Final Results

Well, I'm a bit tardy on reporting my final results of the 12 week Body for Life program but I do feel very successful. My results were very satisfactory and here they are:

Body Fat reduced by 3.6% - AWESOME!
Measurements: Arms - .625 inches lost
Belly - 3.5 inches lost
Hips - 2 inches lost
Bust - 2.75 inches lost
Thigh - 1 inch lost

The scale was not as kind as I only lost 7 pounds total from beginning to end but as I always say, the scale is deceiving. Not to make excuses but my doctor took me off of all my medicines two weeks before the end of the competition which could have easily contributed to the weight gain (water weight due to hypertension pills). It was a big milestone to eliminate high blood pressure meds and high cholesterol meds from my daily regimin so I'll take a little water weight any day giving I had lost so many inches and body fat.

My journey doesn't end here. I've continued to eat the Body for Life way. I don't count calories and continue to eat as healthy as I can. I have continued with my exercise plans and even bumped up an additional day of jogging a week while the weather is so nice so I'm exercising 7 days a week now but still don't feel like I'm over doing it. I will continue to use the pyramiding technique to my weight lifting and continue to strive to hit that "high point" each time I exercise. I've enjoyed teaching weight lifting classes at the gym and continue to share my experiences with others in a quest to help others just get healthy! Keep in touch and I will as well as I continue to reach my goals! Thanks for reading!

Week 12

Why oh why did the labor day holiday fall on the last week of the challenge for me? I have to admit, I fell off the good eating wagon this past weekend. I think a combination of stress in my personal life and holiday cheer got to me. It is bound to happen to the best of us. I continue to do well on my exercise but I had 4 days of out of control eating! Yikes! I refuse to get on the scale until the bitter end this Saturday but I may have done some damage. Oh well, it was bound to happen and is all I can do is look ahead to doing better today! I ran a 5K run on Labor day and my goal was to complete it in under 35 minutes and run the entire way. I'm happy to say that I accomplished both! My time was 34 minutes and change and I ran the entire way. I'm not going to win any speed contests with this time but it was a heck of lot better than my time last year. I've decided that I need to keep improving my running and ran a full 10 laps around the track by the gym today. It felt good. That first mile or so is hard as your lungs expand and take in the air but after that, it seems a lot easier and then it's concentration on putting one foot in front of the other. I want to start doing some sprinting and walking in more interval fashion as that is also a great way to do more in less time. Many argue that this is a better workout for those of us not interested in duration or marathon training but focused on burning fat. I'll keep you posted if that makes a difference! I'm happy that I'm in my last week of the challenge but know that this is not the end for me. I will continue to use the body for life method of training and eating and hope to be at my goal by the end of the year. Wow, that's not very far away. Just think, if you started now, you too could be at your goal. It all starts with your mind and your body will follow. I will post my final results at the end of the week and keep the diary going as I continue to strive for my ideal fitness!