My Honest SHREDZ Results

So... You know what?
I didn't finish it. And I was so utterly determined to do so.
I wasn't able to complete the SHREDZ 30 day challenge, and here's why:

My dad called me and told me that he needed me to come help out with taking care of my niece and nephew (5 and 9 years old, respectively) for a week or so - and I did. Then I came to realize that I was really only able to do this because I don't work a 9 to 5, and I just have myself as a responsibility.

I feel that if you're a parent and working a job and you find yourself constantly busy but wanting to lose some of the weight that is just bugging the crud out of you... this isn't the way to go.

Believe me, I LOVE the SHREDZ products - the different supplements that help you. And I have learned insurmountable amounts of information about my body and how I need to exercise.

I didn't really start losing too much weight - but I really was only doing SHREDZ for a week.

I found that naturally - with the exercise, I found myself:

• eating and snacking less often  
• sleeping so much better
• feeling awake when I woke up
• and feeling so much more positive about myself and life

I know it must sound crazy - but I've always been one of those people who looked nice without having to exercise, and I use to ride horses a lot and I didn't realize how much that had been keeping my in shape. Then I graduate high school and move to go to college and I find myself gaining all this weight. I'm sure stress and change was a major part of it - but I had never been so heavy and SHREDZ helped me realize how I need to take better care of my body. 

Other than that - I then found the Atkins diet. And my family has used it successfully for years. (Funny because our last name is Atkins!!)

But really all it is is:

• high protein 
• high fat
• low carb (and what carbs you do have - you want some from fibre)

Basically, the average diet consists of about 250+ carbs per day - and all of that pretty much comes from full sugar sodas, fruit concentrate, among other sweets. 

For the more extreme cases, some people cut back to less than 50 carbs per day and put your body in ketosis. If you really want results.

Really all I did was cut it back to about 100 or 150 per day. (I didn't count)

Some people cut out all bread - I didn't

Some people cut out all sweets - I didn't 

Some people cut out all rice and potatoes-  I didn't

Some people cut out everything that brings joy - I didn't

I just thought more about what I was putting in my body and limited what I knew were carbs. 

And I like to say "everything is good in moderation"

But with this formula you can eat as much as you want - snack as much as you want and just live you life. It's just about making a few smaller choices. Go for the pack of peanuts at the vending machine instead of the cheetoes.(:

I think that I've also been successful because I don't think of it as a diet. And everyone says "think of it as a lifestyle change" well... I don't really like that either. It just got to a point where I was feeling better about my weight and my body (down over 20 pounds in less than 1 month!!!) when I decided that the sugary sweet things just weren't nearly as appealing to me anymore.

I have lost so much mass on my thighs, waist and even my butt. And it's thoughtless weightloss - I just live my life everyday and lose the weight that shouldn't be there because I'm eating the proper amount of carbs for my activity level.

Just the other night I was headed over to a client's place to babysit, and I picked up a pack of sour skittles on the way - to be my treat (my favorite candy and slight obsession) and after putting just a few in my mouth - I thought to myself, "this just doesn't have the same effect on me as it used to... and I don't really want it."

So, if you want to know what I think... if you're a busy body and you don't have time for exercise everyday, or even f you do and you just want to knock off a bit more of the stubborn fat. Limit the carb intake you put in your body everyday. 

Unless you're as active as a sumo wrestler - you don't need to be putting 300 carbs in your body everyday. 

I definitely believe exercise is important (even though I really never "find the time" to do it) but knowing the right things to put in your body is just as important.

Just take a look at the Atkins diet - don't pay for anything, just think about your carb intake. Let yourself passively lose weight and be like all those other people who eat whatever they want and we all go "How can they do that?" Now we can too(:

All yours,

Madeline

SHREDZ Day 05

Another day in the track to fitness victory!

Something I noticed last night was this feeling that I had in my body. What it was, was that it seemed for the first time I could actually feel my ab muscles underneath my fat. I know that has to sound pretty disgusting and maybe even disturbing, but I found it as inspirational, because I can feel the size that my body should be and wants to be, but I know that I just have to keep going and keep motivated to get there and then have the self-respect to stay in the body that I am aiming towards.

So many people diet and fid that they're losing weight and then when the diet is over, they gain it all back. What I'm trying to do here is to not diet, but make an entire lifestyle change to be and look the way I want. And all I want to to feel good about myself... Who out there can't say the same?

There is something about the perspective you take in this journey to your better self that makes everything worthwhile. You have to love what you're doing, and you have to truly want it and know that you're not going to see the results the next day.

(I tend to be very impatient and that is a big problem for me. I don't want to take the time that is needed to do everything the way it should be done to see the best results. I want results as quick and cheap as possible. This is something I am working on every single day.)

Weigh-in AM: 173.8

Just as the "experts" say that showering everyday isn't good for your hair, they also say that working out everyday isn't good for your body. Yet the shredz fat burner workout challenge says that you should workout everyday to see the best possible results. I'm considering whether I should take a day off, just to let my body rest. 

Today is Sunday, so I just got back from church (I am my church's soloist singer every Sunday). If I tok a day off, I would think it would be Sunday. But, I might stay over at a friend's house tonight, so then it would be better if I made Monday my day off. And Wednesday is my switch day to week 2!

I'm starting on my workouts a little late, but I'm ready for week two already! 

Something pretty cool...

I ordered some athletic wear (my first) from Charlotte Russe yesterday! I am SO excited to see them come in, and I'll post some pictures of what I got! They were having an amazing sale, BOGO (buy one get one) 50% off EVERYTHING in store and online, plus a monthly $15 off purchase of $80 and free shipping, so I got everything for a fraction of the original cost. You have to love that!

The workout.

It didn't go quite as well as I was hoping, but I think that I have officially decided to take TOMORROW OFF! I think I do need a little rest day and then on Tuesday, maybe I'll work in some cardio, because I haven't really done any of that. Just from my physical situation, I find myself sweating up a storm just being on the floor doing my ab and booty workouts! Anyways, I'll keep you all up to date. 

I'm hoping to see some fitness results soon. Still taking my supplements and making smoothies! It's really the only tasty way to get down the vanilla protein powder. I can't imagine how it tastes in just water or milk like they suggest. 

ANYWAYS! TaTa for now fitness girls. 

Hopefully we are all seeing successful results in our weight loss and muscle building adventures! 

Everyday is one step closer to our overall goals.

Stay positive, everything happens for a reason and everything will work out right.

                            With all my love,

SHREDZ Day 04

Here we are again on day 3 of the SHREDZ fitness challenge, trying to get fit.

I woke up this morning not feeling the best and I had pink eye, but that is actually quite common for me. So, I took the medicine I keep on hand and now I'm ready to start the day.

I made mom and myself a breakfast of eggs over-easy (I need a bit more practice), onion bagels with cream cheese and banana slices. Needless to say that my mom was pretty happy!

I don't get it. From yesterday's weigh-ins, how can I weigh 173.4 lbs in the morning and 177.2 lbs at night?
Oh well. Hopefully I'll be seeing the scale dipping down soon!

Weigh-In AM: 173.8 lbs

I hoping that the workouts are getting me sweaty enough to burn the calories I need to start losing weight. But, you would think that someone who did no exercise starting to exercise and sweat every day would start to lose weight right? 

I'm thinking that maybe soon I'll do a video entry instead of just text. That way, as a reader you may get to know me a little better. 

But, if you're reading this, you're probably more interested in the getting fit part rather than the part where I blabber and tell stories all the time. 

I'm not feeling so amazing today. I just ended my menstrual cycle yesterday, so it's not that. And, I woke up with much less energy than I've had the past few days. But, then I remembered that after I got home from my Columbia trip, that I forgot to take my afternoon supplements. Maybe that was why I woke up tired today? But, then... that also makes me hope that my body isn't getting "used" to the supplements already. Am I going to go back to feeling like crap in the morning once all of this is over? Let's hope not. 

TIP:

If you have problems with underarm body odor, I've found with experience that if you wipe your underarms with Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol, it'll take the smell away. Do that before putting on your deodorant so it smells nice and clean down there. 

(I tend to get really stinky, especially during a workout, and that's how I solve my problem)

For Today's Workout...

So, today I started strong and then really started to get lazy. My body feels tired of the same routine. The same exercises everyday for 1 whole week. Something about that is getting to me. And it's only the 4th day. 

I've been trying to mix it up by adding exercises of my own to keep myself interested, but if you're doing this you have to keep interest to want to get up and do it tomorrow. You know what I mean?

It almost feels like I am marathon training the same group of muscles, every single day. And I am absolutely not used to that. Oh well... My obliques feel amazingly strong, at least. I didn't even know that you could control and train those muscles!

                                Until tomorrow,

SHREDZ Day 03

Last night I went out and bought a scale so that I can start doing weigh-ins to make things a little more quantitative. I'll have and AM and PM weigh-in, to account for water fluctuations and such.

Weigh-In AM: 173.4 lbs

Well, let me tell you. If you're in muscle pain, add at least 2 cups of Epsom salts to your bath and have a nice hot soak. Mine was so hot last night that I sweating in my bath, but it felt amazing and my muscles feel much better. They're still sore though.

I honestly had no idea that I was weighing roughly 175 pounds.... It's insane. My suite spot used to be about 148. In my family, the women are very dense. We carry a lot of weight on our backs and legs (and in out endowments) before the gut.

Truthfully, I would be so happy with this whole process, if only I can just lose the stubborn back fat. If anyone has any tips, please let me know...

Well,  I started a little earlier today because I'm taking a trip to Columbia, SC today.

I'm going to take a lot of time to stretch today. Actually, that's what I'm doing while writing this.

I feel much stronger than when we started, already. And to be perfectly honest, I'm surprised that I have made it this far! I can feel my abs and my legs are practically killing me. I can't walk in a particularly "normal" way, haha! I know that my muscles are a bit worn and torn but hopefully I can take it easy to help them mend.

Something that has really helped me...

For a long time I have had problems with irregular bowl movements, no set bodily schedule and problems with constipation versus diarrhea. Well, this program, as I have noticed over the past 2 days, I've woken up feeling great and ready to go (and woken up on time at my own accord) but I have had to use the bathroom (#2) every morning after breakfast. 

Unless you have had problems of the same kind, you may not know what a relief it is to feel this regularity and cleanse. Because, before, I would notice that I would only have a bowl movement 2-3 time a week! And sometimes it would be extremely painful. But, so far I can't complain about a single thing. 

This Morning's Workout

I started with the abs, because I felt most comfortable with them. They're feeling good. I didn't have to stop the program except for a little pause before the 3rd set to get a drink of water. 

Surprisingly the workout seem to be zooming by faster and faster, or maybe I'm starting to enjoy it more now that it's not so horrifyingly difficult!

SO the abs worked. But the booty? I can't say went so well.

I pretty much just used the video as a timer. The truth is, the video, in my opinion, has almost actually nothing to do with toning and strengthening your booty at all. It's more cardiovascular, as I've said before. WHICH IS GREAT! But, if it's not for making your booty amazing, why call it the 30 day booty? Its all about getting up and down and jumping - and it works your hamstrings more than anything else, which might be why mine are giving me such troubles.

Anyways, if you have done booty workouts before, you know that there are a ton of other things to do that will ACTUALLY HELP TONE YOUR BOOTY!
My mom used to take (and I think at one point teach) an aerobics class, along with yoga and jazzercise and more fun dance type workouts that really burn and tone. Well, she's taught me a few really good ones that you'll definitely feel, and that's what I substituted in for an entirely new routine. No burpees, no squats, no squat jumping jacks, no jumping and kicking yourself in the butt.
If you want me to make a video or post to talk about what I did (if you're in pain) I would love to do that!

And I am SURELY sweating enough from just the toning exercises and having an easier time controlling myself, my stamina and my breathing (even though it can still be difficult).

I can't wait to start seeing results!!!


BUT, my ride is about to come pick me up and take me to Columbia for the day. It is now 10:04AM.

Weigh-In PM: 177.2 lbs

                        That's All For Now,

SHREDZ Day 02

7:30 AM: I'm up and feeling really awake and ready to go. And then... I try to move. I must've had an insane amount of lactic acid buildup because I feel like I can hardly move. Walking is fine but my back and legs feel incredibly tender and sore. I had a hard time setting myself down in the chair at my desk just to write this. My plan is to still start like yesterday and power through; while trying my best not to injure myself! 

9:00 AM: So, I started my day off by making cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon, peach slices and hot tea for my mother and myself (and my morning supplements). I'll attach a picture(: 

(Notice the paper plates, we just moved in to our new place and haven't had a chance to get any new ones!)

Anyways, I have yet to get started on my workout, but man... I'm having a hard enough time getting up and down. One thing I am truly surprised about is how awake and alive I feel. Maybe it's the working out, and maybe it's the supplements but I just feel like when I wake up, I'm up and ready to go. No ifs ands or butts! And that's not a normal feeling for me. I normally feel as if I can just fall right back to sleep, pretty much all day. Also, my cravings for snacking have significantly decreased. I'm a grazer by nature, I normally eat small amounts all day long and just snack, but I've just been feeling like my breakfast, shake for lunch, maybe a snack in between and a small dinner, but I'll keep you posted. 

Feeling the way I am, I'm just not sure if I can get through the entire workout. I may have to make more modifications today and then take an epsom salt soaking bath for my muscles. And I may have to warm up with some walking on the elliptical, but I'm not very big on going to the workout room in my current physical condition and I prefer to be in the privacy of my own home in my own room. I, for some reason, don't even like my mom to know that I'm working out. I tell her of course, but it's kind of embarrassing for me... I'm not sure why. Is that weird? 

So... maybe I'll start off just moving and dancing to some music to get my blood pumping (I'm not even sure if I can jog in place at this point, and that's so boring anyway, but I am confident and determined to get myself going and power through.) I just don't want to injure anything!

11:00 AM Okay... Here goes the workouts. To help get rid of some of the sore, I'm starting with a little bit of stretching and dancing/jazzercise to some good music.

So, I took my TONER pre workout supplements and with my fruit punch water drink I began my stretching and workout. I turned on some Broadway music to stretch to and some of my favorite popular reggaeton/Spanish music dance and warm up (hey, whatever works right?)

Well, I've studied Spanish for 5 years and fell in love with the language and the music is great to get you moving and dancing!

Anyways, I started with the ab workout because I can't really feel my lower half and I am a little concerned about getting to complete the butt workout. But, I FEEL SO MUCH STRONGER ALREADY!

It's amazing. Compared to yesterday I already feel so much improvement in my core muscles. 

1 - I can feel them and,

2 - I can even (somewhat) do the jack knife sit up that I had to modify yesterday. I did have to go back to some of my modifications on the 3rd set, because you do the same exercises 3 times. But, that's okay. Definite improvement! 

THIS FEELS GREAT! And give me a TON of motivation to keep going. I don't know when we will start seeing results, but it just makes me happy to feel such a difference after only 1 day of the fitness plan.

OKAY.

Now for the BOOTY CHALLENGE!

Well, I made it all the way through the first set without pausing. That's a HUGE improvement compared to yesterday!

And, I live in a 2nd level apartment so I try not to disturb the tenants living below me! (That way I can make an excuse for modifying the jumping exercises!) 

It's not as bad as I thought it would be, by far, but I am making sure to take it slow and steady.

Well, let me take that back. By the second set I had to pause before doing the jumping-jack squats (KILLER!) to take a breather. My muscles are just so fatigued, and draining energy fast. It's hard to keep going, but I don't feel like resting or taking a nap. 

Honestly, the energy factor of this program is phenomenal. 

I'm also getting an odd feeling of bubbly numbness in my legs and arms at random times. Maybe it's from not working out before, or poor circulation (my guess) but it goes away, so that's good. 

Now I really feel the fatigue in the muscles getting to me! I'll have to keep stretching and work it out. I can hardly move and my mom keeps laughing at me saying, "I remember those days!"

It looks like I'm going to need a nice hot epsom salt soak to help remove the lactic acid. Anyways, I also have to make a run to the grocery store to pick up some much needed items and to get a scale so that I can document my weight loss progress!

I'll see you tomorrow.

                                Keep in touch,

 

Weigh In: 174.2 lbs

SHREDZ Day 01

Today was day 1:

***At the bottom of this post will be pictures of where I'm starting from. Please note that they are pretty graphic, and please only be encouraging, I know that they aren't pretty.***

So, for the first day of my fitness journey I began the day at 9am with a plate of cheesy scrambled eggs and a side of blueberries along with my TONER and DETOX supplements. 

I then made my BAA+GLUTAMINE fruit punch drink for my workout and took my BURNER supplement pre-workout. 

Okay. All good so far. 

Here is what the containers look like that come along with the 30 day challenge. 

(Images taken from the SHREDZ website)

Now for the workout(s):

The 30 day butt workout - Day 01

Wow. Well, I seem to think that this one is more cardio than butt toning workouts. The week 1 challenge starts with burpees and many more not-so-fun (nor beginner friendly) workouts!

Ouch, is all I can say. Maybe it was the burner supplement or the fact that I haven't completed a full physical workout since, well, I'm not exactly sure when... Regardless, I felt like my heart was going to beat my heart out of my chest.

And as I'm sitting here writing this down, I can already feel the tension in my legs and gluteus. Within the first round of burpees, I could hardly feel my legs. I live in an apartment, so getting up and down the stairs after my workout proved to be exceedingly more difficult than it was yesterday! Well, at least that means it's working, right?

During the workout, there was no way I could power through without stopping. Even in the first set of burpees I already had the sensation that my legs were going numb! It seemed crazy. I just moved into my apartment lifting heavy stuff up and down stairs and I can't handle 30 seconds of burpees? Or Jumping-Jack Squats? You've got to be kidding me, right? Well, reality-check, you've got some work to do! At one point, I almost thought that I was might get sick from it and the fruit punch water (I'm not really a huge fan of the flavor, or flavored water at all). I must've paused the workout video 8 to 10 times to take a breather and get my heart rate and breathing under control.

That was the worst thing for me, the breathing part. As a singer - with no core muscles - breath control has always been a problem for me. And I inherited asthma from my mother; thankfully I don't have it nearly as bad as she does. And it seems to have always posed a problem for me with sports or exercising.

Ultimately, I powered through the workout with a lot of breaks, but I'm just proud that I got through it. It was crazy and well... we will see how tomorrow goes! But, I'm trying to keep a positive outlook on things.

The 30 day ab workout - Day 01

Now, compared to the butt workout, this was a piece of cake! The butt workout had you jumping in the air and getting up and down off the floor. But, with the ab workout, you lay on the floor the entire time!! Oh yeah, that felt so nice. My favorite exercise in that group was the oblique crunches. There was one called the Jackhammer crunch where you extend your legs and lay flat on the floor and then commence to lift your legs and crunch your abs to meet your knees in the middle. Well, that is one that I could not do... at all! Hahaha! I had to modify it to just doing crunches with my knees folded into me.

The thing with this workout is that you do the same exercise routine for 1 week and there is a different workout for each of the 4 weeks. Hopefully by the end of week 1 I will be able to complete both of the workouts the way they are supposed to be done, but I am content knowing that I tried my best.

After the workout (and what I liked!)

After the workout, I made myself a raspberry and banana shake with the Vanilla Thermogenic Protein powder (which was pretty good, I have to say). And I took a nice shower. Yet, I relished the feeling of the after workout.

AND I have to say (and I'm pretty sure that it's the supplements) that I have this INCREDIBLE amount of energy. It's wonderful and I absolutely love it. It's not like an energy drink feeling or anything like that. My body is just full of an entirely new feeling of being fully awake and energized. And it's about 11pm and I feel ready to get tucked in and get some rest. But, even for the rest of the day, I have had this euphoric type of feeling with so much energy to get things done!

Again, this is only day one, but my body is feeling more energized, more fatigued and ready to keep pushing on with this plan. I am beyond excited to see how things turn out. 

Keep up with me and let me know if you are starting a fitness journey of your own! We can all be here to support each other.

                         Until tomorrow,

****************Here are my pictures for Day 01*****************

Please remember that this is my first day and I am extremely out of shape. 

                       Only positive comments and vibes, please.   

       

 

An 18 year old who knows everything... not!

Hi all, this is my first post so I wanted to explain a little bit about what I'm doing.

My name is Madeline, I'm 18 years old and my mother says that I think I know everything.
Okay.
Maybe I can be a bit of a smart aleck sometimes, but I do believe that is a problem that my entire generation suffers from, being we are the first generation with effortless access to endless information on the internet. Another problem that comes from that would have to do with patience. I tend to catch myself getting uncontrollably impatient and snarky and I see that as something I have to work on.

But, back to the reason I'm here. I have always struggled with my weight. 

I am 18, 5'5" and about 175 pounds. I used to be a bit heavier in middle school and then I joined softball and cheerleading and slimmed down a little bit, but let me tell you... It's all coming back. 

Today: Wednesday, July 22, 2015 I had a wake-up call. 

I told myself, "Wake up Madi, you are in charge of your life. NOTHING and NO ONE should make you feel bad about the way you look!!!" So, I got up and decided to change everything. I made myself a nice breakfast (cheesy scrambled eggs and a side of blueberries) and planned out my 30 day adventure.

My goal is not to lose X number of pounds or X number of inches, but get to a point where I feel confident in my own skin. Believe me - I've got the personality part down and have plenty enough sass to share, but so often I find myself worried about the way I look and I realize that so many other women of every age feel the same way I do. 

BUT WE SHOULDN'T.

I'm not saying treat your body like crap and eat nasty things, but we should all feel beautiful ALL THE TIME! Don't you agree ladies? 

Why do we so often try to put others down, or even put ourselves down? 

I don't claim to know everything about my health goals or the best way to become a happier me, but I know that trying blindly is better than not trying at all.

I'm sure I'm not the only one too, but I've spent so much money on "lose weight fast" schemes and I made the same excuse for myself with each one, "I'm too busy" or "I'll start it later". I'm hoping that this time I can stick to my commitments to myself and take care of my body.

I chose to start the SHREDZ 30 Day Quick Weight Loss Plan for Women. I have a 30 day supply of the SHREDZ supplements, and a workout plan! I'm so excited to begin and post everyday about my experiences. 

I promise that I am in no way affiliated with the company or the SHREDZ brand and I am not being sponsored to provide good results or a good review and I plan on sharing my complete experience with you: the good, the bad and the ugly! 

I will post pictures along the way as well.

Let me know if there is anything that you would like to know.

                           
                                Until then,