Ripped in 30: The End Results

A little over a month ago, I shared that I was going to complete the "Ripped in 30" DVD by Jillian Michaels. Well, I did it.  I completed it.  The DVD is made up of four different work-outs: week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4.  Jillian recommends doing each week for six days.  I did six days in a row and took one day of rest during the challenge.  I completed the DVD in 31 days.  I took 2 days of rest on the second week and made up for it by still completing six days which put me at 31 days total instead of 30... not too bad.  Out of the 31 days, I worked out 26 days (you take a day of rest each week + that one extra I told you about).  It was such an amazing feeling to know that I worked out 26 days/31 days.

The workout is very challenging and totally changed my out look on fitness/health.  It kind of turned me into a "health nut."  It was life-changing.  It made me realize that if you want to see results... you are going to work really, really hard.  You are going to be very uncomfortable and you have to eat healthy 99% of the time.

Where do I go from here with my work-outs?  Today I started the "30 Day Shred" DVD.  After completing "Ripped in 30" the first week of "30 Day Shred" didn't feel too bad at all.  A very good transition week as I spent the past week in San Fran + Napa and totally got my butt kicked by the Wine Country.  More on that later... All I know is that I want to move to San Fran!

I've got a couple of "after" pictures.  I totally didn't do good on capturing the before state nor the end state.  For "30 Day Shred"  I am going to take measurements and do a much better job showing you before/after pictures.  But, here's what I've got:

The pictures are horrible quality but will give you an idea:

Arms-  My arms have never had much tone.  My arms were definitely one the quickest areas to tone.  

Legs-  These don't even look like my legs.  Hard work pays off!

A little full-body snap shot.  

Again, I really want to do measurements for the "30 Day Shred."  I think that will allow me to see the results the best and also share better pictures/updates.  I highly recommend Jillian's DVDs.  They are effective and easy to follow.  I will share updates along the way during my 30 days of getting shredded.  

love, the Blair Abode

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I've been on the hunt for healthy recipes lately that provide the nutritional contents.  I feel like if I can't calculate the nutritional value, it's easy to eat way more calories/fat than you realize.  After browsing the internet and Pinterest, I found a lot of good websites that do exactly what I was looking for.  The magazines Shape and Self both have great tips for eating and working out.  Also, their websites are amazing! Check em' out.

One of my favorite recipes I found is this one!  I modified it a little bit to fit the ingredients we had at home.  It was so delicious and so fresh.  Ty and I both really like lettuce wraps as it is, but this was definitely an awesome combination of tastes!

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Here's my version that is slightly tweaked from the original:

3 chicken breasts (or more, depending on how many you're feeding)

1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo Sauce 

1 TBS. of Ranch Seasoning

Carrots
Celery

Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Dressing - Ranch
Iceberg lettuce 

Place chicken breasts in crockpot and pour 1 cup of buffalo sauce over the breasts.  Sprinkle the ranch seasoning over breasts and sauce -  cook on low all day.  I started with frozen breasts and mine cooked a good 8 hours or more and weren't dry at all.

After chicken is fully cooked, take out of crock pot and shred.  Place chicken back in crockpot for 30 minutes so the chicken can really absorb the sauce.

Peel pieces of lettuce off the head and chop up some carrots and celery (promise, it makes it so good).  Place chicken, celery, carrots and 1 TBS. yogurt ranch over a piece of lettuce.  You can also add a sprinkle of the 2% shredded cheese (we had a little Italian blend and it was great).  Enjoy!

This will definitely be a staple at our house all summer as it is so light and tasty.  What are your favorite recipes lately?

love, the Blair Abode

Week 3: Ripped in 30

The Workout:

I can't believe I'm already on day three of week three.  It has really gone by fast and I cannot say enough good things about the challenge.  Each week gets SO much harder than the week before.  Week 3 is by far the hardest workout I have ever done.  There are a few places in the workout that I have to stop and make sure my arms/legs aren't falling off.  Week 3 is so hard that at times it just plain makes me mad!  But, I love it and I can tell such a difference in my body with only 2.5 weeks done.  It takes hard work and dedication because you have to do it 6 days a week.  The workout is only 30 minutes but it's high impact and it gets the job done!

The Eating:

I'm following my own meal plan instead of Jillian's.  She has a great one, but a lot of the things I'm eating are similar to her recipes so I just decided to stick to my own.  I did get good ideas for breakfasts/snacks from her plan though. I highly recommend you check out her plan if you're going to start the challenge.

I allow myself one cheat meal a week.  I never cheat at breakfast or lunch because I would SO rather have my cheat meal be a dinner out somewhere on Friday or Saturday.  I will order whatever sounds good on that particular night! Last night was my cheat meal for this week and I got a Banana Fire Burger at Grubs! It was so delicious and yummy! You have to have at least one cheat meal a week.  It's the only way to not burn-out.  At least that's what I think!

The Results So Far:

I haven't taken any pictures in my workout clothes, etc. yet, but when I was shopping yesterday for some spring clothes - I could so tell.  It made me so happy.  When I tried on clothes, I liked the way the clothes looked.  I tried on some dresses/shorts and I liked the way my legs looked.  I've never been a big fan of shorts because I always felt like my legs were so skinny with zero tone.  I'm actually going to like shorts and dresses this year!

I snapped a couple of pictures when trying on spring clothes as a way to document a few progress pictures.  I will take some in my workout clothes when the challenge is over! :)

I never would have liked this dress 2 months ago - it would have been too tight, but if it hadn't been just a bit too short, I would have bought it!  But, I noticed in this picture that I can tell my legs are getting toned.. YAY!

I did buy this wonderful neon blouse and straight-leg white jeans from LOFT.  The blouse is so pretty and bright.  It will be a great work shirt but can also be super fun for the weekend! These jeans are such a good fit.. I love the cuffed look.

I'm dying for this blazer.  It's such a cute spring jacket.  LOFT's blazers are $98.  That was too much for me to spend yesterday, but I SO need it.  Doesn't it look adorbs over the neon blouse?  It'd also be great for me to have when I need to be dressy this spring.  Don't you agree? Does anybody out there think I need this jacket as badly as I do? 

Because it will be AMAZING under my denim vest all summer.  So fun!

I had a blast finding spring goodies yesterday!  What have you bought for spring so far?

love, the Blair Abode