I keep hearing from patients who come to me for weight loss, who proclaim they have failed at everything and they especially failed at boot camp. I’m told about injuries, and being told to push harder, you just need to do it, etc. But, it wasn’t working for these folks, they weren’t enjoying it, and they weren’t seeing the results they had hoped for.

Even worse, they felt humiliated, and without results, they stopped. Now please, understand that I have nothing against boot camp or working out, I just don’t think it’s always the first step to health for everyone, especially for me. I thought it was time to write a post about this, as a boot camp drop out—and that’s okay–because I found a better solution to my health issues, and at least I tried, right?

Can You Relate?

So, if you’ve ever been in boot camp, you may have felt pressured to do more, push more, and felt the disapproving stares of the trainer as you huffed and puffed through the routines. To be fair, I felt really supported by all the trainers I worked with but one, and this one trainer made everything feel the exact opposite of fun, her scowls were piercing. This was my experience, there was a lot good about it and some not so good. It was June of 2012 and I’d been curious about boot camp for several years. I liked the idea of exercising outside and having the support of a group, a bunch of people to help keep me going. It sounded fun and we (me and my now husband) were preparing for our wedding in Kauai and we were wanting to feel and look our best at our wedding and on the beach. So, we signed up for a 3 month membership, we went 3 times a week for 45-60 min each time for 3 months as recommended. In the beginning, we may have missed one day a week due to soreness, but were encouraged to do that so as not to overdue. We were told it would get easier and keep going. It got a little easier, that pain and soreness did fade thankfully, but the feeling winded and dizzy didn’t go away for either of us. It was humiliating when I was so far behind everyone else. It wasn’t that I was lazy, my metabolism was broken, and it was making it really hard for me to burn energy in an efficient way. I know this now, I did not know this then, I just thought I was pathetic.

After 3 Months  

We finished our 3 months and did feel a bit more fit, and maybe our clothes fit a wee bit better, but my wedding dress was not loose and I was still wearing the same clothes I started with, so any progress we made was not the visible kind, which is fine with me, I do things for my health first, and my weight or appearance second, always.

A Different Experience of 3 Months

Fast forward to April of 2013 and 3 months of metabolic balance®. Like bootcamp, this program was a 3 month program, but the difference is, I lost 20 pounds on the program and didn’t change my exercise habits one bit. You can read about the details HERE but just know that it changed my life for the better in profound and lasting ways. The program helped me repair my metabolism and after fixing my metabolism, I can work out hard now and not be out of breath. I can walk up long hills and carry a conversation with no problem, no huffing, no puffing. Now that my metabolism is humming along, I’m fully capable of enjoying exercise again without feeling like there is something wrong with me. I was not broken, I just needed to support my natural, healthy metabolism. I can also maintain my weight without exercise, but I can exercise if I want to and I do. I now have the tools to manage my weight in a sane and healthy way, and increase or decrease my food intake depending on my activity levels. I feel free.

I’m not writing this so you avoid boot camp. Like I said, there was a lot of good in it and I may do it again. I’m also not suggesting that exercise is not a noble activity or that you should do the metabolic balance®program. The purpose of this blog post is to share with you about my experience, so that if you have or have had a similar experience of something not working for you, you’ll trust yourself and search out something better, something that does work for you. It’s also important that you don’t give up. Keep going until you get what you want, that is of paramount importance! If I hadn’t taken the risk to try metabolic balance®, I would have missed out on a whole lot of healing and resulting happiness. It could have been the same for boot camp, it just turned out that wasn’t my ‘thing’ just then, but it was on my path towards success, so I’m grateful for it. I hope that you too will trust yourself and not give up on your own healing, whatever it is whatever you struggle with, don’t give up, you are too important. Your health and happiness are much too important!

So, Let Me Ask you This:

• What kind of activities or movement do you enjoy?
• What are you doing, that don’t particularly enjoy that you’d like to stop?
• And, what would you rather do instead?

As always, please leave a comment, I’d just love to hear from you! And if you like what you’re reading, please sign up to get free tips, straight to your inbox, to help you end your struggle with food and your weight, it’s free!

All the best,