We had a TON of people participate in our 7-Mile Challenge last week!  Great job to everyone who completed your 7 miles.

This week, your Challenge is a bit different…

Your Challenge is to inspire someone who doesn’t normally exercise to workout with you one time this week!

Here’s your chance to make a real, positive, and lasting impact on someone you care about.

You never know how close a friend may be to making a change in their life, and this one nudge may be just the push they need to spark a change! 

Hopefully, just by reading this post, you already have someone in mind.

Are you IN!? 

If you’re ready to start inspiring a friend, family member, or co-worker to workout with you this week, simply leave a comment below! 

Happy Inspiring,

Alicia & The Forte Fitness Team

P.S. If you’re a member of our boot camp, we’re letting you bring in someone to camp for FREE this week to help out with this challenge!  Just be sure to email Adrienne so we can be prepared for any new faces in camp!

Congratulations to the AMAZING Laura Ellerby, our May Camper Spotlight of the Month!

We absolutely LOVE having Laura as a part of our Forte Fitness family.

Since day one, she has been 100% dedicated and embraces everything that is thrown at her.

She has been through an incredible and life-changing journey, and she continues motivate everyone around her.

You really can’t help but be inspired by Laura after watching her work out!

So, here’s Laura in her own words….

“I joined Forte Fitness in January of 2012, a transitional time in my life, a time of many positive changes, boot camp being one of them.

It was shortly before that time that I had made the decision to change careers: from public school teacher to massage therapist.

I had been a business electives teacher for OCPS for a number of years, but because of low enrollment one year, I was transferred to a lock down facility for high risk males.

This transition, as you might imagine, was quite difficult for me. Long story short, I got burned out.  During the summer of 2011, I decided to resign and change careers.

Not only did I change jobs, but I also decided I wanted to change other areas of my life.

Like many members, I decided to take advantage of a groupon for the 21-Day Belly Blast. At that time, Alicia was also running a 6 week transformation challenge.

I was so ready for change, and I jumped at that opportunity to see how much I could transform myself.

It was for six weeks, and I remember telling a friend: I’m going to be transformed in the next 6 weeks, just watch!

Boot camp has never been easy, but it has always been fun. That’s one reason why I love it.

Those first months I remember I was always the slowest, and sometimes still am.  That fact didn’t bother me, however. I knew if I kept on moving, I was on track.

When we used to complete half  mile runs for our fit test, it took me more than 5 minutes.

Alicia often sends us bits of motivation, but there was a particular piece that I have remembered more than any: compete against who you were yesterday. That bit of motivation kept me trudging along.

Although I was the slowest, I certainly was better than I was the day before.

I kept on moving, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, but I consistently stayed moving…and each workout I was better than I was the day before.

Eventually I became stronger and faster, and went from a size 12 to size 6, from 138 lbs to 125 lbs.

A particularly special milestone for me was when I ran my half mile in 3:48. That was my accomplishment to remember, quite an improvement from over 5 minutes.

What makes Forte Fitness special and unique is the relationship Alicia and her team have with its members and the community.

They are people who genuinely care about you and your progress.  Birthdays are celebrated, helping hands are offered in times of need, you are held accountable for your efforts, and you are appreciated.

With all these tools available to help you achieve your goals, no matter what they are, success is your only option.”

Laura- we are SO proud of you and all that you have accomplished.

Here’s Laura’s Before & After Pics!!

Dawn Henderson has been a GIANT inspiration for all of those around her.  

Dawn “BEFORE”

We chose Dawn Henderson for our April “Camper of the Month” because of her enthusiasm, energy, motivation, and amazingness that she brings to ever class. 

Every time she shows up, she gives it 110%….and her extra effort is inspiring to everyone around her!

Dawn has lost 10% Body Fat and has GAINED energy, enthusiasm, and tons of life back!

We know her story will inspire you, so here it is in her own words….

“My weight has always been a bit of a yo-yo experience.

It seems that every 10 years I go through an “aha moment” where I realize I need to get back on the fitness wagon.

So I will eat better and train a little and when I lose the 10 pounds, I relax and go back to my “unhealthier” lifestyle.

In December of 2011, my BFF (Sally “Mustang” Milton) gave me what she considered a “gift” to join Forte Fitness for the 21-day belly blast.  I considered it a “Fat-Gram!”  I didn’t really consider myself “Fat” and I thought, “It’s too cold to work out outside,”  “I’m not interested in some crazy eating plan,” and “I certainly am not interested in getting up at 5:30 in the morning to run!”  “I hate running!”

I put it off until I was reminded that I had a class reunion coming up and I was urged to attend by several of my former classmates and friends, so I gave in and in May of 2012, decided to attend.  Alicia greeted us with her enthusiasm and spunk and I thought…”She will be a great motivator.”

Little did I know the hunger, headaches, nausea and crying that would follow by day 4.  I kept thinking, “I can’t do this…I’m too weak.”  My self-image, pride, and competitive spirit were crushed.

My BFF and the Forte Fitness Team urged me not to give up, but to push through and keep going!

The daily emails and inspirational videos from Forte Fitness combined with the encouragement of my best friend were what got me through the first 21 days.  Then, after about 4 months, I started to see a measurable difference in my weight, by body fat, and most of all my mental health. 

After 6 months, honestly, I was hooked and now I realize eating clean (80% of the time) and training dirty (90% of the time) is a way of life!

I am a competitive person, so once I got past the nausea and light-headedness during the workout, I would psych myself up to say, “If I can only finish the workout” “If I can only do as many sit ups as Sally” “If I can only do as many burpees as Ines” or “If I can only catch Marissa on the track,” then I will feel like I am getting better!

Achieving one little goal at a time kept me wanting to do “one more” thing better. 

I have never, in all the years of having personal trainers or a gym membership, had the level of support and encouragement that my fellow campers give me every single time I show up to work out.

It wasn’t always easy.  I so clearly remember saying to myself and others, “Why is that person losing weight when they admit they are cheating and I am eating clean and working hard and not losing the weight?”

Dawn NOW!

The truth is, I was so caught up in the numbers and the immediate results, the truth of it is that it didn’t take 21 days to put it on and it will take more than 21 days to take it off.

So I changed my “self talk” to include some of these phrases:

• If you work the plan…the plan WILL work!
• Give yourself the time to enjoy the process.
• Allow yourself the “cheat meal” and a day of “rest.”
• If you stumble over the weekend cleanse on Monday!
• Water is key so please drink 1/2 your weight in ounces!! (I promise you will pee less, the more you drink!)
• It’s not what “they” do…it’s what “I” do that makes a difference.” 

 ……(From Alicia)  As you can see by her story, it hasn’t been an easy journey, but her yo-yo diet and unhealthy lifestyle has been COMPLETELY transformed!!

It takes commitment and dedication, but it also means changing your self-limiting beliefs about yourself and changing your self-talk.

We are SO proud of you Dawn!

Please give Dawn some love and encouragement in a comment below!

We have a very exciting announcement! We are starting a new monthly series where we choose a CAMPER OF THE MONTH and will post their story on our blog!

We are pumped about featuring our awesome members and allowing them to share their story and goals, and what has helped them on their path in life-especially when it comes to fitness and health.

This also gives us a chance to congratulate them a bit (and send them some goodies to make them feel extra special!).

We truly appreciate each and every one of you, so this is NOT going to be an easy decision to make each month but we are up for the challenge!

For our VERY FIRST CAMPER(S) OF THE MONTH, we’ve chosen newlyweds Kevin and Jodie Chinfatt!!!

They are members of our Waterford location and recently got married, celebrating even in our camp with a one-and-only special wedding workout! How awesome is that?!

They shared our story with us in their own words below – enjoy!

Kevin and Jodie’s Story:

We met through our mutual friend, Patty Booher, who also happened to be the person that introduced us to Forte Fitness!  We started boot camp in the beginning of 2011 at the Baldwin Park location.

We were looking for something different other than just going to the gym and running on a treadmill – we wanted to be challenged and Forte Fitness was a perfect fit for us!  Jodie faced many challenges in 2011 including returning to graduate school, the passing of her father, moving and changing careers.  Trying to adapt to these challenges and changes was very hard on us for a while and we had to stop going to boot camp.  We then got complacent, lazy and gained weight!

In December of 2011 we got engaged and we were more motivated than ever to get back to boot camp and start working out again!  We had other goals beyond losing weight though.  We knew that to be happy with each other we had to be happy with ourselves and for us that meant being active and feeling and looking better.

We started back with Forte Fitness once the Waterford location started up and we soon became fast friends with the trainers.

They kept us accountable and pushed us when they knew we needed it.  One of the great things about both us of going to boot camp is that it keeps the other one accountable and sometimes we even use it as an alternative to date night!

We’ve started new healthy traditions like the “Turkey Trot” on Thanksgiving and hope to do a 5K every other month.

On Feb 23, 2013, we finally tied the knot and our day was perfect!

There are so many details that go into planning a wedding and one of the things that we never worried about was the way we looked.

We knew we had put in the hard work and between the two of us had lost over 35lbs!  

The wedding was a short-term goal for us, but being healthy is a lifetime commitment and we don’t plan on slowing down now that the wedding is over.

We are so thankful for everything that the Forte Fitness team has done for us and hope that we can one day inspire others as well!

I then asked them to end with a favorite quote or tip that helps them when they are feeling less than motivated in their workouts and goals. 

A great quote that we go by is “strive for progress, not perfection.”

We know that things don’t happen overnight and its the little things like improving our fit test numbers each month or finally being able to get that ‘double under’ on the jump ropes that help keep us motivated.

On days when we feel unmotivated we just try to get out of the house. We know that just moving around a little bit will help us have more energy, so a lot of times it involves walking our dog, Daisy, around the neighborhood.

We even brought Daisy with us to Savannah because we knew it would encourage us to walk around the city more.

Thank you Jodie and Kevin for sending in your story. Congratulations on your marriage and thank you for being such a positive light in our camps day in and day out – we are so proud of you guys!

Please make sure to leave Jodie and Kevin a comment below for sharing their journey with us!

Easy Spicy Turkey Chili!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 med red bell pepper, medium dice
• 1 med yellow onion, medium dice
• 2 med garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth or stock
• 2 (14-oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 bay leaf

Directions:

1.  Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until simmering. Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 to 8 minutes.

2.  Increase the heat to medium high, add the turkey, and cook, breaking it up into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until it’s no longer pink and is just cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes.

3.  Add the chili powder, measured salt, oregano, cumin, cayenne, and cinnamon, stir to coat the turkey and vegetables, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

4.  Add the tomatoes and their juices as well as the broth or stock, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Add the beans and return to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the bay leaf, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld, about 30 minutes.

5.  Remove the bay leaf. Taste and season with additional salt as needed.

Serves 6

I hope you enjoy it!

I found this deliciousness Chow.com.  Click HERE for the original Recipe! 

Exciting things happening at Forte Fitness last week!

We want to say a HUGE Congratulations to campers Jodie and Kevin for getting married over the weekend.

We are so excited for you and wish you both a life filled with happiness, health and love

AND, we want to give a shout out to members Sam and Val for training so hard for the Princess Half Marathon last weekend.

You ladies are an inspiration!

Keep up the amazing job ladies!

This recipe is super easy and delicious!

I swiped it from a SimplyRecipes.com and am excited to have found such a simple and easy way to prepare this dish.

Foam Rolling will help you to improve your mobility, range of motion, and keep your muscles soft and pliable. 

PLUS, you’ll get to keep your Foam Roller!  (Only $30 to register)  Click HERE to Sign up and NOW!

3.  SAVE THE DATE: Our next Spartan 1000 has been scheduled for Saturday, March 23rd at 9am!  Details coming soon.

Stay Warm!
Alicia & The Forte Fitness Team

It’s always great to have a quick protein filled snack on hand in case you are in a bind.

In fact, being prepared for situations like that are what separates people who are successful on their diet plans vs. those who are not!

I’ve been following Kris Carr for a while now, and she always posts great recipes up on her blog at KrisCarr.com.  This recipe came recommended by her and is really delish!   You should definitely check out her site for other yummy recipes when you have time.

Here’s a fast, healthy snack recipe (yes it does contains oat) to hold you over!

Raw Protein Energy Balls

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats, thick
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, roughly chopped
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 cup almond butter
1/2 – 3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, fold all ingredients together. Mix thoroughly. Using your hands grab some of the mixture and start rolling together in about one inch balls. Squeeze them firmly to help everything stick together. Place the rolled energy balls on a cookie sheet.  You can also put them in the freezer to help them to get firm.

The almond butter may start to dry out, so this needs to be done fast.

For the original recipe on Kris Carr’s Website, CLICK HERE!

A couple of weeks ago, we held a “Vino & Vision” night where 15 amazing ladies got together to gain clarity and focus on their life goals, and then created action steps to get them on the right path towards achieving those goals.

I saw this really great Beet Hummus Wrap recipe and HAD to give it a go for the party.  So, I made it and it was a HUGE hit!  It was very tasty and super healthy.

The only modification I made was to add chicken into the wraps.  Other than that, Food Babe hit a home run with this recipe!

Here ya go…hope you enjoy it!

Food Babe’s Beet Hummus Wraps

• 

  1 can garbanzo beans

• 2-3 tbsp organic tahini
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• fresh cracked black pepper
• juice of one orange
• 2 large carrots chopped
• 1 small beet chopped
• handful of cilantro
• 1 tsp of maple syrup (optional)

Wrap & Toppings

• 3 collard leaves with stem removed
• Thin slices of organic chicken
• avocado slices
• pickles
• raw sprouts

Directions

1. Drain and rinse garbanzo beans
2. Combine all hummus ingredients except olive oil in food processor/blender and blend
3. Once combined, scrape sides
4. Start blending again and add olive oil slowing into mixture while it is blending
5. Spread 3 tbsp of hummus onto collard leaves, top with chicken, avocado, pickles & sprouts
6. Fold leaf and roll up, secure with a toothpick if making for take out or just eat!
7. Refrigerate leftover hummus for 5-7 days

Makes 1 serving (plus beet hummus for 3-4 more servings)

For the original recipe, CLICK HERE!