I have just finished week 3 of the programme - I'm still losing weight and my partner told me last night that I am starting to get proper muscles!

I think it is essential to lift weights whilst losing weight, as it stops you losing muscle whilst you are losing fat. And, whilst I know that the word toning means nothing and is hated on here, I do feel more toned when I use weights. I still think it is 70% down to food choices though, so its essential you get this bit right too.

Finally, I want to maximise my weight loss so I was concerned about the lack of cardio in this programme. To combat that I am adding in extra, doing some turbo jam workouts, some walking and some rebounding (mini trampoline).

I am LOVING this programme. The workouts are short so it never feels overwhelming, and even when it is getting really hard each exercise is only a few minutes and then you move on to another part of the body. It feels do-able, and when I am finished I feel amazing!

Good luck.

I've been thinking of dusting off my old C25K podcasts too. I managed to get through to week 5 once, but never finished it. Running would certainly mix up my routine as well. In fact I need to do some cardio today and I might head out the door now you've put the idea in my head!

I just finished the program a couple of weeks ago. I only lost 14 lbs but I lost 18.5 inches total. I lost one pant size (from a sz 12 to a 10 but the 10s are getting loose in the waist area). My diet wasn't 100%....I had gone on vacation during this program plus dealt with several holidays and birthday celebrations. I'm sure I would've lost more had I been cleaner in my diet. But oh well, I am not in a race and want to enjoy life! I love the transformation my body took though and my upper body is very much changed. I wish I could say the same for my lower body, it just doesn't want to cooperate as quickly! LOL It is a GREAT program...and I bet it'd be even more effective if combined with TurboFire in a hybrid schedule.

Lifting heavy weights is not only good for fat loss (notice that I did not say "weight" loss because we don't care what the scale says, we just want to get lean!!) but lifting heavy weights are also important for a variety of other reasons, including balance, bone density and strength and increased metabolism. There is a book called "Younger Next Year" which cites some pretty sobering statistics - this particular book is aimed at post-menopausal women, but are worth noting because the sooner you start taking preventative measures by lifting heavy weights, the better off you will be during the course of your life time. Here are those sobering stats, exactly as written in the book:

• There are one and a half million fractures each year from osteoporosis, the large majority of them occur in women.

• You – yes you – have a 50 percent lifetime risk of breaking a bone from osteoporosis, and the vast majority of these fractures are caused by falls that you would have bounced right back up from in younger years.

• Americans – mostly women – suffer 300,000 hip fractures every single year.

• Hip fractures kill more women than breast cancer.

• Twenty percent of women who fall down and break a hip die within a year.

• And of those who survive, half will never live independently again.

• Twenty-five percent of women who break a hip will end up in a nursing home.

• Twenty-five percent will be at home, but dependent on a wheelchair or walker to get around the house, and dependent on someone else to get through each day.

• There are a million spine fractures each year in the United States, and about a quarter million wrist fractures, most from osteoporosis.

• Only half of spine or wrist fractures heal back to full function; the rest become lifetime disabilities.

The book goes on to say that the vast majority of these fractures never need to happen and that osteoporosis, broken bones and nursing homes can be skipped altogether by keeping your bones strong and not falling down. You keep the bones strong and avoid falling down through heavy strength training. Calcium supplements, according to the book, are only mildly effective. However, women [people] who strength train using heavy weights gain a little bone mass each year, whereas those doing aerobics only slow the loss of bone. The book further states that women who start heavy strength training early enough, and stick with it, will never need medication [for thinning bones] and will never break a bone. Strength training further aids in keeping you from falling in the first place by speeding up your reflexes and strengthening your ligaments and joints.

Personally, that is all the convincing that I need! I will be a woman of iron forever!

I am going to start this tomorrow. I am hoping with that the combination of my Roca Labs, Zumba, It Works body wraps, and now ChaLean Extreme I will finally get the body I have always dreamed of. We leave Germany in 12 weeks so I have my deadline.