I met Laura seven years ago, when we spent a winter together with a small group of students in the Cascade wilderness at Holden Village, an old copper mining outpost that's been transformed into a cozy retreat center. We crocheted, knit, read, wrote letters, skiied, and ran chilly miles on snow packed "road," eight feet above the actual ground. Back at Augustana we ran more miles together in circles around a track on windy and chilly spring weekends.
I wasn't really fast or good at track, but Laura pushed me to go a little harder. Seven years later I was super excited when she wanted to join me and push ourselves again with Insanity Max 30. She fully committed to the program and achieved amazing results, losing about 20 pounds and reclaiming her inner athlete back. I'm excited to share her Inspire Joy Bootcamp experience with you today!
What I've learned from Laura: If you're not happy with where you're at, make a commitment to yourself and just GO for it. Losing weight is easier than it seems once you get out of your own head and start taking action.
Meet Laura!
Why did you decide to join the Inspire Joy Bootcamp?
Well I herniated a disc in my back last March. I usually live a very active lifestyle, but this took me out of everything but swimming for about 9 months. So I gained some weight and was not feeling good about myself.
I needed a change. I had been telling myself that I was going to lose weight by eating right and swimming and doing my normal activities, but it wasn't working. So I decided to shock my system with Shakeology and Insanity Max :30.
I kept seeing your posts on Facebook and success stories and I knew I needed something different and a little support. So I asked you about the new program.
What have you gained from the experience?
I have gained confidence in that losing inches and feeling good doesn't have to be hard. It can be fun. I'm so surprised that I went from swimming and hour a day to doing Insanity for 30 minutes and it was able to have the results I was looking for.
Favorite workout?
My favorite workout was Max Out Sweat. I thought it was the hardest one because it was doable, so you worked the whole time. You didn't HAVE TO max out so you just keep going and sweating and working.
Favorite go-to healthy foods?
Shakeology, greek yogurt and granola, egg white on toast with a slice of ham.
How do you keep yourself motivated?
At first this was hard. I really had to do a lot of self talk to keep to the program, but after the first 2 weeks, when I started see results, it was easy to stay motivated.
How do you feel about yourself now?
I feel good. I always knew I could do it, I just had to really get down to business and work on it.
What advice would you give someone who’s just starting out on her health and fitness journey?
Just get through the first 2 weeks. I guarantee you will see results and have no problem staying motivated after that. Also having the support group was a lot of fun in that you got to see what others were doing and the struggles they were having. For example, when I first start Max Out, I was so surprised how sore my calves were, but hearing that others were having the same problems and frustrations helped to keep me going anyway.
I've learned that I just need to keep myself accountable and watch what I eat and I can change. I feel like I had so many excuses before about why I couldn't lose weight, but it's as easy as everyone says.