How I Lost 52 Pounds

I did not want to know how much I weighed! My doctor’s office was under strict orders not to tell me my weight. But at my last weekly check-in before my daughter was born, my husband sneaked a peek, and was so tickled we both weighed 202 pounds, he just had to tell me... In nine months, I managed to gain an amazing 62 pounds!

How I lost the weight
I didn’t do any of the diets that are so popular: low sugar or low carb diets. I live for bread and chocolate! Walking might have been good, but my daughter developed a serious case of colic and her crying seemed to get worse when I took her for a walk. I was so excited to find out that Cindy Crawford had just come out with A New Dimension workout for women who had just had a baby! She filmed the tape a short time after having her son, Presley. I ordered the tape as soon as I heard about it.

Warning
Okay, let me stop you right now if you want to go out and buy this video just so you can see Cindy looking fat and flabby after having her baby! She is absolutely thin and gorgeous in this tape. It is very difficult to believe she even had a baby, but they show footage of her son, so it must be true.

Instructors
Obviously, Cindy Crawford is one of the instructor/exercisers on the video. I enjoy her Next Challenge Workout, so this was a positive for me. She is not too annoying or perky. The other exerciser and instructor is Kathy Kaehler. Cindy says she was interested in Kathy designing the workout after she found out that Kathy gained 80 pounds while having twins. Well, right off this endeared Kathy to my heart. Kathy also seems very normal and quiet, which is a good thing if you do a workout many times.

What the tape looks and sounds like
The camera work and the look of the video remind me of Cindy’s Next Challenge Workout, which I also own. They show Cindy and Kathy Kaehler working out in many different locations: a big apartment with wall-to-wall windows and a fantastic view, an exercise room, a living room, and some beautiful footage at the ocean. Cindy is also wearing different outfits in each location. Some occasional footage is shot with black and white film. They also show some footage of Cindy’s beautiful baby and her husband. In one shot, they show her husband, Rande, changing the baby’s diaper. Very nice! I really like the variety in outfits, locations, and camera shots because this prevents me from getting bored. The music is fine, jazzy and upbeat, and not very memorable. It does not have the MTV type tunes that her other workouts have.

The Workout
To do the workout you need to have a towel or exercise mat, a set of 3 lb. weights, a chair, and a deck of playing cards. There are actually three workouts on the tape.

Workout A
I started doing this ten-minute workout right after my six-week checkup. Cindy recommends you do this workout for at least 2 weeks before you progress to the next workout. It starts with a very brief warm-up with calf stretch, plies, and lunges. Then she does stretching on the floor, kegels (which Cindy explains as “tightening and relaxing the muscles used to stop urination”), abdominal curls, and pelvic tilts. Then there is a short cooldown. This is basically just a stretching workout to help you ease back into working out. It is very simple, but was perfect for just having had a baby.

Workout B
I did this sixteen-minute workout after two weeks of Workout A. Pictures of Cindy’s baby sometimes pop up on the side of the workout, which I like because it reminds me of how the weight gain and pain are really worth it all. It starts with a short warm-up stepping side to side, knee lifts, plies, and shoulder presses. Then you do stretches with the chair. The cardio section is done with arm weights and lasts about 7 minutes. It has
basic movements such as marching with weights, side leg lifts and squat
combination, and leg touches to the side. You use the playing cards to do squats and lunges. You do squats to pick up the cards, and then lunges to pick up the cards. This is followed by pushups, kegels, and pelvic tilts. A three-minute cooldown of stretching finishes the workout. Then you get to enjoy a brief shot of Cindy and the baby in her garden.

Workout C
I started this workout 1 or 2 weeks after I did Workout B. This is the main workout, and the one that I have been doing ever since. It’s an interval-type workout with lots of variety. The warm-up is followed by a weightlifting portion of overhead presses, lateral raises, tricep extensions and kickbacks, and lunges. After some tricep dips off a chair, you do the first cardio portion, which lasts about 5 minutes. It starts with a march-kick-squat combo and some side-to-side stepping with arm presses. My only minor quibble about this workout is when they do a jump and squat combo. Kathy says you can modify it by doing a “lift and squat”, but she doesn't demonstrate the move. Poor Cindy has to hold her chest while she does the jump and squat move, and explains she finds it painful due to breastfeeding. I think it would have been nice to have Cindy demonstrate the modified (less painful) move. Then on to more weights, leg lifts and pushups with the chair, and card squats. The last cardio section is about 5 minutes: marching, grapevines, and knee lifts with arm exercises. The chair is used again for bicep curls, plies, and hamstring lifts. Final floorwork includes five minutes of abdominal exercises. A cooldown of stretching completes the workout.

Results
I was about 180 pounds after I had my daughter. I lost 30 pounds after 10 months of using this tape. I plan on using this tape as a good easy workout, but I will add in some more challenging tapes. I like the basic choreography in this workout (no fancy dance moves), the variety of the workout, and all the toning. I think this tape is perfect for women who have just had a baby, or want an easy, but effective workout. I just got over the flu, and this is the tape I’m using to ease back into working out. I don’t look like Cindy yet, but I’m working on it!