How are you doing today??? I hope you woke up feeling great. 🙂 I told you that I would share with you my personal experience along with two other women (coming soon) who followed the protocols from my No Cover Up Summer Women’s Fat Loss Program.
Below you’ll see my results from following No Cover Up Summer protocols for 7 weeks.
Here’s a little perspective…last year I competed at the national level in a figure competition (it’s a class for female bodybuilders in case you are unfamiliar). After the competition, I experienced some medical problems from the extreme nature of training and dieting. I was directed not to workout for 8 weeks. If you know anything about post show, it’s the worst time not to be active. It’s a time when you should also slowly get back to your normal nutrition (called reverse dieting).
Well, that didn’t happen like it was supposed to. Not working out lead to boredom that lead to a bit more flexibility around food (not really…that’s all the excuses I told myself when I ate freely (I don’t recommend it). I packed on a bit more weight than I would have liked.
The good part is I’m not one of those people who freaks about my body changes. I love my body, no matter the shape (it’s part of what I teach), I embrace it for what it is. But, it can get me in trouble. Despite feeling great and loving life I lose track of my body shape. I wearing clothes that flatter my current shape, their cute, I’m comfortable and then
WHOA!
I wake up one morning and nothing fits.
And I mean NOTHING!
Well, maybe my husbands sweats…
Anyway, the point is, I let my self slide and I had to make a change. I wanted to get back on track with my purpose for being fit and healthy in the first place…being a great role model for my daughter. It was then I decided to jump back on my women’s fat loss protocols (now called, No Cover Up Summer). The details, results and progress pictures are below. Keep in mind, not all results are like mine. And as I mentioned, I’ll be sharing a couple more with you soon.
If you want to hear more about how you can join me for my next 8 weeks of No Cover Up Summer Sign up HERE
7 Week Fat Loss Results
Name: Jacqueline Sobotka
Age: 30 years old
Occupation: Respiratory Therapist (12 hour nights), Business Owner and Mommy :p
Hormonal Cyle: Normal
Birth Control: Paraguard. (the type of birth control you use can have an impact on losing fat)
Energy Change: At first when I was learning my body again I had a few energy shifts but I had a hard time figuring out if that was my work life, ovulating, PMS or lack of sleep. However, when I gave it some time, I CLEARLY felt my energy significantly improved.
More Benefits:
- I no longer had bloating
- GI issues were gone
- The quality of my sleep improved.
- I could sleep 6-8 hours and feel as good as I did with the 8-10 I needed previously.
I will be honest there were times when my energy levels plummeted or I did have cravings, but over the 7 weeks, I learned my body well enough to know what I needed to minimize them (I usually needed more protein or fats). Also, I was able to figure out if the energy drops or cravings came from a food issue, low quality or lack of sleep, stress, or low water intake.
This program allowed me to learn my body and how it functioned based on the time of the month. It’s kind of funny because I was tracking how I felt and how my body would respond month after month. Like clockwork, each month, I was progressively learning and even predicting how I’d feel during ovulation, premenstrual cycle and post cycle!
I used to think my husband was delusional because each month when I would say, ‘But honey my feelings feel so real right now”. He would reply, “yes honey they feel so real every month at this time.” HAHA! Once I tracked it I learned he was right (I hate admitting it). Since then, I tweaked how I ate and trained which has made BIG improvements on my mood swings.
Metabolism Change: My overall calories were higher after 7 weeks of doing No Cover Up Summer (NCUS) then they were when I started. I was able to keep my calories between 1400-1800 calories with two high days of 2000-2200 calories while still losing weight.
I find it interesting because if I am not tracking or planning out my food I am on either extreme… I naturally want to restrict or go all out. By following a plan like NCUS and learning my body I was able to understand my hunger cues quite a bit more.
I almost thought it was weird that there were times that I could eat differently. Here were some benefits:
- My cravings diminished.
- My hunger decreased.
- And my anxiety around nutrition went away.
Word for word I told my husband, “babe… I went all day without really thinking about food. I ate when I was hungry and felt satisfied after I ate.” This was NOT something I was used to when I was trying to drop body fat.
Cravings Change: This one shocked me. Since I work nights my cravings can get intense and be all over the place. But, this was the first time while “dieting” that my “lady time” didn’t increase my cravings whatsoever. I realized that I needed more fats in my diet, I learn when my body functioned better on carbohydrates and I had less cravings or hunger issues overall.
Final Results
Weight Change: Lost 13 pounds
Measurement Changes (inches):
- Chest: -4 inches
- Waist: -3 inches
- Hips: -3 inches
- Butt: -3 inches
- Top of Right Thigh: -4 inches (WOAW! Thick thigh :p)
- Mid-Range Right Calf: -0.5 inches
Total Inches Lost= 18 INCHES!
Overall Experience: It was really an eye-opening experience for me. That was why I felt like this program was a must to share with all my Lady Leaders out there! I was able to make nutrition and exercise fit into my LIFE and not my life fit into a diet or workout program. That was huge for me!!!!!
I was able to drop the anxiety and start getting to know my body so that I could finally create a lifestyle that could last. It really blew my mind that when I got to know my body I was able to identify WHY I was feeling bloated, having cravings, and experiencing fatigue or increased hunger. And do it all aligned with how my hormones were at that time of the month.
It’s amazing when we bring reasoning into our reality we are 100% more likely to stick to a plan. If we wake up bloated one morning, have increased cravings and hunger and we don’t understand why our body is feeling this way we are 10x more likely to skip workouts, overeat at a work pitch in, hide and eat (been there done that)… or feel guilty for obsessing about the food.
NOT ANYMORE!
Getting to know your body is one of the most FREEING feelings have ever had!
Knowing how well this has worked for me and many of my clients I hope you join us in this next 8 week Fat Loss Journey! For more information on how you can get started (and even to possibly work with me personally!!!!) Check it out HERE.
What is the one thing you’d like to learn most about your body? Start or join the conversation by leaving your comments below.
