stick with the heating pad and take care of yourself. exercise is for your health, but so is this. i'm glad it seems a bit better today.

i plan to do 10 days at each level, doing it everyday. if i let myself take a day off...that'll be the beginning of the end. lol. if i find level 2 to be unbearable i will bounce back down to level 1, but folks seem to find level 2 easier (for some reason). i'm really hoping that's the case. also, i soooooo want the sense of accomplishment of finishing the 30 day shred. i have a tough time finishing things, generally.

plus, i'm kinda vain. i'm a teacher and i'd like my coworkers to notice something is a bit different when we return to school late august.

last time i was active on 3FC (never really had success) i made a blog. looking at my measurements from 2011, they are practically identical to my first day of the shred measurements from last week.

im trying not to dwell on the 3 years i've spent being fat, or how i gave up in the past, and instead be grateful that i spent 3 years maintaining the same weight instead of gaining. trying soooooo hard.

so, the shred is seeming ever so slightly more manageable...still pausing the video during the leg/am combo moves because i'm whiney and don't like to "feel the burn". i figure pausing to take a minute break is better than letting them carry on without me. im doing every single lunge, just with brief intermissions.

also, unrelated, i made eggplant parmesan for dinner using spinach instead of pasta. it was so good.

i hope the family vacation is progressing wonderfully!!

I'm like halfway through the video today and I just don't want to finish it. Its 12:15am and I just want to go to bed and am feeling so blah.

I'm gonna finish it though. I dgaf. There's no alternative. L1D7 is getting done and then I can sleep.

I had to finish the video this morning. that's ok though.

L1D7 and L1D8 are done now.

starting to feel a little stupid talking to myself on this thread...

Just a tip: Stay on L1 until you can get through it without stopping, then move on to L2. Try not to focus on having to get through each level in a week. Also use 5p hand weights and eventually move up to 10p.

I spent more like 90 days on that DVD and got the most amazing results. Stick with it!!

I'm glad you got such good results!!! Jillian is kicking my *** daily and I keep thinking...this works. I've seen the pictures and heard the stories and it really does work so just do ittttttttttt.

I really want the satisfaction of completing the program in 30 days, so I am going to try to power through each level in 10 days this time around. If I straight up cannot do level 2, I'll continue with level 1.

I do think that after these 30 days I will do each level until I can make it all the way through without stopping the video. Upping the weights is a great idea to make the workout more challenging!

I know I'm supposed to measure on days 1, 10, 20, and 30 but I wanted to eat ALL THE THINGS this evening, so instead I measured a day early.

Day 1 & day 9 measurements:
neck: 34cm - 33cm (-1)
bicep (L): 29cm - 28cm (-1)
bicep(R): 28.5cm - 28cm (-0.5)
underbust: 85cm - 84 cm (-1)
natural waist: 87cm - 82cm (-5)
widest waist: 104cm - 102cm (-2)
thigh(L): 57cm
thigh(R): 57cm

total of -10.5cm (4 inches) from level 1 of the shred!

She's brutal and definitely effective. There were a few times I had to lay down immediately after because I felt like crap but welcomed her beatings.

First things first, today I am about 700 calories over budget (making it a 1900 calorie day). It wasn't an accident. I chose to make the most delicious submarine sandwich and enjoyed it SO thoroughly. Interestingly, I have less than zero guilt about this. I thought I'd be anxious or discouraged or angry at myself... but I'm not. The sandwich was that good.

I've been the same weight for about 3 years, eating roughly whatever I want and not exerting myself. Time has passed while I accomplished nothing, because I wasn't trying. I'm trying now. I'm exercising and counting calories, which is why I know I'm way over today.

And because being more active and paying attention is going to be a part of every day, there are going to be days when I prioritize eating a sandwich over being on target. I want to be healthier, and yes, for vanity's sake I want to be hot, but if this is going to be MY LIFE it isn't always going to be 100% on plan. I want my life to be joyful and I am deciding what that means on a daily basis. Today it meant eating something I almost never do, relishing every moment of it, and still getting my workout in.

Today was L1D10 for the 30DS and I am tremendously proud of myself for sticking through the whole first level. Really intimidated about starting level 2 tomorrow...

Good for you for not feeling guilty about your food. You had a treat, and there is nothing wrong with that. Plus, I've always found that having an occasional day over budget usually kickstarts weight loss again, and you've been killing it with 30DS! Your measurements are proof of your progress...great job!

Hey! Can I briefly jump in on this? I'm not planning on doing the whole shred, but I've got an event coming up in 14 days and I want to do it until then to get myself active every. single. day.

I did 30DS a few years back and remember getting really good results with L1

Of course you can! Thrilled to have you! We started out 3 strong, but an injury and a family trip seems to have left me shredding alone...though lovely ladies come check in on me from time to time. Bless their hearts.

I'm supposed to start Level 2 tonight (it's 11pm here in Beijing) and I've been putting it off because I'm intimidated.

One of my friends asked me yesterday if I had been working out and I was really shocked. I haven't told anyone IRL that I'm trying to lose weight/get fit and I've only been active for 10 days. I'm calling it a lucky guess on her part.

Another friend told me that if I get skinnier than her, we aren't friends anymore. It was said in good humor, but she said it a few times. Made me feel a little bit like her token fat friend or something. She's recently put on some weight (still smaller than me, still adorable, intelligent, sweet) so I think she's either feeling a little insecure or just making a joke that I'm totally overthinking because, again, I haven't told her that I am currently trying to lose weight/get fit. Either way, not a big deal..just an odd part of our evening out.

I thought Level 2 was really hard last time I did it, but that may just be because it focused more on areas I'm weak at.

Last time I think I had to quit on day 14/day 4 of L2 because I injured myself. I have weak ankles and had been doing 30DS barefoot. L2 managed to do something to me that caused me to screw up my ankle, and that was the end of that!

This time to be careful I think I'm going to do L1 for 14 days straight, then after my event if I want to keep going I may go straight to L3, which I remember thinking was actually easier than L2.

Ladies - one word to descibe you - amazeballs (never used that word before so felt I needed to try it)
I am not sure how I came across your post but I am so glad I did!
Thanks to you I have completed day 4 of 30ds - still struggling with the push ups and the bicycle crunches. I just cant seem to finish them all but I have certainly improved since day 1. So hopefully tommorrow I will get all the push ups in at least.

MonteCristo - I hope you are feeling better.


Thanks a mil for this thread I hope you dont mind if I join in.

So I followed through and did L1D1 last night. Pretty proud of myself for doing it.

First, my DVD player wouldn't work... almost quit right then! But I remembered that it's on YouTube, and I have YouTube access through my Wii, so I fired it up that way.

It was definitely tough. I had to pause for water and breathing a couple times, and it was very difficult doing some of the weight exercises with 5 lb. dumbbells, but I try to keep moving even when I can't do the full move. For instance, during the side lunges, if my arms absolutely just will NOT lift the weights up, I still do the lunges and follow along until I can lift a few more times. I just keep moving and pushing myself as much as I can without dropping a weight on my foot.

Wheresmychin Great job on day 4! I was most sore on days 3 and 4, so you are a major champ for powering through. The bicycle crunches were always be favorite because I knew they were the end. lol. Still can't do a push-up of any kind, I substitute elbow planks.

underanalysis Congrats on not letting the minor annoyance derail you. I know how easy it can be to latch on to any excuse to put off exercise. You're going to look fab at your event.

I..um..didn't start level 2 yesterday. I watched it though. That's almost like doing it, right?So today I did L2D1 + circuits 1&2 again. That means tomorrow I'll have L2D3 + circuit 3 again.

Oh, also, twisty-plank-ab-things are not cool. I've got them, but they are not cool. And I'm hanging with Anita so hard right now. Nat is insane.