There is a difference between existing and living. Existing is being sedentary and going home every night to an existence of couch potato - and potato chips. Existing is resigning ourselves to the clock of time, and all the cholesterol and blood pressure and weight gain issues that we tell ourselves are "just part of getting old." 
Living is enjoying life - being healthy enough to travel and hike and play with our kids and nieces and nephews. It is living medication-free as much as possible. It is enjoying good food that is REAL food - and knowing when we eat dessert or drink a few glasses of wine, we put in the sweat to balance it out.
Five months ago, Tammy Means was tired of existing. So she started coming to Badass Bootcamps. Then TRX class. Then 2-a-days that began with TRX and ended with Bootcamp. Five months since she sent me that first trepidatious e-mail inquiring about bootcamps, she is stronger and healthier than she has been in years. She is living. The scale doesn't matter to her, because what matters is how she feels. And she just happens to feel Badass. She is now holding her own against her biggest supporter and rival: husband Harley, who has mountaineered summits including Mount Ranier.
A few weeks ago in TRX class, I looked over at Tammy and there was a popping tricep muscle that wasn't there five months ago. A couple of months into attending bootcamps, other students started noticing how much more cut her shoulder muscles looked.
But the real victory came last week, when she went to the doctor for a checkup and got confirmation of what she's been feeling these past few months: She is healthier.
Yes, her clothes fit better and she is doing 5ks and other fitness challenges she never thought possible. But for her, the real barometer came in her blood work - which has changed so dramatically in these past few months, the doctor and nurses are even impressed. Her cholesterol, blood pressure and thyroid all are A-OK. No need for medication. Her "magic pill" isn't magic at all. It is consistent, challenging exercise and healthy eating.
Here's Tammy's Badass Journey, in her words:
I have battled the "get healthy" war like everyone else for a very long time and I have always had issues with body image. As a little girl, a family member calling me fatty seemed to arouse the inner critic that stuck with me my whole life!
About 10 years ago I was in the best shape of my life and loved they way my body looked, but I wasn’t happy in my personal life. I spent most of my evenings in the gym and worked at a job that required six days a week for the first five months of the year. I was burnt out on everything, especially the strict diet/exercise routine that I had thrust myself into to keep my sanity from my work schedule. I made some major life changes, but some not so great.
So, I digressed back to my old eating habits and seemed to find comfort in my new less strict lifestyle. BIG MISTAKE! I gained weight, began having high blood pressure, the doctors told me that I had developed hyperthyroidism and on top of it all, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). MAJOR BLOW! You literally cannot get out of bed some days because you are so exhausted, and the more immobile you are the worse your symptoms become. I knew I needed to make some serious changes.
I tried the Atkins Diet (but that has blood pressure issues), the local diet pill mill clinics (high blood pressure/hypoglycemia risks), skipping major meals or not eating all together (BIG NO-NO!). All of them were ineffective.
I have been a member of a gym in some form or another for more than 20 years. Working out is not just going through the motions, as my body showed me when it stopped responding to my mediocre efforts. I actually used to see Shannon Colavecchio working out in my gym and would say, "Wow, now that’s a workout!" and wish that she trained people.
Then, five months ago I was nosing around on Facebook fitness pages and found the page for local studio Sweat Therapy. To my surprise, there she was, a trainer. I found the link to her fitness blog and contacted her about her bootcamps. So began the first step of me kicking my workout mojo back into gear.
After the first class my body informed me just how out of shape I had really gotten. I committed myself to twice a week bootcamps and TRX training with Shannon at The Powermill Sports Facility and upped my other workouts to at least five days per week and sometimes a "2-a-days," as Shannon calls it. Those are some really tough days, but so worth the payoff. I also started making better eating choices.
So where have I come in these five short months? Have I lost weight? No, I don’t even get on the scale because that isn't what this is about. But I have gained more self confidence, and last week I went back to my doctor and received a clean bill of health: No more high blood pressure, no more hypothyroidism, and my RA is now under better control because I am up and moving.
I feel stronger. I ran my first entire 5k two weeks ago and competed in the Urban Disturbance 5-mile obstacle course race in Tallahassee this past Saturday, Dec. 10 with fellow bootcamp and TRX students. I scaled an 8-foot wall, jumped over fire and hauled kettlebells.
As I crossed the finish line, I knew I had gone further than I ever thought when I started five months ago. With this group you and your inner critic are the only thing that will hold you back from your success!
Postscript: Tammy has a challenge for the Badass Army: Pledge a "2012 Resolution Agreement" and stick it on your fridge, desk, wherever, to remind you throughout the next year of how to live - rather than merely exist. I will post the resolution soon on Facebook and challenge each of you to "like" it. Stay tuned!
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