Growing up, I wasn't very active. Sure I rode my bike up and down the street from time to time, but I'd rather sit inside and watch television and play Mario Brothers on my Nintendo. It was an act of Congress to get me to go outside and play. I'm convinced I invented the word "sedentary". I was a very picky eater. I ate pb&j or bologna & cheese. Even if the family went to a restaurant, my mom made a sandwich and carried it in a Tupperware container. Fruits? Vegetables? Gag. You couldn't beg me to eat one - unless you covered it in chocolate.

In my mid-twenties - I was 230+ pounds. I learned the hard way that eating unhealthy and not exercising can quickly cause you to gain weight. I had to really push myself to get up off the couch. Put the fork down. I'm not saying it was easy, but it was something I had to make myself do. I'm still not where I want to be but I'm not where I was.

I never knew what exercise and pushing yourself was until I was introduced to Extreme Fit. There is not a class that goes by that I don't have to push myself. Sometimes it's easier than others. Sometimes it's a mental thing. I was used to walking for 30 mins a day when I first came to boot camp. It took 5 minutes for me to realize how tough Extreme Fit was.

Sometimes outside factors can cause you to want to quit or not give 100%. Work, personal or even the weather can be one of those things. It's up to you to try & put things aside & focus on the one hour you're there. I know my awesome trainers can yell at me all they want, but it's up to me to determine how far I want to go. This week, I had something happen that was kind of a first or something that seemed unfamiliar for a long time. On Monday, we were pushed very hard. Sprints...and numerous amounts of them. It went something like this: Bicep curls....sprint. Hammer curls...sprint. Jumping lunges......sprint. It was ridiculous the amount of sprints we did. When it comes to running, I stink. Sprinting is even worse. (Sidebar: when I'm sprinting, I think I'm Usain Bolt competing at the Olympics. Realistically, I probably look like if Jabba the Hutt were to run - only he'd choke Leia cause she was all... wait, I'm getting off track). Towards the end of class, everybody's sprints turned into jogging. It was towards the end of class & just when I thought "Surely that's the last one", I think we did 15 more. When I woke up Tuesday, I could hardly walk. I felt like it was the first week I'd ever been to boot camp. All throughout the workday, I had people ask me what was wrong & I had to explain. It came time for class on Tuesday night and I was having one of those classes that I had to push myself. It was not easy because I was so sore. My legs felt like bricks and I thought that the pain would be worked out. Negative. Wednesday a.m., I was sore from Tuesday & Monday. I honestly thought I was going to have to announce "I have to go home because I'm so sore". I didn't know if I was coming down with something because I had never hurt all over in so long. I had to make a specific effort to push & work harder than normal. I had to just get over it & deal with it. Boot camp didn't seem easy this week. Not that it's ever easy but I can usually tolerate it. I struggled this week. It was like a domino effect that just didn't get better. I'm sure I complained about how much I hurt. I figured I could talk it out of my system.

Now I'm in this place where I'm having to push myself to eat right & I'm not exactly succeeding. Ok I'm not at all. I don't know why I can't get it together! If I ate like I know I should, I would be a size 0. It's not rocket science. I know. For the record, my chef husband does not put food into my mouth. I do. The fact is, lately he hasn't cooked much because he's been busy. I've been tired. I haven't been taking the time to really eat right. It takes planning and preparation. I haven't felt like planning and preparing. However, I know how I feel when I eat right. I'm slowly making the effort to push myself to get focused and it's not easy. I quit buying junk at the grocery store. I realized that when there's no junk food, I have to force myself to eat right. Good news is that I love fruits & vegetables now. I love how I feel when I'm eating right but I just can't get it together.

So now I have to force myself to follow the Extreme Fit motto of "Eat Clean, Train Dirty". It's an everyday, uphill battle. I can't blame anybody but myself and it's up to me to push myself.