Making the Cut---Jillian Michaels

Mickie17

Okay...here I go again...last night the lamb was excellent, and instead of making baked eggplant, I revised it to zucchini, and WOW!!!! That was soooooooooo good. When I revise, I still keep it very healthy, just usually short cut some steps. :happy: My kids both said the zucchini was MUCH better than thought it was going to be. HELLO!!! We are on a roll here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :laugh:

running4myhealth

I couldn't do it. The way she advocates eating really bothers me. I listen to her radio talk show and she's all about eating 1500 calories and exercising your *kitten* off. I can't eat that little and do my usual 2hr workout a day. I'd die.

Mickie17

I couldn't do it. The way she advocates eating really bothers me. I listen to her radio talk show and she's all about eating 1500 calories and exercising your *kitten* off. I can't eat that little and do my usual 2hr workout a day. I'd die.

Here's the deal...I plugged in her meals into MFP, and they are running around 1000 cals or less a day! I am tryign to supplement, but even today I've only eaten 980 calories (THIS IS NOT A BRAG, THIS ME BEING NERVOUS ABOUT GOING INTO STARVATION MODE), and I can't eat anything else.
I've been light-headed...but I've been sick wiht a head cold, so I was chalking it up to that...but now I'm starting to wonder??? I mean, I'm little 5' 2.5" so I think I need at least 1200 calories day. Does she have podcasts I can download? Do you know?

But on the positive side, the recipes are great!

aprilvet

I couldn't do it. The way she advocates eating really bothers me. I listen to her radio talk show and she's all about eating 1500 calories and exercising your *kitten* off. I can't eat that little and do my usual 2hr workout a day. I'd die.

After reading the book and following Mickie's test kitchen (LOL:laugh: ) I was really psyched for this. For me, 1500 cals is fine in the average day. I've found myself adding in a glass of wine or additional healthy snacks to eat more than that. Can you stream her talk show? I did feel the book was lacking in some detail.:grumble:

Mickie17

I couldn't do it. The way she advocates eating really bothers me. I listen to her radio talk show and she's all about eating 1500 calories and exercising your *kitten* off. I can't eat that little and do my usual 2hr workout a day. I'd die.

After reading the book and following Mickie's test kitchen (LOL:laugh: ) I was really psyched for this. For me, 1500 cals is fine in the average day. I've found myself adding in a glass of wine or additional healthy snacks to eat more than that. Can you stream her talk show? I did feel the book was lacking in some detail.:grumble:

Test Kitchen!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!! Well, since you mentioned it. Peppered Swordfish...well it was too bland for me, but one of my kids loved it. But my sidedish was fantastic!!! I "ribboned" zucchini, and sauteed it for 3 minutes in a little olive oil, and minced garlic. Then added the rest of the diced tomatoes I had from yesterday, and tossed in until heated. Then sprinkled it with parmesan cheese. That was good!!!! And we had whole grain sourdough rolls that I made from scratch. On tap tomorrow in Mickie's Kichen: Apricot-glazed chicken...MY FAMILY LOVES THIS!!!! (But I'm serving with spaghetti squash...I plan not to tell them what it is and see what happen)! Sneaky me!!!!:laugh:

Mickie17

OMGosh!!! I am sooooo scared I'm going to jinx myself...but I think the meal plan itself IS truly working !!!!! I dropped another 2 pounds...but let's see if I it comes right back on tomorrow...I'll probably gain 5 pounds tonight, with my luck!!! LOL!!!!:laugh:

Mickie17

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/41032-mickie-s-test-kitchen-jillian-michaels-making-the-cut-recip

I started a new topic on the Test Kitchen stuff....please feel free to chime in with suggestions on the recipes!!!

aprilvet

So, Mickie- how's it going? Are you doing any of the exercises? I plan to start the whole thing on Sunday, 2/22. The recipes do look good, but the exercise for day one looks very intimidating!!!:noway: :grumble: I'm trying to figure out how long it's going to take so I can fit it in to my schedule!

Mickie17

So, Mickie- how's it going? Are you doing any of the exercises? I plan to start the whole thing on Sunday, 2/22. The recipes do look good, but the exercise for day one looks very intimidating!!!:noway: :grumble: I'm trying to figure out how long it's going to take so I can fit it in to my schedule!

Hey there!!!! The meal plan is GREAT! We were just discussing at dinner tonight that this ended up not being as culinarily tragic as we expected!

I'm not doing the exercises from the book until next month. I'm doing her dvd The Shred instead....let me tell you, it kicks my but in 25 minutes, but boy do i feel like I'm getting a GREAT workout!!!!

We talked about next month incorporating her core dinner meals into our monthly menu, with some of our own favorite healthy meals. I'm excited...it's really been good!!!!

SGFlyinHi

I just got this book last week and I just started the exercise program on Tuesday. It is very intense and definitely not for a beginner. I never would have been able to do this a year ago.

Day 1 took me 51minutes to do 2 sets of circuits 1-4, I ran out of time & did not do circuit 5. I burned 462cals.

Day 2 took me 62min to do 2 sets of all 5 circuits. I burned 628cal.

I have not been following her meal plan, basically because I am already on a similar meal plan and am happy with the results so far. I may try some of her recipes in the future, though.

Mickie17

I just got this book last week and I just started the exercise program on Tuesday. It is very intense and definitely not for a beginner. I never would have been able to do this a year ago.

Day 1 took me 51minutes to do 2 sets of circuits 1-4, I ran out of time & did not do circuit 5. I burned 462cals.

Day 2 took me 62min to do 2 sets of all 5 circuits. I burned 628cal.

I have not been following her meal plan, basically because I am already on a similar meal plan and am happy with the results so far. I may try some of her recipes in the future, though.

You go girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!! I'm impressed with your ticker...very cool! What a great visual...I love it!!!!

SGFlyinHi

You go girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!! I'm impressed with your ticker...very cool! What a great visual...I love it!!!!

Thanks Mickie. I feel 1000 times better now than I did when I was in my 20's and I even weighed less then. :drinker:

Mickie17

You go girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!! I'm impressed with your ticker...very cool! What a great visual...I love it!!!!

Thanks Mickie. I feel 1000 times better now than I did when I was in my 20's and I even weighed less then. :drinker:

You are definitely an inspiration!!!! Keep up the great work and keep us posted!!! I loved reading about your journey in one year going from barely walking to runnig 5 mi. day!!! AWESOME!!!

SGFlyinHi

So I finished the 1st week. It was really good. Got through 2 sets on days 1, 2 & 4 but added a 3rd set today for day 5. Today took me 69min & I burnt 690cals. It's definitely a good workout and gets your heart going.

Will be starting week 2 on Tuesday. Wish me luck- LOL. :drinker:

Mickie17

I started Week 3 today, and last night was the first night I really "cheated" on it. Quite frankly, I just didn't feel like cooking. But thanks to MFP, I made some gret choices for take-out, and didn't gain an ounce. It probably helped that I worked out like a crazy woman yesterday! But it was worth it to have some pizza!

The one thing I "miss" is a couple glasses of red wine here and there. I truly haven't drank any alcohol since I started it...and with some of the meals...like the lamb, a glass of red wine would be so perfect. Well...I'm off to make shrimp fajitas for dinner!!! I hope everyone had a great weekend!:flowerforyou:

aprilvet

Hi there! I started the program today. The Moroccan chicken was great! For my kids I just sprinkled a little of the spice mix on theirs. I need some green veggies with my dinners, so I added steamed broccoli- a great meal!:happy: As others have said, the calorie count is about 400 cals low, so I had one of the EAS chocolate drinks after my workout- it was yummy!! I did the day 1 workout and felt great- hard but not impossible. I did 2 sets of the first 2 circuits, but the squat thrusts kicked my butt:grumble: :noway: and could only do one set of the last 3 circuits. I feel great, though. Looking forward to the next few weeks. As with Mickie, I will miss a glass of wine here and there!!!

Mickie17

I made the most ridiculously easy and healthy dinner tonight. I HAD zero time to make one of the complicated items...so I threw chicken into a baking dish, spinkled with Italian seasoning and dolloped with Italian diced tomatoes. Then I poured the rest of the tomato juices from the can over the chicken. Baked at 350 for 50 minutes, pulled out and sprinkled with parmesan cheese, LIGHTLY, and OMGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was great, and it really took me a whopping 2 minutes to prepare. (Most of that was opening the canned tomatoes)! :laugh:

Two more weeks and I will start the exercise series....I can't wait! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE keep me posted on it!!! Thanks!!!!:happy:

aprilvet

Day 3- rest from the exercise, although I plan on walking some hills on the treadmill tonight. She's not very specific about what you should be doing on the off days.:grumble: Any thoughts out there? Hey, Mickie- are you eating the whole breakfast? I find I actually can't eat the eggs after a bowl of cereal!!:noway: I have been bumping up the calories to about 1400 with the EAS shakes and a little extra fat in the food prep. Yesterday, I burned almost 600 calories so I actually bumped my calories to almost 1500. She's not very specific about how many calories you should really be eating. Although she says 1400 cals a day, she mentions taking your exercise into account when figuring your total calories.:huh: :noway: :grumble: What is every one else doing? As for the routines, some of the exercises are difficult, others not. I HATE MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS!!!!:sad:

Mickie17

Day 3- rest from the exercise, although I plan on walking some hills on the treadmill tonight. She's not very specific about what you should be doing on the off days.:grumble: Any thoughts out there? Hey, Mickie- are you eating the whole breakfast? I find I actually can't eat the eggs after a bowl of cereal!!:noway: I have been bumping up the calories to about 1400 with the EAS shakes and a little extra fat in the food prep. Yesterday, I burned almost 600 calories so I actually bumped my calories to almost 1500. She's not very specific about how many calories you should really be eating. Although she says 1400 cals a day, she mentions taking your exercise into account when figuring your total calories.:huh: :noway: :grumble: What is every one else doing? As for the routines, some of the exercises are difficult, others not. I HATE MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS!!!!:sad:

Gosh no...I can't eat all that! I did try at first, but couldn't do it. Instead I usually either have the cereal or the egg, and then around 10am I have a fat-free yoplait yogurt for more protein. I also stick with the cereal or eggs...I don't like cottage cheese stuff for breakfast...I'm just weird that way. I just stick with my 1200 cals a day from MFP...and I don't worry about eating my exercise calories or not, because I'm working on those issues of mindless eating& overeating. I still exercise everyday....usually with The Shred. Yep...those Mountain Climbers are tough...try modifying them with a step-touch...it's easier on your joints.

I'm looking forward to hearing about input on the book's exercises too...I will be starting those in 2 weeks!!!

fit4lyfe

I read her book 1/2 through so far and I really love it. I have been doing some of her exercises and they really have been helping get that last 20+lbs off. I am excited to continue her workout with the help of my nutrition plan already in place through fit4lyfe

www.fit4lyfe.webs.com

SGFlyinHi

Day 3- rest from the exercise, although I plan on walking some hills on the treadmill tonight. She's not very specific about what you should be doing on the off days.:grumble: Any thoughts out there? Hey, Mickie- are you eating the whole breakfast? I find I actually can't eat the eggs after a bowl of cereal!!:noway: I have been bumping up the calories to about 1400 with the EAS shakes and a little extra fat in the food prep. Yesterday, I burned almost 600 calories so I actually bumped my calories to almost 1500. She's not very specific about how many calories you should really be eating. Although she says 1400 cals a day, she mentions taking your exercise into account when figuring your total calories.:huh: :noway: :grumble: What is every one else doing? As for the routines, some of the exercises are difficult, others not. I HATE MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS!!!!:sad:

You're right she doesn't say anything about the off days. I am doing cardio on most of the off days, but I still make sure I take 1 full day off a week. I am doing my own eating plan through my gym. It's been working for me so far, so that I will keep that the same. I eat around 1700 cals a day and never eat my extra cals. But that's me and it has worked for me this past year. I also do not go off of MFP's recommended cals, I eat many more a day than MFP would have me on.

I am liking the routines so far. They are tough, but I am enjoying them. I guess I'm a little twisted- LOL :bigsmile: I did 2 sets of day 8 today in 62 min and burned 620 cals.

aprilvet

Shari,
Thanks for the feedback! Great on the calorie burn! My instinct is to bump up the cals a little, especially on a high calorie-burn day. On your days off, do you do NO exercise? Do you adjust your calories down to account for les activity? This has been a burning question for me!!:laugh:

Mickie,
Your "easy dinner" sounded GREAT!! I'll have a better idea on the exercise plan once I finish the 1st week. I'm not getting the same calorie burn as Shari- maybe I don't push myself enough:grumble: :noway: or maybe my "rest" is too long. Doing day 4 today so will try to push harder!

Fit4lyfe-
What is your nutrition plan? How does it compare to Making the Cut, and where does it fall calorie-wise?

April

Mickie17

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/41032-mickie-s-test-kitchen-jillian-michaels-making-the-cut-recip

Here's dinner info from tonight. :happy:

aprilvet

Day 4, so I'm done with dinner and have only eaten a little over 1,000 cals!:grumble: I may have to add in some extra carbs with dinner to bump me up!:laugh:

SGFlyinHi

Shari,
Thanks for the feedback! Great on the calorie burn! My instinct is to bump up the cals a little, especially on a high calorie-burn day. On your days off, do you do NO exercise? Do you adjust your calories down to account for les activity? This has been a burning question for me!!:laugh:

Mickie,
Your "easy dinner" sounded GREAT!! I'll have a better idea on the exercise plan once I finish the 1st week. I'm not getting the same calorie burn as Shari- maybe I don't push myself enough:grumble: :noway: or maybe my "rest" is too long. Doing day 4 today so will try to push harder!

Fit4lyfe-
What is your nutrition plan? How does it compare to Making the Cut, and where does it fall calorie-wise?

April

Thanks April. I do Cardio on 2 of the Off days and nothing on the 3rd (out of the 7 day week). I keep my cals the same for everyday. I try to stay around 1700, especially on my total off day, but sometimes I can get up to 1900. I am at the point now where I don't want to lose any more weight, but I do want to get leaner and am trying to gain more lean muscle. According to the formula in Jillian's book I should be eating 1550 cals, however I have a lot of lean body mass, so that is why I eat more. It even says in her book that if you have more lean mass you should be eating about 100 cals more. My calorie intake has been working for me so far, so why change now. I am even still losing weight, though I am trying not to. :bigsmile:

I do tend to burn a lot of cals and I am pushing myself. My trainer calls me a machine- LOL. I know you're only supposed to be doing the cardio portion of each circuit only once, however I have been doing it twice, the same amount of times I do each circuit. :bigsmile:

Good luck.

Oh, and April- Eat!!!!!
Especially doing this program, you need all of the cals you can get. :drinker:

aprilvet

Shari,
Thanks for the feedback! Great on the calorie burn! My instinct is to bump up the cals a little, especially on a high calorie-burn day. On your days off, do you do NO exercise? Do you adjust your calories down to account for les activity? This has been a burning question for me!!:laugh:

Mickie,
Your "easy dinner" sounded GREAT!! I'll have a better idea on the exercise plan once I finish the 1st week. I'm not getting the same calorie burn as Shari- maybe I don't push myself enough:grumble: :noway: or maybe my "rest" is too long. Doing day 4 today so will try to push harder!

Fit4lyfe-
What is your nutrition plan? How does it compare to Making the Cut, and where does it fall calorie-wise?
April

Thanks April. I do Cardio on 2 of the Off days and nothing on the 3rd (out of the 7 day week). I keep my cals the same for everyday. I try to stay around 1700, especially on my total off day, but sometimes I can get up to 1900. I am at the point now where I don't want to lose any more weight, but I do want to get leaner and am trying to gain more lean muscle. According to the formula in Jillian's book I should be eating 1550 cals, however I have a lot of lean body mass, so that is why I eat more. It even says in her book that if you have more lean mass you should be eating about 100 cals more. My calorie intake has been working for me so far, so why change now. I am even still losing weight, though I am trying not to. :bigsmile:

I do tend to burn a lot of cals and I am pushing myself. My trainer calls me a machine- LOL. I know you're only supposed to be doing the cardio portion of each circuit only once, however I have been doing it twice, the same amount of times I do each circuit. :bigsmile:

Good luck.

Oh, and April- Eat!!!!!
Especially doing this program, you need all of the cals you can get. :drinker:

Thanks for the encouragement! Believe me- I LOVE TO EAT!!!! Her food prep is very lean; therefore, the meals have fewer cals that I would normally get. I don't usually try, nor want, to eat under 1400-1500 cals a day!!!
Gee- I've been doing the cardio with every circuit!:noway: Although I've worked out with a trainer for several years- and she kicks my butt!, I've only done the resistance/weight training once a week. I hope that as I go thru this program that I'll be able to push harder!

April

SGFlyinHi

Thanks for the encouragement! Believe me- I LOVE TO EAT!!!! Her food prep is very lean; therefore, the meals have fewer cals that I would normally get. I don't usually try, nor want, to eat under 1400-1500 cals a day!!!
Gee- I've been doing the cardio with every circuit!:noway: Although I've worked out with a trainer for several years- and she kicks my butt!, I've only done the resistance/weight training once a week. I hope that as I go thru this program that I'll be able to push harder!

April

You will get though it!!

I saw that the cal content on many of the meals was low. I made my own version of the Jambalaya making sure I got all the protien, Carbs and fat that I need for my dinner meal. It turned out real well, though the cals were a little higher than I was counting on. Oh well. I have 2 protions left.
I am going to try to make the apple Chicken crunch just how she has it in the book & it should be a good snack alternative for me.
I'm also going to try the Shrimp and Asparagus Salad for tomorrow.

I did Day 9 yesterday and my back is killing me today (in a good way of course- LOL). I thought the routine was very easy as I was doing it, but I am sore today!!! I'm supposed to run today, but am having 2nd thoughts. I know I will still go and push through it. :bigsmile:

aprilvet

Good for you to push through it! Tonight I made the soft tacos with chicken and apples. Fairly yummy; my 10-year old son liked them. I really wanted a dollop of sour cream!:laugh: In retrospect, I probably could have had my sour cream as I still have a few extra cals left over. For days 4 and 5 of the exercise plan, I was already scheduled to work out with my own trainer, so I didn't quite do Jillian's plan, but still know I'm going to be sore tomorrow!! Lots of back and shoulder work today- and my trainer likes to utilize my extra-long stairs. I think I did 30 flights!!:noway: This rest day still has me uncomfortable, though. Since I'm new to the whole program of diet plus more intense workouts, a day off worries me- especially since my husband will be just back from London on my rest day. Of course we have a date scheduled!!! May have to give into a little wine!

Mickie17

Ladies..I have a confesion to make...I fell off the wagon today. I exercised VERY little compared to normal, and I had an In n' Out Double Double cheesburger protein style....and about 1/3 order of fries. But the silver lining is I had water to drink.:laugh: I'm gaining weight back. I'm going back to Level 2 ... having a down day. Sorry.


Keep up the great work...you inspire me! :happy:

Mickie17

Good for you to push through it! Tonight I made the soft tacos with chicken and apples. Fairly yummy; my 10-year old son liked them. I really wanted a dollop of sour cream!:laugh: In retrospect, I probably could have had my sour cream as I still have a few extra cals left over. For days 4 and 5 of the exercise plan, I was already scheduled to work out with my own trainer, so I didn't quite do Jillian's plan, but still know I'm going to be sore tomorrow!! Lots of back and shoulder work today- and my trainer likes to utilize my extra-long stairs. I think I did 30 flights!!:noway: This rest day still has me uncomfortable, though. Since I'm new to the whole program of diet plus more intense workouts, a day off worries me- especially since my husband will be just back from London on my rest day. Of course we have a date scheduled!!! May have to give into a little wine!

I was supposed to make those tonight...and then I went bolistic and had a burger. So would you recommend making them?