Total Weight Loss: 3 st, 8 lbs
Total Shrinkage: -33.5 inchesJoining Bootcamp is one of the best things that has ever happened to me . I will try and explain why.
I joined bootcamp having seen one of the posters in Petworth and decided that as it said ‘Fat Loss Bootcamp’ there were bound to be ‘fat’ people there, which immediately gave me the confidence to phone because what I didn’t want was to join an exercise class where there were leotard clad, skinny people. (As it turns out not everyone was fat, but by the time I knew that it didn’t matter).
I didn’t ever think I could follow a diet where, essentially, I would be cutting out everything that I regularly eat. However, I decided to give it my best shot as I was keen to loose weight for my fast approaching trip to New Zealand.
During the first month I didn’t eat one crumb that wasn’t on the list of ok food and I put in as much effort as I could during the sessions, it is the kind of mixed exercise that I enjoy.
The people at bootcamp were all supportive and having attended 8 bootcamps I can hopefully give something back to the newbies as well. It does feel like a family group, with so many returning, which is great and we have lots of laughs.
I am very grateful to you for giving me the tools, and the support to take control of my life, I am very happy with the results that I have achieved (with yr help) and I am extremely happy with the way I look, and I feel so much fitter and energised. I can’t imagine going back to the way I was. I feel in total control of my body and wellbeing.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!
Niki Jones
Petworth
“Julie’s bootcamp is a great mix of hardwork and fun. She is an excellent instructor and mentor: the exercise combined with her healthy eating plan is very effective and addictive. With her guidance and encouragement I haven’t felt so positive and energetic for a very long time! I am looking forward to doing another one as soon as I can.
Sally” April/May 12 Bootcamp
Many thanks for the mini bootcamp – it was very good – although my muscles were not happy being awakened after all these years!! I must now remember they exist. The results from this camp is that I have lost 2lbs and 2 inches – which is not bad for a weeks work I think. Many thanks again.Mandy May/June 12 Mini-Bootcamp
Attached are my measurements following a really enjoyable five days. I feel well set up to get back to more regular running although, as my aching muscles have told me, a high level of aerobic fitness is not the same as all round fitness. Thanks again.Susan May/June 12 Mini-Bootcamp
“I thought my running or should I say jogging days were over – but not since taking part in Julie’s May Bootcamp. I really enjoyed it and each week could jog further, and achieve more. I was very pleased with the inch loss I achieved, but in particular I feel so much better in myself, and have lots more energy.Julie is a fantastic instructor, she explains exercises,diet etc very well and is always there to encourage and support you, in a professional way. She also makes the workouts fun. I have also taken part in Julie’s Pilates classes which has improved my bad back and enabled me to take part in the Bootcamp, which I don’t think I would have been able to before.
I shall return in July for another Bootcamp! Sophie x April/May 12 Bootcamp
Hi Julie?
Just thought I’d drop a line as I’ve been meaning to for ages now to say how much I’m enjoying the bootcamp.
I really feel so much better on all levels. With the eating I was well over half way there as I’ve been doing some sessions already with a brilliant nutritionalist friend who’s been trying for ages to get me off the wheat and dairy, plus now I feel more energized from cutting everything else out.
I also kept on at my husband for a few weeks before the start how serious I was about undertaking this and he wasn’t to let me fall off the wagon!
The exercise is definitely having an impact. I can definitely feel it making a difference even down to buying some new jodhpurs and feeling confident in them.
When you’ve struggled a lot like me with weight and general self image for years, to wear clothes and feel confident without tying a jumper round your waist to hide it all, is a big achievement!?
Anyway I just wanted to say thank you. You are very inspiring. I’m determined to keep it all up. When you start to feel the benefits why would you want to go backwards? April/May 12 Bootcamp
Dear Julie,
thanks for this and all the other motivating emails you’ve been sending – it’s great to see what fantastic results can be achieved by people who really go for it! I’m sorry I had to rush off early on Thursday, but I had committed to another meeting by mistake. Anyway, I thought you’d appreciate some written feedback – feel free to publish bits of it wherever it makes sense to you.
I have found your Pilates classes and the two bootcamps I’ve attended truly life-changing and really appreciate all the guidance and enthusiasm you’ve provided. I started gaining weight about five years ago, when I worked full-time and had a long commute. Even though I took lunchtime pilates and yoga classes at work each week and walked the dogs/did the gardening at weekends, I could not get the weight to shift. It just went very gradually up, which made me very unhappy, because I’d always been slim and couldn’t understand what was happening to me. I saw a photo of myself on holiday one summer and got really depressed.
What made a huge difference when I started coming to your classes was a) the way you teach – making sure everyone used the correct muscles and didn’t compensate/cheat, and b) the dietary advice that came with the bootcamp. Although we’ve always had a fairly sensible diet and I didn’t commit major ‘sins’, I could really feel a change in me once I eliminated bread, potatoes and other starchy foods. The intensive cardio workouts were a shock to my system to begin with (I could hardly get out of bed a few times last summer!), but it was clearly what my body needed in order to start changing back.
For me, that change has been very gradual – probably because I hadn’t gorged myself in the first place there was no ‘easy’ elimination such as chocolate, cakes or beer that would make a difference fast. However, once I broke through the 60kg barrier the trajectory continued gently but consistently downwards. I’ve maintained this momentum by sticking to sensible eating habits, and it’s been no hardship. I do eat a piece of cake occasionally and have a glass of wine with dinner at weekends, but the rest of the time I’ve shifted the emphasis in meals to proteins and fresh vegetables. The potato bin tends to stay empty these days, and our consumption of bread has gone down dramatically.
All this is easier now that our children no longer live at home. It is so tempting to start eating like a teenager when you’re surrounded by them. Giving up a stressful job and cutting out the commute also made a big difference – I sleep better and I move a lot more as a result. As you always say: it’s all about making life-style adjustments. But I also think that even if I went back into a full-time career again (God forbid!), I would ensure I had a tough daily workout built into my schedule, because I now know I need it and it really works.
So thank-you Julie, joining Pilates and joining the bootcamps with you was the best decision I made since coming back to the UK! – Oh, and the colder weather really helps, you know. Heat makes you sluggish!
Best regards, Susi
Forget golf lessons, i have had loads of those with no real improvement, then my chiropracter recommended Julie Regan for Pilates to help my longstanding back issues, and guess what, better posture and inner muscles strength have given me a smoother, more rythmic swing, result!S Grant
