30 Day Shred - before and after pictures and bonus pictures!

i'm so excited to share today

31 days ago i started jillian michael's 30 day shred

30 days of an intense 20 minute workout

30 days of continuing to track my calories

i never skipped a single day

i even packed along my kindle and weights to the lake to make sure i kept it up (even though there were a few choice words (of mine) about how much 'ish we were taking to the lake)

i didn't weigh myself

and i didn't do measurements

but thank goodness i took pictures

because i can really see the difference.

i could tell my clothes were fitting looser

and i was starting to fit back into some of my clothes that were hiding in my closet

but some days i just looked in the mirror and thought i was staying the same

but pictures don't lie

and by the way i love before and after pictures.  like obsessed with them

uhm...that should say 7-1-13...i was half asleep

i stared at this mashup all night last night

i couldn't believe the difference

my waist is smaller

my belly is flatter

i can gain 3 lbs and get fat face, so i think i can even see the a difference in the roundness in my face

and i can seriously see the definition in my shoulders and bicep - thanks to walking pushups i'm sure...

obviously, i still have some work to do

but for 30 days - i'm impressed!

i'm wearing the same thing in both the before and after

except for my sports bra

when i started out i was exercising in my one larger sports bra i had - i hadn't worn it in years because it was just too big

and at the start of this it was actually fitting kind of snug

by the end of the 30 days, it was much too big - much too loose to do many of the 30 DS moves in without getting hit in the face by a swinging boob

so in the after picture i'm wearing one of my running sports bras - that actually FITS again!

at the beginning on the 30DS i had convinced myself that the top i was wearing was loose and flowy

after taking the before pictures i could see that it was actually clinging to my belly

seeing the after pictures the top looks like it should and is actually getting kind of loose for doing the 30 DS

and by the way - i love the top - it's from old navy and is one of their bubble tanks - it's my favorite thing to run in right now because the tank is loose around my arms so there's no fear of any chaffing in the arm pit arena.

it should also be noted that along with the 30 day shred i was also doing some form of cardio for at least 30 minutes every day - some days that meant the elliptical, walking, running - or a combination

but as a former runner, you can loose weight through running - but you can't change your shape.  meaning you're not going to see the nice muscle definition and toning in the same way as you would by doing weight lifting.

so i guess what i'm trying to say, is that even though i was adding in other forms of exercise - i don't think i would be seeing the changes in my arms and stomach if i hadn't been doing the shred.

so what now?

i honestly loved doing the shred.

i hated it some days, but always loved getting it done

it's a great program - and is just long enough to feel like a great workout without getting boring.

it's hard enough that i'm constantly pushing myself to either perform the moves faster or perform them at the advanced level.

it's also not so hard that i'm just standing there waiting for an easier move.

and i find jillian to be really encouraging.

i also loved running in the morning and having this workout to come home to - i felt like i was really accomplished doing both

so starting sunday i'm going to start doing jillian michael's ripped in 30

it follows the 3-2-1 plan of the shred (3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio, 1 minute abs)

and is a 4 week program.

i'm finishing up my couch 2 5k program this week and will begin the half training on monday

i knew i wanted to keep up the strength training while i trained for the half - and jillian's workouts help give me focus - i don't want to lose the hard work i put in the past 30 days - and would love for my under arm flab to shrink!

so that, my friends, is goal #3.

to complete ripped in 30 4 week program

i guess half marathon training is in there too - but it's more of a mid-term goal since it spans 3 months.

my reward for goal #2 (completing the shred and couch 2 5k) was to get a pedicure.  lordy i need one.  but i'm going to take that goal money and sign up for the half marathon (races are $$$)

i'm thinking my reward for the ripped in 30 will be new workout pants.  the ones i'm wearing now are getting too big and my older ones are old...and holey...in the crotch.

so we'll give it another month of getting ripped to really let those pants get too big!

and because bill has been doing this with me - let's see his before and after!

bill has the luxury of being tall.  and relatively thin.

but he has lost what pudge he had around his belly - he's actually lost 12 lbs in a month!

which seems crazy to me! (and also motivating thinking about how much weight i've probably lost if i had been weighing)

i can see that his waist is straight - no love handles and his belly is a lot tighter - when we're doing the shred i can see his abs

i also noticed last weekend at the lake how much more defined his biceps were

it really is crazy to see the differences in just 1 month

i hope you joined in on the 30 DS - and i really hope this encourages others to take the challenge.

it's only 30 days.

imagine where you could be in your healthy journey in 30 days!



 

plant fusion

rise and shine!

 

have you already sweat this morning?

 

i came home last night and completed jillian michael's 30 day shred - day 1

 

with 10 lbs weights (recommended 3-5lbs)

 

and that was a really bad idea

 

i had to put them down and just complete the moves without the weights

 

the 30 day shred is a lot of compound moves and completed very fast - so it's pretty aerobic

so instead of doing the 30 day shred this morning

i did just dance on the wii 

and on lunch today i'm heading to target to pick appropriate weights

so i can come home and suffer for 20 minutes.

i took "before" pictures last night as well (still need bill's help to do some measurements tonight)

but will wait and share both the "before and after"  after the 30 days

i DO want to share with you-

my new favorite thing:

 

 

plant fusion protein powder

all vegan, no dairy, no soy,gluten free

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and i can tell you from the past couple of mornings

it is delicious!

i ordered the vanilla bean flavor off of amazon

i had originally tried the chocolate flavor that i found in my local health food store

but it's much cheaper through amazon

the vanilla bean basically makes every smoothie combination taste like a milkshake or cake

it is sweetened with stevia - and is actually really sweet tasting - which some might not like

i found that mixing it with fruit juice is a little too sweet

my favorite combination right now is the following:

1 scoop vanilla bean protein powder

1 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk

1 banana (you could freeze for added creaminess)

2T natural peanut butter

7-9 ice cubes

2 handfuls of spinach

 

and it fills my 32 ounce glass

 

AND it tastes like a  a peanut butter banana milkshake

this is a hearty combination - weighing in at 474 calories

but packs a substantial health punch and would be a great meal replacement (i had mine for breakfast after working out)

 

what's your favorite smoothie recipe?

 

 

goal #2

i'm just going to gloat for a minute

and tell you how proud i am of myself and of bill

we had an action plan

we implemented

and we've succeeded!

the hardest part?

rolling out of bed every morning (i HAVE to exercise in the morning)

my alarm is set for 5:40

i usually hit snooze (10 minutes)

but get up after about 5 minutes of laying in bed and decide it's time to start the day

bill somehow never hears my alarm, but the second i pop out of bed - he's up too

let's just all be glad i have the willpower to not continuously hit snooze

i am also so proud of bill who is now conscientiously thinking about the foods we eat and buy

he's on board, for a trial phase, of my fitness pal (seriously so easy to track, should probably have bill write about this since i feel men are probably less likely than women to be detailed about tracking calories)

and even though i haven't gave in and bought a scale yet (more on that in a minute)

i could tell the dress i wore yesterday was looser in the bust and the dress i'm wearing today is hanging baggier in my hips and not tight on my butt

so after smashing goal #1

what's next?

i love running

i love to hate running some days

but i honestly love it and want nothing more to be back in the zone of going for a 7 mile run in the morning and watching the sun pop up

one of my goals before 30 is to beat my half marathon time

back in 2010 i ran my first half marathon - i trained right!

i had high hopes of finishing at around 2hrs -2:15 minutes

but, alas, it was my first, and it was in nashville - the whole course was rolling hills, and while i had trained on hills, i wasn't prepared for 3 huge hills (up and over, and back up and over the river downtown as well as climbing 2nd? 3rd? street) at miles 10-13 and i had a finisher's time of about 2:30

so i think i have a lot of room for improvement (even for a slow runner) as well as picking a less hilly race (one here in louisville?)

now, i'm not ready to set my sights on a half marathon just yet - that's a goal for another time

but right now i'm working on building my base back up

and for the next 4 weeks my goal is to complete the couch to 5k program (i love this program and have done it a couple times to build my base back)

now you're probably all like - but rachel, the program is 8 weeks

i know - but i kind of already have a good cardio base from the past 3 weeks, and the first weeks of the program seem too slow for me

so this morning i completed day 1 of week 4 with mister woodford by my side!

the program only requires you to run 3 days a week

which falls right in line with what i've been doing previously

so my OTHER goal (yeah, i need 2!)

is to actually do the 30 day shred by jillian michaels - i will only be running for 30 minutes on run days and need something else to do on tuesday and thursday - so it makes for the perfect accompaniment


google image 30 day shred and look at the results if you need some motivation!

i've done disc 1 a couple of times now - and it's a great workout and only 20 minutes long

i've wanted to do this since i tried it, and for extra motivation

amber @craftyhealthymommy is hosting a challenge for the month of July

the stars aligned and i'm joining in

so back to the scale question

i really want to do before and after pictures and stats as part of the challenge

but i still feel uncomfortable about sharing.

as of right now i think i'll take some before pictures and a few measurements

and wait until the end of the shred to share my results.

i need to build up a bit of confidence first :)

if anyone is interested in trying to do this for the month of july let me know (and also check out amber's post if you're interested in winning the challenge)

i would love to know who's in this with me

you can pick up the dvd from target for about $10

OR you could buy each disc on amazon prime (and stream through laptop or tv) for $1.99 a disc (there are 3) - that way you could try disc 1 without too much commitment

you will also need 3-5 lb hand weights.  although, i've used 10 lbs (it's really hard) and somethings you can modify and not use any weights

my reward for completing this 4 week challenge?

a pedicure

my feet are pretty rough right now, but i'm going to hold out until i complete this goal

i think bill and i are using our same rules - if we fall off the wagon 1 day - it adds another week to our reward date

ok...so now, who's going to shred with me?