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…
I actually started noticing my body not just firming, but now – changing! The scales are talking less and less these days – and it is understandable: I nearly reached my desired weight (-4 kilos since I started), I don’t really care what the scales say (unless I start putting on a lot). The cm can’t go really too much now – I am already thinner than I think I ever remember (I don't take school into account). I mean honestly thinner. I might have reached approximately my size of 4-5 years ago. I can’t be sure though of course, but seeing myself in the mirror is a surprise every time. I am still not used to having a 65cm waist… Last time it was like that I think I was in high school or my freshmen year of college. Anyway, despite me missing some of the cardios, not being able to do the level 3 workouts to the best, the results really amazed me. I still lost some cm – particularly in my bikini area (and even a bit in thighs!!!).

	days 21-31 (cm)	days 1-31 (cm)
Chest:	-2	-3
Waist:	-0.5	-6
Hips:	-0	-5
Thighs:	-1	-2
Arms:	-1	-2
Left Bikini:	-2.5	-8 (!!!)
Right Bikini:	-2.5	-6 (!!!)
Total:	-9.5	-32
Weight:	-0.7 kg	-4 kg

(I have to say the only decrease that does NOT make me happy is the one in my chest... I mean c'mon - I have small boobs as it is!!!)

But the most amazing things for me are the visual changes of my body… I can see lean muscles on my arms! My upper-body and arms have always been weak, and here we go… I tried to do a video of my dance cardio (to motivate myself a little bit) and I could see those muscles in movement!!! I can see my butt is lifting higher. I fit in the jeans of size 27 (which I could not zip for 3-4 years!), but they look better on my now than they ever have! My abs – wow! I can see my abs, my flat stomach and those nice lean muscles, which you can’t really see too well, you just see the shape of them… My love handles – where did the bigger part of them go?! Yuppi, I never liked love handles and I have just a trace of them left. I am fascinated and amazed, and looking at the pictures, made me sure – I am not imagining it all in the mirror.  Check for yourself - the changes are small, but so important!!!

Front - check out my arms and abs!!!

Back - the difference is barely visible, but hey love handles are much smaller!

After all this, I am not stopping. I feel great, I feel more energetic, I love myself, I feel more confident, I walk around with my head up and my back straight. Because I have a reason to be proud of myself: I am strong enough to get in shape, I am strong enough to overcome my extreme laziness, years of inactivity and change my life style.

I love IT! One of my colleagues also noted yesterday that I looked amazing during the presentation. I had a skirt and blouse on, and she said she could see the change so well and that I look amazing. “What are you doing, Liuba?” And answered “Tracy is the answer” :D

Love yourself, people, when you achieve somethine. Love yourself even more when you don’t, because you need all your love and strength if you want to achieve something – anything. Believe in yourself and don’t leave any chance for a failure. Then you will succeed in whatever you start. Have a beautiful, happy day everyone!