A trip to boot camp cures fall off the bandwagon
THE last time I completed a New You Boot Camp was in Spain in November 2013 and to say the clean-eating and week-long fitness experience changed my life was an understatement.
I went from being a wine guzzling couch potato to working out five times a week doing Zumba, kettle bells, circuits, running and controlled what I ate as much as I could.
I would shudder anytime someone mentioned pizza and took delight in telling people how many calories were in a glass of wine.
Couch
Yes, I was a pain in the arse, but my arse looked amazing. However, a holiday to Dubai followed by boy trouble in January soon took my smugness and pert bum away. It was back to the couch and takeaway pizza.
I never realised how easy was to lose control.
I gradually put on a whopping 12lbs so it was time to forget the couch and call New You Boot Camp for help.
I was confident boot camp would enable me to shed some unwanted pounds and give me the kick-start I needed to reboot my fitness and diet regime ─ despite the gruelling hours of exercise a day the hunger pans, at least you do it in style.
I was welcomed to Brinsop Court, a 14th century estate nested in the magnificent surroundings of Herefordshire countryside in England.
We were greeted by Staff manager Lisa, along with Staff Simpson and Staff Evans ─ two retired personal training instructors (PTI) with the RAF who told us sternly that if we wanted to lose weight, we had to work.
Staff Evans was our PTI at the New You Boot Camp in Spain. He was incredibly professional and a fountain of knowledge when it came to nutrition and fitness so I knew we were in good hands.
The all –female group was made up of women of all ages and abilities and I was surprised when I was introduced to the sprightly Sandra, who at 71, wasn’t afraid of breaking into a sweat.
Like me, she loved her tea but because detox is a massive part of boot camp, impurities that lead to weight gain like caffeine ad refined sugar, are banned.
Throughout the week you eat no dairy and savour low carb/high protein meals that are better for weight loss.
Our days started with a cardio burst at 7am, mainly running and sprinting, followed by breakfast.
After sleeping on my empty stomachs, we were all starving by the time breakfast came around. The disappointed faces hen our tiny bowl of porridge with no milk or sugar would come around, always made me laugh though at meal times.
Lunch and dinners would consist of small portions of fish, salad or vegetables and the 800-1300 calories a day was never enough to brighten our forlorn faces.
Exercise consisted of hour long classes of boxing, circuits, static circuits, walking and a class we all grew to loathe called Battle PT, a type of army training involving tyres, sandbags and lots of running. By the second day we were already worn out.
Detox kicked in and I felt so dehydrated. I felt sick and dizzy and I wasn’t alone.
Detox
One young woman called Tracey felt so wretched she actually threw up and couldn’t subside and after a few sprints around the field and some brekkie, it started to ease off.
By the third day, the detox symptoms subsided but we were all food obsessed.
It was all we talked about and I even dreamed of eating a cheese/ham/mayo toasted sandwich.
By the third and fourth day injuries started to kick in. If you are very unfit, the high intensity of the exercise can make you injury prone.
On the plus side I could see even from the third day that I was getting my waist back.
I felt my fitness levels wasn’t as bad as my first Boot Camp experience, where I could barely throw a punch. Staff Evans said that regularly doing kettle bells, running and circuits meant that I had the strength to work to my full peak this time around.
I was still starving though. One day, the rumour mill went around that we were having spaghetti Bolognese for dinner.
Obviously, we knew it would be a healthy take but when we saw the size of our portion, we nearly cried with disappointment.
By the fourth day. I felt physically stronger but I think it was because I knew we had one more day left.
The day was broken up by 12km walk around the breathtakingly beautiful area of Tillington.
A lot of women were not keen on the hill climbs and many struggled especially Tracey who despite feeling rough remained good-humoured and said: “ I arrived like Mary Poppins and I ‘ll leave like Cruella Deville.”
During our down times, Staff Evans would give us nutrition classes.
Our chef Alan, also gave us cookery lessons and while I found this torturous, I did walk away with a mean recipe for homemade granola.
One class that I felt really helped us get through the hard-core fitness was “stretches” delivered mostly by Staff Simpson.
He is a big believer in Pilates stretching to improve the core.
Gain
We may still have been hungry, but by the last day, you could see the visible changes in the Boot Campers’ body shapes.
Everyone looked leaner and more toned and we were excited to jump on the scales to see our results.
At the start, camp manager Lisa, who took my weight and measurements, sympathised with my weight gain.
To my delight, I jumped on the scales again for her to tell me that I’d lost 6lbs and 14inches off my body in just seven days.
It may sound drastic , but New You Boot Camp worked for me as it allows you to experience results fast and gives you the mental strength to keep up the fitness buzz long after you leave.
Bronagh McAlinden Downey from Dromore, Co Down lost almost 6lbs and was one of the Irish woman that attended the boot camp. She encouraged Irish customers to make the worth wile trip to England or Spain.
“Book it like a holiday and then you come back after a week looking great and feeling good…. I would definitely recommend it.”
After I left, I kept thinking about Tracey’s quote and I gave it my own twist in that you arrive like Mary Poppins, turn into Cruella Deville the you leave like Cindarella.
Cindarella may not have stuffed her face with a cheese and ham toastie in Birmingham airport after leaving boot camp though. See newyoubootcamp.com for the latest deals and offers.*
