30 Day Shred: Part 1

Ok, so I'm a few days behind on this post as I'm now four days into the second level. I have excellent news to report - I am seeing results!

If you missed my first post, I started Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD. I took measurements and photos prior to starting, after days 5 and 10, and I will take them after days 20 and 30.

Since I was unsure how hard the DVD was going to be, I chose to not use weights for the first five days. I have wimpy arms... always have... so I thought that would be best. I still managed to get a major workout on my arms as level one includes push-ups. Starting on Day Six, I started using 5-pound weights. Too heavy. So now I'm using 3-pound weights. They are perfect for me. I still feel the burn but my arms don't feel like they're going to fall off.

Now for the moment you've been waiting for - the results:


At Day 1, my weight was 138 lbs. Bust - 36 in.; Waist - 30 in.; Hips - 38 in.
At Day 5 (Level 1, no weights), my weight stayed the same at 138 lbs.; Bust - 36 in.; Waist - 29.5 in. (-.5 total); Hips - 37 in. (-1 in.)
At Day 10 (Level 1, 3 lb. weights), my weight was 136 lbs. (-2 lbs.); Bust - 36 in. (again, no change); Waist - 28.5 (-1.5 in.); Hips - 35 in. (-3 in.)

All-in-all after 10 days, I've lost a total of 4.5 inches and 2 pounds. What I have notice the most is that my arms are much, much stronger. I started out doing "girly" push-ups and ended doing regular push-ups. There is not a significant change in my body, but I do think my face has slimmed down a little.

I haven't felt any major pain, although I also think I know the difference between tired muscles and muscles in pain. I stop if I think I'm hurting something. My shoulder muscles have been the most sore of anything, but that's probably due to my wimpy arms, lol.

Level 2 will kick your ass, and that's putting it lightly. I sweat at least twice as much as I did on Level 1. It seems to me that Level 2 includes more cardio-based moves. You're still doing the strength and abs, but it's more strenuous. I'm hoping this level really sheds the pounds. Stay tuned!