Questions for 30DS Veterans

stephaniegcoffey

Hi All,

After reading so many rave reviews and seeing the results pics from the 30 day shred I recently decided to give it a try. I've completed day 6 of level 1 and am loving it so far! I find the 20 minutes go by so quickly and I feel accomplished afterwards.

However, I have a few questions. If you only know the answer to one, that's fine, any input is appreciated.

1.) I know you are supposed to move on to level 2 after completing level 1 10 times. I've just finished day 6 and can definitely tell things are getting easier. However, I still can't do more than 5 regular push ups, and that just about kills me!. Also, I can never make it through the damn bicycle crunches at the end. It's not even that my abs hurt I just physically can't make my body finish the entire set. It's so frustrating because all the other moves go perfectly fine and then I feel like a failure when i quit on the very last move! So, my question here is, should I still move on to level 2 after doing level 1 10 times, even if I still do push ups on my knees and suck at bicycle crunches (all the other moves are no problem). Or should I keep at level 1 until I get those 2 moves down?

2.) I'm hoping this workout will help me tone up, without actually losing any pounds. From what others have posted it seems that indeed you can lose inches without losing weight with this video. I am essentially "skinny-fat" I weigh 120 lbs and I am 5'6" I do not really want to drop any weight, I'd rather stay 120, but I want to be less squishy, and slim down my stomach and love handles. So, for anyone who dropped inches but not pounds on 30DS did you aim for a calorie deficit each day or did you try to just break even with calories burned and calories consumed? I do eat a healthy diet and most of my calories come from fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts and whole grains. I do not eat much processed food or refined grains. As I said, I don't particularly want to lose weight, but what good will it do to build ab muscles if they are hidden under a layer of pudge?

Thanks for any input and sorry for the long post!