summary:

i chose to do insanity to shed fat from my body.   i was tired of being overweight (by my standards), tired of being a size 8/9 pants size, tired of having that muffin top and tired of looking terrible in pictures.  hitting rock bottom was the best thing that happened to me and my journey began on january 1, 2012.

prior to insanity, i did a few things to prep... you can read about my journey here.  i did a few programs to condition myself first - the 30 day shred and ripped in 30.  i did this because my fitness level was next to zero since i hadn't been to the gym or even physically active in years.  when i completed these two programs, i started insanity at the beginning of may 2012.

starting statistics:

• height:  5'4
• age:  36
• starting weight:  roughly 149lbs (not sure about this since i didn't step on the scale but this was the last time i weighed myself)
• waist:  32 inches 
• pants size:  8/9
• shirt/dress size:  medium

 

"before" pictures

here are some pictures before i started insanity and during the program.

 

the program:

i altered the insanity program and used a 5-day calendar instead of recommended 6-day.  this meant i worked out for 5 days (mon-fri) and took saturday and sunday off.  because of this, i didn't use the "recovery week" since i felt that my 2-day breaks were enough for my body to recover.

i followed his recommended calendar for workouts for my 5-day exercise week and whatever i didn't cover on the saturday i just did it on the following monday.  this worked out well for me however, because i was only doing 5 days instead of 6, i extended this program by an extra week.  

meals

i ate within my caloric range for weight loss and watched what i ate every day.   i didn't cheat - not once - nor have i cheated since january 1.    the majority of my carbs were consumed earlier in the day (breakfast through to lunch) and lessened as it got closer to dinner.    you cannot eliminate carbs with this program!

what i eliminated:  all junk food, frozen/pre-packaged foods, fast food, pop, white starchy carbs (white rice, pasta, bread).

what i restricted:  dairy.  this is to avoid the high calories in dairy and i would rather consume those calories in the form of food (more filling).  i still consume a very limited amount of dairy.

what i ate:  fresh, wholesome foods:  lean meats, fresh veggies/fruits and whole grains.  i switched to carbs that were low on the gylcemic index so sweet potatoes, brown rice and whole wheat pasta.

what i drank:  water... 24/7.  

i eat 5 times a day so my  meal times are as follows:

• 730/8am:  breakfast
• 10/1030am - mid-morning snack
• 12/1230pm - lunch
• 330-4pm - afternoon snack
• 6pm - dinner

breakfast would be a mixture of my own food (still within my caloric range) or suggestions from the insanity nutrition plan.  my favorite breakfast that is only 300 calories is a whole wheat tortilla, 4 egg whites and sliced tomatoes.  

mid-morning snack would be a nutritious shake, a clif bar or some fruit with 1/2 cup of greek yogurt sprinkled with granola.  

lunch would be whatever i ate for dinner the night before or i would make a tuna wrap.  i only ate whole wheat or whole grain bread and never more than 2 pieces.  i would also always have a salad with my lunch with home made dressing (apple cider vinegar + olive oil).  

afternoon snack would be half a clif bar (if i didn't have one in the morning) and some fruit, some nuts (usually almonds), fruit (usually a banana), or raw veggies with low-fat hummus.  

dinner would be a small sweet potato, salad and a lean meat; sometimes i would have baked lemon salmon with brown rice and steamed long beans.  if i had pasta, it was whole wheat pasta with organic chicken (usually 3 or 4oz) and some organic sauce that came from a jar.  

if i was still hungry at night, i'd have a small snack about 2hrs before bedtime and that was some fruit, some raw carrots with hummus or 1 piece of (small) whole grain bread with 1tbsp of all-natural peanut butter.

i never restricted or monitored my fruit intake; same with veggies.  the only thing i monitored was the amount of carbs and protein i consumed.  

supplements:

• vega sport pre-workout energizer
• vega all-in-one nutritional shake (not as a meal replacement)
• vega sport recovery accelerator
• clif bar

i chose the vega line because of it's natural, all-plant based formulation.  

i chose clif bars instead of eating protein bars because they are 70% organic and more of an "energy" bar.  low sugar, decent amount of carbs and protein content with low calories.

 

the final results:

i lost 4 inches on my waist (and inches all around because i can now fit into a size small shirt/dress), toned my entire body and even got some abs (sort of).  my weight didn't really fluctuate that much (around 10lbs lost) but i gained a lot of muscle in return so i'm ok with that.  because of the crazy jump training within this program, my legs are rock hard, i have a perky booty and my core is pretty awesome.  i also gained a lot of upper body strength and increased my endurance.  

• height:  5'4
• age:  36
• ending weight:  139lbs 
• waist:  28.5 inches
• pants size:  2/4
• shirt/dress size:  small

this program has changed my life.  i will continue to incorporate the insanity workouts into my fitness regimen to maintain my endurance level and well, because it's so awesome.