I was introduced to the team at Crunch a couple of months ago. Led by Nuwaid, who has been through his own transformational journey and learned what it takes to create real, quantifiable results, the team is highly passionate and, seemingly, everywhere! Everyone I spoke to about Crunch knew Saima, and had heard one of her talks at networking events around Doha.

In short, Crunch offer a unique opportunity to fast track your fitness goals and become the person you've always wanted to be. They'll manage your diet, your exercise, and even tell you how many hours a night you need to sleep (trust me, you'll need the sleep!).

I don't want to give too much away about the secret sauce that makes Crunch work so well, but it involves drastically changing your eating habits, and cutting out all the bad foods we treat ourselves to. Unlike other diets, with Crunch there are no cheat days. Not one. Just 84 days of clean eating and hard work.

If this sounds intimidating, it's not. You'll join an intake (an Army, in Crunch lingo) and have around 10 -12 other guys all starting with you and going through their own journeys. You become a tight knit group within the first couple of days, as people start swapping tips for recipes or fast recovery. Also, you'll be training with a highly qualified trainer. He'll make your technique spot on and guide you through your paces. He'll push you, and just when you think you don't have any more to give, he'll find a little extra and really get the most out of you.

My trainer is Robin (that's him posing below). Great guy, great banter, and always there to make sure you finish the set.

I started on 16th of November, and am now about half way through my 4th week. What have I noticed so far?

1. Posture - almost immediately my general posture improved. Sitting posture, standing posture - it's like all those forgotten muscles you neglect while working in an office job suddenly stand up to be noticed and everything just clicks back into place.

2. Energy - after the first couple of days (I won't lie - these are tough) are out of the way you start to live your day packed with energy. You're more focused, and things get done quicker. On the flip side, when it's time to sleep, it's time to sleep. There's no fighting it.

3. Fitness - it took a couple of weeks for this to kick in, but my cardio fitness is soaring now. Where I started begrudgingly on the eliptical at 130rpm on resistance 3, I'm now easily hitting 150rpm at resistance 6 without being out of breath.

4. Calculable results - with crunch, you measure weight, waist size, and take weekly photos (I'll save these for the big reveal at the end of the programme). At 3 weeks you can already see some dramatic reduction in fat, and muscle form improving. In the last 5 days alone (that's days 17 - 22) I've lost 3cm from my waistline. It's a great feeling.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. It does need a requirement of your time (about 2 - 2.5 hours a day on week days), but I'd rather be putting those hours in at the gym than in front of the TV.

I'm training at the Movenpick, Westbay. They've got amazing facilities with Sauna, Steam Room, Jacuzzi and Swimming Pool, as well as cardio equipment, assisted weights, free weights and a stretching area. When you do your warm up/cool down before and after the session you're looking out over Westbay - it's a great view.

Everyday they'll give you fresh towels, both for showering afterwards and sweat towels during the workout. What's more - they're just nice people. They get to know your name, they show an interest. It's the small things that make a difference and friendly staff are definitely a big plus point.

More updates to follow. Watch this space :)