How Effective? Very! How do I Know?

My Fitness Story:  My true understanding of fat loss started in February 2009.  At the time, I had a 2 year old and a just weaned 9 month old and had been doing what I had always understood as the way to lose weight….cardio and calorie restriction.  I of course didn’t have time with the two little ones to do tons of anything outside of them, but would take them in a double stroller to the park and do as much cardio as they would tolerate (no more really than an hour a day about 5 days a week).  I was also getting back into my Yoga routine.  I was eating around 1,300 calories a day and starving.  What’s worse is I wasn’t getting anywhere and couldn’t figure out why.  It was then I discovered how to work smarter and eat supportively without starving myself.  Even with life obstacles, I achieved my initial weight loss goals in 10 months.  Eating clean, eating well, and not having to exercise beyond 3 hours a week was more than doable, it quickly became my lifestyle and one that I cannot imagine ever giving up! 

I had always been an active person, several years prior to having my two children; however, I had become more sedentary due to a very demanding desk job with long hours.  Even so, I kept up with Yoga and Pilates and even my OB stated that my ab muscles were quite developed (when she gave me my first c-section).  Side note, I was told I had to have a c-section due to the predicted size of my first born (they thought he was going to be about 11 pounds, but lucky for my son he was only 9 pounds 2 ounces).  Unlucky for me, because my stomach muscles were cut and much to my dismay I couldn’t so much as sit up from a lying down position.  Needless to say, getting back to Pilates and Yoga for me was a struggle at first because I was starting from scratch, which of course was so discouraging.  The great result of effective full body resistance training and short burst interval training however, is that post two c-sections, my abs are stronger now than before my c-sections when I was at my most active in my Yoga and Pilates practices.  I have continued my Yoga practice as a great stretch complement to all the muscle development of the resistance training workouts and have gone from a Beginner/Intermediate yogi pre-2009 to an Advance yogi post-2009 due to my gained strength and core fitness.

My Results:  Bottom-line is that, it is no hype that the whole body resistance training and short-burst interval training approach is far more effective for every muscle in one’s body than any isolated muscle specific move that can be targeted in any old school, mainstream program. 

My stats when I started 2/2/09:                  My stats 2/1/11:

Age:                         36 years                    Age:                          38 years
Weight:                    190.4 lbs                   Weight:                     136 lbs …. total lost 54.4 lbs
Belly Button Waist:  43”                          Belly Button Waist:   25.75”…. total lost 17.25”
Mommy Belly:           45”                          Mommy Belly:            26.5”…. total lost 18.5”
Hips:                          46”                           Hips:                             35”…. total lost 11”
Thighs:                     24.5”                        Thighs:                         19”…. total lost 5.5”

Current Size:            16                             Current Size:                 2/4….total lost 6 pant sizes

**Note that as I am 5'6", normally I would not be at a healthy weight wearing a size 2; however, since the clothes industry has "vanity" sized everything today's 2 is yesterday's 4/6.  Keep that in mind when you are assessing your goal sizes!**

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