So, here I am only 1 full week in, and throwing in the towel on Making the Cut...
The thing is, I have an extremely full life, full of children, play, work, housework, garden work, sick family members, a big goofy dog and a wonderful husband.
This past weekend I fell off the wagon, I went to visit a family member in the hospital and was out of town for supper, at the request of his wife (and quick affirmation from my kiddies) we ended up at McDonald's, I felt horrible and I had a salad with grilled chicken instead of a burger or fries.. and it clicked that I shouldn't feel that bad. I made the best choice I could. And other little things, like cutting up a mango for my kids and denying myself a cube.. really wanting a second piece of toast and making myself wait until lunch time.
I think Jillian Michaels is a fabulous trainer, I respect her very very much. Her exercises work, her drive is contagious. This book I am confident would work for the right person.
For me, right now, it's becoming a big burden in an already stressful life. Having to make special meals, denying myself the pleasure of an occasional glass of wine, and fitting in an hour long workout in the house when the weather is becoming beautiful and all I want to do is take my dog on a sprint.. and instead being stuck inside it's just not working for me right now. Also I can't afford to cook chicken and steak every night.
I may revisit this again though... for now I will continue with what I know works for me, but incorporate a lot of her moves from the book into my daily routine. I don't have a final event that I have to push for to 'peak'.. I just want the best me, and maybe not be so afraid of my swimsuit.
Thanks for reading :)
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Friday 4 May 2012
Day 4
Day 4 and I'm down 2.2 lbs.
I've been eating the meals she suggests, not all the same as on the menu but haven't been deviating from her meal ideas. The next week will be much easier as I can adapt 'my' meals for the whole family - this past week I had a couple of extra daycare kids staying for supper, very fussy eaters who would 'yuck' at any Jillian meal unfortunately.. also it's quite pricey at times - no sense spending all that time, energy and money on a meal that will not get eaten. My own kids may not eat all of the things but they will eat some parts of the meals at least. And it will be easier not making 2 meals :)
Looking forward to working out tonight.. not much pain after but I feel the burn during - gonna step it up tonight and any exercises I can't do I will add some resistance band exercises. Hoping the rain holds off so I can add a sprint with my pup afterwards :) I may go on my own just the same though :)
So far, so good.
I've been eating the meals she suggests, not all the same as on the menu but haven't been deviating from her meal ideas. The next week will be much easier as I can adapt 'my' meals for the whole family - this past week I had a couple of extra daycare kids staying for supper, very fussy eaters who would 'yuck' at any Jillian meal unfortunately.. also it's quite pricey at times - no sense spending all that time, energy and money on a meal that will not get eaten. My own kids may not eat all of the things but they will eat some parts of the meals at least. And it will be easier not making 2 meals :)
Looking forward to working out tonight.. not much pain after but I feel the burn during - gonna step it up tonight and any exercises I can't do I will add some resistance band exercises. Hoping the rain holds off so I can add a sprint with my pup afterwards :) I may go on my own just the same though :)
So far, so good.
Tuesday 1 May 2012
End Day 1
So the first workout was pretty hard, but I'd rate it around level 2 of the 30 day shred. What is apparent to me is that it's really tough to have your workout schedule and the exercises in the same book - I spent too much time flipping around trying to find what I was supposed to be doing! I'm sure once I've done all of them I'll be okay though, or I could photocopy the exercises ( I have a scanner/photocopier/printer at home).
I'm not sure I did it all right though because I'm not all that sore (yet) I took her advice and finished up with 15 mins cardio (a quick walk with Simba). I could not perform one of the exercises because you need gym equipment. Once I get a bit better organized and confident I'll add some resistance band exercises of my own, as most that I can't do have some form of resistance - it won't be the same, but better then skipping them altogether.
I'm not very sore, but often found myself shaking and hardly able to perform the last few reps more than a few times, so I'm guessing the pain will arrive later.
Food-wise, I had a good day. Breakfast was the toughest for me because I do not like a big breakfast.. unless it's the weekend and I've been up for hours. But I ate most of it! No morning snack may take some getting used to - I had peppermint tea instead. Lunch was yummy, a couple of small wraps with broccoli, turkey, jarred roasted red peppers, mixed with cream cheese, Italian dressing and all sauteed together before wrapping - yum! I added a handful of cherry tomatoes to my plate to make it prettier ;)
Supper was tougher, I made a pizza for the kids (I have 2 extra all week) and Jillian's Reuben sandwiches for Tom and I - Tom ended up having a slice anyways, but I did good. It was a meal meant for lunch but at 500 calories I think it was fitting for supper anyways, and I just don't have time this week to make 2 big meals. Next week I'll be able to adapt it to fit our family and it will be easier.
So Day 1 = Big success.. :)
I'm not sure I did it all right though because I'm not all that sore (yet) I took her advice and finished up with 15 mins cardio (a quick walk with Simba). I could not perform one of the exercises because you need gym equipment. Once I get a bit better organized and confident I'll add some resistance band exercises of my own, as most that I can't do have some form of resistance - it won't be the same, but better then skipping them altogether.
I'm not very sore, but often found myself shaking and hardly able to perform the last few reps more than a few times, so I'm guessing the pain will arrive later.
Food-wise, I had a good day. Breakfast was the toughest for me because I do not like a big breakfast.. unless it's the weekend and I've been up for hours. But I ate most of it! No morning snack may take some getting used to - I had peppermint tea instead. Lunch was yummy, a couple of small wraps with broccoli, turkey, jarred roasted red peppers, mixed with cream cheese, Italian dressing and all sauteed together before wrapping - yum! I added a handful of cherry tomatoes to my plate to make it prettier ;)
Supper was tougher, I made a pizza for the kids (I have 2 extra all week) and Jillian's Reuben sandwiches for Tom and I - Tom ended up having a slice anyways, but I did good. It was a meal meant for lunch but at 500 calories I think it was fitting for supper anyways, and I just don't have time this week to make 2 big meals. Next week I'll be able to adapt it to fit our family and it will be easier.
So Day 1 = Big success.. :)
It's Today, It's Today!
This morning I feel like shouting out the old saying "Today is the first day of the rest of my life" or something similar!
I woke up this morning and felt at peace with the next 30 days. I wasn't sure what the morning would hold for me. I feel ready for the challenge and inspired. I feel hopeful and positive - I have a lot of trust in what Jillian Michaels is proposing.. Having studied the food and the exercises, I feel certain I will see results if I push myself. This is unlike other challenges I have done, this time there is nobody looking over me to make sure I don't cheat out of the last 10 reps.. there is no crowd awaiting my arrival with hugs and tears. This time it's just me... my body and mind.
I'm hoping you are there too though, pulling for me and holding me accountable. I have taken pictures that even my sweet husband was hard pressed to find a compliment for...
I already know it will be tough to get through the amount of food she wants me to eat for breakfast. I am a notorious breakfast skipper - because I don't like to eat when I wake up. I have in the past few months been relying on instant breakfast drinks... this morning I had a bowl of cereal and I choked down 1 of 2 scrambled eggs.. but I know I have to do it so I don't want to eat before lunch or overdo lunch!
I'll write again tonight after the first workout.. if I can still move my arms ;)
I woke up this morning and felt at peace with the next 30 days. I wasn't sure what the morning would hold for me. I feel ready for the challenge and inspired. I feel hopeful and positive - I have a lot of trust in what Jillian Michaels is proposing.. Having studied the food and the exercises, I feel certain I will see results if I push myself. This is unlike other challenges I have done, this time there is nobody looking over me to make sure I don't cheat out of the last 10 reps.. there is no crowd awaiting my arrival with hugs and tears. This time it's just me... my body and mind.
I'm hoping you are there too though, pulling for me and holding me accountable. I have taken pictures that even my sweet husband was hard pressed to find a compliment for...
I already know it will be tough to get through the amount of food she wants me to eat for breakfast. I am a notorious breakfast skipper - because I don't like to eat when I wake up. I have in the past few months been relying on instant breakfast drinks... this morning I had a bowl of cereal and I choked down 1 of 2 scrambled eggs.. but I know I have to do it so I don't want to eat before lunch or overdo lunch!
I'll write again tonight after the first workout.. if I can still move my arms ;)
Monday 30 April 2012
Fresh Start
So here are the starting stats, I'm not ready to post a 'goodbye' pic - yet...
Weight: 137.2 (after a last ditch binge weekend...)
Bust: 36
Waist: 29.5
Hips: 37
Arms: 12
Thighs: 22
Pulse after 3 min stair climb : 113 (average)
Push ups in 1 min : 24 (above average)
Sit ups in 1 min: 22 (below average)
Wall Sit : 45 secs (30 secs is average, 60 secs is good)
I have achieved a fitness level that I need to start this, although my sit ups were a bit weak, I feel that being above average and average in the others makes me ready!
I've got my meal plan for the week, and am ready to go!
Bring it!!! :)
Weight: 137.2 (after a last ditch binge weekend...)
Bust: 36
Waist: 29.5
Hips: 37
Arms: 12
Thighs: 22
Pulse after 3 min stair climb : 113 (average)
Push ups in 1 min : 24 (above average)
Sit ups in 1 min: 22 (below average)
Wall Sit : 45 secs (30 secs is average, 60 secs is good)
I have achieved a fitness level that I need to start this, although my sit ups were a bit weak, I feel that being above average and average in the others makes me ready!
I've got my meal plan for the week, and am ready to go!
Bring it!!! :)
Ready? Set? Go?
I bought the book approximately a week ago. I decided my start date would be May 1 - just because I hate math ha ha! It will also be a Tuesday, so it's easier than a Monday.. for me anyways.
I have read the book, and am feeling nervous but excited. I am already feeling a bit like a cheater because I am not able to follow the eating plan exactly, however I did take the quiz (it is based on what kind of 'oxidizer' you are..) and I found the plan that she recommends for me. However, for both financial reasons and sanity reasons I chose to start the eating plan with mixing and matching from her menu..
I do home daycare, and coincidence has it that this week I have a family who does not pick up until 6:45 - and I feed the children supper. They are picky eaters and there is no way I can adapt the recipes to suit them (also it would be very expensive) so I will be making separate meals for myself. I do not have the luxury of an additional 30 mins to cook a meal just for me, so for this week I am going to borrow from her lunch menu for supper. I won't have the same thing twice in one day, and it seems substantial enough for me.
So far looking at her recipes they look complicated, expensive and are all over the map serving-size wise. I took about 20 minutes before going grocery shopping to adapt the plan and make my list. I am confident in it though, and feel like I will feel good with the food I will be eating, and that it will be enough for my needs and will fall in her plan calorie wise and nutrient wise.
For the exercise component, I have to ready myself this evening by taking a fitness assessment and writing down my results. She recommends (insists) that you have a decent level of fitness before starting the programe if you are to achieve the desired results. You must be in good shape already and have no more than 10-20 lbs to lose. I also have to take my measurements and (eek!) take a 'goodbye' photo - and she says "the more you show, the more you know" um yeah - okay.. lol.
I will also have to 'cheat' when it comes to the exercises, I am not going to join a gym (been there done that) so there will be a few excersices I can not do, but for the most part, most can be modified (instead of a weight bench, I can use my padded coffee table) and I did purchase a stability ball and resistance bands. I already own some weights. I do plan to either modify the exercises I cannot do (due to not having the equipment) or add my own similar ones - I will not leave that spot blank.
So bear in mind over the next month that I will not be following the plan to the letter.. not for lack of willpower just because it's not feasible for me. But I will be giving it my all, trying very hard to follow the plans and the 'cheats' will be mostly modifications.
Not really looking forward to tonight's measurements but hopefully I will be able to look back and be happy with the results in 30 days from now!
I have read the book, and am feeling nervous but excited. I am already feeling a bit like a cheater because I am not able to follow the eating plan exactly, however I did take the quiz (it is based on what kind of 'oxidizer' you are..) and I found the plan that she recommends for me. However, for both financial reasons and sanity reasons I chose to start the eating plan with mixing and matching from her menu..
I do home daycare, and coincidence has it that this week I have a family who does not pick up until 6:45 - and I feed the children supper. They are picky eaters and there is no way I can adapt the recipes to suit them (also it would be very expensive) so I will be making separate meals for myself. I do not have the luxury of an additional 30 mins to cook a meal just for me, so for this week I am going to borrow from her lunch menu for supper. I won't have the same thing twice in one day, and it seems substantial enough for me.
So far looking at her recipes they look complicated, expensive and are all over the map serving-size wise. I took about 20 minutes before going grocery shopping to adapt the plan and make my list. I am confident in it though, and feel like I will feel good with the food I will be eating, and that it will be enough for my needs and will fall in her plan calorie wise and nutrient wise.
For the exercise component, I have to ready myself this evening by taking a fitness assessment and writing down my results. She recommends (insists) that you have a decent level of fitness before starting the programe if you are to achieve the desired results. You must be in good shape already and have no more than 10-20 lbs to lose. I also have to take my measurements and (eek!) take a 'goodbye' photo - and she says "the more you show, the more you know" um yeah - okay.. lol.
I will also have to 'cheat' when it comes to the exercises, I am not going to join a gym (been there done that) so there will be a few excersices I can not do, but for the most part, most can be modified (instead of a weight bench, I can use my padded coffee table) and I did purchase a stability ball and resistance bands. I already own some weights. I do plan to either modify the exercises I cannot do (due to not having the equipment) or add my own similar ones - I will not leave that spot blank.
So bear in mind over the next month that I will not be following the plan to the letter.. not for lack of willpower just because it's not feasible for me. But I will be giving it my all, trying very hard to follow the plans and the 'cheats' will be mostly modifications.
Not really looking forward to tonight's measurements but hopefully I will be able to look back and be happy with the results in 30 days from now!
My Background
So, I've been looking for a challenge to motivate me to really sweat and watch what I eat. I've recently lost 10+ lbs and am once again at that crucial point where I can go forward delving deep into toning, trimming and making the commitment, or once again getting comfortable and saying 'good enough'.
I have lost the same 10-15 lbs over and over again. Not really yo/yo dieting as it takes a few years to complete this cycle for me.. not a crash and then back up. I will lose weight and be happy with the number on the scale and then it will slowly creep up and I will blindly ignore it (or more aptly choose not to think about it) until the clothes start fitting tight again and I finally get back on the scale to see I'm right back where I started from. I have never, ever been in the shape I want to be. In high school I was far from being overweight, but I still didn't have the strong, toned body I wanted. Then I went to live on a farm for a summer, let's just say that I came home packing more than my suitcase - but it was a lot of muscle, unfortunately with thin layer of fat - so I was strong, but not toned. Over the next few years I was in college, gained the "Freshmen Fifteen" and lost it and so on..
The biggest change in my weight unfortunately occured right after I got engaged! That same year I quit smoking, moved to a new city (in a new province!) started emotional eating to deal with everything from homesickness to wedding stress - quitting smoking caused me to crave food like never before. We also bought a car that year and were so tired by the end of the day from our jobs that we never got out and about. I was my heaviest ever when I got married, around 170 lbs.. on a 5'2 frame that was a lot for me. I felt fat on my wedding day.
A year or so after that we moved into our first home and I started walking daily, took a new job within walking distance that unfortunately paid a lot less than the one I left, so with a mortgage and smaller income, we stopped eating out. Shortly after that I got pregnant for the first time and started getting really serious about being good to my body. Sadly, that pregnancy ended in tragedy. Within a few months though I had conceived again and was so cautious with what I ate and how I treated my body I lost fat while maintaining a healthy pregnancy, after my beautiful son was born I was back to pre-baby weight within 6 months, skinnier than ever for his first birthday and entered my 3rd pregnancy at a healthy weight and healthy body. I only gained 20-25 lbs with both healthy pregnancies and gave birth to my gorgeous daughter at the age of 26.
I am now 32. At 30, I took the challenge with a friend to go to "Booty Camp" I did fantastic with that, I lost only 3 lbs, but also 14 inches! That was my first real inkling that inches lost was much more important than the number on the scale. At 31, I successfully completed a 60 km Weekend to End Women's Cancers Walk, which I had trained over a year for.
So now, at 32, I once again am up for a challenge. This time, I am ready to take the next step, to move from having made friends to my scale, to making friends with my swimsuit. I am ready to no longer be 'skinny fat'. Sure, I am not fat, I am not big and in jeans and a long sleeved shirt I don't look that big.. but up close I have a lot of toning to do with my arms, and thighs before I'll ever feel confident in a swimsuit.. or tank top.
I've familiarized myself with Jillian Michaels, having used her 30 day shred to help me lose the 10 lbs I have recently lost. I have decided to take the next step and start her 30 Day Making the Cut program.
Wish me luck, and please send me encouragement... I do well with a challenge, but even better with accountability.. so let me know you're reading and along for the ride. :)
I have lost the same 10-15 lbs over and over again. Not really yo/yo dieting as it takes a few years to complete this cycle for me.. not a crash and then back up. I will lose weight and be happy with the number on the scale and then it will slowly creep up and I will blindly ignore it (or more aptly choose not to think about it) until the clothes start fitting tight again and I finally get back on the scale to see I'm right back where I started from. I have never, ever been in the shape I want to be. In high school I was far from being overweight, but I still didn't have the strong, toned body I wanted. Then I went to live on a farm for a summer, let's just say that I came home packing more than my suitcase - but it was a lot of muscle, unfortunately with thin layer of fat - so I was strong, but not toned. Over the next few years I was in college, gained the "Freshmen Fifteen" and lost it and so on..
The biggest change in my weight unfortunately occured right after I got engaged! That same year I quit smoking, moved to a new city (in a new province!) started emotional eating to deal with everything from homesickness to wedding stress - quitting smoking caused me to crave food like never before. We also bought a car that year and were so tired by the end of the day from our jobs that we never got out and about. I was my heaviest ever when I got married, around 170 lbs.. on a 5'2 frame that was a lot for me. I felt fat on my wedding day.
A year or so after that we moved into our first home and I started walking daily, took a new job within walking distance that unfortunately paid a lot less than the one I left, so with a mortgage and smaller income, we stopped eating out. Shortly after that I got pregnant for the first time and started getting really serious about being good to my body. Sadly, that pregnancy ended in tragedy. Within a few months though I had conceived again and was so cautious with what I ate and how I treated my body I lost fat while maintaining a healthy pregnancy, after my beautiful son was born I was back to pre-baby weight within 6 months, skinnier than ever for his first birthday and entered my 3rd pregnancy at a healthy weight and healthy body. I only gained 20-25 lbs with both healthy pregnancies and gave birth to my gorgeous daughter at the age of 26.
I am now 32. At 30, I took the challenge with a friend to go to "Booty Camp" I did fantastic with that, I lost only 3 lbs, but also 14 inches! That was my first real inkling that inches lost was much more important than the number on the scale. At 31, I successfully completed a 60 km Weekend to End Women's Cancers Walk, which I had trained over a year for.
So now, at 32, I once again am up for a challenge. This time, I am ready to take the next step, to move from having made friends to my scale, to making friends with my swimsuit. I am ready to no longer be 'skinny fat'. Sure, I am not fat, I am not big and in jeans and a long sleeved shirt I don't look that big.. but up close I have a lot of toning to do with my arms, and thighs before I'll ever feel confident in a swimsuit.. or tank top.
I've familiarized myself with Jillian Michaels, having used her 30 day shred to help me lose the 10 lbs I have recently lost. I have decided to take the next step and start her 30 Day Making the Cut program.
Wish me luck, and please send me encouragement... I do well with a challenge, but even better with accountability.. so let me know you're reading and along for the ride. :)
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