My 30 Day Shred, Results

So I did it you guys. I finished the 30 Day Shred. Actually, I finished a week ago, but haven't gotten around to taking before and after pictures. I say "haven't gotten around to it", like I've been soooo busy, and there wasn't a single second that I could have set up the tripod, but really... I just didn't want to.

You may or may not have read about the peanut fiasco (sorry, I'm not letting it go so easily, and will probably bring it up every day for the next month). If you don't feel like going and reading the original post, the overview is, my husband sabotaged my weight loss (unintentionally, he claims) by hiding an extra 600 calories in my would be healthy late night snack. This making my weight loss for the most part, a fail.

By now you've probably skipped over these past few paragraphs, and gone straight to the pictures. I had to up the antie on the dramatic visual effects, just like they would in one of those awful infomercials for various weight loss products that you see at 3am while feeding your should be sleeping through the night by now baby.

Sorry for the run on sentences today, I'm multi tasking. Between trying to write this blog entry' and trying to start my week, Monday is surely winning.

Lets talk about the Shred for a minute. Some of you found my blog by googling "30 Day Shred before and after", or "30 Day Shred results", maybe something similar. You're wanting to know how skinny it will make you. Right? I hate to break it to you, but miracles in the weight loss department, don't happen in 30 days. Unless you actually go on the show, The Biggest Loser, or land yourself in the hospital with some awful body eating disease, you're not going to lose the weight that you're probably looking to lose, in just one month. Who am I to tell you that, though? Hopefully you already know that, and you probably just going to google for reassurance that doing this workout routine will give you some kind of results. Hoping to find inspiration in somebody else who has already gone through it. You don't want to commit yourself to do something that isn't going to work. I know. I've been there. I think I even did those same google searches before I started the program myself. And what I learned is, your body isn't going to change, unless you want it to change.

The 30 Day Shred is not easy. It kicked my ass (was going to use the word butt, to make this rated "G", but butt doesn't sound as intense as ass does).

Did the 30 Day Shred change my body? Yes. Did I lose weight? Yes. "How much, how much?!?!" ...Ugh. I promised everyone I'd do this, so lets get it over with before my bravery dissolves into embarrassment.

After I posted those pictures, I buried my face in my hands, and peeked out through a crack in my fingers. As if you could see my cheeks flush? I hated posting these pictures. Hated. Hate hate hated. But I promised so many of you that I would, so I had to.

As you can see, not much of a difference. Because my total weight loss, throughout the entire 30 workouts, only added up to 4 pounds. But if you look closely enough, (which I hope you won't, because then you'll be able to see my wicked wedgie that makes these pictures that much more embarrassing. Even so, I wasn't about to retake them) you can see that things tightened up. In the first picture, with my back turned to you, my arm tattoos have a little less skin under them afterwards. Less fat, really. 30 days ago I could barely get down on my knees and do a girlie push up, and now I can hop down and do man push ups next to my husband. Not a lot of them, but its a start. Jillian gave me arm strength. In the middle pictures, the profiles, you can see that I carry a little less double chin, and... well that's about it. When I look at those pictures, I don't see much of a change at all. I don't see the change, and you probably can't either, but my measuring tape does. Thank god for my measuring tape. And in the last picture, the front view, I look fatter. Yep. Maybe because its that time of the month, or maybe because this time I took the pictures before working out, so my shirt isn't stretched in the least like it was after the first picture was taken. Either way... awesome *bangs head on desk*.

When I run into people at the store, or at the park, they all tell me how great I look, without me having to mention my constant workouts or fish for a compliment. Its flattering, and I really need to hear it, because after seeing these pictures, I feel like a failure. And did I mentioned I was sabotaged with a half a cup of peanuts a night? ...sorry. I told you I couldn't let it go. Along side the handful of people that have given me compliments, I have my trusty measuring tape to strangle me with sanity. I wrap it around my skin, pull it tightly, and it sings sweet melodies at me.

-bust: 44 ...44 (no change, I'm breastfeeding)
-bra Band: 36 ...35 (1 inch)
-waist (above belly button): 39 ...35 (4 inches)
-hips: 44 ...42 (2 inches)
-upper thigh: 23.5 ...22.5 (1 inch)
-lower thigh: 19 ...16 (3 inches)
-calf: 15.5 ...15 (.5 inches)
-upper arm: 12.5 ...12 (.5 inches)
-bicep flexed: 13 ...12 (1 inch)

So there you have it. I lost some serious inches.

My personal opinion of the 30 Day Shred, is that its a perfect jump start into a healthy lifestyle. Its given me the strength and endurance to challenge myself with new workout routines, and now I don't have to wear SPANX to get my pants buttoned. When I first started it, I didn't think I'd be able to get through an entire routine without throwing up, but turns out I could, and I did it 29 times after that. I graduated from level 1, to level 2, and eventually took on level 3. And if I can do it, anyone can do it.