CLOSED GROUP-Get Ahead With The Shred!

I'm re-posting the daily challenges here for the second half of the week for those who were asking:

Wednesday: Get all the water you are supposed to have today. 64 oz. 8 cups. However you measure it. I never get my 64 oz. I'm lucky if I get half that. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! (I know, we should be doing this every day, but it's a jumping off point for those of us who don't get enough water for whatever reason.)

Thursday: Find a yoga pose that interests you online or in a book. Practice it, own it, and make that the way you start and end your shred each day. If you're so inclined, you can begin added yoga into your daily routine!

Friday: Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther away from your building or the store. If you work at an office job, take a walk during lunch. If you're a student, skip the bus and hoof it to your next class. It's Friday, which should put a spring in your step!

Saturday: Let yourself have a little treat today. Not necessarily a food treat, but a little token of affection for yourself and how well you're doing. That new book you've been eyeing? Snag it. The body lotion that makes you smell heavenly? Own it. New movie just came out you're dying to see? Head to the cinema or rent it, redbox or Netflix-style. You've earned it!

Sunday: I don't mean to go all "Biggest Loser" on you but...today's your day for your last chance workout. Monday is your first real weigh-in to see what the first week of 30-Day Shred has done for you. Get to the gym. Do some stretching. Get out and walk. Take a class. Stick to your calorie/fat goals. Do your best and let the scale congratulate you in the morning!

As for the push-ups, I do the ones where I'm on my knees and cross my ankles. I can't do "real" push-ups yet. And I plan to stay on Level 1 of the Shred for the full 10 days or longer if I feel like I need to. It's all about going at your own pace. If some people are ready to move up or mix in some level 2, awesome! Those of us still trucking away on Level 1? We're awesome, too!

Laurel, have a fab time with the bf. I myself am hoping to work in some bedroom cardio this weekend as well!

I'll post new daily challenges for next week by 8 pm Sunday night Eastern Standard Time. Also, feel free to mix up the days on which you do the challenges or do several on one day. I'm here to help and motivate! Good luck and love to you all!

I'm curious about which yoga poses people are choosing/have chosen.

As for logging the bedroom cardio, I log it as horseback riding. My bf is a bit of a stallion. J/K

Happy Friday, ladies!

Okay ladies, I know I've been a bit MIA this week, but I've still been doing my best even though my MFP stuff has been lacking. It's Sunday which means it's your LAST CHANCE WORKOUT before our very first weigh-in tomorrow (Monday) morning. Push yourself just a little further, a little longer, a little harder today. Go deeper on the lunges. Use heavier hand weights. Try to not to take any breaks. Whatever you can to squeeze out that little bit of strength you have left. We can do it, I know we can.

That being said, I know many of us have had a tough week, be it physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. So let's not get too discouraged because we did our best. Some of us (myself included) have had TOM visiting. Some of us have had family gatherings where eating was a part of the healing process. Some of us were stressed about school and some of us were just plain sick. Congratulate yourselves for making it through the first week. I plan to stay on Level until at least Day 10, and possibly longer if I don't feel ready to move to Level 2 yet. I would encourage you to listen to your bodies and do what feels right for you.

Mini-Challenges for the coming week...

Monday - Post three things on this message board that you are doing well and three things you need to work on. It's time to brag and be proud but also to air our dirty, little secrets. Honesty is key...what have you been dying to get off your chest with regards to food/diet/exercise/fitness/health/relationship choices?

Tuesday - Try a new class at your gym, your school's rec center, perhaps your office offers something. If not, rent something or find something online. The 30-Day Shred is great but we want to vary our workouts as well. Do the Shred, but get in some other, different kind of workout as well...Pilates? Yoga? Zumba? Kickboxing? There are lots of cheap DVD's to buy/rent and you can also search online. If you have a Nintendo Wii or XBox Kinect, those have built-in workouts. The point is, get some spice and variety into your routine.

Wednesday - You worked your butt off on Tuesday. You did the Shred AND a different, new workout. Today, let's see some results. The scale is not always the best indicator of progress, so find that shirt that was just a bit snug the last time you tried it on or those pants you couldn't quite button. After a week and a half of shredding, do you find that your clothes are fitting differently?

Thursday - We had this challenge last week, but we're having it again. GET YOUR 64 OZ A DAY OF H20! Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Friday - Try a new recipe that fits in with your newer, healthier lifestyle. Jot down the recipe, take pics, and share with us! Even if it turns out badly, it's still a challenge completed.

Saturday - Oh, Saturday. A tricky day for many of us. If you go out to eat or order in, try not to worry as much about calories as about portion control. We are making a lifestyle change and we are going to have to learn how to eat in restaurants and to eat alongside people who are not dieting/making healthy choices. So, order that ice cream cone. But get a small instead of a large and skip the sprinkles. Or opt for grilled chicken instead of fried, and always ask for your salad dressing on the side. You can have a soda. But just have one. It's all about moderation.

Sunday - Alright, ladies, you've completed Week 2 of the Shred and some of you may be on to Level 2 by now. For Sunday, I challenge EVERYONE to do Level 2, even if it's for the first time. If you have to quit and go back to Level 1, fine. But give Level 2 all you've got first. It's all about pushing ourselves a little bit harder. This is when we will start to see results on the scale and in our measurements.

In conclusion, I'm so proud of each and every one of you. Don't forget to weigh in as soon as it's morning in your part of the world, after you pee but before you eat. And own the number you post, even if you didn't lose any weight, even if you gained weight, own it. Because being healthy is about more than just food and exercise and numbers; it's about confidence in ourselves and taking responsibility for our actions. We can do it! Let's get shredded! Good luck!

Here we go: I weigh in at 181.5 this week, a gain of about a pound and three quarters since last week. I'm not too worried since I'm smack in the middle of TOM's visit and have been trying hard. But 181.5 is still a LONG WAY from where I started which was at 200+ lbs last August and I'm proud of that. I'll check back in later which my three proud things and three things to work on. Good luck everyone!

3 Proud Things:

1.) I have completely cut out fast-food restaurants...McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Arby's...gone. I was eating fast food almost every day before I started MFP. The health benefits have been remarkable.

2.) I'm in size 16 pants and bought a sweater in Medium/Large the other day, instead of my usual XL or much higher.

3.) I've been pushing myself when I do my workouts instead of stopping at the bare minimum. Before, I'd stop halfway through or do the least amount I'd promised myself. Getting to the gym early in the morning has been awesome too.

3 Things to Work On

1.) I am not getting enough water. Hopefully, this will change with my sweet new 64 oz water bottle. It's easier to have all my H2O in one place.

2.) I need more variety. As of now, I only do 30DS or the treadmill or yoga. I want to do some light weight-lifting too!

3.) I'm still working on limiting my soda intake. Old habits die hard and it's my major vice. I'm down to one 12 oz a day as opposed to 2-4 16.9 oz Cokes a day.