Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 5:10 PM
Boot Camp
By Kirsten Ott

Day 17

We were off from boot camp today, but that doesn't mean I haven't had to adhere to strict diet rules and doing my assigned homework exercises. I slept in three glorious extra hours this morning, so I'll be hitting the streets tonight for a jog. Lunch was hard as we went to a private media event at Eros, the new tapas restaurant taking over where Pie Bar failed. To stave off ravenous hunger (which leads to overeating) before I went, I downed a glass of water and ate grapes and carrots. It seemed to work. The fried calamari was delish, but I only had a few bites. And it was hard to resist the green bean tempura, but I managed to stay away from them after one or two ... ok, three, but I will make up for it in my own "encouragement" tonight with extra exercises. Maybe some of those klutzy jumping jacks I have such a hard time with. I'm doing all right with the whole boot camp thing, but the only thing I can't seem to figure out is how to make my knees stop hurting. I am careful not to extend them over my toes when I do lunges or squats. I take glucosomine. I rub Mineral Ice on them at home. Any ideas? Please feel free to comment!

Tomorrow's bring-a-friend day at Operation Boot Camp, and my best friend Kathy is joining me. It'll be fun to show her what I've been up to and see what she thinks. She's also my maid of honor at my upcoming nuptials, so she's semi obligated to help me stay motivated in getting fit for the wedding and beyond. Let's just hope she doesn't hate me after an hour of grueling boot camp.