Jillian Michaels Body Revolution – Week 5

So today I realized I wrote this recap post on Sunday but only saved it as a draft and never officially posted it. Oops, my bad 😦 I need to get better at this blogging thing.

Anyway…

Week 5 of JMBR has wrapped and I am freaking sore. This week I entered Phase 2 and while I was excited, I was also scared… For good reason. The exercises are more intense and there are now supersets.

Yes, so Jillian has you work a muscle(s) until you think you are going to die and then you turn around and do another exercise that works the same muscle(s). O-M-G. At one point, I was in a static sumo squat and I thought I was going to die. Ow.

I (again) had difficulty getting in my workout on Wednesday so I combined and did FIRE 55 EZ for cardio on Saturday because that just made my life easier. That means I haven’t tried Cardio 2 yet but hopefully I will next week. Otherwise, I don’t have much else to say right now. I’ll be back soon!

Jillian Michaels Body Revolution – Week 4

Well, week 4 ended up a complete bust. It started out semi-okay but on Wednedsay, I woke up with a sharp pain in my shoulder that went up into my neck. I could barely turn my head and even with Aleve, the pain didn’t really stop. I wanted to push through but with that kind of pain, I had to check myself before I wrecked myself.

I spent the rest of the week resting and applying heat and dosing myself with ibuprofen and Aleve. I went to the doctor to make sure it wasn’t a serious injury. I spent about 4 hours waiting to be seen, and $50 (my copay) to be told it was a mild pull/strain and to “rest and apply heat.” -_- So that’s what I did all week. Boring Week 4 update, I know. But now I am in the middle of Week 5 (Phase 2!) which is kicking my butt but I’m enjoying it.

Otherwise, things are boring around here. I’m thinking of starting the 21 Day Sugar Detox on Monday but haven’t decided for sure yet. I need to go grocery shopping and plan some meals for the upcoming week so maybe if I can work it into that, I’ll do it. I dunno. For sure tomorrow I will be making PaleoPot’s Hungry Man Casserole because it sounds delicious and I need something I can freeze for those “oh crap, what do I eat” moments (because I seem to have a lot of them lately.

I think that’s it for now – I’ll update on Sunday with my Week 5 recap of JMBR and what I decided about the 21DSD.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Jillian Michaels Body Revolution – Week 3

Well, Week 3 of JMBR is in the bag so it’s time for my update…

As I mentioned in my last post, I missed my Monday workout because I overslept and then was too tired by the time I got home to get it in. I just adjusted my week and started on Tuesday and planned on no rest day for Sunday. I noticed that the workouts were still difficult but much better than in week 3 when I felt I was really struggling. For some of the leg intensive exercises (especially lunges and a kneeling exercise), I had to watch it – there are a few moves that put a lot of stress on my knees. I try to do as many as I can with good form but if they are painful or I have problems with form, I usually sub out something else or just skip that part. I don’t feel particularly good about it but after 4+ knee surgeries, I know when I’ve hit my limits. Pushing it is one thing, PAIN and possible reinjury is another.

On Thursday, I had a really rough day and skipped Cardio 1. I fixed this by substituting FIRE 55 EZ from TurboFire on Sunday (so instead of 2 thirty minute cardio workouts, I did one for about an hour). It made life a lot easier… Besides, I really miss TurboFire so it was good to have that back in my life!

In the progress department, I’m STILL seeing no movement on the scale, however my stamina is much better and I’m lifting heavier and feeling more confident with the moves so I’m just taking it in stride. I figure it’s less important to see changes on the scale and more important to see changes in my body so I’m letting it go. Once I finish week 4 (phase 1) I will take measurements to see what information that gives me.

Speaking of Week 4 – it should be interesting… I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday morning so I pushed my workout back. But at my recheck, my doctor found a really painful spot on my foot that concerns him (and me!!) so he gave me a shot of cortisone. He instructed me to take it easy for the next few days (which isn’t hard to follow because my foot is really sore). So I skipped yesterday and I will be skipping today as well. That will make things more difficult when it comes to getting all the workouts in this week but I’ll try and figure out how to make that happen. If I have to sub one or double-up on a day, I’ll make it work – just as long as my foot isn’t giving me too much trouble!

As far as the calorie increase I was talking about in my last entry, I did a lot of reading on the “Eat the Food” group by Go Kaleo and messed with calorie calculators, looked at my BodyMedia reports, and finally decided to go with my average daily burn minus 500 calories. It’s also right about the same as my BMR for my goal weight so I figure that makes sense. It wasn’t a huge increase in calories but that’s okay. We’ll see if that has any impact on my weight and/or my training.

Until next time – keep up the good work!

 

Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution Week 2

I realized this afternoon that I never came back and updated with my week 2 review of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution so I’m here to remedy that problem. Then I fully plan on eating dinner and passing out because DST has really messed with my body and my brain and I’m completely exhausted!

Week 2 was the same workout schedule as week 1, I just tried to do more reps or use heavier weight or do the more advanced versions of the exercises. I was feeling pretty good about myself because I was doing well with the workouts (with the exception of Saturday). I weighed again on Friday and, like week 1, there was no movement on the scale. However, I feel a lot stronger and I’ve noticed my endurance is better so I think I must be building muscle. I usually gain a bit before I lose when I’m lifting so I’m not scared. 🙂

I took a break on Sunday (scheduled rest day), then overslept on Monday and missed my workout. It really upset me because that was the start of week 3 and a new set of strength workouts. I fully intended to come home and get my workout in but it didn’t happen because I was so out of whack from the time change. Instead, I started Week 3 yesterday (on Tuesday) and I won’t have a rest day on Sunday. Problem solved!

Anyway, yesterday I started with workout 3 for week 3 and I was thinking I should be fine. Um, no. I thought I was going to die. The stamina I thought I’d gained was totally missing and at one point, I only did 2-3 reps of some of the exercises. It was a bummer 😦 BUT it goes to show how this is a progressive program and things only get more intense. Today was a little better but still rough. I’m curious to see how I do on Friday!

Another thing I’m struggling with right now is my food intake. I use myfitnesspal to log food and to set my intake goals. Recently, a friend suggested to me that I should increase my caloric intake to my BMR minus 20%. I’m considering it but because I work a desk-type job, I’m afraid I will be taking in too many calories. I’m doing more research and looking at my average burns (from my BodyMedia unit) before I make a decision. I’ll let you guys know what I decide!

 

Paleo Fried Rice

Fridays are the beginning of my weekend so I usually spend them running errands, cleaning the house, and other things… It’s my day of the week to get things done. Today was no different – I went to supervision at 8, then when we finished, I went to the bank, and then gave my husband a ride to work. On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things and then I came home and paid all the bills and got in my workout…  have to admit, I half-assed it today because I was EXTREMELY sore from yesterday. I’m not trying to make excuses here, I’m just being honest. I was seriously hurting so I took it easy on myself. Please don’t tell Jillian Michaels. I do not need that woman showing up at my house and beating my ass (especially when she’s already beating my ass 6 days a week).

Anyway, after the workout, I was feeling a little worn out and nauseous so I laid down… and promptly took a 3.5 hour nap. Oops ;/ I generally try to look at these kind of things as “my body really needed the sleep” and move forward but today I was disappointed because there were a lot of things on my “to do” list.

I tried to get some stuff done but then I was just frustrated, annoyed, and I had a headache. I decided it was time for dinner and I was craving Chinese food. Fortunately, I had all the stuff I needed to make Paleo (cauliflower) fried rice so I decided to go for it. And I was NOT disappointed! It was AMAZING and I generally don’t care for cauliflower. It was amazing and pretty easy to make.

I took inspiration from Nom Nom Paleo and Paleo Pot so I can’t take all the credit on the recipe but here are my ingredients and modifications:

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head of cauliflower
• 1 pound shrimp
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups (I just used 2 big handfuls) broccoli slaw
• 1 bunch of green onions
• 1 small yellow onion, diced.
• 2 to 4 tbsp of coconut aminos
• 2 tbsp of Red Boat fish sauce
• 1 tbsp of Sriracha (optional – especially considering Sriracha is not 100% Paleo)
• 2 to 4 tbsp of water
• 3 eggs

Directions:

1. Use a food processor to break down the cauliflower into “rice.” I used my Ninja and it worked just fine. You can also use a cheese grater if you don’t have a food processor or Ninja.
2. Get a large pot or dutch oven and put over medium heat.
3. Add your coconut oil and allow it to warm up.
4. Add your onions, garlic, and green onions. Cook until the onions start to become transparent, then add your cauliflower and broccoli slaw.
5. Add your coconut aminos, fish sauce, and ginger.
6. Make sure everything is well mixed to get everything cooked evenly – let it cook for a few minutes.
7. Add 2 to 4 tbsp of water to the pot and stir well again. Lower heat to medium low and cook for up to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower and other veggies are soft.
8. Add shrimp and cook until pink.
9. Add Sriracha (if desired) and stir well.
10. Turn your heat up to high and let excess liquid cook off.
11. Then crack your eggs into the pot and quickly stir to scramble the egg into the “rice.”
12. Stir until the eggs are well worked in (and cooked!)
13. Serve hot!

You can garnish with extra green onions, raw veggies, or a swirl of Sriracha (if you like it hot!) I added a bit more coconut aminos to mine after it was in the bowl. The bottom line is this stuff ROCKED! I ate a whole bowl full and would have eaten another if I hadn’t been full. Delicious!

Jillian Michaels Body Revolution Week 1

Today was day 6 of my first week of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution. I know this is a bit of a change up – I’m a TurboFire addict and that’s usually my go to workout, however I got JMBR as a gift so I thought I’d check it out.

JMBR is broken down into three phases with each phase lasting 4 weeks. During each week, you will do two strength workouts twice each, and a cardio workout twice as well. This is rotated over a 6 day period so you have enough time for your muscles to recover before you are working them again. So this week, I did strength workout 1 on Monday, strength workout 2 on Tuesday, cardio on Wednesday, and then repeated the cycle again. Sundays are your rest day to allow for recovery. Week 2 will be the same schedule as this week and then on week 3, I will switch to strength workouts 3 and 4 and use the same cardio workout. Pretty simple, and it’s even packaged by phase so you don’t have to worry about shuffling through a pile of DVDs.

As far as results are concerned, it’s only been a week and I haven’t really seen any direct results (no change on the scale this week and I haven’t increased my lift or anything) but the workouts kick my butt! I love that they are only 30 minutes so it’s easy to get them in before I get ready for work. I am assuming that things will get MUCH harder as the program goes on which makes me a bit nervous. Things aren’t crazy now, but I was super sore after my first two days (and semi-sore today!)

I also have to say that I like Jillian much more in this DVD series (well, at least the first week) than I did in some of the others. I understand she’s supposed to be “America’s Toughest Trainer” but I find some of her comments off-putting and frustrating. On these DVDs she gives a little bit of tough love but seems more supportive and has some ::gasp:: nice things to say! I appreciate that a lot and I hope that trend continues;.

 

My only concern with the program right now is that I think I may get bored with doing the same cardio DVD for a whole month so I might rotate in another Jillian DVD or perhaps one of my TurboFire workouts. Either way, I’ll be back to let you know how it goes!