The skinny
Four weeks before my holiday I take up Beautcamp Pilates, this is the exercise du jour for many an A-lister including the likes of super honed Madonna and newly revamped Gwyneth, so I'm excited and quite positive about my new exercise regime. The idea is you do the classic pilates stretches, but you use weights and pulleys attached to a 'Reformer' bed to help lengthen and tone your muscles to achieve a lithe new body, yay! I'm also trying out Oxyjet, which is a massage that pumps pure oxygen into the skin. Apparantly after a course of six the area treated is visibly smoother and thinner.

Week one
I sign up for Pilates online and buy 12 classes, I'm aiming for three classes a week for the next month. Booking the classes online is easy and really convenient, the classes are small and get booked up quickly so I try to book quite far in advance to avoid disappointment.
Arrive for my first class and wonder what have I let myself in for? The Beautcamp 'reformer' looks like an old fashioned torture stretch machine! I try to remain positive as I'm told to lie back and put my legs in the air, pulling my feet with a hoop to get a stretch along my calves - it hurts already and this is meant to be the relaxing part where you regulate your breathing! During the hour the trainer, Suru leads the small class (maximum of six people) through a series of leg, arm and stomach exercises. The base of the reformer is attached to different coloured springs and for each exercise you add or take off springs to change the resistance. We lay on our backs pushing at a bar with our feet to work our legs, pull on pulleys using our feet and arms to work the muscles and do lunges, press-ups and planks using a mixture of the reformer, poles and weights. By the end of the class I am exhausted and a bit wobbly and according to regular Beautcamp attendees Suru's classes are more laid back than Daniel's, the teacher I'm signed up with next week. God help me!
I do two more classes that week, each class is different which means you never get bored and don't know what to expect. Now I'm over the initial shock, Beautcamp has got me so excited about exercising again that I even fit in a run at my gym (which I haven't been to for about three months - oh the shame!)
I already feel slimmer after just three classes, my arms feel more toned and my jeans are a bit looser, which is amazing since I find it really hard to shift weight from my bum and tum.
The next day I go for my first Oxyjet session - after an eight hour day sitting at a PC it is a joy: regardless of the treatment, it’s just great to be horizontal and take the pressure of my legs and bum – which are usually numb by the end of each day. I decided to have my thighs and bottom treated for exactly this reason and also because you wouldn’t call them fat but I don’t like the texture of them.
After the first session my normally aching legs felt amazing. Oxygen is pumped into the area in little blasts and the creams and oils used are hot and cold and leave your skin feeling incredibly refreshed. The massage lasts for an hour and is very thorough. There are various stages and different amounts of pressure applied with different vibrating, oxygen pumping massage heads. All this aside – having an hour long massage on just this area alone has to be beneficial. My circulation is definitely improved - not sure about how it looks, but I feel 100% better.

Week two
This week I have three classes with Daniel (including one on Saturday morning - note to self: no work drinks on Friday night). Sure enough, the regular Beautcampers weren't lying - Daniel's classes are torture. He focuses on core muscles and breathing to ensure you get the most out of every single stretch, plus he does more reps for each exercise and makes you hold crunches for longer which is agony! I'm not sure if I can take two more of the classes this week, but the morning after my first class I feel stronger and more lean which makes me more determined!
On Friday I stupidly meet a friend after work for drinks. Without going into too much detail - one thing leads to another and I don't get to bed till before four am. What was I thinking? Hangover+Beautcamp=Torture. I could barely do any of the exercises and at the end of the class I was really disappointed in myself.
Have another Oxyjet session which cheers me up no end - slimming without the guilt, bonus!

Week three
As class availability is small at Pilates, I find myself booked in for a six am session with Gina. It is super hard. Made worse because there are only two of us (you totally can't cheat), but the upside is you feel like you have your own personal trainer. Gina sees everything and afterwards I literally cannot walk, I kept bumping in to the walls on my way to the changing room (and then on my way to the tube!). The next day I am aching everywhere, but this must be a good sign.
Later in the week I arrive for another six am class and the other two people don't show, Suru isn't too happy and he pushes me really hard. I was expecting a few leisurely stretches but the class was harder than ever! Does this ever get easier?

My third and fourth Oxyjet treatments are after work - this four week schedule has killed my social life - but when I get home and peek in the mirror – I feel like I’ve had a butt lift! My skin is plumped and smooth and the effect is super flattering (although in the same was as an oxygen facial I’m not sure how long lasting it will be and think this is definitely a treatment that requires a course rather than one off.)

Week four
I finish off with more classes with Daniel and really try to push myself, holding every posture and stretch. The classes are still really hard, because as soon as you find a move easy the trainers will step you up to the more advanced versions of each move and give you more weights. You can keep learning and pushing yourself and the variety of moves in each of the classes is so diverse that you never get bored.
My last Oxyjet sessions go well, and after six sessions I don’t want to give up - I’m hooked! If like me you have a sedentary job – paying attention to massage the areas that take the pressure is invaluable and the massage has definitely improved the look of my thighs and bum – they’re smoother and I’ll definitely be booking in for another course before my holiday next year.

The result
I started as a size 12, four weeks ago and now I am officially a size 10 ( have double and triple checked and according to Topshop, New Look, River Island and Zara I am a new slimmer me). I haven't been a size 10 for years, I am so ecstatic and surprised, I never manage to stick to exercise classes but the fact you can book online means when I'm feeling in the mood to exercise I book as many classes ahead as I can, which means I have to go to them whether I am in the mood or not. With a standard gym membership there is nothing pushing me to attend.
I still feel like there is a long way to go, my tum is still a bit flabby and my thighs could do with more streamlining, although the Oxyjet has helped make my cellulite far less obvious! And I am more than happy to step out in a bikini now, while the thought would have made me feel a bit nauseous a month ago. Beautcamp got me excited about exercising again and inspired me to take up running as well and it's also made me look at the way I eat as well. I don't want to stuff my face after my classes and ruin all the hard work, so I have started eating little and often rather than having three huge meals per day. I really have achieved a whole new body in just four weeks, it's a miracle (although it was also hardwork!)
The only downside is fitting in a session of six Oxyjet treatments and then 12 Beautcamp classes doesn't leave much time for socialising or relaxing, I'll just have to make up for that on my holiday.
Oxyjet Body Slim, £60 per session and a course of five treatments is recommended. Call 01775 722 243 for your nearest salon.
Beautcamp Pilates, £25 per session or £20 per session for a course of 10 and £15 per session for a course of 20. Click here to visit the website.

Total weight loss - 4lbs but I have dropped a dress size, I think Beautcamp has toned and reshaped my body, building muscle which weighs more than fat.

Difficulty rating - 3/5 - I thought it would be harder to do and stick at, I was expecting it to be super tough and have to give it a 5/5, but actually the first week was fun and from then on I was inspired to work even harder to achieve the beach body of my dreams!