I'M PERFECTION: Alice

Meet Alice!

Starting DBC in Sept 2015

 How did you hear about State of Slim/Destination Boot Camp?

My best friend, Debbie Trujillo, joined State of Slim as part of the CU Campus Challenge.  Within weeks, I could see her successes and I called to join SOS in March 2014. I had success but fell back into bad habits and started to regain some of the weight that I had lost during the 16 week SOS program.  So in the fall of 2015, I made an appointment with Dr. Holly Wyatt to discuss what I should do.  I signed up for Destination Boot Camp for September 2015. BEST DECISION EVER!

How did you feel before you started the program?

I was feeling lost and out of options.  It just seemed like I couldn’t stop slowly gaining weight.  I was sad because I couldn’t do things with my family.  My most horrible moment was when I was in Florida with my family.  I was too fat to go on the new Harry Potter ride.  It was one of the most embarrassing and heart-breaking moments of my life.  I tried to smile and not let my family see my horror.  I hid and cried the whole time they were on the ride. 

 We had a trip planned to Costa Rica in November 2015 where ZipLine was one of the group planned activities.  My husband and I had always wanted to ZipLine on vacation. I was going to be too fat to do it!  Again, my weight would cause me to have another awful experience.  So, that is why I went to Dr. Holly so I could lose as much as possible before I went to Costa Rica.  I was full of fear and self doubt.  But I also had a huge sense of urgency.

Now! In May 2016

Remember when you started this journey? How does your weight loss journey now compare to what you thought going into it? 

When I joined DBC 8, I knew it would be difficult.  I was super excited to go to the bootcamp because I was so ready to change my lifestyle. I was terrified by the amount of workouts,  especially the Fight or Flight workout and the hike.   

Comparing what I thought prior to DBC and what has happened since DBC… I am more successful than I thought I could be. I am more focused on the process.  I have become bonded with my team and I seek out other DBC and SOS community members.  I live outside of my comfort zone which is a whole new way to live for me.  I am able to crush my workouts and I have become a runner. Eating clean and staying on the SOS plan has been much easier than I thought.  It’s not without some struggle and temptation but I have changed the way I think about eating. 

What is different about this time than other weight loss attempts or other weight loss plans?  

State of Slim and Destination Boot Camp are made more powerful and life altering because of the relationships created with my teammates, coaches and Dr. Holly’s motivational leadership.  The nutrition and exercise plan are simple to follow.  The Mindset transformation work is key to making it happen.  My relationships with my DBC and SOS friends are crucial to my accountability.  

By following the homework week by week, State of Slim and Destination Boot Camp builds this new healthy lifestyle that I am living.  This is it.  It is working for me like no other program ever has.  I’m not just talking about the weight loss because there are lots of programs that will result in weight loss but this is about weight maintenance.  "Begin With The End In Mind" is one of my favorite expressions.  It helped me complete my long runs and it is working to help me lose weight. I know this time is different and I will keep it off.

What has been your biggest "Aha" or breakthrough moment? 

My biggest “Aha” moment, was starting a 10 mile race with my 23 year old daughter, Mikayla, my best friend, Debbie, and my husband, Scott.  Looking at the four of us, I realized that I am living the life that I wanted to achieve.  I am an active participant in rigorous physical activity with my loved ones.  I am actually doing it now.  I am not at my goal and have a lot of weight yet to lose, but I am living my life the way I want to live it.

Finishing her first 10 mile race in April with her State of Slim friend, Debbie, on the left, and husband Scott, on right.

What are you most proud of/grateful for so far? 

I am most proud of my integrity.  I set goals and then I do what I need to do in order to accomplish each goal along the way.  I complete my workouts without cutting it short. 

I am most grateful for the love and support of my husband Scott, my children Mikayla and Jimmie, my niece Chantal, my best friend and running partner Debbie, and my DBC 8 team. 

When did you decide to start running?

While at DBC in September 2015, my daughter, Mikayla, called me to ask if I would run the Tinkerbell Half Marathon on May 8, 2016.  May 8th was my Mom’s birthday and May 2016 will be five years since her passing.  My Mom loved Tinkerbell and Disneyland.  

Running a half marathon with my family was exactly what I want my new life to be.  I think I was exhausted from DBC, yet I had this new hunger within me and felt completely powerful, so I said YES.  I couldn’t believe it.  I never wanted to be a runner.  I have close friends who are ultra athletes and I have never felt a desire to run, maybe because I thought I could not become a runner.  But I was wrong.  I am a runner now.

What has the training process been like for you?

I hired a running coach, Beth Tennant.  I hired a personal trainer, Phil Davis.  I hired a personal chef, Elisa Hindes. I enlisted my niece and my best friend to train with me and my daughter.  I scheduled my massages with my massage therapist, Patty McMurray.  I started off unsure of what to expect.  How was it possible that I would be able to run 13.1 miles?  I asked so many questions but the answer was the same, “You can do it.  You will train and you will do it.” 

I didn’t believe them for months.  But I trained according to my schedule.  I walked my miles and did my strength training and followed my SOS nutrition plan and worked A LOT on my mindset.  I relaxed into the process.  I didn’t fight it or doubt the plan but when I doubted myself, I repeated mantras like “Trust the Process” and self affirmations every day like “You can do this.  You are doing great.” The simple repeating of the same things every day helped calm me and after a few months, I really started to believe it. Finding inspiration when the newness wears off is difficult. Dealing with exercise induced asthma was another point where previously in life I would have stumbled.  But I kept moving forward.

I don't tell myself to run faster, I tell myself "Push." It's simple and it reminds me to reach my fullest potential on each run. I'm proving to myself that I can achieve the goals that I set. My pace is my own. It's perfect for me today. It happens to be the same pace as my very fit husband walks, but that doesn't matter because I am doing the best me that I can. And next week, I will an even better 'me.' Some days I struggle, so on those runs I literally concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Most days, I can think of what I have to do to finish today. On very powerful days, I think of the half marathon while I run. 

I worry and wonder if I'm running correctly. I don't like to make mistakes. But I do make mistakes so the trick is to pay attention to the mistake and learn from it. 

 I learned to run slowly.   Then I would run intervals as fast as I could for 1 minute then walk for 2 or 3 minutes.  I signed up for many 5k events even, even doing four in December in the snow and cold. I completed a 7k and a 4 mile run race.  Finishing the 10 mile Cherry Creek Sneak was exhilarating!  Training session after training session, I improved my endurance.  

I had to deal with pain in my feet, my legs, my hips, but I went to my chiropractor and my medical doctor and my massage therapist to figure it out.  I got new shoes, then I got assessed again for different shoes.  I am not giving up.  I just keep asking for help until I solve a problem.  Learning to ask for help is a huge part of my success.  I have always been someone who would just push through and do it myself.  But help and support are powerful tools. 

I had some setbacks along the way. In March, just 10 weeks before my half marathon, I accidentally overtrained.  A hike in the mountains turned into an all day workout.  Overtraining was scary. I just couldn’t stay awake, I couldn’t stop crying for no reason, I had a headache and I couldn’t think things out the way I normally can.  So, I had to take a few days off.  Hydrate, eat good food and rest. 

Then I started in again with a renewed sense of urgency but careful to follow my training schedule.  In April, just 5 weeks before my half marathon, I got the flu and couldn’t get out of bed for almost a week.  I thought this might be it, the thing that ruins my chances of finishing.  But again, I got back on my training schedule.  I needed to hear the reassurance of my coaches and my DBC teammates.  My daily mantra became “Trust your training” and I continued to improve my mindset but my running speed and endurance took a big hit from the flu. 

As I head out the door for one more training run before my rest week before the half marathon, I am amazed at how far I have come.  I have done the work to the best of my ability and I have succeeded in becoming a runner. 

Training... with trains!!

How do you handle the ups and downs of weight loss?

At DBC we learned that our journey would be full of ups and downs.  I had to really convince myself that the number on the scale was “just data." I weigh every day to use that information in my assessment of how I am doing, along with my food journal and what foods affect my weight loss.  I am no longer afraid of the scale because even if it is up that day, I know what I need to do to get it to go down.  I have to do the work but I can achieve any weight goal that I put my mind to and focus towards achieving. The first few months were almost easy.  The motivational experience of DBC and of my DBC teammates were a wonderful wave of support.  

The next few months brought the holidays and the struggle to not eat off plan outside of my indulgence meal was more difficult.  I would take a bite of something here or there and at first the scale wasn’t affected so I started thinking I was getting away with it.  But my weight loss slowed down and I had to really learn what integrity was.  I had to recommit myself to the SOS lifestyle, sometimes even daily.  I would reread my notes from my DBC classes and homework.  I would reach out to my teammates with 911 messages asking for that added encouragement.  There have been times when the scale doesn’t show very many pounds but my body definitely changed.  I have a long way to go.  I look at the graph showing the ups and downs but I celebrate the fact that overall the scale keeps going down.  

What does I'm Perfection mean to you? What imperfections are you learning to celebrate?

I’m Perfection means that where I am today is my reality.  I love myself now.  I love myself at my highest weight and I will love myself at my goal weight.  My self-worth cannot be measured by a number on the scale.  My lifestyle has improved, my satisfaction with life, and my ability to feel joy.  Living each day to it’s fullest is perfection.  I am achieving extraordinary things. I feel the joy of moving my body with my own two feet.

By embracing and loving my imperfections, I accept where I am and do the best that I can for today. I'm not waiting to start running until I have the body I think I need in order to run. I'm doing it now. I could have waited until I lost the weight.  Maybe it would be easier.  But I Choose My Hard.  So why not now?!  I have to keep pushing the doubtful voice away.  I focus on the positive when my body hurts, I remind myself how far I have come.  I am not perfect on my nutrition and my weight fluctuates but it keeps going down. 

I have incredibly high expectations for myself so when I fall short- which we all often will- I am learning to embrace the imperfections, find my happiness and experience joy along the journey.  I’m not perfect but I continue to Trust the Process and break through the barriers that try to stop me. 

I will complete the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in memory of my Mom and with my family and my best friend by my side.

I've raised my children with a "do your best" philosophy, but I have never applied it to myself until now. I've always thought I was falling short of perfection. As it turns out, I've been perfect all along. I'm Perfection. 

How has this journey changed your life? 

I am a happier person.  I am focusing on myself like never before in my life.  My husband and children are so proud of me.  We can be more active together instead of me making excuses why I can’t join them.  We are planning fun, challenging outdoor activities to do as a family this summer.  That is my biggest “Why” and I am already seeing the positive changes in our life.  I still have quite a bit of weight to lose but to me that just means it will even get better than it is now.  I don’t have to worry about whether I am going to fit in the airplane seat or the stadium seat.  I look forward to going to the amusement park after the race and knowing that I will fit on the ride! 

How do you feel now? 

A week before the Tinkerbell Half Marathon...

Wow.  I am amazed at myself, at what I have accomplished in the past 7 months since my week at DBC, at the fact that I am going to run a half marathon.  I am strong.  I am confident.  I am powerful.  I am amazing.  I have trained to the best of my ability and I am ready to complete a half marathon.  My body is sore and tired.  I hope this next week of taper before the race will restore my muscles.  But my mindset has overall stayed strong and focused. 

I know that the next 6 to 8 months will be challenging because as I feel better, there is a risk that I will lose focus and tell myself that I’ve done enough or that I’m better than I was so it’s okay.  But I will refuse that old mindset and I will stay focused on attaining my goal weight.  I will use challenges and motivational milestones as stepping blocks to get to my goal weight. 

After completing the Tinkerbell Half Marathon...

I am victorious!  The first few days after completing my first ever half marathon, I think I’ve kind of been in a state of shock.  I actually did it.  I followed my plan of 2 minute run and 2 minute walk.  My body did great.  There were some moments of pain or discomfort but not too bad.  I trusted my training.  The days before the race, I had a quiet resolve that whatever was going to happen was as it should be.  I had done everything that I needed to do to train and lose weight and get my mind right.  As I stood on the start line, I was happy.  Not nervous or fearful... HAPPY!  

That is the life I want to live.  I am victorious because I can set a goal that is out of my reach, make and follow a plan, work and push myself to new heights and actually exceed my own expectations.  I’m proud of myself and I am working on truly accepting my accomplishments and the praise from friends and family.  I can feel the progress that I have made on self esteem and self acceptance.  I’m not perfect but I’m perfection. 

BLOOMING: Meet Kevin

Do you have advice for anyone considering losing weight?

If I could share some advice for anyone considering this journey, I would tell him/her to first get his/her mind “right”. What I mean by that is to mentally approach this journey with an open mind, and trust the process before you completely understand it. 

If you actually do the mental and physical work on yourself, then you will have a successful journey beyond anything you could have imagined. This is not a quick fix or a magic bullet to instantly become skinny; this is a road map with support and guidance to help you transform your lifestyle to allow a healthy, happier, fitter you to emerge and embrace the world around you.

Kevin, one year after he started his weight loss,
wearing his old belt when he started DBC.

How have things changed for you since you finished your year-long journey at Destination Boot Camp?

Things have changed quite a bit for me since my one year DBC anniversary. I ran my first and second half marathons, I ran a local 8k race with several of my friends, I am signed up for two more half marathons this summer and fall. I am living a much healthier, active life than I ever before. 

I am now the one encouraging my friends to sign up for races with me, instead of the one hearing about races that my friends did. My world and its possibilities for me have grown and continue to grow as a result of my DBC transformation journey, and while actively engaged in the present I look to the future with more optimism now than ever before. 

Kevin, after his second half marathon with some friends who he helped
join State of Slim and run in their first race.

What has maintenance been like for you?

Maintenance has brought its own set of challenges and rewards in the same way that weight loss did. Maintenance is hard, easy, and fun all at the same time. In maintenance your diet becomes less restrictive, which is fun and challenging to make sure that you recognize the warning signs of the behavior that caused you to gain weight in the first place. 

Part of what makes maintenance easy is that the diet is less restrictive, so you can add in some more foods that are off plan. You can indulge a little bit more with friends. You just have to make sure to keep your activity level high, and your food on plan enough to keep your weight in check. Everyone’s body and metabolism is different, and what works for me in maintenance may or may not work exactly the same for you. I may need to keep my activity level higher to maintain my weight, or I may need to indulge a little less. 

Now that you've lost the weight, what's the most difficult and easiest part about keeping it off?

The hardest part for me about keeping the weight off is to keep my physical activity and diet balanced. The amount of physical activity that I do on any given day just in the course of living my life and working on my family’s farm swings dramatically. 

One day I could be stuck in the office all day at my computer and realize that I only moved about a mile that day. The next day could be completely different and I realize at the end of the day that I walked 5 miles, or in really extreme cases I’ve had days where I walked over nine miles just doing what needed to be done. 

The easiest part about keeping the weight off for me is that through my transformation journey, I have developed the tools and skills that I need to keep my weight in check. If my weight starts to creep up, I know exactly what I need to do to stop the climb and make it go back down. I had a lot of practice doing that when I lost 85 pounds throughout the course of my transformation journey.

What are some keys that you use to stay on track?

Some keys for me to stay on track have been signing up for races to keep me motivated to get on the treadmill and get the mileage in. I am someone who needs to have a good reason to do something, and a good short-term motivator for me is that I want to be physically ready for the next race that I am signed up for.

Another key to staying on track is continuing to food prep. Even in maintenance, I still need lots of good, on-plan food ready to grab and go.

Kevin's Meal Prep Essentials: 24 servings of Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake SOS muffins all vacuum packed and ready to go in my freezer. The other picture is about 15 or 16 pounds of pork tenderloin on my BBQ that I slice and vacuum pack into 5 or 6 ounce portions. 

What does the future look like?

Now that I have lost the weight, my mindset for the future has definitely changed. Now I look for physical activities that I can do with my friends. I am looking for more activities in general to go and do with my friends. 

I am always looking for ways to bring my active and healthier lifestyle into everything that I do. I am constantly looking for things that I can do to make the healthier food option or the more physically active option my default option, so that the right choice for me is the easiest option.

Kevin, after a St. Patrick's Day 8K

Have any of your goals changed after hitting your goal weight?

My biggest underlying life goals have remained constant since I started DBC, and I would expect that because they are tied very closely to my deep why. I have certainly added a lot more new goals since I started DBC. I never thought I would ever run a half marathon, and now I have completed two and I am already signed up for two more and thinking about at least one or two others for this year. 

I have talked to a friend about running a marathon in the fall of 2017; that is a total change for me! I did not run at all before DBC, and now I am actually talking about a marathon! If that is not change, then I don’t know what is!

Live LARGE: Carolina

Over the next few weeks, I'm having some Extreme Weight Loss: Destination Boot Camp alumni join me. They're sharing their stories about what it was like losing the weight, and now what's it's been like once they hit their goal and maintaining their weight loss.

I'm kicking things off with Carolina!

Before, starting DBC in Oct 2014. After, one year later in Oct 2015.

If you could give anyone considering this journey some advice, what would it be? 

For anyone considering this journey I would say, DO IT! What are you waiting for? The best investment you can make is the one you do for yourself/health. Has any other weight loss program worked? No, obviously, this is why you are thinking of doing this one. 

Don’t delay. The sooner you get going, the sooner you will become the person you always knew you were. Besides Destination Boot Camp, State of Slim is a proven program. Over and over it has shown amazing results. Where else you get to enjoy six meals a day? Where else you get to transform into the best version of yourself?

How have things changed since your one-year DBC anniversary?

In the year my transformation has been phenomenal, not only did I drop the weight/fat that I’ve been carrying around for the last 30 years, but the inches just quickly become less and less! I went from a size 2XL to a XS! Now I have no problem trying to figure out what to wear, since everything fits. I don’t have to hide my body with layers and I don’t have to keep buying bigger and bigger clothes. Financially it has even saved me money.

Her first year at DBC. One year later at her finale.

Since losing the weight I have gained more confidence. I stand tall (well as tall as I can, I’m only 4’10”). I have become proud of who I am. Reaching my goal has made me more sure of myself. Another interesting thing that changed since losing the weight is the ability to train my brain to see and recognize the new Me, my new body, and most of all my new face! I have a neck! My eyes are bigger and brighter and I have curves I didn’t know I had. I enjoy little things, like applying makeup on my new face. 

Something I have noticed that is taking a little more time to adjust to are the complements I get from family and friends and honestly from total strangers. I’m just not used to someone telling me how little or how small I am. I quickly say, no, that’s not true, but then I realize, yes, I’m much smaller.

What has surprised you the most about maintenance?

Two things have surprised me the most about maintenance: how easy it is to be in maintenance and how easily my body is adjusting to this phase. It’s loving it! This new lifestyle is what the year long program has taught me, so it’s easy. It’s not a quick fix. It takes a year long journey to recognize the mistakes you make by trying to YO-YO diet. It takes a year to shift your mind to the new lifestyle and even though for me it was a one-year journey, it was short and quick to undo the damage I had done for the last 30 years! The new habits, routines and rituals have become like brushing my teeth!

What is the hardest part for you about keeping the weight off? Easiest part?

I don’t have an answer for the first part of this question. It hasn’t been hard at all, because when I was at the Anschutz Health and Wellness center during my first week Boot Camp I made up my mind that this was not a diet, it was a lifestyle change. Seeing the incredible results on national TV with Bruce Pitcher and Bob Brenner to name a few, I knew that I was going to succeed.

With Bruce and Bob

The easiest part for me was the MINDSET! The mind set is the key to success. It’s the number one factor to reach your goals and to maintain your weight loss. Once you make up your mind, your body will follow and the pounds will melt away.

Another part that has been very easy is the exercise part. Our bodies where designed to move and now I know my body loves to move in extreme ways.

Carolina loves kickboxing and weight lifting

What are some keys/tips you use to stay on track?

The tips I use to keep me on track are the ones I learned during my year long transformation. Destination Boot Camp and State of Slim are designed for success. During weekly homework meetings with classmates and coaches, you quickly learn the ins and outs of the program, especially how to shift your mind from the old you to the new you. 

By implementing my weekly food prep it prepared me to be ready for whatever the day threw at me. I don’t leave the house without protein shakes or my ready to eat tuna and broccoli. When preparation meets opportunity, it equals success. One of my nightly routines is to set out my gym clothes. I set my intentions in motion for the following day.  It’s easy in the morning because I’m ready to hit the gym. Another tool to keep me on track is to weigh myself every day. It keeps me accountable. And lastly, I keep updating my vision board with photos of my fellow boot campers and positive quotes.

Meal prep!

What is your mindset for the future now that you’ve lost the weight?

Now that I lost the weight and reached my goal, I feel unstoppable. My mindset has always been strong but with doubts. Those are all gone. I have proven to myself that if I make up my mind, I really can do it. My mind is sharp and eager to learn. It’s ready. It’s strong. It’s positive. Because my mind is right, nothing holds me back anymore.

Have any of your goals changed/shifted since you started DBC?

When I first started Destination Boot Camp I just wanted to breathe normally and lose the weight. I wanted to see that image of me that was always there on the inside but never reflected on the outside.  Now that my new goals are set in motion, my eagerness to learn about food and exercise and its impact on our bodies has been one of my favorite subjects to focus on, I read every article I can get my hands on. It has become my drug. 

My focus has also shifted from losing the excess fat to become a stronger person. Now that I know it is possible to reach an unreachable goal, all I want to do is to lead others to Destination Boot Camp and State of Slim. I see myself in so many people. I feel like it’s my obligation to Pay it Forward share my story with them. When I do, I see their eyes full of hope and full of trust. Typically, they end up sharing their story with me too. 

If I can lead one person to become the best version of themselves, if I can say a few words of encouragement to someone struggling with their weight, it would be: Decide what you want the most, your health, your future, your family, and your sanity. Demand more of yourself. You were made for greatness. If not now, when? Stop struggling and surrender to the best program in the word. It’s easy, it’s attainable, you just have to let go of your old self and embrace the NEW YOU.