30 day challenge, day 11.

1. Shred: Check. Survived the first day of level 2. Admittedly, way hard. Jillian seems to have skipped a few levels between 1 and 2, in my opinion.

2. Walk: No. This probably won't happen on Tuesdays because I work late.

3. Water: Eh.

4. Snacks: Fine, but I did have a bagel at 3 because I was starving. I walked up and down 4 flights of stairs to get it, so that has to count for something.

5. Portions: Check!

6. No eating after 7:  Also won't happen on Tuesdays because of my work schedule.

7. Blog: Yep. Well, I did it late, but I did it!

What went well:

I survived level 2. And I am down 2 pounds!

Not so well:

Eh, the bagel. 

Keepin' it real:

Just sweat. Lots and lots of sweat.

30 day challenge, day 8.

30 day challenge, day 8.

1. Shred: Check. Level 1, day 8. Two more days until Level 2, yikes!

2. Walk: Check.

3. Water: Better than yesterday. 

4. Snacks: Great. I only had the two I planned for.

5. Portions: Ok. I had more Kraft Mac and Cheese than I should have at lunch. And it was Kraft Mac and Cheese.

6. No eating after 7: Check!

7. Blog: Fail.

What went well:

My knee was really hurting yesterday. I think I really need new shoes. I pushed through and did the Shred anyway. I took some Motrin and it's fine this morning.  Also, I went to the Southern Women's Show and there was an entire building dedicated to food and free samples. I had ONE sample sized hush puppy and a cashew. That's it!

Not so well:

Kraft Mac and Cheese.

Keepin' it real:

I have lost ZERO pounds in a week. 

30 day challenge, day 6.

1. Shred: Check. Level 1, day 6.

2. Walk: No. I had a terrible day at work, so we went for Mexican after work. No time for a walk.

3. Water: Terrible.

4. Snacks: Great. I came home with snacks still in my bag.

5. Portions: Great! We went out for Mexican, but I only ate one of my tacos and brought the other two home. So, not the best dinner, but kept the portion really small.

6. No eating after 7: Check!

7. Blog: Yep.

What went well:

Portion control. And, I didn't use my sucky day at work as an excuse not to work out. Still Shredding!

Not so well:

Water! I just can't seem to do it when work is crazy, which is always. 

Keepin' it real:

When things are hard, I still want to eat to cope. Sucky day at work = Mexican food.

Also want to add sincere thanks for the blog comments and Facebook cheers. Really motivates me to do well and I appreciate it so much! 

Oh, and Susan said my prize for the challenge is the new Vera Bradley I want! :)

30 day challenge, day 5.

30 day challenge, day 5.

1. Shred: Check. Level 1, day 5.

2. Walk: No. Work was super long today, I came home starving and had to figure out what to eat and I just didn't want to. Fail.

3. Water: Not great. Maybe 40 ounces?

4. Snacks: Really well. I had a brownie at work, but planned for it.

5. Portions: Great!

6. No eating after 7: Check!

7. Blog: Yep.

What went well:

The coordinator for the clinic I am in on Wednesdays always bakes. Usually I have 2. Ok, 3. Today I only had one.* There was no dinner when I got home and while I wanted to go pick up Wendy's, I had a Lean Cuisine and a Skinny Cow and then did the Shred.

Not so well:

Water! I just can't seem to do it when work is crazy, which is always. Definitely more than I have been, but could be higher.

Keepin' it real:

*Clinic was crazy, it was getting well past lunch and I was STARVING. I was about to grab a second brownie when one of the docs asked me if I was losing weight. I said I'd been working on it and smiled, but inwardly was all pissed because after that I certainly couldn't eat a brownie in front of him!

30 day challenge, day 4.

30 day challenge, day 4.

1. Shred: Check. Level 1, day 4.

2. Walk: Yes, but I had the whole famn damily with me so it wasn't quite as productive.

3. Water: Same. I think I will be around 48 oz at bedtime.

4. Snacks: Great!

5. Portions: Also did well here. No seconds.

6. No eating after 7: Skinny Cow post Shred after 7. Fail!

7. Blog: Fail! Work days are hard.

What went well:

Snacking. Getting much better at the no random eating. Work is hard because there is always someone up for a coffee/bagel/treat run and crap food abounds at the hospital. 

Not so well:

Water. 48 ounces isn't great. 

Keepin' it real:

I make Susan go upstairs when I Shred.

30 Day challenge, day 1.

1. Shred: Check. Level 1, day 1. I didn't die. I didn't even have to stop.

2. Walk: Check.

3. Water: Check. I have found that keeping a full water bottle around is key.

4. Snacks: Eh, I did ok.

5. Portions: No seconds, so that's good, I guess. Helps that dinner wasn't that good.

6. No eating after 7: Check.

7. Blog: Yep.

What I did well:

The Shred! Working out to a DVD makes me feel like a 1987 housewife, but my kid won't stay in the gym nursery without going into cardiac arrest, so this is what I have to work with. It was hard, but I did it. And Jillian is motivating. For a few reasons. :)

No eating after 7. Susan and I have both been trying to do better at this. We developed a bad habit after Lucy was born of "dessert and coffee" as a reward for surviving the day. We both usually have dessert and then a bowl of cereal after dinner but before bed. We've discovered that the only way to combat this is to go upstairs after the kids are in bed. There's no food up there and we are generally far too lazy to walk down to get anything.

Not so well:

Still combating random eating. A Butterfinger mini here, handful of chips there. Those little handfuls add up!

Keepin' it real:

Two vaginal births less than 2 years apart = peeing on yourself when you do jumping jacks. So, that sucks.

30 day challenge.

So, I'm fat. There's really no way around that (literally). We got family pictures done by an awesome photographer and I nearly cried when I saw them. You know how anorexics look in the mirror and think they are huge? Well, I have the opposite of that. Prorexia, maybe? Yeah, I don't know. Anyway, the list of reasons is long ... two pregnancies less than two years apart, age, two injuries that make working out impossible, our schedule, two kids, and well, I like to eat. A lot. It's caught up with me now and I really need to at least *try* to do something about it. Hence, the 30 day challenge. My Fitness Pal says I can only eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight. Sounds like a lot until I realized that I'd have to eat air and Splenda for two meals a day to hit that. I'm going to keep that # in mind, but really, I am going to try and do the following for the next 30 days.

1. The 30 Day Shred, daily.

2. Walk with the kids, daily. (Which includes pushing 60 pounds of kids in a 20 pound stroller. Extra points, right??)

3. Drink a LOT more water.

4. Snack twice a day and that's it. No more random eating.

5. Watch portion sizes.

6. No eating after 7.

7. Blog progress daily.

That's it. I'm not setting a goal weight because I don't think I have much control over that, really. I don't want to feel disappointed at the end because I didn't hit an arbitrary #. If I can do the above every day for 30 days, I will have hit my goal. I think I will need a prize. I'd really like a new Vera Bradley, but I think that's out of the budget. So, I will keep thinking on it.

It seems like people lose inches but not as many pounds doing the 30DS. I have my measurements and will post them at the end. Hopefully with a nice total of inches lost. If you are a friend, would you help me? Ask me if I worked out yesterday (because I won't be able to do the Shred until the kids are in bed). Cheer me on. Lord knows I will need it.