12 weeks really has flown by! I am so excited with my results and really am amazed at how EASY it truly was. It makes me really kick myself for not finding this and doing it sooner. I think what I learned from this experience more than anything is that my eating really wasn’t as on point as I thought it was.
I would have my good days and bad but until I started charting it all I finally saw the culprits. I wasn’t measuring anything so while I was doing great with adding seeds and nuts I was way overdoing the amounts I was using.
I also feel I have started to grasp my relationship with food so much greater now. I finally have started to allow myself those cheat moments without obsessing about it for days on end and feeling guilty. ESE really allowed me to enjoy those dessert moments without the nagging guilt for days on end! The first month was the most challenging when it came to eating because I hadn’t found ESE yet and I was struggling with information overload and trying to find the “perfect” meal plan.
I didn’t really feel like the scale was moving much however now I realize that I was probably gaining muscle and losing fat especially that first month. I think when you want to succeed so badly it’s easy to fall into the trap of obsessing about every last detail and trying to find things that are “perfect”. I really feel that there isn’t a perfect way for every person, we are each our own individual with our own needs…it’s about finding what works for us to make ourselves as successful as possible.
It was when I finally relaxed and stopped obsessing about my meal plans that things finally started to click for me. I absolutely LOVE ESE and wish I had found this sooner! I love the feeling of freedom it gives me on my fast days and I love the feeling of control I have over choosing whether to eat or not. Being able to work in a restaurant around delish food but saying no is so empowering for me. It also allowed me to have moments with my friends without feeling so restricted and like I was missing out.
In terms of the workouts this program is absolutely on par with how I have always enjoyed working out but just never had the tools to figure it out on my own. I also always knew I HATED steady state cardio and I knew it never worked for me but I didn’t know WHY. Now I have the tools to explain to myself and even my friends when they say just go out and run 3 miles why it doesn’t work for ME.
I’m a competitive person and where I have always gained the most joy in working out is when it was FUN and more importantly different. I’m a go full speed ahead type of person but I get bored easily. Changing things every four weeks really allowed me things to look forward too and something to throw my all into for a short time then I was switching to something else and doing it all over again.
I also love being in the gym with the big boys and lifting my big girl weights instead of the little 5 pounders I see so many women flock too. I loved the strength gains I was making and look forward to even more success in the future with TT!
Another big part of my success was the camaraderie of the forums. It keeps you on check for success because you know you have someone else to answer too when you fall off the wagon! For me personally when I put things out there to others my competitive nature kicks in and the last thing I want is to fail!
Having this competition is such a fabulous idea and gives you a goal to work towards in the short term, which just leads to greater success in the long term!
So the programs I followed for the 12 weeks were as follows:
* 4 weeks TT Beginner/Intermediate program for women
* 4 weeks TT Advanced program for women
* 4 weeks TT Awesome Abs
I only missed 2 workouts in those 12 weeks so I consider that a success! When I did miss them it was mainly because I was so sore from moving apartments and felt my workouts would suffer for this. I remained active throughout this whole process playing softball, walking everywhere and throwing in some hiking and such.
In terms of eating I really kept my calorie intake to 1300-1600 per day and tried to follow fit days recommendation of 30% fat, 40% carbs and 30% protein as best as possible. My biggest challenge is getting all that protein as I am a vegetarian but I started to just try to get as close as possible instead of stressing about 120 grams per day and that made me much less obsessive!
Here are my beginning stats
height, 5'2"
weight, 153
BMI, 27.7 (using http://home.fuse.net/clymer/bmi)
body fat, 20.7% (using http://home.fuse.net/clymer/bmi)
waist, 30" (smallest part)
stomach, 32" (largest part under belly button)
hips/butt, 42" (at widest part)
thighs, 24"
calves, 14.5"
biceps, 12"
bust, 38" (across chest)
under chest, 32.5"
And here are my stats today, which I am ECSTATIC about!!! I LOVE my body again which has always been so difficult for me to say. And I am looking forward to even more progress with competition number 6. 
Weight, 139.5 (-13.5!!!!)
BMI, 25.6 (using http://home.fuse.net/clymer/bmi)
Body fat, 17.2 (using http://home.fuse.net/clymer/bmi)
Waist, 27” (-3”)
Stomach/hips 30” (-2”)
Butt, 39” (-3”)
Thighs, 22” (-2”)
Calves, 14” (-.5”)
Biceps, 11” (-1”)
Bust, 35” (-3”)
Under chest, 32” (-.5”)
So I lost 13.5 lbs and even more exciting 15 inches overall! I couldn’t be happier with my success and as I said am looking forward to making even more progress on the next competition. For this next competition my goal is to STOP being so scale obsessed because I realize that it's not about the number it's about the measurements and the progress!
Thank you Craig for creating such a great program that is FUN to follow and thank you all for your support! I look forward to more challenges in the future with you all. 
Jami
