Day 5, Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred level 1

Half-way done with level 1!  I plan to move up to level 2 on day 11 and level 3 on day 21.  If I don't feel ready on day 11, I'll change it to a 45 day shred and wait until day 15.

The pushups and weights were not as hard today, BUT the cardio was a bit harder.  I tried to land differently in the jumping jacks, butt-kicks, and jumprope but it took more endurance.  Thus, I feel like I worked out harder.

Tomorrow is the big weigh in, jean try-on and measure.  I'm TERRIFIED!  What if the scale does not reflect my hard work?  What if the jeans that fit very tight on April 1st are still tight on May 1st?  Will I EVER be back in my old clothes?

I'm scared that all of my hard work will have very little result...  I had to force myself not to weigh and try on the jeans for a whole month.  That's a looooong time for an impatient instant-gratification-guru like me.  If I have not accomplished much in a month, I fear I will throw in the towel and give up completely.  But on the flip side, I'm dying to know and almost cheated every day this week to see my stats.  Ayayaya....

Day 4, Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred level 1

Today my knee was not as sore as yesterday so I was hopeful with the workout.  It hurt a little but not nearly as bad as it did last night, so yea!  I was able to complete the workout but I felt a little sluggish.  The good news is that my muscles were not as sore today as they had been every other day.  I think it's like Jillian says, my body is adapting.

30 day shred level 1, day 3

Well my left knee is KILLING ME!!!!!  It was bothering me all day and then got in the way of my workout.  After going out and buying a knee brace and athletic tape--and discovering that neither help my issue--I pushed through the workout and am now icing my knee.  PRAYING this helps and that I can keep up with my program.  If it doesn't help, well I'll just have to suck it up.  It's only the cardio that's hurting my knee (only 6 minutes total of the workout) so I should be able to push through it.

At first, I tried to compensate with my right leg and for that reason, my right thigh is feeling the extra burn, LOL.

Day 2, Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred level 1

Thanks to a tip from a wonderful work colleague, I smartened up and used cans of beans as weights instead of the 3lb weights.  My 1lb ones should arrive tomorrow, if not, beans again!

I'm not gonna lie, it still kicked my butt but I am still motivated to keep it up.  She mentions that people on day 5-7 are probably finding it easier to keep up.... When I get there, I'll let you know if I agree.

Day 1, Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred level 1

OMG!  I am hurting!  The cardio was not so bad--I have after all been taking nightly walks with the fam and working out on the elliptical so cardio is not my weak point.  The abs were a little hard but not too bad seeing as how I also have been doing my fair share of crunches.... Now about the strength training.... Um, yeah, my arms are weaklings!  Apparently the only muscles worked when picking up children are the same muscles worked in a curl-up.  Guess what, we only did curl-ups for like 30 seconds or a minute total.  The rest was just plain sad to watch--and yes, I had an audience.  I had a very fussy Kailee hanging over the edge of her swing yelling at me because she wanted out.  I also had a slightly pissed off Gavin standing in front of the TV telling me he wasn't going to be my bestfriend if I didn't give him my "blue-things."  If he told me one more time, "I never used those before, Mommy," I might have thrown one at him.

That workout kicked my butt but we shall see if it works!  I got the lightest weights at Walmart (3 pounds--which are APPARENTLY WAAAAAY too heavy for my arms) and just now went on amazon to buy 1lb and 2lb weights.  They have 2 day shipping so I'll suffer for a few days before getting to be more comfortable!

I weigh on Saturday and do measurements.  After that, I may do once a week weigh in and once a month measuring or I may just wait another month for it all....

April 25th

So more and more people are noticing the weight loss but I'm resisting the temptation to go ahead and weigh, measure my waist, and to try on the jeans I hope to fit into on Saturday, May 1st.  I've been very good about eating intuitively and being active.  We've been taking a lot of walks as a family, meaning I haven't had to use the elliptical as much (thankfully, as I get bored).

I really hope that I'm not disappointed next week.  I was already working hard and I upped my game.  I don't know if I will be able to stay motivated if I haven't made progress....

Long time no see...

So I keep up with the C25K program on the elliptical for awhile but then I got bored.  I figured out that my limit on a machine is about 15 minutes before I'm too bored to continue (even with the TV).  So I've changed up my plan.  I am working out 15 minutes daily instead of 30 minutes 3 times weekly.

I still weigh 158 (this is after gaining and losing 2 pounds) but I've committed myself to eating intuitively (only eating when I'm truly hungry and stopping when I'm satisfied, not full) and am drinking a ton of water (whereas I was not drinking any water most days--I don't like water).

I can already tell a difference in the way I feel now that I'm drinking more water.  It's amazing the difference in how much energy I have just by drinking water.  I cannot even explain the difference in words.  It's like I can feel my body absorb the water.  I guess only people who go from drinking no water to drinking a lot of water can truly understand.