As readers of my main blog, The Karianna Spectrum know, I've been spending the last month doing Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred.

Last Wednesday, I completed the thirty days.

A quick look back, for those who haven't been reading along:
- 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!

When I started the Shred, I weighed 137.5 pounds with a BMI of 24.37. On Day 30, I weighed 134.5 pounds with a BMI of 23.83. And so, I only lost 3 pounds, although during parts of the month I was down around 4-5 pounds.

The Shred has been a challenge, but has also helped me tone up and feel more "in control" of my body. I've noted some difficulty sleeping and some mood issues, but my hope is that as I continue to exercise on a regular basis and get some sleep, these things will regulate themselves to a net improvement.

While I huffed and puffed the first time I did Level 1 of the Shred, just the other day after doing Bob's Level 1 yoga, I found myself easily knocking out the exercises with Natalie (the "follow if you are advanced" model on the Shred DVD.) Even if the scale doesn't show it, I know my body is getting stronger. I started with soup cans (roughly less than a pound) but now use 5 pound weights for most of the exercises.

I am still a work in progress. My new goal is to complete Bob's whole yoga series. The DVD recommends two weeks at each of the three levels, and then apparently there is a "maintenance" level as well. I plan to follow this model, but also include workouts from the Shred to maintain the abs, strength, and cardio work in Jillian's style. That isn't to say yoga isn't challenging -- it certainly is, particularly with regard to strength (using one's own body as resistance) -- but I want to "mix it up" in order to make sure my body is being sufficiently challenged.

Although when The Biggest Loser came out on T.V. it was thought to be a mockery of America's obese, it has become an inspirational tool for many couch potatoes that we can become healthy.

Most of my life I was perfectly skinny and fit. I was a dancer, spending hours in the studio. Around junior year of high school, I decided I had to be "serious" about academics, lest I not get into a good college. I dropped out of my dance performing division and instead hit the books. In college, I took up ice-hockey, a hobby that continued after college and even for a couple seasons after I had kid(s).

Still, there was this undercurrent that adults aren't meant to have fun. I'm not sure where I got that notion, but I expect it had something to do with the chatter that went around when we were in high-school that of course we'd all have to stop dancing because only the very best would have a career in it, and even those folks would be relatively young when they'd finally have to retire. I suppose college was supposed to be "serious" and kinetic intelligence isn't valued as much as academic intelligence (unless it is in professional sports.) Taking a dance class or going out to play pick-up hockey was seen as "taking the easy way out" or "goofing off." If I was taking a run, I should have been studying. And yet I know that I shouldn't have thought of exercise in that way. (It is ironic, since "adults" see exercise as a chore, and yet when I was younger, I saw it as a privilege that kept me away from my "real" responsibility of studying!)

Fast forward several years, and my efforts have been all about the kids, making money, and keeping the house clean. It doesn't make sense to go out for a walk if I have clients emailing and calling wondering when is my URGENT project going to be finished!

I'd think to myself, "I'll just get this one urgent thing done. And then I can take a walk..." But of course it never happened, because yet another request would roll in. I couldn't say "no." I couldn't lie and pretend that my walk was "a meeting." And yet, I realized last autumn that was exactly what I'd have to do.

September was a horrid month work-wise. Not surprisingly, I gained a lot of weight. At the start of October, I saw my nurse practitioner, who told me point blank that at 35 years old, my ability to shed pounds and get in shape is much greater than what it will be at age 40. The nurse put me on South Beach. I lost around 15-20 pounds.

Something clicked.

Suddenly I realized that age 35 is simultaneously very old and very young. I realized that this is my only life. As I watched the gymnasts while Splig worked out, I reminisced about my dancing ability and how I used to do some gymnastics as well. Why can't I do that anymore? I realized that I wanted to reclaim some of my youth, or at the least, my ability to better control my body. I don't want to give up and let my body continue getting weaker and heavier. It is not too late.

There was a German gymnast in this past August's Olympics who competed at age 35. And then there is 41 year old Dara Torres. Both of these women have have children, and yet both have athletic bodies. I am not washed up just because I am a 35 year old mother.

According to wikipedia, Jillian Michaels is 34. That is only a year younger than I am. Also, she's apparently 5'2.5". My biggest "excuse" for my stocky look is that I am only 5'2.75" (I usually say 5'3") If I only had a few more inches, my 135 pounds would look skinny, I thought. Well, Jillian is 120. So only one year, one quarter of an inch, and fifteen pounds separate me and Jillian. (Well, and some endurance and muscles, but I'm getting there.) I have never been 175 pounds as Jillian apparently once was. My highest non-pregnant weight was around 155. (My highest pregnant weight was 165.)

And so, it is not unreasonable that I can get back into shape. It is going to take time and effort, but in just a month I've become much stronger.

It is possible. And if I can do it, then YOU can do it.

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I purchased both Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred and Bob's Weight Loss Yoga with my own money. I was not asked to review either of these DVDs, nor have I been given any compensation for mentioning The Biggest Loser or any of their products. I am simply a fan who wanted to lose weight and get in shape. Kristen Chase's Shredheads provided this opportunity - but aside from this community motivation, I haven't been "rewarded" for my endeavors here. No free DVDs. No gift certificates. No money. This review is real! [This disclaimer motivated by concerns regarding bloggers' liability in the product review market]