San Diego Boot Camp

About 3 weeks ago, many of our boot campers started a 90 day Sexy Bikini Body Challenge. Most of them are showing up for boot camp, turning in their food journals, doing their cardio workouts, holding each other accountable and moving towards your weight loss goals. However, there are still some women who may be experiencing a mini-burnout of sorts. If you find yourself in the later category, there's no need to worry. Even the most dedicated fitness gurus lose motivation at times. The key is not to beat yourself up over it and instead find ways to motivate yourself.

How to motivate yourself to
reach your fitness goals

1. Realize that your goals really are possible

Even if you need to lose 100 pounds, you can do it. Breaking your goals into smaller, more manageable numbers will help make you feel like you're making progress over time. To find encouragement, look to stories of people who had similar goals and achieved them. Read up on some of the ways they made it happen and maybe incorporate a few of those tips into your fitness journey.

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Resolutions, resolutions... They sound like a great way to start the new year, but they are actually an awful way to achieve your goals. If they weren't, then there would be no reason to do this ritual year after year. But, since we're human and we like routine, many of us will declare our new-found philosophy with all sincerity at 12:00am on January 1st. If you find these sample resolutions below to be the ones you most desire for your life in 2012, read on to get tips on how to make your resolution a reality for 2012.

Resolution 1: "I will lose these last 10 or 20 Pounds"

If it takes 21 days to break a habit and 90 days to solidify one, then if you make it to the Valentine's Day mark, you're more than half way on your way to making a total lifestyle change. Addiction behavior researchers have studied human habit forming behaviors and have concluded that 90 days is sufficient to help most people make a significant lifestyle change. As time marches on, temptation to resort back to old habits grow but if you can resist for 90 days, it begins to lessen, making you much more likely to sustain change for the long haul.

Since the risk for relapsing into old habits is high during the 90 day period, here are a few tips to help you stay on track and meet your goals.

You're most likely to relapse...

...in 1-3 months. In fact, most relapses begin once a person sees improvement. People see the changes and believe they can rest a bit easier on their way to their goal and before you know it, they are right back at square one (and much more discouraged about it).

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You probably didn't think that a square piece of metal would be the thing to derail your fat loss... but that is often the case. At first, you may enjoy stepping on the cold metal and seeing the number it gives you - especially when that number keeps dropping. But - what happens if the number doesn't drop? Does that mean something is wrong with you? No - it doesn't!

While the scale is a perfectly good tool for measuring how much your body weighs, it cannot tell you how fit you are, what shape you are in or even how much muscle or fat you have. It cannot measure if you are strong or weak, healthy or sick or even whether or not you are attractive.

Can a scale make you happy?

When scales became a common part of everyone's bathroom decor, people became more obsessed with body weight numbers. Ironically, most people kept getting heavier and heavier. At the same time, hollywood is setting unrealistic standards of what your body weight should be. Is that healthy? No.

This obsession affects women more than men. Unfortunately, this leads women to go to extreme lengths in an attenpt to achieve a certain 'perfect' body weight and ignoring the more important factors like body fat, muscle mass, and bone density. Aside from it's affects on your body shape and self-esteem, carrying more body fat puts you at a higher risk for chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and arthritis; while having more lean muscle and denser bones is a preventative factor against injuries and disease.

When women work out in our San Diego boot camp classes, they naturally shed body fat from the type of workouts we do (which is one of the best ways to get rid of body fat, along with an unprocessed diet). That is huge in terms of overall health and fitness but it may not show a big difference on the scale. Don't let what movement you see or don't see on the scale be the most important factor in how you determine your heatlh and happiness. To stay motivated on your fitness journey, change how you measure your health.

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Now that we've officially cross the threshold into 2012, our resolutions will be put to the test. Even if you're not the new-year-resolution-type, you can still begin your New Year with a determination to build upon or start a healthy lifestyle: emotionally, physically and spiritually. Instead of committing for a day or two, how about sticking to your resolve and changing what you want to change one step at a time? Sounds great, doesn't it? The truth is - it's easier to accomplish that you might think. Here are some things you may want to consider improving upon in the New Year.

Also, keep reading for tips on how to stick to your resolve and get 2012 off to a great start.

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Instead of indulging,
train your brain to win the battle of the bulge before it ruins your diet plan.

If dieting was easy, we'd all be slim and trim. We'd never have to worry about junk food, sweets or fried food derailing our exercise habits.

In theory, dieting is easy. In order to lose weight you have to consume less calories and burn more energy. However, the average American is faced with supermarkets lined with unhealthy, processed foods, local coffee shops selling muffins with the calorie equivalent to a full meal and lunchtime snacks such as donuts and cake. (And, that's on a good day). With all that food temptation, it can be hard to fight your cravings for sweets and other foods.

The key to getting rid of your cravings is to re-train your brain.

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Motivation is something that we all need in order to stay healthy and keep exercising.

If having motivation were easy, we'd all be slim, toned and healthy from coast to coast. As you know, that's not the case. Some people have a network of friends, family and maybe even a significant other to help them stay on track. But, if you're like me and your family and the majority of your friends live in different states, it can be hard to get the motivation you need from others. Not to worry! You can be your own cheerleader when it comes to eating right and exercising consistently. Below are some tips to keep yourself motivated.

1) Nothing succeeds like success. It can be difficult to stay motivated if the people around you do not share your desire to be fit and healthy.  The best way to counter that is to find someone who has reached a fitness goal. If they've maintained the dedication it takes to reach and sustain that goal, then being around them is most likely to give you some of the motivation you need to continue.

2) Pep talks work. When I'm struggling to get those last few reps in before the glorious " happy beep" of the interval timer goes off, I give myself a good ole fashioned pep talk. I tell myself that I CAN do three more reps or that I CAN keep my knees high all the way through. I tell myself whatever I need to hear in order to finish strong in my workout. Sometimes it's great to hear others rally you on, but other times you can, and should, give yourself the words of encouragement needed to stay strong in your workout. Read the rest of this entry

Wondering why the boot camp workouts by Bootique Fitness are only 45 minutes?

Wouldn't a full hour be a better workout? If you've ever wondered why we do 45 minute workouts, keep reading. There are 5 distinct reasons why we specialize in a well-balanced 45 minute workout as opposed to a 60 minute workout.

Reason 1: Goals

At Bootique Fitness, we focus on two goals for your workout: fast fat loss & creating lean, toned muscles. High intensity, fat burning activities ultimately lead to greater gains in lean calorie-burning muscle, a faster metabolism and a toned, scuplted looking body.

Reason 2: Efficiency

We are very proud to offer incredibly effective workouts that are also time efficient. Our approach and focus on using exercises that engage multiple muscle groups at one time allows us to accomplish a lot in a more compact workout. It's not how much time you spend, it's how much work you accomplish.

These workouts are designed to get you the quickest results in the shortest amount of time. Our workouts are far from boring and we incorporate many different types of training tools and methods. When done correctly, a 45 minute workout a few times per week is all you need to get in great shape! The results you get from it are noticeable so fast, it became naturally motivating to continue.

Reason 3: Realistic Read the rest of this entry

I dare you to make an excuse now!

Leave a comment and let us know how you overcome making excuses.

Cravings are triggered by everything from changes in blood sugar, hormone imbalances, insufficient nutrition, along with emotional and mental causes that make food appear to be the hero.

These tips will help you be the one in charge of the food you eat and allow you to stage your personal craving intervention.

Pay attentions to cravings:

A study reported in Apptitie revealed that those who accept cravings without becoming frustrated or giving into temptation had fewer overall cravings. Participants were taught to pinpoint different bodily sensations in order to understand the longevity of a craving and how to defeat it.

Keep a foodie journal:

Jot down what kind of cravings you encounter and why that specific craving arose. Is what you are feeling physical hunger? What are the cravings triggered by? Identify patterns in your craving. By singling them out, you can be prepared to tackle them in a smarter fashion then just giving in. Overall, a journal will help you to keep track of what goes into your body and your eating patterns.

Show food who’s the boss:

Day dreaming about food you’ve tokened as hands-off is only going to haunt you even more. Restraining yourself from specific items only amps up their appeal, causing a sense of craving them to basically corner you. Those who create an “off-limits” list, have reported to crave those certain foods the more. A Physiological Behavior study showed that people crave an un appetizing food as long as it is untouchable. Simply put; as soon as you can’t have it… you inevitably want it. Minimize what you restrict yourself from and allow moderate tasting to avoid going overboard with cravings.

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