Jillian Michaels is kicking my butt…

So it’s been about eleven days since I started Jillian Michaels‘ 30 Day Shred workout. It’s brutal, and I’m still on level 1. Tragic, right? I also haven’t noticed a change in my body yet, but I wasn’t expecting to see those changes yet, especially since I’m still on the first level.

Fortunately, it is getting easier. I’m able to keep up with the workout without feeling quite as strained. I literally float through the final cardio bit, and die again during the abs circuit at the end. At this point, I’ve decided to move on to level 2 starting this Sunday. Depending on how the first day goes, I might come back to level 1 until I truly master it, but we will see.

I’ve been eating a lot better since I started the workout. I eat smaller portions at dinner, and I only have a sandwich and a piece of fruit for lunch. I also have fruit and cereal (cold or hot) for breakfast with a glass of water.

I thought now would be a good time to evaluate how my goals that I shared earlier were going.

GOALS:

1. To feel healthier. I’m not sure what this will entail yet, but some days I feel bad, and hopefully moving around a little bit more every day will help me feel better more days out of the week. I do feel better most days, and I’ve found that I have a much easier time falling asleep at night.
2. To look healthier/happier. Hopefully I’ll be able to trim away a couple of lbs, but really, I just want to have that happy glow that endorphins give you. Not sure how this is going because there are other stressors in my life that are affecting my appearance (slight change in responsibilities at work for the last week)
3. To keep working out daily after the 30 day Shred is over. Definitely hasn’t changed yet.
4. Drink more water everyday. I currently drink a little over one 32oz Nalgene BPA free bottle of water everyday. I’d like to be up to two a day at the end of these 30 days. Well, this has changed. I drink a glass of water in the morning, 32oz at work, another 8-16 oz while working out, 3-4 glasses at dinner, and then some more afterwards. Each glass is about 16oz, so this comes to at least 72oz a day, which is perfect! I’m very happy with this!

So in addition to this, Chris and I have decided to try GM’s diet during our first week of summer break. The first link that he found (I think via Pinterest) is here. But a better and more detailed explanation can be found on the official website here. I don’t know how well this will actually go, but it might be interesting. I can’t wait to give it a try! Hopefully by then, Jillian Michaels and I will be friends and I’ll be working out on level 3. (Dreams do come true…IN SANTA FE… Sorry, I can’t resist Newsies references!)

Related articles

• Feeling Healthier… (stephanieisms.wordpress.com)
• Looking Inside Yourself. (stephanieisms.wordpress.com)
• Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 (myadvegture.wordpress.com)
• Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred Review (healthcue.wordpress.com)
• Ripped in 30, Week 3 (funfitchic.net)

Looking Inside Yourself.

Over the last few weeks, and especially the last few days, I have taken a look at me. I mean, I have been really delving into what makes me who I am, and how I can improve myself in different ways.

One of the first things I realized, was that I need me time. I take some time to myself, but I need a different type of me time. I need to go on an adventure alone, or try something new alone. I need to embrace my independence as a woman of the 21st century, and really experience some of life. I don’t know what all of this means yet, but I know it needs to happen. I’ll probably start with taking the time to go out on my own this weekend. Central Park might just be calling my name! Maybe I’ll wander the High Line, or visit Astoria. All I know is I need to go out on my own and take in some sights.

I also realized that I want to exercise. Yes, exercise. I want to do something that makes me feel good, something that works as a killer stress relief, something that can really beat the anxiety and frustration out of me. This deep desire led me to the cruel but wonderful Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I wrote about this late last Friday, and I started the workout on Sunday. It’s brutal. It’s painful. It’s tough. But when I’m first done with my workout, I feel so accomplished, so it’s all worth it. About an hour later, I realized how much pain I was in. My upper-back was sore, and the front of my thighs were burning every time I walked up or down stairs…not a good thing when you live in a city that is built up and down. So I called my dad. I explained the pain I was feeling to him, and what stretches Jillian Michaels had recommended that I didn’t think were working for me. We talked for a few minutes and came up with some alternative stretches that I feel more, and I’ll be incorporating them into my cool-down tonight. Hopefully, that will help, and I’ll be a little less sore tomorrow.

Another thing I realized is that there are some things that I do that I later realize aren’t the best choice, and I decide to try to be better and not do it next time. Sometimes, it works, and I do improve. But there are somethings that are still a huge struggle and I don’t quite manage to keep up with it. For example, I realized that the breakfasts I was having weren’t doing much for me. They didn’t make me feel better and healthier like I hoped. So I tried a green smoothie. I used Linda Wagner’s recipe from her blog (you can read it here). I really liked it. It tasted good, I felt better. But I got lazy, and couldn’t get myself to make it every morning. And I didn’t always remember to put the ingredients on the shopping list. So I started making excuses. But like I said at the start of this blog,

people only fail when they do something along the lines of quitting for good. Taking a break is one thing. Totally fine. Heck, even if it’s a twenty year break, it’s still fine. The problem arises when you are too scared to come back to a project and it keeps you away.

So I need to keep taking my own advice, and even when I struggle with some of this stuff, I need to keep going and not give up. I need to be strong, and so do you! Because, as Davey says in Newsies,

“Now is the time to seize the day, stand down the odds and seize the day. Minute by minute, that’s how you win it. We will find a way, but let us seize the day. Courage can not erase our fears. Courage is when we face our fears.”

And so,  I need to face my fears of failure, and stand up and try to “Seize the Day.”