shredding {giveaway}

13 days ago i started the 30 day shred.

for those of you not familiar with it...it's a 30 day (imagine THAT!) workout video. jillian michaels is the "leader" of the video. you know the crazy lady from biggest loser? yeah. HER!

what started me on this journey? well first off, i haven't been happy with my body since having evaleigh. i just haven't had a lot of motivation to change it. i've done stuff here and there. but nothing consistent. til one day when my sweet little caitlyn looked at me and said "momma your belly's getting big". and she smiled all sweetly at me. she meant it as nice as something like that can be meant... i just smiled and said "thanks honey."

the next morning. i started the 30 day shred. the comment from my sweet little baby girl was motivation. she wasn't lying. not that my belly is huge. but it's not little. i'm just hoping to make it a little less big. of course after having five babies in as many years...my tummy muscles are stretched. i have extra skin in places it doesn't need to be ...etc etc etc. my goal for my tummy is to tighten. lessen. firm. get rid of muffin top. ((although i think it may look more like a mammoth muffin)). i digress...

my other goals are to look more "tone" and "fit" in my arms. and legs. and to try and make it so my thighs like each other a little less and quit touching. i'd also like to lose some weight. my main goal is to lose 15 pounds. BUT i struggle with knowing the number. so i'm not weighing myself at all. i'm just doing the workout. cutting out soda. (well most of the time...because sometimes you just *need* that dollar coke from mcd's) i'm also watching what i eat. and eating in moderation.

i have my "one year visit" with my dr in a few weeks. so i'm waiting til then to see what i weigh. it helps our scale is broke, so i can't be tempted to weigh myself. i'm starting out right around 165. depending on the day up or down 1-2 pounds. my short term goal...get the heck out of the 160's. i've been here for awhile. and i just want to be rid of them.

after getting out of the 160's...i'd eventually like to get out of the 150s. 145ish is my main goal. and then i remind myself...it is *just* a number. to not get caught up on the number. as long as i feel good about myself and how i look, the number doesn't matter too much to me. so mainly...i want to look good. :)

i must say...that after only 13 days...i am noticing a difference. my hubby grabbed my butt the other day and noticed it was different too. you may not want to know that...but seriously...who cares. he loves me. and my butt. he's a butt man. :) ANYWAYS!! a friend at church also told me my arms are looking good. well actually she said "hot". which is so very encouraging to me. i was noticing a difference, but wanted to be sure it was for real. not just me imagining things.

and i must say...it's been awesome on my energy level. i do the workout in the morning. most mornings before the kiddos get up. and i feel great all day. i don't feel dragging...even after getting a few hours of sleep the night before. it's been so nice. the biggest challenge will be this weekend when shaun has off (yay!!) and i have to get out of bed before him. since he works every other weekend the saturday mornings he has off are so nice to just lounge in bed together before the kiddos wake up. maybe i'll have to get him out of bed with me and see jillian kick his butt too. ((i'll admit, he may be a butt man...but i'm a total butt girl too. ;)  ))

so yeah. the workout has been going great. i've noticed a change in my attitude as well. all those endorphins are working to help me continue where i need to be. if you want a great workout video...i suggest buying this one. you will be in pain for the first few days. on day 5 i woke up in no pain. after that...it's really not that bad. my endurance has improved so much already. i can actually do push ups. i started on level 1. did that for a few days and then moved to level 2. i love level 2! i tried level 3 this morning. i like it too. and i didn't need to stop. not once! it's only a 20  min. workout...intense 20 mins. but on day 1. level 1. i stopped. more than one time. today i didn't. i think that speaks for the video and how much it really does improve your endurance.

to keep myself accountable i've been posting each day on facebook. if you're my friend i'm sure you've already seen that, and perhaps have gotten annoyed and blocked it. but it really has helped to hold myself accountable by posting it on facebook. i can't have an excuse. i need to workout. and by golly..it feels good.

it's also been great having my facebook friends be so encouraging. so if you do the workout find someone/something to hold yourself accountable to posting/saying you did it each day. or find a friend to do it with. you can push each other through it.

and now...i'd like to give you the opportunity to do your own 30 day shred! or maybe you already have it, but would love to share the "love" of the 30 day shred with someone...try to win it for them! :)

just leave a comment. any old comment.
and i'll pick a winner next week thursday august 11th.

let's get shredding!

giveaway ends wednesday august 10th midnight PST.

**jillian michaels has no idea who i am. has no idea i'm giving this video away. i just want to share the love of shred with one of you.**