Why I am doing Boot Camp!

I have begun this amazing and painful journey called Longevity Boot Camp. Although I started just 5 days ago, I have come to realize that so many people make EXCUSES and try to convince themselves and others that they are not worthy of getting healthy, being skinnier, being stronger, and feeling great about themselves. When the Boot Camp program started over a year ago, I was pregnant. Then I decided to breastfeed my son for a year. I was told by my Doctor and my Trainers that I could not attend boot camp until I was finished breastfeeding. I was so bummed out that I had to watch as others acheive their goals, drop pound after pound, gain energy and self confidence like never before. I couldn't wait until it was MY TURN. Well here it is! I know that it is going to hurt, I know that I will have to hold on to the wall in order to sit on the toilet, I know that I will not be able to eat the junk food that I love, I know that I will just flat out be hungry, I know that I will be emotional and a little cranky and tired. But guess what?? It's only for 6 weeks. I only have to push myself that hard for 6 weeks in order to recieve my prize! My prize being that I will be healthier, I will be stronger, I will be skinnier and feel good about myself, I will have more energy. I will learn about nutrition and walk away with the prize of knowledge! To be able to live a healthy life and not be ignorant of my body and my health. Why wouldn't I want to sacrifice 6 weeks for that??? Do you know how fast 6 weeks goes by? It feels like Just YESTERDAY that my son was born and that was almost 12 months ago. Before I got pregnant, I decided to start working out and eating healthier! I lost about 15 pounds and was feeling great. My husband told me that during that time, I was happier, I had more energy. My self confidence shined and made others around me WANT to be around me! I had more energy for my family and I was just a happier person all around! So why do I want to go through this thing that some people call "torture"?? I don't know about you, but I want to be able to run around in the backyard and throw a ball with my kids, I want to be able to go for bike rides and not need a nap afterwards. I want to one day meet my grandkids and Great Grandkids and be able to hold them and babysit them and hopefully be able to get down on the floor with them. I don't want to be laying in bed on oxygen with heart disease because I had too much fat around my heart my whole life. I want to be able to go to the beach with my daughter and her friends and her not be embarrassed of her "fat Mom". I want her to WANT me to be there. I want my son and his friends to want to hang out at my house because he is proud of me and not always be gone at someone elses house because their mom is cooler. If I am overweight, depressed, unhealthy, and without energy, how can I accomplish these things?? How can I feel good about going shopping for new clothes or a new bathing suit?? How can I look in the mirror and smile at what is staring back at me??Ok, so back to the excuses part.I have heard so many people in the past few days say to me, "Good luck with boot camp, it will be hard. I wish I could do it"... Well DO IT!!! SO many people have given excuses and the #1 excuse is Money! Ok, so EVERYBODY right now is having trouble with money. But do we realize how much money we waste?? I have a friend who wanted a dog SO BAD that she had a garage sale and sold off all the extra "crap" around her house and quit smoking. With the money she earned and saved, she was able to afford the dog. Why don't we do this for ourselves,? For our own Health?? God only gives us 1 body, why don't we take care of it??? Bonnie Pfiester wrote a great article about how much money we waste on things and how to save money for our own fitness. Skip out on eating out and pack a lunch, don't supersize your drink, stay home and rent a movie one night instead of going out to the show. Buy a piggie bank and put your loose change in it until you have saved enough. Give up the beer for a few weeks. Whatever it takes. You would be surprised at how fast you have the money saved up! If you want something bad enough, you can make it happen! Other excuses I have been hearing are, I have kids, or I work full time, or I am not strong enough or I have asthma..... Well let me share with you my story and "excuses".First of all, I am a wife and a Mom. I have a 9 year old daughter who plays softball and runs track. On top of that, she has homework, projects, reading and still wants me to entertain her when she is "bored". I also have a son who is almost 1 and is completely dependant on me. He needs me to feed him and bathe him and play with him and love him. On top of that I am a full time photographer and must work in weddings, photo shoots, photo editing, emails, phone calls, meetings, orders, and marketing in between being a Mom and wife. I also have to cook, clean, do laundry, do grocery shopping, and somehow find time to give my poor neglected husband (who by the way is a Saint and super helpful with all of the above.. more than most Men I have ever known) who always gets what's left over of me (which isn't much). Then I try to find time to attend birthday parties and holiday gatherings and the occasional photography favor. There are nights that I stay up until Midnight working on editing photos and placing orders and arranging albums just because it's the only quiet time I have. Then I am up for the 4:30 am feeding and back to bed for a couple of hours before I start the day all over again. No wonder I don't have time to shave my legs but once a week! ha! AND on top of it, I also have ASTHMA. I have to carry a rescue inhaler around with me everywhere I go. I have to get steroid shots that leave a bruise the size of a half dollar on my arm, I have to go and get nebulizer treatments when I have attacks. So when I decided to start Boot Camp, I had all the reasons in the world why I couldn't do it. But I refused to let that stop me. I made a commitment to myself and to my family that I was going to do it. I am going to put myself first for once and get ME back. By the end of this 6 weeks, I am going to feel good, and look good and have more energy. My family is going to love to be around me because we all know, When Mom ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. So I am going to make me, well, Happy! I know it's gonna be hard, and I know I will be in a lot of pain and I know I will be hungry, and I know I will be stressed at times and emotional at times and want to even quit at times, But there will be friends and family and trainers and team mates along the way that will be there for me and will give me the extra encouragement and push that I need. I will prove to myself that I am good enough and strong enough and I deserve to do this for ME. I want to applaud those that have enrolled in boot camp and also that have completed boot camp. I want to thank my husband for being my rock. And I hope that this encourages at least 1 person to not quit or to start a program where you will better yourself because we all owe it to ourselves to be the best we can be.I can't wait until the day that I become an "AFTER"!