Day 30: Completion

It's hard to believe it's been thirty whole days since I decided to take on this challenge. Not only did I focus on shredding daily, but I've successfully gotten my eating under control and am enthusiastically hitting the gym most weekdays. I've been pushing myself hard and seeing results. Speaking of which, here's a final glimpse at the changes I've made physically.

The following is a photo of Day 1 vs. Day 30 to get a complete look at where I started and where I am today.



My midsection is a lot more defined and I'm also seeing more definition around the muscles in my arms. You can't tell in this photo, but I've also noticed some muscle toning in my thighs/legs. All in all, an amazing success. I kind of wish I had been circuit training throughout my entire weight loss process. I'm sure my body would look completely different.

The following is a photo of all my "check in" days.


There's not a huge visual difference in the Day 20 and Day 30 photo, though I'm wearing the same shirt and it's visibly baggier on me. While doing double jump ropes the other morning I realized that I needed new workout pants as mine were nearly falling off.

My final measurements were pretty nuts. I measured about four times to make sure they were correct:



I didn't lose any weight in the past ten days, but I'm OK with that. The scale's not moving for a reason I'm sure. But my clothes fit WAY differently.

Today was technically Day 31 for me. Despite being "finished" I woke myself at 6am and tried Level 1 with heavier weights as well as some weighted cardio. I plan on doing the same tomorrow. What can I say, Shredding seems to be my new habit. And it's a good one at that.

In thirty days I re-learned how to respect myself and my body. I made the most of my time and I am confident that it shows. But what's next? I'm so excited to see what's lies beyond Day 30. I'm waiting for a few more Jillian DVDs as well as Biggest Loser's Last Chance Workout and Weight Loss Yoga. I also want to start running again in the spring.

It's only the beginning!

Day 10: Level 1 Results

I've finally completed Level 1 of The 30 Day Shred and I can see some differences in my body. The first level was difficult, but the soreness went away completely by about Day 4. I'm anxious to see what Level 2 has in store. Please note that, in addition to daily shred-sessions I have been working out at the gym. Last week I worked out every week day for 30 minutes on the elliptical at high resistance. I have also been logging and watching my calories. My rule of thumb is simple. Eat when you're hungry. Don't eat when you're not.

I lost two pounds thus far. I also took my measurements on Day 1 and Day 10. Here are the results:



I've been following shredheads on twitter for motivation. If you're interested in keeping up with me on twitter, you can find me here.

Shredder

As mentioned in my last post, I started Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred on Sunday. I plan on weighing in and checking my measurements after completing the first ten days of Level 1. I'll do the same for Levels 2 (Day 20) and 3 (Day 30). But what after Day 30? Being against the idea of dieting and quick fixes, I've already decided that after this I'm going to continue incorporating workout DVDs into my schedule in addition to gym visits. I purchased Jillian's Banish Fat, Boost Your Metabolism DVD the same day I picked up 30 Day Shred. That's a 40 minute video, so I'm thinking it'll be a little more challenging. Hopefully after these 30 Days, I'll also still feel compelled to incorporate Levels 1, 2, and 3 into my daily routine moving into the future.

I'm feeling really optimistic about this and hope that I get the results I'm looking for. Having some sort of goal in mind has seemed to help me stay on track with my eating habits. Today I confronted platters of cookies, crackers, chocolate and other nasties in the office kitchen on my first day back to work but successfully avoided them. I think that the lingering muscle soreness from Day 1 reminded me of how hard I am and will be working to reach my goals. Today marks two days of clean, mindful eating.

Speaking of which, tonight I prepared some vegetable soup for dinner to offset the bitterly cold weather we've been having. I found the recipe on Dr. Oz's Real Age site, which has oodles and oodles of great, easy, healthy recipes. Because I dine alone, the recipe yielded enough for me to eat this all week. I might even need to freeze some. Red lentils are fantastic because they cook up so easily and pack such a mean nutritional punch. You can find the recipe for this soup by following this link, which also displays nutritional information.

I look forward to making this week a success. One step at a time.