 4 … started off very enthusiastic… waned a bit during first work out… getting hungrier… lower carb day so felt a little jaded at times… went to a local gym to work out so little bit of change and did us good… also went to a Tesco on the way back and didn’t buy anything bad.. just newspaper and deodorant despite custard doughnuts winking at me….  Felt good all evening.. nice supper with potatoes put me right back on track.. had 2 cups of illegal tea in the afternoon… felt that we deserved it… constantly pushing myself.. if there is another rep I can do at each station of a circuit I really try to do that and also on the afternoon walk I really tried to push it yesterday… a really fun diverse group of people… enjoy their company.. makes a difference…  had a chat about using myfitnesspal and it really does work.. thinking I should go back on the set amount of calories ie 1500 set off by exercise on myfitnesspal and stick to it when I get home…

Day 5 .. .Ghost weigh in… woke up early as had to drink 90 minutes before it to make it accurate for the machine… feeling very hungry this morning.. tummy really rumbling way before breakfast but that could be because I woke up earlier…felt quite low after weigh in and before first work out.. felt a bit loose like I was out of control…. Not sure where my anchor was or what my focus was… hard workout and suddenly my mojo was back.. had a small breakfast and did another good workout…. Told that I was no longer to have snacks but had to have protein shakes as I was losing muscle not fat… little bit depressing but also told I was very dehydrated so need to work on that.. my urine had been like water but this morning had turned a much darker colour so it all makes sense…. Had a nutrition talk where basically all they said was very simple but incredibly true and effective… it is not about crash dieting in real life it is about life style changes… so get the fundamentals right and the rest will follow… drink lots of water, sleep 6-8 hours a day, keep moving so up your steps, cut out some toxins, ie wine, make food a routine, so plan ahead… make meal plans… think of replacing normal pasta with lentil or gluten free pasta… think of adding cauliflower to rice to bulk it… stop eating such big portions…. Ok to only eat brunch or lunch as first meal…. Personally I need to cut out the cake and biscuits and chocolate element…. If I did that and cut down on portion size I would almost be there 80/20 rule so important so would be ok to have some wine 2 days a week… try and bring it back to that….. 

Day 6 Had to have a rest first thing as they said I had been overtraining… I had lost 4.5l of water and the machine was implying that I had gained fat and lost muscle which was almost impossible considering the calories in and the calories out… felt disheartened a little that I couldn’t join in so ended up doing so much more in the next session… really pushed it… was made to have protein shakes as well to try and help with the muscle “wastage”. Not that keen on those… so sweet and felt like empty calories.. not food I wanted to be eating… drinking!  Would have rather just have a couple of chocolate biscuits taste wise but that is not the point and does not have the necessary nutrients.. obvs…. Due to my all in or all our personality found it rather irritating not being allowed to go flat out and give it my all.  I either do it or I don’t in my world.  Have to listen to the experts though.  The instructors at this particular boot camp are particularly skilled and really have been doing it very successfully for years and have met every type. I am sure I just slotted into one of their “types” and they know exactly what I should and shouldn’t have been doing.  So I swallowed my pride and did what I was told.  My husband is dying to hear how they got me to do this!

Day 7. Felt much more energised and enthusiastic.  My last day.  I gave it my all.  What more can I say… weigh in tomorrow…

Day 8 Well there is always one they say.. and I was that one.. the one person who doesn’t lose the fat weight according to the machine but loses the muscle weight and it is all in the short term. They explained that I hadn’t really lost muscle and gained fat but some people’s bodies metabolise differently to others and the machine can’t cope with them… well it’s good to be that one sometimes.. so all in all the results of the week really boil down to how I felt about it as there weren’t any tangible figures of dramatic weight loss to hold on to.

CONCLUSIONS

Feelings - Felt euphoric at times, loved the aspect of worrying about myself rather than constantly rushing around making sure the rest of the family or the world are OK!  Loved pushing myself with the exercise and loved getting fitter and stronger.  Loved meeting new people and hearing their stories as to why they were there and what their motivations and triggers were.  The more I do of these things the more I could define the stereotypes of the participants.  Very motivated to continue good intentions at home and get stronger, fitter and thinner!

Results - Looked healthier, looked trimmer and more toned, felt thinner and healthier, felt rested and energised.. didn’t actually lose much physical weight, 3 to 4lbs but in a week that is not too bad.

Intentions - Start using MyFitnessPal or some form of calorie counter mechanism and tracking the daily in and outs.. Try and employ the 80/20 principle and the intentions regarding more sleep, more water, more movement, more presence when eating rather than mindless bingeing.

Would I go back? - Absolutely, ideally would live there until my ideal weight but there are small things like… hmmm Work, family, friends and my life… so need to work this into my life at some stage…

ADDENDUM.… Sadly caught Covid at the bootcamp (along with 7 other participants) so was not able to carry on with the intentions quite as I wanted… then with a family wedding as soon as I came out of isolation and then …. Well the story goes on and I slipped back into some old habits and never did carry on with all the good intentions… still at least I know that the bootcamp is there if I need it and how it can transform me in one week if everything else is lined up properly!!

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