I Did It!

That's right, I did it. I completed Shawna Kaminski's 21 Day Rapid Fat Loss program. I did my daily workouts (okay I missed two days...) and stuck to the diet (okay, I had a couple of extra gin tonics) and I made it through to the other side. In my last post on the program I said I'd tell you if it was worth it . . . and, believe me, IT WAS!

As I said in the beginning, for me this program was not about losing weight, but all about getting fit and healthy. But, that said, I am so thrilled with the results. My clothes fit better, I feel lighter and more comfortable in my own skin (and my bikini!) and I can actually do a few pushups, something I could only dream about 21 days ago!

Here are my stats:

Weight: lost 5 pounds

Left Arm: exactly the same

(Don't ask me why I didn't measure my right arm, it's a mystery...)

Chest: gained .25 inch

Waist: lost 1.75 inches

Abdomen: lost 2.25 inches

Hips: lost 1 inch

Left thigh: lost .75 inch

Right thigh: lost .75 inch

That's a total loss of 6.5 inches of fat! Let me repeat, the weight loss was not my goal, I was not overweight, but the flab loss was exactly what I had in mind. And that quarter of an inch gain in the chest? An unexpected bonus!

I'm a little bit less of a pear now.

Maybe this is where I should make one of those disclosure statements in which I clarify that I have received no payment from Shawna Kaminski for the posts I have written on her program. Everything that I have said about the 21 Day Rapid Fat Loss program is my own honest opinion. I did receive access to her workouts and diets . . . otherwise how could I tell you about them? 

No small animals were abused during the course of this program, nor was any child labor involved . . . although my sons will tell you they were victims of duress and undue suffering. Every morning they awoke to the sound of Shawna calling out to me "halfway there!" or "almost done!" More than once they told me, "make that annoying woman shut up!" Make her shut up? No way! She's my hero!

When I started this program I was just looking for something to keep me busy during the two weeks that my gym would be closed. But what I discovered was a whole new lifestyle, a radically different way of eating and exercising that I am super enthusiastic about. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, these 21 days were only the beginning for me. I can hardly wait to get started on Shawna's regular long-term workout and diet program. 

I'm hooked!

Why I Fight the Fat

Today is day 15 of my 21 Day Rapid Fat Loss program. Now some of you may wonder why a person who is objectively not fat would want to do a fat loss program. And that's a fair question. For me, it's all about being healthy and feeling comfortable in my own body.

I was not an athletic child. When I say "not athletic" I mean that physical activity was my own personal nightmare. I hated sports of all kinds. P.E. class was a daily form of torture, in which I tried to do the bare minimum and hope the coach wouldn't notice. I hated exertion. All I wanted to do was sit still and read books. Books of all kinds, any book would do. Actually, as a child I read some rather age inappropriate stuff because I could not NOT read. If I didn't have my own novel with me I would read anything that I found lying around. At age 12 I decided to read the Berkeley Public Library's children's section . . . in alphabetical order . . . you get the picture, right?

(not me, but just like me!)

Luckily for me I have skinny genes, so despite the lack of exercise I was never overweight. I could eat pretty much whatever I wanted and I never gained much weight. It was a pretty good deal until I hit my 30s. That's when my pear shaped body started to reveal itself. I was still a skinny-minny on top, but down below I was carrying a wider and wider load. I didn't weigh much more than before, but I was 100% cellulite. From being thin and frail, I had become flabby and frail.

Beyond aesthetics, I have always been rather lethargic and prone to various annoying, but not too serious maladies. This lack of energy and the amount of time I spent being sick started to increase dramatically over the years. Every time I ate, my stomach would swell. I had become the victim of allergies and recurrent sinisitus and when I hit 40 I started getting colds that instead of going away would get worse, becoming bronchitis - or even pneumonia - that would knock me out for up to six weeks and more. 

I had started running and weight training by then, but was never really able to get into shape because as soon as I would make some progress I'd get bronchitis, be out of action for weeks and then have to start all over again from zero. I can't tell you how frustrating that is. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired!

Then, thanks to the help of a good friend, I discovered that I am gluten and lactose intolerant. The doctor who diagnosed me, with genetic testing, told me that I had basically been poisoning myself every time I ate for my entire life. Wow. 

I have been gluten and lactose free for the past two years. It has not been easy. Imagine living in Italy, the land of pizza and pasta, breakfasts of cappuccino and cream-filled crescent rolls, and not being able to touch any of it! It has been a real trial and error process of trying to find things I can eat. Just about all packaged food has one or the other of my problem ingredients in it. The enemy is hiding everywhere.

So, my interest in Female Fat Loss After 40 and Shawna Kaminski's 21 Day Rapid Fat Loss program is twofold. For one, I want to drop the flab. And secondly, I want to be a strong and healthy person. I don't mind being small-framed and delicate, I love my body. But I am tired of being weak and without energy.

This has been a long post, so I will give you more specifics about how I am doing in my 21 day journey another day. Let me just say that I'm loving it!

My Latest Project

I have a rather cyclical attention span. By that I mean that I get really into something for a while, it becomes my big passion and I pursue it actively for quite some time, and then . . . one day I am just not that into it anymore.

There was the photography phase when I couldn't walk down the street at a normal speed because I had to take pictures of every little thing (drove my kids nuts!). For a couple of years I never went anywhere without my camera. I bravely, and in a way completely out of character for me, approached strangers asking if I could photograph them (and discovered that no one ever says no!). That was when I was doing my other blog Molfetta Daily Photo . . . which I haven't updated for the longest time now.

Then there was the giveaway phase when I spent precious hours of my day entering contests. . . and winning lots of them, too! I won clothes, jewelry, books, DVDs, Amazon gift certificates, nail polish, you name it. I even won two prizes at the end of the season lottery at the local beach club. My lucky streak! But giveaways don't appeal to me in the least anymore.

However, I can't go long without a passion, so here's my latest: it's me! Okay, so maybe that's not very clear. What I mean is that I have decided to work more seriously on my level of fitness. I love working out at the gym and by that I mean lifting weights, and have been doing it for about 6 years now. My transformation from total couch potato to fitness freak has been slow and not without its difficulties, both psychological and physical. More on that in a later post.

What I want to talk about right now is this fantastic on-line trainer that I have discovered. Her name is Shawna Kaminski and her program is called Female Fat Loss After 40. I love that name, 'cause it just says it like it is, without any euphemisms, and that's so my style.

Now, I am fully aware that I am not a "fat" person. I have never been overweight and, in fact, my goal is not to lose any weight, but just to tone up, get stronger and feel confident and healthy. I just haven't been able to do it to my satisfaction on my own at the gym, without the help of a personal trainer . . . which I can't afford.

So, that's where Shawna comes in. She lives in Canada, on the other side of the world, and I have never even met her and yet, thanks to the internet, she is helping me to work towards my fitness goals.

This is Shawna, not me!
What an inspiration!

I am currently doing her 21 Day Rapid Fat Loss program and it is incredible. It involves a special diet and daily workouts that I follow on video. I am already on Day 10, so I'm halfway through the program. I do not want to show you my "before" photos, too embarrassing, but maybe maybe I'll show you my "after" pictures . . . if I can bear it!

In the meantime, I'll keep you posted on my progress.