Boot Camp and Other Brutal Realities

If there is one thing everyone who even half way knows me knows it is this: I do not like to sweat. I loathe to sweat. I was blessed with my Grandmother Hemphill's tall slender genes and for the most part, I have never had to watch my weight. I had read the captions on the glossy magazine covers about diets and exercise plans, but I never worried too much about it. I outgrew my sweet tooth years ago and for the most part, I eat pretty healthy. I could live on Salmon, Tuna, and an array of vegetables.

Something happened to my body over the last three years. Well, it started when I married Charles who likes to snack. That was my first mistake - not marrying Charles, but adapting to his ways. I began to eat peanuts, potato chips, onion dip, ice cream....stuff! And then all of a sudden I put on a skirt to wear to church one day and it was tight...I'm talking even the Spanx did not help. Woe is me. I faced the mirror and realized there was nothing wrong with the light in the bathroom. The fat cheeks I had been blaming on the poor lighting were truly my cheeks. I was blowing up right before my very eyes.

Drastic measures were called for. I needed a lifestyle adjustment...and it had to be fast. There appeared in my inbox one morning the advertisement for a bootcamp lead by one Ms. Tammy Thomas of MS Fitness Pro. She looked like someone who could get me in shape. And so I enrolled.

Three weeks into this and I am wondering when I am going to stop hurting. The good thing is that all of us "happy boot campers" claim to have once been fit. Take a look at the leg photo that looks pretty ragged. You can see we all have a long way to go. Oh, and in the leg photo, I am the one who is lying prostrate flat on the ground. I am already donzo with that torturous contortion.

Frequently Tammy has a "modified" version of an exercise for yours truly. I am the most geriatric of her students.

Actually, I had forgotten how good it feels in my psyche to believe I am improving myself in some way. I am hoping my body will get the message soon...when I can walk again of course.

Makes me think of the scripture in 2 Corinthians about ourwardly wasting away but inwardly being renewed day by day....also about walking by faith and not by sight...I keep thinking about putting on that tight skirt and finding it not tight...I am hanging on to faith that all this torture will be worth it! Cheers!