Shreddin' Skinny Jeans.

Well, not quite skinny yet, but I did buy skinny jeans after all today. I went shopping with a friend and decided to try a more realistic outfit with them, and I dug it. Please don't mind my ugly pink boots. :) Oh! And I bought the black shirt too. I got a few other nifty items, a few pairs of boots and a fabulous sweater, but I'll share those with you soon.

Frontie:


Bootie:


I finished day 9 of the 30 Day Shred, and I'm starting to see some results, y'all! I know I keep talking about it, but since so many of you have told me that you went and bought the DVD or that you've ordered it, I want to give you as much info as possible.

You know how I can't do more than about 20 knee-style push ups? Well I'm still noticing my biceps have more definition. :)



My overall progress is fair, I don't feel like I'm really that much smaller, but I feel more defined or something. My waist is still 30 inches, and I really need to be down to 28 to fit into the dress. Any tips on reducing the waist? I know "they" say you can't spot-reduce, but dammit, I want to try.



~Jenn :)

Green Smoke.

What's up!

So, today I effectively detoxed from the pizza overdose I had yesterday. I drank a crapton of water last night and had a good four hours and two venti coffees at Starbucks today. Yeah, I know coffee isn't particularly "healthy," and drinking two larges might have been overkill, but that plus water really gets things moving and helps get the water retention off of me. Also, I'm working on my post-NaNoWriMo-writing, so I'm at Starbucks a lot.

I successfully completed day 8 of the 30 Day Shred today, and admittedly went back to level 1. I am totally not ready for level 2... my arms are sisstastic. I did push myself harder on level 1, and I figure that's what I should be doing. I can do virtually the entire thing at the "hardest" modification, except I can't do normal push ups. In fact, I can't do both sets of push ups in knee-push up mode. I really am struggling with my lack of upper body strength. Any hints or clues or tips you have for increasing my push up ability would be greatly appreciated. Like, arm muscle fizzy drink. Or spreadable arm muscle cheese and sissy-no-more crackers. Or perhaps Push Up Pop Tarts. Or something.


Also, I wanted to share a little something cool with you guys, so check out my vlogadoodle below! :)





~Jenn

I totally screwed myself.

Yeah, I think I just screwed myself.

First I'm gonna get the better news out of the way. I did my 7th day of the 30 Day Shred today and I decided to try out level 2. I was a snarky, snarky, snark pants. I thought "I'm pretty decent with everything except full "normal" push ups so I should be okay." Wrongio. Level 2 is very heavy on upper body. I'm sore right now, and I'm gonna be damn sore tomorrow.

I really do like a lot of level 2 though, so I'm thinking for the ones I can't do quite yet I'll sub out the harder strength or cardio moves from level one. So, right now I have decided that I'm saying I'm on level 1.5. :)

So, for the bad news:

I was going to do a hip lil' post on making healthy eating choices, as I nibbled away on my thin crust Pizza Hut pizza with light sauce, tomatoes and mushrooms. Then I looked online, and apparently 1/2 a large pizza is around 960 calories.

Holy shitballs. So, yeah... scratch what I was going to say on that.

Here's the damage:



Yeah. I'll come back with a healthy eating choices post... later.


ALTHOUGH... I will say that for Dan to eat 1/2 of his large Pan Pizza with sausage and mushrooms, it'll cost him 1560 calories, so by comparison mine is better. I'm used to eating Domino's, which gives you the online option of clicking "easy on the cheese," so this pizza was way too cheesy for me. But what made me honestly say, "Yeah, pizza, why not?" Dan is a horrible influence on me.

"Babe, we haven't had pizza in forever, do you mind if I order some?"
"Not at all, order whatever you want."
"Well do you want a healthy one like your thin crust veggie or something?"
"Umm, I was just going to do a salad."
"Well I've got a coupon so we could get one for you."
"Hm, well that wouldn't be too bad,"

And now I find myself sitting here feeling guilty for eating more than 2/3 my daily calorie intake in one sitting. Now, I'm normally really good about what I eat, so I'm not going to freak out too, too, too much. It's not like it's going to kill me... BUT, I want to take a second and really look at why I ate the pizza, and... was it all that super enjoyable? No. Would I do it again? Nuh-uh. Do I feel like a greasybloatedtoofullpizzaeatingpiggie? Yes.

So, next time Dan offers, I'm gonna say, "NO!" And I'll move on with my salad, y'all.

This is what I've been trying to tell you guys. Finding this "balance" in life, where sometimes it's okay to eat pizza and you can have a hot fudge sundae once in awhile... I seriously can't find that balance. I don't like it, 'cause it doesn't feel like "balance." It feels like a giant setback, and it feels like I'm weak and lazy and slothful. It feels absolutely horrible. It feels like I should go on a water fast tomorrow.

Maybe this so-called "balance" you people talk about is something you find after you lose the weight.


So... speaking of food, I also wanted to show you guys some photos. I notice that I have a compulsion to finish all my food. I'm sitting right now next to my pizza box, half full, and it's driving me a little batty that there's half a pizza left. I'm not going to eat it, but I want to. So, it's going into the fridge.

Okay, crap I just ate one more piece. (Square piece, not normal piece.) Gah! In the fridge, NOW!


So... I started to pay attention to the way Dan eats, and he leaves food all the time. I just don't do that.

We went to Chili's for dinner yesterday and I had the Guiltless Grill cedar plank tilapia... (delicious, if you're curious) with a side salad.



Dan got the rib eye with mashed potatoes and gravy and veggies, along with the butter and garlic soaked toast. (YUM...) This is what he left on his plate:



It was driving me crazy. I kept sticking my finger in the gravy and saying, "Dammit, I'd just totally eat up those little last bits."

It's just further proof that I apparently have more food issues than I already know about, and more than I thought I did. What IS the compulsion to finish all the food!?

~J

A ten is not a ten.

It's true. We've talked a lot about clothing sizes and how they just don't seem to stay consistent. Okay, they ARE NOT consistent. I went to Old Navy today like I told y'all I was going to, 'cause I figured I could probably squeeze myself into a size 10 pair of jeans. Indeed I did.

Old Navy has lots of different types of Women's jeans and they have different names. I decided to grab a few different kinds, all in a 10 regular. Here's the result:

Me in my current size 12 jeans from New York and Company:



Me in the size 10 "Sweetheart" jeans from Old Navy:



Then, the ones I bought, the size 10 "Dreamer" jeans from Old Navy:




And for a laugh, I figured, "why not try on some skinny jeans!" I have this strange, weird, uncontrollable desire to wear skinny jeans. I'm too old for them, I'm not emo, I don't get into Twilight, but dammit, I want to wear skinny jeans. It probably just has to do with the name "Skinny" jeans. 'cause obviously if you can wear them, you're skinny.

I've read a lot of debates about how "big" is "too big" to wear skinny jeans. Personally, if you're comfortable in them and you feel hot, go for it. No shame, ladies.

Here's me in the size 10 "Diva" skinny jeans from Old Navy:




As you can see, they look fairly decent with a shirt down, but you can see how TIGHT they are. These babies barely buttoned.

Hilarious how different three size 10 pairs of jeans can be!

I could easily have decided that I wanted to be a size 8 today and gone to get the next size down in the Sweetheart style. BUT, I like the way I felt and looked in the 10's of the Dreamers, so I bought them. Don't let a size dictate how you feel. I know I talk about sizes a lot, but in reality it's about how I feel when I pull up the zipper. :) <3

~Jenn

Updated Progress Photos!

Today was day 5 of the 30 Day Shred and things are going fine. I think by the time I'm done with day 10, I'll definitely be ready to move up to level 2. I might actually do that sooner rather than later. The only thing I still feel really challenged by is the push ups. :)

I want to go to Old Navy tomorrow so I can see if I can fit into a size 10 pair of jeans. I don't have any 10 jeans to try on, but I remembered that when I did my clothing post I couldn't zip and button a white pair of size 10 Anne Taylor pants. I was about 185 on October 13th, and I'm about 175 now!




ZIPPED! BUTTONED! SWEEEEEET!

So I'll be looking forward to getting out into the real world and seeing how a new pair of jeans might fit me. No doubt 10's would be tight, but I need to get some... when my clothes feel too baggy it makes me a little more complacent in my weight loss efforts. When my pants are a little tight it reminds me that I need to continue to watch what I eat and that exercise shouldn't be optional! :)


So here's an update on the size 8 jeans I want to be able to get back into! I decided to try them on again. I can't pull them up properly onto my butt because my thighs are still too big, and obviously they won't zip or button. But I'm all the closer. Gah! I can't wait! :)

And actually on my hips I'm down 8.5 inches from my original measurement of 48.5 inches.




Yeah! So nothing else really new to report. See you guys soon!

~Jenn

Oh yeah, baby.

Day four, suck my nuts.


I got to go hang with Esther again today (Umm, have I mentioned she's my new BFF? In fact I dig her so much that I'd unabashedly use the term BFF. I srsly LOVE this girl.) And I don't know why my giant head looks so giant-like and why it looks like I'm going to eat her face just because I'm near it.



Anyway! We did the shred and I'm feeling okay. My right quad hates my face and my arms still really hurt, but it's not so bad. I'm actually already finding that it's a little easier despite the sore factor. I can get through the cardio fairly easily and I found that Esther and I are able to carry on a conversation virtually the whole time. I suppose that means I need to get more intense when jumping the jacks. For me, the toughest part is that the jumping around makes my calves burn so much, it's not that my lungs hurt. It's my calves.


Isn't her son Jude SO CUTE? He stared at me pretty much the whole time. I was wearing a green shirt... I think he just digs green.





So I got a few questions from you guys, and I thought I'd answer 'em!


Q: Do people run or do other cardio in addition to "shredding"? Or is cardio built into it?

A: The way the shred is built, it includes all you need for the best quality work out in 20 minutes. It starts with a warm up, then does 2 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs. Then it repeats. It's really not that bad because it is broken down into 30 second increments within the 2 minutes, so for example, you do 30 seconds of jumping jacks, then 30 seconds of butt-kicks, then repeat.

Q: Are there rest days? Or do you shred continuously for 30 days?

A: This is one of my questions too. From what I understand, it's a continuous 30 day program. This is pretty contrary to what I've learned in the past because "they" say that you should rest your muscles between working them so there's a chance for them to recover. Right now it's all about working through the sore. But what comes to mind for me before I jump to say, "No, then this isn't how it's supposed to be and I should rest in between," is the military. Those men and women go through real boot camp and they don't get rest days. And they bust their asses for a hell of a lot longer than 20 minutes. I figure if they can do it and be alive, so can I. And the military folk have kick ass bods for a reason!

Q: Are you doing Level 3? That looks like level 3.

A: Nope, I'm wussy, starting out, and it's level 1.

Q: And by the way, why do you have FRIES IN YOUR FREEZER??

A: My boyfriend weighs 12 pounds and can eat whatever he wants. Unfortunately that means that my house is laden with fries, hot pockets, cookies, candy, chips and dip and whatever the hell else crap he wants to eat. :(

Q: How long is the work out video? I am not sure if I could last the whole time! Do you ever cheat?

A: It's about 20, 25 minutes. I can pretty much rock the whole time, but with my arms so sore, I can NOT do the full sets of push ups. Other than that, I do the whole thing. I tried to do it back when I was 45 pounds heavier and it was markedly harder. I'm looking forward to my endurance increasing so I can start to move up in levels. They say to do level 1 for 10 days, then level 2 for 10 days then level 3 for 10 days. :)


Lurve you guys and hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with something witty and clever. If not, well, at least it'll be honest.

<3 Jenn

TMI Thursday: A Shredded Shower Sissy.

So, today I went to Esther's house and we did my day 3 and her day 4 of the 30-Day Shred! I forgot my camera so I can only show you a picture of how freakin' excited I was to be at her house, and I took this with my iPhone.



Don't worry, tomorrow I'll have a proper picture of us together! :)

Other blogger buddies who are doin' the shred:

Shredheads, the Ultimate Guide to the 30 Day Shred.
The Long Hard Road out of Hell
The Insatiable Host
Monica at Confessions of a + Sized Girl
My Shred Buddy, Esther of FaintStarLite
Erin at The XXL Files
Tammy's Tale
Fit N Healthy by Fifty
Take Up Your Bed and Walk
It's Just You And Me

I seriously think there are tons more of you guys who are doing the shred with us but I can't remember who all is doing it or not doing it. Let me know in the comments if you're shreddin' it up too! We're all gonna be svelt for the holidays, baby.

So, I'm sore. Like, ridic sore. Like, it hurts to brush my hair and put on a hoodie and stand up from the couch or sit down to pee. I'm looking forward to not being so sore and so freakin' outta shape.

I'm also a bit disappointed because I've gained a few pounds. I've heard that happens when you start doing strength training because all the tears in your muscles retain extra water. I just need to keep going and push through. I was feeling all motivated to go to the gym after we shredded today, but I felt really light headed on the drive home, so I decided to go home and eat lunch and not push it. Maybe I can get in Zumba tomorrow night. That'd be cool. I've really been feeling a desire to run and/or do the elliptical lately. It's all the Biggest Loser I've been watching, I'm sure.

So, anyway, I'm going to expand. I've had some questions asking how the shred is going. I figured the best way to show you all what it feels like is with a quick video. And it's totally TMI, 'cause it shows me working out, and it shows me in the shower. Don't get too scared... I'm not showing my nudie bits.

And just in case it's not TMI enough for you, here's a picture of me with twizzler bits stuck up my nose so I can smell them and not have to eat them.




Allrighty, here we go. And since this isn't quite the normal TMI type material, be sure to visit LiLu's blog (click the button) for all the fabulous and horrible and nasty and awesome TMI Thursday stories.




OH! And I have to say that this video was completely inspired by my sexy mama girlfriend lovah cute faced partner in crime, Sue, over at Did I Just Eat That Outloud. Depart forth with over yonder to check out the awesomeness that is her blog after you watch my vid. <3




~J