Day Twentyseven: Seeing results.

Okay, so basically I've lost half of what they say you can lose doing this workout but I'm absolutely not unhappy with the results I'm seeing. For one, I would have lost a lot more if I hadn't taken that break down in the boarders. I gained back a bunch in just a couple days and it took me about a week to get back to where I had been. Now, I've put a lot of thought into that and you can look at it in one or two ways.

You could look at that and say "Well, if you gained it back just by taking a break in the middle, you won't keep it off when the program is over." And, sure, that's probably true if you think you're just going to do a program like this and then go back to all your old bad habits that you were stuck in before you decided to make a change. But isn't that true of anything? I mean, no matter what exercise program you're working through, if you hit your goal with it and then stop and eat a full fry up for breakfast every morning after that, of course you're going to gain back all the weight you worked so hard to knock off.

So the other option is that you can look at that and say "This is just the first step in a whole new way of life." You have to change your life and how you think about food and fitness if you're going to make a change and keep it. I mean, of course I don't want to be super militant with foods my whole life, but I don't even really think that's necessary anyway. As long as I keep a fair head with it and stop thinking everything results in me "deserving" to eat something horrible for me, I'm halfway there. If I can get myself to the point where I'm really enjoying my workouts and looking forward to them each day then I'm definitely winning the race. And I think that's exactly where I am. I've found super healthy alternatives that I really, really enjoy when it comes to food. I mean, kale burritos are actually really good! Who knew?! And while I may start to get tired of certain workouts after awhile, if I just keep switching it up (which is one of the great things about the 30 Day Shred) then I still absolutely love getting them done each day. EVEN WHEN IT'S HARD.

I'm basically learning that the more I do, the happier I am. So I've been adding a ton of cardio and ab work along with my daily Jillian video. Combined, it seems to be really effective. I don't always do the same stuff, but just making that effort seems to be what it's all about.

Day Twentysix: Nearly there!

Tonight was definitely a late workout, but I've gotten to the point now where I don't feel like my day is complete if I haven't gotten it in. YAY! This is definitely what I was going for with my workout routines. Even today where I didn't get it in earlier because we spent a few hours walking, which isn't a bad exercise all on it's own, I couldn't let the day go without it and feel right. Although, a few seconds after completing the cardio in the last circuit (all jump training) I realised that my downstairs neighbours probably didn't quite appreciate that bit :/ Oops. Hopefully no one was trying to sleep right below me!

I know I won't be "ripped" or have six pack abs magically appear in the four days I've got left, but I'm still so glad that I followed this workout to kick everything off. It's been awesome making it through all the level switches and the dropping weight. I've still got a lot left to lose, but this is a great way to start losing and I'm glad I found it!

Only four more days now!

Day Twentyfive: Going strong!

I forgot to post earlier but I didn't forget to do the workout! I've actually added a TON of ab stuff to my daily routine before my daily 30 day shred and OH. MY. SCIENCE. My abs have been so sore! My lower back too, because I've thrown in a bunch of reps of bridge pose to boot. But in any event, I've been feeling great and am really happy to have my elliptical machine working again (thanks, Giant!)

I definitely feel like every day I'm keeping my routine is a day that I'm happier and feeling better. Plus I'm dropping weight pretty quickly and that in itself is self perpetuating.

On the food side of things, I've been pretty annoyed with the lack of decent salsas available here and since my mother in law was nice enough to buy us a fancy new blender on a whim last weekend, I decided to try my hand at it. I didn't look up a recipe and I only used the limited ingredients available at Morrison's, but I'm actually quite proud of my first go with it! Plus, it's really pretty good for you too as there's nothing bad in it at all.

Earlier this week I ran across this thing about making gluten free wraps by wrapping it all up in collard greens instead of tortillas! Genius! So tomorrow I'm going to give my new salsa a go in a collard green wrap. I'm oddly excited about this whole prospect.

Day Twentfour: Ramping up.

Here I am, nearly halfway through level three! I think the closer I get to the end, the more I want to add to my exercise routine. This is definitely the way to go. I know the more I'm able to add in, the faster I'll get my results. And, with all the extra time I have right now, it's a great time to be getting it all in. I know if I can build the habits now, I'll be more likely to keep them going when I've got a lot more work coming in and time isn't as free as it is just now. Honestly though, last time I was at my goal weight and feeling the best, I was actually doing five hours of yoga a day AND I WAS WORKING OVERTIME EVERY DAY TO BOOT! So it's possible. Totally possible. Although, just now I'm doing a lot more high intensity stuff and it probably wouldn't be good to be doing THAT much aerobic-style workouts. Still, it's amazing to look back on. Especially since, at the time, I wasn't even trying to lose weight-I was just trying to be happy. It definitely worked for that as well.

I continue to go back and forth about what program I want to follow when this one is over. Ripped in 30 is still what I keep coming back to. I was thinking of switching over to Bob Harper's Weight Loss Yoga when I switch over to the new program from Yoga Meltdown but I haven't totally decided on that one either. Indecision, indecision.

Today I did an hour on my elliptical AND an hour or sit ups, crunches, and leg lowers on top of the usual! Yep. I was totally motivated today and feel all the better for it.

Day Twentythree: Don't cave.

So, I missed yesterday. I don't have any valid excuses, I just missed. Actually, yesterday I wasn't so much the me that I want to be. I woke up to bad news and I let it beat me. I pouted and felt sorry for myself all day long. How embarrassing is that? I knew I should have gotten up and worked out anyway, but I just didn't. I'm positive that I spent more time thinking about how I didn't want to work out than I would have spent just getting up and getting it done. But yesterday I let it beat me and I didn't do anything about it.

Today I got back on the circuit. It may have taken me several hours to psych myself up for it, but in the end I did it. Now I'm sweaty and just really glad that I did it. I feel so much better when I just do it.

I am kind of bummed that my weekend visiting the in laws and just eating what I was offered set me so far back. I gained a lot of the weight I had lost back in just those two days. Now I'm still a pound over what I had been when I left and that's mostly leaving me a bit aggravated that I basically lost a week in two days. In any event, I think I've figured out how to do that better next time. I really think that the dietary stuff isn't the biggest part of it-although that could stand to be tweaked a little as well. Just things like skipping the roll and the black pudding at breakfast and the obvious portion size part of things. But mostly I think I just need to get some exercise in while we're there. There's always a big chunk of the day after we go see his granny that we end up just bumming around for. Recently I ran across some walking routes that are set up around Melrose that are pretty decent. I think the smaller of the two is 4 miles. Next time we go, I'm going to give that a go and I expect it will make a pretty big difference.

So I guess my theme today is "don't cave". It's easy to do, but it's so not worth it and in the end it's how we respond to set backs that really matter and not so much the set backs themselves. That's my theory anyway...

Day Twentytwo: I heart Level Three!

It's funny because I had been all geared up to hate level three after someone in my 30 Day Shred Facebook group posted about how much she had enjoyed the first two levels and then totally hated the last one. I'm glad it wasn't that way for me though! Far from dreading it, I absolutely love it! The hardest one for me in this series was definitely level two, but even there, I wouldn't say that I hated it. It was just so much harder for me!

It's almost weird being this close to the end of my first 30 day shred! I am so glad I started this blog to keep me going-I know there have been many days this blog gave me the extra motivation I needed to get up and do it.

I should give my cross trainer another go tonight. It sits there and taunts me because I absolutely LOVE my cross trainer at my old gym but this one is squeaky and positioned differently, and I just can't seem to find my groove on it. I guess you can't have it all when it's free, huh? :)

Day Twenty & Twenty One: A bit of a mashup.

So here I am back from our weekend away and back on track. I did try and do my last round of Level Two last night after we got back, but it just wasn't happening. I started it twice, but my curry (the last non-diet food of the weekend) just wasn't sitting right and I got really sick and had to stop. I really, really wanted to finish out yesterday, but I also really, really didn't want to throw up. So the compromise was to leave it till today but to finish Level Two in the morning and then ramp up to Level Three in the afternoon! That worked great! AND didn't make me feel like I'd fallen quite as behind.

I love Level Three. Seriously. Level Three is definitely just as hard as the others, but something about it is just a lot more fun for me personally. It might be the yogaish parts and the jumptraining, but  whatever the case, I can already tell that this part is going to fly by! I've already even started considering doing it twice a day just because.

I think in a way it was good to be out of town this weekend, just so I could see how much I miss being away from my routine when I can't get it in. It's definitely my goal to make these circuits a natural part of my daily routine and I'm starting to feel like that's happened! Awesome!

It was also pretty interesting to see how my body reacted to eating all the foods that I've given up since January. I think it's pretty safe to say that I feel a lot better when I stick to my new diet! I was almost immediately more tired and just kinda gross when I ate all that stuff. That being said, I had really missed the full Scottish breakfast, so I was more than happy to have one even though it didn't sit as nicely as my fruit does. Every once and awhile, that sort of thing is just kind of necessary I think.

In any event, I'm really glad to be back and moving through the 30 Day Shred again! I'm leaning back towards doing the Ripped in 30 when I'm done with this program. I'd still love to do some kettlebell work, but I think I'd much rather do that with a trainer at first till I'm comfortable with it and that'll have to wait.