This is one person who truly amazes me. One of Shawna's children has a very rare disability and requires a lot of attention and is in and out the hospital more often than not. As long as I have known Shawna, she has never complained about it once. The only reason I know about her challenges, is because of our friendship and asking her what is going on. She is an awesome mom and she always sees the glass as half full. She does awesome at camp and I'm glad to have the opportunity to work with her and her spirit!  If her story doesn't inspire I don't know what will.

Most of the time I do not use my son’s disability as an excuse for anything. One aspect of my life however was greatly changed by him and his condition and that is my weight. After 18 months of being in and out of the hospital with him I had put on about 20 pounds. I am a stress eater and it doesn’t help that the local children’s hospital has a free snack bar in the hallway loaded with all kinds of junk food.  When his health began to stabilize I wanted to get back in shape but couldn’t figure out how to go about this with two kids. That is when I saw a Groupon for Carrie’s boot camp. I asked around to a few of my friends but no one else seemed interested in getting up to work out at 6am. I thought about it for the day and the more I did the more excited I got about it. I purchased the Groupon and started that next Monday.

Everyone at the camp was so welcoming and although I was not able to keep up I never felt intimidated. I slowly built strength and soon I was really starting to see some inches come off. Then I found out I was pregnant. The first few weeks I sat out due to morning sickness (which lasted all day and night) but I was very excited to get back to it as soon as I felt better. Carrie was able to modify the workouts to make it safe for me and the baby. During this pregnancy I only gained 10 pounds! Six weeks after delivery I was back at camp and now three months later I weigh 10 pounds less then when I got pregnant!

When someone tells me they don’t have time to work out I get very passionate and immediately disagree, everyone has time. If you want to be in shape bad enough you will make time. As for me, the only time I could find was first thing in the morning when my family was still asleep. I love the time to be Shawna and not Mom for three hours a week. I have met some of the nicest people who hold me accountable for showing up (thanks Lucy!)

I always tell Carrie that I have a love-hate relationship with her. I hate the things she makes us do but I love her for her continued encouragement, support during the tough times we still have with my son, but most importantly I love what her workouts have been able to do for my health and my body. I know by continuing my boot camp workouts with Carrie I will be strong enough both mentally and physically to care for my children. I’m setting an example for my kids that I value myself enough to find the time to workout. I’m proud of myself and I’m so happy I make the decision each Monday, Wednesday and Friday to get up and get moving!