If You Want to Lose Weight or Tone Up…

… get this DVD.

The 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels.

I spent the last month working my tush off, but let me tell you: This DVD rocks!

At the end of June, I decided I wanted to lose weight. I’ve decided this, oh, about eleventy billion times before.

But this time I was serious.

I’ve said that before, too.

No really – I was.

I knew I had to exercise, but come on – who has the time?! (If you work out two hours a day, have six kids, a perfectly organized home and a fabulous career, don’t tell me. Denial is better.)

Then I remembered this 30 Day Shred DVD I had bought from Amazon, oh, 18 months ago. It had never been opened. Dust had penetrated the seal. (Hey, I’m keeping it real – you appreciate that, right?)

The DVD was actually in my give-away pile, but I rescued it.

And it rescued me.

After thirty days of “shredding”, I am stronger, leaner (well, maybe less pouffy is a more accurate description), more energetic, and more optimistic. Oh, and I’m also 10 pounds lighter and 8 inches smaller (waist, hips and chest) than I was on July 20th.

That’s pretty darn impressive, right?

Yes, I still have a l-o-n-g way to go. My ultimate goal is 50 pounds lost, and so far, I’ve only trimmed 15. (Stay tuned – I will be writing a “How I lost 50 pounds and plan to keep it off forever” post!)

But doing this 20-minute workout DVD almost daily for the last thirty days has totally changed my shape – and my outlook. Yes, I’ve cut calories and improved my food choices, but I was on vacation for 18 of the 35 days and I still lost weight while we were away. That’s a credit to the Shred!

If you’re still on the fence (seriously, have you ever heard me this passionate about something except for maybe Dave Ramsey’s get out of debt plan?!), let me tell you a few more good things about the 30 Day Shred.

  • It’s short – The workout is 20 minutes long. Come on – you’ve got 20 minutes in your day. And while yes, it’s hard (I sweat so much my glasses slip off my face), you can do anything for 20 minutes. (Sounds like my mantra from child birth.)
  • It’s frugal – Most stores sell the DVD for around $10. You can get it on Amazon for under $7. Or you can purchase the instant videos for a total of $5 – if you’d rather watch on your computer or stream to your TV. Even if you don’t love this workout as much as I do, it’s not like you will have committed to an expensive year-long membership.
  • It’s low-maintenance – All you need is the DVD, a set of hand weights (I started with 4 pound and moved up to 5 pound, both of which we had at home already) and a mat if you’re working out on a hard surface. I do it on carpet and don’t need the mat.
  • It’s gradual – There are three levels (1-3), which have progressively harder work-outs. I moved up a level every 10 workouts. Within each level, there is the beginner (difficult) and the advanced (killer) way to do the moves. By the end of the 10 days, I was usually able to do at least some, if not all, of the moves in the killer way. Then I moved up a level and cried all over again.
  • It’s comprehensive – Jillian will get you burning fat and building muscles – AKA “shredding”. She accomplishes this by looping three sets of strength training (3 minutes each), cardio (2 minutes) and abs (1 minute). There is also a quick warm-up and cool down.
  • It’s proven – When I wanted to quit, I would Google “before and after 30 day shred pictures”. There are some killer results out there (not all the pictures are tzanua, so consider yourself warned – and yeah, I realize that the picture of Jillian isn’t very tzanua either ;-)). Take before and after pictures of yourself, too. I won’t be showing mine to anyone other than my husband – but they are proof of the transformation that’s possible in just 30 days. Bottom line: If you do this work-out faithfully for thirty days, it WILL work for you!
Anyone else a Jillian Michael’s fan? Maybe a different workout has changed your shape (and attitude)?

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. I am affiliate of Amazon, which means if you purchase this DVD through the link on my blog, I will make a small bit of money. I’m not telling you about this workout because of the pennies I will get. I’m telling you because it changed my life! For more information on affiliate, see my disclosure policy.

Comments

  1. HIGH FIVE, Mara!! 10 pounds in such a short time is amazing! Two years ago I hit my goal weight of 60 pounds lost. It’s funny, I have this DVD and I remember it being so hard that I wanted to cry. Maybe I will dust it off and give it another try. I run six days a week on a treadmill. It’s worked really well for me, but I’m getting itchy to mix things up a bit. It’s always motivating for me to hear someone else’s success story–thank you.

    • Wow – 60 pounds is incredible! And even more so that you’ve kept it off. I know a few people who say they do this three times a week and then run the rest of the days. (Some super achievers even do this on a day that they ran.) If you try it again, let me know how it goes for you! (And yes, so hard you want to cry – that was me a month ago!)

  2. Good for you!

    i have this one and would like to mention a few things…

    1. it’s 27 minutes (at least level one is)
    2. it’s amazing – it really helped build my stamina. the first few days i did it, it literally made me naseous. but after a couple weeks i was just sweating along like everyone else
    3. i used this dvd 2-3 times a week for a month (just didn’t have the time for more) and definitly lost inches – not any weight though and i have weight to lose. but once i stopped it all came back. it takes a real commitment to lose it and keep it off.

    if you get bored easily – try her kickboxing dvd. i’m the least co-ordinated person and i loved it. it helped to flip the video so i just had to mirror what she was doing instead of trying to figure out right/left

    • Ah – don’t tell me 27. When I think it’s 20 that’s so much more tolerable 😉

      How do you flip the DVD? That’s an awesome idea – I too lack coordination! (I watch it on our big TV in the basement and sometimes I like to “stretch” the video b/c it makes them look bigger – ha!)

      • i watch it from a laptop and the dvd player program has settings that you can flip it
        probably if you have the ability to ‘stretch’ you also have the ability to flip. but i like your idea!!

  3. Thank you! I was just wondering what DVD to buy since I’m bored of my old one. I got it for $6.95.

  4. Congrats on your weight loss! I have this DVD, as well as many others from Jillian. Try the 6 Week 6 pack next. My abs never looked so good!

  5. HI. Can you recommend any good exercise videos of a similar type but that are tzniut and suitable for men to watch?

    • I’m actually not sure – even the ones that have men leading them typically have women (in exercise clothing) in the workout room with them. Sorry – maybe my readers know of some suggestions?

  6. Oh…I have it also…somewhere. Thanks for the reminder!!!

    And terrific job. If you can do it, so can I.

  7. Love this and her Yoga Meltdown (not classic yoga, but a good workout!), and I’ve also heard great things about Ripped in 30.

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