In 2003 I weighed 210 and I could no longer look at myself in the mirror. My grandmother had just turned 90 and I thought to myself – what if I live for another 50 years? Is it possible to go that long without looking in the mirror?

I’d always been a stocky kid and grew up to be a stocky adult. I tried all kinds of diets, however, consoled myself with food, ironically. Add a few failed relationships plus a poorly performing business and voila – 210 pounds! I just kept trying to fill the holes in my life with food, and I was very rarely happy.

Since I’d just moved to Glendale from Seattle I didn’t know my way around the local fitness scene. My folks saw an ad in the paper for Extreme Boot Camp™ and gave me the phone number. “I’m a little out of shape,” I confessed when I called. Linda Taix cheerfully assured me that although I’d missed the orientation session I could come to the first class and there I would find folks of all shapes, sizes and fitness levels. I wouldn’t need special gear – I could just come as I was. What a relief!

So, with much fear and the conviction that I was about to be publicly humiliated – I showed up at 6:00am. It was a beautiful morning and Instructor David Knox was very, very nice. Sure I was sweating and flushed – but David came over to check on me and sent Instructor JC to hold down my feet when I made feeble attempts at sit-ups although managing a few.

Nobody laughed at me or my size, my boot camp-mates were friendly and encouraging and everybody was dedicated to doing the drills to their best ability. I made some friendships during that first boot camp that I cherish to this day, nearly three years later.

Thanks to their help, encouragement and practical approach to fitness and exercise I began to loose weight. I enrolled in three boot camps back-to-back, I liked it so much. Loved meeting the other ‘campers’, loved being outside early in the morning, loved the payoff I began to see.

Without the Extreme Boot Camp™ staff’s optimism and reassurance, their kind words and the occasional “drop and give me 20 push-ups” when I started to slack off – I would not be where I am today.

My life is very different from the old, ‘heavy’ days. My friends from Seattle don’t recognize me when I greet them at the airport, and for the first time in my life – I am happy. Feels like my life is just beginning at 42!