Cardio and Kiddos

Look at that. Day 40. Almost halfway there! And I'm completely done with workouts 5 and 6. Monday I am moving on to workouts 7 and 8! This is so exciting. Its fun to watch your body change and become stronger. Jillian is so right. She says you have no idea what you are capable of, just push yourself. Try it. It is so true. So today, workout 6... awesome! I didn't have to modify anything today. The weighted superman move, usually I can't use the weights at all, but today I used the weights and did the superman move both times without modifying. Talk about a victory! That move is crazy! My favorite circuit is still circuit 3. Its mostly ab moves and I could do those all day. I love the windshield wiper ab move. I hope Jillian has some great and fun ab moves in the coming weeks. I really want to peek ahead to workout 12 and see what kind of insane stuff she wants us to do but I will refrain. I don't want to lose motivation by seeing that. I also did couch to 5k week 6 day ...

Today was the last time I will have to do workout 5 for Body Revolution (this round anyway)! It was great! Workout 5 is an awesome workout for your arms. My arms always feel like jelly afterwards! Next week I am going out of town. I'm going to NYC and Maine, Vermont, and Connecticut. Its going to be a fun trip. I am going to bring Body Revolution with me and I poan on doing it every day. But we are going to be doing a lot of driving and walking so I really hope I have time. I will make time. But I will also be without my husband, and I will have both kids so its going to be tricky. If I miss a day or two I might just repeat the week but I really don't want to. Do you ever go to sleep just excited because you know when you wake up you get breakfast? That's how I feel right now. I'm so looking forward to my oatmeal. I. Love. Oatmeal. I seriously eat it every day. It never gets old to me. Okay, until tomorrow!

Cardio 2 today. Man today was an exhausting day. It wore me out so badly and I was tired so I fell asleep with my baby while my husband did his workout tonight. When he was done he tried to wake me but I told him I just wanted to rest for a bit. That's how I get when I fall asleep. I just don't want to get up. So he kept trying to wake me and I kept making excuses. Finally he got me to wake up and I started my workout. I am so glad he pushed me. I worked harder at cardio 2 than ever before and I felt so strong. It felt wonderful. Some days I am super motivated to exercise. Other days I am exhausted. But here is the thing... once I actually START the workout, I feel energized and want to do MORE! I just have to remind myself some days that I will feel great once I start. And the feeling AFTER you work out? Best feeling EVER! Body Revolution is just so much fun. Truly. I am so glad I found it. Ordinarily I would have given up with a program like this. But I think it is the fact t...

Today I did Workout 6. I really love this workout. Well I don't so much enjoy the exercise where you are in the plank position with the weights in your hands and then you raise the weights. It hurts my hands when they are both on the ground with the weights. Any tips on that? But I love, absolutely LOVE, the last circuit. There is so much ab work and it feels so good. It burns so much but I just smile the whole time. I could do ab work all day. I went shopping today for a few new clothes. Every single thing I tried on fit me. Even some large items were too large and I had to go down to a medium. I got size large exercise pants when normally I would be extra large. I was so impressed. Even a pair of size 14 pants fit me, but I think it was just that that particular brand was a little large for a size 14. Either way it made me feel nice. I am nowhere near where I want to be, but I wasn't disgusted with what I saw in the mirror today. I really pushed it today during Body Revolutio...

Yesterday I used as my rest day for the week. I had a bad headache and my kids were super clingy and crying. They did not want to go to sleep. So today was workout 5 of Body Revolution again. I burned 279 calories. I don't think I pushed it as hard as I should have. I KNOW I didn't. Always be honest with yourself. I totally quit some of the cardio intervals way ahead of Jillian and didn't really push the strength moves like I could have. I will push hard tomorrow. My husband works a lot. Like a lot a lot. And goes to school at night. So many days I am alone with the kids all day and night. Its hard. I know many women are without help all the time and goodness, I don't know how they do it. Having a toddler and a baby is so hard. Anyway, my point is that if he works all day and comes home late, its very hard for me to find time (and energy) to workout. My daughter (9 months) basically cosleeps with me. At first she starts off in the crib but wakes about 2 hours, sometimes...

So this post I will edit all the time to include the calories that I have burned with each exercise in Jillian Michaels Body Revolution . I use a Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor . I highly recommend it! I have tried several other heart rate monitors and they always messed up, but I have had only positive things to say about the Polar FT4. It's affordable and CUTE! But please understand each person will burn a different amount depending on their own stats and how hard they workout. But I keep seeing people ask how many calories are burned during Body Revolution, so this is what I burned! For reference, I am 5'3" 187 pounds now, started Body Revolution at 195. I will break it down by phase, then by week, then under the weeks I will list the six workout days and the calories burned in each. The first week added extra cardio each day. Phase 1 Week 1 (kickstart week with extra cardio each day) Workout 1: 300    Cardio 1: 322 Workout 2: 319    Cardio 1: 31...

I have officially lost all of my weight from both of my pregnancies with Body Revolution! I was 187 today and I haven't been that low since before I got pregnant with my son 3.5 years ago. I'm so excited to be at such a low (for me) weight. It feels so amazing! My husband is down 13 pounds now since starting Body Revolution. These are some crazy, amazing results! Not only is the scale moving but I feel so much more muscle in my body. I feel stronger and leaner. I am more flexible and my balance has improved. Have I mentioned before that I have PCOS and hypothyroidism? Yep. Both of those things make it very difficult for me to lose weight. I was in a weight loss slump but body revolution has totally cured that. It IS POSSIBLE to lose weight with Body Revolution if you have PCOS and hypothyroidism. Don't let that stop you from buying the program. My pants are just falling off of me and I really need to buy new ones. But I would hate to spend money on new ones only to drop ano...

Cardio 2 tonight for Body Revolution! I burned 355 calories in the 34 minutes. Wow. Just wow. I say that because I really did push it in a lot of the workout but I had to slow down on a lot of the moves too, especially the burpees. I can't believe I burned so many calories, but I am not complaining! The cast of Body Revolution are so funny! Mimi is especially entertaining. Jillian makes the boys come up front for the fast feet exercise and makes them "shake their butt" and it is hi-larious! It makes me laugh every time. And she makes David come up front to demonstrate the burpees on the last set and holy cow! That guy can JUMP! So I have now completed the first week of phase 2. One more week of these exercises, then I move on to workouts 7 and 8. It feels like as soon as you start one thing, BAM! Its done and time to move on to the next workout. It keeps things fresh and there is no way you can get bored! I did get a little tired of cardio 1 since we did it every day for ...

Today was workout 6. This workout really makes my arms feel like jelly. I love it! I'm not a fan of those supermans with weights. I can only do a few before I have to drop the weights. I keep trying though. There are a lot of balance moves in this workout and they are so difficult for me. I feel like I'm falling all over the place. The important thing is that I keep trying. On a side note, I completed week 5 day 3 of the couch to 5k program! That means 20 minutes of just straight running! I'm so proud of myself! We had a rainy day today which means we got to jump in puddles!

I used yesterday as my rest day because I was not feeling well. So Sunday will not be a rest day. Today I did workout 5 again and it was great but wow, what a workout for your arms! The third circuit just made my arms feel like silly putty. I also ran week 5 day 2 of couch to 5k. I really love exercise! Tomorrow- workout 6. Only one more week of workouts 5 and 6. The scale hasn't moved lately. In fact its gone up a bit but I'm not worried. I think I need to drink more water. Goodnight!

I don't feel good today. My tummy aches, and I really hope I'm not getting a stomach bug or something. That's what it feels like. Sigh. Oh well, I did my workout anyway. I'm not gonna lie though, I did not give it my all. I feel slightly guilty about that but I also feel like it's not the end of the world. I was dripping with sweat by the end. Absolutely drenched. So I know I still got a good workout and next time I will really step it up Cardio 2 is no joke. It wasn't hard. Nope. Not hard. Just fast paced and fun. I burned 314 calories in Cardio 2. Each exercise is done for only 30 seconds which made everything feel a lot more doable and less boring. I liked it so much more than Cardio 1. So much more! Some exercises I had seen before, but one called a cross jack I have never done! It was fun. Like a jumping jack but you cross your hands and feet in front of your body. Jillian makes us do burpees at the end. I'm not a big fan of burpees because I just can...

Woo hoo! Almost 1/3 of the way done with my Jillian Michaels Body Revolution program and I'm feeling great. Today I actually worked in the yard in a tank top and shorts which is something I normally wouldn't do. I still don't look good in that kind of attire but I FEEL good about myself. So I said to myself I am just not going to care if someone sees me like that. Its my yard and I'm working in it and I deserve to be comfortable while doing that. It was a big step for me. I'm proud. So today I did workout 6. Some of the moves were very hard for me. There were a lot of balance moves and balance is something I definitely need more work on. No worries. It looks like Jillian will give me plenty of practice during my Body Revolution. But, some of the moves felt so good. So in the strength workouts, there are 4 circuits in each dvd (at least so far). The last one was my favorite. Almost the whole circuit was on the floor working on abs. One of the moves was like sit ups b...

Today I did Phase 2 day 1, workout 5. I was nervous about it all day, and I'm gonna be honest, I kept putting off starting it basically all day because I was scared. But then I mustered up the courage and did it and it was awesome. It was definitely harder and I had to modify a bit. But I was smiling the whole time because it burned so good and you can just tell that its going to get results. Really. The exercises were so interesting. Some of them are just harder versions of ones we have done before, like the crab pose with one leg raised. But some are completely new, like pretendeing to swing an axe with a weight. Today was weigh in day and I was 188! Out of the 190s! Finally. I'm hoping to lose some more this week. My muscles feel nice and worked. I don't know why but workout 5 went by super fast. Okay, workout 6 tomorrow of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution! I can do it! And I won't be afraid!

Yay! Body Revolution Phase 1 is DONE! I can't believe I did it! I did cardio 1 for the very last time today. I burned 220 calories. Tomorrow I will begin Phase 2! I guess I should really call this day 28. Like I said before, our first week doing Body Revolution we skipped the rest day and went straight into week 2, so we are technically missing a day. I am very pleased with my results so far and can't wait to see what Phase 2 brings!

Today was the last time I will have to do workout 4 for Jillian Michaels Body Revolution. I'm really kind of bummed about that. I think workout 4 is my very favorite so far. I love the weighted leg raises and the squirms. I love almost all of the exercises. But ya know, maybe I will find a new favorite in the weeks to come. The fun thing about owning a workout program like this is that after I've completed it, I can do it again if I want to, or pick and choose certain workouts to do as I feel like it. My plan is to do Body Revolution all over again, but using heavier weights and doing the harder modifications. I really can't wait! I think I'm going to lose 23 pounds total on this program. That's just my guess. So far I'm down 5, but when I stepped on the scale this morning it was wayyyyy down! I won't say what that number is yet because it isn't my weigh day today but sheesh, I would love to see that number again on my weigh day. I also did some rough me...

I didn't get a chance to workout yesterday. I know I said no excuses but my baby was so exhausting and then I fell asleep. So yesterday was my rest day and Sunday will not be a rest day. Today I did workout 3 for the last time. I'm going to miss it.  I burned almost 350 calories. I'm nervous about what workouts 5 and 6 will being, but Body Revolution is definitely working. I used to wear a size 17/18 jeans. Well they fall off me now. I pulled out a pair of size 16 jeans from my closet and they were hanging down on me too. So now none of my pants fit, which is both awesome and sad, because really it is sad to have no pants. And I don't really want to buy new pants because I'm hoping that I won't be in that size too long! I would love to lose a jean size each month. That would be amazing. Monday is my weigh day. So 2 more days. I'm curious about how much I have lost this week. As long as it shows even a little loss, I'm great with that. Last week I was 190...

Today was Cardio 1. I am really getting used to this workout. Which is good because it is almost time to start Cardio 2! I am constantly having to remind myself that if it is too easy I can always make it harder by jumping higher or punching harder or sinking deeeeeper in my squats. Some exercises are fairly easy and I need to do that. Some exercises, like running man, really are tough for me. Some people say it is easy for them and that is awesome. But Running Man is a challenge for me. In that exercise I have to constantly remind myself that it will only last a minute and that I need to push it. Jillian says think of WHY you are doing this because if you have a WHY you can tolerate any HOW. I always think about swimming with my kids or playing on the beach with them and then I push it harder. Think of your goal and push through the pain. Another thing that I like to do is really listen to Jillian. I love her motivation. She is always saying "You can do this. Don't quit. We b...

I have seen many people ask if they can do Jillian Michaels Body Revolution while they are pregnant. The obvious response is to discuss all diet and exercise plans with your doctor! Always, always, always check with your doctor. But if you want my personal opinion, Body Revolution is just not meant for pregnancy. There is a lot of ab work during the workouts and a belly would make that difficult. A lot of the strength and cardio moves are do able, but the big question is, why would you want to do Body Revoltuion during pregnancy? Sure exercise is important to maintain health while you are pregnant, but your body is changing in an awesome way during pregnany. Just enjoy that time, and worry about getting your body "revolutionized" after your baby is here and you are cleared for exercise. That way you can focus all your energy on getting your body in shape. It just doesn't make sense to buy a body changing program when you can't give it your all. But please don't d...

Today was my rest day. I had a class from 7- 11 p.m. and it was fabulous. It was a voice over class. Voice over is something that really interests me and basically it is my big dream in life. So my husband and I talked about it and decided I should pursue it. So tonight was my first class.  I will get an evaluation later and I'm nervous about that. Its almost midnight now and I'm just finishing up with class stuff. I'm tempted to go ahead and do Body Revolution, but I really should take a rest day. Rest days are important.

Today I burned 267 calories doing workout 4 of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution. I was pouring sweat. Man, I really love circuit 3 or workout 4. It is my favorite circuit out of that workout. The rest I don't really look forward to except those squirms. I looooooove the squirm exercise! Does anyone else? I did some more tandem babywearing today on a walk. I love it! We had chinese for dinner tonight. The first time eating chinese since starting Body Revolution. We got much smaller portions than usual, so I am proud of us. We used to get it allllll theeee tiiiime, so I'm glad it is just an every once in a while type of thing now. Tomorrow will be my rest day since my husband doesn't get off work til 7 p.m. and I have a class to take from 7 to 11 p.m.. I'm excited about this class though! Its about a career I would love to have. My husband has his dream job and is in school, and basically I'm a stay at home mom. That's wonderful but I feel like my other dreams wil...

Day 20! How bout that! Okay so today was Sunday, rest day. We went to church, went to my parents house, then went to the park. It was a great day. Then tonight I did workout 3. I wanted to do some cardio but my husband got called into work and didn't get back until late, and my baby girl kept waking up. So just workout 3. But that's fine with me. As long as I get Body Revolution done, which I did, then I'm happy. I burned 384 calories. I really tried to push it this time and I was dripping sweat.you know what's crazy? I will only have to do workout 3 one more time! I can't believe it. I really am almost into Phase 2. Here is me and my girl at the park today. We love eachother.

Today was cardio 1 again. I really pushed it and burned a little over 300 calories in the 27 minutes! I'm so proud of myself! Does anyone drink water during their workout? I drink several cups. I sip between set. I don't know if that's frowned upon or not but I just know for myself, I need that water. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day but I'm taking my rest day Tuesday. So tomorrow is workout 3 again. Last week of phase 1. I can't believe it!

Workout 4 again today, and it was so much easier than last time. Can't believe after tomorrow I will be done with week 3! I plan on not resting on Sunday and taking my rest day this coming Tuesday. I have a class to take Tuesday evening that doesnt let out until 11:00 p.m. so that definitely needs to be my rest day. Jillian and the gang crack so many jokes in workout 4. I love all the laughs. One thing I want to mention is that some of the moves are challenging, and you might feel like giving up. But if you give up or don't give it your all on the exercise, you are only hurting yourself. Just push it! If you don't you just won't get the best results. Every once in a while I'm tired at the end of an exercise and think, hey, I will just be lazy on the last few, Jillian will never know! But you know what? That isn't gonna hurt Jillian Michaels. That will hurt me and my results. That would be cheating myself out of my Body Revolution. So don't cheat. Each exerci...

Today was workout 3 again. It was slightly easier than last time. I got the moves a lot faster. I made some almond butter tonight. I love almond butter. Its almost yummier than peanut butter. Every morning I have oatmeal for breakfast and I put a tablespoon of almond butter in the oatmeal. It is so delicious!! Making almond butter is super easy. You simply throw whole almonds in a food processor and blend for about 15 minutes. You have to scrape the sides down every few minutes. You will think that it will never turn to butter, but yave patience! First it will turn to a powder consistency, then it will clump together, then finally it turns to butter, getting smoother the longer you blend. Then I put it in a big bowl and stir in a dash of salt and a few tablespoons of honey. Its great without the honey, but I love honey. You can toast the almonds before you put them in the food processor or leave them raw. Sometimes I add a tablespoon of coconut oil to the almond butter. Store it in the...

Look how the days are just flying by! Already day 16! Really its 17 since I didn't take a rest day the first week. Crazy! Pretty soon I will be out of phase 1! Okay so today was Cardio 1 again. I burned 256 calories in Cardio 1 tonight. I don't mind the cardio dvd but I just realllllly hate the running man exercise. But I tell myself, the exercises are only going to get harder and more challenging. So while I hate running man, when I get to phase 2 I might just be begging to have them back! I decided to up my calories a bit, just for breastfeeding purposes. I was starting to feel like 1630 net calories just weren't cutting it. My girl was sick last week and didn't nurse as much, and couldn't keep anything down. So my supply is a little lower from that. I don't want to be taking in too few calories when I'm trying to get my supply back to where it was. So now I get 1880 calories. We will see how that goes. Tomorrow- workout 3 again! I'm ready! By the way,...

I burned 304 calories doing workout 4 of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution. It was woking out the back muscles of the body. Oh goodness I felt it so muc. I loved it. You could feel the burn so much. Tomorrow is another day of cardio. I really noticed a difference in the appearance of my legs today. I'm so impressed.

Today was workout 3. It. Was. Crazy! Jillian really stepped it up a notch- a couple of notches, even. I felt so challenged. I really felt the burn especially in my arms. She combined some of the moves from workout 1, so you will work upper and lower body at the same time. My favorite move was called the Camel. I just loved it. I burned 331 calories in the 37 minutes. I had to modify some moves, and at some points I had to stop working out to really watch how Jillian did a move, and then I was able to start back. Next time I do the workout I will really know how to do it well. The thing that is fantastic about Body Revolution is that you only do each workout 4 times (other than the cardio, which you do more), so you will NOT get bored with a workout. And if you hate a workout, after you do it once you only have 3 more of that workout to go. It's not so bad when you look at it that way. I feel like its okay if you can't do some moves. I really did have to modify a few. The goal i...

This is a question I asked myself before purchasing the program. The answer is definitely if you do it smart. You really need to eat way more calories than what Jillian recommends in her diet plan. Her meal plan gives you about 1200-1300 calories a day to eat, then you burn off about 300 with the workout. That leaves you with only 1000 (ish) calories for your body to function, survive, keep your body going, and make breast milk. There is no way that is enough calories. I follow My Fitness Pal's guidelines and always eat back my exercise calories, and I have my account set to lose 1 pound a week, so I get about 1630 calories for the day (net). Some days when I burn a lot of calories I end up eating 2200 or so! Eating is so important! The way I figure it is, making milk for my baby is priority number 1! If I don't lose weight as fast as everyone else then so be it. I can work out now and build a healthy foundation and gain muscle. I lost exactly one pound at my weigh in today. I ...

Today is Sunday, which is our rest day of Body Revolution. I did 45 minutes on my treadmilll though and burned 347 calories. Tomorrow will be my first day of workout 3. I'm nervous but excited as well. One of my big addictions is hummus. I love to make it myself with lots of cumin. I like to cook a bag of dried chickpeas for my hummus. I used to use canned, but the consistency wasn't as smooth and creamy as the kind I bought from the store. So I cook my dried chickpeas in the crock pot for 10 hours, then they blend up super smooth. I then add a little olive oil, tahini, tonnns of lemon juice, a little salt, lots of cumin and garlic. So. Delicious! So now I have hummus in the fridge and more in the freezer. Yum I love to spread it on sandwiches to use instead of mayo. My son likes to eat it with a spoon. He calls it "pummus". It is so nutritious and filling. It makes an awesome dip for veggies or pitas or chips or pretzels. My husband mixes it with pasta. Its so versat...

I did it! I survived 2 weeks of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution! I feel strong and accomplished. I did cardio today and burned 271 calories in the 27 minutes.  Tomorrow is a rest day, but I will still be walking on my treadmill. Am I only doing Body Revolution? No, I walk on my treadmill for 30 minutes every day in addition to Body Revolution. I am also doing the Couch to 5K program 3 days a week. On those days, I don't do 30 minutes walking on the treadmill, I just do the 28 or so minutes of Couch to 5K. So basically I get an hour of exercise a day. My exercise time is my "me" time and I've grown to love it so much and crave it. My kids are so sweet but they exhaust me. An hour a day of time to improve myself is something I really look forward to. So even though tomorrow is a rest day, I will be walking on the treadmill. Monday marks the beginning of workouts 3 and 4, and it also means I'm halfway done with Phase 1. My clothes are beginning to look looser. One s...

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to blog about my workout. My kids are still sick and we were up with them until almost 2 a.m. It was exhausting. But my workout yesterday was my last time doing workout 1. Today was my last day with workout 2! I can't believe its almost time to move on to the next workouts. I'm a little nervous because I know Jillian is going to step it up, but I'm also looking forward to pushing myself and seeing the results. About Jillian's meal plan. I'm not following it at all. Many people are and are seeing great results with it, but I am just going by the calories My Fitness Pal says I need to eat which is 1630 a day. Whenever I exercise I eat back those calories as well. What do I eat? Almost every morning I eat oatmeal for breakfast. Lately I've been putting a tablespoon of my homemade almond butter in it because I have a hard time making my calories. I try to eat healthy, but I still eat chocolate every day. You would not believe the ...