30 Day Shred - Level 1 - Day 1

I've been over indulging over the last couple of weeks - winter treats like melt-in-your-mouth Brie on crackers and toasted baguette, creme caramel and lots and lots of red wine.

Sigh. It kind of hit me when I tentatively weighed myself on the scales and it was almost back at 57 kilos again. I was so close!! Just a few weeks ago I was down to my lowest I had been since I got married (54.9kgs) and the end goal was in sight. I was feeling better in my clothes, felt a lot more confident and was...happy.

Now, the thought that I had made it that far made me lose my focus and my concentration and I let it slide. Winter blues, damn you. Add to that a dusty gym membership (that I finally cancelled!) and no motivation at all to move from the warmth of my home-made Snuggee on the couch, I was done.

But now, despite my time-of-the-month bloatiness and painful lower back symptoms, I am attempting to get back into shape.

Evs has been killing it on the fitness front. To the point where he has lost so much weight that my parents are genuinely concerned with his health (didn't they know that by marrying their daughter he was signing up for a lifetime of love-induced pining???). His motivation has been to attempt the half-marathon this October. Plus, I just realised that signing up for the 10km run for the Melbourne Marathon (which happens to be a day after Evs' birthday and was done purely as a misguided attempt to support him) means I actually have to go through with running 10 k's and hopefully finishing.

But he has hot abs now...not that he didn't have a hot body before, but dude, this guy is TONED :P *Droooool*

So....Jillian Michael's '30 Day Shred' is something I came across just recently and instantly piqued my interest. A workout DVD that will help you melt away the inches in only 20 minutes a day?? I was sold.

Went kind of going into it with a huge mountainful of salt, because I wasn't so convinced that 20 minutes would be enough to move that stubborn love handles that have so lovingly made my hips, thighs and ass their home, even it WAS Jillian Michaels. But the scary looking picture of her ripped and toned on the DVD cover made me determined to try it.

The 30 Day shred works like this - 10 days at 3 different Levels of workouts to make 30 days. You lose inches, you feel great and...you probably want to kill Jillian by the end of it.

So Day 1, Level 1 now complete.

I surprisingly built up a sweat, my arms felt like they were getting a good workout (yay to cans of chickpeas for weights!) and my legs felt like jelly after doing those torturous lunges with bicep curls. I have atrocious balance and even when I was Body Pumping on a regular basis, the lunges would always get to me. My calves are quite sore and my abs feel like they have been stretched.

It's an interesting concept, for each level is further broken down into 3 circuits with a few minutes each of strength, cardio and ab-work. I quite like it because it's short but intense, and for someone like me who has a notoriously short attention span - it kept me focused and interested.

The only thing will be I have to do this same Level 1 workout for the next 9 days, so THAT may get a bit boring but as long as I am working out, I think I can handle it for 20 minutes.

I am also simultaneously cutting back on my diet - reducing the carbs, reducing the portions and cutting down on the wine (*sob*).