A Shred Update

Hard to believe the month of May is almost over... it seems like just yesterday when i decided to try and exercise again after not moving a muscle in years!

for those of you who are not familiar with the Shred.. it is a 30 day program with 3 levels. each level is 10 days. when i started on may 1st... i literally hated everything about it. even down to the nice, smiling girls in the back.

the first ten days (level 1) were torturous. it could have been because my body was weak and everything was hard. i mean... how can there not be a jumping jack modification? level 1 just went on and on...it was a long 10 days.

as i moved into level 2, things got a little easier. they say it takes two weeks to start or break a habit...i'd say by the middle of level 2, i started to look forward to exercising. i started to feel stronger... i started to have a more positive outlook on getting in shape. i could feel a difference in my body.  the next 10 days (level 2) went much faster!

and finally level 3. i'm five days in... and those five days flew. the 25 minutes don't feel very long. there are some ridiculous, tough moves in level 3 (scissor crunches!!), but it seems much easier now than when i started level 1.

five more days until the next weigh-in. five more days of the shred. i'll update the measurements on june 3rd... and maybe some pictures....final stretch!!

(Landon and I shredding on Day 10-Last Day of Level 1!)

Pre-K Graduation Day

this has been a bit of a crazy time in our family. landon has been wrapping up his preschool years. and today was his pre-k graduation day. it is a little bittersweet moving on to kindergarten. i am excited for the changes to come... but, i know once school really hits... life will get extremely busy with sports, activities, and homework. time will fly.

it seems like just yesterday i was waiting for him to make his appearance. he was due around this date five years ago... how has it been five years since i began this journey of motherhood. a journey that has not always been easy. a journey that is exhausting and rewarding at the same time. a journey that i LOVE being on... but also need a break from too.

it has only been recently that i figured out how important it is to take a break. a moment to myself.  like a pit stop. whether it be out to dinner with a friend. a date night. a pedicure. a quick happy hour. writing a blog post. or even a thirty minute exercise session.

i'm looking forward to summer. a summer to enjoy my young children. a summer which will include time for myself.

a summer to continue on this journey... and of course i'll be adding in some pit stops.

Halfway

back in april i decided to start moving my body for the first time in a LONG time. i set the goal of doing the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred Challenge every day in May. because of many of you joining me, i was able to get myself exercising for fifteen days already!

fifteen days doesn't sound like much... but it is a big milestone here. i wanted to quit at least three times already. the first time was before day 1 even started. i didn't even want to begin working out. the second time was after day 5. i was miserable and feeling gross with myself on a friday night. and the third time was right before day 8. this was when i had to stop exercising for three days because of both nolan and me getting pretty sick. i thought i should just quit because i wanted to do 30 days straight during the month of may and now the streak was over. 

after the third time of wanting to quit, i realized something about myself. i am a perfectionist. i wanted to quit the third time because i didn't meet the "goal" of  30 days consecutively. it was no longer going to be followed perfectly. but that was a really difficult goal to even set for myself. for someone who hadn't moved a muscle in years. for someone who is busy being a wife. being a mom. being a teacher.

i think this is why it has taken me so long to drop all my weight. it was always all or nothing. i have gone on diets off and on over the past five years. i even tried cutting sugar this time last year... but i ate 1 donut on vacation and thought... well... that's it. might as well have another donut... and another.. and hence falling off the wagon. if i don't do it perfectly, i give up.  and pretty quickly.

giving up fun sugar for 100 days was a tough goal to achieve. it got easier as time went on and as more and more people knew i was doing it. i had so much support around me. the perfectionist in me didn't want to let myself down!  i didn't want to feel embarrassed by not succeeding. sometimes setting goals is a great thing... but sometimes they can disappoint too... especially when you set them a little to high... especially when you are a perfectionist and don't want to fail. 

i have learned now to share my goals with others. to let them know if i fail. or if i succeed. this motivates me to keep moving forward even when i feel defeated and want to quit. it is so much better to have friends along the way. i hope i continue to motivate you like you are all motivating me.

A wacky week...

it has been one crazy week. it started off fine... everything going according to plan. and then nolan was sick. and then i got sick. i can't even remember the last time i felt so sick. i'm thinking like six years ago...

i had a fever of 102... and was just super nauseous. my whole body hurt. i couldn't eat. i couldn't move. but just for 24 hours. i kid you not! i felt my fever break early on wednesday morning. and then i was just tired from what my body had gone through. so i rested. and i drank fluids. and i rested some more. i took a four hour nap on wednesday! i paid for it that night though because i couldn't fall asleep until way after midnight. which in turn made me extra tired at work on thursday... but i made it through the week!

i finished Level 1 of the Shred... i took measurements on Day 1. for those of you shredding with me, definitely try to do this! i sometimes don't lose weight doing this program, but i have shredded inches! i'll post final shredded measurements at the end of Day 30... which looks to be around June 3rd... the next weigh-in!

If you are interested, Click HERE to see the results of the first time i Shredded... YEARS AGO! (Excuse the messy room... 😁😁😁😁😁)

the week ended with a lovely mothers day with my family. i was spoiled with lots of hugs, kisses, and a cleaned-up playroom!! wishing all you wonderful super moms an amazing Mother's Day!

Thoughts

i'm almost a week in to this whole exercise thing. and i am going to share with you all the thoughts that have popped in my head since the first day.

Day 1:

• why am i out of bed right now?
• i wish i was under my covers...
• is the baby up?
• i think i am going to die.
• holy... I am not sure i am going to be able to make it the whole 25 minutes
• i hate myself for not exercising in years... why did i do this to myself?
• my whole body hurts... 
• thank goodness it's over!

Day 2:

• why am i out of bed right now?
• man... I miss my pillow.
• is the baby up?
• i am only doing this because of all the others joining me... otherwise i would be in bed.
• i can't believe so many other people are joining me.
• my body hurts. 
• my armpits hurt.
• this is terrible... i can't breathe.
• thank goodness it's over!

Day 3:

• why am i out of bed right now?
• i wonder when the baby will get up?
• jumping jacks first thing in the morning suck.
• i hate all this jiggling going on... so gross.
• i wonder if i ever will get rid of this soft, mushy tummy?
• jillian michaels is getting on my nerves. 
• why do they use skinny people in the videos... i want to look like Anita.
• i think i only have like eight minutes left...
• thank goodness it's over!

Day 4:

• why am i out of bed right now?
• i can't wait until this is over...
• lunges are hard enough to do... why do i have to use hand weights too?
• how is this only Day 4?
• keep going... you have others doing this with you.
• thank goodness it's over!

Day 5: 

• why did i not get up this morning and exercise?
• it is so much harder to workout at the end of the day.. what was i thinking?
• i should be relaxing on my couch.
• i can't wait to relax on my couch.
• its friday night and i am exercising. ugh.
• i am over all this sweat.
• thank goodness it's over!

Day 6:

• thank goodness the kids are in bed.
• i can have some quiet time for me and exercise.
• huh... i was able to do all the push ups today.
• wow. i was able to get through jumping jacks and jump rope without stopping.
• i almost made it through the whole video without stopping for a break.
• that wasn't so bad tonight.

i realized last night how completely negative i have been with this whole exercise thing. i have negative thoughts go through my head during the whole 25 minutes! i had a friend comment yesterday that she felt good doing Day 5 of the Shred! i had to start looking at the bright side of moving this body... i want to run again some day. i want to be healthy and not feel like i am dying when i chase after my kids. i went into tonights workout positive... and it went so much better! I'm going to try be positive about these thirty days... or should i say 24! 6 days down... only 24 to go!

May Weigh Day

i want to thank everyone who jumped on the 30 day shred challenge... i can honesty say that if it wasn't for many of you doing this with me... i probably would have never got out of bed on Monday morning. getting out of bed to exercise is so hard. i am hoping this will start to feel like a habit and not so torturous! having you guys along keeps me moving though... THANK YOU!

i stepped on the scale today. the new number is 157.8! i lost 5.6 pounds this month! i was so surprised... and super excited! i am one pound away from my pre-pregnancy weight with landon. i never thought i would ever see the 150s again. the old saying nine months on, nine months off didn't apply to me. it was more nine months on, 5 years off.

i've lost a total of 37 pounds in four months. i am officially in the healthy BMI zone... another goal i was hoping to make!

i finally feel better about myself. i am happy at this weight. i remember how desperate i was to be in the 150s again and how i would appreciate it if i ever got there again... and I APPRECIATE IT!

i'm hoping now to get into a good exercise routine. it would be nice to tone everything up a little and start to enjoy running again.

On to another month of no fun sugar... scale is put away until June 3rd. Thank you to everyone who has said kind words and cheered me on! It has been such great motivation!

(Day 1)

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