So, determine the number of blocks of P, C and F blocks you put in the entire recipe and divide by three (if you are a 3 block meal person) to determine how many 3-block meals it makes.  If you make a recipe containing 12 P, 12, C and 12 F in the entire recipe, this will yield four 3-block meals of 3P, 2C and 3F each.  If you have a recipe containing 12 P, 8 P and 12 F, you have four 3-block meals of 3P, 2C, 3F each.

As I type this, I am eating a “snack” of Paleo meatloaf, steamed asparagus, zucchini and cauliflower. Yum.

http://everydaypaleo.com/?s=beanless+chili

carrot cake muffins 1

carrot cake muffins 2

chicken salad

mashed cauliflower

mashed yams

meatballs

meatloaf

paleo spaghetti

stuffed acorn squah1 stuffed acorn squash2

1. Whenever you find yourself reaching for something you REALLY don’t want to eat. Walk away from it, count to 10 and re-think your choice. Usually you are either tired, bored, stressed or thirsty.

2.  Journal your thoughts. Journal your eating.

3.  Every night write down 10 things you are grateful for.

4.  Right when you get home from work, brush your teeth.

5.  Eat mindfully. Sit at your kitchen table and do nothing but eat your food for 10 minutes.

6. Chew each bite 20 times before swallowing.

7. Sign up for a physical activity that you have always dreamed of doing.

8.  Meditate.

9. Find an activity that you like doing and keep doing it.

10. Find a spiritual activity to keep you grounded; join a church, go back to church, spend time in nature.

Try adding any or all of the above activities to your daily life and see how it changes you.

I sent a survey out regarding your experience so far and this is what you had to say:

1. On the perceived exertion scale of 1-10 how would you rate how challenged you are in camp?

• 10  This is by far the hardest workout I have ever done. Linda

2. Did you find yourself looking forward to class each day? Did you leave feeling good,      positive about yourself, refreshed, and ready for your day?

• Yes, yes and yes. Linda
• Yes, I expected it to be really hard but what I didn’t expect is that I would look forward to coming to class even when I’m sweating and out of breath, I still enjoy it. Michelle

 3. Does this Boot Camp meet or exceed your expectations? Please explain…

• Meets and exceeds my expectations, I am getting a lot of positive reinforcement and don’t feel out of place. Linda
•  Totally exceeds expectations. Jodi

4. What do you like the best about participating in Adventure Boot Camp?

• The fact that all of us are there to get healthy and the kindness of the other women in the class, everyone has been very welcoming. Linda
• I love the positive support  from the coaches and the participants.  I also don’t feel judged.  This is a first for me!  Jodi

5. On a scale of 1-10 (10 is best) please rate your instructor(s):

__10____ Technical knowledge and ability to effectively instruct you accordingly

__10__ Skills for group instruction, interaction, and group dynamics

__10____ Instructions were clear and loud enough for you

__10____ Timeliness, courtesy, professionalism, demeanor, appearance

__10____ Attitude; smiles and makes it fun and enjoyable

 I am thrilled you all have joined our community and look forward to watching your continued progress!

“The first time I stepped into Robyn’s gym, I thought to myself, “What the hell is this place?” It looked barren to me.  There were no machines. There weren’t any television or projection screens.  There was just a sea of plain black matte on the floor, a whole lot of industrial looking bars welded to the ceilings, various strange devices stacked along the walls, and a long line of whiteboards with numbers on them associated with names of women I didn’t know: Janet. Sara. Christie…Annie. I thought to myself, “What am I doing here? This isn’t me.” I could just go home and jump on my elliptical, read this month’s issue of Women’s Health, and everything would be safe.

I was a little overwhelmed by the emptiness of the room and very uncertain if this place could teach me anything. I mean, when I first walked through those doors, I thought I was pretty tough. The boot camp I had previously attended was getting a bit easy for me and the 10 pounds of dumbbell I was throwing around was the heaviest we were lifting, as well as the very heaviest set of dumbbells I could find at Target (and if Target doesn’t carry something, I assume it doesn’t exist). I thought I was at the pinnacle of my athleticism—and then I saw Robyn: lean, muscular, older than me, but very capable of kicking my ass. I was instantly intimidated. Robyn asked me about my goals. I wanted to lose weight and get stronger, I said.  She smiled at me the way Robyn does, and I thought, “Well, if I can look like her, I’ll try it out.”

I can’t really remember the name of my first workout of the day (WOD) with Robyn. I know it included box jumps, ring dips, and wall ball. One of the reasons I remember this is because of the exquisite pain I endured days after, but I also remember wistfully looking over my shoulder mid-workout at a lady named Sara, who was jumping an impossibly tall box and thinking to myself, “Oh, shit. What the hell is this place? Where did these Amazonian women come from?”  And then I posed the most important question of all, “When will I be able to do that?”

That was the moment I became addicted: I wanted to lob the heaviest ball I could all the way up the wall; I wanted to heave myself up (unassisted) over the pull-up bars; I wanted to decrease the time it took for me to complete every workout; I wanted leap over 30” boxes; and, of course, I wanted my arms to look like Robyn’s arms(I still do).

So, for the first six months, I worked and worked and worked.  I dropped about fifteen pounds without even changing my diet (that is until I tried the Paleo diet, then I easily lost another fifteen and began to truly understand my addictions to both food and alcohol). I realized that my goal of losing weight was no longer important. I had surpassed my size 8 goal months earlier (I have had to re-build my wardrobe several times since I started. Bummer… I know).

The crazy part about all this transformation, however, is not only that I have amassed the power to wear that tiny black dress that I bought years ago “to motivate me,” but that my workout work ethic emanates into every part of my life.  I am a force to be reckoned with. I demand more from myself at work and at home. I will not tolerate settling because it is safe, because I now know am better and stronger than the status quo.

It is because of the power I have discovered within myself on that black matte that I now have the courage to shape and mold the rest of my life. It is because of those desperate moments near the end of the workout when I am so very tired that I find something primal yet ethereal in myself to lift that barbell one more time. I know that I can do anything I set my mind to. I have found something truly spiritual in that big room stocked with kettle bells, barbells, jump ropes, balls of assorted shapes, sizes, and weights.

This room is not empty. It is full of my hopes and my fears and every day I workout, I get the opportunity to confront them. This black matte is where my soul and my body meet and they sculpt each other.

It is after I finished today’s WOD, over a year and a half since I first entered Robyn’s gym, improving not only my time on this workout by  20% but adding serious  weight to the WOD, that I can testify that this “empty” room and this bad-ass lady can make you better, stronger, faster and more limber in all aspects of your life.  The names of those women on that whiteboard associated with those times are your friends, your greatest supporters, and your allies in life.

So, when you ask yourself, the first time you come into boot camp, “What the hell is this place?” Realize, Front Range Boot camp is a temple. This is a place to fight your demons, a place to resurrect  and remind yourself of your power when you have been cast down by life, a place to not only become what you’ve always wanted, but to become more than you ever even imagined”.

JJ Moss

 IMAGINE

“Imagine a place where success isn’t measured by how others perceive you.  Imagine a place where motivation is easy to obtain. Imagine a place where support is all around you.  Imagine a place where you are able to achieve your goals.  Can this place be real? Can this place have anything to do with fitness?  

This place is real. This place is Front Range Boot Camp for Women.

Once you walk through that door, your whole life, your whole world can change.  If you are willing to let go of any inhibitions that you have, this experience can be positive in so many ways.  I have never felt so healthy. I have never had such a positive mental attitude.  I have been involved with Boot Camp since November of 2011. I belonged to other “gyms” and none of them can hold a candle to what I have obtained at boot camp. I have great friends, and a better, healthier life.  I can’t express enough how grateful I am for discovering Robyn and the boot camp ladies.

I owe my health to all of you”.   Shannon Perea

The winner receives $560.00 and 50% off their next month’s boot camp membership! Second place receives $240.00 and 25% off their next month’s membership!

Here are the results in alphabetical order:

Amy Bray: lost 4.6#, 1% bodyfat, 1.75” 153 pts

Betsy Sailor: lost 3.4#, 3% bodyfat, 3.5” and gained 1# lean muscle 130 pts

Bridgette Socey: 4.8#, 4% bodyfat, 5” and gained 6# lean muscle 126 pts

Cindy Lacy: 4.4#, 5% bodyfat, 6.25” and gained 6# lean muscle 142 pts

Dani Watkins: 3.4#, 2% bodyfat, 1.25” 140 pts

Donia Amick: 2.2#, 2% bodyfat, 2” 147 pts

Heather Kendall: 2.2#, 3” 106 pts

Jeribeth Stevens: 4.4#, 43% bodyfat, 4.25” and gained 2# lean muscle 152 pts

Jill Carroll: 10.4#, 4% bodyfat, 4.75” and gained 1# lean muscle 175 pts

Katie Miller: 2% bodyfat, 3” and gained 3# lean muscle 138 pts

Lana Wilcox: 8.6#, 5% bodyfat, 6.75” 199 pts

Leah Lindblom: 3.8#, 4% bodyfat, 3.25” and gained 6# lean muscle 133 pts

Lisa Folks: 2% bodyfat, 2” and gained 3# lean muscle 103 pts

Lisa Montano: 4.6#, 1% bodyfat, 5” and gained 2# lean muscle 173 pts

Melinda Keifer: 7.8#, 4% bodyfat, 2.5” and gained 4# lean muscle 153 pts

Nicole Piaski: 1#, 1% bodyfat, 1” and gained 2# lean muscle 102 pts

Roz Theisen: 1.2#, 2% bodyfat, 2” and gained 3# lean muscle 150 pts

Shannon Perea: 6.6#, 3% bodyfat, 9” and gained 5# lean muscle 171 pts

Shayne Ankovick: 2.2#, 2% bodyfat, 2” and gained 1# lean muscle 121 pts

Susan Morehead: 9.8#, 3% bodyfat, 5” 154 pts

Tina Jahn: 3#, 3% bodyfat, 3.25” and gained 6# lean muscle 153 pts

Vicki Nichols: 1.6#, 1% bodyfat, 1.5” and gained 2# lean muscle 149 pts

Well, hopefully it looks A LOT like your life during the Challenge but with the extras that make life worth living (food-wise) added to your diet IN MODERATION. Re-introduce foods one at a time so you can see how they make you feel. If you put lots of different things back in all at once, how will you know which ones make you feel yukky?

• Eating off the “NO” list is a TREAT, not cheating.
• That means have birthday cake for someone’s birthday.
• Have a glass or 2 of wine/beer.
• Have some chips and salsa when eating Mexican.
• Have some dark chocolate. Only 1 ounce though – you get all the benefits from just one ounce. Eating more doesn’t give you moreJ
• Have a slice of bread. ONE slice. Then see how you feel. Grains seem to be most everyone’s source of blah.
• What else would you introduce back in your life?

Things to remember:

• How do you feel after eating to nurture and heal yourself for 27 days? Why on earth would you go back to eating foods that make you tired, bloated, grumpy and over-fat? WHY? WHY? WHY?
• If you fall off the horse for 1 full day, or 2 full days, JUST GET BACK ON. Don’t rip yourself a new one. It was a CHOICE you made. Next time just make another choice.
• Hopefully eating Zone or Paleo these last 27 days allowed food to become your friend again. If you are going to eat a “treat”, savor every bite. Do it consciously.
• Create AWARENESS from your foods choices. Balance your long term goals with your short term happiness.
• Please eliminate sugar from your diet as much as possible. You have just spent 27 days getting rid of the drug. Don’t get addicted again or you will be right back where you started and you have worked too damn hard to go backwards now. You are stronger than sugar and food can be your new BFF.
• As an adult woman, have a philosophy about how you eat and how you live your life. You are continuing to feed yourself yummy food because you love yourself.
• KEEP COMING TO BOOT CAMP WHERE YOU GET THE SUPPORT, CAMRADERIE AND COMMUNITY TO REACH AND EXCEED YOUR GOALS.

So, determine the number of blocks of P, C and F blocks you put in the entire recipe and divide by three (if you are a 3 block meal person) to determine how many 3-block meals it makes.  If you make a recipe containing 12 P, 12, C and 12 F in the entire recipe, this will yield four 3-block meals of 3P, 2C and 3F each.  If you have a recipe containing 12 P, 8 P and 12 F, you have four 3-block meals of 3P, 2C, 3F each.

As I type this, I am eating a “snack” of Paleo meatloaf, steamed asparagus, zucchini and cauliflower. Yum.

carrot cake muffins 1

carrot cake muffins 2

chicken salad

mashed cauliflower

mashed yams

meatballs

meatloaf

paleo spaghetti

stuffed acorn squah1 stuffed acorn squash2

Meals and Snacks: We get caught up in what foods constitute Breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. Like eggs are only supposed to be eaten at breakfast, and snacks are made up of apples/almond butter/nuts/cheese sticks etc.

Try looking at your day in terms of: “I am eating 5 times per day – what do I want to eat in the morning, mid-morning, mid-day, mid afternoon and at night? That way, you don’t have to get bogged down by what is supposed to be “breakfast”, “snacks”, “lunch” and “dinner”.

For instance, today for “breakfast” I had Paleo beef stew. For “lunch” I had a huge salad with chicken and veggies. For snack I had 2 chicken apple sausages from Sprouts (Yummy), and a yam. I also had an apple w/ almond butter and blueberries. Tonight for dinner I will have a 6 egg white omelet with spinach/steamed broccoli/cauliflower/guacamole.

What We All Need More Of: After reading all of your food journals, I am seeing that the majority of us need to eat more leafy greens and veggies, less fruit and nuts. To our bodies, sugar is sugar is sugar whether it is fruit or honey or candy. If you eat lots of fruit you are not breaking the sugar cycle, which is what we are after. Sugar is a drug.  Nuts have lots of calories, so if you are wanting to lose weight, eat less of them.

Emotional Eating: So, the issue seems to be that, when stressed in any way, choose something to do that nurtures you. Write down some things that would do just that. Hang them up where you can see them (like your fridge). When you find yourself reaching for something to eat, pull your hand back and ask yourself: am I stressed, thirsty, tired or really hungry? Chances are you are one of the first 3. Then choose one of the things on your “nurture” list.

Eating When you Just Aren’t Hungry: So what if you ate really simply? Yogurt, berries, soup, hard boiled eggs, protein shake? Would it help if you just handed it all over to the universe, your higher power or whatever spiritual practice you might have? You are going through SO MUCH right now and asking for help from a spiritual source might ease some of the pressure. And allow you to nurture yourself by eating to heal yourself. You are a healthy person and eating well reflects that.

Overwhelmed with the 27 Days: Keep It Simple. Eat well just for today. You can do this today. Keep your eye on the tree in front of you, not the whole darn forest.

Here are some great things listened to on NPR recently.

http://www.npr.org/2013/01/11/169144853/the-fallacies-of-fat

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/17/147047545/should-sugar-be-regulated-like-alcohol

Now that we have our lives back; let’s get our bodies back as well ! On Monday, January 7th -  the “My Best Body” 27 Day Body Transformation Challenge  begins: Challenge starts Monday, January 7th and ends at the end of the day Saturday, February 2nd, 2013.

A nutrition seminar will be held Saturday, January 5th at 9:00 am at the gym. Weigh-ins will be held from 8:30 -8:50 am for women who have attended previous nutrition seminars and just need to weigh-in. Weigh-ins for women who want to attend the seminar will begin at 10:00 am. The final weigh-ins will be held Sunday, February 3rd at 9:00 am.  You will turn in your journals for the previous week at that time. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, February 6th.

Cost: $30 to be put in the “Kitty”. New to boot camp? Register and your first month of unlimited workouts for 27 days is only $99! You save $51!!! A small portion of the kitty will be reserved for administrative and printing fees. First Place then receives 70% of the amount in the remainder of the kitty plus 50% off their next month’s investment. Second Place receives 30% of the kitty and 25% off their next month’s investment.

Food Journals will be provided for you. You can choose between using The Zone nutrition plan or the Paleo nutrition plan ONLY. The exception will be for those women who are already following a specific nutrition program for health or medical reasons. You must log everything that you eat and drink each day in that food journal in order to get points for that day. Points will be awarded for snacks and meals that are Zone or Paleo only and for eating 5 times a day (two snacks and 3 meals).   NOTE: You will not get points for eating like crap or not eating at all. It is to your benefit if you log exactly what you eat. The women who saw the most results from the last challenge were those who mindfully tracked exactly what they ate, which means: do not write down “carrots” for a snack.  You must turn in your journals in to me on the dates indicated: Tuesday January 15, Tuesday January 22, Tuesday January 29 and Saturday February 2nd. The journals will include all the meals/snacks eaten through the previous Monday, You can make a copy and drop it off at the gym or scan it and email it to me. No exceptions.

Strength Performance: You will be doing two pre-challenge workouts which will have a time completion score. You will repeat these workouts at the end of the challenge. Improved Performance Points: Workout #1: 5 rounds: 300m row/15 burpees. Workout #2: 50 40 30 20 10 jump rope/abmat situps. 7 for 1st, 3 for 2nd. Initial times will be taken the week of January 7th during class. Final numbers will be taken the end of the week of January 28th.

Exercise Points: You get points for daily workouts; up to 6 possible points ea. week (allowing for 1 rest day per week). Points are awarded for boot camp workouts as well as exercising outside of your boot camp workouts. Biking, hiking, swimming, running, etc. Going for a walk or moving your body in a way you normally do during your day is not considered exercise in this Challenge. It is the intensity of the exercise that matters, not the duration. We are going off the honor system here. Doing 100 burpees takes far less time than running 5 miles but both are great workouts.

Points will be awarded as follows:

Percentage of weight loss: 7 for 1st, 3 for 2nd. Percentage of body fat loss: 7 for 1st, 3 for 2nd. Percentage of Lean Muscle gained: 7 for 1st, 3 for 2nd. Total Inches lost: 7 for 1st, 3 for 2nd. Food journal: 1 point for each Paleo/Zone meal and snack per day (5 per day) for total possible points: 135. Exercise: 6 possible points ea. week for total possible points: 24. Improved Performance Points: Workout #1: 7 for 1st, 3 for 2nd. Workout #2: 7 for 1st, 3 for 2nd.

Total possible points: 201

Results from the winners of the last Challenge: Amber lost 7#, 4% bodyfat and 5″. Melinda lost 9#, 5% bodyfat and 5″. Lisa lost 9.8#, 5% bodyfat, 6.75″. Vanessa lost 14.8#, 7% bodyfat, 9.25″! You too can have the same results!!!!!