DAY ONE PHOTOS: (137.5 pounds, BMI 24.37)

DAY THIRTY PHOTOS: (134.5 pounds, BMI 23.83 via Wii Fit, 136 pounds, 31% fat via Tanita Scale)

Lowest Stats during the Thirty Days = BMI 23.67, 133.6 pounds - attained at Level One Graduation, and then a few times since during the ups and downs of the rest of the month.

So yes... I gained weight from my Level One Graduation and didn't get back to the level I had attained at that point. Although I lost from the Level Two Graduation, I gained a fat percentage, which makes me think that perhaps I am truly between 30-31% such that water gain or loss does affect the fat percentage.

And so, my goal is to continue to lower my BMI and fat percentage. I think I look better than before I tried the Shred even if the net weight loss was only three pounds. At the start of the month, I set my Wii Fit goal at 5 pounds, thinking it would be easy-peasy. Clearly I was wrong!

I am still having sleeping trouble, and I find that I am grumpy most of the time. While I enjoy that warm burn of satisfaction after working out, I lose motivation to do other things. I get angry quickly. While I've always been very sensitive, I find myself even more so recently. Whether it is the exercise that is causing release of pent-up negative emotions or the odd sleep patterns that are causing topsy-turvy moods, I am definitely a different person than when I started the Shred. My hope is that as I continue regular exercise, my sleep patterns will normalize and my body will get used to the stress. (Then again, I realize it is the stress on the body that forces it to change, so I don't want to have to work out more and more to see results.)

I want to press on because I want to have a healthy body. But of course I want to be psychologically healthy as well. I mention my concerns only because I want to report about this experience truthfully.

My next step is to try Bob's Weight Loss Yoga interspersed with the Shred. I've already done several days of this. On the first day, I just did Bob's Level One, and then took a 3 mile walk outside. The next day, I did Jill's Level 1 plus Bob's Level 1. Yesterday I did Jill's Level 2 plus Bob's Level 1. Of course that means today I am supposed to do Jill's Level 3 plus Bob's Level 1. By day's end I will have done it.

It is amazing how much easier the previous Shred levels are once the 30 days are up! I loved doing Levels 1 and 2, although I'm not particularly looking forward to doing my Level 3 again this afternoon. Although I definitely improved on many of the Level 3 activities, I still drop to my knees during the second set of traveling push-ups. And those rock-star jumps do not work for me unless I hold a certain part of my frontwards anatomy that is significantly larger than those gals on the T.V. screen. (Anyone else find that the resistance between a full push-up and a modified is only slightly different - probably because of the aforementioned large anatomical weight on the front of my body? My leg weight is nothing compared to that weight.) I've read about Shreadheads having to downsize their bra size. I am very eager for that to happen, but it hasn't yet.

My impressions of Bob's Weight Loss Yoga are: OW MY ARMS!

I really love the stretching. I feel my hips opening up and love stretching my back out (it used to crack every night after Shredding.) I'm doing better on the straddle stretches than during the Shred cooldown. I definitely feel improvement in my body's flexibility.

My arms can't stand all the plank-action or halfway-down pushups... yet. I do it anyway, but sometimes must drop to my knees. During the Warrior poses, my shoulders sear much more than my legs (Bob says "Your legs should be cooking!" but really, it is my arms and shoulders.)

In October of 2003 I was in a minor car accident. I was stupid and tried to prevent my car from slamming into the next car. I succeeded in that, but also in crushing my right knee. It has given me quite a lot of trouble. During the first two days of Bob's Yoga Level One, there was this one point where my knee gave out a POP! On the third day, it didn't do that anymore, but I've noticed the pain level (and accompanying crackling sound effect) has gone way down. Truthfully, the knee is a bit sore this morning, so I can't say the pain is gone, but I have a feeling that the working out I've done with both Jillian and Bob - plus the relaxation/stretching of the yoga has actually improved my knee, rather than further injuring it. Of course this is something I have to watch - but I would have thought it would be aggrevated rather than "healed." One theory: little bone chips may have now made their way out and therefore haven't caused pain.

(Interesting side-note; the nurse treating me after the accident offered to give me some pain reliever, but advised me that if there was any chance I could be pregnant, I shouldn't take the medication. I didn't think I was pregnant, but I declined the medicine anyway - which was odd, because I was in pain. You can guess the rest: soon thereafter I discovered I was pregnant with Spliggle.)

At any rate - I am glad that I completed the 30 days, but also recognize that I am a work in progress.

--

- I joined the Shreadheads
- Graduated from Level One
- Graduated from Level Two
- Graduated from Level Three

... now on to continued use of the 30 Day Shred plus Bob's Weight Loss Yoga to continue toning and hopefully losing some weight in the process!