Level 3 grand results, before and after (with pics!)

Level 3 is over.

Wait, WHAT? HOW? WHEN?

Yop, this is approximately my reaction on the day I fill in the workout calendar for day 30… I loved level 3 so much, I enjoyed doing every single exercise in the MS, I loved all those exercises for my bum… And now it is OVER? I didn’t put enough of effort into it, I didn’t have enough time to rock it and enjoy it… I didn’t… I didn’t… I didn’t…

It is like when someone you care about leaves for good – even if it is not totally out of the bloom – you sit there stunned questioning, how could that happen and why haven’t you told that person more often how much you cared. Well, same here :) I feel like I haven’t put enough effort into the level 3 workouts, because constantly there were some distractions and urgent things to do. And now that I have to move on, I don’t feel ready. But life is inevitable, and it is my own fault I didn’t enjoy the moment while it lasted, so I will try to do the level 4 better. Learn on your own mistakes, people!

Lots of bumps on the way during level 3. For one thing, I completely lacked motivation on some days– just didn’t want to do anything. But then forced myself to start the workout and felt much better after it – at least about myself. At the same time, I had lots of work (presentation for faculty), which I had to do last-minute as I didn’t do it earlier (again, my fault!). And I was smart enough to start driving school now. Yes, I don’t have a license (still) and yes, I will have it sometime soon. I decided I am already too old NOT to have a license, I need to do it and Germany is as good as it gets in terms of licenses. Even though it is expensive, it is pretty much accepted everywhere and is given without an ending date. What can be better?! Hence, I am going to driving school three hours each morning for 1.5 weeks… All these matters put together at the same time, I found myself running out of time every day. Sometimes I had to shorten the Cardio by 5-10 minutes or so. And I missed it all together twice.

Sunday was my day 30 and that was the culmination of my struggle against work and laziness. I also made a mistake of starting the workout too early after I ate (and I noticed, I don’t like working out in the second half of the day – as I am already ‘heavy’ and everything aches by the evening, I totally prefer morning before breakfast). So Sunday workout was heavy and hard, I felt like a cow on ice (with no ice) – that was a horrible feeling of being old and tired… And that was AFTER my rest day on Saturday. And as I didn’t give enough time for digestion, I felt nauseous throughout the workout… Honestly, I was nearly in tears, and was feeling horrible for not giving justice to the wonderful level 3… My last level 3 workout didn’t give me any pleasure – such a shame!!!

The next day – Monday – I took another rest day. First, I needed to get some rest and sleep (which I ended up not getting), and second, I still had to finish my presentation for Tuesday… So level 4 had to wait, I was working till late at night and going to driving school for 3 hours each morning. I did get back on track yesterday, and now after driving school bO-O-Oring theory class, going to meet my supervisor and then head home for a nap and my MS (DC done in the morning).

Level 3 has taught me a lot. It taught me that it is better to workout with a smile than tears. So next time I feel SO bad, I would stop and take a rest day. There is a fine line between laziness that stops you from starting the workout and actual suffering throughout the workout. Overcoming laziness is hard, but really really important. Suffering should never happen. Struggling – yes, suffering – no! Even a hard workout (when you honestly want to swear and say all the bad words you can remember) can be extremely enjoyable and refreshing.

But despite of – or may be because of – all the bumps, I did manage to surprise myself with results…

Day 31 of Metamorphosis

(Ah, this is approximately how I was urgently
 trying to finish my presentation...)

I know, I disappeared. I know. And I am sorry. I had a crazy time. Well basically, not too crazy considering I am a PhD student - and that in itself is crazy, but I had a little bit of a bad time even for a PhD student. Today I had a presentation - an important presentation at the Uni. And I was not ready even a week ago - meaning I had absolutely nothing to present. So it took me almost day and night to prepare. For that reason I disappeared, for that reason I had some problems with level 3 (about that in the next post), and for that reason I took an extra rest day - yesterday - after the end of level 3 (even though my official rest day was Saturday...) But, nevertheless, I did get back on track today - after the presentation right away.

Soooo...  I did start level 4. I still myself can't believe I am actually saying (writing) this. How can it be even possible??!! I actually made it through to level 4 already! And the journey felt like a couple days so far, but was difficult as if it was a year. It had ups and downs... But boy it was good!

Level 4 will definitely kick your ass. There is SO much about balance. Some of the MS exercises are so hard - primarily in terms of balance. While in level 3 my butt really hurt by the end of MS, now I feel like a have wobbly legs and arms. I mean seriously - I fell several times! For real! Good that I have a soft mat, but it was not fun. I was already starting to think "Yey, I kick ass!" after level 3, when here we come - I actually fell like three times in a particular balancing exercise...

I am on week hmmm on week 6 of diet (Body Reset, I call it "protein boost") - it took me some time to remember, which week it is. While my set goal of following the diet for 30 days came and went, I am still sticking to it. I just decided, I won't feel bad about myself if I am not always consitstent with sticking to it, but I will try as much as I can. So I still have my chicken and salad in the evenings, I still have two eggs in the morning and some fruit and protein bar during the day. It works out well, and mostly I don't feel hungry. But if I have a dinner with friends or sweetheart, I won't overthink it - I will just try to stick to healthy options.

I have some nice results from level 3 - despite all the bumps on the way, or may be due to them, who knows - I even have pics taken, measurements calculated, all ready... Just have to write it up and post all of that juicy content tomorrow, so stay tuned! ;)

Day 28 of Metamorphosis

So... I just ate two slices of Gouda cheese and I don't feel bad about it! :) I went into the shop to get some zucchini and eggplant for  cooking the second half of the Roasted veggie puree... But hey it was past 9pm, no zucchini or eggplant left... No celery either.  Felt a little like I was back in the perestroyka times... So I saw cheese, and I just couldn't resist - I needed it. I topped up the two slices of cheese (~200 calories as I calculated) with couple olives, and that was my dinner. Well. It is not like I ate some french fries and a burger. And I feel better now.

Do let yourself enjoy a little, and when you get off the track, don't beat yourself up for it! It is so not worth it! What is the pleasure than of eating something you find yummy if you don't enjoy eating it and feel guilty?!Just enjoy it, and get back on track the next day. 

Now I'm off to get a good beauty sleep. Night night y'all!

One month with Meta and still going strong… Or?

Today is exactly a month since I started my journey. And I thought it is about time to talk a little about the journey itself, without counting kilos, calories, describing the workouts, the diet, whining how tough it all is and so on, and so forth… It is time to reflect, to think what has actually been going on in my head, to try to understand in what way has this journey changed me and my life so far. Because we are not talking only about kilos, calories, muscles and sexy butt here, are we? I mean, it might seem this way sometimes, but really – we are not. Those are just some of the visible results, some of the outcomes. Much more has been going on in the background, somewhere deep inside my head and sub-consciousness. Or not?

First and foremost, the workout has become part of my life. Even if it doesn’t fit in the schedule, even if I very often don’t start it with a smile on my face (cmon, I am just a human!), even if it intervenes with work… Yes, it has become a part of my mindset of the things to do. It is really on the way of becoming a habit, but I am not going to be risky and not remind myself: “You have to do it” every day. I think this is the longest ever commitment to workout and healthy lifestyle I ever had and managed to keep up with. I have to say, that even though I have not been able to follow the diet to the T, I still stuck with healthy eating – which is after all the most important thing. I think this is a right way for changing the mindset. I very often don’t have to tell myself “I am on diet, I should eat this”, but rather “This looks healthy and yummy”. And I guess this is really important.

This all been said, there are not just only positive things. I am still majorly struggling with the rest of my life. As I did start with putting the workouts the first thing on my daily to-do-list, it has moved my schedule at least 1.5. And I have never been good in scheduling and organizing. And instead of waking up an 1-2 earlier (which still happens sometimes), I keep waking up the same time I used to before, and then the workout takes around 1-2 hours from my work routine. You see, I am a PhD student, I have a free schedule to work whenever and wherever basically. So, it is really hard for an unorganized person like me to get into a good routine. I am still trying, and still struggling about 4 days out of 5… I have to start working on weekends too as I don’t get enough done over the workdays… The sad truths of my life. This problem sucks me into some bad moods and stress sometime, so the next thing on my monthly agenda is to GET INTO A ROUTINE. It is hard to start working out, but for me it is even harder to start doing so without hurting my other spheres of my life: professional and personal. Hence, this will be the agenda for month 2.

Day 24 of Metamorphosis

Today I was travelling back from Prague to Bremen, what a nightmare. :) I start losing faith in the Deutsche Bahn (German Railroads). The train was 50 minutes late (check out the reason: kids were playing on the tracks, and they needed to “clear” the tracks…), and then as it was late, it simply stopped in Hannover and instead of going then directly to Bremen, it just didn’t move. So everyone had to get off and take another train… I was at least an hour late. And it is not that I really had somewhere to go this Sunday evening (salsa was cancelled), but rather going through all the trouble is a little annoying. And it gets me tired, so I by the end of the trip I had no clue, how I was going to work out today. Besides, I only had breakfast (eggs and an apple), lunch (protein bar) and some snack with me (celery sticks), and by 6pm I was already starving.

Anyhow, enough of whining, I guess. Better tell a little about my little ups and downs. First and foremost, I did get home and did not starve. I did have my chicken breast with salad, and I did find strength for the workout (now just need to find strength to get my legs moving towards the bedroom...) 

Today however I wanted to sum up some of the events of the past couple days, I have to be honest with you and myself – I have not been able to stick with the diet very well in the past several days. Though I did try my best. I was visiting my boyfriend in Prague, and even though we tried to eat healthy together, temptations are really bad. So, I sometimes had a little soup for lunch instead of the protein bar, I went out for dinners. But to be fair, I always chose a protein option (chicken, fish or beef) with fresh salad or veggies, so no pasta, pizza, and excessive sauce and oil. And I guess it is good enough. I still kept my workouts during the visit, and I did have the fruits and eggs in the morning. You can do only as much as you can! :)

Besides all that the workouts are still rocking, I love to dance with Katy Perry, and level 3 MS is so much fun for some reason! I love it! Yesterday was my rest day and well instead of really having a rest, we went cycling – as the weather hit nearly 20 degrees and all people in Prague seemed to go outside for the day – it was crowded, we had some cycling-roller-blading-walking jams in the park, but it was still beautiful. In the end we did almost 30 km cycle, and after that came back home exhausted and both needed rejuvenating baths… So much for the rest day! :) But hey – I rested from the usual workouts, but kept active lifestyle, what can be better!?

After the baths we went to a wonderful dinner in the very centre of Prague – on a terrace – overlooking the old square and providing wonderful views of the city.

Then Brazilian jazz concert – which was absolutely lovely, and the Brazilian-International team of musicians were absolutely amazing. So, the rest day was wonderful and I could barely wake up in the morning for my train back to Bremen. Buuu, long way and I didn’t want to leave!

Week 5 starts tomorrow, l3d4 is also planned for tomorrow. As I have been away, I am not prepared for the diet, so I guess will have to go shopping early in the morning.

Have a great day and evening everyone!

Day 22 of Metamorphosis

Today I really felt the difficulty of the level. Boy! How my muscles hurt - everywhere! But even more so on the back and sides. How is THAT possible? Well, I guess it is from the hard balancing movement, and because in the exercises at this level, you really really involve the whole body to perform seemingly easy leg lifts. 

I finally got someone to take some pics of me while I am training, as I am visiting my sweetheart in Prague these days. So here we go.

Day 21 of Metamorphosis

I know, I know two posts a day is a little weird, but a) I want to separate the topics and b) I was on the road today and had a pleeenty of time on the train :) So, hey, here I am again. :)

I started level 3 today. Had to get up at 6 in the morning as I am travelling today (going to Prague), and my train was at 9, so to fit in the workout, I had to really get up early. But I did manage to do the whole hour of workout. It is always so exciting to start a new level, as it means something different, something you don’t know yet, something exciting. I liked level 3 much more than level 2. Well, when I was doing level 2, I can’t say I was a fan of it, but I neither hated it the same way some other TAMers did. In my experience it was difficult, but a bit boring. Level 3 on the other hand is really interesting – I like all the fast movements (“OMG, are you for real, that is NORMAL speed??!!”), I love the angles in this one, the vectors, the interesting moves. Even abs – which are really hard for me, are interesting and unusual, with very unconventional rotations of legs and feet. But again, this level requires even more concentration and attention: you HAVE to follow her precisely. I sometimes had to pause the exercise to see the exact angles, and so on. But it is exciting and fulfilling. To be honest, my butt will probably hurt to sit on tomorrow, as after I finished each side, I felt like it was falling off because of all the stress it went through :)

But anyway, great workout, I’m looking forward to doing it for the next 9 days.

Level 2 grand results (no pics for now...)

Today I have started level 3. There is nothing more encouraging than doing well. Really when you succeed in something, it gives you more and more energy to continue to succeed. I guess until you lose interest in succeeding in this particular field. So I hope when this happens to me, working out will already be a habit and a lifestyle. But till then every single little achievement is a HUGE achievement.

Anyhow, my achievements are diverse and are a little different from level 1. This is of course expected, as different muscles are targeted at different levels, and in the beginning it is also a lot about bloating and detoxing. Hence, very different things go on in my body, that’s obvious. While the first 10 days were the straight high-jacket of weight decrease with losing something like 2.5-3 kilos within the first 10 days, in the next 10 I only lost some hundred grams. At the same time, my biggest cm loss in level 1 was in my waist and some in my hips, level 2 was dominated by loss in my hips and bikini area. Yey! My ass is getting smaller and is lifting up! There is nothing more encouraging for the summer! I do really want to have a nice butt for a bikini. :) Though I am not going to go for a vacation this summer, but the thought of how it could have been is still great.! :D

So, without further ado, here are my results after level 2 (in cm):

	days 11-21	days 1-21
Chest:	-1	-1
Waist:	-1	-5.5
Hips:	-2.5	-5
Thighs:	-0.5	-1
Arms:	-0	-1
Left Bikini:	-3.5	-5.5
Right Bikini:	-3	-3.5
Total:	-13	-24
Weight:	-0.4	-3.3

Overall, I lost less kg, but more cm. Fine with me! I also think that I have now much nicer abs, my ass does look smaller… Bur for now I will not upload pictures, as I am on the move today and had no time to take pictures, I also don’t really have the same clothes with me. Besides, I don’t think the change is so visibly drastic.

Anyway, I am really excited and looking forward to new results and new me! :) 

Day 19 of Metamorphosis or how to rock the floor!!!

I found a secret to having fun during the workout. 

Till today I would wake up and a workout was always a challenge. I mean it is not easy, but the hardest thing for me was to motivate myself. Sometimes I would start the DC with gritted teeth, trying to smile through them, and mostly would get into a better mood by about 10th minute or so. But it was never that I actually enjoyed myself through and through and was looking forward to DC. In no way. MS went easier, as that was already part 2. And all this not because DC is boring. No. I love to dance, I enjoy the dance movements, I generally like music and when I hear music I feel like moving. You know, there are people who are more musical, and those who are more dance-type. Those who are more musical, when they hear a song they like they want to play and sing it; those who are more into dance, they want to express the music with their body. And I have always been the latter. So what was wrong with me in this thing? 

Well, I discovered, that music matters!!! I do NOT like techno music at all. For me it's boring and I don't feel like moving when I hear it, more like falling asleep... So hey, no wonder I didn't much enjoy the DC - I am first and foremost not into that type of music. I would for instance never dance to that if I had a choice. So today I just didn't want to turn off the music I already had on. And I thought "Hey, why should I turn it off??!!" So I muted Tracy (sorry :D) and turned up my playlist of hot and spicy hits by Katy Perry. Common, it is so much more fun - now that I more or less know the moves - to rock to "I kissed a girl" and "Teenage dream" and "California girls"!!! I was shocked. Half hour was up in no time, I haven't even noticed it!!! I was rocking it, doing all those sexy hip-moves (well, I don't see myself, so they are sexy for me only, otherwise they are probably pretty ridiculous :D), singing along... And then Tracy stopped dancing, but I had a rocking song on, so I continued dancing and jumping around for 5 more minutes or so. It was the first time EVER I did more than the 30 minutes of cardio, and actually felt like it, and was enjoying myself (opposite from "Thank god, I am done!") And I have to say, I stopped only because I didn't have so much time for training, and really wanted to fit MS right after before I go to the office. I did MS after 2 minute breather, and boy was I sweating throughout that wonderful hour of workout!!

So, hey, Katy Perry is the answer! :D 

Well, I'm kidding (somewhat), but in each joke there is always some truth. I am a kinda hip-hop, pop dancing type, so this worked for me. The main thing I learnt - put up your own music - almost from the start. As soon as you already know the movements and don't need Tracy's advice, just mute it all - and enjoy to the music you love to dance to, that makes your body move without any effort and hit the floor like you are clubbing or on stage. Think about the craziest night you had dancing out and enjoyed yourself enormously, and get that type of music. Cos that is what Tracy wants from you - ROCK IT! Find what works for you, and enjoy it!

Oh and I only today realised that I am nearly done with level 2. I haven't even noticed it. To be very honest, I can't see as much difference as I have seen in level 1, but I will still get the updates for the level. One more workout of level 2 and I am moving to level 3!!! WOW!

Day 18 of Metamorphosis

Ah, Sunday... I do find it hard to work out on Sundays. It is somehow a thought deep routed in the psyche that it is a REST day... Most of my life I have spent Sundays lazing around and not bothering much. Sometimes I did some home chores, like laundry and cleaning up, but normally I read, watched movies, surfed Internet aimlessly for hours... And now I have a workout to do AND a salsa training to go to. So, for me it is extremely hard to do either - not cos it is hard, but because my laziness tells me it wants to lie on the sofa and do nothing all day.

What do people do for lack of motivation? Honestly, I went to TAM community and read people's comments. Then looked through my blog - many many many times - saw my results from level 1, thought about the "social responsibility" I have to all of you guys, sighed and did my transform. I did not do DC, as I had two hours of salsa, so I think that is enough of dance for a Sunday, but I did get my butt off the comfy computer chair to do the MS. Level 2 is still hard for me. Now I am sitting and still feeling my abs - they do hurt and ache.

Hmmm well, as this is apparently the post of revelations, I have to be honest (to myself as well) and admit, I did not follow the diet very well for two days. On Friday I had a friend over and we went for a Mexican dinner (a nice restaurant, in Europe Mexican are almost never fast food...) - can't say it was the healthiest thing ever, but what can I do. On Saturday we went yet again to a Mexican restaurant - that was a coincidence! - as my friends from salsa were meeting there, and I simply ordered cilli con carne. Well, I know it is not the same one we have in our TA menu, but at least some sort of substitute. But to be fair - I did not eat much before that during the day, just had fruit and veg - both days. Overall, it is not so bad, and what can you do when you have social life, right? :) I am trying to keep the balance in all ways - and it means you have to keep with your normal social life too. Today I am back to the diet and eating well :) Now I am sitting with a cup of steaming herb tea and my veggie snack, and am procrastinating a little before going to bed very soon. Some results of my procrastination (and this is what gives me lots of motivation too) below.

Tomorrow is going to be a beautiful new day! :)

Week 3 diet

Week 3 is a Nutrient Boost Week and it is a little puzzling for me. That is the main reason I am coming to writing about it only in the end of the week.

I will start with the menu: first the 'oldies' - the ones which were also available in week 1, then the new dishes too.

Power Juice - I have written about it before, and as before I am unfortunately ignoring it for now... As I don't have a juicer, and I can't be bothered going through a more difficult way of getting the juice (blend it and then squeeze through some cloth). I simply don't have time for that.

Gazpacho is as good as ever. I can't say I love it, but it is tolerable. Funny enough, I made it several times already, and every time it is a little different consistency. :)

Blueberry Applesauce - still love it in the mornings before work out.

Chocolate Pudding - I love it, but I decided not to have it this week, as almost every day I have one or another occasion at work (birthdays, meetings, special occasions) when we drink coffee with cookies and cake, so I have a little bit of that instead (but really like ONE Rafaello, or half a little piece of cake).

Turkey Spinach Crumble is one of the new things on the menu and involves turkey minced meat... A lot. Cooked with a very yummy herb combination... But all together it is basically turkey.

(Turkey crumble together with the veggie snack: I find it a bit difficult to eat meat/poultry on its own...)

Waldorf Salad - this I found the most strange. But may be it is because I could not - yet again - find chestnuts, so substituted them by blueberries... Can't say it worked out, as basically this 'salad' has chicken breast, blueberries (chestnuts), red grapes and parsley... Strange and for me it is like sweet chicken. Hmmmm.

Chili is probably the yummiest and for me the most questionable item on the menu. Chili? Healthy? Well, there isn't any oils or salts... Mostly it is a LOT of ground beef, zucchinis, peppers, garlic. That is about it. Oh and lots of cumin. I actually do love it, but I feel somewhat guilty to eat this meaty meal. And again, it is a LOT of meat!

(In preparation...)

(Final result. Very very very yummi... And I love cumin, so it is a great dish. Though again, I would say not enough veggies.)

2 Veggie Snacks every day - a really yummy snack, but then I would consider anything containing celery and cucumbers yummy :)

So, as you can see the diet is very different from week 1, even though it is also a Nutrient Boost Week. But week 3 is definitely a nutrient boost week... When I started it, for me it was too much food. Honestly. I hit a 54 kilo mark and it didn't move for several day (until today - which is strange). I had no desire to force myself eat more than I could, so I naturally excluded some of the meals - sometimes no veggie snacks, one day now blueberry applesauce. I still try to keep as much as I can with the diet. But honestly 1 kg of turkey, 400 g of chicken and 1.5 kg of beef in one week is a little too much for me. I don't eat meat every day in my normal diet, not to mention several times a DAY! So, all in all, I am indeed a bit surprised, but what can I do? I am still sticking to it. But advice to all of you out there is to listen to your own body. This is a bit too much for me, but may be it is OK for you. Also, I found planning a little more meals in the morning is better than in the evening. So for instance I have all meat done with by 13-14:00 and then I only have veggies to consume. I still despite of the diet am losing weight... Well sort of.

I had a stable 54 kg for several days, then today I woke up with 52.2... I do NOT know what happened. Honestly. There were several things I did yesterday differently from the other days:

1. I tried to exclude blueberry applesauce, but have veggie snacks instead (I honestly don't think this had anything to do with the loss)

2. I ate all meat till about 14:00, then moved to gazpacho and veggies.

3. I have a glass (well, OK two...) of wine yesterday after I came back from work at 22-something.

4. I had a pineapple (a small one) yesterday before wine...

So, really I think may be the combination of things made me drop a lot in one day. I have no clue. But we will see how it stays up. I don't think it will, at least not this very moment. I think it will go up to 53 and stabilize there, and then again may be spike down...

All in all, week 3 diet is good, a lot of food, hence you won't be hungry! That's for sure. I like the meat, but for me its a little too much. But in a way it is good not to have to deal with lots of purees again :)

PS Happy International (Post-Soviet) Women's Day! :)

Day 15 of Metamorphosis

OK. So I haven't been very active here lately... for several reasons. First, yes, I was waaay too busy. I had work, numerous meetings, had to go from one university in Bremen to another (hour one way!), seminars, and again work...  I still fit in the workouts and diet, but never got around to write about them. Second, I didn't really have many changes. Just didn't. And third, I was (and still am to be honest) a little puzzled with the diet, so I didn't know exactly what to write... But I will write a separate post on that...

I am on day 15 of my Metamorphosis now. Or L2D5. I can well understand why level 2 is difficult. MS has those horrible blanks and lots of exercises on balance. The DC is not getting easier - it is a very HIGH impact exercise. However, I notice that without putting too much thought into it, my body remembers many moves and transitions between them, so I get better and better in terms of following it at least. I don't have the thoughts like "MAAAAN, where did she go NOW?!" :) I don't get lost at all, even if I am doing some of the moves with one-count delay - but that is natural.

All in all, still going strong, still have motivation and determination, even if less time than ever. But oh well.

Have a great day y'all!

Day 13 of Metamorphosis

Day 13 went fine, a bit too busy: work, getting the groceries for week 3 (was a bit late as was celebrating on Saturday, and Sunday all the shops are closed in Germany), cooking, doing laundry, cleaning up... Now I still need to unpack - still haven't done so since I came back from Sweden!!! Soon a month ago. Sigh. This is just me.

DC was easier today than ever I guess. I was sweating damn a lot, but at the same time, felt strong and cheerful throughout the workout. MS was also OK, but it is still hard to balance, and man I hate planks! They suck :) I can only do like 10 reps of exercises with planks, but well at least it is fun.

Today I updated my level 1 results with some pics, and honestly, was impressed myself! It is working and I am determined to keep it up!

Have a great day y'all!

Week 3 Shopping list

Week 3 is again a Nutrient Boost Week, and after 1 day of it I have to say I again feel it is too much food... As there are some mistakes in the shopping lists on TAM website, and I always have some stuff left over, I create my own lists. Also as I still had some groceries left over from last week (like chicken breast, onions, carrots, etc.), i had to buy less, but still the whole shopping got into 43 Euro - not the cheapest diet on Earth I must say.

My shopping list:

• Pack of kale
• 2 packs of spinach
• 32 apples
• 3 packs blueberries
• 1 kg ground organic turkey meat
• 10 basil leaves
• 30 cloves roasted garlic
• Coriander
• Pack of strawberries
• 23  tomatoes
• Parsley
• Cilantro
• 1 Pack mixed bell peppers, 2 red bell peppers
• 3 English cucumbers
• Fennel seeds
• 1 pack dried blackberries
• 1 small pack red grapes
• 1.4 kg grass-fed ground beef
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 2 large or 4 small zucchinis, diced
• Pack of celery
• 1 lime

Below you can find a full table of all groceries for each recipe (with transformations for kg) and from it you could create your own shopping list.

Days 11-12 and rest day

I started level 2. Overall impression of level 2: it is tough, but doable. For me actually it became more interesting and challenging. In level 2 the exercises become more difficult, and one has to really keep attention up: to note all the angles and turns of wrists, feet, etc. Here angles become even more important. So beware!

In day 11 I had to separate the DC and MS - as I didn't have enough time in the morning (overslept) and it felt like I was much stronger when I was doing MS. I am not sure if it is about the change, or because I was not already exhausted by DC, but it went almost easy. Then I had my rest day, and on day 12 - 4th of March, I went to the consulate to vote and had salsa, so I only did MS in the evening. Will get back to DC tomorrow - for sure!

Diet... Well, what can I say - I was off it for 1.5 days almost. Though I still tried to keep up the more or less healthy food. But yesterday was my birthday, so my sweetheart arranged a couple niceties for me - so sweet! He whisked me off to a hotel with spa, got me a cake with candles (I really begged to get something really really really tiny - I am still on diet!! :D), a wonderful present, romance, champagne, amazing dinner, and then salsa dancing. We got a little too much of drink - oops, but it was a wonderful day. And I had some nice and not too unhealthy food...

Breakfast (birthday cake and champagne):

Lunch (small chicken soup and a salad, ate 2 pieces of bread :(...):

Dinner (rumpsteak with rucola and tomatoes, tomato salad):

(I know, I know, it's a steak, but at least I ordered it without any sauce (and it is protein after all!), and also had only fresh veggies with it, rather than any bad roasted potatoes and other unhealthy fatty things.)

So, the diet was not too bad, but well not precisely what was prescribed... But overall, I had a great weekend, and I loved it and felt great! :) Back to the diet - week 3 starting tomorrow!

Level 1 grand results, before and after (with pics)!

So a little late, but here are the first results. I tried to keep with the diet for the most part, but not all the time,  - it was not as difficult as I thought. All together I am amazed, and fascinated by the results. Really. So here it goes (pics are below!):

Weight: -2.9kg

Chest: -0 cm
Waist: -4.5 cm
Hips: -2.5 cm
Thighs: -0.5 cm
Arms: -1 cm
Left Bikini: -2 cm
Right Bikini: -0.5 cm

So, the numbers are not mesmerizing compared to other women out there, but hey, I'm a small girl and any change is amazing for me. Any change is amazing for anyone! Baby steps!

Day 10 of Metamorphosis

So today started a little late, and as I have some repair works planned for the evening, I decided to skip on the office today and work from home (good old academia!). I can't say it is always productive, but sometimes it is - I love to work on my laptop.

I also tried to change my schedule a little bit: try to workout not the first thing in the morning, but after lunch - to see if I like it better. And well, I don't. Well, I guess everyone has his/her hours for certain things. So for me morning are still not very productive work-wise (I think my brain takes much longer to wake up, so normally for me mornings are spent in administrative jobs and correspondence), and so working out in the morning makes so much sense - I don't have to think that much :) Today I stayed at home - not much administrative work here. And well,  emails were sent, I tried to work, not much luck. Then I had lunch and work started a little bit better. An hour or so after lunch I worked out, and hey - surprise surprise, I felt myself much heavier (even though I did feel more strength), but it was hard to do DC. MS though went better - I don't know if it is because it is day 10, or cos it was not morning. But I did it almost to the dot with Tracy! Impressive!!! :)

Anyhow, I finished level 1!!!! Congrats to me!!! Tomorrow starts level 2! I am excited (jubilant I would even say), but also really stressed: I heard level 2 is a real killer, and I previewed it and I did feel like it was all in fast forward. That would be hmmm interesting. I'm afraid, I will be really sore after that and will have to pause a lot. Oh well, bring it on!

I will publish my results of the full 10 days tomorrow (may be with pics - if there would seem to be a visible effect), but a little sneak peak:

• Today my scales surprised me with 53.9 kg (118.6), which means I lost around 2.6kg (5.7 lbs) in the last 10 days!!! As I wrote before, my desired weight is between 50 and 52 kg (~112-114 lbs), so hey I'm not so far from that :) So I will stick with the diet for the first 30 days I think and then will go off it, but continue eating healthy and not too much. I think already now I won't be able to eat a lot: my stomach seems to have become smaller. 
• As for how I feel, I feel absolutely great! I feel light and stronger I remember myself feeling! I wake up and I like to see myself in the full-height mirror. I am energetic, and I have to say even though sometimes don't feel like doing a workout (=lazy!), I feel like I am missing on on something vital till I do it. My body loves it, I can feel it! 
• In terms on cm/inches, I am not sure... But I have a flat stomach already - I just need to get nicer abs of course (even now I can already make out some muscles forming!!!), but still. Amazing! I also feel like I def lost some inches in my waist, but even my thighs look thinner and better defined. Tomorrow I will give some more details on how many cm/inches I lost too.

The diet today was OK, but not more than that... I finally did the poached eggs for brunch - really yummy!!! And yes, I love my spices - or rather herbs, so here it is with a little bit of parsley and dried garlic and majoran. Nothing bad or unhealthy. :)

And somehow today is the day of trying new things... So today I'm having a tuna-fish salad for dinner. Yum!!!

And in the end of the day I relaxed a bit... Had two (!!!) little Kinder bars (240 calories together) and a little bit of nuts... Not too bad, may be 250-300 calories extra, but we'll have to see how it will show on my scales tomorrow... Sigh.

Have a fantastic day everyone!!!