To Brew or Not to Brew?- March 14th

Boot Camp Spotlight of the Week

Getting to know you:

Name: Cie Tassin
Age: 27
Height: 5'6"
Pounds Lost (include amount of time it took to lose): about 20, mostly firming up over the years and getting stronger, faster, and leaner.

Jessica & Cie's Before Picture

Cie (After) & Jessica after mud run

Where you grew up (or a couple facts about your life):

I was born in Versailles, France and moved to Florida with my family for my dad's job at the time when I was a baby. My baby brother came along shortly after, and a few years later we moved to Poway, where I have lived since. I graduated from Poway High School, and moved down to SDSU where I met Jessica at, where else? but the gym! We became friends right away, and by coincidence her dorm roommate was my current roommate whom I had met through a friend. Now both of these ladies will be in my wedding. Wow, how life comes full circle. Jessica began personal training me when I was around 19 or 20...and outside of the gym we loved to take runs together, and hence conversations of Jessica starting a women's boot camp became more and more of a reality. I moved to NYC to go to NYU for my Master's in Educational Psychology. It was a big move, but completely worth it and life changing. I learned so much and came home with an entire new outlook on life. I loved it, the people, the experiences, the big city, school, crazy adventures-I highly recommend doing something "out of character" once in a while-it was so wholesome for me, being a Poway girl who lived in a bubble.

Family names (husband, children, animals, etc):

Almost immediately after moving home, a friend from high school asked me out as "more than friends" (comical because naïve me didn't know it wasn't "more than friends" right away) and we instantly grew closer to each other in a different way, and now we are getting married in July! We also have a little 4 lb. maltese, my baby girl, named Allie. She has the biggest personality (in the smallest square footage) that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. We love her, and life would not be complete without her kisses! My little brother lives in San Fransisco and is in his first year at Berkeley Law, and my parents still live here, though my dad goes back and forth now between the US and France, in between his busy life running his engineering firm.

Occupation:

I am currently working in sales at my fiancé's family business leasing mobile offices for construction companies. My background is mostly working in counseling high school students and before NYU I was a therapist for children with autism. I was in the midst of getting my credentials to teach and working at a research lab at UCSD before I took a break to help out Chris's family business in this tough economy. My background is far from business and sales, but somehow I am getting the job done, and have been named a "Kerper Keeper" (my soon to be last name) and it seems to be working out for now. But I soon hope to get back into what I really have a passion for, which is counseling, teaching, helping people, once again.

Hobbies outside of class:

I love to read, run, I am a movie buff, photography, I love the beach, and LOVE travel-though I don't do any of those nearly as much as I want to. Life happens and is so busy with wedding planning, but soon I hope when life settles down I will have more quality time to spend doing what I love with my new hubby!

Fitness/Wellness Tips:

Reason for joining boot camp:

Well, Jessica gave up personal training to run the bootcamp, so call me a stalker, but I followed her! J I wanted to keep an active lifestyle, and with gym burnout came a wonderful opportunity, and I have had the great pleasure of watching it grow from an idea to an amazing program. I love bootcamp and will probably be a veteran forever! I can't picture myself going to the gym ever again.

3 of your favorite Fitness Tips:

1. Prevent temptation: Throw away all the junk, the processed, and the "bingeable" foods now and replace them with fresh, whole foods like lots of water and veggies. Buy a new pair of shoes and find some clothes that you feel comfortable in-I love Lululemon and jumped on that bandwagon when I lived in NYC. During a lifestyle change, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail! The best advice ever. I am a big advocate of what Jessica calls the 80/20 rule...I do eat chocolate daily, but try to limit the amounts, just satisfy the craving.

2. Get a support system in place: Whether it's your best friend, spouse, or pet, it helps to have some nonjudgmental and nurturing support when trying to lose weight, especially during trying times. This is where bootcamp does it for me. My family knows I have to wake up early in the morning to go to bootcamp and are respectful when making plans: not too late for dinners or for spending time together. And that hour and 15 minutes flies by when there are other girls in class who all have goals like me and we are all working together to live the dream!

3. JUST ONE MORE: Have that mantra in your head. What is JUST one more pushup? Or think, "it could be worse." I am constantly coaching in my head to up my goal of being faster and stronger. This was long before I became engaged and have a wedding dress to wear in 4 months. This goes back to when I first met the gym concept at 18....I always wanted to be the fittest I can be, and will always believe there is room for improvement in myself, my fitness, my mind. There is no ceiling to anything I want to accomplish. Keep those thoughts in your head. Yes your muscles burn, but "just keep swimming."

3 of your favorite Healthy Eating Tips (ie. Holiday parties, social settings, etc.):

Trigger Food Resitance: what is so huge is being in contact with what we LOVE, especially in social settings, there are so many excuses and justifications we make to trick our minds that we DESERVE it, and by all means we do! But don't go to town on that Costco trail mix...I always remember that I feel like crap after polishing off an entire jar of peanut butter solo in one week or leaving Souplantation "getting my money's worth." I try and remember that what's even worse is the guilt and punishment that comes along with it, and a food coma to follow (sluggish, tired, drained), and always know, whatever it is, it will be available again-no need to think that the world is coming to an end and we must eat it all now. The 20 different flavors at the fro yo place will probably be there next time, just pick one today, and in moderation J

Write in your journal: The key is to hold yourself accountable. This works so well for me, maybe not for everyone, but the day I put that black book away, I immediately notice the scale number get higher. ALWAYS listen to Jessica-trust me, she knows what she is doing, and don't fight her on it, it will only backfire in the form of dimples in places you don't want, not reaching your goals, not getting stronger/faster, or improving over that 12 week period YOU paid for! Trust me on this, Jessica wants us to reach our goals, for OURSELVES, not for her! If you don't follow her advice, it only impedes your goals and increases your frustration! Jessica has seen it all and gives us the tools every single day to be the healthiest and happiest with ourselves that we potentially can be! She was born with a different kind of brain and I have never met anyone like her! Read the newsletters, buy that nasty apple cider vinegar, try new things whether you can pronounce it or not. She is the guinea pig, she even does it herself!, including writing in the journal! TRUST that, get it done!

Portion Sizes: It sounds elementary, but I know for myself, to not pick up that delicious looking appetizer, because I know, for my mind and body, I usually cannot stop at just one, so I try not to have any at all. When I stopped eating everything in sight and giving in to temptation, I immediately noticed a difference. Trust me, this is coming from a girl that when stressed, takes those amazing trail mixes from Trader Joes, dumps it out, and eats all the good stuff and throws the rest away! When I stopped doing that, started reading labels (besides calories and fat, but also sodium and the actual ingredients), cutting out the crap with trans fats and eating a wholesome, more Mediterranean style diet of pure olive oil, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains in realistic portion sizes-in conjunction with being active, I became the fittest I have ever been, and it wasn't when I was 20 years old! Coming from a French family, I never understood before how they can eat bread, butter, cheese, and wine and all be skinny. The secret is simple: moderation is key and being active is non negotiable. Get off your ass and sweat. It feels good, helps you sleep better, is free therapy, a perfect stress reducer...there is no downside here people.

3 stick-with-it secrets:

BABY STEPS: set goals, even if they are small. They get bigger and go a long way. I HATED running and got a D in PE in Middle School because I ditched the weekly mile, every week. Then, starting in college, when I needed a vehicle to de-stress, I started walking half a mile at a time on my apartment treadmill, then alternated with running ¼ mile with walking, working my way up to a whole mile. I used to hate drinking plain water unless I was thirsty, so I trained myself by packing it with flavors like mint, lemon, and a dash of lemonade crystal lite and weened myself off of the flavors, now I can polish off 3 pure liters of water a day, no problem.

KNOW your body and what works for you and use that to your advantage: For me, if I don't have sleep in me, I cannot function, have crappy workouts, overeat all day, and am literally just out of commission. I learned that I can no longer eat bananas, for no reason at all, I get horrible tummy aches, so I substitute the potassium with legumes instead. I learned that I cannot drink anything caffeinated after 10am, or I will not sleep that night. I know my limitations having scoliosis and try to substitute other challenging exercises in lieu for what I cannot do. I used to run 7-8 miles per day, did zero strength training, and was also the heaviest I had ever been. I changed that to a 5 day-a-week workout regimen with bootcamp mixed with off days of 30-40 minutes of tempo or sprints coupled with portion controlled, healthy meals, and walla-my body fat is the lowest it's ever been, I'm leaner, more toned, and I FEEL better. After work, I am usually exhausted at the end of the day and am so lethargic that AM workouts are for me! They kick start my day, and now I am no night owl, but a bouncy morning one as a result. I learned this through many trials and just listening to my body.

LOOK UP TO REALISTIC PEOPLE: I used to tape up model pictures of Victoria's Secret models in hopes that it would defer me from the fridge/cabinets. I later saw on TV an interview with some skinny model and said she eats what she wants, when she wants, and does not work out. I realized it was either not true, or they are genetic defects and just not realistic people to look up to. What a society we live in...I took the pictures down and made role models out of my fellow bootcampers. Just look at those girls who have lost all that weight and reached their goals, they are just as amazing! And right in front of you and they are living proof we witness daily! Just be the best form of YOU as well. Stay focused on yourself, put up a picture of the best form of you when you felt best, not that VS model.

Favorite Meal Ideas (can include favorite recipe): salads are my best friend...seriously. You can throw anything on them, veggies, fruit, nuts, legumes, anything at all! And they always taste amazing (dressing on the side), a little NF or LF cottage cheese, and I am set. I bring all my groceries straight to work, pop them in the fridge, and never have to think about it! I keep my protein powder at work too and make a shake daily. Recently I am really on the roasted vegetables bandwagon, love it! Fix it and forget it! So easy and delicious! Paired with a lean meat and I am satisfied until the next morning. I never leave the house without my liter of water too.

Weekly Workout Schedule (outside of class): My weekly goals always consist of getting to bootcamp 4 times per week, which usually calculates down to 3 times/week. My off days, I follow the off bootcamp regimen for running-and I mix up the moderate to advanced plans, just because I don't necessarily have the time to run that long distance, and just make the most out of it! Kick that incline up, up the speed a little. 30 minutes of hard sprinting burns calories for hours after you're done!

A couple of things: 1) learn to like it, just train yourself to! Change your perspective or negative stigma that comes with working out and having to get out of bed to do it. Don't give yourself a choice. It's like brushing your teeth. Nobody just LOVES it, or always has before-but we just do it. Because we love the results. Start with that, and you will see your body transform. And 2) it doesn't happen overnight. CONSISTENCY fosters results (when I consistently overate from stress, I consistently gain weight and when I consistently go to bootcamp, I consistently see results) YOU CAN"T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER: consistency= results, results=consistency. Treat your body with respect, it's the only one you'll ever get J

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