Days 1 & 2 of The Shred

I was so pumped up by my making official the commitment to do the The 30 Day Shred that I went home yesterday after work and completed the first day of workout before heading to church.... I learned several things about myself:

1. Since I had to take pre-measurements and photos to determine if this really works, I was forced to look at the pictures and numbers.... I've been so excited about losing weight, I paid absolutely no attention to the fact that thinner does not equal non-squishy! I am down to college weight, but I am a far cry from college shape! Let's just throw the words muffin top and UADD ("under arm dingle dangle" as termed by my friend Anisa back in the day when it was just something that our grumpy old teachers had to worry about) out there... that should explain the trauma I had to work through before actually beginning the workout.
2. There are several exercises wherein Jillian is adamant that correct form be used. So, I completed the workout in front of a full-length mirror. Since I was the only one at home at this time, and we turn our AC to high temps during the day trying to save on electricity, I decided it was ok to work out in a sports bra and running shorts. This was an eye-opening experience to say the least. Not only did I have terrible form initially on all the exercises, but there's a lot more jiggle to my wiggle than I actually knew about.... Needless to say, when I completed Day 2 this morning, I was fully clothed to save myself the embarassment.
3. I have ZERO upper body strength! You would think carrying around a 30-something pound toddler everyday would leave me with some sort of respectable strength, but nope. I was able to complete 5 standard pushups before I gave into the modified (what I call "girly") pushups. I was only able to complete about 25 of those! Jillian, you have your work cut out for you!
4. Soup cans do not make good weight substitutes... They are too big, and they don't weigh enough. It's not that they didn't give me more of a workout than I could actually handle. It's just that when I'm complaining about how sore I am and how tough the workouts are, and people ask me how much weight I'm using, I want to be able to say "5 lbs." or "10 lbs", not 18.6 fluid ounces of Bacon Potato.
5. I hate squats.
6. Working out at 4:50 pm last night and 4:50 am this morning were 2 completely different experiences!

So, last night at church, stairs were a little difficult and the handbells seemed about 5 lbs heavier than usual. This morning, I was able to make it upstairs to wake up Carter Lane, downstairs in heels was a little more difficult, but I made it. However, my upper body, especially my shoulders, are so sore. So, yeah, Level 1 with modified moves, and I'm halfway to a wreck - I'm out of shape!

We have Carter Lane's first real (not counting the Jamboree) football game for the season tonight against Starkville Academy. He says he's excited, but I see nerves. They have a bandit game (7th & 8th grade) beforehand, but he's supposed to get play in the JV game, and I think he's nervous about how much harder they hit in those games than in the bandit games. So, here's to hoping that he comes out of it with no broken bones or permanent damage... and, hey, maybe even a win :)

Summer Resolutions

I don't know why August is always so stressful. Maybe it's because I'm in the Education field, and, even though I work year-round, August just brings a whole pile of new work. Maybe it's because Carter Lane goes back to school and has football practice until at least 6:00 pm (both JV and Varsity since he manages), homework, tests, etc. Maybe it's because it's been 267 degrees this month and the heat makes me exhausted. Maybe, just maybe, it's because I'm just high-strung by nature.. who knows? I have, however, handled the stress ok this time around. However, I have made a few resolutions that I'm posting on here in the hopes of my promising updates will actually hold me accountable to the things that I'm saying.

So, starting sometime  (let's just go ahead and be optimistic and say tomorrow), I will:

• Begin (and work through to completion) the 30 Day Shred
  
  No, I don't think that I will lose up to or anywhere close to 20 lbs in 30 days. However, I am hoping that I can tone up some of the jiggly parts (Or at least convince myself that I have). It's a workout regime composed of 3 levels. I'm supposed to spend 10 days on Level 1 (which I have done before, and it seriously kicks my tail, even with the modified moves) and then 10 days on Level 2, followed by 10 days on Level 3 (that I've read is darn near to awful). I will probably take before and after pictures, but I make no promises to share unless I see some MAJOR results.

• Not enter one of my favorite places for a whole month:
  
  I know a lot of people are not Dirt Cheap fans... It used to give me panic attacks, too, when I walked in and there was no rhymoe nor reason to anything. However, I have found that if you have the time the desire, and a portable container of hand sanitizer, you can actually find some really good stuff. At least 10-15 items in my wardrobe have come from here (I probably shouldn't admit it, but I'm actually proud because I LOVE a good deal.) such as the sweater I'm wearing today (the picture doesn't show how cute it really is.. I love it!) that I purchased for $3:

• Actually finish a Bible study:
  
  I do ok on my quick daily devotional, but I often let Bible Studies fall behind everything else in my life (definitely not something I'm proud of). My church is currently doing the video series and workbook on Lord, Change My Attitude, but I have handbell practice while the study is going on. So, I have just picked up the workbook and am going through it with a couple of friends, and just the first week was amazing and changed the way I thought about my words, actions, and thoughts. I am going to finish this study, and hopefully let it change the way I am rather than just the way I think. I will share some of my thoughts and revelations throughout, but I would recommend anyone looking into this study, just for the little bit that I've already experienced!! (Not to ruin it for you, but the first week is on complaining, and I, first, never realized how much of a complainer I am, and, second, never thought about how it impacts other people and, more importantly, how it impacts my relationship with God. - You're curious now, aren't you?)

• Finally, to NOT gain back all the weight that I lost on Weight Watchers:
  I know that I've talked about it before (multiple times), but Weight Watchers really works when one is dedicated and using will power. However, I am the worst about reaching my goal and then thinking (erroneously) that I can eat like I was eating before WW and still look like I do post WW. Ultimately, I lost a total of 40 lbs on WW just by changing my eating habits ( I understand that you're supposed to mix some exercise in there, too, but I didn't do it... That's why I need to tone - see Resolution numero uno). To give you some perspective, I have found similar pictures of pre-WW Julie and post-WW Julie.
  
  PRE (Obviously)

POST

(So you can kinda see why I would like to not have to go through all of this again. )

Anyway, so those are my resolutions... I truly intend on keeping them! Any words of encouragement or wisdom will be welcomed :)

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

What's New?

So, it's been forever since I've posted... Life just gets busy sometimes, ya know?

So, in the last month I've done music for an Emmaus Walk (truly awesome experience... just built on what I learned on my Walk), managed to reach my goal weight for Weight Watchers (and am just 5 lbs from driver's license weight....wooohooo!!), started a new school year, and added to our family (don't get too excited, we just got a new dog).

This is Lil Bit, our new Maltipoo (doesn't shed which means she can hang out in the house without making the boys sneeze like crazy). She's a doll!

This is Trent in his new Buzz Lightyear costume. He adores dressing up as super heroes, policemen, knights, etc... We've gotten a few costume catalogues in the mail recently, and you would think that we were gearing up for Christmas... He spends hours looking through the catalogues, pointing out every costume he needs (not wants, needs!).

I was also invited to become a part of a small group Bible Study (what a blessing!), and we're going through James McDonald's Lord, Change My Attitude (my toes are so sore from being stepped on over and over). So, while I am making a conscious attempt to refrain from complaining (never realized how much I actually complain, it was scary!), I will say that we are trying not to melt and that, while I am not a huge fan of my arms (thank you, UADD), I have never been a bigger fan of dressy tops without sleeves :).

I hope everyone's August has started out well!