Day 53 - another shred down

I've now completed 3 days of level 3. I'm feeling really good about myself generally that I've been able to do so much, and am pretty stoked about what's coming next - the couch to 5k program! Not sure how easy it'll be since it's so hot here in Atlanta, but it'll be worth it.

I'm being extra careful because of my knees - but those seem to be doing ok provided I take breaks when my body tells me, and ice them regularly (and use the stabilizer).

All in all, I'm in a great mood.

Just got back from my swim - I forgot both how much I love swimming AND how much of a butt-kicker it is! I swam for 1 hour and 10 minutes - 40 minutes of serious swimming with time in between to cool down and get leisurely. It was awesome, but I'm gonna hurt tomorrow!

Plus - not only was I not the biggest guy there, today was the first time that I really wasn't that self-conscious about my belly/moobs. I still have a bit, but I didn't feel that bad.

Day 44: and the shred goes on

I did the shred, part 2 again this morning. Nothing much to update, other than knee pain being significantly less (but still there). I get twinges every now and again, so I'm sticking with ultra-low impact versions of anything that can be tough on my knees.

I'm still feeling good from the exercise and plan to keep it up.

Day 43: Feeling MUCH better

Last night, I stopped in the local drug store to pick up a few necessities. Like a knee brace and a fancy wrap around ice pack. I stopped over to the pharmacist to ask him about the stiffness/pain that I've been having in my knees (mostly my left knee). He said two things - first, my assumption was correct, I'm making things worse because I'm overweight and that's one of the things that sucks about getting active as an overweight person. More motivation to stay active and lose the weight, I say! Second, I had asked him about herbal supplements for joint health and the like. He said some help more than others, but to use Ibuprofen for a about a week and see if that helps first.

So last night I took some Advil, and again this morning. I was going to take a break from exercising today, but after the Advil, then the knee brace I was feeling better. And on top of that, around 10 am (I know, way late, but I said I was planning to take a break!) my body started telling me that it needed to get some exercise, so I figured I'd try it.

I did lots of extra stretching. When I say lots, I mean I stretched for about 20 minutes before (as opposed to Jillian's normal 2.5 minutes) and another 30 minutes afterward. I'm sure that helped. Also, I wore the knee stabilizer. Can I just say that the thing is awesome! It totally kept my knee from moving side-to-side. I may get one for the other knee, although since I stabilized the one that was giving me more trouble, my other knee seems better as well. We'll see on that one.

Then on top of that, I was extra careful in any of the higher impact moves, or those that typically give me more trouble. Side-jacks, lunges, plank-jumps and the like. I really took it easy on my knees during those. I still got a great workout. If you do this, make sure you keep moving even if you have to modify the exercises. Like Jillian says during this one, you can make them as hard or as easy as you want to, just keep going.

After the workout, I did my post-workout stretching and I iced both knees for 20 minutes each. I may follow up with another 20 minute icing session on the one bad knee for good measure.

Needless to say, I feel great. I am now to the point where I need the daily exercise, and that also makes me feel great. Hopefully, I'll lose another inch or so after 7 days of part 2, but that's another 4 days away.

Day 41 - first day of part 2

I did part 2 of the shred this morning. WOW! What a workout. I got so sweaty - even more so than day 1. I made it through the whole thing without any breaks. I was a little slower than Jillian because some of the moves were a little bit harder than in part 1.

I had to get myself coordinated for them and that's not really my strong suit (coordination). Particularly the twist cardio move and any of the ones where you have to have good balance (think lunges). I do them, but I always end up having to re-balance myself at least once if not more often in the middle of the workout. I think this may be part of what's bothering my knees.

I absolutely love the walking pushup, however. I know a lot of the folks who blog about the shred hate this one, but I'm wondering if it's a guy/girl thing? Because it is actually fun to me to do that one!

After the first day, I have to say that I like part 2 better than part 1.

Day 39 - feeling good

I got up this morning feeling ok, started the shred and felt great. Even the first circuit, which I still hate, was ok. Once I passed that first circuit, I felt awesome. I switched to 5 lb weights for most of the workout, and did just about everything in full form (not modified).

As soon as I finished working out (and after my Wii weigh in), I took a shower. I've decided that this is something I need to do every day (as opposed to waiting 30 minutes while I eat some breakfast or cool down more). The shower totally relaxed me and got me ready for the day.

I think I'm ready to move on to part 2 on Thursday, day 41!

Day 38 - 8th day of the shred, and the results are in!

I knew my measurements yesterday had to be wrong! I did them again this morning, before working out, and it turns out I lost 1 inch off my belly, and a whopping 2 inches off my chest! That's huge results for 1 week of exercise.

This morning, I didn't really want to get started again, but once I made it thought the first circuit I was feeling much better and had no problems finishing. I think it's that first circuit that's such a bear. It's the one with pushups, jumping jacks, and jump rope. I always do it, but I usually dread it. I'm up to nearly everything in regular mode which feels good. I'm currently debating switching to 5 lb weights prior to switching to part 2.

My diet plan is going well. I'm eating lots more fruits and veggies, and trying to get more fish in. I'm supposed to have at least three 4 ounce servings per week.

Overall? I'm psyched! Any suggestions as to what my next 30 day activity should be? Leave them in the comments!

Day 36 - the unwanted shred

Well, I did not want to work out this morning. I did, because I promised myself that I would, but I didn't enjoy as much as I have in the past few days.

It wasn't bad - I did the whole thing mostly unmodified, but I really couldn't get motivated for it. I'm still sore, I still was sweaty, the music helped a bit, but this was the first weekend that I've been ambivalent about it.

I'm not injured, my muscles aren't in tremendous pain or anything so it's not that. I'll just chalk it up to the weather.

Day 35 - the 5th shred

Awesome - that's all I can say about today. This morning, I did the whole shred and nearly everything was in "full" position. I did the first round of pushups all in full position and the second round I did half in full position. My butt kicks were higher than I've done before today. Jumprope even kept me going. My arms and chest are incredibly sore. My abs are sore as always. My thighs are still burning. But it all feels great.

Today was the first time that I muted Jillian and listened to my mix that's down there at the bottom of the page. Oh, it was phenomenal. So much easier this way! As it turned out, the music really kept me going when I felt like I needed a break. I think that was a big part of the difference between prior days and today. We'll find out tomorrow!

On top of that, I feel like I ate really well today. I bought some lowfat, low sugar, low carb yogurt smoothies this week to try. They're Dannon brand, and in my opinion they are b-l-a-n-d. I mean, they don't taste bad, but they don't taste particularly good either.

So this morning, I got the Stoneyfield Farms version to try. It's much more calories, but it also tastes that much better. I think it may have given me gas, but we'll see tomorrow when I don't have one. ;)

In related news, a little story...

Since I was young, I've always had a few food allergies. One of those is fresh pineapple. So the other night, my wife is eating a fruit salad that included pineapple. The last time I had pineapple has to be at least 20 years ago. Anyways, I asked her to give me a little piece to see what it does to me (if I'm still allergic). Dum da dum! No reaction. I was psyched because pineapple is one of those delicious fruits that's in just about everything tropical. I'll give it a couple more tries over the coming days to see if I'm truly over the allergy.

Fast forward to today. One of my other allergies was tree nuts. So I've been reading a lot about eating healthy, and one of the things they recommend all the time is walnuts. Not just for the "real" food and healthy oil content, but bonus! it's also good for my cholesterol. So I bought a little bag of walnuts at the corner grocer near work and had them with some raisins as a dessert after lunch. No more allergy!

This evening I went to pick up some dinner and decided that I'd have some salmon. So I was wandering around trying to figure out what to have with it. I decided to make some yellow rice and black beans. Once I chose that, I also decided to make it cuban-style. Oh Em Gee! This was one of the best dinners I've made in quite a while. I'm only sorry my wife wasn't home to enjoy it with me. I made it as kind of a trial to see if it would be good and I think I found my new favorite meal to make.

Recipe:
Salmon (2 servings of 4oz each)
KC Masterpiece Chipotle and Lime Marinade

Marinate salmon in 4 tbsp of marinate for 30 mins in the refrigerator in a sealed container
Grill 10 mins for each inch of salmon thickness

Yellow Rice
Vigo Saffron Yellow Rice
Prepare per instructions, using olive oil

Black beans
Publix canned black beans (serves 4)
1/4 diced tomato
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tbsp white cooking wine (I used some leftover white wine)
1 tspn oregano
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup water

In a large skillet, coat with olive oil over high heat, saute peppers, onions, garlic for 8 - 10 mins or until carmelized.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 8 - 10 mins.

I made a side dish with Birds Eye Steam & Serve Spring Vegetables in Citrus Sauce, but combine with any vegetable you like.

Serving sizes as per packages.

Enjoy and let me know if you make the dinner and how you like it!

Day 32 - second day of the shred

Today was easier than yesterday. By comparison, yesterday I felt like I had been hit by a truck. My entire body was sore and sweaty and quivering. Today, I still feel like I've been hit by a truck, but in specific areas of my body. My shoulders, thighs, hamstrings, arms, and particularly my abs are incredibly sore. But feeling good.

This workout really works, and I'm pleased that I was able to stick with it for day 2. Today was also a bit better in terms of lasting through the thing. Yesterday I had to take a 10 minute break to catch my breath as I really couldn't breathe. Today, I only needed 2 minutes. I also did more of the pushups in regular style than yesterday. Yesterday I did 5 regular and the rest modified. Today I did 10 regular and the rest modified.

Even though my knee is still bothering me, I pushed through and was able to do the butt kicks today as well. So I'm making progress. I am still weighing daily for tracking purposes (and so the Wii doesn't start yelling at me) and I lost a little bit today. I have a feeling I'm transforming my muscle so I'm really not going to lose much. I'm ok with that, as I'll look and feel better.

Still in a really good mood from the working out. I think it's endorphins.

I can't wait until I'm able to do the "real" versions of everything and move on to phase 2!

Day 25 - Vindication!

I lost 3.1 lbs today, to make up for the 3.3 lbs that I gained yesterday. I knew that would happen, it's pretty much been my pattern over these past few weeks. I'm also REALLY sore from my workout yesterday, which is a good thing. My abs and my hamstrings are really tight which tells me that I've been doing things right.

I titled today's post "Vindication" because my friends on Facebook started commenting about how I shouldn't weigh every day, and yadda yadda yadda, but I told them that I wasn't that concerned and today shows that I was right!

Also excited because I'm still pretty close to the lowest weight I've been in 5+ years. It feels really good. I also have to add how much better I've felt since I started on this program. My mood has improved dramatically, my skin seems to be clearing up thanks to the water and diet, and I am just generally feeling ok.