Halfway through the 30 Day Shred

By now you're probably wondering how my body is adapting to the 30 Day Shred. Wanting to know if I've dropped weight, or inches, or dead? I'm still alive, barely. My muscles don't hurt nearly as bad as they used to, but when I wake up in the mornings I'm stiff like cardboard. Yesterday I finished my 15th workout with Jillian. I've moved onto level 2, but by no means does that make me a pro. I might as well call it level 1 1/2, after all of the alterations I've made. Level 2 was obviously designed for somebody with much more upper body strength than I currently have. I should try harder to do the moves, I know I should, but I've gotten bored with the routine, so I just replaces them with moves from level 1. They still challenge me, just, not enough to make me throw up the way Jillian intended. Me and planks just don't get along. I replace them with punches and bicycle crunches instead. That may or may not make me a 30 Day Shred cheater. I don't know if there are actual rules.

Moms. This DVD only takes 20 minutes to complete. There are 24 hours in a day. I know you can find 20 minutes. I've come to the realization that I'll never have complete privacy in my own home, so I do the workout in front of my kids. Who cares if they see me grunting and groaning, jumping and falling, sweating and spitting? Its good for them. Its good for them to see that I care about my body, and that exercise is important. Sometimes my toddler likes to pretend like shes working out with me, by holding her 1 lb pink hand weights and spinning around yelling "woohoo! I'm doing it!", and sometimes she'd rather go upstairs and play with her baby doll. My 6 month old baby likes to watch me dance from his swing, or use the sound of my Adidas hitting the floor as a soothing lullaby. Either way, I'm working out. They can complain all they want. They can have me for roughly 23 hours and 40 minutes of the day. This 20 minutes belongs to me. And it can belong to you too.

Who wants measurements? Ugh. That sounds horrible, haha. But for you, I'll do it.

Bust before: 44. Bust after: 44. = no change (please keep in mind I'm still breastfeeding).
Bra band before: 36. Bra band after: 35. = -1.
Waist (directly above belly button) before: 39. Waist after: 36.5. = -2.5.
Hips before: 44. Hips after: 43. = -1.
Upper thigh before: 23.5. Upper thigh after: 23. = -.5.
Lower thigh (directly above knee) before: 19. Lower thigh after: 16. = -3.
Calf before: 15.5. Calf after: 15. = -.5.
Upper arm before: 12.5. Upper arm after: 12. = -.5.
Bicep flexed before: 13. Bicep flexed after: 13. = no change.

Changes I've noticed in my body: I can do a push up like a man now. Yes, I only said, a push up. Not multiple, haha. Its taken me 2 weeks, but I went from barely being able to do a girlie push up on my knees, to actually being able to support my entire body's weight for a brief millisecond. Hot dog! That's a first for me. Never in my life have I been able to do a push up. Another change I noticed, is my stomach. I've had 2 kids, both C-sections. Things are stretched out, and mom-like. While looking in the mirror, I noticed that my Endometriosis laparoscopy scar, has disappeared. It used to be an ugly scar that stretched out about an inch or more below my belly button. Since starting the Shred, things have tightened up to the point of its disappearance. Its still there, only, its hiding inside my belly button where it belongs. Amazing. My arm flab is slowly transforming into muscle. When I flex, my arm actually does something now. My husband used to come up to me and feel my arm, and I'd be so embarrassed because I knew it was all fat. Not anymore baby, grab ahold and I'll take you to the gun show!

So in conclusion. Yes, I'm bored with the Shred. Could I challenge myself more... absolutely. I need to start doing all of the plank moves. I like this workout because it only takes 20 minutes. I like this workout because I'm gaining muscle. Have I lost any weight? I think in the beginning I lost all of two pounds. I've since banished my scale to the depths of the garage, never to return. I'll weigh in at the end of the 30 days, and see where I stand. Do I think I'm going to lose 20 pounds in 30 days? No.

Now if you'll excuse me, the husband and I have a hot date to see Transformers tonight, so I need to go powder my nose...