Level 2 Results

I sure am losing centimeters!  Which is fabulous news as I'm still battling the scale.... I did a quick step on the scale this morning and seems I'm actually up from the beginning of April... so I am flummoxed that my body is still changing.  Just goes to show a diet can make you lose weight, but doing the right training changes your body.  I am thrilled that my body is changing for the better, even though the scale does not agree... so I say screw the scale!

Okay this is what the measuring tape is showing me this morning:

And picture results as follow:

Today Level 3 Day 1.  Going to give it my all and finish strong! Yeah!

Yay me!!!

I just finished Level 2!!!!   

Thank goodness, I was getting so fed-up for this work-out!  Still don't like Level 2 at all, and still suffering through it, but I do feel that it made me stronger.  So bring on Level 3!

Doctor's Appointment Update

Oh man, I've got a cool doc!  He really listened to what I had to say and he really believed me when I explained to him how hard I'm trying.  He went through some print-outs of my food diary, and checked out my weight-loss charts since January 2012, and he even took a look at my blog and commented on the results I got during the 30 Day Shred.

He asked me if I'm feeling excessively tired, and I told him I am, but also that I think it's normal for a full-time working mom with no domestic to feel the way I do.  He also asked me about my menstrual cycles and a couple of other things.

So we're going to be very pro-active about this.  Tomorrow morning I have to go back for the bloods because for some of them I need to fast, and for one of them I need to rest for 15 minutes before they take the bloods.  He decided to test the following:

• Lipogram (I think this is just a full Cholesterol test)
• Glucose
• Insulin Resistance
• Thyroid Profile
• Hirsutism Screen (I have no idea what this is)
• Prolactin (something to do with regulating your immune system)
• Full Blood Count

I'm extremely scared for the bloods, because I usually get dizzy and get close to fainting. They never find veins in my arm, so they have to draw the blood out of my hand, and that's why the doctor himself is going to draw the blood tomorrow.  And with not being able to eat beforehand and no coffee in my system, I'm definitely going to be feeling yuck to start out with.  But it has to be done, and therefor I'll put on my big girl panties tomorrow!

Half-way!

Wooohooo, I just completed Day 5 of Level 2, and that means I'm halfway through the challenge.  Today was just so much better, I'm not as sore as I was yesterday, so I was able to push a little bit harder during my workout today.  I got to go a bit deeper into my squats and lunges, even did half of the plank twists this time, and I did the cardio circuits with more vigor and bigger movements.

Before my workout, while eating my lunch I read through my old blog posts, reading all the motivational quotes I left myself and it reminded me why I'm on this journey, and I think that also helped me to push harder today.  Today I burned 258 calories vs yesterday's 227, so I'm ecstatic and I know I'm improving and that I'm going to succeed in doing the rest of level 2.  Tomorrow I'm doing day 6 and Sunday I'm taking a rest day, so I'm finishing level 2 on Thursday!

So true what they say and a great reminder for me today:

Being halfway with the challenge, I think I'm putting myself at the 50% mark here, but I know I'm going to push through to 100% and I can't wait to say I did it!

Taking strain in level 2

Oh.my.gosh.  I thought I was going to die every single workout this week thus far... today I completed my 4th day of level 2.  I find it so tough, I struggle through it and dread every day before I do my workout.  I don't have enough arm strength to get through all the planks, so I take too many rests.  I can't do the plank twists so I modified it by pushing down on the couch instead of the floor, or I just leave it out and do crunches for the minute she does the plank twists.  But I feel like I'm cheating, or phoning it in like she says.  Granted I still burn 220 - 250 calories, so I must do something right.

The quitter in me whispers that I should just quit and that it's a waste of time anyway and that I'll never be thin and have muscle tone, no matter how hard I try.  But then my pride tells me to keep going and fake it until I make it.

On a positive note my doctor's appointment is made, and I'm ready with my food and exercise diaries and graph of my weigh-ins.  So Monday I'm going to march in there and demand that he helps me through this.  I just hope he won't be an idiot like the doctor in Pretoria who just handed me a script for diet pills and send me on my merry way.  I want to be sure that there's nothing medically wrong that prevents me from losing weight, because I feel like there must be something wrong, or that I am doing something wrong.

Fingers crossed for Monday!

Level 1 Results are in!

With blood (okay not really blood), sweat, and tears (okay not really tears).... let me rephrase with a whole lot of sweat and sore muscles I completed level 1 of the 30DS on Friday before taking a well deserved weekend of rest.

I took my measurements and some progress pics.  I'm happy with the results thus far - a total of 14cm gone... bye bye yucky fat, I won't see you ever again!  I studied my progress pics carefully and I can see tiny improvements, really tiny, but it's there for sure.

I'm thankful for every mm of tummy fat... or any fat for that matter gone!  It's a tough workout and I had such a hard time getting through my first session of level 2... but I will get through it, I'm working hard for it!

Finishing Level 1 tomorrow already

WOW I can hardly believe it - I'm already finishing level 1 of the 30 Day Shred tomorrow! I'm taking less breaks this time than I did last time around - only gave myself a 1 day break during level 1; and will give myself 2 days break before I start level 2.

I was incredibly tempted to weigh myself tomorrow until I found this little gem on Pinterest, so I decided to stick to my original plan to only measure.  Oh gosh, I hope I see lots of centimeter loss - so please cross your fingers for me!

I'm holding on!

Wooohooo I'm happy with what I accomplished this past week!  Sticking to the Shred - finished Day 6 today.  I had a cheat-free Saturday; and kept to all the rules I've set out for myself!

*Happiness*

This weekend I did some shopping and stocked my kitchen for the week - I bought some Coconut Oil (holy crap - R80 for 400ml!), Almonds, Raisins, Dried Prunes, Kiwi Fruit, Pomegranate, Bananas, Granadillas, lots of Veggies and nice lean meats - so I'm set for this week.

I know I have to limit my fruit intake, so I try to only have 2 fruit servings a day.  Oooh and I came up with the most awesome thing to satisfy my sweet tooth.  I made Popsicles with kiwi fruit and unsweetened granadilla juice - each popsicle only contains 2 slices of kiwi and 80ml juice and is about 56 calories each! It's beyond delish!


Also glad to report that I managed to stay away from the scale!  I might give in to weighing when I complete Level 1 of the Shred... but I don't know yet.  It's quite a liberating feeling not to weigh, but at the same time knowing that I am doing something incredibly important to change my body and change the way I look.  Maybe... just maybe... I will get over the number on the scale, and rather just focus on what I see in the mirror.

I enjoyed my two cheat meals yesterday, but also felt a bit guilty although I did not overdo it like I used to.  Gosh I didn't even have chocolate, just a handful of speckled eggs.  I did buy some chocolate covered raisins, but didn't get around to it, so it's now stashed away in the cupboard for another day.  Jamie's Easter chocolate is also still safe.

My plan for the week is the same as last week, and to finish level 1 of the 30 Day Shred on Friday.  I'm looking forward to it, but I'm dreading Level 2, because that's when it really gets hard.  I can't remember if Level 2 was the one with the lots of planks... or the one with the lots of jumping - but I hated both last time around.  Luckily I'm no longer sore from the workouts - the rest day yesterday did me the world's good!

So yes, I'm going to stay strong this week! Woooohooo!

2 Down - 28 to Go!

Yay, so I manged to complete my first two workouts.  Since it's the second time I do this (or rather 3rd attempt because I failed my very first time) I thought things are going to be different, but no...I still love/hate Jillian Michaels... I still hate the jumping rope part, I still only manage lady push-ups, but I still feel like a tigress after I completed the workout!  So that's gooooood!

I'm quite sore today, but felt even worse when I started my workout today, it started to pain in places that I did not feel this morning, but with some help from my Myprodols, I pushed through.

I took proper measurements yesterday, as well as my "before" photos.  Although I still have enough bum for two people, I compared it to my "after" 30DS photos of last year, and I'm glad to say that I did  see a noticeable difference from then until now, even though it doesn't feel that I made so much progress.  So that definitely increased my fighting spirit even more!

I forgot to mention a part of my April challenge in my last blog post.  April is also going to be a "No Aromat" month for me.  I realised that I ate way too much of the stuff, and it contains MSG which isn't good for you and may hinder my weight-loss efforts.  So I'm trying to stay away from it too, and try to rather flavour my food with herbs, garlic and chilli.

So I'm chuffed, I'm off to a good start!  Can't wait for my next 8 workouts to be over and done with so that I can measure and take piccies again!  Last time I only thought about taking photos on Day 15, so I'm going to love the photo comparison this time around.

I will do this!

Let's do this!

Okay, so I just decided what I'm going to do.  I've set out a huge challenge for myself and I can't wait!

I asked myself how did I get my best results thus far, and although I didn't lose as much weight as I envisioned, I have lost a bucket load of centimeters while doing this - so I decided to redo Jillian (a.k.a Killian) Michael's 30 Day Shred.  It's excruciating, it's so hard... some times I just want to puke so hard it works me, but I'm going to do it!

Tomorrow I'm going to start out and measure myself properly, and take my before photos, and do Level 1, Day 1.  After every level I'm going to measure again, and take another photo.

Along with this I decided that I'm going to cut out sugary foods - no cookies, no chocolate, no sweets, no cooldrink.  And most importantly - no cheating on Saturdays!  I'll have a cheat meal and dessert on Sundays, and that's it.  I'm going to make sure I only eat the good carbs, lean meats and as much fruit and vegetables as I can.

An important point for April - I decided not to weigh at all - only measure.  The first time I did the 30 Day Shred, I only started losing weight in the last week of it, so I don't want that to get me down.  The most important for me is to feel better about my body - I need to be leaner, and more fit.  So I will weigh again after I completed the Shred.

Now I'm excited - I've got a plan!  April's going to be a GREAT month!