Day 19 of 30DS

How grateful I am to have such great readers and supporters.

I am feeling better.  It does make a difference to take myself out of the 'need to do' mode and instead take time just for me.  Let the dirt pile up on the floor, let the hand weights sit in the basement, let the world go as it is and just let myself forget about it.

I am proud to hear that Cheryl (http://ctminnesota.wordpress.com/) is joining me on my 30 Day Shred!  How cool is that?! And also, how motivating!  As a case in point, it was 9pm and I just sat down to catch up on blogs and report on my day, when I read Cheryl's comment.  Knowing she was there with me I got up and went down and did it.  I'm not through with it!  I did not take another rest day, I just did it.  Thank you for giving me that support.  :)  Oh, it's such a sweaty workout though, isn't it?

Food was good.  I have to bake more muffins but it is just so darn hot I do not want to put the oven on.  So I waited until my 11am appointment for breakfast and grabbed a banana chocolate chip coffee cake (370 cals).

Lunch was leftover veal scaloppini with creamy mushroom sauce, roasted potatoes and asparagus.  Lots of calories there, but filling.  In fact, I was about halfway through when I didn't want to finish.  It took me a couple of hours actually to finally eat, and it sort of counted as my afternoon snack.  In this weather, I really should remember to have either my frozen chocolate banana pops or the frozen smoothie popsicles I made.  That would be excellent.  So easy to make.  I just buy all natural pre-made smoothies in a variety of flavours (this one is an acai berry smoothie) and pour into popsicle moulds.  Easy and quick, and less than 100 cals per popsicle.

Dinner was chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) which I poured lemon juice over and let it sit for about 20 minutes while the bbq warmed up.  Sprinkled with salt and pepper. I used an Uncle Ben's premade rice packet, whole grain rice flavoured as garden vegetable.  I have had this in my cupboard for months and am trying to get rid of some of the more processed items in the house.  I made an incredible salad which will need to be repeated.  I used fresh baby spring lettuces, added half of an orange pepper, half of an avocado, and half of a Bartlett pear.  I used some gourmet dressing "Pear Guava" made by Renees.  This salad is fabulous and filling.  Total cals for my dinner were just under 500.

I failed to take pictures given my state, but am hopefully going to be back at it tomorrow.  I am ready for this!! ... again!

:)  Nighty night to all,
Jess

Days 16, 17 and 18 of 30DS

I would be lying to say that this isn't easy.  Also, blogging is not as easy as it should be, but I need to continue.  Blogging is like therapy, only much less expensive.

On Saturday, moodiness was still in my cards.  My husband convinced me that it was good for me to take a day off.  So I did.  And even into the evening when I kept thinking to myself I should be in the basement working out, I stayed upstairs, I sat on the couch, I did not exercise.

On Sunday, I also did not exercise, but it was my regularly scheduled day off.  I do however play softball on Sundays, and get my daily steps over 10,000 for this reason, even though I am not doing a JM workout.

Today, I was back at it.  My meals are planned for the week, I am back at it.  My weight has not changed since last week (I am still five pounds down).  Phew!  Two more days of level 2 and then I get to see what Level 3 holds.

I am now enjoying level 2 more.  I use 5lbs for some moves, but generally use the 3lb weights. I feel such a great burn after.  Actually, thinking back, I was quite sore yesterday and wonder if it was from the BR workout 4 I did with Mom on Friday.

How were your Mondays?  Do you find that mondays are the best time to get back on track?

Nighty night,
Peach

Day 15 of 30DS

Yeehaw, halfway through the mini-marathon of JM workouts.

:)

Thanks for all of your kind words regarding the horrid feelings I've been having towards myself.  I'm doing much better today, and feel it will continue.  As human beings we are capable of so much, and that can drive anyone crazy... knowing that we can do anything we put our minds to.  I signed on for 30 days of shredding and I will complete it.

Today was a bit a fun interruption, as I was able to spend it with my mom.  She is a bit behind me in the BR program.  Actually, she had to restart it given the condition of her neck/shoulder.  Today we did Workout 4 together, and I loved it.  Oh, how much I loved it.  I am really going to enjoy not having a set regimen but rather the ability to select workouts each day based on how I feel or what I want to do once I am done this month.

The workout was 32 minutes long, a bit longer than level 2 of 30DS.  I feel I worked out hard enough, but it was easier to me than level 2.  It was a nice change up from the day-to-day of 30DS.

I have continued to watch my calories as well.  I eat regular meals with an awareness of portion sizes and calories.  What a difference it does make.  All it takes is knowing what's going in to be able to reduce calories.  I used to have two helpings of a plate because I thought I was still hungry.  But I realized that that was an extra 400 calories (making a 400 cal meal into an 800 cal meal) and completely not needed.  I'd rather save those extra cals for a splurge.

Tomorrow is last dig at level 2 before my rest day... also happens to be Father's Day.  Given the day I had today, I am looking forward to it immensely.  :)

Friday night, hope you all get good sleeps tonight.  I was only 97% efficient in my sleeping last night... here's for 100 tonight!

Nighty night,
Peach

Days 13 and 14 of 30DS

Wow, this is hard.  You definitely need to be in the right frame of mind to get through these challenges.  To be honest, yesterday afternoon when I was doing my level 2 of 30DS, I was full of self-deprecating thoughts, which were fully expressed verbally.  I was glad my little man decided to hang out upstairs and watch some programming during this workout.  I'm sure you know the words that were used, haven't we all been there?  We call ourselves fat, we beat ourselves up over it, hoping if we say it enough it will mean something and suddenly our bodies will change.  But it makes it worse, it makes me want to throw in the towel and wave that white flag of surrender.  Look, those thoughts are no good for anybody!  Our bodies change, they are built to change, and we've got to be the one to make the change happen.  My thought today is - GET OVER IT!  MOVE ON!

So today I wasn't sure if I was going to get my workout in.  Not because I didn't have time, because I will always find the time.  But because all week I've been telling myself that I'm tired, I'm exhausted, I don't have it in me.  And yet, each day I get the workout done.  Tomorrow is Friday, then Saturday, and then I can rest.  Even on a week I thought I couldn't do it, I am still doing it.

Yesterday's workout was brutal to say the least.  I used my 5lb weights.  I made it through... shall I say I sweated it through?  Yes, I did that. Today, I thought it would be best to try with the lesser weights, and it made a world of difference.  I am still working hard, but at least I am feeling more capable with the 3's than I did with the 5's.  I do not need to do the workout 'advanced', I just need to do the workout.  I found that when it came time to do the Plank Thrusts in circuit 2, I ended up doing more of a Downward Dog Thrust.  It worked for me.

Thanks for reading and for letting me know what you think of the 30DS.  I am halfway done this month tomorrow, which means just a few more days of level 2 and then I hit up level 3.  I'm not dreading it quite so much since one of you pointed out that you enjoyed it more than level 2.

I hope you are all staying on track as best you can for today.  Any big plans for Father's Day weekend?

Nighty night,
Peach

Day 11 of 30DS

Workout level 2 - it sure provides a burn.  It also brings me back to the good ol' body revolution days that are not so far behind me.  I fully enjoyed workout level 2.  I feel like it was tough enough, and more than once I had to pause my move, or drop to my knees.  I found it went very quickly, with 29 minutes total including warmup and cooldown.  The moves were great, and found the strength sequences seemed less than 3 minutes, and cardio felt like more than 2 minutes.  Cardio was once again the challenge for me.  Lots of plank-inspired moves here.  But nothing that can't be done.  I worked up a great sweat and wonder how I am going to do another 8 days of this in a row.

Therefore, based on this, I have decided that I will take Sundays off for the remainder of this program.  Done!  No going back now, so let's do this!

Anybody else currently on the 30 DS?  How quickly did you move up in the levels?  Which level did you (or do you) enjoy the most?

I am going to continue to use the 5lb weights since it hurts so bad at the end of each set and I pretty much cannot finish.  Therefore there is room to improve.

On a side note, I keep on losing weight.  I am down now to 161 lbs, and I really could have been trying a lot harder.  Yet the weight is still coming off.  If I lose 4 more pounds doing this program (I have already dropped four pounds since starting June 1st) I would have surpassed my already ambitious goal.  I think perhaps it is the combination of fitbit use and MFP along with my daily working out.  The fitbit tracks better than MFP alone, and MFP holds me accountable to my food choices.  The fitbit gives me more accurate calorie setting.  I believe I have found something good that works for me.  I cannot believe I am less than 14lbs away from my goal weight.

Tomorrow I will do level 2 again, and will try to remember the sequence a bit better.

For now, have a great night, let's get ready for tomorrow.

Nighty night,
Peach

Day 10 of 30DS

Wow, I'm always impressed when I read about my MFP friends having great success with their food choices.  I know it's not easy.  It seems that even on days that are not so bad, some of my friends seem to think that because they went over in their calories or ate something they 'weren't supposed to' without going over their calories, that they just did damage to their weight loss.  But the only damage done is to your self-confidence, because your body will just digest and move on.  And so should you!  Keep your head in the game.  This is not decided by one day or one meal, it is decided first in your head, and then in the actions you take.

Say hello to 'Start-Over Mondays' -- good thing that's tomorrow!

I was able to have a rest day today, but did more activity today than I usually do, or at least that I have done in the past couple of days.  I took the baby for a long walk to the grocery store, and bumped into an old friend I hadn't seen in months.  This afternoon we played softball, and I was intent on keeping moving whenever I could.  My goal is to keep my heart rate up as often throughout the day as I can.

I will not discuss food... no need to talk about that after my motivational speech above.  (eek).  My friends can visit me on MFP to see what I ate, and I did stay within my calorie goal (barely).

So here we are, Sunday night, and tomorrow is a new day.  I will be starting JM's level 2 workout tomorrow and I am anxious to see how it goes!

Have a great night,
Peach

Day 9 of 30DS

There really wasn't much different to report on today.  I again did my workout in the evening, which is less than preferable, but seemed to be the only time I can squeeze it in.

Today I did 14 full pushups, then modified to my knees after 2 full ones in the second set.

I still feel incredibly strong when I do this workout.

I have decided to add a rest day to my workouts as well.  I really feel like I need a break.  Also, my weight isn't moving up or down, so a break may be good for me while I'm in this limbo.  I was thinking to either start taking Sundays off, or just taking off the last day of each level.  Tomorrow happens to be a Sunday and the last day of level 1 before moving to level 2, so I really could do either option and I have a week to decide.  So I will rest tomorrow and focus only on meals.  I am looking forward to the break!  I have been working out every day since last Thursday and my mind needs a break from the commitment.

To summarize, this is what Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred level 1 looks like:

Warm Up

-Arm crosses (20 sec)

-Windmills (20 sec)

-Jumping Jacks (20sec)

-Hip Circles (20 sec)

-Knee Rotations (20 sec)

-Jumping Jacks (20 sec)

Circuit 1

-Pushups (30 sec)

-Squats with shoulder presses (1min)

-Repeat

-Jumping Jacks (30 sec)

-Jump rope (30 sec)

-Repeat

-Crunches (30 sec)

-Reverse crunches (30 sec)

Circuit 2

-Dumbbell rows (30 sec)

-Lunge with bicep curls (1 min)

-Repeat (switching legs with the lunge with bicep curls)

-Butt kicks (30 sec)

-Punches (30sec)

-Repeat

-Side crunches (30 sec each side)

Circuit 3

-Laying chest flies (30 sec)

-Side lunge with anterior raise (1 min)

-Repeat

-Jumping jacks (30 sec)

-Butt kicks (30 sec)

-Punches (30 sec)

-Jump rope (30 sec)

-Bicycle crunch (1 min)

Cool down - Stretching

If you were thinking of getting 30DS and were on the fence, I would absolutely recommend it.  Level 1 already provides great workouts, with a total workout time of just 27 minutes (including warm up and cool down).  Completely doable for all fitness levels.  In terms of weight loss, I have been on the program for 9 days and am down 3.5 pounds.  I have been steady at this weight for three days, too.  

Have a great night, I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Nighty night,

Peach