Natalie's summer body challenge blog: week 2

Natalie: early starts

I work in advertising sales, so fitting exercise in during the day and after work is a real struggle because I have so many client lunches and post-work events to go to. So my workouts have to be done and dusted before I get to my desk in the morning. That means a 5:30am alarm! That’s definitely going to take a while to get used to, but I do feel a bit smug knowing that my workout for the day is done before most people have even got out of the shower.

See the fat-burning workout moves in action: watch the video here

That hasn’t stopped me from trying to break the rules a bit though. Luckily, Paul’s seen all my tricks before, so when I’m lying on the floor in between moves he gives me a look as if to say “you’re not that tired are you?” and I dutifully get up and get on with it. I’m definitely feeling the effects of all this exercise though. I was so chuffed to nab a seat on the train to work the other day, but after 10 minutes I had to stand because my legs had completely seized up!

Paul assures me that as I get used to doing these moves, they’ll become less painful – I hope so, though in a strange way, the pain reminds me that my body’s changing and that’s hugely motivating. Paul’s kindly lent me a kettlebell so I can do my workout at home, too. My only fear is that I’ll accidentally let it go mid-workout and smash up my TV!

The diet is taking some getting used to. I think I’ll be sick of brown rice by the end of the challenge. I have sugary cravings all the time, but I’ve only acted on them once – I caved and bought a packet of cookies on my way home. But I felt so guilty after eating three, I threw the rest of the pack in the bin – the outside bin, too, so I wouldn’t be tempted to fish them back out! That’s progress, right?

Natalie is working out using the fat-burning workout

Natalie is following the Zest ultimate summer body challenge

Read Natalie's previous blog entries:

Week 1: hello exercise, goodbye takeaways