We have had an absolutely amazing start to our boot camp series for 2013!  The enthusiasm of the group is awesome and I’m so excited about what this year has in store for us.

Our current boot camp group is ON FIRE!

As we head into the New Year, I thought it would be a great time to share another amazing transformation story with you I know you will find inspiring.

“I AM Adventure Boot Camp:  Tammy Carr”

Tammy’s story is a bit different in that she was a member of Adventure Boot Camp off and on for about 4 camps during 2011 and 2012.  Tammy’s work schedule had her busy and traveling quite a bit, but she took the education and inspiration that she got from camp and she has now lost a total of 100+ pounds and 7 pants sizes!

I want to send out a BIG thank you to Tammy Carr for sharing her story below.

Please join me in congratulating Tammy on her wonderful transformation — and feel free to give Tammy a “virtual High-5” by leaving a comment below. 

If you would like to share your story please drop me a line and we will set it up.  I hope you will…you would be amazed at how many ladies are looking for hope and you can be that “hope” they are looking for!

PS — If you missed our last “I AM Adventure Boot Camp” transformation story, you can check it out here:  I AM Adventure Boot Camp:  Alex Milavsky

I AM Adventure Boot Camp…Tammy Carr

Name:  Tammy Carr

Age:  54

What do you do when you’re not at boot camp?

Exercise and determine next fitness and healthy goal I can work on!  My favorite escape is my boat in the Gulf of Mexico where myself and my Mom just relax and enjoy the sunshine and living in the paradise of Florida!  My favorite relaxation moments are with my 2 Bichons and swimming in our pool!  When I must work, which I certainly do plenty of, I manage a team of talented trainers and developers and build online eLearning and corporate universities for companies to replace classroom style training and save money for the businesses.

ABC birthday?

I started in March of 2011 to kick start an exercise program to help lose weight as I had been trying to diet with minimal results and knew I needed to change lifestyle also and add fitness.  I completed, I believe 4 camps and only stopped due to increasing demands of the work schedule and lack of sleep.  I rewarded myself with more sleep if I met fitness goals while not attending boot camp, as it meant I could get 3 more hours sleep due to travel and commuting etc….

Why did you join ABC?

See above – I also saw women doing camp as I commuted to work and was envious of them and felt I should try it.

What are your fitness goals?

This year I will finish the Coteeman Triathlon in August and increase my 5K speed to 32:00

What do you love most about ABC? 

I felt John was exceptional at maintaining dignity of the individuals and there is a strength he has to push you individually while demonstrating care that enables the group dynamics to always be positive and team orientated.  As weird as it sounds you see yourself getting stronger, but you are so in tune with the group that you find yourself succeeding and not realizing you even worked that hard!   He has a way of building us all together, yet demonstrating individual care and concern that helps you push yourself.  ABC  made me feel I couldn’t stop doing the work needed to improve because “John” made me believe I could do it, so how can I stop?  I also won Most Inspirational camper and I have to tell you that award still resides on my refrigerator for strength!  If John and my fellow ABC partners felt I deserved that award I must be doing something right and I needed to keep the course even when not at camp!

Did you have any fears or concerns before you started ABC?  Do you have those same fears now or how has the program affected those fears?

My concerns before I started were a real fear of failure and that brought on feelings of hopelessness that I had let myself go too far, too long, and too much weight had to be lost to make a difference……I felt that I may be too old to do exercises with younger women…I felt most strongly that I would not be able to do it and that was where the fellow campers and John made it work…the “no man left behind” theory helped me not be ashamed of being the worst as everyone knew we were all not athletes or we wouldn’t be there!  The constant attention to be sure I pushed myself but not so much that I would be hurt made me know I could do it.  I also to this day don’t know how, with so many people there in the camps, John knew when I had done something before and therefore encouraged me to do a bit more….The attention and encouragement helped to reduce those fears.

Today those fears have subsided and I concentrate on keeping the positive lifestyle I have chosen to maintain the weight and personal accomplishments moving forward.  Choosing to lose so much weight and changing your lifestyle is very difficult and you must be prepared as it will mean facing your fears and pushing yourself till it hurts and then doing it again to get it right in diet, exercise, social events, work habits, etc……  It means saying no to bad habits and forming new good habits, it means constant change and assessment.  You have to analyze and ask yourself everyday what you did right for your goals and what you did wrong for your goals.  You have to ask yourself and analyze why you didn’t achieve your goal and start again many, many, many times and not “punish” yourself for missteps by quitting.  You even have to ask who may be interfering with you meeting those goals and make changes as needed in your life, your friends, your family, your job…..it is about success and you may even need to be very selfish to succeed because it is “about you”.

What has surprised you most about your experience with ABC? 

How much care was given individually, to make me feel comfortable and understand what was needed to succeed beyond moving my body, how much care was taken to make me feel important and how I can be “unstoppable”….

What results or accomplishments are you most proud of? 

I lost 100+ pounds, but I am most proud of finding the person I was 15 years ago that loved life, being outside, and challenging myself to be the best I can be in many ways physically, intellectually, and emotionally.

What’s your favorite healthy snack?

Edamame and honeydew

What’s your favorite cheat meal?

Eggs Benedict Brunch and a Bloody Mary, that I can only enjoy if I run over 5 miles first! 🙂

What tips would you give others about making it to boot camp every day? 

Keep in your head, it does matter and you will be missed.  Missing a day sets you back and you don’t join boot camp to not move forward.  I kept telling myself….if you are tired of starting over………..stop quitting!

What about ABC makes you laugh? 

I laugh at the hula hoop and still get a chuckle when I remember Jean and I trying to do half the things that required coordination!   The different levels of people are what makes it fun.

Favorite ABC exercise and why?

Running, because it was always done a bit different (relays, different tracks, different goals, etc…) but you could absolutely feel yourself being stronger every week and being able to run longer or faster….or in my case walk less… 🙂

Least favorite ABC exercise and why?

The back and forth shuffle of the feet as part of warm up, front-front-back…., as I don’t care what you say I am not that coordinated and to this day I feel like I will fall!  hehehehe

Your advice to prospective boot campers? 

Make the commitment and understand if you follow the plan and be true to yourself by pushing yourself at every camp, you will succeed! I honestly believe the mix of exercises and the ongoing information and advice that this is more than just a step it is a lifestyle change, does deliver results all around.   It is about commitment because no matter how good ABC is, you can cheat yourself by doing minimal effort at camp as easily as you can convince yourself those French fries can be worked off…………………….Boot camp helps you find a better self and certainly a skinny-er one! 🙂