Sarah Carlson uses Fit Fun Bootcamps to lose over 6 inches off her waist

I was always a runner, assuming some kind of cardio would keep me fit. And it did, until kids. After my daughter was born (now 5) I lost most of my pregnancy weight. But I got pregnant with my son (now 3), unplanned, when she was only 12 months old. After he was born in June of 2007, I was looking at about 20 pounds of extra weight. The scale read 138 and I’m 5 foot 3. I was also terribly overwhelmed by two kids under two years old, a demanding career and shift, and other personal problems.

I started Fit Fun Bootcamp in January of 2008, when my son was 6 months old, and I haven’t stopped since. The weight came off quickly when I started going twice a week. By January of 2009 I was down to 120 and a few months later 115. This was also around the time I started dealing with a very traumatic separation and divorce. Continuing at bootcamp was and is a huge part of my survival.     I am 113 pounds today and I go to Bootcamp religiously, plus I still run (stress relief!) 3-4 times a week. I eat healthy but I also eat what I want a lot because I work out so much. I’ve learned it’s about how much a person consumes as much as it is what they consume. So I join my kids for their daily treat but I’m careful. Dustin’s classes are perfect because they’re different every week and a lot of fun! It’s great to be in a room full of people with the same goal. The fitness level varies widely but he can still make the class easy enough for a new face, but tough enough for someone like me who’s been coming for years. The exercise, the friends, and knowing that I can do more push ups and pull ups than most guys out there!

-Sarah Carlson

Laura has lost over 50 pounds
and made incredible gains in flexibility, agility, and strength

I’ve battled with being overweight a good portion of my life. I had a serious neck injury about six years ago and had to have surgery. That caused some general health issues, and I had core muscle issues and really, really bad core strength. Just going down the steps carrying a basket of laundry felt like a lot of work. I felt like I couldn’t
even chase after my son if he were to run out into the street. It had gotten to be a quality-of-life issue. I just wasn’t able to do everything I needed and wanted to do.

To start with, my goal was getting to MamaTone three times a week. It was just the mental aspect of getting myself there and realizing it was something I had to do. I lost 10 pounds and gained strength and endurance just doing the exercise. But then it finally clicked that you can’t just eat whatever you want all the time, and I changed my eating habits, and that really brought the weight off.

After 18 months of MamaTone, I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, I feel better, I’ve gone from a size 22 to size 14, and I weigh about what I did in high school. When I started, I could only go three to four miles per hour on the treadmill. Now I can do sprints at over nine miles per hour. It feels awesome to be able to do that, with all the other moms around me going, ‘Rock on!’ In general, I feel more confident about myself. I always tell my kids that they can do anything they set their mind to. And it finally clicked
in my own brain that I can do that too.

-Laura Anderson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vanessa lost 55 pounds and got on top of her depression and anxiety through FitFun Bootcamps

I took awhile to ‘get to know’ Dustin before starting his program. I got his newsletter for a year, and then I signed up for the Fit Moms for Life DVDs and worked out on my own for about five months. I finally joined boot camp in late 2009. Within the first three weeks I felt like a brand-new person. I had more energy, my outlook was more
positive, and I had more patience with my kids. I felt more confident in a swimsuit and naked with my husband. When I started, I was 36 and my goal was to be the fittest I’ve ever been by 40. I reached that goal in less than a year. At 38, I am literally in the best physical, mental, and emotional shape of my life.

Before Dustin’s program, I had been clinically diagnosed and treated for depression and anxiety. I manage my depression and my anxiety with diet and exercise now. I no longer take any medication for those issues. I went off the meds almost immediately when I started boot camp. I just drew a line and decided this was how I was going to handle things. Around the same time, I discovered I have hypothyroidism and have since worked that out, which I think has made a huge difference, too.    One of the less measurable things is that I can now show up at boot camp and push myself to my personal max and be okay with that effort. I don’t get caught up worrying about how I compare to other people or what they think, and that’s huge for me. I’ve never had a lot of self-confidence. I spent a lot of my life comparing myself to other people and always feeling like I came up short. And I don’t feel that way anymore.

-Vanessa Beardsley

Nancy lost 70 pounds and
overcame her emotional eating to find happiness.

My biggest issue has been a problem with body image. I used food as a way to help me feel better about myself. I was anorexic in middle school. I had been bullied about my weight, and I thought, ‘I’m just going to take control of my life.’ I stopped eating, and I exercised nonstop. I got through that, but I hadn’t really figured it out. Once I had kids, I really let myself go, as they say. I thought I was being a great mom by doing everything for my kids, but I was running myself ragged. I was 240 pounds and disgusted with myself. About two years ago, I hit bottom. My father passed away after several years of steady decline in his physical ability and health. He was in and out of the hospital. I saw that in my future, and that was completely unacceptable.

I decided to hit this from every direction. I looked at the food I was eating, how much water I was drinking, and how much sleep I was getting. I started building my support team, because I knew I was going to have some really dark roads to go down. I have a strong relationship with God, and I needed that higher power to get me through it. I joined Overeaters Anonymous, which is a 12-step program that helped me get a handle on my emotional eating. And I started doing Dustin’s exercise program. I’m really a different person now. I told my husband that people treat me differently. He said, ‘No, actually, you’re treating other people differently.’ He’s completely right. I never used to make eye contact, and now I do. My posture is much better. I used to cave in, try to hide. It has been a really nice transformation. I’m happy where I’m at now

-Nancy Kurr

Jody has used Fit Fun Bootcamps to lose 70 lbs!

I was never a really fit person, just kind of short and stocky. After giving birth to my fifth child at 34, it was really difficult to lose the baby weight. I’d lost the weight after my other kids by just watching what I ate and running a little bit. But this time around it was really, really hard, and I was frustrated. Running wasn’t working, my diet wasn’t working, and I wasn’t seeing what I wanted to see. I started going to Dustin’s MamaTone classes when my youngest was six months old. My husband said it would be better to spend the money on the class than on buying more clothes in a bigger size!

The first week I hurt very badly; I’m not going to lie. But I kind of thought, ‘If it hurts this much, it’s got to be doing something.’ So I came back and started seeing a difference more quickly than I had in anything I’d ever done before.   That was three years ago. I can do 50 push-ups and eight pull-ups. It’s like I’m a totally different person. People look at me like, ‘Jody’s fit? Jody’s in shape? What the…?’ It’s nice when my husband puts his arms around me and can wrap around more than once. He is also very appreciative. Let me just clarify that right now: He’s liking it.

-Jody

Jennifer went from a size 20/22 to a size 12 following Fit Fun Bootcamps!

A year ago I was at my highest weight ever. I don’t know exactly what I weighed, because I was embarrassed to even step on the scale, but the one time I did weigh myself, it said 278. I would guess I was 285 or more when I decided that this was not the way I wanted to live. I was staring down turning 30. I didn’t work out. I didn’t think much about what I ate. I was an emotional eater. And just a very different person than I am today.

Comparing my life to how it was a year ago, it’s like night and day. When I started boot camp, I couldn’t even do a push-up on my knees. Everything felt like a struggle. I would get winded going upstairs. Now I can do 40 real push-ups. This past weekend I easily went on a five-mile run with my boyfriend. I could not have fathomed that a year ago. I’m also just a lot happier. I have a more positive outlook. I used to carry a lot of shame, not just about how I looked but about who I am. I’m in a serious relationship now, and I think that has to do with my confidence in who I am as a person.

-Jennifer

“At 44, I am in better shape than I have been since playing collegiate volleyball, I can’t wait for my next Fit Fun Bootcamp workout!”

“A little less than a year ago I was over 185 pounds, had no energy, had daily backaches and after getting home from work spent many evenings in front of the television. I was miserable and had finally got it through my head that I needed to make a change. I was introduced to Dustin at a ‘Grocery Store Tour’ that was set up through karate. I started getting his emails, reading his blogs and when the Fit Fun Bootcamps started up in McFarland, found that I was hauling myself out of bed at 5:00 in the morning to work out and actually looking forward to it. In all, I have lost 66 lbs and have significantly increased my upper body strength, have tons of energy, no backaches and actually like myself again. Bootcamps have allowed me to make new friends and build a great support group while at the same time giving me individual attention , support and motivation . They work you hard, but it is well worth it. I was wearing a size 18 and now can easily wear a size 4! At 44, I am in better shape than I have been in since playing collegiate volleyball. I can’t wait to get to my next workout.”

-Marsue 44, McFarland

Full Time Nurse and Mom Drops 51 lbs Through Fit Fun Bootcamps!

Finding time to exercise has been a problem of mine for a long time. I work a full time job as a nurse and caring for my young kids doesn’t leave me much time for myself. I knew though that it was important for both me and my family. I decided to join Fit Fun Bootcamps after seeing some of my friends make amazing transformations. I sacrificed and got up each morning at 4:30 to drive 40 minutes to Fit Fun Bootcamp.

The rewards and benefits have been staggering. I have dropped over 50 lbs. I went from a size 18 down to a size six and have lost over 30 inches off my body! My energy levels are so much higher than before and I feel great getting up at 4:30 AM and have energy to make it all day long.   I would encourage anybody thinking of Fit Fun Bootcamps to definitely give it a try.

-Tiffany Borrow

Alecia did Bootcamp All Through Her Pregnancy and Got Ripped Soon After Giving Birth

In the beginning of my second pregnancy I was again doing cardio classes and feeling pretty good I thought. Then my sister and I decided to try a bootcamp class and wow, was it different from what I had been doing! I was sore for 3 weeks straight (a good sore, the kind of sore that makes you feel like you did something great!) and I wasn’t even a newbie, I exercised 5-6 days a week!

I had never used heavy weights before, the heaviest I had ever lifted were 10 lb dumbbells and I thought those were tough! Other than being sore what I noticed most at first was how my body was different from my first go round. I was gaining weight at about the same rate but my body was so different. I was leaner looking (in a healthy, pregnant way), less swollen and my muscles were more defined.

-Alecia

Todd Lost 49 lbs in 16 Weeks and Got Below 10% Body Fat!

Having always had a love for food, I have never been able to shake the extra weight that I have carried around on my body for the last 25 years. November of 2008 was a breaking point for me. Thanksgiving Day I couldn’t button my dress pants and had no back-up plan for clothes. I spent the entire day with my belt holding up my pants. I became very good at covering up my weight with untucked clothes.

I have been running for the last 6 years on a regular basis. EXACTLY 3.8 miles 3 to 4 times a week (The same route every day) my legs were getting fatigued and the weight just going up.

In late November I signed up for FIT FUN BOOTCAMP to start on Monday, Dec 12th, 2008. This would be the FIRST time I have ever joined a workout group much less going to a health club. When I told my family and friends what I was about to do, I just got Blank stares. (I think they all thought I was kidding)

DAY 1 at boot camp was a day I’ll never forget! As Dustin demonstrated the circuit we were gong to do, my thought was “THAT LOOKS EASY ENOUGH”. After going through the circuit once my legs were shaking and my arms quivering. Then we had to start all over and do the same thing for a second time. I weighed myself after this workout and much to my disgust, I weighed 215 lbs. The next morning I could not get out of bed. EVERY PART OF MY BODY HURT. That was it, I wasn’t going to do that again. By Tuesday night, I was ready to go back at it Wednesday and prove to myself that I am not a quitter.

After the second day, I committed myself 100% to make this a permanent lifestyle change. I got to work and threw away ALL of my “SNACK STASH” (cookies, pop tarts, candy bars…) from my desk. I have eliminated candy and bad snacks from my diet and now journal my entire food intake for each day. After 6 weeks of no chocolate or candy, I no longer crave the junk! I’m happy to say that my wife now journals her food and it is paying huge dividends already with 20 lbs of weight loss and has even started doing bootcamps at her work and loves them!

I have lost 54 lbs and now weigh 161 lbs. The waist size 36 pants that I could not button on Thanksgiving are now too big and I have gone to size 32!

I have been very fortunate to have found Fit Fun Bootcamp and in good enough health to be able to make changes in my life for the better.

-Todd Bestul 44, Mount Horeb

Abby Lost 23 lbs and 6 Inches Off Her Waist By Quitting Her Cardio Addiction and Beginning Her Fit Fun Bootcamp Addiction!

Everyone has heard of the “Freshman 15;” well, I apparently decided to take it a step further and experienced something closer to the “Freshmen 20!” But I didn’t stop there, over the next few years, I continued to gain more weight. Even after college, the weight continued to pile on, reaching an all-time high for me of 149lbs. During this time, I was quite the “Cardio Queen.” I would spend from 1.5 to 2 hours/day, 3-4 days/week doing any variety of cardio (treadmill, bike, elliptical, stair climber). Despite my numerous hours at the gym, engaged in my Cardio Queen activities, I couldn’t lose any weight…and more specifically, couldn’t lose any fat!

Bootcamp is great because every day is different. I never get tired of it because each workout is unique and continues to challenge my body. Dustin pushes me in a way that I would never push myself (but it’s always in a positive manner…none of that yelling that you might think of when you hear about “bootcamps”). Because of the continual challenge, I am down to 125lbs and 11.5% body fat, from a bodyfat of over 29%! More importantly, my self-esteem has risen and I feel better than ever! Not only has it helped me lose weight and tone up, but also the friendships I have gained are the best. It’s very motivating when you have a great group of people to workout with; the positive energy keeps me working hard and the accountability keeps me coming back!

-Abby Brockman, 25

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