The Body Confidence Program Review

The Body Confidence Program Review

It was like the stars aligned when I had the opportunity to try out the freshly launched ‘The Body Confidence Program‘. Since getting engaged, I’ve made changes to my lifestyle and diet but had struggled to really see any significant changes to my body. Wedding dress shopping started edging closer and closer, and I’ll admit that I was starting to feel a bit on edge on going as I wasn’t making the progress I was hoping to. So when a chance to review a program offering dropping 2 dress sizes in 2 months I jumped at the chance.

A bit of background on the program, founded by Ru-Tee Block, a personal trainer and ex Adidas Model,  was suffering with bloating whilst on shoots across the globe and took it upon herself to start learning  from the best whilst travelling about diet, nutrition and food intolerances. The program in it’s current form features the years of built up knowledge and having been put to the test on about 100 people to test her diet worked meant the program was ready to launch.

The Body Confidence Program plan is predominately low carb based – so no normal potatoes or pasta are in sight as well as having no gluten or dairy as apart of the diet, there’s a rule if you’re looking at the ingredients and you can not pronounce it easily, then avoid it – you can also forget alcohol and caffeine. The biggest loss for me was tea. It’s high protein, with lots and lots of meat/fish (65% meat as a rough guide for each meal), if you’re a veggie, this plan isn’t for you! The day pattern is structured as breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner – with the attempt to avoid eating after 7pm. You do have one cheat day a week meaning  you can go all out and eat what you want, alcohol and carbs are all free reign. I did find the size of my stomach and appetite had changed as a result though, for example the day I went to London with my sister we had Five Guys Burger each and shared a chips for lunch – I ate nothing for the rest of the day, I was still full.

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Turkey Stuffed Beef Tomatoes

I was ready to find out I would need to be doing 2 HIIT exercise sessions a day in order to lose 2 dress sizes, and was begrudgingly ready to take that on and commit. But on the initial conference call and introduction I was pleased to find there was none actually needed. I of course walk my dogs daily – usually between 1 and 2 hours a day depending on weather/how late I got home from work and Ben has already gone/If I need to do any freelance work, so that’s all extra energy being burned off. There are the options of some HIIT beginner workouts with the option to do those 2-3 times a week, I decided to put those in where I could because I’ve been doing some HIIT prior to starting and had already built up a bit of stamina for it.

One of the things I really like about this program there is little focus on weight loss, rather focusing on Inch loss. At 5 ft 11 my height and G cup boobs will always lay responsible for a chunk of my weight – I’m a firm believer that the number on the scales only tells a small percentage of the story.

At 16 years only I weighed between 12 and 13 stone – which sounds really heavy right? But I looked borderline anorexic (I wasn’t I was just very naturally slim and played a lot of sports/danced/swam). I remember vividly standing on the scales for months thinking my weight didn’t make sense, and since realising that I was definitely thin enough I’ve avoided the scales since. I was not looking forward to starting to religiously tracking my weight, I don’t think it’s the healthiest of mindsets and actually went and bought batteries for the scales (they’ve been dead for months!). But after week 1, there’s no weekly weigh ins until the end – and if you want to skip the scales all together it’s not a problem. For the benefit of you guys I have tracked my weight as I know there will be people who will want to know how much weight was lost. My goal has always been inch loss and dress size related – I think if you get to a goal size you’re more likely to be happy, it’s hard to say how losing 2 stone is actually going to effect your bodies appearance – a dress size is a more measurable goal in my opinion.

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Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Wedges

One thing that was mentioned was that week one is likely to be the worst, so don’t give up. Your body is likely to be going through detox so expect to be a bit grumpy and irritable. Personally I didn’t have any of these symptoms at all – whether that’s because I was starting just coming out a period and my hormones were all over the place, or whether it’s because I would say that my lunch meals were already pretty similar to what I was about to start eating, so the transitioning as it were was not as harsh.

The hardest meal for me was Breakfast, the options were quite limiting as someone who doesn’t eat beef or fish, meaning the only real choice for me was bacon or smoothies (which I don’t find filling). I’ve ate more bacon in the past 8 weeks than I have in my entire life and I’m ready to never touch it again at this point.


The Body Confidence Program – Before and Afters

Pictures

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the-body-confidence-program-before-sided the-body-confidence-program-after-side

the-body-confidence-program-before-front the-body-confidence-program-after-front

The shorts I wore in the before shots don’t even hold up any more, and the sports bra I’m wearing is the same, just in a different colour – you can really see how much it was digging in and I never even realised! It’s worth noting that those leggings definitely do not hold you in, they’re very loose and comfy and let everything hang out if it wanted!

The Body Confidence Program – My Measurements

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Roast Duck Breast with Sweet Potato

The way the diet measures dress size is as 16 inches lost total through the diet – something I did manage. However, do I feel like I actually lost 2 dress sizes? Not quite, my stomach is a lot flatter than it was at the start and that’s where the main differences I’ve seen have been from. Comparing my before and after pictures I couldn’t really notice this looking in the mirror but my back is also a lot different. There are areas that I barely lost anything – my legs and arms for example stayed pretty much the same throughout. I’ve gone from an inbetween size 16-18, down to a 16, and still feel a way off being able to say I’m a true 14 which is where ideally I’d like to be. I think I could get a pair of size 14 jeans on, but it might not be pretty. I do feel like it’s a diet I can continue over the coming months and I’m hoping by September time I’m at a really good place and I’m fully where I’d like to be, I’m already wearing bodycon dresses and skirts that I’d never have worn before, and I’ve just purchased my first playsuit, something I always felt previously looked like I was hiding a spare tyre underneath. I do feel like I have the tools and knowledge at my disposal now to make this work and I’m good place for starting my hunt for the perfect wedding dress at the end of August.

Weirdly you’ll notice that despite the fact I was losing inches every week, I always measured and weighed myself on a Thursday evening – I wasn’t necessarily losing any weight. I wish I hadn’t been weighing myself for the purpose of your potential curiosities as at times I found it totally demotivating and if it was on inch loss alone I would have been pleased, blissfully unaware that I’d not even lost a pound. It does go to show though that number on the scale doesn’t mean everything.

Left over roast lamb, made into a curry with pomegranate
Left over roast lamb, made into a curry with pomegranate

The biggest sticking point for most I’m sure on this would be cost, at £450 for the 8 week program (or 2 payments of £250 split over 2 months) it’s by no means a spend you’ll want to make if you’re not serious about wanting to take part, it’s not a £20 shake diet from Tesco that you give up on after 4 days we’re talking about – you do have to be ready to commit, and ready to commit for 2 months.

Sometimes I felt with the recipes that there was a little lack in creativity, similarly to the breakfasts I’m sure that’s down to me having a large chunk of food that I don’t eat and felt a little limited on the recipes each week. I did push myself to eat Lamb chops, which I would have never eaten before and ended up enjoying them. Still can not bring myself to tuck into a steak or a fish fillet though.

The Body Confidence Program plan includes a weekly support teleconference with everyone on the plan talking about how their week went, I was rarely able to make these as my lunch is at a set time each week and unless I was doing something where I could listen in at my desk rather than being in a meeting or with a client then I simply couldn’t do it. There’s a closed Facebook group for you chat with one another, provide support and motivation and if unsure query whether your portion control is right. Lastly on each week you send in your measurements and a percentage chart of how much of an open mind etc you kept to Ru-tee who sends words of encouragement and advice.

Should you have any questions please let me know. If you want to try it yourself you can get £50 off the price of a £450 plan with the code ‘Rachel50off‘. To use the code To use the code, select the £450 option and then go to checkout and select add to basket, the option option to add a code where it’s then added.

As always, whilst I was invited to try out The Body Confidence Program Free for 8 Weeks to review, my opinions in this review are based on my own experience.

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23 Comments

  1. Amy
    July 27, 2016 / 9:51 am

    Rachael, looking at the results you got from the program it appears you really threw yourself into it. Well done girl!! How are you feeling now? Have you carried on the program?
    Amy

    • July 27, 2016 / 10:00 am

      I finished about 2 weeks ago, and have let myself just take a moment to be more relaxed as it was an intense few weeks! Still eating relatively healthy as I’m obsessed with the Lean in 15 cookbooks at the moment. I’m on holiday this weekend and plan to throw myself back into a more structured format probably half body confidence program/half lean in 15 when I get back!

  2. July 27, 2016 / 11:19 am

    Well done, you must feel so proud of yourself! x

      • July 27, 2016 / 9:05 pm

        It’s funny that it sometimes takes photos for us to really notice any changes. Congratulations again!

  3. July 27, 2016 / 2:25 pm

    Wow well done to sticking to it. These diet plans always look so hard and as you said not catered to veggies, so I’d be no good! You look amazing! X

  4. July 27, 2016 / 2:57 pm

    I *so* agree with the idea that inches matter more than the numbers on a scale.
    That’s so funny that you’ve eaten so much bacon now you detest it! 😛 Like the stories I read about people living by the sea who ate so much lobster they HATED it.
    Your before and after pictures are impressive!
    And here’s my soapbox – I see a lot of women focus so much effort to look good for the wedding day. And then it all goes to hell (and then some) after the wedding. I hope this is a lifestyle change, not a diet. That is all.
    Keep up the great work!

    • July 27, 2016 / 3:52 pm

      I’m someone who has always been motivated by a goal or date in mind – having a mental date to kick me up the bum. I hope that I can keep it up post wedding and that it is a lifestyle change!

  5. saturdayonwednesday
    July 27, 2016 / 2:04 pm

    Oh wow congratulations! There is such a difference between your before and after pictures, well done! I have been struggling with my weight for as long as I remember and I am on the look for a good programme. I used to be able to do it myself but since I keep failing recently I feel I would do well with some guidance. It is a bit pricey though for me at the moment. I got all excited reading this and then I saw the price haha. Looks like it’s working though! I too dislike quite a few products and even without a diet plan I feel limited in my choices. I really envy people who like most foods. So many possibilities! I don’t think they stop to appreciate that fact at all 🙂 Very interesting post xxx

    • July 27, 2016 / 2:11 pm

      I think as we get older our metabilisms can start screwing us over! I didn’t eat that badly before it was a mix of being healthy with being unhealthy and for a long time I seem to maintained a size, but it wasn’t enough to start properly shifting weight when I started actively eating healthier.
      I don’t think I could have afford to have paid for it at the moment, with all the wedding bills so very greatful I had the opportunity to try. It’s worth looking on UK Bloggers required site as I saw they were looking for more people to take part a few weeks ago.
      I agree I look at people who eat fish with a mixture of a shudder and envy. For me most of the reasons I don’t like foods is the texture! mince beef/burgers fine, roast beef or a steak not in a million years!

      • saturdayonwednesday
        July 27, 2016 / 2:19 pm

        I agree, aging doesn’t help either. My main problem was the then-undiagnosed underactive thyroid and on going hormone problems, now top that with my love for all things fast and there we go. I was never unhealthy though, I have my moments of full-on-pig but I always try and put effort into eating healthier and exercising. The latter I am not too keen on (unless it’s dancing or something else that’s a bit more fun) and when you force yourself to get motivated and move your ass and still don’t get the results, that’s when it hurts the most! But I’ve done it before, so it’s possible haha

        • July 27, 2016 / 3:53 pm

          Let’s admit it though, fat pig days are the best! I do struggle with motivation for exercise, I have the best intentions that never really come to fruition!

  6. July 27, 2016 / 3:23 pm

    Incredible Rachael! Those results are so impressive, well done!

  7. July 27, 2016 / 8:31 pm

    Get it gurl!!!! You look amazing…. Be proud and show off your progress. Hard work definitely pays off and you can see it in your pictures. Good for you 🙂

  8. Kathyj
    July 28, 2016 / 5:14 am

    This is such a lovely post! A great program to help many people and I’m sure this post had also helped people in itself 🙂
    Kathy x

  9. July 30, 2016 / 7:34 pm

    Omg, I’m so with you. I have really struggled for year and since having my last baby at 39, I felt wrecked. And I lost weight and then I was lucky to have SKIN. OMG. Your results look awesome, keep going. And you are young so your skin will tighten right back up to where it should it.

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