Day 1

Welcome to my new blog, SaraShredsIt! I purchased the Jillian Michaels DVD "30 Day Shred" back in January and I have been working out with the video occasionally but certainly not regularly. I've gotten to the point where I am ready to commit! I'm also at a point of physical fitness where I can take on something challenging. I've come a long way on my journey back to my pre-pregnancy weight but I still have about 5 pounds of fat to shed and some toning that needs to take place. This blog is going to follow my 30 day effort to lose the final pounds of baby weight that are lingering from my pregnancy with Weston, who was born on June 10th, 2010. Yup. It's been nearly 16 months and I am still not quite there. However, that's not to say I haven't made a lot of progress! Let's take a look back to see how far I've come.

I gained 55 pounds with my pregnancy and after it was all said and done, I had about 30 pounds that I was stuck with. Since I wasn't breastfeeding and my muscles were completely non existent from being on bed rest for a month, I did not drop many pounds in the months immediately following Weston's birth. It was definitely slow going for me as I dropped a pound or two each month. Once I felt like being more physically active, my weight loss picked up. But then the holiday season hit and my weight was at a standstill for 2 months. Since returning to work and being on more of an eating schedule, I've continued to lose about 1-2 pounds a month. Twenty five pounds later, I'm feeling pretty good about the progress I have made in the last 16 months. It hasn't been easy to find time to work out and eat right amidst the chaos of working full time, maintaining a home, and being a mother to a toddler but my progress proves that it is possible!

And now I'm ready to take the plunge with Jillian and finally lose the last 5 pounds. I even made Thomas take 'Before' pictures while I posed in my swimsuit. Let me tell you, those pictures left a little to be desired. I know that my trouble areas are my hips and belly. I'm anxious to see how these 30 days will change those two areas! I'm not going to post my before pictures until I have after pictures so you'll have to check in after 30 days if you want to see the results ;) I'm going to try to post daily to keep myself accountable.

Today I did level 2 of the DVD. Tom had to sequester Weston in the basement half way through my workout because the kid kept stealing my weights and dragging them off to other parts of the house. I was sweating and huffing away after only a few minutes but it felt GREAT to work my shoulders and abs. I still can't do the last ab move on this level. I can't say I had the greatest eating day. I guess it was alright other than the 10 or so caramels that I decided I needed to eat with my apple. One day down, 29 to go!