Katie O’s Transformation Tuesday Story

Katie has been with us since Day 1 of boot camp!  I couldn’t be more happy to have Katie as part of our family.  Not only does she always ‘bring it’ in class, she is extremely encouraging to everyone in boot camp.  I’m not alone when I say I adore this girl and love the inspiration and determination she brings to the boot camp family.

Here is Katie’s story, as SHE tells it.

“Since I can remember I have struggled with my self-image. Growing up I was constantly comparing myself to my friends and wondering why I couldn’t look like them. I’ve spent countless hours looking into the mirror and nit-picking my arms, my breasts, my thighs and my stomach. I have a habit of grabbing fist-fulls of love handles and pouching out my gut, which always had the same result – a deep sigh of disappointment.

I generally would start off every week making a promise to myself that this would be the week I would commit to eating healthy and devout myself to a routine of exercise and every week started off exactly the same: One positive day, followed by a semi-decent day, followed by a day where I threw all caution to the wind and devoured whatever was in front of me. I found any excuse I could not to participate in my own creative plan to change and then would beat myself up over it after the fact.

It wasn’t until I was getting frozen yogurt at a local shop last August that I came across a flyer for Bay View Boot Camp. In mauling over the flyer for a few days, I sat down at my computer and emailed Laura to find out more details. I attended my first class on August 15th and thought I was going to die. I still remember leaving the group in the middle of the workout and going into the bathroom where I was greeted by my lunch from earlier that day. While I was able to return to the group and finish the workout, I woke up the next morning feeling sore and defeated, making up my mind that boot camp just wasn’t for me. There was no way I could get used to feeling the way I did at that very moment and I was embarrassed that I couldn’t handle the hour long routine. I emailed Laura that evening and told her I didn’t think I would be making it to Wednesday’s class and she immediately responded by explaining the changes that were taking place in my body. My achy limbs were the result of years of toxin build up and I was encouraged to come to class to work through my soreness. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, but it was going to take some time to see it.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. I started attending classes 4-5 times a week, sometimes twice a day. I remember how wonderful it felt to cut down my run time by more than 2 minutes and the first time I ran a full mile since I was in grade school. My body started to take new shape and I came to appreciate what was happening to me on the outside, but more so was excited about the change that was happening within me.

Bay View Boot Camp gave me the motivation and determination I had been struggling to find all those of those years I was breaking promises to myself. Not only did I find an instructor who pushed me to new limits, but I found a group of friends who supported and believed in me.

I recently celebrated my year-long commitment to Bay View Boot Camp. For the first time in my life I followed through with something and could not be more proud of myself for my accomplishments. When I go shopping for clothes now I am able to purchase the things that I want. I no longer feel the need to wear cardigans with my tank tops to hide my lunch lady arms, or cover up my belly when going to the beach for fear of being harpooned. I have grown to be confident in my skin than and while I take great pride in knowing that the majority of that feeling comes from the devotion I made to my well-being, I owe Laura Forte and my fabulous boot camp peers a huge hand in my success.

While going to the gym proves to be helpful, nothing is as encouraging as having the accountability that Bay View Boot Camp offers its members. If I miss a class I instantly feel guilty, regardless of the circumstance. Knowing that others are relying on me to be there is a huge motivating factor and one that has helped me to stay committed throughout the past year.

Aside from that, Bay View Boot Camp is FUN and the people I have met through this experience are both amazing and inspiring. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see my peers continuously reach and exceed their goals. It is a feeling that makes me proud to be a part of something so moving and I encourage anyone to try Bay View Boot Camp and not fall in love with the challenge it offers you. I am so grateful for the experience that Laura has given me and am super excited to continue working towards reaching new heights in my future.”

We are so proud of you Katie!  Congratulations on your amazing achievements this past year.  Please leave Katie some encouragement and inspiration in the comments section below! :)