12 WEEK MELTDOWN CHALLENGE

[One_Buff_Mom]

Hi Everyone! First let me begin by stating that my former user name on Cathe's forum was Solara. Last year, my life was very busy and not conducive to consistent workouts. This, combined with poor eating habits and aging (!) was re-shaping my body into a form I did not want it to take! January 2, 2006 I started a 12 week "meltdown" challenge which was completed on March 26th. For the challenge, I primarily used Cathe's Hardcore series of DVD's (I used a few of her others, too, for variety, particularly SLOW & HEAVY). I also incorported some interval training on the treadmill for additional cardio. Needless to say, I cleaned up my nutrition as well. The purpose of my post it to encourage those of you training at home. My results are proof positive that you don't need to go to a gym...you just need to stick to a good program. BTW - My stats Jan 2 were: 124# and 19.6% BF. My stats Mar 26 were: 117# and 13.1% BF.

Thank you, Cathe, for sharing your gift and producing excellent exercise videos!

P.S. Sorry the pics are so big...don't let the "BEFORE" shots scare 'ya! :7

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3...uff_Mom/F4.jpg
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"Welcome the challenge...embrace it...don't fear it." -Cathe Friedrich

[berry99]

You look great!!! Thanks for the needed inspiration! I am going to go out for my run right now :-) . Hopefully someday I will be able to post pictures like yours.

Karin

[createdbygod]

WOW! Look at you!!! Thanks for sharing! :)

[mom2punk]

FREAKING AMAZING!!! I am speachless...........I have not been working out, been busy your pictures here just motivate me to slap myself in the face and get my A** moving again.

You look great! so defined and tone GOOD JOB!

Andrea

[fit@home1]

Highly impressive!! :7

[xschwarz]

I've noticed your great work! Congrats One Buff Mom. I too find Slow and Heavy soooooo effective for weight loss and muscle definition simultaneously.

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[nancy156]

Wow, you look great!!!! You have alot to be proud of. Only 12 weeks....so impressive!!!!

I can't believe you built such muscle in such a short time. You must have worked like a dog....and eaten like a bird. Do you include protein drinks or something to help build muscle?

Thanks, Nancy

[nancy156]

sorry...double post

[One_Buff_Mom]

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words. The first 8 weeks of the challenge I used SLOW & HEAVY and the Gym Style series. The last 4 weeks, I used the Gym Style series exclusively. My rotation was a 3 day split: LEGS, Chest & Triceps, Back, Shoulders and Biceps. I trained my abs probably a total of only 8x - the core gets a workout stabilizing...if I had time and the inclination, I did an ab workout. The first 7-8 weeks I alternated cardio and weight-training days and took one day completely OFF. The last 5 or 4 weeks, I did fasted HIIT cardio for 30 mins (60 minutes 1x/week) and weight trained in the afternoon.

The first 4 weeks, I had one "cheat day"/week. Weeks 5-8 I cut that back to one "cheat meal"/week. The last 4 weeks I did my best to have "zero" cheat meals. I eat 5-6 250-350 calorie meals/day with protein and carbs and no added fat or sugars. M1 is a protein shake - chocolate whey protein, 1 small banana, 8 oz. 1% milk, 8 oz H2O, 4-5 ice cubes,1 heaping tablespoon instant coffee. (This has been my M1 for years whether training or not). M2 is 5 hard-boiled egg whites and 1 cup cooked oatmeal. Lunch(M3) and dinner(M5) are fish or chicken and vegetables. In the beginning, I had brown rice, too. (I will incorporate more grains now that I'm not cutting). M4 (between lunch and dinner) is usually 1/2 cup low fat salt-free cottage cheese with stevia and chopped fruit mixed in. I did not drink diet soda or juice the entire 12 weeks. I do not consume foods made from white flour and try very, very hard to avoid sugar. I drink loads of water...1 gallon +/- and I enjoy green tea (no sweetner)at the office.

That's it in nutshell...nothing extraordinary. If you're interested in seeing my workouts in more detail, drop me a PM or email. I don't measure my food or calculate P/C/F macros...no time for that...so I couldn't tell you specifically about what I ate the entire 12 weeks. I am logging my food now so I will be able to share more nutritional details in the coming weeks.

And again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the compliments...they mean so much when they're from people in the lifestyle. Eat right...train hard...get rest. Take care!

[xschwarz]

Thanks for sharing the oh so clean eating schedule. It gives me a lot to think about. I am very familiar with BFFM and "clean eating". Did you have to put a lot of time into meal prep?

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