My Slim in 6 Story

I actually had to look at my "To Do List" post to see what I should write about tonight. *roll eyes* :) I have so much to get on paper (or screen) that sometimes I just don't know where to begin. But this is a story that I'll definitely enjoy sharing. I don't know if I'll finish it all in one night (especially since it's 4 minutes till 11:00 and I'd planned to be in bed at 11:00). But I'll at least start and do that fun thing from old TV shows "to be continued" (Can you believe we just watched FOUR "I Dream of Jeannie" shows that were "to be continued" -- Jeannie was stuck in a safe that was supposed to go to the moon and it took Major Nelson and Major Healey THAT long to get her out -- so boring because Jeannie is the best part and she was stuck!)

Anyway, let me tell you about Debbie Siebers and Slim in 6. When I had my last baby, I was 38 years old and was not losing the pregnancy weight as quickly as I did with my others (in fact, I was gaining at times). I had a plethora of workouts, much like I do now and was doing great rotations of the toughest ones (many Cathe's) and just wasn't getting results. Yes, I was eating around the clock, but I did try to watch it at times and still wasn't losing. I saw a Slim in 6 commercial and thought, "If they can do it, why can't I?" But did I buy Slim in 6? Nope. I decided to use the great workouts that I had and make up a new and improved rotation and call it "Renee's Great in 8" plan. I even wrote it on my calendar (and one of my friends laughed about it later -- my sweet friends :)). Eight weeks went by and I still didn't lose weight.

Some more time passed and one of my Video Fitness friends (remember the VF website to the right?) wrote to me and told me I should try Debbie's Sieber's new Slim Series. They were really tough low weight/high rep workouts that were giving amazing results. It was more advanced than Slim in 6 (although I did later find out that one of the Slim in 6 workouts -- Burn It Up -- is advanced too). I didn't want to spend the $60 or whatever it was for the set, but it was a pretty good deal with 6 dvds and had a money back guarantee. I decided if I didn't like them or get the results I was hoping for, that I'd send them back and just be out the shipping.

When I got the package, I read the whole booklet that came with the dvds, trying to figure out exactly what they were like and which rotation was the best one for me. I took on the hardest one called Slim Training and began that next Monday. You basically do 5 endurance (low weight/high rep) workouts with some cardio thrown in here there plus a day of stretching (I later added in yoga here) and a day of rest.

I found other women on VF (http://www.videofitness.com/) who were starting the same time as I was. We all started to come down with colds/sore throats after about 4 days. We could see that it was tougher than we'd thought and we were probably overtraining. So we took that into consideration from that point on (to throw in a lighter day workout if needed like Keep It Up, which is a shorter Slim in 6). I also learned not to do Shape It Up and Firm It Up back to back like recommended in the Slim Training rotation because it was overworking my lower body back to back.

After the second week, my body was strong enough to do all 5 workouts in a week with the stretch day. I was losing inches like I'd never seen before. I measured myself the first day and would measure each Monday morning. It was a good plan because it kept me from eating too much on the weekends. I wasn't as knowledgable about healthy eating then, but I was trying to cut out sugar and not eat flour after the kids came home from school.

Every Monday morning was like Christmas morning to me. I was so excited to measure and see how many inches I'd lost. Sometimes it was 1/2 inch in one area. Often it was a whole inch. And once it was almost 2!

I've been a Slim Series lover and believer ever since. It brought me through a plateau after having 6 kids, approaching my 40s, when I was beginning to wonder if the weight would ever budge. It was wonderful. And Debbie was a joy and a pleasure to work out with. She would make me laugh and make me say "Ugh!!!!!!!" in those final reps. I really enjoyed the whole process.

I did those workouts many times after that initial rotation -- thrown in with other workouts or every once in awhile as the Slim Training rotation again. My favorites are Shape It Up and Tone It Up. I've found that each of those really strengthen the muscles around my knee (I injured my knee after my youngest was born too, so I've been struggling with that since). Debbie's approach to lower body work helps my knee better than any other fitness program and genre (yoga, Pilates, etc.)

So I was anxious to tell anyone wondering if they should try Slim in 6 or the Slim Series to definitely give it a try. Through some small miracle, I got that opportunity!

"to be continued" :)