Even though when I started this contest I was in pretty good shape and my strength and endurance levels were good, I simply never felt that I had the body to prove it. My weight always hovered around 130, which was more than acceptable for my height. But I had my trouble spots, and I would go back and forth with how I dealt with them. Either I justified them, convincing myself that due to my stretch marks I would never be able to tighten and flatten up those areas, or I would try again to burn off those last few pounds of fat. The latter never worked, and the former never satisfied.
I chose to use Booty for Wife 2.0 for the contest (great program), but I really needed to figure out the issue of food. My diet was healthy, consisting of mostly fresh, living food, lean protein, and little to no grains. That is when I came across the Anything Goes Diet, and it made me realize that I was eating way too many calories (though healthy calories) to burn off the last bit of fat that refused to go. So, although I had been writing my food intake in a journal already, in the final month I began to log my calories into an online tracker (myfitnesspal.com). I tried not to eat more than 1000 calories per day (as little as 800 if possible), plus fasted twice per week (guided by the Eat Stop Eat program). In the first week, I noticed a huge change. All of my clothes were feeling loose, and I could visually see changes in my hips and thighs in the mirror. In my last week, I incorporated the 4-day diet from Joel and Craig, and my final results were outstanding.
What I’ve gained from this contest is that there is always more that can be done if we are not satisfied. For me, this had to be a change in my intake. My workouts were effective and I burned tons of calories in any given day, but I was eating at maintenance level, rather than at a fat-loss level. I am so excited to be able to share my results and hopefully encourage others to not give up in the final stretch, no matter how long that final stretch is. It was the most difficult part of my journey, but perseverance definitely paid off. I am thrilled with the definition in my arms and legs, and I found my abs and lost my love handles, regardless of those stretch marks!! Thank you, Craig, for your awesome programs and your encouragement!
Weight start – 132; finish – 122
Hips start - 39; finish – 37
Waist start – 26.5; finish – 24.5
Tummy start – 32; finish – 30
10 pounds lost, and 6 inches from my trouble spots gone!
Sincerely,
Danielle
PS - I really wish I would have worn the bathing suit for the before pics that I wore in the afters. I just truly did not believe I would ever fit into those bottoms! Anything is possible!
