Filming Slim Series Express w/Debbie Siebers -- First Day Details

Wow, this post has taken some time to compose! I wrote the details about the first day with Beachbody on 3 separate posts at VF. So it took me awhile to gather it up and get the copying and pasting to cooperate here on the blog, but it's very much worth it. So fun to relive it and to be able to share with accompanying photos. I know I'm repeating the rehearsal photo from another post, but I thought it needed a picture to spark up all the solid words going there for awhile. The top photo isn't the best quality because there were lights behind me, but I love that one. It gives a feel for what the star treatment was like -- Nikolas (the wardrobe guy) was pinning the thighs of my jeans back because they realized after a few shots that if the pants aren't skin tight, they make my thighs look bigger than they really are -- see what you learn that you wouldn't normally think of at home? :) As for the photo shoot photos, they actually sent me a CD with close to 50 shots. The others who wore bikinis had even more. I'm only sharing a few here (a big "phew" on your part, huh? :)) Okay, here's the play by play:

Day 1 -- You know that my flight got cancelled that first night. Beachbody was SOOOOOOOOOO good to me. I called Anna's cell from the airport and she assured me that it was fine if I was late to rehearsal -- she'd arrange for the Limo service to pick me up that next morning, if my flight change cost more, that was fine, etc. So I felt relief from their end. I didn't know if the weather would hold out from our end, but I prayed HARD (and slept very little -- just 3 hours).

But the flight took off. I actually teared up as I boarded the plane. I knew that no one else realized the magnatude of this flight actually going out for me, but it meant an amazing opportunity for me. I was able to sleep off and on. I couldn't really tell that I was sleeping, but I felt much better (the sleepy zombie headache was gone the last hour), so I knew I'd be okay for the rehearsal.

I'll fast-forward past the Limo ride (which was fabulous -- I felt like a princess and the driver was so much fun). It was funny because we were both expecting some huge old dance studio building and he actually drove around the block and was about to call the Limo service to see if they got the street number wrong. But we came to the corner and the dance studio (Madonna Grimes') was upstairs in a little strip mall. He helped take the luggage up, we said our goodbyes and I was thinking I'd get to talk, play a bit getting to know Debbie and meet Jocelyn. But the air was thick and they were trying to make wardrobe decisions and wanted to get that all figured out.

So Anna introduced me to people -- they all came and told me their names and what they did (which all flew by me). But Debbie was near the door when I walked in and was first to come hug me and welcome me. I could tell that it wasn't a relaxed mood and that I couldn't spend too much time gabbing though. Anna gave me some breakfast she'd ordered -- I gobbled a few bites, then they had me try on the tops (which I already told you a bit about). Once we got the tops figured out, we started on the workouts.

Debbie did what they call "Marking it" which was quickly showing us the order of the moves to make sure we remembered. She came back and corrected some form and I thought "This is soooo cool" yet I was trying to pay attention.

When we actually started rehearsing, I was hoping that I wasn't letting her down when my form wasn't like hers. I'd bend over too much or not enough. I'd bend in different ways than Debbie's style sometimes without realizing it. Sometimes as soon as I changed to how Debbie would show me, I'd immediately feel it target the muscle. That reminded me that I was with a pro.

But Debbie was so sweet about it -- she told us both during a break that she hoped we didn't feel like she was picking on us when she corrected us -- she just wanted to make sure we got it. It was such a relief once we got to the Stretch workout. It was quite heavenly. The song was peaceful and the pressure was off because I'm so comfortable with flexibility work. Anna was saying, "Boy you ARE flexible" -- I wasn't trying to show anyone up, but I've always been pretty flexible and all the yoga I do probably helps too.

After we finished the stretch video, they brought in sandwiches for lunch. Most of the women stayed in the main studio, but somehow, Debbie, Anna, Jocelyn and I ended up in the little break room and got to just sit and talk. That was really fun for me (and I'm sure for Jocelyn too). Jocelyn and I had been e-mailing the past week and didn't really get to talk at all during the rehearsal. We got a chance to talk a bit more and to hear Debbie talk (Yay!)

I know I wrote about that in my hotel post, but that was relaxing and wonderful. And I got to see an instructor eat. You know how you wonder what they eat and if they eat much and all that. Debbie ordered a sandwich (maybe turkey or chicken? I can't remember -- a bunch of them ordered turkey -- I ordered the veggie one on wheat and the avocado was oozing all over the place) and ate up just like the rest of us.

Erika (who works with Anna and is THE cutest thing on EARTH! I'll post her pic later on.) She about died when I asked to take a picture with her -- she's so tiny that I'm sure size 0s swim on here -- she looks like she's about 16 or 17, but she dresses pretty stylish -- and she's either 26 or 28 -- I'll have to ask Jocelyn -- that's the thing about Beachbody people -- they all look so much younger than they are. I thought Anna was maybe 27 and she had her 41st birthday on Wednesday!) -- anyway, Erika took us from the studio to our hotel. It was fun to talk with her, learn about her marriage and how she loves L.A.

We had an hour in our hotels to shower and be ready to be picked up by Anna ready with clean hair and face for our photo shoot and infomercial interviews. I had some anxiety about that because I'd talked to the wardrobe guy (Nikolas -- I loved him) before I left home and he told me I was supposed to bring street clothes, workout clothes, and a bikini. I don't do bikinis! It's not a body image thing. It's a modest thing. So I was worried. But I talked to Anna and she said just to let them know and they'd be fine with it. I had to talk to a few people, but I got by without the bikini shoot. They'd have to spend too much time touching up my bruised up legs anyway (I'm such a clutz!) Actually, I think Beachbody has a no-touch-up policy. So I'd be the blotched up girl.

I'll have to continue later on. Time to change a Pull-Up and get my older daughters to a dance. Tell me if you get too tired of hearing so much. But you did say "Details" and there are other threads to switch to, huh?

Looks like I left off with being at the hotel before we left for the Infomercial shoot and interview. Fun stuff.

Day 1 1/2 -- Jocelyn and I were picked up from the hotel (I took this pic of us out front) by a really fun guy named Marc from Cort Howell productions (who makes all the BB infomercials -- That's actually the name of the main guy, Cort and I recognized him from one of the Slim in 6 infomercials -- the one that plays after the SS workouts. He has short light hair and is on there with his wife, who has really dark hair and had a poochy stomach before and was really toned and tight afterwards -- they thought it was fun that I remembered he was on there. I don't know if they realize how many times I've done these workouts). What was neat was that Jocelyn had an on-line friend (from a mom's group) meet her from San Diego -- her friend was planning to hang out at the hotel until we were done and then they'd get together for dinner. But Marc invited her to come along with us. So she got to see all that went on at the studio. The BB and CH staff were so open to things like that. The make-up artist even did Jocelyn's make-up later on so she'd feel all dressed up when they went out to dinner. So sweet!

When we arrived at the studio, the first thing I saw was this most FIT woman literally glowing in her photo shoot. I almost shrunk and realized what kind of company I was in. This was my introduction to Monica -- who is the cast member who is an elementary school principal. I can't remember how much weight she's lost -- maybe 50 pounds? But it's changed her life and now she runs marathons. She looks so great.

Jocelyn and I went into this little room, which was our Wardrobe room. I quickly discovered that not only did we get dressed in front of each other, but also with Nikolas (the wardrobe guy) and Heather (from BB) and whomever else might be in there. Oh well. I had to get used to that quickly. Nikolas asked us what street clothes we'd brought. I showed him all these new shirts I'd bought. He looked at a few, said "Nice!" and then chose none of them. He let me wear my jeans and shoes, but w/Heather's okay, chose a peach colored sweater for me.

They weren't ready for me to be photographed yet (I was the last at everything), so I slipped in the back of the Infomercial Interview room, which was as big as a basketball court. The room was huge, but they had lights all around the middle of it with a green backdrop so they could put whatever background in the final presentation. This was the first time I saw Kali. She looked so pretty on camera -- she glowed and looked a lot like Carrie Underwood. (When I actually met her later on, she didn't look as much like Carrie, but I told her she did on film and she said "Oh good, maybe she'll send me some money for tuition" -- she's going to med school.

So I got to see what the interview process was like. Cort was sitting at a table, approving cuts or giving ideas for further questions. I was sitting with Lara (whom I didn't realize was Lara Ross -- and she was explaining things or people to me off and on). Phil, the director, was standing just to the right of the camera. He had a binder with pages of our information on it. So he could read about us and ask questions. Kali would answer each question (like "How has Slim in 6 changed your life?") repeating the question so someone would know what the question was without hearing it. She would answer "Since I started doing Slim in 6, . . . " then she'd fill in the answer. It was really fun to watch.

Next they called me in for make-up and hair styling. This was very, very fun for me. I came with no make-up or hair style and walked out looking better than I've ever felt I looked. She did wonders! It was so fun to see the transformation. She put a little brown on my eye brows, for example, and all of the sudden, my eyes opened up so bright and full. And when she put the lip color on (no lip stick -- just the brush and creamy stuff), my whole face came together.

She had fun adding volume and style to my hair. No one's every done my hair like she did before and somehow it looked sophisticated, but not too old. I really loved it. So I walked around from that point feeling so classy. It was great.

Kali came up to the little make-up room while I was there and needed some touch-up for her photo. She was in her bikini -- an orange bikini. She looked so great, yet felt a little self-conscious walking around everyone with a bikini and high heels. There were always people everywhere.

She finished up, then I watched Jocelyn get her street clothes pictures taken.. The photographer took tons of pictures just like you see with super models on TV. I saw some of Monica's pictures on the computer and they looked amazing.

Next I got my turn. I wish I remembered the photographer's name because I liked him so much. He grew up in a family of 6 children, so he liked talking to me about my family. He would tell me how to place my feet and give little tips, then would tell me to stand still for a few shots, then to move on my own from there. I never knew if I was doing what would look good, but just kept trying different things. At one point, he told me to throw up my hands like I was celebrating and I did. And he said, "You're the first one who got that pose right!" -- I felt so good. But then when he said to do it a few more times, I wondered if I'd mess up the second or third times.

When he had me do the straight on shots, he said my pant legs needed to be tighter because the room in my pants made my legs look bigger than they really were. So Nikolas came in and took clothes pins to pull the jeans back so they'd fit tighter. So fun to be "worked on."

After that, I was back in the wardrobe room (which became Debbie's dressing room on the film days) to figure out what to wear for my workout photos. By some small miracle, Nikolas and Heather liked what I brought and I got to wear my new pink top I bought at Target! (I love it and hadn't worn it yet).

The workout photos were fun to pose for. He had me stand for many, then had me do action shots, leaping and stuff. Who KNOWS what those will look like, but it was fun to do. He said, "Do some move from the video" and my mind went blank. I'm thinking of plie's and arm motions and I knew that wouldn't look good. The only thing I could think of was punches. So I did punches for awhile.

When I got done, Jocelyn was walking through in her bikini and heels. It was so funny because a lot of people were gathered in this room with a couch near the front door. And Marc (who drove us there) had blushed earlier when Kali was in her bikini. This time he just turned around when Jocelyn was talking to everyone. When she walked out, he said, "I'm sorry, but I just can't talk to a woman in a bikini." Very cute.

Then it was interview time. I really wanted to see Jocelyn's interview, but by the time I got dressed back in street clothes, the door was shut. I asked if I could open it and everyone said "No" like it was a really big no-no during the shoot. I could understand, but I really wanted to be in there. So I hung out with the make-up artist and a few of the BB people (I think it was Lara and a few others).

** My daughter is waking up (just had her surgery) -- I'll be back later.


Day 1 3/4 (I promise -- I'll come to the end eventually!)

At one point, they took a break on Jocelyn's interview and I got to walk in and watch. She'd been nervous beforehand and she did just great. But when she was done, she told me it was hard (and I thought "Don't tell me that -- I wasn't scared!") -- but I figured it would be okay. At the end of her interview, Cort came and asked her some questions. That was fun to see because he didn't talk as much as some of the others, so it was nice to get to see a bit more of what he was like.

Then it was my turn. I walked out to the center of the lights and camera and they had me put my feet near these padded blocks. They looked through the camera and said my sweater (from the photo shoot) wouldn't work. I thought the color was too pale, but they said the lines on my sweater caused some digital lines on camera.

So I was sent back to Wardrobe to find a new shirt. I was hoping to get something that wasn't sleeveless, but Heather insisted they needed to see my arms -- since she was so nice about the bikini, I just left it there). They chose this pink shirt that was pretty low cut. So I asked if we could layer something under it. But Niklas (the pro that he is) found another shirt that was similar in color and fabric and cut a big chunk out of it. He taped and pinned the fabric onto me and my shirt, but I could see the pin. She he whipped out a needle and thread and quickly sewed it in.

I ran back to the interview room and met Phil. He told me to answer the questions like the preface of his question in a complete sentence, then asked me how many children I have. I told him "6" and he said, "No, you say, "I have 6 children" -- and I saw we were playing a little game.

So he asked a few test questions to see if I had the system down, then the interview began. But I told him I had a question first. Everyone was talking about Slim in 6 and I told him that I mostly did the Slim Series for my results and only did a few of the Slim in 6s (Keep It Up, Slim & Limber, and Slim & 6-pack). So I wondered if I should say "Slim Series" instead. He asked Cort and he said that all of those workouts are under the brand name "Slim in 6" so I should just group them under that. So I did. Once I slipped and said "Slim Series" at the end and they caught is, but let it go. I guess maybe most of the customers wouldn't know exactly what the SS was.

In fact, two of the other women in the cast had only done the initial Slim in 6 set and hadn't tried the SS (Debbie was a little amazed at that -- now they're going to try the SS).

So Phil and I chatted for awhile. And at one point (I think when he asked how Debbie's workout were different than others -- why they worked better than my other workouts), I told him that on the way there (on the plane), I decided to count how many videos I've done (because I thought it was probably over a hundred and if I talked about that, I wanted to not overexaggerate), and I got up to 291! I told him that after I had my last baby, I was doing all these advanced workouts and wasn't losing weight at all. It wasn't until I tried Debbie's that I was able to quickly lose inches and break that plateau. (and did rotations a few more times after that, breaking plateaus both those times too).

When I mentioned the 291 videos, his jaw dropped like crazy. He stopped me afterwards and just said "You mean you've done 291 videos!" and was just floored. We talked about it for awhile, then Cort said that if I use an exact number like that, people may think I made it up, so he said just to say "over 200" -- I asked "Can I say 'almost 300?'" and he said just to say "over 200" -- I guess he thought people might think almost 300 was made up too. He must not spend a lot of time on VF, huh? We'd understand it, no problem. But maybe the common man wouldn't.

So it was a fun process. I could have gone on and on, but they ran out of tape, and since I was the last one, they just decided to stop there. Phil took me aside afterwards and told me that he's participated in Slim in 6 interviews before and the 3 that day, but it wasn't until my interview that he's been interested in trying them for himself. He told me about some weight he's been wanting to lose and after hearing what I've had to say, he wants to do them too. I told him that my main passion for wanting to come was to be able to let women who are getting older like I am, and are thinking they just can't lose weight anymore, know that there is a method that can break through those plateaus. And he said, "Well, you just told me and it worked -- thank you." It was pretty cool.

There was a man on the infomercial set (the sound man) who looked so much like an actor in a scripture movie my kids love to watch that I was dying to know if it was him. I kept studying him to try to figure out if it was him or not. I finally just went up and asked him if he'd done any acting before -- he said only in plays when he was a kid. :) I explained why I'd asked and told him I had to know because my kids would enjoy knowing had it been that actor. Then we joked about me taking a picture anyway and just pretending like he was the actor since he looked so much like him. Of course, we did it. :)

When I was finished, most everyone was gone and Marc gave me a ride back to the hotel. I'd only gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before and was very ready for bed. The hotel had several huge down pillows, a down comforter, etc. -- I quickly called my husband, then went to sleep by 8:30.

The switched our schedule so we were filming on W (tomorrow!) instead of Th, so I knew I needed my sleep. What a day!

Meeting Shaun T & Andrea Ambandos // Filming Slim Series Express w/Debbie Siebers -- Next Day Report

I need to continue on with my story about filming the workouts with Debbie and Beachbody. I hope this all makes sense to you as I copy and paste my posts to Video Fitness from right after the trip. This was a quick one, believe it or not by the length :). Later I think I broke them down by the days there and wrote in more detail. Enjoy! (I know I am enjoying going back down memory lane -- especially seeing the pictures again!)

I'm Back!!!!!!!!! It was SO UNBELIEVABLY fun -- I hope I can give you even a FRACTION of the fun and excitement of being there. I flew in just 2 hours ago and am downloading the pictures right now. Debbie is sooooooooooooo friendly and non-bothered by us taking pictures with her. We'd taken so many and last night after dinner when Kali asked if she could get another picture with us in street clothes, Debbie said, "Take as many pictures as you want" -- so we all took out our pictures and took many more.

I'm trying to get one of me and Debbie on right now from the set. I'll have to figure out the best way to show these to you because it's going to take a while to compress them all, transfer them to my cox.net website for a URL and all that. But I'll be sure to do one now so you can see the set.

I ended up LOVING the set. It was all warm feeling and on camera looked even better -- kind of matched her other set and feel in many ways.

And when you see this picture, I'm wearing the turquoisish shirt, which wasn't my favorite color, but Jocelyn said it made my green eyes really show up, but then last minute before shooting, Andrea said that Jocelyn needed to be on the left because she's taller and the periwinkle top (my FAVORITE color) couldn't be on the left because it was too close to the blue on the wall, so we got to switch and I wore the periwinkle -- woo hoo! (In the stretch, we both wore a really pretty raspberry pink though)

Oh, and Andrea was THE Andrea Ambandos, if you can believe it. I'd talked to her and had rehearsed with her for 2 days and then yesterday morning while getting ready in the hotel, it hit me like a ton of bricks, "Maybe she's the mysterious Andrea Ambandos" (I've always wondered who she was -- she's on the credits of almost all of my videos). So when I got to the studio the next day, I asked "Is Andrea's last name 'Ambandos'?" and they said she was. So I just about flipped out. Someone told her what we were talking about and she just laughed.

THEN, she said, "Do you know about that website called 'Video Fitness?'" (And I was saying "YES, I'm on there ALL the time!") and she said her friend sent her a link from a thread on here asking who Andrea Ambandos was and she laughed saying that one person answered that she was just a fictitious name like Betty Crocker, then someone else said, "No, because I saw her on a Turbo Jam when Chalene "Jammed" her" and she thought that was all really funny.

So I said, "Well, I'll get a picture of us together and show them 'Here she is!'" and she said okay, then said something else, left and said we they were going to start shooting in just a minute. (It was really cool to watch her in action -- She'd go outside the set to a huge trailer -- I got a picture of her in front of the trailer too -- and it was like a full TV / Movie studio like you see on TV with tons of buttons and TVs everywhere and she'd direct which camera to switch to as they went and then on the "Cuts" she'd talk to us through a little speaker -- some called her "the voice of God" -- she was very helpful and very smart.

Anyway, so later on, I talked with her again and asked to get the picture and she was super willing. I wondered what had happened before, but thought maybe the timing was just wrong. But then last night at dinner, Anna said "Were you the one who got Andrea to put on make-up?" and then said that they'd NEVER seen Andrea in make-up before. But after I asked her for a picture, she went and had the make-up artist put make-up on her. Too fun!

As for the wardrobe -- we didn't end up keeping anything. But I'm fine with that because I didn't end up spending much of my food money and I'm going to use it to order the shoes and the periwinkle top I wore. The tops were by Couture Wear and I just LOVED the fabric and the feel of them. I'm thinking that's Janis Saffel's company -- her's has the Couture name in it -- if it's the same, then she has some REALLY good quality exercise wear. (Edited to add -- It's actually called Fit Couture and it isn't Janis's company, but after I posted this, the owner of Fit Couture contacted me and offered me a free top -- one that I wore on the set! I've bought many items from them since and just love their clothing. I'd buy more if I could!) Back to my previous post:

Also, by filming day, I stopped worrying a single bit about my size and felt like I fit in just fine. I think once you get all dressed up, they do the make-up and hair, you feel like a million bucks and everyone treated me like I was wonderful. EVERYONE at BB and the Infomercial people (Cort Howell) and Andrea's group were so much fun to be around. I took pictures like crazy because I felt like I was leaving all these friends I'd just made. (And they all said to come visit the BB offices when I come down again and all that because we just didn't have enough time to do that.)

Also, just wanted to add that the post I wrote at the hotel (plus one short e-mail to my daughters and one short one to my dh) cost $25!!!! -- Can you believe it? But it was fun to share while there.

I'll write more later. I need to stop ignoring my kids. But I'll find a way to post at least one pic before I get off.

Oh, and I got to meet Shaun from Hip Hop Abs yesterday. He is SO much fun. Once I talked with him, I was convinced to buy his workouts (plus Anna lost 5 inches in her waist being the 120 day test group). Oh, and then he and his background girls rehearsed for their Emergency Abs (they later called it Last Minute Abs) workout (they had to re-film it after us) and whoa! can he move! He was even moving and groovin' when he was talking to me. Then I asked if he'd think I was weird if I asked for a picture of us and he put his arms around me more than my prom date did! I said "No, don't do that -- my husband is going to see these!" then he laughed and squeezed me even tighter -- so I got 2 good pictures. I'll see if I can get one of those on here now too. And one more thing -- they think these will be released early next year, but not by New Year's -- hopefully in February. Shaun's should be released in December though (and I got to watch one of his workouts on Heather's laptop as she was making some editing decisions -- she's Carl's right-hand woman -- here I was sitting on the couch with her and Shaun watching together -- so great!)

Mesocyle 1 -- Report

I don't know if you recall that I'm in the midst of a periodization rotation for my workouts, but I just finished Mesocyle 1, which is the first phase of 3. This rotation is modeled after Cathe's upcoming STS (Shock Training System) with the first 4 weeks being muscle endurance workouts, followed by a rest week -- the next 4 weeks being muscle conditioning (heavier weights and less reps than the previous cycle), followed by another rest week, then finishing up with a final 4 weeks of muscle strengthening (even heavier weights and less reps that the 2nd mesocycle).........phew on that description, huh? Kind of wordy, but just wanted to refresh your memory or explain if you're unfamiliar with it.

I finished up Mesocycle 1 a week ago, which consisted of 3 muscle endurance weight workouts (all by Cathe) and 3 cardio workouts (varied) a week like this:

M - - Power Hour
T -- cardio of choice
W -- Legs & Glutes
Th -- cardio of choice
F -- Muscle Endurance
S -- cardio of choice

I usually did one Cathe step workout each week, one kickboxing workout, and either step or rebounding on the other day for cardio.

I was really challenged that first week, got a little muscle soreness, but overall, felt great. The second week, I continued on and felt great. The third week, I thought I'd never fill my hunger. I ate and ate and couldn't get full. It took me a few days to realize this might be related to my weight workouts (this has happened before when I've done Cathe's Slow & Heavy Series). I also found that part way through week 3, I had a horrible time getting out of bed and was extremely tired, needing extra sleep. I may have hit a bit of overtraining there, so I skipped a cardio day. The fourth week, I was back in business just fine -- normal appetite and normal ability to bounce out of bed early in the morning.

This past week was my rest week. Oh glory days! It was really fun to just change the pace a bit, do yoga all week, not have any equipment to get out, just wear my pajamas if desired, and feel that euphoria of stretching my body. Not to say the yoga wasn't a challenge -- it really was. I was sore in my arms and sides for the first few days. I wasn't used to doing updog or the wheel at ALL. Erich just about did me in with his Backbends dvd (but I loved it!) Getting back into yoga made me see that I don't want to spend another 4 weeks without it. So I'm going to do yoga on my cardio days and extended stretches (at least 20 minutes) on my weight days. I know this was my unwritten goal for the first mesocycle, but I really just wanted to make sure I stuck with my workouts for that round and mainly just did the extended stretches to some yoga music here and there (which was wonderful, but didn't keep my flexibility up like I would have liked).

Here's what I'm thinking for the Mesocyle 2:

Weeks 6 & 7
M -- Gym Style Chest & Triceps
T -- Cardio + Pyramid Upper Body ball work + Yoga
W -- Gym Style Legs
Th -- Cardio + longer Yoga
F -- Gym Style Back, Shoulders & Biceps
S -- Cardio + Pyramid Lower Body ball work + yoga

Weeks 8 & 9
M -- Pyramid Upper Body
T -- Cardio + Yoga
W -- Muscle Max
Th -- Cardio + Yoga
F -- Pyramid Lower Body
S -- Cardio + Yoga

I really debated about whether to do the Pyramids too or just stick with the Gym Styles, but I did find I was getting antsy the 4th week of Mesocycle 2 to get past those weight workouts. After 3 weeks of them, I was looking for a change. That's one reason why the rest week was so welcomed.

As for results in my body? I didn't really notice any change until the end of the 4th week and especially this one. My pants are fitting much more loosely and I feel like I look more toned over all. I did weigh myself at the beginning of the rotation, but I don't think I want to weigh myself again until the very end, which isn't till the end of June. I don't like how the scale makes me feel. So I'd rather not know until a lot of time has passed -- especially since I'll be adding muscle as I go.

I did go swimming today with my children and found that I didn't feel the need to wear the towel till the very last second of getting into the pool like I usually would. I even walked all the way around the pool (it's a pretty big community pool) to go talk to some friends without grabbing my towel first. It was great to feel that comfortable -- yay for that!


I've read so many accounts of people getting great results from Beachbody's P90X series with Tony Horton. I've felt like I missed that boat (or continue to miss it) not because I can't handle workouts that tough, but because I just don't like Tony's style (I'm sure he's a great guy and the Beachbody people are terrific, but he just isn't for me). So it's been fun to have the hope that Cathe's STS will do the same for me and that perhaps this STS-model rotation will do something similar. I read a post last week on Cathe's forum from a man (on a thread with mainly men bonding about ordering STS since it's primarily a women's forum) who said this:

"I am a P90X graduate, but saw more results doing Cathe's Gym Styles, Slow & Heavy, Pure Strength and Pyramid DVDs. So there was really no question as to whetheror not I would get STS! :-)"

Very exciting to hear! Especially since I'm headed into the mesocycle with the Gym Styles and Pyramids (and plan to do Slow & Heavy in the final weeks).

Yoga & Taxes

I've read articles before that relate yoga to practically anything. For example, the Yoga of Eating involves bringing mindfulness to the table, eating slowly, taking in with gratitude and purpose what you are eating as you are eating. Baron Baptiste talks in his Journey Into Power book how even weight lifting can be 'yoga" if it is done with the conscientiousness and purpose of letting go and breaking past your edge. So I've found myself relating yoga to different aspects of my life -- seeing the principles carry over into being patient with my children or continuing on with a project that I may not think I have the fortitude to finish.

Last Tuesday my son said according to his teacher, this was the "worst day of the year" for grown-ups. Ironically, it was also my 1/2 birthday, so my youngest daughter was at the same time asking how I was going to celebrate, if I was having a fun day, etc. We finally went to a tax accountant this year, so the bulk of the tax stress was gone because I'd already spent a few days buried at my desk, organizing all of our finances to the minutest detail. Then the dreaded news came of how much we owed and I let it sit until April 15th.

The envelopes were addressed and stamped -- all I had to do was write the checks. But for some reason, (maybe symbolic for my resistance to letting them get the money any earlier than absolutely necessary), I didn't even think of getting it to the post office until about 4:30 that day. My kids were fresh home from school. I should have been relaxing with them. I was finding snacks for them to eat, defending the cleanliness of our home as their backpacks barged in, and somehow remembered that the post office would be closing in less than a 1/2 hour.

I ran to my desk and wrote the checks -- trying to keep peace while my kids noticed I wasn't able to give them full attention. I stressed because I didn't even have time to figure our finances to see how we'd fare after sending all this money in (Property Taxes were due the week before, not to mention a crazy propane bill for $790 -- yikes!) I wasn't feeling calm by any means, and announced that I needed to run to the post office (15 minutes away). My barely 16 year old daughter said, "Oh, can I drive?" She has her permit and wants to drive with me any chance she can. I told her she could drive on the way back, but would have to ride along on the way there so I didn't have to think about how fast or slow or if we'd get there all right.

I usually like to get in the car, turn on talk radio and just zone out as I hear the radio people rant about whatever is wrong with the world. Why that's soothing for me, I'm not sure. But it helps my mind stop thinking about the here and now. When my daughter drives with me, she wants to hear her music, which is sometimes good, but isn't as soothing for me by any means. Call me old, but I'd rather hear Nora Jones or something mellow and predictable.

As we drove away with just minutes left before the post office closed, I was thinking that even though I'd eaten raw all day, I would DEFINITELY stop at the little market on the way home to buy some big organic chocolate bar or a Clif Builder Bar or maybe a bag of Paul Newman cookies or something to treat myself for all the stress I was feeling on this most awful day of the year. In my heart, I knew it wasn't really the most awful day, but after my son asked me if it were the worst day over and over and over, I started believing maybe he was right. I thought about how nice it would be to just march in that store and buy whatever I wanted to soothe my soul. Then I thought about all the other not-as-justified moments when I'd done the same. The pattern was to feel the stress and reward it or stamp it out with some food item that I wouldn't usually eat and would later regret -- not necessarily for guilt reasons, but for health problems that would come right back.

I took a step back and realized that I didn't need to medicate myself at the market. I could actually drive back home, enjoying the leisure of my daughter driving while I sat back, and be just fine. I could feel the calm of knowing the checks were in the mail and let it be. I could look around and find joy in my situation and surrounding instead of reacting to what had brought me to that stressful point. I could actually grow from this moment in time instead of falling back into a well worn pattern.

I did just that. We drove home in peace. We passed the market without any longing to go in and find some sweet treat that I'd earlier thought I "deserved." My husband doesn't like that word and I've learned to see why. It's a selfish word. I can see it's purpose in parenting, but not really for myself. I may choose to do something because it's worthwhile or important or even needed, but I don't know that I ever "deserve" something.

How is this yoga? I found a moment where I was at my edge of not knowing if I could keep going. I was uncomfortable and stressed at that edge and wanted to quit. Since I couldn't quit with the financial responsibilities, I thought I'd just quit with my health goals instead. I would have actually been punishing myself instead of rewarding myself. This isn't to say that I'll never eat a chocolate bar or any of that again. I'm sure I will. But it will be for less reactive reasons. Like in yoga practice, I was able to take my mind away from the situation, breathe a bit, see that I could continue on in the pose or situation and not give in to panic. I love that sense of inner control. That's more satisfying to me than anything. It just takes a little more work to get there.

Sorry!

Wow! It's really been over a week (10 days, in fact) since I've written? So sorry about that. Last week was a big whirlwind of activity and I wasn't home much at all. This week I'm playing catch-up. After I shower and get myself going today, I'll post some more -- I promise!

I even had some great thoughts on Tax Day that I wanted to write about. I wonder if I can recreate the feelings that went with them on that actual day. I'll sure try! (Well, I know what Yoda said -- so I won't try -- I'll just do it and see what happens). TTFN!

Filming Slim Series Express w/Debbie Siebers -- I Made It!

Yes, I caught my delayed flight to Los Angeles the following morning. I was extremely tired -- probably only slept for 3 or 4 hours. I was able to sleep a little on the flight, so when I arrived at LAX, I felt like I could take on the day without feeling like I was in a fog. The other cast members flew into Burbank airport, which was across the street from our hotel and just down the street from where we filmed. But since I live so far from a major airport (6 hours), it was much cheaper to fly right to LAX. So I had a 45 minute Limo ride to get back and forth to the airport. Very fun! (That's me when we arrived at the rehearsal studio above and my Limo driver to the side -- we took pictures of each other because no one else was around :)).

Here's the post I wrote from the hotel computer room the morning after getting there. I didn't have a chance to write that first day:

Hi ladies -- I'm here!!! I made it!!! I had to get up at 3:00 a.m. yesterday, but I made it! I have to be quick and this will probably be my only post while I'm here (unless I find a friend with a laptop or something) because I'm on the hotel computer and they are charging a TON for me to be on here. But I just wanted to tell you about our rehearsal day yesterday. When I walked in and saw Debbie, I said something really bright, "You're a real person!" and I gave her a hug. I actually walked in about 45 minutes late because of my plane delay (oh, and the Limo service really WAS a Limo -- not a stretch one, but a really nice black car with all leather -- the driver was up front, I was in back with drinks and candies there for me -- they treated me like GOLD! That was so fun. The driver liked our visit so much that he said "I wish I had my camera so I could remember what a wonderful rider you were" and I told him I had mine. So we took pictures when we got there and I'm going to e-mail him.

The rehearsal was at Madonna Grimes' Dance Studio (giant pictures of her body all over the place -- wow that woman has muscles!) When I got there you could feel the tension in the room. There were about a dozen people there and there were probably a hundred exercise tops in boxes and on the floor -- they were trying to figure out what we would wear in the videos. Not everyone was agreeing. So they kept sending me and Jocelyn into the dressing rooms to try on different shirts. The first few were yellow and quite see-through. One funny moment (for me anyway, I don't think anyone else was laughing) was when they told me to go take off the shirt I had on and give it to Jocelyn to try on. When I got in there, I thought "Do I put my old one back on? Do I try on another?" and there were about a dozen shirts all over the chair. So I grabbed one that I hadn't tried on yet and walked out. Debbie said "That's my shirt you have on" -- I was just hoping I wasn't stretching it out. She is very tiny -- probably 5'4" or something. And yes, I was the biggest one there.

At first I thought they all must think "Why did we choose her? She's not that in shape" and then once when I came out of the dressing room, they said "Wow, you have 6 kids" and were marveling at that. And I thought maybe that gave some clout to me being bigger than Debbie and Jocelyn. Jocelyn is tall -- 5'10" and is much leaner than I am, but probably close to the same size. She's adorable, has this mid-western accent, and is a lot of fun.

Fast-forwarding to the photo shoot and interviews yesterday afternoon-- I stopped feeling like I was too big or looked out of place. Well, when I first got there, Monica was shooting her workout wear photos and looked AMAZING! and I thought "What am I doing here? I don't look like that at all!" but once I met with the stylist, got dressed up in what they wanted and I felt comfortable with (I kept saying "I like to keep my tummy covered" and stuff like that), I felt really great and felt like everyone there thought I belonged there too. The Beachbody staff and Infomercial staff were so warm and wonderful. Oh, I'll have to save all that for later because there's so much to share there.

But I'll just give you the story on being with Debbie for now. When we started the workout, Debbie came over to me and helped me with my form on my arms and it was surreal -- I looked at her and thought "Debbie is right here NEXT TO ME helping ME with the workout!" -- It was so much fun. The Cardio Sculpt workout took a few times to get right, but the Stretch one was a dream and I think will be easy to film today. Oh, yeah, the changed our film date to today instead of tomorrow. So they're picking me up at 7:45 to go start the shoot and it will go until about 6:00.

After our rehearsal yesterday, they brought in lunch from Quiznos and a lot of the staff left and it was just me, Jocelyn, Anna, and Debbie in the little kitchen area. We started talking and that was when the fun truly began for me because Debbie talked about these workouts, what Cardio Core is like (sounds like a lot of functional fitness moves that work the core while getting cardio), and how she approached Carl and told him she wanted to find real people to do these workouts with her. She talked about how her sister really loved being in the other workouts (and would love to do it again). I told her how she may not realize it, but she is a big part of our lives because she comes into our homes each day and helps us reach our goals. I told her I love when she talks a lot -- it keeps me going.

I told her a lot of things that she seemed to appreciate hearing and didn't realize from our perspective. oh, and the music -- Debbie hand-picked it and said it's the best of what she had to choose from, which wasn't wonderful, but it's definitely more upbeat than the Slim Series. It's techno -- no words and not like Cathe's music or Turbo Jam or anything, but it's got a better rhythm than Slim Series or Slim in 6.

And I got to see the set yesterday. They said it's one they've used for other Beachbody productions, but it can change with the lighting and coloring. I can't remember the other workouts they noted -- I think Turbo Jam and something of Tony Horton's. But I asked to go see it yesterday (it was in the same bldg. as the infomercial) and it's looks like wooden walls with some wooden pillars -- some yellow, but they said it will look different today. So we shall see.

They also said it's HOT on the set. I asked Debbie about the Slim Series set (I've always been curious if it's a set or a house -- if anything was out in that court yard ) and she said it's a mansion in Topanga Canyon (here in L.A. if you're familiar with it) -- and it's gorgeous. She loved filming there, but said it was hotter than other sets and was tough to film the longer workouts in. (She said "and they're something like 60 or 80 minutes long" and I was thinking "78 minutes for Shape It Up and Tear It Up -- 57 or 58 for the others" the crazy vidiot that I am). Okay, this has probably cost me $10 to be on by now so I have to run. Off to eat breakfast before my ride comes. More when I get home (unless I find a laptop -- the limo driver yesterday let me use his to see how he watched Cable while he's stuck in traffic -- so you never know when an opportunity might arrive!)

That computer post actually cost over $25, if you can believe it, but it was fun to be in touch and to have my first hand account for me to read later on. And Beachbody gave me so much cash for meals that I didn't mind having to spend a little on the computer.

Tomorrow I'll post a more detailed account of the first day from after I returned.......I'll go see if I can find any pictures to post. TTFN!

SOUPer Yummy Soup!

I just have to take a brief break from talking about my Beachbody trip to talk about soup a bit. I just finished eating some on the spot soup I made for lunch and it never ceases to amaze me just how yummy soup can be! (I actually just ran off to eat another bowl full -- I got so excited just writing about it, crazy as that sounds).

I grew up eating soup for lunch -- maybe not for every lunch, but quite frequently. Our cupboards were used to carrying a nice variety of Campbells Soup cans, my favorites being Chicken Noodle and Alphabet Soup. I'm not sure if I really loved the Alphabet Soup, but it was fun to play with -- trying to find my name in the bowl and all.

I've since learned that many, if not most commercial soups in a can are pretty unhealthy with extremely high sodium and MSG added (I read labels all the time at Costco and I just don't understand why most add MSG in light of allergies, migraines, etc. ???) -- I think some have made improvements -- cutting down on salt, adding in more vegetables or something. But I've grown to mostly make my own soup and when I do use cans or prepared, it's organic (when I find it on sale :)) without any of those unnecessary additives.

My favorites from the store are Amy's (sold in cans mainly at Health Food stores, but more traditional grocers are carrying them either in a health food section or up on the top shelf of their other soups), Pacific, and Imagine Food (both sold in 1 quart boxes). I buy up the Pacific and Imagine soups when they go on sale to have as a base for my soup since they're mainly pure smooth soups like Butternut Squash, Tomato, Tomato Basil (just had that one), and Creamy Corn.
Amy's has a variety of soups with beans or lentils and vegetables in them, but I rarely use them alone either. I use them as a base to add in more veggies.

My formula is similar to what I do with smoothies. For smoothies, I use a liquid base of a few cups (usually juice), then add in a variety of fruit (often something frozen like berries to make it more icy and something smooth like bananas, mangos, or peaches to make it creamy) plus some greens at the end.

For soup, it's a clean out my fridge project. Whatever I can find in my fridge goes in my soup. I start with a liquid base -- a can or two of Amy's soup if it's a small batch or a box of Imagine or Pacific soup if it's bigger. Then I cut up some veggies, throw them in, let them cook awhile on top fo the stove, then blend up some of the chunkier vegetables with the Braun hand blender (I've had that thing for YEARS -- just love it!) so it's a nice thick soup (I learned that trick from a lot of Mollie Katzen recipes).

I'll share what I just ate today.

1 box of Imagine Tomato Basil Soup
1 can of Amy's Lentil Soup (wanted some legumes)
1 zucchini cut up
3 handfuls of baby carrots
9 big brown (or baby bella) mushrooms, sliced

I think that's all I had room for in the pot. After letting get to a boil, cooking for about 10 minutes and blending it up, I ate it with great joy. I've made a similar soup before. I think there's something wonderful in that combination of tomato and mushrooms. The mushrooms are so chewy and hearty -- like the meat of the soup. Try it, then try some creations of your own!