Day 2 of Metamorphosis

I am not going to write every days progress and experiences, I promise, but today... Well, today was a bit of a surprise for me, so I thought it would be good to share it.

To be honest, considering I dont have that much weight to lose (if any at all), I have not and will not expect rapid declines in my weight (if I lose 5 kilos by the end of the program, thats gonna be great). Moreover, after all the food yesterday - all in total I ate like 1.7l of food (not counting the juice) - I was not thinking I was on diet anymore. In the evening before going to bed, I simply sighed and thought "Oh well, who cares if I dont lose weight, Im still within the normal range for my height" (163cm). So in the morning I simply step on the scales to record the weight of today, no expectations. And after I saw the weight, I had to step back off, look at it in wonder till the blinking number disappeared and just step back up... And again the electric scales show the same 55.7. Same time, same clothes (=no clothes), exactly 24 hours after the previous measure... 0.8kg off? nearly a kilo? 

I mean, I understand, it is not permanent, it is probably all the water and all... And tomorrow I will be back to my 56.5, but hey - I have NOT been under 56 in the past half a year!!! When my scales showed 56.0 were the  happy days. So, whatever it is, it is the first day in the past 6 months or so i actually went under 56, and I am happy about that. 

I walked quite dazed away from the scales, into the kitchen to prepare some Blueberry Applesauce for breakfast... I think I am still surprised, but, boy, it is encouraging. I started my workout like I have the last chance to dance in this life time :)

So, DC went OK, though as I was dancing like crazy, I got pretty tired after 15 minutes, so had to bring it down a notch. Then again jammed in the last 3 minutes or so. I still feel like a hippo a little, heavy and uncoordinated, but better than yday. Still cant follow all the arms motions, but Im trying. Some movements feel a bit weird, but I will get to it. I am not a very sweating type when I do sports (Im more like a face-reddening-type), but jeez I was sweating like hell.

MS killed me even more today. I guess because I was pumped from the scales revelations, so I was really into it. I switched legs today - doing left first, and right second. And I thought my left leg would fall off somewhere in the middle, and I would have to get to emergency... I was really struggling even with right leg (which is so obviously stronger) - exercises 3 and 4 are excruciating (funny but I know this word after reading Harry Potter). But went through it, slower than Tracy does (hence - less reps), but at least I did it  all, with only minor little breaks. I have to say, it was the first time in my life I was swearing in full voice... All the advice on how to deal with struggling (like trying to distract your mind by thinking of something pleasant, planning the day, planning what you would write later in the blog - that actually helped me, watch at the shadows on the wall....) - is weeeeell forgotten when you start to really struggle.

Result after two days: minus 0.8kg, I feel great, as if I am flying (I dont take drugs!), I feel lightness in my whole body, my back and shoulder muscles are extremely sore and glute muscles are aching to sit on. The feeling is welcome though and I cant wait to train them again tomorrow. I still feel my muscles awakened even much later after the training. Ah, good day (I even squeezed in laundry for the time I work out)!

Read More..

Day 44 of Metamorphosis

Yesterday and today were tough. Level 5 doesnt get much easier: my arms are still about to fly off when Im doing the arms section, my abs are in pain when Im doing lying abs, and by the end of the leg section I feel like both my feet and bottom are about to fall off too. But all of those are great feelings, and then standing in a long-ish shower, I enjoy the hot water caressing my aching muscles. I love hot and contrast showers after the workouts - they bring back the strength and refresh. Sometimes I also want to have a bathtub, to be able to take quick baths very fast, but oh well - in my next house. 

Wally and Gallo - our teachers, from
La Sandunguera dancing school.

I have a confession to make... In terms of diet... Well, I have had a little bit of chocolate addiction in the past two days... I mean it is after Easter now (technically Orthodox Easter is this weekend, so Im not supposed to celebrate quite yet), and all the Easter chocolates are on sale. You can get all those yummy eggs and rabbits for half or even 1/3 of price! And I simply couldnt walk past them. So, I obviously excluded the choco pudding from the diet, as I already had enough of chocolate to last me at least a week... But still - too much sugar in my diet :)

In the next couple days Im gonna keep really busy, as a Salsa festival is taking place in Bremen, and I am volunteering with some help (keeping the long story short, Ill say that I am volunteering): reception, some food and drinks tasks, and hosting 2 artists. Besides that I am going to have dancing workshops whole days on Saturday and Sunday. So, Im saying all this, because I might have no time at all to get back here till Monday or so, and I might as well skip the DC a couple of times: after all I will be dancing up to 6-7 hours a day... I think that is enough of a cardio... :)

And just some memories - my salsa performance in the end of last year (November) - before I went for three months to a cold and dark Stockholm... I love to look at those pics and hope that one day I might do it again - now looking much better too! :)

With a good friend - Constantin.

The girls: me, Svenja 1 and Svenja 2... :)

With boys: Marceli, me, Karolis

Have a great day everyone and a wonderful rest of the week! 

(And Happy Orthodox Easter to those who are celebrating!)

Read More..

Day 21 of Metamorphosis

I know, I know two posts a day is a little weird, but a) I want to separate the topics and b) I was on the road today and had a pleeenty of time on the train :) So, hey, here I am again. :)

I started level 3 today. Had to get up at 6 in the morning as I am travelling today (going to Prague), and my train was at 9, so to fit in the workout, I had to really get up early. But I did manage to do the whole hour of workout. It is always so exciting to start a new level, as it means something different, something you don’t know yet, something exciting. I liked level 3 much more than level 2. Well, when I was doing level 2, I can’t say I was a fan of it, but I neither hated it the same way some other TAMers did. In my experience it was difficult, but a bit boring. Level 3 on the other hand is really interesting – I like all the fast movements (“OMG, are you for real, that is NORMAL speed??!!”), I love the angles in this one, the vectors, the interesting moves. Even abs – which are really hard for me, are interesting and unusual, with very unconventional rotations of legs and feet. But again, this level requires even more concentration and attention: you HAVE to follow her precisely. I sometimes had to pause the exercise to see the exact angles, and so on. But it is exciting and fulfilling. To be honest, my butt will probably hurt to sit on tomorrow, as after I finished each side, I felt like it was falling off because of all the stress it went through :)

But anyway, great workout, I’m looking forward to doing it for the next 9 days.

Read More..

Day 36 of Metamorphosis

To be very honest with you, it does NOT get easier. Really. I mean you get stronger and all, and then the new level kicks your ass once again. There is truly no limit to perfection. You can do it probably for years, and new moves would still kick your little shapely butt. 

I have had a crazy of a time recently. As I mentioned before - I started driving school, on top of that work is not becoming less... I have couple of doctors appointments, salsa festival coming up next week and I have a lot to help out with still... Today was the culmination of ridiculousness of German bureaucracy. First I had 4 hours of driving theory class, then had a quick lunch and 6 (!!!) hours of "first aid course" - an obligatory course for German driving license... Yes, besides that I managed to squeeze in DC in the morning before I left, and MS after I came back home at 21:30 or so. I did it!!! I was really afraid I wouldnt have time. And to be honest, with all the stuff going on, I very often find it hard simply to find time - and it is not like I want to skip it! I honestly LOVE to do MS, but sometimes it is so hard to squeeze anything in. 

Tomorrow is yet again a crazy day:

08:00-09:00 Eye doctor

10:00-14:00 Driving school

16:00-17:30 Driving lesson (practice)

20:00-21:00 Salsa training

21:00- Salsa social...

I am not whining - really. I am just trying to sort out my day and think when I can fit my workouts. When the craziness with driving school is over, I will write some more. But I am still hanging on, I just wish for a little more sleep. :)

Read More..

Day 10 of Metamorphosis

So today started a little late, and as I have some repair works planned for the evening, I decided to skip on the office today and work from home (good old academia!). I cant say it is always productive, but sometimes it is - I love to work on my laptop.

I also tried to change my schedule a little bit: try to workout not the first thing in the morning, but after lunch - to see if I like it better. And well, I dont. Well, I guess everyone has his/her hours for certain things. So for me morning are still not very productive work-wise (I think my brain takes much longer to wake up, so normally for me mornings are spent in administrative jobs and correspondence), and so working out in the morning makes so much sense - I dont have to think that much :) Today I stayed at home - not much administrative work here. And well,  emails were sent, I tried to work, not much luck. Then I had lunch and work started a little bit better. An hour or so after lunch I worked out, and hey - surprise surprise, I felt myself much heavier (even though I did feel more strength), but it was hard to do DC. MS though went better - I dont know if it is because it is day 10, or cos it was not morning. But I did it almost to the dot with Tracy! Impressive!!! :)

Anyhow, I finished level 1!!!! Congrats to me!!! Tomorrow starts level 2! I am excited (jubilant I would even say), but also really stressed: I heard level 2 is a real killer, and I previewed it and I did feel like it was all in fast forward. That would be hmmm interesting. Im afraid, I will be really sore after that and will have to pause a lot. Oh well, bring it on!

I will publish my results of the full 10 days tomorrow (may be with pics - if there would seem to be a visible effect), but a little sneak peak:

• Today my scales surprised me with 53.9 kg (118.6), which means I lost around 2.6kg (5.7 lbs) in the last 10 days!!! As I wrote before, my desired weight is between 50 and 52 kg (~112-114 lbs), so hey Im not so far from that :) So I will stick with the diet for the first 30 days I think and then will go off it, but continue eating healthy and not too much. I think already now I wont be able to eat a lot: my stomach seems to have become smaller. 
• As for how I feel, I feel absolutely great! I feel light and stronger I remember myself feeling! I wake up and I like to see myself in the full-height mirror. I am energetic, and I have to say even though sometimes dont feel like doing a workout (=lazy!), I feel like I am missing on on something vital till I do it. My body loves it, I can feel it! 
• In terms on cm/inches, I am not sure... But I have a flat stomach already - I just need to get nicer abs of course (even now I can already make out some muscles forming!!!), but still. Amazing! I also feel like I def lost some inches in my waist, but even my thighs look thinner and better defined. Tomorrow I will give some more details on how many cm/inches I lost too.

The diet today was OK, but not more than that... I finally did the poached eggs for brunch - really yummy!!! And yes, I love my spices - or rather herbs, so here it is with a little bit of parsley and dried garlic and majoran. Nothing bad or unhealthy. :)

And somehow today is the day of trying new things... So today Im having a tuna-fish salad for dinner. Yum!!!

And in the end of the day I relaxed a bit... Had two (!!!) little Kinder bars (240 calories together) and a little bit of nuts... Not too bad, may be 250-300 calories extra, but well have to see how it will show on my scales tomorrow... Sigh.

Have a fantastic day everyone!!!

Read More..

Day 86 AAAA!!!! of Metamorphosis

Boy, it does feel like a home stretch!!! I get excited every time I am doing the workout! 

Today was awesome - I jumped with energy and smile on my face, then MS was tough, but I went through it  in high spirits. The first move still kicks my ass and the supporting leg... But I manage. Arms are still tough, but I am managing now at least. Might start adding weights on day 87 or 88... For at least a couple days. After MS I had nice breakfast, took a shower, signed some post cards to send to friends, and now am off to work. Sigh. Nothing exciting on my side today - no sunrises or hiking, just the beauty of the mountains. 

But hey - just 4 more workouts and I will finish META!!!! WOHOOO!!! I will have to celebrate and get myself something really special. ;)

Read More..

Coming soon the Metamorphosis!

Its been nearly a week. I have to say, as I was moving, I didnt have enough time to train every day or even every other day - I did only 2 workouts since Feb. 9th. Bad me. But oh well, this is the time to get ready, the challenge starts later...

At the same time, I have come back to my salsa dancing, so I had already 4 hours of it in the past 3 days - which I think is OK. Though, I have to say, I dont get such a workout while we train. There is a really good warm-up when we get drilled on shines, but it is only 10-15 minutes, then we start learning either new shines, body movement, or sequences, hence, it is not so much of physical training... But it is good to be back dancing, see the same old faces around and enjoy the atmosphere.

And finally, big news: I am finally starting Meta on February 20th, 2012. It will be my first day. So, I am prepared - more or less. I have the mind set to do it - and that is the most important thing. I have my mat - and as I heard a lot of people in the community talking about high impact on the hip-sides in many exercises during the MS, I bought a thick 1.5cm mat, instead of the thin yoga-mats. I have the food processor - got it online and it arrived yday in a huuuge box. I will go shopping on Saturday for all the groceries I would need for week one (shopping list will follow soon). I will have a difficult maths course next week 9 to 5pm, but there is nothing I can change, and to be honest - I dont want to. I want to start with Meta as soon as possible. I was simply waiting to move back to Bremen, feel a little settled, and start my transformation. Yey!

Read More..

Days 7 8 of Metamorphosis

So, days 7 and 8 went well. Both days managed to do the workouts, kept to the diet. I dont seem to progress very fast now, as I cant really increase the number of reps for instance much from day to day, and I am still doing those naughty exercises 3 and 4 very slowly. But I feel great! I feel light, healthy, energetic. Right after the training I am a bit tired of course, but a shower does miracles, and I am back to good mood. Today was tough though. I didnt want to workout for some reason, and it was really hard to even start, to find the strength to do one more minute of DC, then one more... Ah. It felt good though to get over it. I had to say many many many times through sometimes gritted teeth "You CAN do it, Liuba" (yes, I sometimes tend to talk with myself).

The diet... Well, I cant say I am happy with this week. Yesterday (Monday and first week of Week 2) I felt hungry all the time. And I mean it: all the time. It wasnt horrible hunger, but it was always there. Today, however, I dont feel hunger at all and have to convince myself to eat. I just hope, it is not some sort of body adjustment to under-nutrition :)))) Cos that would be bad. I decided to increase the portions just a little bit, so I actually feel NOT hungry after I finished eating - particular for meal 3: make bigger salads, take a piece of chicken a little bigger. Right now my chicken is boiling (yes, I prefer boiled chicken than grilled) and salad is ready (half avocado, some tomatoes and celery - I am addicted to celery these days, so put it in almost everything...).

Dinner:

And the full day diet (its more than it looks actually...) After the first day, it is enough for me - but then again, my salad is quite big, but I thought I cant harm much with salad. And I added a carrot: I like to chew on something when I work...

Read More..

Tracy Anderson Metamorphosis GRAND results before and after pictures

It is nearly 6 months since I started TAM now. I started in February with a little bit of DC and mat DVD. Then I started Meta on 20th of February. I finished it on July 28th. Yes, it took me waaaay longer than 3 months. 5 to be precise. So Meta took me longer to finish. But I did in the end. I am now on to Continuity, but that is all a different story.

Today I wanted to share with you some of my Meta results. Long promised. Long awaited. As I mentioned before, I was a bit reluctant to post anything, as - well truth be told - I was not eating my best in the past 2 months of Meta. Dont get me wrong, it was mostly healthy (with very very very rare food binges), but it was not really a diet - i.e. it was quite a lot of food in the end. But then, I am addicted to good food. I love it. I cherish it. I cant live without it. So being in Switzerland for a month, I just could NOT not eat cheese cheese and cheese. All the raclettes, fondues, cheese platters... Plus my bf was taking care of me - which he did absolutely amazing, anyone can envy me - but it meant we ate a little more than i normally eat. And he also spoils me like crazy - so I had M&Ms and Raffaellos almost every day. Sigh. 

So... well. Bottom line - diet was NOT the best last 2 months. But then it all showed me how much the Meta workouts can do for me to keep up with what I achieved. So obviously I did not lose any weight in the past 2 months (which is fine with me - I already reached the upper boundary of my goal weight). I also think I became less skiny. But then, I also feel I became more shapely in the right places, muscley - also in the right places, but not bulky at all. You cant really see the muscle, but I - I can feel it! Yeay! :) 

All in all, great good Meta did to me. I did not stress too much about missing days at times, and repeating levels when necessary. Meta made me more organised, and hell - now I know I can do it. The first 2 weeks kilos were running away from me - honestly! The energy, the strength, the confidence that I feel now are so great, that even if I did not lose any kilos, I would have still loved it. :) But I did, and I am happy. I also lost at least 1 size in clothes - Im wearing confident 34 now, and very tight 32. Before it was 36-38. People notice that I lost weight, and tell me so, even though I didnt really need to lose so much. And I think the biggest change happened somewhere mid-way (even though I was already off diet), because even the least observant people noticed the change in me - the main reason for that was that finally my face caught up with the weight loss, and became a bit less round. :)

I love the way i look in a bikini. I bought TONS of new clothes - and what a pleasure it is to buy closes smaller and see them fit you well and nice! I love the new dresses I bought - and coming soon the dirndl! Will show you the pretty little thing I bought for the Oktoberfest I am going to in September. 

So pictures are bellow. :) I am so proud of myself, I cant stop beaming. And today the workout was great, I added wrist and ankle weights for MS, what a pleasure!

The love handles became so much smaller, and now they are kinda cute... Not hanging, but sexy. :) My butt has never looked like that - it is round and out there. I never had a round butt! Im honest. I thought I would live my life with a flat butt. And here you go: a cute round butt!

All in all I lost around 9 cm in the waist and hips (each), 2 - in arms, around 10 in bikini area, and 8 in thighs. It might not be so visible, but I did have to buy new jeans - all the old ones were hanging on me! I love that I am toned, but not over-muscley. The only thing that I still want to work on is the thigh area,esp inner-thighs. :) Omni Continuity it is :)

Good luck to everyone who are only starting or in the middle and not getting results - you will! I love how TAM works, and am going for now to continue doing it. :)

Read More..

Day 22 of Metamorphosis

Today I really felt the difficulty of the level. Boy! How my muscles hurt - everywhere! But even more so on the back and sides. How is THAT possible? Well, I guess it is from the hard balancing movement, and because in the exercises at this level, you really really involve the whole body to perform seemingly easy leg lifts. 

I finally got someone to take some pics of me while I am training, as I am visiting my sweetheart in Prague these days. So here we go.

Thats me basically dead after I finished it all:

Read More..

Level 7 restarted day 62 of Metamorphosis

So, Im back from the land of pains and feeling sick and weak... The heat is taking lots of my energy, but I am back on track. I still eat a bit more than I should I guess, but Meta has my back again. I am not gaining weight, I am not loosing it, I am just right. And I love it.

I decided to restart level 7, as I missed about 4 days due to sickness. And as I said before, it is important to take care of your health. So, it was all good. Besides, I dont feel so bad about restarting the level: I was only 2 days into it. And as before, level 7 is indeed tough. Get ready for it. I definitely cannot do all the reps, cannot go Tracys speed - which I sort of could in level 6, so I take it easy and try to push myself just a little bit each day. I am thinking of starting using ankle weights as well. I want results!!! 

To be honest, I should be happy about what I have. The problem is that I wont be getting visible and evident results I think anymore. No, dont think I am a pessimist - I am not!!! I swear! Its just I cant really become much lighter or skinnier... My weight wont go down anymore - I am in my normal slender healthy weight right now. And skinnier - well everything much skinnier than now (in terms of measurements in a way) would make me unhealthy. So here. The only visible results I could get at this point are muscles... But surprise surprise - TAM doesnt give you too many visible muscles... So, I am definitely becoming more toned, my muscles are more defined, but they are not bulking out and are not too visible. And because of all this I do lose motivation sometimes. Not for long - but long enough to stall my workout for an hour or two...

Now I feel like I need to find a different way to measure my results... I definitely feel more energetic and strong every single day. But how do we measure it? I also feel a little addicted to workouts, and really positive about them, and the day starts only after one workout. Thats good right? It means I am closer to the goal of making a healthy lifestyle a habit. Cheers to that!

Read More..

Day 48 of Metamorphosis and the bumps along the way

Yes, it sounds crazy that I am - still - on level 5, but I had to restart the level, as I had too many interruptions. Now, however I am delighted to finish it tomorrow (if all goes well, and it should), and start level 6! Wohoo!

MS

Dont get me wrong, it was my own decision to restart level 5, but oh boy I am tired of it. I am simply getting bored. I know every single exercise of the MS, and well now can do it in full reps (though it takes me a little longer than Tracy). This hasnt happened with previous levels. But in true, I have done it like 15 times by now! So I am happy to move on. It is true that you get bored of the same thing, and when you are doing one of the MS longer than supposed to, it also loses some touch of excitement. I was always excited thinking "Just 10 workouts like that - get the most out of it!" Now I am thinking "Oh I wish it was day 50 already!!!" So it definitely is time to move on for good.

DC

Dance cardio is indeed getting boring. But I have to say I know it by now (which is only logical after doing it for around 50 times...), and sometimes I simply turn it on and start jumping automatically - before I manage to convince myself that I dont need to do it. And then the automatic jumps get more energy and I enjoy it. Sweat is the magic powder after all! ;) I also catch myself that while I concentrate a lot on MS, I tend to drift a little bit on DC nowadays - cos my body and mind know by now what I am doing, and I am not working out the specific muscles, I am jumping and dancing to get the heart beat up and loose some calories in the process. But I nevertheless enjoy it. Why? It makes me feel good. As simple as that. I feel great when I finish it - physically and mentally. I love it.

Food

In terms of diet, I went off Tracys diet. Sigh. Well, I was going to follow it for around 30 days anyway, and I did it longer. But simply when those Body Reset repetitive Weeks finished, I could not deal with the ones "with diversity any more (starting Week ??? the BRW become diverse, which involves more recipes, and hence more time for cooking...). My PhD taking most of my time (and this is the biggest reason why I actually disappeared for so long). I sometimes work till 8-9, and then drag my feet home (still have to take a train to get home and all) and drop nearly dead. My driving school also continues... And with being busy and not having enough time for anything, I simply could not follow all the recipes of TA Dynamic Eating Plan any longer. But I keep eating healthy and fresh (mostly). I got into a good routine with food, I already calculate or estimate my calories without needing to really calculate them. I eat lots of salads, lots of fruit, add some fish, poultry or meat on top of that, sometimes I have one of those protein bars and protein shakes to keep me up on protein. Eggs, cheese, quinoa, nuts and just a little bit of chocolate are also in my diet. I also sometimes make soups - really with only veggies and not too fat. Yum!

Little bit of smoked trout and some yummy rucola-tomato-cucumber salad. I love food! Mmmm.

My feelings overall

To be honest, I was feeling a little guilty - for going off the diet, for missing some days (4 days for salsa festival and 4 more days for a wonderful weekend in Monaco), for not eating too healthy all the time (I confess to having an addiction to chocolate as of late and I simply cant do anything about it...), for missing the DC sometimes - thats really naughty of me! Monaco has set me off a little bit, as French cuisine offers a lot of temptations! I gained 2 kilos there, but by now they all went off - without even a big effort on my side. So after all I decided to not feel guilty. I am working out, and Meta has my back. I am doing my best, I am not pushing it, but enjoying every single workout. I dont want to suddenly feel so tired I would not want to workout at all. I LOVE the workouts, I feel great after them - both physically and mentally (after all, I never stop to fight my weaknesses, and every little victory is oh so sweet!) I still eat well and healthy, even if I allow myself to eat some bread sometimes. But generally I keep it better than ever before in my life. So why on Earth should I feel guilty??!! I should feel proud and delighted, satisfied and really glad with myself. I am working on myself and doing the best I have ever done! What can be more pleasing???!!!

So, the advice is: be realistic. No, one should not give up at every difficulty saying "It is realistic: I cant do it" I say "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" and I move forward. But instead of beating myself up, I praise myself and motivate myself to go on, to keep up to the healthy food, to the workouts - to the better and transformed lifestyle. Cos this is my end goal: A better and healthier lifestyle.

And if on the way I look in the mirror and see the beautiful abs and tiny ass - hell, I wont say no! 

Read More..

Metamorphosis the BIG summary

Meta is over. I say it with a thrill, but at the same time with a sad smile touching my lips. I am so grateful to it, and all the same so sad it is over. I am not saying bye to you, my readers, as my journey indeed continues. Literally: Continuity is there for me. There will be more yummy foods, more reports… There still will be progressing from one level to another…

But it is sad to say bye to something that changed your life so much. Transformed me and the way I think, the way I do things, the way I think about myrself, about exercise, about healthy lifestyle… For me this was not simply the way towards a small waist – alas, you are witnesses, I never wanted (or needed either) to lose more than 7-10 cm in my waist. It was also not the way towards healthy weight – I was in the range of what is considered healthy for my age and height when I started (well at the edge of it). So, I am fully aware, you might think it all has been easier for me than for many of the older and bigger girls out there. But here comes the truth: it is hard for every single one of us, equally. Because we are not just fighting our weight, getting better looks, we are fighting the lazy and the giving-up side of ourselves – please forgive my rough language – but the looser side of us. Because losing comes from giving up. Losing comes from not bringing something to the end. From not finishing what you start. From cheating – not someone else – but yourself. The hardest job for any of us who are embarking onto this journey for self-improvement – regardless of what method you use and how you exercise – is to say a big fat “NO” to our laziness, set a goal and fight every single day.

Meta didn’t just give me the lean body I love (I have a ‘boy-ish’ complexion, so to be honest, Meta was great for me). Meta didn’t just help me lose the weight I gained leading a sedentary life and overeating… It gave me a habit of working out, of enjoying it, of knowing you are doing it for yourself. It gave me the chance to feel good – physically and psychologically. But still – the most important – it gave me strength. I know – NOW I know! – I do have the backbone. When I do set my mind onto something – I WILL do it. Now I know it.

Even though I had much less inches and weight to lose, don’t underestimate the effort it took and still takes me to exercise!!! Even though I never was overweight, I was not healthy and I am essentially a very lazy person. I had to fight my laziness every day. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. And laziness is a funny thing: it finds “reasonable” arguments for you NOT to go on. Like “I don’t have time” or “I am not feeling well” (when you only started feeling unwell when you thought so) or “Nothing would happen if I don’t work out in the morning” (and you end up never finding time to work out later in the day) or “It is a whole hour! I can’t spare so much time!” – whereas the correct thinking would be “This is only half an hour and another half an hour – so little!”

I had a tough time learning how to trick the lazy side of me – or make a deal with it. I would give myself little gifts: a little chocolate, or a new nail polish, or little earrings if I had a good workout. I learnt how to count reps to trick myself – instead of counting from 1 to 40, I would count from 1 to 10 four times, or even better – I would count “1-1-1-1, 2-2-2-2 … 10-10-10-10” (something my best friend taught me) – so in the end it is almost like doing only 10 reps… well 10 reps 4 times each :))))) I argued with myself so many times during DC: my laziness would say “You don’t have time, you have a lot to do”, and my rational and critical self would reply “Ha-ha, right! You will procrastinate anyways for an hour, you might as well work out – it is at least useful!” Oh, so many-many countless days during DC the lazy-me would think

– OK, only 15 minutes, I am not feeling that well.

But with time the backbone-me learnt to counter this thinking when it is 15 minutes into DC.

– C’mon, if you did 15 minutes, you might as well do 20.

– OK, - the laziness would say. – 20 minutes it is.

And after some time:

– Hey, we did 20 minutes!

But the backbone-me would go:

–What is 20 minutes?! You did SO much already, you might as well do 5 more minutes – it’s nothing compared to 20!!!

Around the time the “homestretch” (around minute 24) of DC backbone makes the final strike:

–C’mon! You reached the homestretch, as Tracy calls it. You can’t give up NOW!!!!

At the end – when Tracy says “You made it to the end, I am so proud of you!”, my little lazy ass starts crying like a little girl saying “I was so so so wrong! Of course we could do it!” And the backbone just taps the little lazy girl on her shoulder and says “There, there!” :)

This kind of drama went on in my head almost every other day. Honestly. And if you think it is easy, you are wrong.

So, all in all, it has been a difficult journey. And it still continues. I hope you all will find strength to start a journey for self improvement! And it doesn’t have to be TAM :) This is not what I mean. Find something you always wanted to do, but had problems doing. And DO it. :) Get the strength for it, succeed in it! Overcoming your own weaknesses and imperfections – this is what makes one strong.

I CAN do it! Any bets? :)

Believe in yourself, people, challenge yourself and just go for it! Let yourself be proud of what you accomplish!

Read More..

Day 76 of Metamorphosis

Aaaand I am back on the wagon again – and back online too! I will post later where I have been in the past two weeks (it was FUUUN!!!), but right now just a little update.

Today is day 76 of Meta for me and I can’t wait to finish level 8. Honestly. It’s been too long already.

Yesterday we finally reached our little hide-out in Switzerland – yes in the Swiss Alps… (told you, the story will be interesting, and with lots of pics :) ) It’s breathtaking! Really!

The Swiss Alps! On the way to the town Nendaz

We have a little chalet in a little village in Nendaz with an extremely picturesque view towards the villages resting on the mountain sides and the high picks with still some snow. Beautiful. But as villages go, there isn’t much to do: there is one restaurant about half an hour walk from here, and a café. We don’t have internet (I am writing this in an “off-line mode” and will publish it when I do have access to Internet), we have to stack our fridge with yummy and healthy things, we have had some arguments about it too. I can’t imagine how those of you who live with husbands and kids manage to diet! Living on your own means you just have to fight your own vices, with people around it means you also have to jungle the family food and not get tempted to eat more than strictly necessary. And to be honest, I can’t even imagine following the TA dynamic eating plan when you have a family!!! Respect to you all!

The chalet we have is pretty small (just a kitchen-living room downstairs, bedroom, bathroom and a tiny extra room upstairs – and I mean everything is really small, so don’t snort when you hear about all those rooms), so there isn’t much space for me to work out. MS might be possible to fit somewhere when some furniture is moved out of the way, but DC? Forget it! So what do you think I did? :) I worked out outside!!! Yes, I am dependent on the weather and if it rains I’m kinda screwed. But how often do you have a chance to work out in the fresh mountain air, have a breathtaking inspiring view – and so simple, you just need to walk out of the back door. I am totally enjoying it! But weather is indeed a factor: I started my workout around 10am, and it was already sunny and warm. And believe it or not, after 5 minutes of DC I was sweating and breathless, hot and sticky. I don’t know if that is because of the break I had in DC (perhaps, partially), but I think it is mostly because of the sun. The workout gets extremely challenging in the sun!!! I managed to do 20 minutes DC, and then moved the MS to the shadow of a little bush. :) But I did it!

I felt great! Finally getting back to the daily workouts is great. I love it. I woke up with a smile and was sooooo looking forward to the workout. May be some breaks are sometimes necessary for us to start feeling better about the workouts? :)

Coming soon: our wonderful holiday in Italy and the different type of workout you can get there, lots and lots of pics, and soon soon soon some new results! (I have my measuring tape, my camera and new bikini – wohoo!) Stay tuned!

Read More..

Day 13 of Metamorphosis

Day 13 went fine, a bit too busy: work, getting the groceries for week 3 (was a bit late as was celebrating on Saturday, and Sunday all the shops are closed in Germany), cooking, doing laundry, cleaning up... Now I still need to unpack - still havent done so since I came back from Sweden!!! Soon a month ago. Sigh. This is just me.

DC was easier today than ever I guess. I was sweating damn a lot, but at the same time, felt strong and cheerful throughout the workout. MS was also OK, but it is still hard to balance, and man I hate planks! They suck :) I can only do like 10 reps of exercises with planks, but well at least it is fun.

Today I updated my level 1 results with some pics, and honestly, was impressed myself! It is working and I am determined to keep it up!

Have a great day yall!

Read More..

Day 6 of Metamorphosis or getting back on track

I decided to count only the days of training. Hence, today was my day 6 with a rest day in between 5 and 6.

I dont know whether it is just the rest day, or a rest day spent in a not such a healthy manner, but it was actually harder to workout today. DC was a killer, and MS a murderer :) DC still gives me a great kick, I like it. I feel my calves muscles developing from all the jumping, and they look so good already - much more toned, and I feel them sore. I still have not perfected the MS, I still have to stop in between every 10th rep or so (for exercises 3-4 in particular), and I noticed that it is easier for me to do all the exercises on my left leg! Thats so odd - cos I have always been right-handed through and through! But all in all even though I went through it, I could not do as good as I did in day 5... And I am back to day 2 weight (:(), but oh well - I had fun these past two days, and the Chinese dumplings were oh so good! Today I am back to the diet, and all is good (feel much better too, as guilt is not killing me). But the experience of the last 2 days showed how much your progress can be hindered by couple of drinks and a party. Good lesson. :)

I am back on the train though, am training again, going to have salsa training later on, so thats good. As I am past mid-level 1, so I started dreading level 2 already - I read a lot in other blogs and in TA Community, that it is a killer, so lets see. I have some time to get both really scared and really excited :)

Read More..

Day OMG!!! 60 of Metamorphosis

So, I did finish level 6. Without any bumps or bruises. Fast and easy, almost breezy! :) I am amazed and positively surprised! 2/3 of Meta done today! I am ecstatic and still cant totally get my head around this. 

WOW!!!!

This was just the small part of what we ordered...

Level 6 was I think so far my favourite. I know I might have said it before, but hey, it truly was interesting and exciting, yet challenging and sweaty! Tomorrow I will get some of the results. I have not kept up very well with diet - today for instance I had a sushi feast (and I DO mean a feast!!! - but after all I am 2/3 done with Meta, I do as well deserve a little - or big-ish - treat!), and I havent lost any more weight, though I am not trying to anymore. I am just trying to keep my current weight, and get even more toned. So, I will try to take some pics tomorrow, and see how this goes.

Very nice relaxing weekend and week in general for me. I wake up and have my workout, in the weekdays I then go to driving classes, come back for lunch with my sweetheart, and start work. Then more driving in the evening, and nice homey evening afterwards. Today we also watched hockey - Russia won!!! Hurrah! And funny enough, I am in Czech Republic right now, and this is the team we bit. :) Oops. Today was a great sushi day and I am still stuffed. But I simply couldnt resist. The sushi from (funny enough) the Sushi Bar were really great, and I simply couldnt stop... Ah.

Now after couple hours of work I am off to bed, to see a more beautiful day tomorrow, to start level 7 and hopefully finished the work I am doing right now. Good night everyone!

Read More..

Day 72 of Metamorphosis again

Aaaaand I am back!!!!

It took me some time, but I restarted level 8. I figured I didnt miss TOO much, so simply started from level 8. After all, the most important thing is the exercise itself. I dont beat myself up for not working out for ... 10 (!!!) days! Truly, I feel relaxed and OK about it, because I know, when I have time I will jump right back on the train of my working out routine, and it will all be good. People, dont beat yourself up for not being able to squeeze in a work out. Sometimes it is just summer: busy, busy, busy. Either you are on holiday, or busy looking after kids who are on holiday, or working over-time as holidays season is in full speed. I had visits, I have a lot to do at work, I really need to get down to my PhD. I dont beat myself up. I had a wonderful time with my boyfriend and my mum, I discovered so much about the city I am living in (isnt it always like that: you see the city where you live only when you have visitors??!!), I tried to eat healthy at the same time discovering the local cuisine... Damn, I had a GREAT week! Even though I didnt workout a single one time. 

And then yesterday I crossed out the earlier planned dates for level 8 on my tracker, took a new sheet out and proudly wrote "Level 8 - restart", stood on the weights, and hey - surprise of surprises - I actually didnt gain a gram, if not lost some in the past 10 days!!! My last measure was at 53 kilos, yesterday and today it was 51.5... It might be the muscle going off a little, might be moving and walking a lot (tourism you know!) or eating healthy - or all, but the result is evident: I didnt gain anything.

I started DC and my body fell into the dance right away, it still remembered the moves, it remembered the jumps and turns, and the energy. It loved it. I remembered how great it felt to jump the DC and then take a shower, and feel so great about the day and myself. Simply perfect. The day is so different without workout in the morning - it truly is my morning coffee :) I forgot how good it feels.

In the evening we watched some football (soccer for those in Americas): there is Euro 2012 going on right now and yesterday Germany was playing, so I met couple friends to watch it and say a little bye (I am leaving tomorrow for more than a month to go to Italy and then Switzerland... I know, I know, it seems I never stop travelling...) And I did my MS then - late in the evening. But boy I enjoyed it!

Today is the day of packing, trying not to forget anything. It seems like it is going to be a long night... :) I always always always do everything in the last moment... :) But I am taking my discs with me, will start Continuity on my trip! Hurray! I cant wait to share some of the final pics with you all. :)

Read More..

Day 31 of Metamorphosis

(Ah, this is approximately how I was urgently
 trying to finish my presentation...)

I know, I disappeared. I know. And I am sorry. I had a crazy time. Well basically, not too crazy considering I am a PhD student - and that in itself is crazy, but I had a little bit of a bad time even for a PhD student. Today I had a presentation - an important presentation at the Uni. And I was not ready even a week ago - meaning I had absolutely nothing to present. So it took me almost day and night to prepare. For that reason I disappeared, for that reason I had some problems with level 3 (about that in the next post), and for that reason I took an extra rest day - yesterday - after the end of level 3 (even though my official rest day was Saturday...) But, nevertheless, I did get back on track today - after the presentation right away.

Soooo...  I did start level 4. I still myself cant believe I am actually saying (writing) this. How can it be even possible??!! I actually made it through to level 4 already! And the journey felt like a couple days so far, but was difficult as if it was a year. It had ups and downs... But boy it was good!

Level 4 will definitely kick your ass. There is SO much about balance. Some of the MS exercises are so hard - primarily in terms of balance. While in level 3 my butt really hurt by the end of MS, now I feel like a have wobbly legs and arms. I mean seriously - I fell several times! For real! Good that I have a soft mat, but it was not fun. I was already starting to think "Yey, I kick ass!" after level 3, when here we come - I actually fell like three times in a particular balancing exercise...

I am on week hmmm on week 6 of diet (Body Reset, I call it "protein boost") - it took me some time to remember, which week it is. While my set goal of following the diet for 30 days came and went, I am still sticking to it. I just decided, I wont feel bad about myself if I am not always consitstent with sticking to it, but I will try as much as I can. So I still have my chicken and salad in the evenings, I still have two eggs in the morning and some fruit and protein bar during the day. It works out well, and mostly I dont feel hungry. But if I have a dinner with friends or sweetheart, I wont overthink it - I will just try to stick to healthy options.

I have some nice results from level 3 - despite all the bumps on the way, or may be due to them, who knows - I even have pics taken, measurements calculated, all ready... Just have to write it up and post all of that juicy content tomorrow, so stay tuned! ;)

Read More..

Day 39 of Metamorphosis

Or level 4 day 9. One day to the end of level 4. Just one. Again, how could this happen?

If you read my post on level 3, you remember, I was really shocked when it was over. Well, no less I am shocked that level 4 is over. I don’t know if it is the busy life, or the fact that workouts become more “normal” and every-day for me, rather than anything special. Don’t get me wrong, I still have to have a battle with my laziness every day to start the workout, and sometimes it is more painful, but I also reached the point, when it also is enjoyable at times. All the same, the fact is, the levels fly by, melt away. Just around the time I start to “get” the MS, I have to change it. It is a little unfair I think. But then again, it is good for the muscles right? That is the whole point of MS and changing it every 10 workouts.

Level 4 was and – thankfully still is – wonderful! It has a lot on balance, and, with an exception of planks, I was looking forward to every single move. I loved the standing abs – but then again I love them always. This level however, I could finally see the pattern in them, notice the details, and not just go from side-to-side. Arms were really kicking and I was feeling like lowering them down so many times – especially after the DC. Today, by the way, I rocked the DC - seriously. Was jumping like crazy, and even bumped into a sofa. Oops.

And I have a huge huge huge revelation… I started loving abs. I don’t mean standing abs… Just normal abs. I never ever liked them – I was always feeling nauseous when doing them, and when I started Meta, I had to take a breather and a water break after them, and honestly, it was painfully nauseous. Now I absolutely love them. I love to feel my abs working. And hey – the great motivation is to see the abs forming. The lean, flat stomach, with nice lean muscles… no 6 pack, just feminine flat stomach with some definition. You just HAVE to love that!

I had a lovely dinner today – backed some chicken with peas and onions, added a bit of salad. Turned out to be quite a lot of food, but then again, I haven’t eaten most of the day, so I think it’s ok. And there was no oils or frying, or carbs or anything unhealthy. Just protein and veg. Yum-yum.

Chicken breast, some cheese, peas, onions, and cucumber-tomato-celery salad. Some garlic, basil, parsley, dill to spice it up. Truly great!

Today was a bit of a slow day, but hey – HAPPY EASTER everyone! Whole Germany is closed – I mean shops and all, and I do hope they open tomorrow, as I am running out of food, and have no money at all for eating out – kinda broke from the beginning of the month. :) I have been shopping lately quite a lot – got some new outfits with my sweetheart for the spring (just when will it come to Germany??!!), some accessories, a new bikini (that all makes a reason for a different post!), jeans and more jeans (to be honest - I love the way I look, so started obsessively checking out which size I can already fit...).

So have a great day everyone and a great weekend to y’all!

Read More..