Honestly, I did not expect it to work anyways. We ‘worked’ hard to put all the extra weight on – especially during the holiday season - so what makes us think that it could be as easy as sprinkling some crystals on our food to lose all the extra weight again? Yeah, ain’t gonna happen.

And for the cravings and the hunger feeling: still there. All of it! So far Sensa has failed me in all areas.

I still have about two more weeks before my free trial period is up; and as the guide reminds me in several places: Sensa takes a little time but if I stay with it I will lose weight. Personally, if I try something new and I don’t see results within the first few weeks I will not continue to use it. And in this case I really just feel like they are after my money.

I will give it another two weeks, but I think I pretty much have my mind set, that Sensa does not work – at least not for me. So that means that I will just have to stick to my workout and that is exactly what I just did.

Today I used the “The Bender Method of Better Booty Boot Camp”, one of the Bender Ball workouts by Leslee Bender. This one was a 34 minute workout and incorporated the Bender Ball and the tube, that for me came with that specific workout DVD. I’m not sure what I expected but it wasn’t what I got.

This was actually way more than just a workout for a better booty. Besides some exercises for the abs, it also included push ups, biceps, triceps and shoulders; all with a little twist to keep the glutes engaged. I really enjoyed this workout and I can already tell, my glutes are going to thank me for it! They are already burning.

What a nice way to finish the old year. And my goal for 2011? Another 15 lbs have got to go!

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I found the same advertisement in my email account and decided to give it a shot. When you order it you will receive the product for 2 month, which includes a 30 day free trial period. A FULL 30 day free trial period as they like to point out.

So I ordered Sensa about 2 weeks ago. According the shipment papers, my oder was mailed on 12/13/2010 and on my bill I am being informed that my FULL 30 day free trial period ends on 01/17/2011. I just received my package today, 12/21/2010. So much for the FULL 30 day free trial period.

The next thing that bothers me a little is the fact that the people behind Sensa like to be on the safe side. While reading the usage guide I came across one comment several times: “Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see results right away. Everyone loses weight at different rates. Stick with the system and you will see results.”

The problem I have with that comment is that now I feel like I won’t lose weight during the free trial period, but hey, not to worry. I just have to stick with the program and pay over 80 dollars in order to keep Sensa for the second month. And then pay for the next 4 months to make sure I get the most out of Sensa. If the product is so great, shouldn’t I be able to see results right away?

That is two negative points right there and I didn’t even start using it yet.

So, Sensa is some sort of powder that you sprinkle on your food. There is a salty one and a sweet one. The company claims that there is no taste to it. The way Sensa works is basically that the powder you sprinkle on your food ends up triggering the release of hormones that suppress hunger and appetite.

I wasn’t really hungry when I opened the package but I wanted to try it anyways. And since I’m almost always craving sweet these days I decided to try it on some yoghurt. And here comes negative point number 3. There might not be a taste to it, but there is definitely a smell to it.

I used the sweet part of Sensa, since I used it on yoghurt, and the smell reminded me of artificial sweetener. Definitely not what I want to smell on my food.

So at this point I have three negative things to say about Sensa and zero positive ones. I am not impressed so far. Rather the opposite. But hey, I still have 28 days, including today, of my FULL 30 day free trial period to find out if Sensa might actually work. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens.

There is just something about the first few days of a new workout routine that makes you want to run and hide. At least that’s how it makes me feel. Everything seems more important than spending a few minutes on getting in shape, even doing laundry. And let’s face it: that is just a horrible excuse for not wanting to do your workout.

Having an image of your dream body in your mind – or even a picture of how you want to look pinned on your fridge – might be a good way of overcoming your lack of will power in those first days and to keep you motivated. And even though it’s hard because you want to know as soon as possible if you already got any results, try to stay away from your scale for about one week. Why? Because the difference you will see after one week of working out is definitely more than after just a day or two. And if you don’t see the results you were hoping for it will get even harder to find the will and motivation to put yourself through yet another workout.

Since I worked on my abs on monday I chose the buns and thighs workout from the Bender Ball workouts yesterday. They are pretty easy on my knee but I still get something out of it.

Today I tried yet another new workout, the Bender Method for Advanced Core Training. Back when I was a cheerleader coach I had no problems doing 300 crunches and I would hardly even get sore. But this one just really kicked my butt – or abs in this case. The first exercise had my stomach shaking already. I love it!

In level two I had some issues with staying on my little ball. But that, too, adds to the intensity of this workout. Since you are not on a stable surface your core is working extra hard to keep you balanced. And you hardly even have to do anything for that so you can focus all your energy on the exercise itself.

Level three is one of the hardest ones I have ever done for my obliques I think. At least with the soreness I already feel in my sides right now I can’t remember any other workout that did that for me this quick. And it really only takes a few minutes which for me is an added bonus, especially if you have a busy day.

So now I am sore all over, the workout from monday still affecting me today but it’s a good kind of pain and you can almost feel the fat melting away and the muslce toning up. At least that’s what I’d like to think. Helps me to stay motivated, since I’m still without my workout buddy.

My mother came to visit from Germany, and that always means lots of cooking and baking. I’m not sure if she is trying to teach me every recipe she knows or if it is more of a bonding thing between mother and daughter. Either way, it doesn’t help. And although German food is not as fattening as most American food (at least in my experience), if you eat too much of it, you will still gain weight. And my mom is a great cook!

To top that off my husband came home from Afghanistan for 6 week to train for a different position. So not only did we cook out a lot while we has actually at home, but for the 4 weeks of his training, we stayed in a hotel in Mississippi and ate out pretty much every day.

After that came Thanksgiving and now it’s almost time for Christmas which means baking cookies and indulging in other goodies at christmas parties and gettogethers.

You see the pattern here, don’t you? Delicious food everywhere and no way to escape it. Well, if I had more discipline I probably could but who  wants that when there are big sweaters to hide under, right? Wrong!

Oh and to add to my no-time-to-work-out-phase, I participated in the NaNoWriMo 2010, an event for writers during the month of November during which you are supposed to write a 50,000 word novel. I finished it but let me just say, it took up so much of my time that working out was the last thing on my mind.

And now I regret that I slacked so much. Before my husband came home I had managed to lose almost 10 lbs and started to look more toned again. Now, I’m not just back to square one but I have an additional 5 lbs that need to be worked off. And since my own image in the mirror is not enough to taunt me – that muffin top is really awful and something I never really had before - but my husband, who also gained weight while eating out with me all the time, already lost about 15 lbs again and of course expects me to get the same results.

Well, I’m not a guy. I don’t lose weight the way he does and I don’t work out the way he does. While he thinks a workout needs to be hard and wear you out and is something that you should not enjoy, I only agree on the first two parts. But if I don’t have fun working out I lose interest, especially if I don’t see results fast enough.

So here I go again starting out with a new workout routine, the Brazil Butt Lift on hold for right now, until my knee can handle it again. For now, and also because I’m hoping that it will help me get rid of that muffin top as soon as possible, I’m going with the BenderBall workout.

These workouts are not very long and I should be able to make time for them every day. I recently had to order a new ball because my dog got a hold of the old one, but that also gave me a chance to order some more workouts for it. Today I chose the “Selective Core Training”, which targets the upper abs, lower abs and finally the obliques. And even though the workout doesn’t take long, I definitely get the little earthquake in my abs, letting me know that I’m really working those muscles.

On top of that I have also started taking the dog for walks again, even in the cold. It’s not really workout length yet but by now the dog and I are both looking forward to our walks and we, or I should say I am working on lengthening those walks and picking up the speed a bit. As soon as the knee allows it I will start running with the dog again.

Now I’m actually looking forward to the sore feeling that will set in by tonight and hopefully my workout buddy, Brandi, will be able to join me again soon. And you should, too. If you are in the same boat as me, gaining weight over the holidays and your life seems to busy to find time to workout, don’t wait until the new year to decide that you need to get back in shape again. Do it now. Think about your diet and possible changes you can make or start walking around the block at least once a day. You won’t regret it.

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Actually, it happens a lot when we just get started. We are not quite in the routine yet, the workout is still more of a must-do instead of a want-to, and we still have to keep reminding ourselves why we are even doing that to ourselves, getting all sore and wore out. And then something happens. It might be as simple as a cookout with the family or a cold that takes us out of the game. Then what? We find ourselves procrastinating, not really feeling it anymore (if we ever even felt it yet) and we stop. We just give up and tell ourselves that this was just not the right time to start with a new workout or that our lives are simply too busy at this point and we might get back to it later.

And yes, that is what happened to me, too. And not for the first time I have to say. My workout buddy is still not fully recovered and my motivation was not that high to begin with. A cheat day here, a weekend with the in-laws cooking out, a lazy day there and I’m back to square one. Great! And I can’t even blame anybody but myself for it.

On top of that I had to go see an orthopedic surgeon about my knee. It’s been giving me problems for years, I had one surgery already and it is still not better. I was actually facing surgery again and I guess I was thinking along the lines of “what’s the point? I won’t be able to work out after the surgery anyways, might as well just quit now”. But those were just excuses.

I was told that I could not do certain moves anymore, including lunges and squats (as if I ever liked those to begin with) and might have to be careful with running, so I will have to change my workout plan a little bit to substitute that part of the “Brazil Butt Lift” program. For now that means that I will no longer be doing the “Bum Bum” and replace that with the “Bender Ball” workout program.

So starting Monday I will start over again, and no, I’m not procrastinating right now, but the program starts on a Monday. Until then I will stick to my eating plan, which will be challenged tomorrow already because of Game Day. I’ll have to think of some healthy snacks for that occasion and the rest of the football season.

Are you insecure and constantly think that you don’t know how to do it or that you can’t do it? Do you think that you don’t have the strength or endurance to complete a good workout? You would really like to do what it takes to get that fabulous body that you always dreamed about, but you just don’t believe in yourself?

If that sounds familiar, you need a “Cheerleader” as a workout buddy. Somebody who builds you up, has faith in you, motivates you and cheers you on through the entire training session. This workout buddy will never give up on you and always tell you “You can do it” until you start believing in yourself.

But maybe you don’t lack self-confidence and simply are too lazy to get up and do it? You never run out of excuses as to why today is just not a good day to work out. And on those few occasions when you do hit the gym, you end up buying Fast Food on the way home and throw everything you had just worked for out the window. Sounds like self-sabotage to me.

In that case you might need some tough love and the “Drill Sergeant” is the one to give it to you. This type of workout buddy will get in your face and simple make you do it. Excuses don’t work here, so you might as well just suck it up and get with the game, because your partner will show no mercy and push you beyond your limits.

How does it make you feel, when somebody can run faster than you, lift more weights than you, do more reps than you? Are you satisfied with always being the runner-up but never the winner? Never the best? Does it aggravate you or motivate to train harder, push yourself more? Does it bring out the beast inside of you? The competitive beast, that is.

If competition is what keeps you going, you could either join a competitive sport or find yourself a workout partner that is better than you. Not too much, or you might get discouraged. Just enough to inspire you and make you run that extra mile, do another set at the gym, or add a little more weight. What you are looking for is the “Gold-Medalist”. With that type of workout buddy, motivating yourself is easy, because you will always try to become better, until you can finally beat your partner one day, and take the gold for yourself.

That does not mean that I will ruin my diet in just one day though. I have actually been really good today. I took my supplement and about 30 minutes later I had a breakfast that consisted of some 2% cottage cheese with fresh fruit, two eggs, over easy, and one slice of whole wheat toast.

After I realized that no workouts were scheduled for today, I decided that I didn’t want to waste the healthy breakfast and the supplements I took. So rather than not doing any kind of physical activity I did a few yoga poses and stretched those muscles that I have used the most over the last few days.

My energy level is still not where it needs to be, but I made a point of going to bed earlier last night and got some more sleep and rest than at the beginning of the week. Sometimes when we start with a new workout routine we feel more beat and exhausted and want to use that as an excuse to quit exercising because in our eyes it’s not making us feel better but worse. But that only lasts for about a week. After that your body gets used to it and you will actually have more energy than before you started working out. So by the beginning of next week my energy level should be up and hopefully my motivation will, too.

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Until you get into a routine it can be hard to get motivated, and that is exactly what I am struggling with this week. So far I’m not enjoying it and I have to force myself to do the exercises and not quit.
Also, I have not been getting much sleep lately, so my energy level is pretty low, as well. We all know that getting enough sleep is good for us, but I was surprised to learn that you actually need 8 – 9 hours of sleep per night for a good workout. And I’m not talking about the energy you need, but about what happens after you worked those muscles. Your body needs that much sleep to rest and recuperate. While we sleep our body produces the greatest amount of growth hormone, which helps our beat up muscles to repair themselves.

So I’m just going to write today off as a bad workout, go to sleep early tonight and hopefully I will not only have more energy but also more motivation for tomorrows exercises.

I have to admit that my meal plan yesterday was not the greatest. I started out well, with the “Kellogg’s Special K” cereal, but then for lunch I had some “Ramen Noodles”. Those are not THAT bad for you but it’s not really a healthy choice either. I sort of skipped snacks and dinner and just had a little bit of popcorn and some peanuts at my cousin’s football game. Needless to say I was disappointed in myself when I came home last night. All the hard work and then I eat like that. Still, it could have been worse so I should not be too hard on myself. 

Image via Wikipedia

Day 2 started with the supplement again, then one slice of German rye bread (I am German and every now and then I just have to have some German bread!), which is not really helping with the low carb diet, but it is better than the breads you usually get in American supermarkets. Together with the bread I had two over easy eggs. 

For lunch I mixed a few slices of banana, peach, black plum and some grapes with some low fat cottage cheese. Cottage Cheese is a good fat burner, so maybe it made up for last night. 

The “Brazil Butt Lift” workout plan for today consisted of the “Cardio Axe” (approx. 30 min) and after that the “High & Tight” (approx. 35 min). I enjoyed both of those a lot more than I did yesterday’s workout. Even though cardio really is not my thing, I liked the “Cardio Axe” because it is more like a dance lesson which is more fun for me and that way the time went by pretty fast. 

For the “High & Tight” a small resistance band and some ankle weights were needed. I was surprised to see what a difference that little band could make. But since I’m just starting out with this program I skipped the ankle weights because for now my own body is resistance enough. 

"Brazil Butt Lift" - High & Tight

None of the moves were new to me but I didn’t get bored either. It was a good mix that targeted the thighs and the butt. The only thing I had not seen before was the way “old” exercises were used to target the muscles in different angles, which not only made it more interesting but also presented an extra challenge when I realized that I had never worked my muscles in that way. 

Unfortunately I’m still working out alone since Brandi is still sick, but we are hoping that she can join me before the weekend. And then she will have some catching up to do. 

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Brandi has been sick for days and was hoping to be feeling better today so she can start to work out with me but unfortunately she was still not better this morning, which means that I was on my own. 

I woke up with a headache and in a bad mood. Not a good start for a new workout routine. I took my supplement, the “Lipo 6 Black for Her”, and got ready for the workouts for today: Booty Basic (approx. 20 min) and the Bum Bum (approx. 35 min). My starting point for this challenge is 155 lbs, 29.5 inch waist, 36 inch hips and my booty did not pass the pencil test. For now I mainly want to focus on the weight loss. My goal is to lose 15 lbs by christmas eve.

Let me explain the pencil test real fast: It’s been around since the 70′s and is supposed to show you if your booty has enough lift. You take a pencil and put it under your butt cheek, where the booty meets the back of the thigh. If the pencil falls down, you have the necessary lift. If not, like in my case, your booty needs some work.

Time to work out, or have breakfast I should say, since I was procrastinating. A small bowl of “Kellogg’s Special K Chocolate Delight” and I was good to go. And no, I never measure the amount I eat or how much milk to add, because like I said before, I don’t do well with counting calories or when being told what and how much I can eat.

Since I was already not in the mood today, the “Booty Basic” was a bad idea. It basically only teaches you the signature moves so you know how to do it right and get the most out of each exercise, but since it was not an actual workout it bored me so I was even less in the mood to continue.

Brandi, I could have really needed a motivational kick in the butt at this point!

Next came the “Bum Bum” which to me seemed like an aerobics workout with lots of moves for the butt and thighs, lots of squats and lunges. 15 minutes into it I was gasping for air and I didn’t want to do it anymore.

In my defense, this workout was extra hard on me since I have a bad knee, that only got worse after I had surgery on it. Lunges and squats were extremely hard for me and after only a few minutes the knee was starting to hurt. But according to my doctor I am allowed to do these moves and since I want that perfect butt I gritted my teeth and kept going. After completing it I can already tell though that THIS will definitely not be my favorite workout of the “Brazilian Butt Lift”.

Better luck tomorrow I guess. 

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