Day 21 - Level 3 is CRAZY! Happy All Hallows Eve:)

So I decided to shake things up and try level three for the next ten days and it is ridiculous!  It makes sense considering that it is the highest level, but I don't think that I got as good a workout as I was supposed to because I spent much of the time mastering how to do the moves.  Even with that I was feeling the crazy burn.  I have a friend who loves the burn and sometimes I try to tell myself I also like the burn (it is all about the denial), but I can't fake it with this.  So yeah, level three is a lot harder than I had anticipated and sadly I'm still following Anita (the person she tells beginners to follow - she modifies the moves so that it isn't as hard on your joints or as hard to do).  I say sadly because ideally I'd like to be following Natalie (the pro), but realistically I think that I can only follow Natalie 35% of the time, and even that might be pushing it.  But oh well, I'll still continue to try my best.
I didn't measure myself yesterday because I didn't have enough time.  I'm going to try to do it later today when I wake up.  I'll have to start making a plan for as to how I'm going to continue to exercise.  I really do need to hop back on a treadmill or go outside because the other day when I had to run for the train (I was willing to wait for the next one but it was late and my friend wanted to catch the one that was there) my throat was burning.  You know the burn that lingers for a few minutes later and where you kind of get that taste of blood or iron at the back of your throat.  Sounds really bad, but my friend said the same thing happened to her.  Running with just the clothes on your back and light running shoes is one thing, running with bags and heavy boots is another.  Even so, I don't have nearly as much stamina for that kind of cardio as I would like.  Something to add to my list.

Plutor

Happy Halloween!   This used to be one of my favourite holidays.  In a way it still is, but it isn't the same as when you were a kid.  It was so much fun!  Dressing up, getting candy, being up past your bedtime.  Oh and I will forever love how all the stations play Halloween movies and themed shows.  It is great!  I guess tomorrow the Christmas music will start to play and all the stores will be decorated if they aren't already.  Let the madness begin!  On the upside, Halloween candy should be dirt cheap.  I don't plan on going crazy over Halloween candy though.  I have my priorities;)

Day 20 - noticing change

So I did my workout last night and it went well as usual.  There I was collapsed and sweaty on my mat as usual.  One note that I guess I should make was the fact that a friend from work said "I feel like you are shrinking".  So yay!

Ahh I thought that it was day 19, but apparently it is day 20!  Crazy how fast time flies.  Only 10 days left in this experiment, but I am going to continue to workout.  Maybe not every day like today and not necessarily to the Shred video, but I will exercise.  Someone was telling me earlier that exercising can be addictive and I think that I got a taste of that earlier this year, but I definitely wouldn't say that I'm addicted to Jillian's regime.  No way!  Too hard!  Sometimes...most times it feels like I am suffering.  So yeah, after day 30 I'm going to find some other methods as well.  If only I'd suck it up and go for a run outside.  I used to run on the treadmill, but I have maybe a month and a half before the first snow fall.  It would be nice to take advantage of it.

As for measurements....well I will get to that soon.

Day 19 - Not much to report

So today was another day of collapsing on my yoga mat after my workout.  So yay to day 18 being done!  I think that I'm going to start wearing capris.  My pants feel like they have too much fabric when I am working out.   Otherwise there isn't much to report.  I didn't do much today.  No long walks anywhere, just sleep, work and home.  With Halloween coming up on Sunday it is so tempting to go buy tons of candy the day after when it all goes on sale.  We shall see how it goes.

Day 18 - Oh precious sleep, how I love thee

So I am working late this week and on my way home I kept thinking about how it would be nice to be able to go straight to bed from work.  So tempting, but I knew that I still needed to do my workout.  After half an hour of milling about I finally decided to press play.  Sadly, I started to think about how many more days I have left of this shred (12 to go) and, I must be honest, I am pretty excited.  It is more about not having to do this every day....and therefore being able to come home and be lazy and go straight to sleep.  I don't know how many inches or pounds I'll lose or muscle I'll gain but it has been enlightening.  I've been checking other blogs of other people who have done it for some encouragement or to know what to expect and I noticed that a few people said they advise incorporating more cardio.  But all I can think of is that that is more work:(  It is nice in theory but I love sleep.  But I just have to remind myself of how good it will feel to fit into my old clothes and not have to rotate between a few pairs of pants that still fit me or worrying when I go out what I should wear that fits and that looks good.  I have so few options because I refuse, unlike that lady from What Not to Wear advises, to buy new clothing one size bigger.  I just won't buy new pants until I can at least fit into my old ones.  I don't know I just feel like if I bought them, not only would it be incredibly depressing, but it would feel like I was giving in.  It'd be easier for me to accept the fact that I was letting myself go and to me that just isn't an option.

Day 17 - Great day! I love those:)

Checking in.....
Today's workout was still difficult, but it wasn't as bad as when I first started Level 2.  I don't think that my body temperature has ever felt this hot while exercising.  Jillian is crazy, but good.  The little things she says throughout the video are encouraging.  At one point she says that if you want to see change then you have to give it your all.  She's right.  It is often so tempting to just go through the motions at 30%.  The only problem with that is that you are only cheating yourself.  I guess we'll see how I've been doing when it comes up time for my weekly measurements.

ilya_ktsn

In addition to working out to Jillian, I went for a nice long walk in the forest for about 2 hrs.  It came in handy because I had some Kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage) and Tofu soup and Bimimbap (has veggies, egg, rice and a meat/seafood - I had beef) for an early dinner.  Fortunately, I split it with a friend because it was very filling, so we took our time eating it.  Overall I'd have to say that it is pretty healthy.  I love Korean food.  It is so delicious!  We decided to avoid the Korean BBQ, which is mouthwatering, but not necessarily as healthy.  I did cheat and have a cinnabon for dessert later on, but I was proud of myself for opting for the mini one instead of the big cinnabon, which is what I would previously have done.  So that is definitely something!
I've been buying those 100 calories bags of Smartfood popcorn in order to cut my chip/junk food cravings.  The small bags and the limited amount of calories has helped me combat my usual need to consume a big bag of chips.  I realize more and more that if this is going to be a lifestyle change I need to come up with ways to avoid relapsing into binge eating big bags of chips.  I think that this may be a way.  It is funny how they keep talking about moderation, but it is the exercising control part, at least for me, that, I think, will lead to moderation.

Day 16 - Sore feet and sweaty shirt

Tonight was another night of "OMG I don't think that I'm going to make it" and "is this workout over yet?"  So I guess that is a good thing.  I'm all sweaty and smelly, fortunately it is only me smelling it, but still.  

Today I did a lot of walking.  I walked all over downtown Toronto and even walked around Toronto Island.  My feet were so sore by the end of it.  I treated myself to some delicious Tibetan food (Dalai Lama is in Toronto and they had this article on best Tibetan restaurants in the city).  It was incredible!!!  We had this Hot and Sour Soup, a little Pad Thai and Beef Momo (Tibetan dumplings...I only had two).  If you ever get a chance, try it out.  Delicious!  Tibetan food was never something I had ever considered or not considered trying.  Fortunately I have adventurous friends who like trying different food from different cultures.  So glad we discovered that hole in the wall.  Definitely worth it!

Anyhoo, tomorrow will be another fun filled day of walking and exploring.  This time I am going to wear sneakers!

Day 15 - OMG Level 2 is no joke!

So I finally got 2lbs weights from the store (I got 5 lbs weights but quickly realized I was dreaming, so I was using cans for the past few days) and they are so much better than the cans!  2lbs weights made the workout more challenging for sure, so it was a worthwhile purchase.  I also knew that once I bought them I could finally start Level 2, which I did.  OMG did I suffer through that cycle!  It is no joke for sure!  There is definitely nothing easy about Level 2 at all!  At one point Jillian says something like you probably think I'm crazy and people say it all the time and yeah, that was exactly what I was thinking.  At the end of the workout I was flopped on my mat in exhaustion.  Despite the suffering, the burning and the exhaustion, I am very pleased with Level 2.  I think that there will definitely be some big changes if I continue to give it my all, eat healthy and do it every day.

Andrea Rinaldi

As for my eating habits, well today was pretty challenging.  I had some pretty bad food over the past 24 hours.  I went to a baby shower, so I had some cake (a small piece), a samosa and a couple other breaded miniature meat patty things and a couple mini quiches.  All of which were delicious.  Also, I wanted to do some experimenting so I made butter chicken, but I used Becel instead and used low fat yogurt and half and half cream (1/4 cup).  Over the past 24 hrs I had two servings.  On top of that I also caved when I was out with friends and had a slice of pizza (it had mushrooms on it - but also some bad stuff) because I made the mistake of not eating any dinner before I left.  I was making the butter chicken that night and was rushing to get ready while I finished cooking.  Very bad.  I tried to hold off for the longest while, but the smell was overpowering and I was starving.  Figures.  Oh well.  Lesson learned.  Always eat before going out because you're less likely to cave and eat bad stuff.  I'm supposed to go out with a friend from out of town over the next few days, show them around etc, so it will be a challenge, but I plan on enjoying myself.  Fortunately we'll be doing a lot of walking, but I'll still try not to over indulge.  As Jillian said in Level 2, I just have to think of going jean shopping or swimsuit shopping.  We all know how depressing that can be.  Speaking of which, I have to find an outfit to wear for my cousin's post wedding wedding reception, for those who couldn't make it to the destination wedding.  I have to check out my closet to see what I have.  Hopefully by the time Christmas rolls around I'll be able to fit into one of my old dresses from days gone by instead of having to buy something.  That would be nice.

Day 14 - not giving 100% and some whining

So I finished my workout for day 14, but I definitely didn't give it my all.  I'd like to blame my cold and sure it is partially that and my being tired, but really if I want to see change I have to shape up.  I sweat a little, but not as much as I could.  I definitely have to work on some of my form.  I think that I was also really distracted.  I have so much to do over the next few days that it won't even feel like I have days off.  I really have to learn how to say no to people so that I can get a break, but then again most of the time I just sit on my butt and do nothing so I guess it is nice to get out there.  What can I say, I'm Canadian and we like to complain?  Yeah, that's right, I said it:)  And it is true.  What I mean to say is that not too long ago I was complaining about how I don't really have a life anymore and that my job is destroying my social life.  Now that I have plans all the time, I am complaining that I don't have enough time to myself.  That old saying about being careful what you wish for is true.  It is not to say that I don't want to go to functions etc, but I would like one day to myself to do whatever I want.  Having no plans can be a lot of fun, so long as you are able to make plans with others when you want.  I need to stop complaining and start living --- and putting more effort into my workouts.

Measurements after 13 days on the Shred

In terms of inches lost - I stayed the same, which to me is better than gaining.  In overall pounds lost here's my present weight:

Weight : Last week  - 155.2 lbs  This week: 154.6 lbs  

Hooray!  I really am trekking along!  I am so happy!  Now, I must continue:)  

Day 13 - Lucky #13

Not much to say other than it went well.  Trekking along as usual.  Doing the late night exercise thing which seems to be working well enough, but I think that my body might be getting used to this routine.  So again, need to shake it up.

sivart13

In other news, I'm thinking about making Butter Chicken.  The only problem is that Butter Chicken isn't exactly healthy.  I was also looking up recipes for Caramel Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake at Starbucks that I haven't had in, what feels like, forever and Apple Fritters.  I think this is my minds way of coping with this whole eating healthy thing.  Maybe I can figure out a way of making these recipes healthier.  Is it a stretch?  It would be just such a waste.  Oh why must bad stuff taste soooo good?

Day 12 - Weird sounds

Day 12 - check!  Completed!

sunshinecity

I worked out at Level 1 again and I think I really need to get to Level 2.  Today definitely wasn't the day to go to level 2 though.  When I was doing jumping jax or doing jumping of any sort my stomach started making really strange sounds (it also felt really strange).  Actually, it reminded me of liquid jiggling around in there, but I'm pretty sure it was mostly air (my body still isn't used to all of those greens).   Throughout most of my workout I wasn't really functioning at my full potential, which was unfortunate.  I was pretty wiped out from work and battling this cold.  Why must colds be worse at night? When you want to sleep that is when your nose decides to become stuffed or decides to run.  All day long I've felt like my eyes are only partially open.  Hopefully I'll feel better when I wake up in the morning.  If not, it's more peppermint and ginger tea for me.

Day 11 - fighting a cold

Lucky number 11 is here, yay!  My workout went well today.  Really well actually.  I decided to stick to my working out after I come home.  The whole notion of being able to sleep after a workout is fantastic, to me.  What I need to work on now is the fact that I'm hungry when I finish work at 3am or 4am and often want something salty.  Today I just had a couple strawberries and some crystal light lemonade in order to cut the cravings.  Small steps.  This is definitely better than going through McDonald's drivethru, which was my old routine.  My poison of choice?  Combo #1 (Big Mac), with Large fries, Water (me being healthy - fooling myself was more like it), ketchup and three or more packets of McChicken Sauce (aka Mayo to the rest of the world).  I would mix two packets of ketchup with one packet of McChicken Sauce and make "special sauce" so that I could dip my fries (delicious).  I used to dream of the fries and the "special sauce".  That alone had me going to the drivethru at all hours of the night.  Then, when I was done eating it all, I would try to hide the evidence.  I would shift things around in the garbage, put it in the big garbage bag in the garage instead of the kitchen garbage, hide the wrappers in my car and/or under my bed (used to do this with chips bags as well... it started when I was a preteen).  All of this was done in order for others not to realize how much crap I ate and to convince myself that I didn't have a problem.  But to me that is a sign of a problem when you are almost always hiding the evidence.  Then I'd feel bad because I had to hide it and I knew why I was hiding it.  I guess we can only learn from our mistakes and move on.  That is the challenge.  Well that and not letting this cold that I feel coming on take a hold of me.  Here's to battling on!

Day 10 - trekking along

Checking in...

Day 10 is down in the books.  Just completed my workout at level 1 and it went well.  There are still parts where I struggle (lunges grrr and here I thought I had balance), but overall it isn't as bad as it was the first time I did it.  I definitely need to add some other exercises to my regime though.  Not sure what I will do, but I will let you know after it has been done.  Since I just measured myself on Saturday and I not going to measure and weigh myself until Saturday.  It should be interesting to see where I am at.  I don't expect a big loss, but it'd be nice to see that I'm still progressing.
Anyhoo.....as usual, I'm still looking for good healthy recipes in order to mix up what I eat.  I get so bored with so called healthy foods that I need to spice it up.  I wonder if stir fry is good for you.  I love the stuff.  I normally put about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in my wok, whatever meat or seafood I feel like at the time, a bunch of spices, a variety of veggies and then some vermicelli rice noodles.  Sounds healthy right?  Or does the whole frying it up in a wok ruin the healthy factor?

Day 9...errr...10...errr...11?

D Sharon Pruitt

Yeah, so I missed this weekend completely!  I guess it should be no real surprise, but it kind of was for me because I normally don't have so much going on.  In a way, I suppose I can say that I exercised on both days (Saturday and Sunday) because on Saturday I danced the night away and hobbled home thanks to my hot new shoes.  On Sunday I spent my evening traipsing through a Halloween themed amusement park and, once again, hobbled home (different shoes).  My feet never fully recovered from breaking in those new shoes on Friday and Saturday.  The sad part was that I actually got in soles for them on Saturday, but I didn't put it on the balls of my feet, which was where it was painful.  I suppose these are excuses for not exercising, but to be honest, Saturday I really did contemplate it, but the pain was too real and it was late.  As for Sunday, well.... I didn't even bother.  I mean I thought about working out, but quickly dismissed the idea in favour of defrosting under my covers.  Again, I could have done my workout in the afternoon, but I kept making excuses to myself about taking a nap on Sunday, which I did briefly, and running errands on Saturday, which I also did and took up far more time than I'd have liked.  So now I find myself two days behind schedule.  Also, by the time this is posted it is technically Tuesday, but really I started writing this on Monday, in case there is any confusion about being two days behind.
So what to do?

Cameron Casson

Resume.  I worked out tonight at Level 1.  I was going to start Level 2 on Day 9, but I am going to postpone it for a few days and just go for it when I am ready.  I find that when I plan things, I feel like there is so much pressure.  It kind of reminds me of school and being forced to make deadlines.  As so many people have told me, you have to be ready.  I think that I need a happy medium between the two.  Either way I guess I will pick up where I started.  I shall call this Day 9 of the Shred since technically that is the day I am on.  I must say though that I ate well this weekend.  Aside from drinking a ginger ale on Friday night, I had salad and salmon at the dinner on Saturday and didn't bother with the potato and on Sunday....wow Sunday was the ultimate of all temptations.  I resisted funnel cake AND a chip shop!  Yes, that is right, I, the chipaholic, resisted the chippery.  How did I miss this place when I was at this same theme park in the summer?!?!?!  I was pretty much standing right beside it and never really checked it out when I was there.  When I first saw the name of the place on Sunday it looked vaguely familiar, but I had assumed that it was some British place that sells fries, but no, oh no, they make fresh potato chips there in a whole bunch of flavours.  You even get to see them be made AND they are served HOT!  I must confess that amongst the three people who offered me, I said yes to one chip from one person and said no to offers of more.  The restraint I exercised even impressed me.  I was near salivating.  Oh and the funnel cake.  There are so few times that I actually get to have funnel cake....real funnel cake!  I watched people leave the shops with their big plates of funnel cake, strawberries and ice cream and told myself I could have one next summer.   There were a lot of temptations at the amusement park, but fortunately I didn't crumble.  I did do a lot of walking though and had fun.  So I'm happy about that.  I'm also happy to say that at the end of the night I didn't have any of those familiar feelings of guilt and disappointment that I normally have after overindulging in one of my favourite foods.

Day 8 - Program delays and toughing it out

So I just completed my workout at 2 in the morning.  I was soooo tempted to go to sleep and "make up" my workout when I wake up, but I knew that was as likely as me waking up early to go to the gym (not gonna happen - tried many times, but I turn off my alarm in my sleep).
The reason why I waited so late to do my session was because I was out dancing with a few friends.  I guess, technically, I did two workouts back to back.  The balls of my feet were killing me because I was breaking in a new pair of shoes.  Originally we were just supposed to go out for drinks, so I didn't think that we were gonna end up at a pub, but we did and ended up dancing because the dj was (just) okay.  When I got home I was debating whether or not to listen to the calls of my sweet sweet bed, but in the end I figured what was another half hour.  I'm glad I did because not only was the workout harder - sleepy, less balance so I needed more concentration, but I know that I can sleep easy tonight knowing that I did my workout.
Tomorrow I am going to start Level 2 - probably sometime in the afternoon.  I kind of snuck a peak at it and it looks quite challenging.  Guess I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.  Right now my bed is calling me, so goodnight or goodmorning:)

Measurements after 1 week of Shred

So after one week of doing the shred here are my measurements:


Waist:  Last week - 34 inches  This week - 33.5 inches

Hips: Last week - 44 inches     This week - 42 inches

Chest: Last week - 36 inches    This week - 35.5 inches

Thighs: Last week - 25.75 inches  This week - 25 inches

Arms: Last week - 11 inches     This week - 10.5 inches

Weight : Last week - 159.4 lbs (with jeans etc)  This week - 155.2 lbs

YAY!!!  I'm very happy with the progress I've made.  But as happy as I am with the results I don't want to get complacent which is what tends to happen to me.  I just have to focus on staying strong, no binge eating (my poison is chips - big bags of chips and cupcakes) and keep on exercising.

Day 7 - late post

I know I'm late with my day 7 post, but day 7 was officially completed yesterday.  Overall I'd have to say it went well.  My energy levels are definitely higher than they were before, so I've definitely noticed a difference.  I'm still having trouble with lunges, especially with my right leg.  They are so tough!  Just have to tough it out and try to maintain my balance (so hard).  Food wise, I'd say that I am doing well.  I keep snacking every few hours, but I'm mostly having healthy stuff.  Tomorrow I'm going to a friend's birthday dinner so that will be interesting.  I've never really been cool with ordering a salad at a restaurant. I think that I've only ever ordered a salad once in my life, not including when you order a burger and they give you an option of burger with fries or salad.  Fortunately we're gonna go dancing after so that should help me burn some of the calories that I may put on.  But I guess I'll treat it as my treat day.  I just have to remember to be good the next day.
Well since I forgot to write about yesterday, today there are going to be three posts.  The next post will be up shortly.

Day 6 of Shred - Just squeaked in

I was so tempted to go to sleep without doing my workout today, but I toughed it out and just finished ten minutes ago.  The temptation to just go straight to bed was intense, but I've made too many excuses in the past so I know if I break my routine now I won't hop back on.  Also, it is a little harder to make up Day 6 when Day 6 is done.  

All in all, it was a good workout.  I worked up a sweat and I think that I'm going to sleep with less covers tonight because I'm so hot right now.

Catherine asked what my goals are for the coming week and I've decided to attend two gym classes over the next week.  I've been a member of this gym for a few years now and I've only ever been to one class.  The class that I went to was intense too, which was surprising because its name sounded so calming.  Boy, was I surprised when I finished the class with no water left and my clothes fully drenched in sweat!  I haven't gone to another class because I like to make excuses: too tired, too busy, too shy.  Shy, yes, because I tend to put to much weight in what others think sometimes.  As I said below, that is something I'll have to work on.  Well, my first class will either be tomorrow or Friday.  I haven't decided yet.  I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

Bonsoir:)

Day 5 of Shred - Whipped

I don't know if it is the workout or the fact that I've been waking up at an obscene hour or maybe that I might be fighting off a cold that is going around my family, but I am exhausted!  I just finished my workout with Jillian...haha I say Jillian as if she is my personal trainer...well the video kind of is, but I'm getting off track.  So yeah, I just feel really tired right now.  I do tend to feel whipped and sleepy after working out, which is why I like to train at night or early so that I have enough time to pop in a nap after.  I wonder it is my body's way of saying give me some recover time.
Overall, I find that this is very challenging.  Not just the workouts, which kick my butt everyday, but also the healthy eating.  I just wish I knew more snacks to eat other than fruit.  I am sorry, but fruits can be sooo boring.  I went grocery shopping today and bought some strawberries, raspberries and blackberries so that i'd have something to snack on, but I know myself, I'll get bored of that in a few days.  I wish I knew recipes for healthy and delicious snacks.  As much as I love hummus, preferably in falafel, it just doesn't cut it for me.    Oh well.  I will have to do some research in that regard over the next few days.

Side note:  I saw this article about this person who put a McDonald's Happy Meal on a shelf six months ago and it was quite disturbing.  The Happy Meal didn't have any fungus on it.  The fries looked like cold fries, but that is it!  So surprising.  I'm expecting to hear that this is a hoax in a few days/weeks, but it definitely makes me think about what I am putting into my body whenever I eat McDonald's.  The really sad part about this is that my mind still strays to how good their food tastes.  Sad.  But I guess I'm still in food addiction recovery.  Always on my mind.  Every day is a battle, but it'll get better over time.

Day 4 of Shred - Lunges, Smunges

I say lunges, smunges (yes, I know it isn't a word, but it rhymes) because man, do I have a love-pain relationship with them.  The set in Level 1 of the Shred are tough in my opinion, but I suck at lunges.  Here are a few things that I have learned over the short period that I have had doing lunges:
1) I suck at them
2) They make my legs burn
3) I'm not really a fan of my legs burning
4) I know that the fact that my legs burning is good so I try to tough it out
5) Lastly....Doing lunges in your barefeet hurts your toes.
Despite all of the above, lunges are supposedly effective.  I, like so many, have dreamed of slim thighs that don't touch or at least that don't touch so much that the most worn part on all my pants isn't the inner thigh area.  Honestly, some of my pants feel like velvet in that area (jeans included).  I've even had to retire some pants because they've gotten holes there.  It also doesn't help that I'm not a fan of shopping.  Shopping for clothes and shoes can be frustrating.  It would be nice not to have to get my pants adjusted or a dress adjusted because nothing fits properly (I'm very much a pear).  But, oh well, that is my present reality.  As for shoes, for some reason shoe stores tend to only carry one or two pairs in my size (10 or 11 depending on the store).  Every time I go into this one store they always say that they can order my size for me, but I have to pay for them first.  I haven't even tried them on!  They say they'd do an exchange if it didn't fit or if I didn't like it, but that is too much hassle for me.  I don't want to buy a pair of shoes that I haven't tried.  This was also the same store where the salesperson told me that they only carry two pairs in my size and that she wears the same size as me.  Hint! Hint!  In other words, she nabs one before they even hit the shelves.  But whatever, I don't blame her!  C'est la vie!  Shoes are fun, but I am trying to be more fiscally responsible for the next little while.  Eating healthier should hopefully work to my advantage.  It mostly relies on me not eating out as much.
Anyway, I decided not to weigh myself until the morning of Day 8 because then it should be a whole week.  I will also bust out the measuring tape and take my measurements to see if there are any physical changes.  I have already noticed that climbing stairs aren't as hard as they were this time last week.  Yay for small steps!
As they say in Italy, Ciao! Ciao!

Day 3 of Shred - Working on Moderation. A definite work in progress

Day 3 is down yay!
Today I bought five pound weights from Walmart.  I picked up the two and three pound weights first and thought that those would be too easy, but how foolish I was.  I wish I had at least compromised on the three pound weights.  Some of the moves I couldn't even do with the five pound weights.  It was, oh, so sad.  I couldn't even lift the weights as high as my eyes with my arms fully extended in front of me.  Oh the burn.  My arms are pretty weak not to mention sore....well everywhere is sore.  Jillian is kicking my butt:)  Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, Walmart and all the other stores will be closed, so I'm going to have to use a couple cans tomorrow and get the three pound weights on Tuesday.  Hopefully by the end of this I'll be able to use the five pound weights again.  I just don't want to strain anything.

Food wise, I cheated.  Here's the run down of the bad stuff:  I ate a couple (15, yes I counted) smarties (which are like m&m's but smaller for those who don't know what they are) , one oatmeal raisin spice cookie and two mini samosas.  However, I did eat well today.  Plenty of bran flakes, yogurt, eggs, salad, a little basmati rice and some canned salmon.  I also declined an invite to go out to eat tonight.  I figure what is the point of eating out when I'll only be tempted to eat bad stuff and at this stage I think it would be too much temptation for me.  Maybe in a few weeks when I have more will power.  Instead I stayed home and made curry chicken, which was delicious.  Tomorrow's lunch is going to be great!  Don't you just love that feeling?  You know, the one where you are excited about what you're going to eat because you know it is good.  I just have to remember not to go overboard and binge eat just because it tastes so good.

Working on this whole will power thing definitely takes practice.  I guess I just have to keep in mind that treats are okay every once in a while, but in moderation.  Moderation.  There's a word that I never fully understood.

Day 2 of Shred

Well I went to work today and when I came home it was beautiful outside.  Now, you might think that I was about to say that I decided to take a nice walk or jog to soak in this lovely fall weather, but no.  Instead I opted to watch Legion while I contemplated my dinner and what I would take to work for lunch.  Dinner was pretty healthy.  I had leftovers from yesterday (courtesy of allrecipes.com) which was a little rice, some garlic and parmesan cauliflower with chicken.  I ended up chopping some veggies and added that to my rice and chicken leftovers so that I could bring that for lunch tomorrow too.  I made sure it was more veggies than anything else (red bell peppers and spinach - I love peppers).  I figured I'd be nice to my co-workers and not eat garlic parmesan cauliflower for lunch, even if I do bring a toothbrush with me to work.

 I did my workout before preparing for bed again and I feel like I am feeling it more today.  When I went to sit down just a few minutes ago my legs were definitely sore from those squats.  So I'm pretty pumped about that:)  Those pushups and squats are harder than I thought.  Also, who'd have thought that jumping jacks and skipping rope would be tiring or am I just that out of shape?  All in all, I'm still struggling with temptation here and there.  I have managed to limit myself to a couple candies or joubjoubs today, but yay to day two without chips.  Tomorrow is another day so I'm gonna go cold turkey!  I also tried an Americano Bold from Starbucks today and it was pretty darn good.  I really needed it at one point today when all I wanted to do was sleep.  If you're wondering how much sugar I put it, I put two splenda packs and used Skim Milk.  So yay to progress on day two:)  I have to drink more water though.  Fortunately I found my water bottle so I can use it tomorrow and in future.   I figure that I might weigh myself on Monday to see how I've done over the past three days.  I just have to remind myself that if I don't see any weight loss it doesn't mean that I haven't made any improvements.    I wonder if it is better to wait a full week before weighing myself though.  I guess I'll see how I feel on Monday, which is Thanksgiving here.  Oh the temptations, but I'm going to be strong.  Turkey has never been a favourite for me anyway.

Day 1 of Shred

So day one is down in the books for me.  I only did the 20 min workout on level one and I must admit that it was tough.  I even broke a sweat.  I also got a reality check when I hopped on the scale and realized that in the past two months I put on 10 lbs.  (insert big sigh here).  It is so easy to start the woe is me rant and why do I do this to myself, but that woe is me rant normally involves a big bag of chips and me making excuses about going to start eating healthy next week.  I said that to myself the second last week in August and I'm pretty sure a few days later I was chomping down on another bag of chips.  But there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.  Just got to suck up the pride and start eating healthy.  No more caramel macchiatos, I guess.  Peppermint tea with one sugar it is.
The biggest challenge for me, I think, will be work.  I'm a shift worker and working those crazy hours and being exhausted results in me drinking coffee.  What is my favourite coffee to drink that I know will help me make it through the early hours?  Starbucks.  What am I going to do tomorrow when I am exhausted out of my mind?  Not sure.  Maybe an Americano?  We shall see.  Any suggestions?  I guess we'll see how tomorrow goes.  I think that I'm going to force myself to do 1/2 hr on the elliptical tomorrow in addition to my Jillian Michaels video.
Otherwise, I did fairly well today.  I did have a small piece of my nephew's pizza today and two candies.  Otherwise I ate fairly healthy.  Tomorrow is another day:)

Measurements

So it begins.

Waist: 34 inches

Hips: 44 inches

chest: 36

thighs: 25.75 inches

Arms: 11 inches

Weight (with jeans etc): 159.4 lbs  (tomorrow I'll weight myself in the morning)

Goal weight: 133lbs
Ideally, I'd love to lose inches off my hips, thighs and waist, but keep my chest.
I've always wanted to be able to wear size 7 pants.  Why?  Because there always seems to be so many of them on the racks and never any of my size.  It'd be nice to able to fit into those size jeans.

My promise to myself is to check in every day no matter how tired I am.  Just for a quick update on what exercise I did for the day and if I ate healthy.  Since I've rediscovered my love for cooking, thanks mostly to allrecipes.com.  I need to find more healthy recipes to test out.  Perhaps tomorrow I will make Butternut Squash soup.  We shall see.  I don't want it to go bad before I use it.  Anyhoo, until tomorrow:)

30 day shred

Okay, so yeah it has been a while, but I've found something new to, hopefully, motivate me.  More than the fact that my face is a lot rounder and my clothes are tighter.  I am going to try Jillian Michaels 30 day shred.  I got the triple pack of dvds from walmart for $20.  It has the Yoga Meltdown, Banish Fat Boost Metabolism (BFBM) and the 30 day shred.  I am going to do the thirty day shred everyday and the Yoga Meltdown and BFBM every other day.  Couple that with going to the gym we shall see how it goes.  I'll take my measurements later today so that we can see my progress.