Reporter Caroline An chronicles her time in boot camp

On that rainy December morning, I was comforted knowing that six other people were also struggling to keep up with the myriad of exercise routines: push-ups, crawling on your hands and feet across the wet grass, a one-mile run. They were as crazy as me!

I survived that one-hour workout, although it took nearly a week for my exercise mat to completely dry out. And my running shoes went from being pearly white to a dingy gray.

My mini-boot camp experience was a result of well, simply put, my curiosity. I had seen several weight-loss shows on television and caught a snippet of a fitness boot camp on an episode of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" last year, which piqued my interest. The boot camp instructor actually visited participants' homes, raided the cupboards and threw out every bag of cupcakes, chips and cookies: the big three, you could say.

Losing a few pounds packed on by holiday cookies would save me from the nightmare of my clothes fitting a bit too snug.

In early December, I signed up for two-week mini boot camp offered at Extreme Boot Camp in Monrovia. I pledged to work hard, give up my favorite snacks (chips and salsa) and document all of my meals.

Before embarking on my two-week fitness journey, I had to attend a 30-minute orientation the weekend before where they tested how many sit ups and push-ups I could do to determine how much torture, I mean training, I could endure later.