The Tale of the Tape....

Here are the results of my first FOUR WEEKS of Bootcamp.......

Pounds Lost: 10 pounds (7 during bootcamp, 3 the two weeks before it started)

Total Inches Lost: 3.25

This is without a doubt the most weight I've ever lost in this short of a period of time. Truthfully, I've lost even more than what the scale shows because although it shows 7 pounds during this past four weeks, I have gained an incredible amount of muscle in my legs and elsewhere which we all know, muscle weighs more than fat.

Am I happy??? Yessirrreee, I am. And you know what? I'm going to do even better during the next month because now I've got the recipe for success.

What is working for ME unlike anything I've ever done before....

DAILY EXERCISE - not twice a week, not three times a week (like I did last year) but EVERY SINGLE DAY. Bootcamp 5 days per week, Jogging and resistance the other 2 days per week, and I'm going to attend cardio class two days two days per week after bootcamp.

WHAT KIND OF EXERICSE - extreme cardio. short to medium time periods of extreme exertion (9-10 exertion on a scale of 1-10) with intermittent periods of weight bearing and resistance exercise. THIS is key and THIS is what bootcamp provides.

CALORIE INTAKE - ideally within the 1100-1300 range, consisting of a striving for "zone: 40-30-30" balance. Jennifer said I need to examine my calories better as to when I'm eating in relation to exercise sessions for optimum fat burning.

DOCUMENTATION - I record what I eat, when I eat, when I work out, what I do, for how long I'm doing it - EVERY DAY. Is this really necessary? Well for me it IS. I know that whenever I am successful at something it is because I've taken charge of it and make a job of making it happen. My bootcamp instructor gifted me with a great fitness journal (as a prize for being one of three people (out of 36) who made it to bootcamp every single day!) and I have written in detail about my goal(s), my plan of attack and my timeline and I update it continually throughout the day. Writing it down makes it real and makes it stick.

What now? I've been training during my off week pretty hard and am looking forward to starting BOOTCAMP #2 on Monday. I'm not really going to change a thing with the exception of adding two days of cardio in addition to bootcamp Monday through Friday - because what I'm doing is working and now that I've been doing it over a month - it's become automatic. I'm not counting calories because I have a list I eat from every day that I made a month ago with selections for each meal that total by the end of the day less than 1300 calories.

I will say that I've dug out my favorite pair of teeny tiny vintage Guess Jeans (the super skinny kind that have the zippers at the ankles that we used to wear with red stilleto heals back in the day) that almost fit Sabrina. They are hanging in the front of my closet along with a few other select items that shout at me every time I walk in.....

OH YES YOU CAN!!!!

Now, on to painting and stitching. I received THREE Girlfriends' sketchbooks to create pages for and I must commence work on those. For those of you that care....I will continue to provide updates on my fitness adventure on my sidebar.

Now turn off your computer and go do something FUN!!!

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.