30-day Shred - class of June 2014

[yadahyadah]

Looking for a reason to get yourself in shape for the summer? Join the Shred Thread for tips, tricks and a place to log your achievements.

[FelixFelix]

Hello! Does anyone mind if I join?

Just done my first day and found it tough at the start but easier towards the end. I'm spectacularly unfit after having dd as I had a problem with my pelvis from 22 weeks pregnant and literally couldn't walk anywhere for longer than 5 minutes I've lost a stone since Christmas but have another 4 to lose hoping 30DS will help with that!

[AnyaKnowIt]

Welcome Felix

What is level 3 like for ankles? Mine have been hurting since level 2.

[yadahyadah]

I found in Shred that my knees got very sore and remained so till the end. #Puts on cod physio hat# I think that until I got some nice strong muscle tone back in my thighs and bum I was just impacting my knees too much. Somewhere in Ri30 it passed and I have even managed jumping lunges for the past couple of weeks. So I reckon modify the exercises to suit your aches and pains and wait for your leg and bot muscles to firm up.

I like the non salted nuts tip - that should curb my urges. Thanks Imogen

Also going to get Biltong and other meat based snack opportunities. Thanks lambzig

Also think if I made a chick pea salad or other complex carb salad I could snack on that and avoid the call of the crisp. Reckon?


Sometimes on 5:2 Errol I reach the Nirvana of self knowledge you describe and feel as tho I can keep a lid on my snack attacks but then there is a wobble, be it hormonal or life induced and you will find me face down in the Kettle chips section on the supermarket. You also skip breakfast don't you? Even post 5:2 days? I am in awe.


I have the same issue with slim hips and bagel belly. It is very annoying and I do think I have to modify my eating to if I am serious about addressing it. Add to that 3xCS and what we are looking at, my friends, is abdominal carnage. But fk it - onwards and upwards I say.

[tabulahrasa]

Ri30L2D0, lol

It should be day 1, but, I couldn't finish it, not because I collapsed, rofl, I just kept getting interrupted and then ran out of time before I had to go out...so I'm not counting it.

The dog's in intensive care (which was why I ran out of time) he's had part of his stomach and intestine removed and his odds of pulling through are slightly higher than 50/50 - how am I going to keep my rug still without the dog to lie in it for me? Lol

[AnyaKnowIt]

Fingers crossed tabulahrasa

I've ditches level 2 and started level 3. Enjoyed it loads more then l2

My ripped Dvd arrived today too.

[jocastafantastica]

Can I join please? just done 30dsl1d1 - I feel physically sick! Haven't exercised in ages, convinced myself my fitness levels are same as when in my 30's, just had a serious reality check. Glad I was alone in the house - my jumping jacks was a dreadful sight to behold.
Need to lose 10lbs and tone up, preferably by 5/7 for posh wedding do......just need to get the kids to polish off the remainder of yesterdays birthday cake and I can focus on combining this with 16:8/sensible eating......
chickpea salad sounds lovely - that sounds good for tea tonight (when my nausea and exhaustion passes).

[ErrolTheDragon]

I got a good chickpea salad idea from a friend - it's chickpeas, cubed beetroot and feta (I used the lower-fat 'greek salad cheese'). I forgot what else she had in it so I added roasted red peppers and olives, and balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. Very tasty and very pink!

[StuntNun]

I'm no expert and I'm posting on my phone so I can't give references but my researches suggest that you need to get body fat very low (

[frankie80]

keep meaning to get started on the shred but I'm a bit confused. Do I do the whole dvd? Whole of level 1? Or just parts? eg level 1 over 1 week then level 2 next week etc?

[StuntNun]

Frankie just level 1 until you feel ready to move on. Most people do ten days at each level.

[Lambzig]

Gosh, Stuntnun, that is terribly depressing and probably means I am stuck with it as always have a high percentage of body fat. When I was size 6-8 and ran marathons, my body fat was still high.

What is 16:8?

[ErrolTheDragon]

16:8 is where you limit eating each day to within an 8 hour window. In practice this can simply mean eating lunch and dinner, no brekkie or late-night snacking.

[ImogenQuy]

Tabulahrasa, sending positive vibes for your dog. He's the nicest rug-weight I've ever seen.

Interesting about 16:8 - I didn't know it was a thing but it's how I've always eaten.

[StuntNun]

Apparently a lot of Italians don't have breakfast, just black coffee in the morning. It may partially explain the beneficial effect of the Mediterranean diet.

[BetterWithCheese]

Hi all I'm back from holiday so ready to start Ri30 today . I did the sum total of about 8 squats and one plank on holiday so am expecting it to hurt. I weigh a pound less than when I left and I'm a bit sad as I suspect that some if it was my hard-earned muscle. I've got a wedding in August and I'd like to get down to a size 14 for it. I'm currently between a 16 and an 18 so I have a fair way to go. I plan to do Ri30, couch to 5k, and cut the junk from my diet. Should be easy

[yadahyadah]

Ri30 L3d10 Done. Whew. So pleased to have done it. At points doubted I would. Hmm Stuntnun I like your facts on how to deal with CS hell. 16:8 sounds like it is just very sensible. Maybe I should do that instead of 5:2 as it might do me good to address an eating habit that has developed over the past few baby making years. Errol that salad is now my lunch today. Will report back. I found this recipe site called Skinnytaste.com which gives weight watchers friendly family food recipes but the woman is Latino Italian heritage so she has got serious taste buds which is what I am all about. Plus unlike most US recipe sites it does not include weird franken foods that only Americans seem to eat. Have a look and see what you guys think.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Welcome cheese and well done yadah.

Since starting 5:2 I've found that I rarely want breakfast nowadays - lots of tea but not really hungry till later (however, I do eat a bit later into the evening so don't often do a 16:8 myself). There seems to be this dogma about breakfast being essential - well, it probably is for growing children but for adults .... eating by the clock rather than whether you're actually hungry is a bit weird when you think about it IMO! I think the cereal manufacturers with their supposedly 'healthy' breakfasts (which are actually mostly high carb, even the ones that aren't sugary, and often quite salty and lacking protein and fat) have done us no favours.

[ImogenQuy]

30DS L2D10 done. I never got to the point where I could do two full sets of the V-raises with my (pathetic, 1kg) weights - had to switch to tins of tomatoes for the last few. Did manage 2 full sets of the squat thrusts though, more or less following Natalie.

Anya, my ankles killed me through level 1 and the first part of level 2, but they seem to be better now. I think there may be something in yadah's physio theory: my thigh and bum muscles are strong because I cycle everywhere, so I've had no problem with my knees. My calves and feet aren't nearly as strong so my ankles have suffered.

Off for coffee now!

[ImogenQuy]

Welcome back Cheese.

I never have been a breakfast-eater. I rebelled against it in my teens and never started again - even when I was pregnant I only wanted coffee and fruit, and now I'm back to just coffee.

I've ordered RI30 in teh faint hope that I at least look nice in clothes on my holiday at the end of July. Nice in a bikini is not possible: the skin on my stomach is awful, crepey and stretched, and I don't think anything short of surgery would help. I'm definitely not going to have surgery so no bikinis for me.

[ErrolTheDragon]

I've hardly ever worn a bikini - even when much thinner I've always had a roll beneath the navel. And since DD I've got a crepey triangle above the navel - its where I went out when PG and now really do go in, just a bit too much skin. But I've never really seen the attraction of bikini wearing anyway - I like being active in and on the water, so want something that stays put! . trying a tankini this year for the first time though.

[yadahyadah]

Me too errol I have always had this thing with bikinis that whenever I have worn one (not these days, nosireebob) I end up feeling like one of those roast suckling pigs with the little pointless hats on their hooves - kind of dressed to look appetising rather than to be in a place doing a thing. I am sure had I grown up near water tho my entire perception would be different. Plus I studied sociology and read lots of feminist lit in my formative years so don't mind me

[StuntNun]

Well done Yadah what are you going to do next?

[yadahyadah]

Well stuntnun Ripped has a week 4 so that is where I am headed tomorrow morning gawd 'elp me. I am awaiting Lambzig's report on the toughness of the thing sometime today... Lambzig? Are you there? Have you survived it? Once I get Ripped done I think I might do Shred 2-3 times a week and BFBM a couple of times a week and see how that works. How are you finding Shred this time around?
Have been reading about this 16:8 method of eating - it seems very doable to me. Especially the bit that says you can eat what you want during the strict 8 hour period. That just spares me from getting too negative if I fall off the healthy eating plan. Look at this article and see what you think, www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/8-hour-diet-faq

[Lambzig]

RI30 L4D1 done in that slightly rubbish way you have on the first one when you are trying to figure out how to do it. I can't decide if it's easier than L3 or just a bit nicer to do. There were a couple of exercises I enjoyed, so probably the latter.

You see I always wore a bikini because I have never had nice legs, but used to have a teeny waist. I like the sun on my tummy too. I think last time I had 36 inch hips and was super fit, I also had a 19 inch waist (pre DC obvs) and I can't quite get over that now it's 29 and unlikely to get smaller. I suppose when I started this towards the end of March it was nearer 38 inches so it's all relative.

What do non bikini wearers wear on the beach? I think I would feel more conspicuous in a swimsuit, like I am advertising I need to cover myself up, but that's obviously my messed up thinking.

[Lambzig]

Cross posted yadah. I think if I got told I could eat anything in the eight hour window I would stuff myself witless. Most days mine is probably a nine hour window as I never seem to eat until lunchtime most days.