I thought I was doing all the right things, exercising regularly, eating well (of course I was still have a few free days) and doing plenty of weight training but the weight wasn’t coming off. 

I am a big fan of the Oxygen Magazine and had noticed The Ideal Bodies Online feature and thought, what the heck, what have I got to lose.  I contacted Sue immediately to see if she could help and before I knew it, I had enlisted myself for the 12 week body challenge.  It was the best thing I have ever done.

I was given my program and my mentor, Maxine, was fabulous.  I also received some great emails from Kristin and Sue.  I was most anxious to get started but as I was going interstate just after Christmas and knew it would be really quite difficult with the travel, I opted to start the program after I returned.  Whilst travelling, I was constantly reading and re-reading all the great information that was sent to me and spent a lot of my spare time planning my meals and workouts schedules.

Finally, the day had arrived.  I was so excited and pumped up I felt as though I breezed through the first six weeks.  Every week, I was in contact with Maxine, asking questions and advice and the library and resource area was fabulous.  One thing I had to learn was not to weigh myself every day!!! 

I could not have done it without IBO, Sue and her great team.  The program was fantastic and I continually challenge myself with it.  The recipes were wonderful and my favourite would have to be the Pancakes which comprise of oats, cottage cheese, egg whites, cinnamon and fruit.  I am addicted to them and find myself having them every morning.

I would also recommend Glutamine as it certainly helped reduce my muscle soreness.  I find it has become a ritual to take it every morning and every evening now.  I also used Acetyl L Carnitine for the first 6 weeks to speed up the fat loss which certainly seemed to help.

I now wake up at 5am every morning to do either my cardio training or weight training and what a great way to start the day.  I have a very busy lifestyle with 2 children, a husband, my parents that I take care of and I also work 3-4 days a week and found that time was my biggest hurdle to overcome.  Great planning of meals, workouts and time management was the success to my success.

Keys to Success

• Stay motivated! I kept a diary by the side of my bed and recorded every feeling at the end of each day.  I would then set my goal for the following day.
• Plan your meals in advance. Pre-cook if you can, it certainly makes things a lot easier if you get home and your meal is ready, less temptation.
• Keep focused. You think 12 weeks is going to be an eternity but once you start seeing the results, it becomes exciting and you soon realize it is a lifestyle change.

Thanks again Sue and the team, I could not have achieved this without you and I am sure in the near future, you will be hearing from me again!