Putting Me First: Week 4 as a Mom Home from a Live-In Weight Loss Camp

me • health & fitness • lifestyle • health-wellness

by Jennifer Hamlet on February 22nd, 2017 | No Comments »

Weight Loss—It’s 5 o’clock in the morning here and I have been up for an hour. I climb back into my very own bed with my computer and my yerba mate to blog. I have been back home this week. It is week four of my weight loss journey and it’s been very strange!

My house still looks like my house, but it feels different. I am sure that is because my kiddos are still up in Utah with Grandma so I could come home and get some real world things done. In all honestly though, I think it’s because I am different. Before I left for Premier Fitness Camp, I prayed for an open heart.

I wanted to experience everything this opportunity had to offer. I got so much more out of it than new ways to work out and healthy recipes for my family. I have more energy. I have less cravings. I look forward to exercise (I know, crazy, huh?). I have a new adopted family (even if some of us are spread out across the country). I have a confidence that I haven’t had before, at least not in a long while.

I miss my trainers and all the guidance and structure!

All of this leads me to the intense draw I feel to get back to Park City as soon as possible! I have been to the gym everyday that I have been home, but it just isn’t the same. I have been spoiled! I am now a gym snob. I watch other trainers and members have bad form on their exercises and cringe. I went to a boot camp and it paled in comparison. There was very little variety, I got bored quickly and just when I felt we were getting into the heart of the workout…we started cooling down because it was done! I tried Zumba here and burned around 400 calories. Lindsay’s Zumba class at Premier Fitness Camp was soooo much more fun and I burned almost 800 calories!

Finding time for me back in reality feels different now.

Kimba, one of my other trainers at the camp, had advised me to workout really hard once a day and then let it go. Move on and take care of my kids, love my husband, serve my neighbors, take care of my responsibilities. That is so hard when you see how few calories you are burning compared to at camp. It makes you want to drop everything else and go to the next workout. I was striving for balance in my life before I went to Premier Fitness Camp. I felt I didn’t even have 15 minutes in the day to workout. Coming home for good is going to require me to find a different balance in which I set aside some time to take care of me, and then let it go so I can be a great mom, wife, sister, friend. I didn’t see this coming!

Eating right at home wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

The nutrition aspect of being home has actually not been as hard as I thought it would be. Of course, this week I don’t have my little girls home! I have grilled a lot of fish and chicken, eaten lots of veggies and salad, quinoa and of course, fruit and string cheese for snacks. I am still searching for a good protein bar that has a good balance of fat, carbohydrates and protein with natural ingredients. I am on a mission here! Last night, I made Ahi tuna for my husband and brother. I paired it with a salad, quinoa and asparagus. I felt like I was eating at PFC, except my asparagus wasn’t as perfect. The boys both liked it and my husband was impressed!

Just going to my mom’s house is an act of sheer will power!

I have to say, there are a lot of temptations out there though. She has chips and candy, cookies and pretzels, makes sauces and has sugar cereals. I can’t blame her though. Those are probably all things I had in my house before I left for camp. Right now, I am still on the natural high of being at camp so these things are not even a temptation. Every once in a while I crave my diet coke, but I know myself well enough to know that I can’t have just one, so I won’t touch the stuff!

I feel like I have a hit the ever dreaded plateau!

I am getting very concerned about my weight loss. I feel like I am doing everything right, but I stepped on my scale the day I got home and I have been checking every morning and my weight is the same. I do this every time I start a diet or exercise program. I get discouraged and usually end up quitting. I can’t do that this time. I know I am eating healthy, I know I am doing my workouts and feeling stronger. I am just going to keep doing the right things and hopefully my body will respond.

I do dread weighing in on Monday though for my final week at Premier Fitness Camp. I never want to disappoint anyone - my trainers, my family or myself. I may need some extra guidance this coming week! Lucky for me going back to PFC this coming week really does feel like going back home. I have a lot of people I can depend on and I plan to make my last week my very best week!

Do you struggle to make healthy food choices? Do you wish you could learn how to eat healthier foods and prepare them? Where do you go to find healthy recipes and ideas?

I am 37 years old and a mom of 4 beautiful daughters. I am a stay-at-home mom who is never HOME! I do some work from home helping my husband run his business. My weight was not a problem until I got pregnant and began having children. I have never completely lost that weight. I have tried different diets and felt like a yo-yo for the past 8 years! (see me on far right of picture)

A combination of things happened in my life to make me decide to make some major lifestyle changes and putting myself first, making healthy choices for me and my family. Please join me on my journey here at the Mom It Forward Blog, on the Premier Fitness Blog, and on the Today's Mama Blog, as I do five weeks at the live-in camp and get twelve weeks of coaching and support after I return home. This is going to be life-changing! It is already life-changing!