30 Day Shred Challenge - I didn't "phone it in!"

A little more than a month ago I had this wacky idea of doing a workout called the 30-Day Shred Challenge. Basically, I'd do all three levels of Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred workout. Sort of a tribute to the workout that kicked my weight loss into full gear.

To let you know how it went, I thought I would photo document the process. Let me say, be glad you cannot smell through the computer. VERY glad. I had the sweat flying across the room by the time it was over.

Here I am, ready to go!


And here I am, after Level 1. I have to say, this workout is SOOO easy for me now...I can't believe I was dying doing this workout just a few short months ago!


About halfway through Level 2, I started feeling it it. My arms were starting to tense up, but I kept at it and survived.


Did I make it? You bet I did! Here I am at the end of Level 3. Those final circuits were tough, but I pushed on through.


Overall, this challenge wasn't as bad as I'd thought. I was able to stick to most all of the advanced moves. And in case Jillian ever reads this post, she'd be proud to know that no, I did not "phone this one in."

Challenge done!

Weigh in Monday: week ten (the late version!)

I'm feeling the best I have on this journey! My size 8 khakis - which were completely unwearable even a month ago - not only fit, they fit perfectly!! That horrid belly bloat is melting, folks. MELTING.

As of this AM, it looks like I weigh about 147.5 pounds. I don't have a digital scale, so it's hard to gage the exact weight, but it looks like that ticker is directly between 145 and 150 pounds! And so my descent down that scale continues! Yeah!

As a reminder, I started this journey in early December at an all-time high of 162 pounds. I've since lost nearly 15 pounds...can you believe it? My goal is to reach 136 pounds - a total weight loss of 26 pounds.

I'm really excited about tomorrow's workout...it's something I've had in the works for awhile now. I'm calling it the 30-Day Shred Challenge workout, and here's how it's going to go down in case anyone is interested in killing themselves with me:

Do 30-Day Shred, Level 1
5-minute water break
Do 30-Day Shred, Level 2
5-minute water break
Do 30-Day Shred, Level 3
Collapse in heap on floor

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

Two month results photos!

I have yet to post any decent current photos of myself, so I decided to do just that today!! Let's start with before. My weight was 162 pounds and it was early December. I was in size 12s (and snugly at that!)

And here I am today, 12 pounds lighter at 150 pounds and wearing my size 8 pre-pregnancy jeans! This took about two months to acheive. I mainly did this by doing the 30-day Shred and incorporating at least one running session per week of about 3 miles.

Now I'm going to share a new "before" photo. I asked my friend Susan to take this profile shot of me. I was really horrified how bad it looked...what's worse, I realized how frumpy I'd let myself get with the long hair. Check it out.

Here is my new profile. Oh please someone tell me that they notice some changes!!

I can tell I still have a ways to go, but overall, I'm liking the results I've gotten so far! I really feel much slimmer in my midsection and my arms are feeling more toned, too. By the way, like the new 'do?

Weigh in Monday: week six + weekly workout schedule

Today I'm holding steady at 152 pounds. While it would've been nice to have seen that scale continue to inch downward, I'm just glad it didn't creep upwards after a week of less-than-fabulous eating!

My goal for next week is to see the scale continue its descent. I really want to end January below that 150 line and reach my first goal of 149 pounds. I'm only 3 pounds away!

Here is my plan for the week:

Monday: 40 minutes cardio
Tuesday: Level 3 Shred
Wednesday: 40 minutes cardio
Thursday: Level 3 Shred
Friday: Level 2 Shred
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 3 mile track run

To jump start things again, I'm working back in a second session of cardio. I think it's key to continue the fat loss.

Weigh in Monday: week five + weekly workout schedule

Today I'm sitting (or standing?) at 152 pounds. So that's 1 pound lost from last week and a total weight loss of 10 pounds! I had wanted to reach my first goal of 149 pounds by my birthday, but seeing how that's 2 days away, don't think it's gonna happen.

Incidentally, I had a GREAT 3 mile run yesterday! I can totally see an improvement in my place. My splits actually got FASTER by the lap and I was able to sustain a 9-minute pace for my last lap around the track! What's more, I was able to do my run wearing my favorite running shorts - size medium - that I wasn't able to fit in even 3 weeks ago!

The plan this week? I'm going to drop one of the cardio sessions. The last couple weeks I've realized I've only been able to manage 1 at most, so I'm just going with it. I figure 5 out of 7 days of working out is working for me A-OK! Remember, my goal is to come up with a sustainable lifestyle here.

Monday: Shred - Level 3
Tuesday: Cardio - 45 minutes
Wednesday: Shred - Level 3
Thursday: Shred - Level 2
Friday: Shred - Level 3
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 3 mile run around the track

How's everyone else doing? Where are you at with the 30-day Shred if you're doing it? How about your running?

One month photo results

So I promised one-month photos. And guess what? I was all excited to take some to share, but of course my husband is working this weekend so I was forced to try to take them myself. (Of course I could've waited, but I'm really not the patient sort.) After struggling with the lighting and flash for a good while, I ended up with these. An advance apology to all my photographer friends.

I hope you can still see some improvement from my initial picture taken on December 7th. What do you think?

Start Photo...Dec 7

And tonight...January 8

I know it's sort of comparing apples to oranges since my pose, outfit, and lighting are all different, but I hope some of my progress is noticeable.

In the second photo, I'm actually 10 pounds lighter than the first! I'm right at 152 pounds and feel pretty darn fantastic! As a reminder, I'm doing the Shred 3-4 days per week, running once per week, and doing cardio 2 times per week. However, this week has been nutty and those extra cardio sessions just haven't worked out for me so well. BUT I'm currently doing Level 3 - and not entirely dying, either. I'm so excited to see my fitness level improving.

What sort of changes have I noticed in my body?

1. less tummy flab. I'm wearing size 12's in the first picture. In the second - size 10's. I hope to be in my good ol' size 8's really soon! That lovely "muffin top" is going away thank goodness.
2. firmer quads. My legs are starting to get SOLID again thanks to Ms. Michaels' use of lunges and squats in EVERY Shred workout. I really can't wait to see how this is gonna improve my running.

3. stronger arms. I'm not using heavy weights in the workouts, but I really think it's all the pushups that are working on toning and strengthening my arms. I especially notice stronger triceps.

I'll see if I can't get a better photo over the weekend to share. In the meantime happy to tell you I lost 10 pounds on the 30-Day Shred!

"You think you're gonna die..."

Those were the words of Jillian Michaels at the end of Level 2 of her 30 Day Shred video.

And, she pretty much summed it up.

After doing Level 1 for a week, I thought, "what the heck? Let's give Level 2 a go." Oh. my. goodness. If Level 1 is Level 1, Level 2 feels like it should be Level 10.

Many of the exercises, including her cardio and ab moves were done in plank position (kind of like a modified push-up position), and boy do I realize I have some serious upper body work training to do. I ended up taking about 2 or 3 "5 second" breaks and I had to do one "10 second" break to splash my face with cold water so I didn't pass out.

While this was a hard workout, Micheals is absolutely right. If you're going to do a 20-minute workout, every second MUST count. There is no time to waste. And if you stuck with her workouts faithfully, I fail to see how one could NOT achieve results.

In fact, I feel her workouts are perfect for building the fitness and strength I want and I will most certainly use them to cross train with my running.

Great little workout at home last night

In thinking about jump starting my fitness goals, I decided to check out the Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred on Amazon for reviews. I'd heard a little about it, and thought it might be good to include over the next couple months at just building fitness.

Sure enough, it got rave reviews! Over 1500 reviewers and an average 4.5 stars. I was nearly poised to buy it, when I read on a forum - or somewhere Googling - who knows - that the Level 1 and 2 videos are actually On Demand for Comcast customers! So guess what? For a total cost of $0.00, I got to do a quick and good workout at home.

My husband was working last night, so I had the kids with me, but just made do. My 18-month old daughter decided it would be fun to crawl under me as I did the push-ups and then crawl on me while I did the abs. I think I burned a few extra calories as a result.

What I liked about the workout...it was simple, fast, and effective. She uses several muscle groups at a time, and combines cardio, strength and ab training. I also like that it only requires 3 or 5 pound weights, no fancy equipment. I didn't have weights handy, but just used soup cans (which of course, prompted my daughter to go back to the pantry and grab about 20 more cans of soup to "help" me!).

Why am I sharing this? Because for me, it's so easy to come up with excuses to not exercise. Not only was this a fast workout, it was free, and I didn't have to organize childcare or go to great lengths to do it. So...if you're a Comcast subscriber, go to On Demand, and then choose the Fitness option and I think you'll find the workouts under Celebrity Workouts and then Jillian Michaels.

If you're not a Comcast subscriber, you can still find it on Amazon for under $10. That would be $10 well spent to have a nice little workout available!