30 Day Shred: update

So the injury and a return of the pain in my right foot has put the kibosh on the Shred. I went to the osteopath yesterday and after a beating she has said no strenuous exercise for 3-5 days.

So I'll take this chance to review my experience of the 30 day shred. Things I've learnt:

1. Make time for exercise. I found I worked hardest in the morning and getting up 30 minutes earlier than normal was easy to do. 

2. Warm up, cool down and stretching are so important. The warm ups for both level 1 and 2 were pretty good but there definitely wasn't enough stretching in the cool down. Luckily I've been taught to stretch a lot after exercise by my lovely Zumba/Pilates teacher Gemma so I always did more once the DVD was switched off. 

3. Exercising in the morning makes me ravenous! 

4. I can do press ups (only knee ones but still!)

5. Water weight is real. 

Overall I think the 30 day shred programme is good. Jillian Michaels' instruction style suits the way I like to learn and I like that there are different ability levels catered for with Anita and Natalie assisting. The 3 2 1 approach works well and the exercise were varied. If I were to do it again I would schedule in a rest day every 7, I inadvertently did but not intentionally. 

30 Day Shred: day 14

First injury! Not sure how I did it but I've pulled a muscle in my thigh. It was so painful, more so than anything I've pulled before. Lots of stretches and painkillers and sleep and it feels slightly better this morning but sore. Walking upstairs is the worst. Going to try to get an appointment with the Osteo to see if she can fix me. 

Otherwise level 2 is now getting easier, it's not easy though by any stretch of the imagination! 

30 Day Shred: day 13

Weekly weigh in and measurements time! I'm back down to the 'never go above this weight again' weight which is encouraging and I've lost a total of 15cm around my body, mostly from my thighs. Was definitely feeling buoyed as I started the DVD this morning. 

Level 2 is hard, and I am having to take 5 second breaks every so often but I'm getting used to the amount of plank variations now! 

30 Day Shred: day 12

She's still mean! Found a great keep calm and... poster on Pinterest which pretty much sums up what I'm doing: 

30 Day Shred: day 11

Jillian Michaels is MEAN! Level 2 is a whole new world of pain, she's slotted in planks everywhere! Lots of static lunges too. Actually dripping with sweat...

30 Day Shred: Days 9 and 10

I forgot to post yesterday! So two for the price of one...

Day 9 was completed after getting home from work. It was difficult to fit in with cooking dinner and my evening Guiding meeting but I made it work. As such I kind of powered through, a big sweaty mess at the end.

Day 10 I was back to the normal before-work routine, much better and this morning was a nice cool temperature which helped!

Up to Level 2 tomorrow!

30 Day Shred: Day 8

I may have discovered something. I think I do better at this DVD in the evenings. A combination of early start (every Tuesday due to brownies) and soreness from Fitness Pilates combined with a visit to the osteopath on Monday meant I couldn't do the shred this morning. So I planned to do it after dinner (with time for digestion). And I really enjoyed it! 

The problem is mornings are easy, I just get up earlier. With all the evening activities I do it's harder to build a routine for exercising after work. Hmm, something to ponder further. 

30 Day Shred: Day 7

I didn't do it twice yesterday... With lots of walking in town (we went holiday clothes shopping) I was bushed in the evening! Hopefully I'll catch up another day.

This morning was hard to get into, but I enjoyed it once the dreaded press ups were done. I think I will be ready to go up to level 2 in the next day or two.

30 Day Shred: Day 6 (on day 7)

Yup I missed one. Combination of whole day in London plus what I ate for lunch not agreeing with me last night. I'm going to do it twice today, morning and evening. 

Today was weigh in day and I was dismayed to find I'd lost nothing. Nada. Zip. Then I googled '30 day shred first week no loss' and saw that a lot of people had experienced this. Apparently it's water weight as my body is conserving it to rebuild my muscles as I work them. So a little happier. I have lost a cm on each of my upper arms and thighs so that's something. 

30 day Shred: Day 5

Halfway through level 1 and it's definitely getting easier. It's by no means easy but I no longer feel like I'm dying at the end of the 20 minutes. 

One side effect is that as I'm eating breakfast an hour or more earlier than I used to (I can't workout on an empty stomach and then need time to digest so I don't get indigestion), I'm finding I'm really hungry at 9ish. Any suggestions? 

30 Day Shred: Day 4

Woke up much less achey and it's definitely getting easier to step it up during the circuits. Still dripping with sweat at the end but it doesn't HURT which is nice!  

30 Day Shred: Day 3

Well that was a struggle getting started! Woke up particularly stiff and needed a lot of warming up before I felt I was exercising at the right level. The first circuit was particularly challenging (why oh why does she put press ups first??) but I got into it in the end. 

Lesson learnt from this morning: keep the door open, it got stiflingly hot in my lounge! 

30 Day Shred: Day 2

Woke up with sore shoulders and thighs, amazingly not sore abs! The Fitness Pilates class I've been taking is working. 

Completed level 1 again, definitely know it'll get repetitive by the 10th day! For the most part I'm still following Anita (she's the lower impact demonstrator) but trying to take it up a notch every so often. 

Feeling sweaty but good! 

30 Day Shred: Day 1

I am a broken woman.

But seriously, that was hard and I'm dripping with sweat but I feel good, if a little shaky! I really enjoy Jillian Michael's teaching style. 

We'll see how it goes tomorrow when I do it before work. 

And being me I've created an insert for my planner! 

It's Banditapple paper from a sample request I made a while ago. The paper is gorgeous to write on but as it was smaller than regular MTN inserts and larger than field notes I have known what to do with it. I needed 5 double page spreads for 5 weeks of food tracking so I slipped 3 sheets under the central elastic of my bullet journal. The front page is my exercise and measurements tracking and I'll use the back page for weekly measurements tracking. So I don't lose it I've added a large Martha Stewart tab to the side. 

Major weight loss set back!

I've been on a weight loss journey since January 2013, managing to lose over 2 stone in a year. I gave myself a target weight and a never-go-above-this-weight-again weight (NGATWA). I haven't had the most successful six months as I haven't got to my goal weight yet (2 and 1/2 stone below starting weight) but I've been successful in not going above the NGATWA weight ... Until this week. 

I turned 30 last week and have had a fabulously decadent week full of cake, barbecued meat and general gluttony. Unfortunately this translated to a telling off by the scales this morning: I've gone over the NGATWA weight. Only by 1lb but it signifies the amount I've let myself slip these past few months. I've not been tracking my food (having cancelled weight watchers in March due to non-use) and my fitness level has gone way down due to injury and general laziness. 

So this was a wake up call and I need to tackle the problem. 

What am I going to do about it? One number and two words: 30 day shred. 

What's that you say? Well here's the product description:

Jillian Michaels, the superstar of America's fitness trainers, is committed to getting big results. As your own personal trainer, Jillian will guide you through her exclusive 3-2-1 Interval System that combines strength, cardio and abs to blast through calories for a dramatic 30 day shred. The DVD includes three complete 20-minute workouts which progress by level of intensity. Start with Level 1 and advance through to Level 3- in no time you'll achieve a lean shredded body.

A couple of friends have tried it (I'm not sure if they completed it) and say it's hell for 20 minutes but you get results. The reviews seems to say the same thing.

Brilliantly we have 31 days until we head to the US, so I'm starting tomorrow. I'm going to get up early every day and do my 20 minutes, then blog about it. It also means I can track it in my planner! I'll take before, during and after photos, plus track my weights and measurements to see the change. I wish I had taken pictures and my measurements at the start of the entire endeavour but hey ho! I'll try and do a review with each week or 10 day level as well. 

I'll track my food consumption in my bullet journal then transfer to MyFitnessPal in the evenings. 

Wish me luck, and I'll see you tomorrow!