I’m sure most of you have seen plenty of fitness program infomercials and are spectacle of the results. With the majority of pictures being Photoshopped nowadays why wouldn’t you be? Well I'm here to give you the inside scoop. Last summer I auditioned for a role in a testimonial group for the filming of a fitness infomercial. I figured as an actress getting paid to get fit wasn’t such a bad deal. A week before the training launched I was selected as one of the last testimonials, an eight week long intense fitness program with the culmination of the filming of an infomercial. This is an inside look of what it means to be a testimonial for a workout program.
My adventure began the week before July 4th by taking my before pictures and measurements. After I weighed in at 129lbs and my measurements were taken, I stood in front of a white background in a sports bra and workout shorts to get my photos taken. I was not obese by any means, but over weight for my 5’2” frame. Then I changed into my bikini for a few lifestyle photos to be flashed during the infomercial as the before me. Some girls were photographed eating ice cream, cooking, or taking selfies. I was shot playing with a water gun by the pool. All of us were told to slouch and pooch out our stomachs. Nothing was done to us to make us look glamourous in any sort of the word. Before leaving set each participant signed the appropriate paperwork and were given a swage bag which contained a little lunch box with ice packs and a packet of information regarding the meal plan we would be on along with our workout schedule. Before getting into the actual experience let me explain the meal and workout plan.
The meals: Every Monday at the end of our workout session we would each carry home a large cooler full of 7 breakfasts, lunches, dinners and 14 snacks. For the most part breakfasts consisted of some sort of omelet and sausage patty. Lunches and dinners were one package of veggies with one meat item such as a sausage link, grilled chicken, or hamburger patty. Snacks were nuts and cheeses. Now keep in mind back in January I had decided to stop eating meat for the most part. I knew this was going to be tough because I was not use to eating all this meat, nor did I want to do so for the next 8 weeks. We were also not allowed to drink alcohol of any kind or have sugar. When I say no sugar I mean no sugar of any kind, fruit included. I thought this was rather extreme, but they of course wanted to see extreme results in order to sell their product. We were also not given any sort of healthy carbs. No oatmeal, no brown rice, nothing. Again, I felt this was extreme.
The workouts: Three days a week we did the dance workout from the fitness program this infomercial would be for and three days a week we had boot camp with a personal trainer. The workouts were Mon-Sat from 7am-8am. On top of this we had a set schedule of workouts to do each night on our own. Some days we were asked to do a segment from the workout DVDs and other nights we could do a cardio exercise of our choice as long as it was 30-45min long.
Now to my infomercial testimonial adventure…
The beginning: Day one was Monday July 7, 2014. At our photo shoot the previous week, we were all encouraged to binge during the July 4th holiday so our before vs. after stats would be more drastic. I officially weighed in at 130lbs and was more than ready to see those pounds go. The dance workouts were actually enjoyable and easy to follow since I have a background in dance. I will say that the moves were repetitive and I was bored after a half hour. Luckily for anyone doing the DVDs at home, each workout is only 30-45min. To my surprise, the food wasn’t horrible. The veggies were definitely bland without any added spices and I knew that I was fully capable of cooking my own fresh vegetables. The meat items were really tasty, but I felt so bad eating them because I had been doing so well with the whole going vegetarian thing. I was pleasantly surprised by how much the food filled me up. I’m usually a really big snacker and I didn’t really feel the need to eat anything other than the food that was given to me.
Halfway there: Four weeks in and all I could think was, “What in God’s name did I get myself into?!” The meals were becoming tough to eat and I actually realized that I could cook much healthier substitutions myself. For instance, the sodium content of meat items were OFF THE CHARTS! This made sense to me because they were prepackaged products. I wasn’t sure why I didn’t bother checking the nutrition facts earlier. Therefore, I started experimenting with other protein options. I started cook fresh pots of quinoa, beans, chickpeas, or lentils to replace my meat items. Of course I didn’t dare throw any of that perfectly good food I had been given to waste when there are starving people in this country. Instead, I stored all the meat I wasn’t eating in a large ziplock for my boyfriend to either take to work or warm up for dinner. He certainly didn’t mind the reintroduction of meat to his diet. As for the dance workouts they quickly becoming my least favorite days as I found myself extremely bored with the repetitive movements. On the other hand, I always looked forward to boot camp. Our trainer, Hassan, was great! I think he pushed the group hard enough so those near the bottom never felt like they were failing. We focused a lot on building muscle, which for those of you that don’t know aids in loosing fat - a topic for another time. I noticed muscle gain in both my arms and legs and could feel myself getting stronger with each week. By this point I had lost 4lb. I couldn’t remember the last time I was in the mid 120s-lbs range. I will admit there was a slight cheat day during this mid-point. My boyfriend and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary and if you know anything about me you know that there is no way in hell I am having a celebration without some wine. So we went to a nice meal and had a glass of wine and that was that. One day out of my 8 weeks. I didn't feel even a bit guilty.
Wrapping up: I made it!!!! It wasn’t easy, but I was one of the original 20 that stated until the very end. Throughout the program about 6 or so dropped out and were replaed by other participants in various weeks. The last few weeks I ate less and less of the food I was given and opted to substitute more veggies/protein for the meat products. I also decided to make my own omelets rather than eating the high sodium ones that came in our packages. The last 3 days of our program we did a juicing cleanse. Our trainer, Hassan, owns his own juicing company which you can check out here. We were given 6 juices a day to drink every 2-4 hours. I’m not a fan of juicing just because I haven’t really heard of any solid benefits, plus I like to chew my food. However, I will say that I thought each juice was tasty and did manage to satisfy my hunger. Some participants lost a few pounds, whereas I did not see any significant changes only solidifying my idea that juicing isn't a viable solution to weight loss. On the last day of our testimonial everyone showed up in their best workout gear, hair and makeup ready. We filmed a dance workout with the creator of the program which took about 3 hours. After that we had a couple hours to clean up before heading to the photo shoot. Each one of us was scheduled for an hour slot in which our final measurements and weight were taken as well as our after photos. My results completely shocked me. I had lost 10lbs, coming in at 120lbs and what was even more surprising was that I lost 11” off my body! This explained why all my pants and shorts no longer fit. All my hard work had paid off and I was proud to show off the body I had earned. Of course the difference with this photoshoot was that we were misted with oil to define our muscles and told to felx and smile. Oh I almost forgot to mention the fact that they gave all us light skined folks a spray tan, hints the color difference. The very last part of this experience was being interviewed on camera for the testimonial part of the infomercial. This was the one thing I had the hardest time doing because I hated the idea of lying to people that truly wanted to take a step towards a healthy lifestyle. I knew without a doubt that all the weight and inches I lost were not because of the fitness program, but rather because of my hard work, dedication, strict eating, and boot camp workouts. None of which comes with the DVD package. I was basically coerced into saying that this program, which I will refrain from naming since I do not intend to hurt its sales, is what lead to my weight loss and muscle tone.
All in all, the experience was great and pushed me towards an even healthier lifestyle, which I will be forever grateful. While I think workout and fitness DVDs are great, I own and frequently use the 21 Day Fix, you should hold realistic expectations when beginning a program and know that the people you see in the videos worked very hard to look the way they do. I do not think the results you see in an infomercial are unattainable. However, they are easier to reached if you have a support group, focused eating, and adhere to the workout plan. I have personally followed both the 21 Day Fix and the 21 Day Fix Extremem two programs I swear by and promote any chance I get. Not only have I seen results physically, but I feel healthier as well. If you are thinking about trying out a program please contact me. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have as well as assist you in chooing the right one and hlep you to stay focused on your own journey.