Selena DeLeon

I am proud to feature the Three-Week Body Sculpting Challenge completed by Nagina Newman, age 29.

Although Nagina eats everything, carbohydrates, meat, dairy and fruits (all in their most natural forms), she has been very careful about balancing the portions and not eating to the point where she feels stuffed.

For three weeks, Nagina Newman has followed my training plan, and has been focused on her eating habits, recording everything that she eats and drinks. She has cut out juices and sodas, drinking nothing but water, and has fine-tuned her eating to about 1,400 - 1,600 calories per day. Keeping a journal has proved a successful method in dieting for Nagina and many others, because by having to account to me, her trainer, for everything that she ate, it made her become much more conscious of what she was eating on a daily basis, weekends included. The goal was set and it was clear: three weeks to sacrificing all the sinful pleasures such as alcohol, sweets and breads.

Although Nagina eats everything, carbohydrates, meat, dairy and fruits (all in their most natural forms), she has been very careful about balancing the portions and not eating to the point where she feels stuffed. She says she eats half of what she has served on her plate, then drinks a full glass of water and then from there, gauges whether she is satisfied or not, and eats the remainder of the meal more slowly than the first half, careful not to overeat.

Spinning for 25 minutes raises her heart rate and puts her in her fat-burning zone.

Her exercise regimen has been steady - four times per week. Her winning workout regime looks like this:

Monday - Full Body Sculpt

Nagina pushes her strength on this day with heavy weights, targeting specific muscles in her legs, upper body and core, followed by 10 minutes of intense abdominals.

AFTER... 1 and 3/4 inches off her waist, a whopping 4 inches off of her abs and a 1/4 inch off of each arm, and a total weight loss of 7 pounds of fat in the 10 weeks total!

Tuesday - Spinning /Abs and Buns

Spinning for 25 minutes raises her heart rate and puts her in her fat-burning zone. She pushes hard for short bursts to power her heart rate up to the point where she is not able to talk easily. Immediately followed by a workout down on the mat, she puts on ankle weights and does a variety of leg lifts, targeting her glutes, hamstrings, inner thighs and hips. She follows this routine with a serious 10 minutes of abs.

Wednesday - Step and Sculpt

She combines light weights with aerobics in the Step and Sculpt sessions with me, which keeps her heart rate at a high level. Staying inside of the fat-burning zone, she tightens and streamlines her muscles. We hit the floor and she crunches for about 10 minutes following the workout. The result is lean, long muscle tone.

Thursday - Spinning/Upper Body and Core

On this day she does Spinning, to get her heart rate up into the fat-burning zone for 25 minutes and completes her hour with heavy weight training for her upper body. We finish the workout with a series of plank poses, and holding various Pilates poses for core strengthening and abdominal toning - in the zone.

Overall, her fat-burning and strength COMBINATION workouts have made over her metabolism and streamlined her body. In the three weeks, she lost a total of five pounds, 1/2 an inch off of her hips, 1/2 inch off of each upper thigh, 2 1/2 inches off of her waist, 3 and 1/2 inches off of her abdomen and a half of an inch off of each upper arm. That was what she was able to do in three weeks, but since the beginning of the challenge, (a total of 10 weeks), she has continued and has gone on to lose a total of 2 inches off of her hips, 1 and 3/4 inches off her waist, a whopping 4 inches off of her abs and a 1/4 inch off of each arm, and a total weight loss of 7 pounds of fat in the 10 weeks total! The scale did register the weight loss as much as the tape recorded fewer inches, because she has been steadily gaining muscle mass at the same rate that she has been losing fat. Therefore the changes in her body composition are more evident than her weight loss in pounds.

With the changes in her exercise and diet, her new size has come full circle, and now she fits into a brand new set of clothes, skimpy, tight and hot for the summer. What does she have to say about it? "I feel amazing, healthy and strong. I am a lot more health conscious and this has now even rubbed off on my family and friends. I have a lot more energy and commitment to myself!"

I say, " You can do it too!"

For more information about how you can create "your" masterpiece, email me at bodybyselena@hotmail.com

Ciao for now!

Selena DeLeon is 32 years old and has been a certified Personal Trainer, Kickboxing Instructor and Spinning Instructor for 6 years. She is also a Weight Loss Consultant and Councillor. An active mother of two, she has a passion for fitness and health, languages, travel and anatomy. Over the years, she has helped many persons find their full physical potential through sharing her training and motivation.

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