maybe it's time to be serious... 30 Day Shred anyone?

Okay, I'm back! I hope everyone had a good day today. Mine started out rough, I wasn't feeling so hot and skipped the Shred this morning. Was less than motivated at work today too BUT, after a good dinner to re-energize me, I did the shred before bed tonight. I am so glad I did because I felt great once I was finished. Today was my fourth consecutive day at level 1 and sixth day since last Thursday. I made it through all three sets without stopping for the first time, so I am definitely seeing a bit of improvement. My muscles have a dull ache to them tonight though. If all goes as planned, I will be moving up to level 2 on Thursday of next week. Going to get back into my morning routine tomorrow for some level 1 action with Jillian. Hopefully, I will continue feeling better! Just fair warning, I was long winded tonight because I wanted to catch up with everyone!

trina33-- Pizza and I also get along really well! I LOVE pizza! The only bright side to this for me is that I do not like meat on my pizza, so I save calories there :laugh: Good job getting in your workouts. The shred really makes you think twice about doing it again since every single muscle in your body still hurts when your supposed to do it. I've been pushing through it so I hope it pays off when I weigh in Monday.

Hannah-- Welcome to the group!! It's definitely not too late to join us. You sound like a very busy person with kids and going to school for pre-med!!! oh, AND you're finding time to work out!!!! That is truly awesome, you must have a very supportive husband. Stick with us, I'm glad you're here. Side note: My fiance is from Iowa -- Go Hawkeyes!

dmags-- 30lbs lost is absolutely wonderful! Congrats! Stick with it now -- remember what Jillian says -- we don't get to the finish line and give up that's when we push even harder :happy: I'm soooo scared to start level 2 next week :sad: but glad there's lots of support here!

malibootie-- Glad you checked in with us! I hear you about the cardio in an apartment building. I used to have the same problem, but now we're in a townhouse so I'm not so embarrassed :blushing: You have to wonder what the neighbors below can hear and what they think you're doing... hehe.

Rachel-- Welcome! I'm very happy you're joining us! We definitely have similar goals as I'm also getting married this year (October) and would like to lose about 30 lbs by then. I've been a little fluffy my whole life and have battled weight issues for the duration. I'm also thinking that this is beginning to become a permanent lifestyle change. Congratulations on already losing the 35 lbs! You're half way there and have great motivation. I would love to try bikram yoga, but its not offered in the area. How did you get into it? And one more thing, sorry to hear about your food allergies :brokenheart: I don't think I could survive without cheese .... and another-- I haven't gotten my high metabolism fiance to do the shred with me yet, but it should be funny when he does because he's generally in better shape than me, but I've been building up endurance :bigsmile:

nolachick-- I know you'll be back with us soon! Hang in there in the mean time!

Steely519-- Welcome to the group! I love Jillian too -- she kicks butt

SkyeBows-- It does sound like you've been quite busy, but it also sounds like you're making wise decisions. Eating out doesn't have to be a bad thing as long as you're ordering light. I'm excited you're going to give the shred a try. It's a great way to squeeze a quality workout into a busy schedule! Let me know how your first time around goes -- I know mine was discouraging because I had to stop several times to get through it -- but totally worth it because now I feel accomplished that I can get through it! I think you hit the nail on the head, just making smarter food choices and upping your workouts. You can't deprive yourself of all the foods you like or you will end up cheating. Simply watch your portion sizes and keep to the workouts (which it sounds like you're getting lots of!) Good job switching to water too! I still have to have a diet mountain dew every once in a while, but stick mostly to water.


Night all--- L1 in the morning :grumble: Jamie

Trina-- Way to stay accountable! I'm making my way through L1 pretty well, but I'm still scared of L2. If you decide to move up before I do, let me know how it goes.

Trina and Rachel-- I have also never been able to do a proper push up. I don't think I've ever done a proper push up in my entire life. I'm working toward it though, I've doubled the number of girly push ups I'm able to do by sticking with the shred. Hoping by the time we reach L3 I may be able to attempt a real push up.

Rachel-- The first set is the toughest for me too, between the push ups, squats, jumping jacks and jump rope-- that's about when I'm ready to stop and where I did stop the first few days. Ugh, for some reason I think those squats are getting harder too. I did the full butt kicks today though-- so I'm proud of myself. Stay with it and you'll be killin the first circuit in a few days! I also have before pics to post and I'm hoping that they'll help me stick with it. I love looking at the before and after pics on here, so motivating! Have you found any substitutes for the dairy that you're missing? Like soy milk or soy yogurt?? They do make soy yogurt, right?? I did yoga a bit in college also at a free class offered at my school, but haven't been able to find anywhere else around here (that's reasonably priced) to take a class. I've done yoga dvds and I don't feel like I get the same results from it. Do you know of any good dvds out there I may want to try? Unfortunately I don't have a sauna...but it would be awesome if I did!! hehe :laugh: Have fun at your class tonight!

Pluto-- I was the most sore after the first and second days-- now I just get like a dull ache in my muscles. I'm not sure what this means, but I don't mind the change because I can actually walk again... lol! I decided to do my weigh ins on Mondays -- every Monday. I used to step on the scale all the time too, but it's been really acting up lately so I'm only weighing on the Wii Fit. I don't have much advice beyond putting the scale in an unreasonable place, ie. you have to do some work to get it down and weigh yourself. And I have beginning measurements, but I'm only going to measure again after the 30 days.


Only 1.5 more hours of work and then me and my fiance are going to grill chicken wings and watch some Cardinals baseball!! yay! Day 6 on the shred tomorrow morning!

Jamie

I took a day off on Sunday to let my body rest from those push-ups. Today I'm back to work. I haven't been eating well at all, but will give it my best effort to stay within my calories today. I think I might need to add some serious cardio, too. I don't think just doing the shred is enough with the garbage I've been eating. Do you guys think the DVD is enough, or do you do extra cardio on those days, too?

I have not been doing extra cardio, but it would likely be very beneficial if you were too. I'm using the shred as a jump off point to get back into exercising and being active. I'm hoping to start running again this spring as long as my knees will let me :grumble:

Jamie

I'll commit to the Shred! Well, level 1 at least. It's all I've got. Besides, I've got a lot of weight to lose; 30 days isn't going to cut it. I'll use Level 1 as a jumpstart for 30 days. Then perhaps I'll buy the other levels. Really, really fat! Level 1 is about all I can handle right now; and I'm severely modifying half the moves. But, it's a start! I'm in.

L1D3.

I'll post my measurements at the end too. Maybe I'll see some improvement.

PS: Workout videos are sooooo much better than sitting on a stationary bike for 30 minutes!!

Hi FunkySpunky! We're glad to have you here! I've been very comitted to the 30 day shred since I started last Monday. If you stick with it you will definitely work your way to the non-modified moves over time Plus, you'll feel stronger and better each time you complete it! I totally agree about videos over stationary bikes, I like the motivation. Keep checking in with us and letting us know how you're doing :flowerforyou: Oh, and by the way, from what I've heard, all of the Levels in the 30 DS can be modified for beginners, so if you get bored on L1, you may want to check it out.

Jamie

I started it about 11 or 12 days ago, I've done it everyday except for one. I combine it with Turbo Jam or walking. I'm still doing Level 1, my upper body strength is not good so I have trouble with the push ups...I've always hated push ups!

I'm 32, have 2 kids, thyroid issues, married, and work in a newborn nursery. I'm around 5'9" and 174 lbs, so I really understand the difficulty of trying to find pants. I also carry most of my weight around my abdomen, so I can't wear low rise pants, which makes it next to impossible to find pants, especially scrub pants.

Welcome Amber! Today was day 9 for me on L1 and I'm moving on to L2 on Thursday after 10 days at L1. My upper body strength is also very very poor, and I despise push ups--- but I'm hoping to be able to knock all of them out soon. Think we will all be able to if we stick with it!

There's lots of tall people in this group so we all feel your pain on the pants thing. I've never in my entire life had an easy time finding pants, especially jeans. I carry my weight everywhere, very evenly distributed, but I have really long legs and a short torso...so... I can't wait to rock some sexy skirts this summer with my slimmer figure! hehe...

Jamie

Rachel-- I would also ignore the 0.2 lbs, my scale doesn't even measure that precisely. Good for you attempting the P90X Plyo!!!!! I couldn't imagine attempting it right now. If I stick with the 30DS for all 30, I think I am going to "reward" myself with the Insanity workout by Beachbody. We'll see though, I might just do another round of 30DS with heavier weights.

Trina-- I'm sorry to hear you're having shoulder issues. My ankles have been a bit bothersome but usually loosen up once I get going. I did start L2 today and I LOVED it! I really like the moves a lot better than those in L1, and can tell I'm working a lot of muscle groups at one time. I also think it's easier on the knees and ankles. Less up and down sqautting, thank goodness! I would highly recommend doing L2 once your shoulder mends a bit. I'm sure you remember all of the plank exercises, holy plank!!!

Hey All! So, I'm at 11 days in a row! As mentioned above, I started L2 this morning and very much enjoyed it. It's VERY different from L1 in my opinion. I really like the new moves as I feel like there's less stress being put on the knees. The moves are incredibly difficult though and I had to push my way through it. Also had to pause the DVD once to catch my breath. I like seeing the girls struggling with this level also, unlike L1 where it seemed like a cake walk for them. I'm looking forward to doing the full thing through by the end of these 10 days :happy:

Yesterday was one of my days off work, so we went to this new place in town that has fire oven baked pizza and oh my goodness was it delicious. We had one with Coppa (an Italian style ham?) which was probably high in sodium, but the slices were little and had very little cheese. I also had one of the BEST side salads I have ever had in my entire life. It was just called Mixed Greens and had mixed field greens, sliced kalamata olives, diced red onions, diced tomatoes, sliced artichoke hearts, about a tbsp of feta cheese and a very light drizzle of tomato vinagrette dressing. If you're looking for something different, I would HIGHLY recommend trying this! After our fun lunch, we went the golf driving range and whacked some golf balls :laugh: For dinner, I made Pesto Chicken sandwiches!! Yummy-- Let me know if you want the recipe. They're super healthy also. Well, I must run as I have work waiting for me to do it :sad: I hope everyone who has not checked in recently is still doing the Shred-- and look forward to hearing from you!

Jamie