That was very fun -- you all are some excellent gift-givers and you evidently surround yourselves with similarly creative and thoughtful people! And I am totally stealing some of your ideas for future gifty occasions.
Regarding the 30-Day Shred, I should note that after several sessions with Jillian, I have observed one pronounced side effect: extreme and unrelenting hunger. Every day this week, I have spent most of my waking hours in a state of constant famished-ness. I eat my two South Beach Diet Bars and have my Diet Mountain Dew for breakfast when I get into work, and about 30 minutes later, I am looking around in a mild panic for something to shove into my mouth.
I take my lunch into the office every day, and I haven't made it past 10:30am before digging into some part of it. (It's sort of a grazy lunch -- crackers, apple, V8, applesauce, Nutrigrain bar, Mini Babybel, etc -- whose most salient quality is the ability to be thrown into my bag in seconds, requiring no additional preparation). The whole thing is usually gone before 3, at which time I am forced to hit the vending machines or lose consciousness. Today, I added another item to my lunch selections, which got me to 5pm, when I grabbed a roll of Life Savers to make it until quittin' time; but when I got home I could have ripped the door off the fridge and eaten it.
It's not like my body is unaccustomed to exercise; I mean, running makes you hungry (and training for the marathon makes you DERANGED with hunger), and going to the gym maybe ticks up your appetite a hair (somehow an hour of phoning it in on the elliptical and then doing some half-hearted assisted pull-ups doesn't do that much), but this feels like my body has turned into a furnace. A furnace that needs copious amounts of Cheez-Its to burn.
I guess in theory I'm building muscles, which burn more calories and she claims that the workout maximizes calorie and fat burn by working multiple muscle groups at once, but I haven't been doing THAT much for THAT long that's different than usual. It seems somewhat disproportionate.
All this is to say that if you get the DVD, you might want to load up on extra groceries as well. You have been warned.
Have a great weekend, everyone! I, for one, am very glad this week is over. The first week back after a break should, by law, be less than five days long. We need to ease back in, people. Is it time for another vacation yet?
Glad to hear of success with 30DS from someone who doesn't live in a sprawling single family home. I've been hesitant to go there myself (in spite of all the blogger hype!) given that I have a neighbor downstairs!
Posted by: Laurie | January 08, 2009 at 10:11 PM
I usually feel that way once a month--- though it's not because of exercise, lol. :)
When I find myself working out more (I've never done a full marathon, but I have trained for halfs) I always have to add more protein to my diet - the carbs just don't keep me full.
:) Becky
Posted by: Becky | January 09, 2009 at 10:01 AM
I usually feel that way once a month--- though it's not because of exercise, lol. :)
When I find myself working out more (I've never done a full marathon, but I have trained for halfs) I always have to add more protein to my diet - the carbs just don't keep me full.
:) Becky
Posted by: Becky | January 09, 2009 at 10:03 AM
The 30 DS is my plan for losing the baby weight once I have this little guy or gal in March and I have big hopes for Jillian and her butt-kicking ways. I'll be sure to stock the fridge before I start though!
Posted by: Jen | January 09, 2009 at 12:36 PM
My lunches are the grazy type too-fruit, crackers, laughing cow cheese, chicken salad, etc.-and it's always gone by 2pm at the latest. I am ALWAYS hungry. Been doing the 30 day shred for the past week, and I am NOT looking forward to being MORE hungry than i already am. damn!
Posted by: Danielle-Lee | January 10, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Catching up - good luck with the 30 day shred thing!
Happy Belated New Year. I hope 2009 is the best year for you ever!
Posted by: Mauigirl | January 10, 2009 at 07:34 PM
Dude YES on the hunger. By 1030 this morning I had eaten both items I had brought for lunch, and am now headed out the door of my office to by ANOTHER LUNCH. I mean, level 3 cannot be burning that many calories to justify this, can it? (Please say it can.)
Posted by: pseudostoops | January 12, 2009 at 02:02 PM