As our Meltdown 16 Bootcamp finished, we asked Meltdowner from our last round to reflect on her exerperience and share some advice for life AFTER a bootcamp. Elaine Hubbard lost 18.8 lbs and over 7% body fat in her eight week Meltdown and continues to make progress this spring. Read about what is keeping her moving right now!

The sky is falling!  The sky is falling! 

Okay, so it’s the end of your Meltdown program, and that means change.  For me, my daily routine completely got a makeover during my bootcamp experience. I was forced to try new things and go for long periods without my comfort foods.  Cheat days and meals were planned out as soon as the last one ended.  Once the eight weeks was over, I thought that I could be free once again.  But then I heard all the coaches and veterans saying to join a 3P group, continue with the nutrition plan and exercise. Continuously I heard, “your old diet and exercise wasn't working for you, so don’t go back to it.”

All of these things are true and the best advice. I gained .8 pounds at my two week weigh in from boot camp.  I went from 7 hours of exercise a week down to four and added about 3 cheat meals to my week.  I was a sucker for temptation.  And what I learned was that to get the results, I must follow the plan and go back to the routine I formed while in boot camp. Though, I had to follow some other survival rules as well, and I want to share them with you.

I learned along the way that I needed to continue the momentum by pushing myself. I didn't take my first FBI or spin class until after my bootcamp. Quite honestly, I was scared. And that's a good place to be.  The goal to make it through Spin class was a mental game.  But you know what?  I made it through!  Remembering to continue to believe in myself.

Having an accountability partner to replace your nutrition coach is a must.  Find someone that is positive, honest, and open to questions.  Someone that will be your motivation when you have lost yours.  I feel like I am cheating since my husband did the boot camp with me and is super supportive as well as a machine in class and on the scale.  I don't want to be left behind while he is succeeding so well, but the truth is that motivates me. It's a competition of self, but I still want to keep up!!!  My 3P group has done more for me than I ever imagined.  They give new feedback, push me to explore new recipes  and I don't want to let them down either.  Honestly, the best thing that I did for myself after bootcamp was to be a part of that 3P group.  Having people that know exactly what you're going through when it comes to the plan, and are there for you when life changes and you don't want to stick to the plan.    

Though, these are things most veterans told me and I guess I was smart enough to follow their suggestions.  The one item that has personally motivated me... looking in the mirror. You have made changes in this boot camp and you can see them in your before-and-after pictures, but if you're like me, you had a distorted image of what you looked like before boot camp. In my mind, I always looked better than what the mirror and pictures showed. Looking at photos  I could see myself for how other people saw me. The same will happen in reverse as you continue on your health path.  One day you will wake up and see a picture of yourself where you look better than you see in the mirror.  Enjoy this and allow your image to change by taking the time to "see" the change. It's easy to stay motivated when you are feeling and looking better.  So, if you aren't ready to look in the mirror and see the change for yourself remember that your NGPT team sees it in you.  You deserve these changes that have been made, so now that boot camp is over, try not to slide back to your old habits! 

Elaine Hubbard joined the Next Generation as a client with our Meltdown 15 Bootcamp in October 2012 with her husband, Jeremiah. They both claimed spots in our top ten for their bootcamp and have used the tools to continue in making progress. Elaine is the current captain of her accountability group, CARBpocalypse.