THE END!!!!

It's the end of Chalean Extreme! I finished my last workout Friday, July 23rd. I took my after pics Saturday morning July, 24th and I'm very satisfied with the results!

I didn't get to that 130 weight goal but I got pretty gosh darn close to it. I started this workout at 135.1 and ended it weighing 131.8 pounds. It doesn't sound like a lot but remember I traded a lot of my fattiness for muscle so even though I only lost 3.3 lbs I still got leaner and more toned (God I love muscle!).

Now I know that many are you are saying to yourself "Jeez 3 lbs in 3 months! All that work and all that sweat for 3 measly lbs????" All I have to say is that it was well worth the 3 months of work and sweat. Three pounds would suck if I was starving myself feeling miserable and depressed. But this was three months of eating, eating and more eating. This was 3 months of liberation from the United States of Starvation (not a political comment just a social one - models, actresses, media etc). I ate, I drank, I enjoyed myself and I got a more toned body, a healthier emotional state and more conceited than before :)

I'm not done yet on this health-nut journey because I start my 5 months TurboFire (yep you guessed it another round of before and after pics). TurboFire is an intense cardio conditioning workout that incorporates High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIITs are shorter workouts that consist of 60-90 seconds of super duper revved up, can't-catch-my-breath, legs-are-going-to-give out, cardio intervals. I have to say that I love these things to death. These shorter workouts fly by and I'm drenched by the end of it. So far I've been doing a modified version of the workout schedule in order to accommodate the last couple of weeks of Chalean Extreme but starting today I'm full on TurboFire!

Enough chitchat - here are the results:
First measurements then pics:

Lost 3/4 " on each bicep (1.5" total)
Gained 1/2" in my chest (woo hoo)
Lost 3/4" around my waist above my bellybutton
Lost 2.5" around my waist at my bellybutton (nice!)
Lost 5/8" around my waist below bellybutton (stubborn belly fat)
Lost 1.5" at my hips
Lost 1/4" on my right thigh
Lost 3/4" on my left thigh
Lost 1" on my right calf (holy moly)
Lost 1/4" on my left calf

Total net inches lost = 8 5/8" !!!! Not too shabby!!!

Wow that was a surprise I didn't expect. See that's why the scale can be an evil thing to worship!

Here are the pics (Before pics - zebra striped bikini, After pics - checker pattern bikini)





Obviously I haven't improved in the photogenic department but damn my body sure did. Check out the nooks and crannies...I can't really store stuff in there anymore 'cause they aren't as deep lol. My butt and legs are where I see the improvement the most. I love this working out stuff! Can't wait to see my results after TurboFire!

P.S - I know my face doesn't show it but I'm giddy w/ joy inside in these pics!!! (i love me - told you I'm more conceited!)

Fessing Up

I realized I'm full of empty promises. I started off this blog promising daily pics, then it went to weekly pics and then monthly pics. Instead of pics I gave you measurements. I'm now openly admitting that I flaked out. I'm embarrassed. Not of the pics (well a little) but of my performance.

I started this program really strong and eating right. Then I fell off the food track. Weekend BBQs evolved from grilled veggies and guacamole to cheese smothered sausage sandwiches ( oooo they're soooo good). It's so frustrating because I went from doing a Saturday cheat day back to a whole weekend cheat fest. Memorial weekend was the worst of them all. I couldn't blame it on anything else but me and my food addiction.

In preparation for a great 30th birthday celebration for a friend we bought an array of different chips and snacks to absorb the tequila that always makes an appearance at our house. Everyone had a few chips but in the end we were left w/ about 5 bags.

So Sunday and Monday Pat and I were like animals. We ate chips while watching tv, we ate chips while grilling, we ate chips when we were thirsty, we ate them while sleeping (ok probably not). It was a chip binge. The bad thing is that I ate them because part of my behavioral dysfunction is that when there is "bad" food in the house I want to eat it all to get rid of it because I feel guilty throwing it out and I don't want to tempt myself during the week. Yes I know people that it's an irrational feeling but anybody who has ever had an addiction before knows that rational behavior goes out the window.

So last night was the first night in 3 days that we didn't have chips or cake to eat (yup there was cake) and I was totally fine. I made a promise to myself that I would eat 1 small meal every 2 hours last night and I did. I ended up eating exactly 1500 calories and I ended my night with the most magnificent chocolate protein shake ever (www.shakeology.com/benjiville). I know its weird to have a protein shake at night but honestly for me it's perfect. I need that sweet fix at night. Instead of eating a cup of peanut butter (1600 calories) I had a chocolate milk shake that tastes like it came from friendly's for only 310 calories (140 cals if you make it water and nothing else).

I guess like an addict I'll have to take this eating thing day by day. I promise to reward myself for my tiny successes instead of feeling guilty that I didn't hit any huge ones. I'll also promise to post a pic when I hit 130lbs. There! 130 is a nice solid goal to go by. You may not see a difference because it's only 5 lbs from where I started this journey but at least it's a marker of when you'll finally see a pic.

I struggle with the feeling that after a month and a half of doing Chalean Extreme I have nothing huge and extravagant to report. I feel guilty because I know that the workout program is truly amazing but I'm messing myself up with the nutrition part. On a positive note - even though I self sabotage myself on the weekends I'm still seeing inches lost in the right areas every time I measure myself. So the program works but it's true that the right foods play a HUGE part with overall success.

So today I start day 2 of good eating. Wish me luck for this weekend :)

Starting a New Phase!

It's been a while I know. Nothing crazy to report. No drunken excesses, no sober excesses, just good old fashioned working out and eating great (sort of).

Today I start my first workout of Chalean Extreme's Push phase. I haven't previewed the workout so it's going to be a surprise. I'm sure it's going to be challenging and fun.

Day 1 I started at 135.1 pounds and today my weight is 132.5. I lost 2.6 lbs. I know that doesn't sound like much but I'm not discouraged and hopefully this won't discourage others. I have to say that the first month of C.E. was a month of celebrations and lets be honest - eating. Lots and lots of eating. My family was here from Florida during week 2 and of course I ate a lot, Week 3 I got sick for a week (so no workout), Week 4 - Italian buffet for Mother's day. Week 5 - buffet at baby shower and 80's birthday party on the same day. So basically the extra large food cheat days and the one week of no workouts was my downfall. Putting all of that into perspective I didn't do half bad AND this month will be better because there are not a lot of huge eating events coming up so we should see some great results.

To summarize:
Day 1 - 135.1 lbs Today - 132.5lbs = 2.6 lb loss
Right Bicep - 11 3/4" Today - 11 1/4" = 1/2" loss
Left Bicep - 11 2/4" Today - 11 1/4" = 1/2" loss
Chest - 33" Today - 34 1/2" = 1 1/2 " gain
(not a bad place to gain inches!)
Above Belly Button - 28" Today - 28" = No change
At Belly Button - 32 1/2" Today - 30 3/4" = 1 3/4" loss
Below Belly Button - 34 3/4" Today - 33 3/4" = 1 " loss
Hips - 38" Today - 37 3/4" = 1/4" loss
Right Thigh - 23" Today - 23" = no loss
Left Thigh - 23" Today - 22 3/4" - 1/4" loss
Right Calf - 16 1/2" Today - 16" = 1/2" loss
Left Calf - 15 3/4" Today - 15 3/4" = no loss

So in 5 weeks (but only 4 weeks that I worked out) I lost 2.6 pounds and 4.75 inches. Overall I think this is great considering the obstacles.

I really can't wait until the end of push phase because I really believe the next 4 weeks is going to result in a huge transformation. I'm looking forward to taking pictures because I know you'll see a difference then. It is amazing what a challenging workout can do for you physically and mentally. I feel I can conquer anything. I've already planned my workouts for the rest of this year. After C.E I will do p90x for 90 days, then (hopefully) Turbo Fire , then Insanity for 60 days. After all of that who knows what will be out there to try but I can't wait to find out! I'm unstoppable! If there's nothing new interesting by 2011 I'll just start all over again :)

C ya!

Week of Excess

It's been a little while since my last post and since then a lot of not-so-healthy stuff has happened. I took a little vacation from work because my parents and sister arrived from Florida on Thursday.

I was doing great at first. My sister has embarked on the P90x adventure so she brought her dvd set with her so we could work out together. We did the one hour long core workout. It was fantastic. It was chock full of push-ups and crazy core wrenching moves. We sweated and laughed at each other. That was the end of my good start.

We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and of course there was the dreaded basket of chips and salsa waiting for us on the table. It wasn't until there were three chips left in the basket that I had the bright idea to move the stupid basket to the other side of the table. As my real meal I ate two small bean burritos and a bowl of black bean soup. Not the most unhealthy choices I could make but I definitely overate. It doesn't end here. The question of dessert came up. According to my older sister the most wonderful cupcakes are sold just down the road at a quaint little bakery. Who can resist "the most wonderful cupcakes" ? So we went. One cupcake can't be too dangerous. No it wasn't, but when you have my other sister and I going into a bakery full of carbs we become the dangerous ones. Lets see - we ordered two cupcakes (one that was supposedly for my father), a mini brownie mud pie, and a chocolate chocolate chip sandwich. We did save a little face by not devouring every last morsel but it was still early in the day. After stuffing our faces we went back home, took a two hour nap, and psychologically prepared ourselves for dinner.

Thai food. Wonderful wonderful Thai food. A whole buffet of Thai food at the house. Then another round of dessert. Mind you this was only one day of excess...there's still 3 days to go.

Saturday - family party. Lots of drinking and not enough food in my system - a recipe for disaster. The occasion was my Grandmother's 90th birthday. She gave birth to 5 sons and 5 daughters and now has about 90 grandchildren and great grandchildren combined. So you can imagine my excitement of seeing all of these people that I don't see often. As soon as we walked in we did a celebratory shot (my stomach is turning right now). While everyone was somewhat pacing themselves I didn't. I hadn't eaten much all day because I expected to eat a ton at the party...but that didn't happen because my stupid self decides I don't have a damn appetite. The one day I NEEDED to have an appetite and it was gone. You can imagine what happened next. Well you'll have to use your imagination because unfortunately I don't remember what happened next. I remember being super duper happy then I remember crying. Everything in between is unknown. According to my loved ones I had a great time, they had a great time, no apologies are necessary.

I do owe a big apology to my body. Ugh I feel like I let myself down. Sunday was terrible. I couldn't stomach even a glass of water. My body turned against me. Later that day my appetite returned and I had some french toast and more Thai food for dinner (I love that stuff).

Monday - Atlantic City time. We went to Denny's for breakfast - nope I didn't make any healthy choices there. We gambled, I lost big, and then we ate at a buffet. Strangely enough I didn't feel like having more dessert. Here is when my body really decided to teach me a lesson - my immune system shut down and now I have a head cold. So today I feel like crap. I deserve it. It's all about Karma for trying to ruin my body temple.

I'm not going to work out this week because I think I just need to detox, relax, eat some healthy stuff and get ready for next week's workout.

I am curious to see what this week's excessive behavior has done to my body. Here are the measurements:

Right Bicep = 11.5" (1/4 inch loss)
Left Bicep = 11.5" (1/4 inch loss)
Chest = 35 (no change)
Above bellybutton - 28.25" (1/4 inch gain)
At bellybutton - 32.25" (3/4 inch gain- yikes)
Below bellybutton - 34.75" (no change)
Hips - 37.25" (no change)
Right Thigh - 23.5" (1/2" gain)
Left Thigh - 23" (1/4" gain)
Right calf - 16 "(no change)
Left calf - 15.75" (no change)

Last Monday I was 131.6 and today I'm 135.1 lbs. The result of my excessive behavior was as expected - gained 1.75" in the wrong places, lost 1/2 " in the wrong places and gained 3.5 lbs. Moral of the story - treat your body badly and you'll pay for it in the end- DUH!

I'm taking a nap - C ya.

Strange Places to Gain and Lose Inches

It's about a week since I took my last measurements and I was pretty surprised when I saw today's numbers. I lost in places I didn't expect to lose and I gained in places that I didn't expect to gain.

Here they go:
Right bicep = 11 3/4" (no change)
Left bicep = 11 7/8 "(tiny gain yay)

Chest = 35 " - Ok! HELLO! I gained 2 inches in my chest?! What is up with that??? (one more - ?)
I think I may have made a mistake last week? But then again I check my measurements twice because I love the numbers (that's my vain side). So who knows what happened. Maybe push ups are a great alternative to implants? Now if only we could find an exercise that results in a breast lift and increased cup size (I would seriously have to quit my job and just do that excercise all day - start inventing folks 'cause i'll be your #1 customer).

Above bellybutton - 28 " (no change)
At bellybutton - 31 1/2 " ( Lost a whole inch yay!)
Bellow bellybutton - 34 3/4" (no change - damn bulge holding on for dear life)

Hips - 37 1/4 ( lost 3/4 of an inch )

Right thigh - 23" (no change)
Left thigh - 22 3/4" (lost 1/4 an inch)

Righ calf - 16" (lost 1/2 inch) - Another big surprise for me because now I have hope that my tree trunks will whittle down to just large tree limbs :)
Left calf - 15 3/4 (no change)

At the end of one week I gained 2 1/8 inches in all the right places and lost 2 1/2 inches in all the right places. I gotta say that looks like a pretty successful week. Chalean Extreme once again proves to be amazing! Come join the cult and get bigger boobs naturally (I still think it was a fluke but whatever I'm going with it)!

Burn Intervals today

We did the "Burn Interval" workout today. It was excruciatingly wonderful. The workout consists of spurts of cardio then working with super light weights. Let me set this up for you - I finish the 2 minutes of cardio. I'm huffing, i'm puffing, and she says "pick up some light weights". I pick up 5 lb weights. I'm thinking "crap this is going to be way to easy" then we proceed to do shoulder presses. Simple up and down with rinky dinky 5lb weights. After 3000 reps I want to scream and collapse. I never thought five pounds could hurt so bad. At this point I'm hating Chalene (it's a temporary hate). I'm confused, I'm scared, I'm angry. WHY CAN'T I DO 5 POUNDS?! After I had my mini internal emotional breakdown I loved her once again. I loved every minute of this workout. I felt my muscles work in such a different way and actually burn. I'm addicted to the burn.

After "Burn Intervals" I did the ab workout. That wasn't as intense but still a hell of a workout. It's the first time in my workout career that I was able to do abs in good form without shaking. In the past I looked like I was going into convulsions because my abs were so weak. Not this time!

So there it is folks another wonderful workout day :)

C ya.

Update on the Workouts

Tuesday we did "Burn Circuit 1", Wednesday it was "Burn it Off", and today we did "Hell" ...I mean "Burn Circuit 2". Burn Circuit 1 wasn't easy but I didn't pick weights that were heavy enough. Don't get me wrong I sweated, I stank (or stunk?) , I grunted (in a very unladylike way) but I could have done heavier weights.

"Burn it Off" is the cardio work out and it was great all the way through. It was by far the funniest workout for me because I could sense how uncomfortable Pat was. First of all he hates the warm ups because of the swinging of the arms and keeping up with the beat junk. Now here we are ready to do 28 minutes of swinging the arms and keeping up with the beat. So immediately I get the giggles. I'm trying to look out the window when the flailing begins and I have a big smile plastered on my face trying to hold in the laughter. I can't look at him. Then I can't resist...I must have one peek...I can't look out the window forever. So slowly I try to turn my head hoping he doesn't look at me. I feel the first signs of pressure building up in my stomach, it moves up to my chest, then with my lips closed as tight as they can be my cheeks puff out and the laughter ensues. I wasn't laughing at him because he looked fine. I mean the workout is not a jumpy, dancy, cheerleader workout so he didn't look stupid doing it. I think I was just so nervous that he would quit on me that it translated to laughing in his face. I swear I didn't mean to. So he turns and with a nervous smile he asks, "What?" so I said "You really hate doing this don't you?" He admitted he did, the giggles died down and Chalene started kicking our asses.

After a few moves Chalene got into these side lunges where you hold a light weight and you do a side lunge with the opposite leg. Then after you lunge you lift that leg while also lifting the weight over your head (sort of). So not only are we lunging but we're flailing w/ a deadly weapon next to each other. Our living room is big but we have over sized furniture that is inappropriate for that room which leaves us little space to work out. So here we are in tight quarters holding weights, standing side by side, and we begin this workout. I lunge to the left and I'm standing too close to the window when I finally stand up and I almost break the window with this damn weight . Then I go back to landing in a lunge but since I'm not paying attention to Pat at this point I didn't realize that he was flailing the weight as I was lunging. So while I'm attempting to bust out windows he's attempting to bust my head. I swear I saw my life pass before my eyes for all 12 reps of that exercise. Then we switch lunging sides and I begin my set of involuntary man slaughter. The workout ends and to keep the good times rolling I ask him, in between breaths, and with a wheezy voice "Doesn't this feel good?" and he looked at me and said a big fat "no" So to sum up cardio day I ended the workout wheezing, unable to really talk, I lost my voice for a little bit, we didn't get concussions and our windows are still intact. It was a success!

Today's workout was less dangerous and not as funny. I picked heavier weights, I sweated a lot more, my muscles wanted to peel off the bones after each set. All in all it was an awesome workout!

I've also decided to post a pic once a week instead of everyday since maybe the changes will be more noticeable. Or maybe I'll do it every other week. Not sure yet.

K see ya!

Expectations

I took my measurements finally but I still didn't do the physical fitness test. I'm going to be honest with you - I probably won't take the test. Don't want to keep you in suspense and on pins and needles for something that's not going to happen. I can sit here and contemplate why I'm so resistant to taking this particular test but I won't because that will bore me and I'll assume it will bore you too. It's a simple test too...but again not sure why I'm resisting it. O well.

I have no idea if these are normal measurements. I tried to be accurate, some look normal, others don't - you be the judge:

Biceps - 11 3/4 "
Chest - 33"

I took 3 measurements for my waist because I really don't know what's the right number:
Above bellybutton - 28"
At bellybutton - 32 1/2"
Below bellybutton - 34 3/4 " ( stupid freeloading bulge)

Hips - 38"

Tree trunk measurements:
Right Thigh - 23 3/4"
Left Thigh - 23 1/2"
Right Calf - 16 1/2"
Left Calf - 15 3/4"

I inputted this information into the P90x body fat calculator and it says I'm 28.03% body fat. They (p90x) say women should be between 18-25%. So losing 3% fat to be in the normal range doesn't seem to hard so I'm happy about that.

No pictures for today because I haven't worked out yet (*gasp*) - Relax I'm waiting for Pat. To make up for the lack of physical activity I went outside on my lunch break and picked up dog poo from the backyard. I think that makes up for the late workout. Three giant dogs gave me 1 giant garbage bag of poo. I won't go into the details but these dogs do find some interesting things to eat out there - just saying.

I am unsure how to smoothly transition from dog poo to positive thinking so I'm just going to jump right into it. I was speaking to my sister last night briefly about a situation. To sum it up she described her view as realistic while I described my view as positive. I did tell her she was being negative. I'm judgmental - get over it so are you. So I thought about the conversation (while I was picking up poo) and I found it interesting that we both saw the situation so differently.

I don't really believe that "realistic" exists. Who determines what a realistic outcome will be. Life has surprised me so many times in the past 5 years that I really don't want to be "realistic". I think being realistic is just a matter of having certain expectations. I don't know if that makes sense. Let me try to explain...A wonderful woman taught me to let go of expectations because without expectations you avoid disappointments (She was my shrink - I have her phone number if anyone needs help - we all need one don't lie ) . Once I truly absorbed that lesson and started living by it, stress started melting away layer by layer. Anytime I meet someone I keep my mind open - I know there is a possibility that this person could be an angel or a scumbag but I don't expect them to be either one. Once their true colors come out I'm not surprised - it is what it is.

Even with the people I know and love and am close with - I keep no expectations. It wouldn't be fair. We all change sometimes even if its temporary it still happens. Normally I'm happy and will laugh at anything (and everyone for that matter) but then there are days when the she-devil comes out of the hole I stuff her into and you wouldn't recognize me (its not pretty - right Sue?). The opposite may happen where the person you love is bitter and depressed and resentful and out of no where they just let go and become happy. Its wonderful. Life isn't static, people change. I like to believe that Life is a beautiful thing and that we all have the power to harness that beauty. Once we do, wonderful things happen that you would have never expected.

Well that's it in a nutshell. I don't know if it makes any sense and I don't know if it resonates with any of you. Please don't think I'm the next Buddha or anything because I'm so super deep and junk (that sentence just shows you how not-deep I am). Let's see - "The Secret", "The Power of Now", "A New Earth", anything by Deepak Chopra and Jesus have guided me to living a great life. I can't take credit for what they taught me. Wonderful people they are.

Gotta run to do some superficial things. Pat's home so its cardio time and tomorrow more bikini pics! Woooo Hoooooo!

See ya.

Nooks and Crannies - Day 0

The day has arrived to post the dreaded "before" pictures. Yep I feel the pit in my stomach...you'll be able to see the pit in my stomach soon enough. Lets just get this over with. First I'm making a face like a deer caught in headlights because I absolutely hate pictures. I can try to smile at social events but even those pictures don't turn out that great. I personally think that the way I look in the mirror and the way I look in pictures is totally different. Not to sound conceded but seriously I look way better in person than in any pictures (or at least that's what I believe and seriously folks that's all that matters ).

The program requires that you do a physical fitness test before you start but I wasn't able to do that. Later today I'll do the test, take some measurements and post the results. (I'm super excited)

Here's the front view - I don't really think I look half bad except for the look on my face (whatever):
So the first thing I want to change is that dumb flab below my belly button. Even at 115 pounds I had that stupid fat there. It serves no other purpose than flopping over the front of my jeans.

I also want to slim down my thighs and calves (tree trunk legs - told you so).

Let me just blame the bathing suit on Pat - he picked it out. He also forgot to remind me to take off my lovely argyle socks.

Now that I'm looking at these pics closer I think Pat took them at a weird angle because my legs don't look as huge as they really are. You can't appreciate my tree trunks in all their full glory at this angle. Tomorrow I'll get a straight on angle so you'll be shocked and awed by these massive limbs.



Check out the side views:

Here is where the nooks and crannies start coming out. My thighs are needing some serious cellulite help. Again see the fat under my belly button (stupid fat - doesn't even keep me warm or anything. Just sits there and takes up prime real estate on my midsection). Yep I have bad posture - going to the chiro for it so don't judge.

Here it is folks the super duper "Nook and Cranny" special - The butt view:
Isn't it wonderful? Its like my butt has double chins. That's what I'm working with.

Pat has decided to do the workout with me and I wish I could take before pictures of him but he refused to try on my bikini and he won't let me buy him a Speedo. Maybe one day he'll let me take the pic.

We did our first workout today and it was awesome! It was a little awkward because the moves were new and we didn't really know how heavy to go. Tomorrow is a Cardio workout - I can't wait to see Pat's face for this one.

I ordered Chalene's "Turbo Jam Fat Burning Elite" program for some extra Cardio - I should get it tomorrow so I'll let you know how that one is too :)

See ya!

Made the leap

So today I finally did it. I ordered the Chalean Extreme 90 day program. It should be coming within the next week or so. I'm really really excited, super motivated and ready to go! I paid $10 extra for expedited shipping so it better get here quickly.

My goal is to document the full 90 day journey. I'm going to attempt to post a daily picture of myself so that my progress is well documented. The pictures are going to be my first challenge considering that I hate pictures. I'm going to try to get past the discomfort and embarrassment for the sake of showing visible progress.

This blog is mainly self serving. I'm doing it for accountability and vanity purposes (just kidding...well maybe not). If it ends up helping somebody in the long run than that is awesome but for now its mainly to help me in the long run.

So here is my weight loss journey to date. I'm 5'3 and as of this instance I weigh 135.1 pounds. Not a terrible number. I feel good in my clothes and I like the way I look. What I really want to do is push myself. I want to get the body that I never thought I could get.

I've always struggled with my weight. My family and friends have seen me gain and lose 20 pounds every other year. Every family reunion I was either fat or thin and nothing in between. I was 180 pounds at my highest weight when I was 19 years old. I was 115 at my thinnest weight around 26 years old. So now I hit the big 30 and February 11th (my birthday) ended up being the most depressing but yet hopeful day of my life to date. I had an epiphany - the excuses have to stop, I'm not in my 20's anymore, it just gets harder from here so I better get my ass in gear before it spreads a few more inches in all the wrong directions.

I dieted in the past and the weight would come off but of course would come back on. I became a master at the 1200 calorie diet. It really wasn't that hard for me. I realized that I can be satisfied with 1200 calories but the weight wasn't flying off the way it used to. So 30 hit and I decided dieting was for 20 year olds. I wanted to start eating and exercising.

This years weight loss journey started on February 16th when I received my Bowflex dumbbells (the ones you click to the weight you want to use - I love these things more than pizza!!!). I was 144.6 pounds. I also started the "Cardio Free Diet" by Jim Karas. The "Cardio Free Diet" is a book that emphasizes weight training over cardio to gain muscle and lose fat. It's an 8 week program and it transformed my body! I lost 9.5 pounds but gained a tremendous amount of muscle and definition that I never had even at my thinnest. With this program I learned to push myself each time I worked out by adding more reps and weight. It taught me so much about myself, gave me confidence and motivation to keep pushing forward.

I love work out infomercials and I would always see the before and after pics of these women with amazing bodies. Something in my brain always nagged at me that I could never look like that even if I did those workouts religiously. Now that nagging thought has disappeared. Friday is my last workout with the "Cardio Free Diet". In just 8 weeks I have had a body and brain makeover and I'm really excited about the next 90 day challenge.

So a couple of warnings (I'm not sure if they're for myself or for those of you who are reading) the pictures will be embarrassing. I'm trying to psychologically prepare myself for this step. Thank goodness I still have a few days before the DVDs arrive before the first pic has to be taken. I figure i'll wear my bikini from last summer (ugh there goes the pit in my stomach). I wish I could do nude pics but I'm sure the bikini pics will still psychologically scar you and I for a bit. Don't be surprised by my elephant legs, they are tree trunks, I can't wear cute winter boots 'cause my calves are gigantic. I think all the weight I want to lose are held in my calves. I did notice they got slightly smaller since I've been working out but not enough to where strangers won't gawk and point (I may be exaggerating ...). Also for some reason I've been getting bruises on my legs. I suspect this is because I bump into my 2 very large American Bulldogs a lot and they tend to beat me up (I also have a German Shepard and a mini Dachshund). So don't be alarmed if you see the bruises...no abusive relationship here I promise! Also I apologize for future wordiness, rants, or boring details.

I suppose that's a pretty good introduction to my upcoming journey. The first pic will be posted as soon as the DVDs arrive (pray for me). Well I'm outta here...gonna do some hard core cardio to get ready for my first bikini pic.