Viva le walk on the telephone - 25th hour gym coaching :)

A great night uninterrupted sleep, it is unusual for me, so I make note of it.

On an empty stomach: lemon juice and Fauchon tea... It is running out... I need another rip to Paris to replenish that!

40 minutes walk on the telephone (yes, I like to get moving first thing in the morning in case I get caught for the rest of the day!)

Breakfast: 3 small gluten and dairy free pancakes... discovered at Trader's Joe... a truly genial recipe + 1 soya yogurt

15 minutes cycling

1km swim

15 minutes cycling

30 minutes cycling

Lunch: 3 sweet potato veggie steaks (really nice!) + sauteed peas in chicken gravy + 1 nectarine

1 hour in the magic hands of Alejandro... which does a world of good... ladies, for those of you who live close by, I do gift my dear Alejandro for birthdays :)

Snack: a handful Brazil nuts + 1 nectarine and a handful strawberries

45 minutes accumulated walk (on the telephone among other things)

Dinner: 1 bison steak + 1 mixed salad (wild rocket + cucumber + tomatoes and alfalfa sprouts) + 1 fruit salad (pineapple, coconut, strawberries)

30 minutes passive muscle toning :)

Rest day :)

Good night... life is beautiful... Eric and Anissa are coming back from holiday today, that's reason for celebration!

On an empty stomach: nothing... just resting... on the telephone, sitting, without moving... that's a bit different, isn't it? well, yes, it is important for the body to rest sometimes.

Fauchon "the d'ete" tea

Breakfast: 6 Brazil nuts + 2 nectarines + 1 banana

Lunch with the girls: huge mixed salad with nice alfalfa sprouts + 2 veggie burgers + a tiny cube ice cream

no snack

Dinner at the movies (UP, absolutely great film): 1 portion sweet potato french fries + mango sauce + 4 mouthfuls hamburger

I am all muscle stiffness :)

Oh dear, I surpassed myself yesterday... 38km with hellish hills... and all with a bike tht weights a ton (at least)...

painful awakening... my entire body is stiff... that shows which muscles I don't use enough and were called upon to clim those "le tour" hills!

I decide I will take it easy today to rest the "beast"

10 minutes walk on an empty stomach, that's it... what was I thinking... not to mention my male escort who decides to "get me moving" against my will!

Breakfast: a strawberry/banana smoothie with almond milk

1h15 hike in a canyon in the baking sun just before lunch, that qualifies as "on an empty stomach"

Lunch: a portion micuit tuna, green salad with raspberry/gorgonzola dressing (rather good combination) and huge big fries...

I lunched in Redwood city where the center looks like that by night :)

No snack of course, lunch was very late in the afternoon

1 km swim

Well, for a rest day, I've done quite a bit

Dinner: chicken fillet in mexican marinade + peas and tomato casserole and for desert, my indulgent 25g dulche de leche toffee... from Costa Rica, that was my last piece... I have to go back and get some :)

I progress in my reading about the birth of eugenics in the USA... this movement has really grown "thanks" to the descendants of Darwin... these ideas inspired the Nazis to create their racial "purification" program. An edifying topic not studied enough at school... not to say not at all.

38km + Rant about fat prejudice

Life is beautiful... sometimes you don't need much to have that outlook... and email, a call, a pleasant remark, a smile in the street, a compliment, some good news you did not expect any more, in short , a little detail can shoo the clouds away and let the sunshine return at light speed :)

Following an incident in the Paris suburb train, I wrote a little piece on how fuller figured women are often treated... you can read it here: newsletter LeBootCamp

Up with the first light... there are days like that :)

Fauchon the d'ete tea

40 minutes yoga

Breakfast: 1 small portion courgettes/onions + 1 slice sprouted seed bread (German bread) toasted with bruschetta + 25 grams Costa Rican caramel milk jam (I've hardly got any left, I need to plan another trip to replenish the stocks!).... yumyumyumy

30 minutes walk

50 leg balancers on each side

Lunch: a glorious enoormous green salad with plenty of good things in it: alfalfa sprouts, grilled peanuts, slightly grilled tuna, etc... all washed down with lovely rooibos tea.

38km cycling (yes you read right!) with tour de France hills... a little flavour of Mont Ventoux!

I come back with wobbly legs but proud to have pushed out of my comfort zone... you can see a map of my journey above... to see it in larger format just click on it :)

Well deserved snack: 1 smoothie: 1 banana + almond milk + frozen strawberries + 1 tbs mango ice cream

Dinner after a long jakuzzi to relax my very strained muscles: spinach leaves with feta cheese (with ketchup) all in front of a nice movie... that feels good!

The Ugly Truth is a great film... probably thanks to Gerard Butler still donning his "Indiana Jones air" :) - I do recommend this film wholeheartedly. The end is a bit predictable, the nice girl who is looking for the perfect man of her life (the one who is handsome, rich, kind, intelligent, has time for her, has eyes only for her, dresses well,...) falls in love with the bad boy who is meant to only be interested in getting laid but turns out to be starry-eyed himself and we like it... etc... we know that of course, but that is the power of the chickflick, to confirm that prince charming does exist :)

Answers to anonymous :) + Hindu prayer how do you do it?

For the Anonymous asking me where the hindu prayer is: you can find it in the "My Gym" space on the LeBootCamp website on this page

Breakfast: Green tea and lemon juice on an empty stomach + 1 bowl granola + soya milk

1 hour walk on the telephone

Lunch: a whole bunch of steamed asparagus + soyonnaise + zucchini and onions frichti

refreshing catnap

Many things are happening ----> great ;)

No snack but

40 minutes run listening to Dan Black and Daft Punk + 20 minutes walk

200 floor abs

30 push ups

100 nut crackers

100 gazelle thighs

Dinner: 1 spa wrap: a thin pancake (crepe) full of vegetables + 1 very well presented smart portion of french fries (fried yucca roots and other sweet potatoes, this isn't Mac Donald's)

PS: for anonymous who is writing about the ideal fat burning cardio zone, you are right... so right in fact, that I will put that topic on the menu of my next LeBootCamp newsletter!

BRUNO... have you seen it? What did you think?

I have a long day ahead of me...

I can't figure pout how the post office works in this country. I send an urgent piece of mail with the priority service to NY on saturday, we are wednesday and it still hasn't arrived... I can't believe it!

on an empty stomach, darjeeling tea + 1 home made boost (apple cucumber and strawberries)

30 minutes run to the sounds Dan black + Katy Perry

15 minutes walk

Breakfast: smoked salmon and blueberries, yum

Lunch: a tiny "bacon avocado"... no, not bacon from pig, its the name of the kind of avo :) very good, nearly wild... superb! + 1 Guatemalan pupusa + 1 vegetarian steak + 1 nectarine

15 minutes walk

15 minutes walk

100 abs

Snack: 1 nectarine + 5 brazil nuts

Dinner: 3 slices smoked salmon + 1 pupusa + 1 nectarine + 25 gr dolce de leche

200 nut crackers

100 leg sweeps on each side (during teeth brushing :)

Lots of meetings today,... but I will tell you more about that at a later date :)

I finish off with BRUNO... this film has had a huge build up here, the trailer was rather fun... the film... certainly not PC, that's for sure :) I'll let you make up your mind about it... I liked 50 % and hated 50% but I won't tell you witch parts they are.

I loved the last Harry Potter :) + Hindu Prayers? whazat?

Darjeeling tea

Boost Breakfast: boost (cucumber, strawberry, apple)+ 1 raw bar and I dash... another mad day lays ahead :)

1 hour elliptical machine with Paula (note that adds up to 540 burnt calories) + 15 minutes muscle toning exercises + 250 m swim

Greek lunch: a vegetarian plate: 4 falafels + a bit of white rice + tomato salad and tsadziki

15 minutes walk

Snack: 1 nectarine + soya yogurt + 25 grams Costa Rican Dolce de leche (I still had some left from my trip there, yummmy!)

Cinema: Harry Potter (wow) 1/3 hamburger + 1 portion sweet potato fries with mango sauce

20 push ups at 45 degree angle

60 Hindu prayers

200 butt squeezes

For Anonymous asking me what the Hindu prayers are, you can find all your answers on the LeBootCamp website here: Hindu prayer

Answers to your posts :) + le BootCamp and Valerie Orsoni in BILD

Luciole: yes, it is the Dan Black you mentionned :) - his next album is awesome... I've been listening to it in a loop (mainly 3 tracks that uplift me and give me energy and put a smile on my face)

Anonyme: yes, 6am is rather usual... but is can also be 1am for a lave radio interview in Europe or 5am... well a bit of everything really!

Anonyme 2: for the FBZ... could you give me more information? I might know under another name :) are you referring to fartlek perhaps?

1 liter green tea on an empty stomach + 2 nectarines + 1 handful strawberries + 2 slices smoked salmon

1h30 walk in the canyon with Paula who as great stamina... great pace!

Lunch: 1 slice smoked salmon + 1 vegetarian steak + 1 large portion blueberries + 1 banana

Snack: 2 nectarines + 1 handful strawberries

We are in BILD, the No1 German magazine. You can read the article, if you can read Teuton, by clicking here

ELLE, SANTE MAGAZINE, MADAME FIGARO

Following this very busy trip...

We are in this week's French ELLE, Sante magazine and Madame Figaro! Yes!

I rise very early as I have a big day ahead of me...

30 minutes walk on an empty stomach on the telephone + 15 minutes dance to the wild tempo of some great tracks

Lots of green tea... I lost 1 kg without even realizing during my frantic trip to NY...

By the way, don't be shy, I see huge traffic on the blog and everyone tells me about it but no one dares to post, please don't hesitate, your comments are welcome :)

1.5 hours cycling at good pace

Lunch: a plate vegetarian mezzes (without the bread)

1.5 hours cycling at good pace smothered in sun cream

No snack... I am dinning very early as we are having a movie night with friends... the last Woody Allen... I am a big fan.

100 butt squeezes + 200 floor abs + 50 push ups at 45 degree angle (men tease me but I can assure you they are very effective) + 60 hindu prayers

Great movie... good old proper woody Allen.

Diner: black tea, mussels and chips.

Very productive trip to NY and mystery photograph

Who is that with me on the picture above?

How I love the airline Virgin America!... spanking new aircrafts, which, in the context of recurring inc/accidents, is rather reassuring... charming crews, inboard entertainment worthy of its name, great comfort!

My days in NY city are very active... I decide to (hardly) not take taxis and tear down New York's blocks on foot... 1 block = 1 minute in average... the first day I walk 60x2 blocks (ie. there and back) that I walk down and up again... my hotel being on central park, and most of my meetings in SoHo/Chelsea/the City, I am planning a lot of up and down block cruising...

In the morning, admiring the stunning view out of my bedroom, I do abs, at least 100 to stay firm + floor press-ups (at least 20, more if on form) and buttock exercises...

On the food side, New Yorkers are slimmer and that's normal... indeed, compared to San Francisco, portions are smaller, bread and olive oil to dip and nibble in waiting for ones order are rarely served... In short, with the help of lighter menus and block to block striding, it is easier to stay slim here... not to mention that staying on the 36th floor of a gorgeous hotel, I get the impression that the breakfast is coming up on foot so I avoid it and fall back on my favorite raw bars I always cart around.

Some lovely visits to Soho House, the private club that starred in Sex In the City with its swimming pools on the roof... a very agreeable moment with some fantastic people.

Many big projects are coming to fruition in the next few weeks, we are all a bit tense but its not only normal but also good that way... we might even miss that feeling when all will be up and running, but its for our own good and that of the bootcampers...

I am back home now...

Life is good under the Californian sun... I listen to the latest Dan Black record, a talented British musician and I am a fan

I must be attracting them

I am referring to snakes, poisonous this time!

A typical Californian day, very sunny!

Up at dawn despite a short night... Fauchon tea (yes, I can even buy some here;) followed by an anti-aging breakfast (as you will find on LeBootCamp.com/rajeunir... English version imminent... keep your eyes peeled) : smoked salmon + a large bowl blueberries and strawberries + 5 Brazil nuts... TLC for your taste buds as well as your skin

5 km brisk walk in a canyon with only 300ml water... I hadn't counted on such heat! I walk on an empty stomach before lunch, of course, as I started at midday! So, as I turn a corner I hear tstststststst, I have disturbed a large rattle snake... its color is quite unusual, one I hadn't encountered before, nearly green! Now, those are deadly, I don't linger!

Lunch to Bollywood tunes (thanks to street festivals): babyleaf/feta salad + a roast vegetables and gruyere vegetarian sandwich.... delicious! I take the opportunity to try a a drink I have heard much about lately, Venga, a calorie burner, so they say... I am very sceptical but the taste isn't bad, at worse, I am only hydrating myself!

No snack because lunch was late.

1.25 km swim (all different styles not to get bored, I get bored easily)

Dinner: 1/4 roast chicken with the skin (yes, it is the tastiest part, I wouldn't deny myself the pleasure!) + plenty of baby leaf salad + 2 nectarines

40 minutes passive muscle toning

A classic coaching day

Breakfast: a generous handful Brazil nuts, great source of selenium (in short: good for the brain) + cherries (its all there is, no other available food sources around, I make do with what I find!)

1 hour walk

I have a rant about how fuller figure people are treated in our society... you will find it in your next LeBootCamp newsletter.

Mexican lunch: a huge tortilla soup + a small Los Cabos fish taco

1.25 km swim all different styles, on the water, under water, on my back, on the side etc...

Snack: a large bowl blueberries (I love them and they are very good for your eyes as they contain lutein, as eggs do) + more cherries + 3 squares milk chocolate

100 abs

2 minutes pelvic floor exercises

Dinner... I am waiting for friends to go out for dinner... I am starving and I have nothing to nibble to hand, all the better ;) when are they coming !??!

Aperitifs: a glass of champagne + Brazil nuts and some Japanese nibbly bits, Argentinian tapas dinner after the house gazpacho which is a must

Industrious day and cinema (that's also what coaching is about :)

Great day devoted to investors... everything is going well on that front so I am very happy :)

Breakfast: with 1h10 cycling on an empty stomach and many accumulated chores to catch up with... I forgot breakfast!!! That does not happen often to me, the stomach on legs:)

Lunch: a tortilla soup + a dozen corn chips + a small fish taco

15 minutes accumulated walk

200 butt squeezes

A very good, very constructive meeting with a board member... we love when things progress that well :)

Snack: 2 VitaminWater 10 (a flavored water with sweetened with Stevia, a delight for your coach :) OK, I admit it, I finish the afternoon relaxing at the cinema - The Proposal, a nice chick flick for me as love Sandra bullock :)

Dinner: 1 tomato soup (kind of gazpacho) + 1 turkey steak + 1 plum compote (yum) + 2 little cookies (the perfect weightloss coaching dinner:)

Fabien, the Duran Duran all to myself (nearly), Simon, its all good

40 minutes passive muscle toning

1 lemon juice

Breakfast: 10 brazil nuts + 2 peaches + 2 dates

1 hour walk on the telephone

Lunch: 1 pupusa + 1 veg steak + 2 dates + tchai tea

1 little nap before a very important meeting

Wow, what a day!...

A great meeting

Snack 3 handfuls dried fruit (home dried so, guaranteed no sugar added... all together I must be a whole apple and 5 strawberries) + the last 5 Calisson d'Aix :)

Diner on the go at Japan Town before a concert: edamame + 8 eel sushis + plenty of green tea

The concert was great (the music a bit too loud in my opinion and covers Simon's voice) from the VIP lounge, thank you Fabien :).... many emotions during this quite magic moment.

This perfect evening finishes with Simon and the band who join us in the lounge to come and say hi and give us a kiss.

My most sporty day of the decade :)

Well, kind of...

Up early because of the jetlag...

40 minutes passive muscle toning

Breakfast: 1 handful brazil nuts, a great source of selenium + 1 banana + 2 handfuls cherries

1 hour walk on the telephone

1 hour cycling on an empty stomach (before lunch)

Lunch: a vegetarian steak + 1 pupusa (a guatemalan corn/cheese flat bread) + 3 huge handsful cherries + 3 Calisson d'Aix (a provencal sugar coated marzipan delicacy)

Little recovery nap

1h15 walk on the telephone

Snack: 1 apple and 3 Calissons

15 minutes walk and 1hour full on spinning... a crazy class... compared to that, the Tour de France is a ride in the park! We finish exhausted but proud and most certainly lighter... you can almost see the melting of the overworked haunches.

Diner: a small turnip soup + 1/2 slice wholemeal bread + a huge mixed salad with fat free vinaigrette (a new recipe I am testing and is, for once, a tasty "light" option): roquette, sprouts + anchovies + slightly seared tuna + pear... and to finish a Calisson for a bit of sweetness.

This was a Calisson d'Aix and a sporty day :) What a great mix!

PS: if you want to get hold of this delightful Provencal treat outside of France go to the Bien Manger website.

An active day in Gold Country

The night was short as Nestle assigned himself hotel room security and can't stand anyone passing within 50 yard of the said room :)

Rather awful breakfast served in the hotel: sausages of non-descript content, 2 little bowls of fruit in syrup + 2 slices fruit bread with cream cheese... we are far from everything, so we can't be picky.

Off to Diggins Malakoff Canyon, an amazing man made park, fashioned with the Currier's knife? No! with high pressure water hoses like big Karchers to pulverise

entire mountain sides in order to find gold as fast as possible. We are literally alone in the park... not a sound... we come across bobcats (I thought they were nocturnal?) deers, Californian eagles... and off one of the lanes the old 1850 school that hasn't changed, a prison and a white church (well, a little less white now).

2 hours walk in the blazing sun in 35 degrees C in the shade... a little thought for the 49ers that were all dressed up and their wives in their leather booties and multiple layers of petty coats!

Now we head for Yuba River... a river with water running at swimming pool temperature... a true delight! Picnic on the river bank: one apple, organic (yes I found some even in this remote place) + 1/2 turkey and veg sandwich

Swim + a little walking on the river bank on huge boulders

No snack

Diner: 1 strawberry/apple smoothie + grilled bison steak with caramelised onions + steamed broccoli + soyonnaise/olive oil + a few cherries

4th July - We celebrate! in Gold Country

Well, not quite... rather than fan a giant BBQ and gorge ourselves with burgers all day dressed in blue, white and red, we all (including Nestle, our dog) set off for the Gold Country, more precisely to Nevada city.

No time to empty my heavy suitcases brought back yesterday from my European trip. I quickly packed another one, its quicker and much easier... I'll deal with all the rest on my return!

40 minutes passive muscle toning and 200 butt squeezes in the car.

Breakfast: green tea + strawberries + japanese biscuits (one of my indulgences) (not to worry, the biscuits are very thin :)

30 minutes walk on an empty stomach in Nevada City, a well preserved gold rush town (in 1849, the famous 49ers, that's where it come from)

Lunch at a terrasse, the only place we can eat with the dog: a chicken chinese salad with a huge bowl of green tea

(they got it all right with portions around here!)

1 hour walk in Nevada city and then Grass valley... in early 1849, there wasn't anything at all in this place... and within a few weeks, thousands of gold miners swooped down on these mountains where the summer heat is unbearable... many fortunes were made and many hard times too.

no snack

30 minutes walk
Diner at Grass valley with live music: barbecued swordfish and huge green salad + 1/2 toffee cheesecake + green tea.

Off to bed coachie!

California after a big fright on the plane and 2 hours in the cockpit :)

No post on this Blog for a long week for many reasons: a schedule packed more than ever with shoots that lasted 12 hours solid, back to back meetings all more important than the other... and the abscence of WiFi in my favorite hotel where it has taken days to get it up and running again.

My trip to Paris was "olympic" :) but full of great things for LeBootCamp!

After a false start from Charles De Gaulle airport (a leak in the hydraulic system -whatever that means- followed by an engine failure - I know what that means - and other little technical treats) we finally left with a 24h delay.

Now I am ready to celebrate the 4th July! What I will take home from this adventure is the pilots' 2 hour invitation to the cockpit... the crew was fantastic and took great care of us. That is more than I can say about the ground personnel, who were totally clueless about how to handle a plane load of distressed and delayed passengers!

Upon awaking, plenty of fluids to replenish my body dehydrated by the flights... green tea, delicious Assam tea, and plenty of water.

40 minutes passive muscle toning

1 hour accumulated walking

It is with joy that I come back to the Californian sun and its palm trees... a little cup white tea at a cafe's terrasse to catch some sun, nothing better to recover from jetlag.

a light diner at... 6pm (yes, I am feeling a bit jetlaged). on the menu: grilled scallops with fresh garlic and roasted asparagus and plenty of strawberries for pudding...et voila!

off to bed coachie!