Body Transformation interview – Meet Beth

The following is an interview I did with my Rock Your Body Bootcamp 2009 body transformation contest female winner, Beth Smith. Lot’s of good nuggets in this interview so I hope you enjoy.

Mike:
All right, this is Mike Salvietti, owner of  Rock Your Body Boot Camps and
MikeSalviettiFitness.com. I am here with one of last year’s transformation
contest winners, Beth.  Now last year in our twelve week transformation
contest, Beth  lost a total of 28 pounds as well as 9.5 percent body fat
and 23 total inches on her body.  She’s given me permission to interview
her so she can share with you guys some of her tips and secrets on how it was
for her.  How are you Beth?

Beth S.:
Good.  How are you Mike?

Mike:
Doing well.  All right, before you started the transformation contest
where were you at, both mentally and physically?

Beth S.:
Well I was extremely depressed.  I wasn’t at all motivated and I had
pretty much hit rock bottom.  I was at least 25 pounds overweight and I
just didn’t know what to do, who to turn to and I was extremely upset with
myself because I was pretty much always active and since starting a family and
having three kids I really just didn’t have that motivation anymore like I used
to when I was younger.  So I was definitely at rock bottom.  I knew I
needed to do something about it.  That was when I had heard through a
friend about your boot camp.

Mike :
Well I’m definitely glad you did and I think this sounds a lot like a lot of
people I’ve talked to in the program that have also seen results.  So
before you started were you at all skeptical as to whether or not you achieved
the results that you did achieve?

Beth S.:
Well I wasn’t skeptical about the boot camp especially I had heard such great
reviews about it before even going to it.  I was skeptical about myself
and how motivated I would be and if I could really pull it off.  So I
think just experiencing that one session with you really motivated me
immediately because I knew it was something that I needed to do.  Sure
enough, I was hooked.

Mike:
That’s awesome. Well I know for a lot of people, getting started is one of the
first obstacles that they have to overcome. What other types of obstacles did
you have to deal with to get the type of results that you achieved?

Beth S.:
I think just my busy lifestyle, just having three kids and I do work and just
with my kids being in sports and things like that.  My obstacle was just
finding the time and of course the energy.  I was extremely lazy.  I
was very sedentary.  I didn’t really have the desire to motivate myself
and just the fear of losing or having the fear that you’re not going to be able
to do it.  So I felt I had to overcome that fear of the unknown.
“Can I do this at this age?”  And to find the time.  I think I really
overcame that.  I found the time.  I organized my time.  I
prepared to work out every day and be consistent.  I think that was the
main thing, try to be consistent with my routine every day and have some
accountability to you and your program.

Mike:
Nice.  Well you definitely overcame a lot of stuff and I think you
definitely did the right things as far as finding the times to do what was
necessary.  During the boot camp classes what were some factors that you
think separated you from others during boot camp?  What did you do that
stood out during the classes?

Beth S.:
My determination.  Yeah, I think mentally you need to be focused.  I
think mentally and physically go hand in hand but I think mentally I really
wanted this so badly.  I was at a point where I just  needed to do
something about myself.  One, my health issues was my
hypothyroidism.  So I knew that was one stack up against me, but also just
wanting it and focusing on it.

I think that each of  the three days a week that I went to your program I
really made sure that I was focused on my performance, my posture and just
giving it my all because I knew it was a short class which I love.  The
fact that it was only 20 to 30 minutes was perfect for me.  I really think
I just focused on your exercises and listened to you and followed through on it
the best I could.  Each week I found myself getting stronger and stronger
and it really made a major difference.  So I think I really wanted it in a
bad way.

Mike:
Oh yeah.  You definitely get stronger.  In fact it’s sort of a joke
with other guys in the class who didn’t want to get stuck with Beth because she
was going to be doing the same kettle bell or the same dumbbells as them.
So that was great.

Beth S.:
Yeah, it’s nice.  I like that challenge.  I think it’s nice to see
that I can keep up with the guys though I certainly didn’t want to come across
as a bully but at the same token I felt like this just challenged me even more
and it certainly gave me the incentive to continue on doing the classes every
week.  So it definitely was good.

Mike:
Definitely.  So what type of nutritional programming did you follow?

Beth S.:
Well I first started out just really watching my proportions and then watching
– I just slowly just cut back my breads and the amount of pasta and diet
drinks, things like that.  I just took it slowly.  I said, “Well how
could I really do this and not overwhelm myself?”  So I did that for the
first two weeks but then I realized I really want to step it up a notch.
I said, “Well maybe I need to really start measuring my food.”  I think
that was one of the things that worked for me.

I measured my foods.  I didn’t necessarily go crazy but I did watch the
amount of meat that I had and the amount of bread that I had.  I had maybe
one slice of bread or I picked up a lot of my vegetables.  I didn’t have a
lot of fruit but I definitely had fruit in my diet and I just stayed strictly
with water.  I did incorporate some protein shakes because I really love
muscle.  I love definition.  That’s just one of the things that I’ve
always been attracted to.

So I knew I needed to pick up my protein level.  So I did go on a high
protein level and moderate to low carbohydrate diet.  It didn’t – say that
I do that now.  I definitely incorporated more carbohydrates now but at
that time for those three months I really did watch my carb intake and I
definitely boosted up my protein level.  It filled me up so it lasted
longer and I definitely ate a good four to five times a day because I really
felt it kept my metabolism up and it really – I didn’t starve by the time I was
– I wasn’t starving by the time 8:00 came around when I was finally ready to
settle down.

Mike:
So rather than just jumping off onto some hardcore diet you took small
steps.  You didn’t completely deprive yourself of certain foods.  You
did have room for those things and the biggest things were portions, you
measured your food and you just didn’t overeat and kept it balanced, right?

Beth S.:
Yeah.  I did treat myself to some snacks.  I didn’t deprive
myself.  That was one thing I always said I wanted to do.  If I wanted
a glass of wine on the weekends I had it but I also just watched if I was going
to have a scoop of ice cream I had one scoop and not four.  So I just
really watched my portions.  I really think that was a key to reaching my
goal.

Mike:
Awesome.  What about alcohol?  Was there any alcohol consumption and
if so is there anything that you did strategically to make it so it didn’t take
you off track?

Beth S.:
Like I said before I had to say I definitely would have a few glasses of wine
before I even started this boot camp.  I did definitely cut back because I
really feel like that really inhibits the protein synthesis in your muscle
growth.  So I really did cut back but again, like I said before, if I had
a wedding coming up which I had had over those three months a few weddings I
did treat myself to a glass of wine but I didn’t do it excessively because I
know I didn’t want to defeat the purpose.  If I was going to work hard
throughout the week at your boot camp and really stick to my goals I needed to
sacrifice a few things and I think that’s what you need to do in life.
You need to be little more self-control when it comes to certain decisions you
make.  Alcohol was one of those things I needed to cut back on.

Mike:
I’m glad you mentioned sacrifice.  A lot of people see sacrificing things
as depriving themselves when really you’re just sacrificing things that you
don’t need and replacing them with things that are beneficial to you.

Beth S.:
Yeah.  No, I agree.  I think it was definitely worth it in the long
run.  It really is.

Mike:
Awesome.  Did you do any other type of exercise to increase your results
outside of boot camp?

Beth S.:
Well initially I just started with the boot camp because I really wanted to get
my muscles in check and get into the groove of working out because I know you
know you go through a period of the first two week of being sore.  Your
muscles swell up.  You do feel that swelling coming on.  As the weeks
went on I felt I wanted to step it up a notch and I had been a part of a
gym.  So I had – would go and do some additional cardio just walking on
the treadmill, nothing too crazy.

Then I love classes.  So I would incorporate maybe a spinning class maybe
once a week or just an aerobic class.  I did it – I would step up and do a
little bit of weights on my off days from doing the boot camp.  It kind of
kept me in check because the days that I didn’t have boot camp I would do the
cardio or do some type of a class.  I think that kept me on check.  I
was pretty much working out five days a week which I think was good for me
because that motivated me to stay on track with my eating on the weekends and
it really worked.  But you don’t necessarily have to work out seven days a
week to get – to reach your goals.  But I think it worked for me for the
time that I was in the boot camp for the three months.

Mike:
Definitely.  Was it ever tough or frustrating at times for you?

Beth S.:
It really was.  I have to say I had some off days.  Not every day was
perfect.  Not every day I was gung-ho about going to class but I knew I had
accountability to you and others.  I think it was really a great social
scene.  You meet people.  People motivate each other.  I think
it was a real good way of getting out of the house but I did have my days where
I was tired or work had got – I worked too hard that day or my kids were
driving me crazy or stuff like that but for the most part I definitely had my
days of frustration but if I – I slipped a little and I had an extra snack I
just got back in the next day.

It really motivated me and I think it really helped because you kept us on
track as far as your words of wisdom and your motivation.  You really were
very supportive and you really – I think you helped me in many ways.  You
had one on one sessions with me.  You talked to me.  You’d tell me
why I was down.  You can sense what I wanted to do and what I wanted to
accomplish and you worked through that frustration with me.  So I really
appreciated that.

Mike:
Awesome.  Well I think it also helped a lot that you were just open with
it and willing to learn and you came to me with questions after class or before
class and you did an awesome job.

Beth S.:
Yeah.  No, I really did.  I loved it.  I really did.  I
think it was one of the best programs I’ve been in in a long time and I think
it served me well.  I mean I really certainly reached goals that I didn’t
think I was going to reach.

Mike:
Awesome.  So before we finish up are there any tips that you can give for
people who want to transform their body similar to you or get similar results
for wining this year’s transformation contest?

Beth S.:
Well I think first and foremost you have to want to change your lifestyle.
You have to – and do it in small increments.  You have to believe in
yourself.  You have to want to do this not just for your husband or your
boyfriend or your girlfriend.  You have to want to do it for
yourself.  First and foremost you have to – because you’re the one that’s
going to have to get up in the morning and go to the gym and you’re the one
that has to eat well.

I really think it – you have to stay focused.  I think the key thing is
there’s accountability to someone which you have an accountability going to the
class and doing what you need to do but you also have to be consistent.
You can’t just go to the gym one day and then skip it for another five or six
days.  You have to be consistent.  I think self-control.  You
have to really watch your portions and think, “All this hard work I’m doing you
need to have a good balance mentally and physically.”

I think if you want something, you want to reach your goal you should – you can
do it.  I think anybody can do it.  I just think you just need to
have a good attitude.  I think that’s the approach you need in meeting
your goals.  I think anybody can do it because golly knows I did.
After 20 pounds it was a great feeling.  It was very liberating and as far
as health wise it’s really important to think about that.  So I was very
impressed with your program and I loved being a part of it and I’m still a part
of it.  I’m going to continue.

Mike:
All right.  That was awesome Beth.  I think anybody listen to us is
going to find a lot of inspiration, motivation, some good tips and some
encouragement from your words.  I thank you a lot for taking the time to
do this interview.

Beth S.:
Oh you’re welcome.

Mike:
It’s going to help a lot of people.

Beth S.:
No, I’m very happy that I was a part of this and I hope a lot of people really
step up and really enjoy it also.

Mike:
Awesome.  All right Beth well thanks a lot.  I’ll talk to you again
soon.

Beth S.:
All right.  Take care, Mike.

Mike:
All right, bye.

Well I hope you enjoyed this
interview. once again if you want to download the audio version you can do that
by clicking the link below: