The 30 Day Shred

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Viv

I first got the 30 Day Shred DVD in 2008 or 2009. I did it on and off for a few times but I never went further than Level 1. This winter, I rediscovered the workout and as boring as it can be, I really appreciate it for what it is: a demanding full-body workout that is done within 25 minutes.

About a week ago, after doing the 30 Day Shred for three days in a row, I decided that I would give doing it for 30 days straight a shot.

I knew that it would be demanding, seeing how I also wanted to run two times a week, and would have Zumba and belly dance classes starting up in February. Yes, belly dance. More on that in a different post.

Today, I am 11 days into the 30 Day Shred, and I can definitely feel an improvement, especially in strength. The cardio intervals were never too much of a struggle for me being that I run and do Zumba already, but the strength and abs intervals, oh my!

I did Level 1 for ten days and I could feel it getting easier and easier with every workout. Yesterday, I started Level 2. I had never done it before, and I really enjoyed it, though I struggled with all the plank exercises. But it is definitely a whole new challenge compared to Level 1.

Between the 30 Day Shred, and a run, a swim, and Zumba, I think this week was my most active week since I started this new lifestyle in August. I definitely felt the exhaustion after Thursday, which was my most active day, so I took a rest day on Friday.

I know how important rest is, and that was the one thing bugging me about the 30 Day Shred. When I decided to take a rest day on Friday, after ten days of Level 1, I also decided to do the same after finishing Level 2. While I love a challenge and know how good it is for me, both physically and mentally, I don’t want to overdo it or risk injury.

After Christmas, I had struggled with exercising regularly a little, especially with running in the winter weather, so I think this was just what I needed. I feel so much better when I exercise and I know that it is so good for my body too. I love how it only takes 25 minutes for me to get in a fully satisfying workout that consists of both cardio and strength training. It seems little time for a full-body workout.

Yesterday I even got up at 7:30am (on a Saturday!) to go for a swim. I never thought I would choose a workout over sleep, and I like this new me. It was so nice to be back home at 10:30 and have already gotten in a workout. I did the 30 Day Shred a couple hours later and then enjoyed the rest of my Saturday without having to worry about when to fit in the time for a workout.

Have you ever done the 30 Day Shred? Do you enjoy it? Which level is your favorite?

Goals for 2012

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Viv

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I am not a big fan of new year’s resolutions, because let’s face it, most are forgotten by the time February rolls around, but nevertheless I have a few goals for this year that I am going to continue to work on.

Kick my insulin resistance: I have a little over a month left of taking the Metformin. After that, I am on my own with the weight loss. I am positive that I will keep losing weight. Six months later, after keeping off the weight and continuing my healthy diet, I am going to take the OGTT again to find out if my insulin resistance is gone. I am confident that my hard work will pay off and the IR will be gone by August.
Reach my goal weight: I have a little over 13 kg to lose and I would love to get to my goal weight within the first half of 2012. I am not going to stress over it, though. If it takes longer, then that’s okay too. I am confident that 2012 will be the year I finally make it to 65 kg.
Continue a healthy diet: I have improved my diet so much over the past few months. Though I have phases in which I slack off a little, such as lately, I am going to keep up my healthy eating. Even though it takes a certain amount of dedication, time, and planning, it is worth it. I know how important it is for my health in general and my insulin resistance in specific.
Keep up the running: I am going to keep running. I want to run at least 2-3 10k races in 2012 and start building up to longer distances as well as improve my pace. During the winter, my main focus is to maintain my endurance and once the weather improves, I want to up my running and follow a training plan again.
Get fitter: I have worked hard on my fitness level, and have managed to average 3-5 workouts a week throughout the past five months. For my standards, this is quite frankly outstanding. I want to keep this up and become even fitter and stronger. I feel so much better and everything is so much easier when I am fit.
Work on my confidence and self image: I feel so much better about myself than I did five months ago. I am more confident and I like my reflection in the mirror a lot better, I am even at a point where I almost like my body, but there are still plenty of issues I need to work on. I am more confident, but overall, I am still not a very confident person and when I allow myself, I get consumed by negative feelings about myself. I don’t think this is an issue that will magically disappear once I am “thin” so it is something I need and want to work on.
Eliminate bad habits: I successfully managed to stop biting my nails and haven’t since August. I don’t get the urge to bite anymore, either, so I am confident that I have kicked this habit for good. There are a couple of other bad habits I want to work on in 2012, though. One is to cut down on diet coke. I have been working on this on and off for months, and I have had weeks that I did quite well, but lately I have been back to drinking a lot of it again, especially at work. Another is to cut down on the amount of chocolate and candy I eat. Also something that was much better a few months ago, as I have been slacking off a little. I am never going to cut out chocolate or candy for good, but I need to do better than I have lately.

What are your goals for 2012?

A year in review

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Viv

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.
- Margaret Thatcher

2011 was a year of ups and downs for me, in terms of weight loss and health. I had lost quite a bit of weight between August and December 2010 when I started my first full-time job after university in mid-January. After that, I quickly gained back all the weight I had lost and a few kilos on top of that.

In June, I found out that I had PCOS – explaining all the symptoms I had been experiencing since I went off birth control in October 2010 (a very irregular cycle, acne). About a month after finding out about the PCOS, I was also diagnosed with insulin resistance. While I knew I was to blame for most of my weight gain, i.e., my lack of activity and eating too much junk food at work and at home, the insulin resistance must’ve played a role as well.

August is when I everything changed. I started taking Metformin, and I decided that if I was going to take a medication like that, I would do my best that I wouldn’t have to take it for long. I decided to try something new and signed up for MyFitnessPal. Probably one of the best decisions I made in 2011. At the end of August, I canceled my Weight Watchers Online subscription, and I never looked back.

Since August, I have been using MyFitnessPal to count calories, journal my food and my exercise. And I’ve made a few new friends too. I have come to really appreciate the support network that MFP, or rather other MFP members, provide and I love the clean interface of both the MFP website and the iPhone app.

I also had two appointments with a nutritionist in the fall. She gave me some very helpful tips and also reassured me that I was already doing very well. My 3-month check-up, roughly three months after I got my RI diagnosis and started taking the Metformin, went very well, and I got praised by my endocrinologist for having lost so much weight already.

It’s been nearly five months since I joined MFP and started exercising regularly again. Five months since I turned my life around.

On August 3, I weighed 97.4 kg. Probably my highest weight of all times. Since then, I’ve lost 19 kg – putting me at 78.4 kg at my most recent weigh-in this morning, my lowest weight of recent years.

At some point in the fall, I set myself a goal of getting to under 80 kg by the end of the year. I made it. At my last weigh-in of 2011, I weighed 78.6 kg.

I also started running again and have made huge progress since then. I started fresh with Couch to 5K in August and ran a 5k race in October. Unlike all the other times I had done C25K, I didn’t stop running, though, when I finished the program this time, but I kept running following a 10K plan by Jane Wake. Two months later, I ran my first 10K (race) ever.

Now that 2012 has begun, I can say that 2011 was a really successful year for me. After a rough patch – that lasted 7 months, hah – I turned it all around and I can honestly say that I am in a much better place now, in terms of weight, fitness, physical and mental health.

Here’s to continuing on this journey and making 2012 even better!