Can you believe it’s already the 11th of October? Geez time flies! Hello to my fellow Shredders & to those just following me on my journey on Dr. Ian’s Shred program. Shredders, how are you doing on the plan? I find that weight loss is a day to day struggle for me. When I think of the total amount of weight I need to lose, it becomes very daunting to me & almost feels insurmountable. So that’s why we have to think of it in different terms. We can’t think about the total amount, we have to focus on getting through each day. And we have to think positively because thinking about it in negative terms gets us nowhere but sad & frustrated. So let’s take one step at a time, one day at a time. If we stick to the program, one day we’ll wake up & notice a major difference! No one’s perfect, but if you commit to eating healthy & exercising most of the time, you’ll see results. I remember the last time I lost a considerable amount of weight around 2003 or so. From the start of the year, I had been working out regularly & eating right…for the most part. I would look at myself in the mirror each day & wonder if it even mattered that I was trying to eat right & exercise because I wasn’t noticing a big difference. Then around summertime, it just seemed like my body transformed overnight because EVERYONE started telling me how great I looked & what a noticeable amount of weight I had lost! And it ended up being SO worth all the hard work because I felt & looked better than I could remember in years! So I say all of that to say…Hang in there…Don’t give up…You may not notice a difference right now, but there will come a day in a month or two or 3 or 4 that you will feel & look like a new person. WE CAN DO THIS SHREDDER NATION!!! Now here’s what I ate yesterday…

Meal 1: Oatmeal, toast, pear & apple juice

Snack 1: 2 graham cracker portions with peanut butter

Meal 2: protein shake & apple (more on shakes below)

Snack 2: Skinny Cow lowfat ice cream sandwich

Meal 3: Turkey sandwich (with lettuce, tomato, cheese & mustard) with mixed veggies.

Unfortunately, I didn’t eat my 4th meal on the Shred program. That’s actually a no-no. Ian says that we should try our best to get all of our meals in. Snacks aren’t as important because they are only there as a bridge between meals. But we shouldn’t miss meals too often. I’ll do better. But earlier I mentioned that I’d have more info on shakes. A new Shredder Nation member tweeted me (if you’re not already following me on Twitter, CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW) & asked for shake suggestions. I sent Ian a text asking him for shake recipe suggestions, but haven’t heard back from him…He’s a busy man. So I did a quick google search & found some healthy shake & smoothie recipes on Health.com. According to Shred program guidelines, our protein shakes & smoothies should be 250 calories or less. All but one of the recipes on the Health.com link are less than 250 calories. Click below for the recipes…

CLICK HERE FOR HEALTHY SHAKE & SMOOTHIE RECIPES ON HEALTH.COM

Hey Shredder Nation! So if you watched my video blog yesterday, you know that I was off track with the Shred program last week. But I’m proud to share that my 1st day back on the plan went really well yesterday. I ate all my meals & snacks. They were yummy & I felt extremely satisfied. I hadn’t exercised all last week either, so getting back into that habit proved to be tricky. At 1st I wanted to just walk up & down the stairs for 40 minutes. Then I changed my mind & decided to head to the gym. But when I got there, I felt like I didn’t want to be there. So I ultimately went for a 40 minute walk around the neighborhood. The combination of me not working out for a week & my low iron levels made the walk a little harder than usual. But I did it! I feel super tired today though. I got some sleep after work, but I still feel extremely tired. I’ll probably keep it simple & do 45 minutes on the treadmill for exercise. And getting in another nap before work is imperative. Before I show you what I ate yesterday, wanna remind you to follow these links regularly if you aren’t already: @ShelleyWade on Twitter; Dr. Ian Smith on Twitter; The Shredder Nation on Facebook.

So here are the meals that I ate yesterday…

Meal 1: An egg white omelette with toast, an apple & cranberry juice

Snack 1: wheat crackers with peanut butter. I assume that I could probably use larger crackers.

Meal 2: an orange & a protein shake

Snack 2: a Skinny Cow low fat ice cream sandwich

Meal 3: grilled chicken legs with kale, broccoli & tomatoes

Snack 3: string cheese

Meal 4: protein shake & green beans

Hey Shredder Nation! I didn’t do well on Dr. Ian’s Shred program last week. To be clear, the Shred program works…provided that you stick to it, lol. I’m back on track this week, but find out why I didn’t do well on the program last week by watching my latest weight loss vlog…

I am on Week 2, Day 3 of Dr. Ian Smith’s “Shred: The Revolutionary Diet” and a conversation I had with Dr. Ian when we worked out together last weekend is top of mind for me right now. We discussed me looking like a different person come December. It can be overwhelming for me to think about all the weight I need to lose. So instead of thinking about a larger goal like that, I’d prefer setting more short term goals. Z100′s Jingle Ball 2012 concert is December 7th, so I told Ian that my short term goal is to lose a good amount of weight by then. I’m visualizing myself stepping onstage at Madison Square Garden looking super fabulous for the concert. I told Ian that the last time I remember feeling the most comfortable in my skin going onstage at one of our concerts was all the way back in 2003 at Z100′s Zootopia concert at Giants Stadium. Here’s a picture of me with TLC at that concert…

And I wasn’t super skinny in that picture. My goal isn’t to be super skinny. My goal is to eventually be at my optimal best health & to feel healthy & comfortable in my body. So on our weight loss journey, I think it’s important for us to have pictures like this to remind us of where we’re going. I also think it’s important for us to take pictures of ourselves as we begin our journeys. I took a picture of myself at the gym over the weekend…

I’ll use that as my “before” picture & I’ll use my picture with TLC as my motivation picture. It’ll be interesting to see the results come December & how different I’ll look from the “before” picture. Okay, one more picture…

Yes, the skinny one in the red skirt was ME in high school…can you believe it?! So I wasn’t always overweight. But on this weight loss journey with you & Dr. Ian, I’m not trying to be skinny again like I was in high school. I was a little girl then & I’m a woman now. And I want to look like a woman, not a little girl. I want to keep my curves, but get rid of the fat. We’re workin’ on it! Heading down to the gym now. Talk to ya next time

S

I’m entering Week 2 on Dr. Ian Smith’s “Shred: The Revolutionary Diet”. The Shred book officially comes out December 24th, but Dr. Ian has been sharing weight loss tips from it on his Shredder Nation Facebook page & on his Twitter feed. Monday’s are my official weigh-in days. So how much weight did I lose on the Shred program last week? Drum roll, please! I lost 4.1 pounds, yay me! I think that 4.1 pounds in a week is pretty good. However, I know that I could’ve done better. I didn’t finish the week strong. Saturday & Sunday, I just didn’t get all my meals in & I didn’t eat all of the right things. I find that my challenges come when I’m not on a normal schedule & when I’m hanging out with friends. Both of those situations occurred for me all weekend. So while I’m happy that I lost 4.1 pounds, I look forward to doing even better this week.

My friend Sunny Anderson from the Food Network invited me to her home yesterday to be a part of the photo shoot for her new cookbook. I interviewed Sunny after the photo shoot & I’ll post that interview here tomorrow, so be sure to check back. Also this weekend, I had the pleasure of working out with Dr. Ian Smith. If you didn’t already know, Ian is a Harvard man. So he invited me to workout with him in the gym at the Harvard Club in Manhattan…

It was a great workout & made me realize that I don’t push myself nearly enough when I’m at the gym alone. From here on out, I’ll try to push myself harder & challenge myself more at the gym. After our workout, I interviewed Ian about the Shred program. Watch our interview below…

@ShelleyWade Weight Loss Vlog, 9/24/12: Interview with Dr. Ian Smith from Shelley Wade on Vimeo.

Be sure to bookmark this blog & keep checking back daily for my vlogs, blogs & weight loss progress. Also follow me @ShelleyWade on Twitter, I promise to follow back

I’m on Day 4 of Dr. Ian Smith’s “Shred: The Revolutionary Diet”. Since I just started the plan this week, I really wasn’t looking for any results so soon. You know how some people on weight loss plans can’t wait to step on the scale to see if their hard work is paying off? Well I’m not one of those people. In fact, I find the experience of stepping on the scale to be traumatic most times, lol. So I’m not even contemplating stepping on the scale again until I’m supposed to Monday morning. But although I wasn’t expecting any results this early on, I actually see results already! Here’s the story…Yesterday was a super busy day for me & by the time it was time for me to go to work, I was just like a zombie going through the motions. So I started putting on my jeans…legs in, zipper up, button buttoned, belt looped. But wait! OMG, did I just use an extra belt loop that I haven’t been able to use in a LONG time?! Yes!!!! I had only been a part of the Shredder Nation for 3 days & I was ALREADY seeing results! So needless to say, that put some extra pep in my step as I headed out the door to the gig. And of course, seeing positive results so early makes me want to be even more dedicated to the Shred Revolution. I’m SO super excited about the possibilities.

Thanks, btw, to Dr. Ian & everyone in the Shredder Nation for being so welcoming to me & so supportive. I’ve been in touch with fellow Shredders on FB & Twitter & it just means so much to me to have your positive feedback. And by all means, if you have a wonderful story that you’d like for me to share on my blog or vlog about being on the Shred program, let me know so that I can include you on here. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter @shelleywade & I promise to follow you back. Alright…on to what I ate yesterday. I was just on the phone with Dr. Ian a few minutes ago telling him that I was concerned since I missed a couple of my snacks yesterday. But he said not to worry…Snacks are only there for us if we need them as a bridge between our meals. It’s much more important that we don’t miss our meals. So yeah, I ate all my meals yesterday, but only ate one snack. Here’s how my eating day looked…

Meal 1: pancakes, turkey bacon, grapefruit & apple juice. That breakfast was freaking AMAZING! Pancakes?! On a weight loss plan?! Are you kidding me Dr. Ian?! I LOVE this Shred program! lol

Snack 1: applesauce

Meal 2: protein shake & a pear

Meal 3: turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes & cheese, and sparkling water

Meal 4: grilled chicken with brown rice & broccoli, pomegranate juice

I really enjoyed all of my meals. I felt that Meal 4 was especially satisfying. There was just something about the brown rice mixed with broccoli that felt filling & satisfying. I’m gonna also have to make a better effort to have more of a variety of snacks the next time I grocery shop. But all in all, this plan is really awesome so far. Be sure to follow Dr. Ian on Twitter if you’re not already by clicking HERE. And if you’re not yet a member of the Shredder Nation, CLICK HERE to join. Talk to ya tomorrow…have a wonderful rest of your day

S