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!