I want YOU to feel empowered!

My emotions are high at the halfway point of my 4 week Melt Away Bootcamp.  I have had about a million people ask me what exactly bootcamp entails, so let me tell ya first off!  Bootcamp is an exercise and eating regimen that is optimal for burning fat.  So, I'm not just "losing weight."  I'm actually getting rid of the fat in my body (and replacing it with muscle!!!)  I eat a very strict diet and I work out at least 300 minutes a week, 3 hours of those being actual boot camp workouts, which push my body in the most amazing ways.  


Anyways, 2 weeks of following that schedule, the last 8 days following it to a "T" and I weighed in and measured this morning.  I couldn't believe it!  My belly measured a full 4 inches smaller!!!  And my weight was down to 319.8, which was a total of 17.8 pounds lost.  (Disclaimer: the last two weeks before bootcamp began, I ate a lot of "last meals" so my weight had shot up a decent amount.).  I WAS AMAZED!  I had taken "before" pictures the night before bootcamp started, and today I put on the same exact clothes, and made David point out all the spots on me that made me look smaller! :)


The numbers have been amazing!  The results have been great.  But, let me tell you what has amazed me even more...THE SUPPORT!


You, my friends, have given me more support than I could ever ask for on this journey!  I have had people praying for me, exercise along with me (even if they live hundreds of miles away...Sheila!), let me cry to them (Mary Beth!), and my friend Adriane even lets me call her when I'm on my recumbent bike.  I usually just say, "Talk to me.  I have 3 miles left," and she will talk until she hears the bike beep.  That my friends, is amazing stuff!  She listens to me huff and puff and even let out weird exercise noises when I can't believe I still have another 1.25 miles to go! :)  And so many of you just make sure to check my daily boot camp updates, and encourage me with the "I'm proud of you's!"  Please, don't ever underestimate the power of them! They help me keep going when it's almost too hard!


Just like at the race (see the blog post, "I finished last"), there is a verse that keeps coming to mind.  It's Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race set out for us."  I love that beginning part...


Now, I know when that verse talks about the great cloud of witnesses, its referring back to chapter 11, when the Bible talks about all the great people of faith like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, and so on.   But, I think also of the believers that God has put around me to encourage me.  Everywhere I turn, there is a neighbor, a friend, a family member, a MOPS mom, a church friend, or a Facebook friend cheering me on.  I want to lose weight for me, to break the addiction that food has had on my entire family, but I also want to do it to make YOU all proud of me.  


I know this struggle is not just isolated to me.  I know many of you struggle with your weight, with food addiction, or maybe just with lack of physical activity in your life.  I just want you to see a used to be a 360 pound woman (whose wiggled her way down to 319.8 right now!) can do boot camp.  And not just "do" bootcamp...but "DO" bootcamp...that you feel like you can do it too.  I want you to not be afraid to give up foods you never thought you could live with out (chocolate, anyone?).  I want you to sweat like me!  You know what I mean...the kind of sweat where your kids are not sure if you just stepped out of the shower or exercised!  It breaks my heart when I hear people say, "I could never do it myself."  YES!  YES YOU CAN!!!  I"M DOING THIS!  SO CAN YOU!  I want you to feel empowered.  Because this last week, when I traveled on a road trip for 4 hours with my kids, I was able to stay on my plan.  Because yesterday, when my sweet mother-in-law got married, I stayed on plan (that's right!  I said "NO" to wedding cookies!).  Because, when I felt like I may pass out from all my physical feats, I STILL stayed on plan!  Because, I have found a way to stretch a non-existent grocery budget and been able to buy healthy food to stay on plan.  (Ok, that one is all God's doing, but still...I STAYED ON PLAN.)  Those things are empowering.  "Impossible situations" are no longer my excuse.  Next Generation's (my bootcamp home) motto is "Make progress...not excuses."  My prayer is just that for each of you.  That you will find a way to feel empowered in your own life.  And that you can see how your situations do not have to limit you.  
I pray that you will feel blessed tonight.  The support of all of you has made this first two weeks bearable.  And celebrating with you all has been fantastic!  Thank you for loving me, for supporting me, and for cheering me on.  Love, Sarah