Fitness Friday

Fitness Friday was started last week by Amy over at Muddy Boots. I see she hasn't done a FF post yet today so it may not be an ongoing thing. However, I've been working my butt off and I'm ready to talk about it!!

I haven't mentioned this sooner because I know how I am. I get all fired up about things and forget them the next week. I didn't want to talk about working out if I was going to quit. Well, not this time!! I started Jillian Micheal's 30 Day Shred Workout on Monday, June 15th. I've worked out Monday - Friday for two weeks now.

I heard about the shred from several different places right in a row, even from one of my new favorite blogs Cents to Get Debt Free.

For those not familiar with the workout it goes like this:
There are 3 levels, progressively harder.
Each level is a short warm-up, 18 minutes of hard work, and a short cool down totaling around 22 minutes.
You do 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, 1 minute of abs and repeat 3 times.
Each 6 minute circuit features different exercises so it is NOT BORING, which I like.

I stuck to level 1 for the first 6 days. Tuesday I moved to level 2. I confess that I didn't work very hard Tuesday morning because I was confused and slow to grasp the new moves. This could have been avoided by watching the segment first but I thought it might scare me off. Instead I watched it on fast forward afterward, pausing for the moves that stumped me. Wednesday, despite getting up @ 5 AM in hopes of working out, I was only able to squeeze in about 10 minutes total. I worked extra hard for that 10 minutes to compensate! ;) Today was the first time I really got in to level 2 from start to finish. It was challenging and I was fighting hard at the end just to finish.

I can honestly say I have never physically worked this hard before, at least not consistently. It is addicting. I can't wait to get up and get started. I feel so good afterward and think this is a big part of why I've been in a really good mood lately.

As for physical results, I am already seeing them. Day 2 I weighed 134.8#. After one week I weighed 132.4#. I won't be surprised if I gain or level off as I build muscle but I'd like to be around 120-125 like I always was until the last couple years. My clothes fit a little better already.

I haven't changed much about the way I eat although I am watching my portion sizes and avoiding mindless eating and stress eating. I'm trying to add in more fruits and veggies and have realized that I eat A LOT of bread.

What do you do to stay in shape? Have you ever taken on a regular workout? Were you happy with the results?