Working Out With Jillian Michaels

Whew!  I just got done with Jillian's "30 Day Shred" dvd, and it was both awesome and exhausting.  She really does give a tough workout, and I'm only on the first level!  I used a mat and 2lb. hand weights, as suggested, and I hate to feel my body when I wake up tomorrow.  However, I feel more energetic and like she says, "There are no shortcuts to losing weight."  You have GOT to work at it.

I love the circuits she has.  There are three of them with varying exercises for cardio, abs, and strength.  I love that I could feel my muscles working.  I've never wanted to get fit as much as I do now, so I think Jillian's Body Revolution is next.  That way, I won't get bored with the same dvd.  There's 15 in that kit.  Is it worth the money?  Yes.  Diseases from obesity cost much, much more - including your life.  I'll be 45 in a month, and I don't plan on dying anytime soon, so this is my way in - back in to life.

Shopping Organic

The organic Cheetos might have been a bad buy.  They are good, but it's still junk food, only healthier. I've been changing my eating habits slowly over the past couple of weeks.  The organic cereal, dried cherries, hummus, whole wheat pita bread, and organic salsa are the better choices I made in my purchases today.  I have fallen in love with hummus again, as there are so many different kinds!  Sugar is gone from my tea now - totally.  I will be using either Truvia or Stevia.  Until then, the lemon I throw in is a welcome natural diruetic.

This week I will be starting my regular workouts with Jillian Michaels "30 Day Shred."  I have watched it, to make sure I could do all of the exercises, and she had modifications for some.  I'll also throw in two yoga sessions and a walk on Saturday.  I've got to get to some serious moving going, so the pounds will go!  I haven't weighed yet, so I'll have to do that this week as well.  Here's hoping that some of the changes I've made show on the scale.  

Some Progress...

I felt like a dishrag when I woke this morning.  I have had more physical exercise in the past few days than in a good long while, as I sprained my ankle on my wedding day in June.  The ankle is much better - due to Dr. Jonna.  She happens, among many things, to be a massage therapist.  She took all of the pain out of my ankle within minutes.  Ah!  Finally.  I've been wanting to do Jillian Michael's exercises, but have been afraid to.

Speaking of which, I received Jillian's dvd in the mail today, and I watched it all the way through to see what I would have to modify because of my ankle and if that was possible.  It is!  Jillian has some modified exercises, not all, but enough that I can do the dvd.  I'll venture into that tomorrow since I'm moving some furniture again tonight.  That will be enough for today.

I have eaten less this week than last by thousands of calories per day, and kept my sugar in my tea low. It's a good thing I lived in England for a time, as I got used to loving the flavor of tea - without all of the sugar, so the switch to sugarless this week has been easy.  My fingers are not swollen anymore, and my belly is noticeably smaller, so I suppose I've lost some serious water weight.  YAY!

Burning Calories Big-Time!

I burned 2, 289 calories today.  What, you say?  How can that be?  When I plugged in three hours of moving today, that's how many calories Miss Jillian Michaels told me I burned.  I am beyond ecstatic!  It was worth it, and I plan to use all of my calorie burning activites on the exercise charting.  I haven't eaten nearly the calories I could eat today, so I'll come out ahead of the food for the first time this week.

I also have changed my tea with little incident.  I am drinking cardamon iced tea, with a 1/4 cup of sugar tea thrown in.  Dr. Jonna related to me that the sugar crash from what I was drinking would be terrible and to wean myself off.  I just splash a bit of the sugared in my 32 oz. cup, and since I make all the rest plain with water, I've got my water for the day, easily.  I'll completely go off the sugared tomorrow, when I replace the sugar craving with the all-natural stevia.  Looking forward to my modified Arnold Palmers again!

Breaking Bad Habits - Sweet Tea

I'm a Southern girl.  My mouth waters at the thought of my grandmother's sweet and tart Arnold Palmers that she would make.  Nothing like it.  Oh, except I'm drinking 1,035 calories a day!  I went off Diet Coke last year, and that was good.  It really cleaned out some water weight.  What was my next choice of beverage?  Tea.  At least I make the tea, and it's full of water.

I realized that a few changes were in order after logging in the sweet tea on Jillian Michaels site.  It AMAZED me how vast the calorie difference is between sweet and non-sweet - that you make from scratch.  There are 135 calories per glass of sweet compared to 3 - yeah, 3 calories of non-sweet.  I'm going to replace the sugar with some fresh juice, mint, and truvia.  Not all at once, of course.

I'm also going to venture outside Lipton again, and since I got an awesome tea maker recently, it made today's tea making easy.  I need variety in my tea, and I like it both hot and cold.  It hasn't been hard today so far, I've made the switch, and saved over 1,000 calories for the DAY.  That's extremely significant.  Can't wait to see what I'll change tomorrow...

Been a Long Time, Baby!

I fell off the wagon for the holidays, was ill for a few months, and then did not go back to trying to exercise and diet.  That sucked.  Notice the past tense.  I'm ready not to be fat anymore.  I've also said that a hundred million zillion times.  However, I fell and sprained my ankle on my wedding day.  I haven't liked how hard it's been to move with one good foot at this weight.  Not cool.  It is hard to lift my body weight.  I remember being thin.  I grew up that way.  I miss the lightness that my body felt then.  I miss doing things that my weight prohibits me from attempting.  I'm also tired of being limited in the activities I want to do because there is a weight limit.

I've decided to go back at it.  I've still got my Katie for advice and help if I need her, my aerobics instructor-sister is moving into town and has been waiting to get at me for years, and I ordered Jillian Michael's circuit training tape and joined her website for keeping track of calories in and calories out, weight tracking, and the menus and recipes.  I've kept track of my normal eating this week and have been shocked at the calories going in.  Once the computer adds them up, well - next week will be different.  My site will change shape over the next few weeks.  Join me on my journey... to health.