So here I am at day 4. My son woke up this morning and said, “We play exercise now?”For the past four days, I’ve woken up, changed into workout clothes and turned on the 30 Day Shred. I’ve spent 20 minutes a day doing the three six-minute circuits, and the brief warm-up/cool down.
Yesterday, I thought I was going to have to eat my own arm at work. I did the Shred and ate my usual breakfast of high-fiber cereal. I brought my coffee to work with me like I always do, and replaced it with a glass of water when I was finished with it. And I started thinking about lunch at 10:30am, an hour earlier than usual.
After lunch, I started dreaming about dinner at about 2:30pm. I hit the break room’s candy stash at 2:45pm. I resorted to the packaged peanut butter crackers at 3:30pm. What’s going on? I thought to myself, while trying not to make eye contact with co-workers as the wrapper crinkled.
Last night, I was with fellow shredders, and a friend recounted her experience. Her exact words? “By about day three I started getting hungry. Hungry like a bear hungry. Hungry like when I was on the swim team hungry.”As I was listening to her adventure on the 30 Day Shred, I ate four chocolate chip cookies.
Ok then.Clearly, my body has been woken up. Now I need to feed it.
What are your go-to high protein, high fiber, power foods? After the shred today, I ate eggs. I’m hoping I can last til noon.
15 replies on “Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred: Day 4 (Hungry Like a Bear)”
I work out pretty regularly, and I’ve been doing the Ripped in 30 while you do the Shred. Last summer I did a 5:30 am Booty Bootcamp. I’ve tried a lot of different things, and a lot of those have been covered in the comments. But the one thing no one has mentioned before, is eating BEFORE you work out. About 30-45 minutes before you work out, have, like, one piece of toast, with or without peanut butter. The trick is to eat a carb (and I only eat whole wheat bread, because it is better for you, because of science) and make it something that you can easily digest and won’t come back to hurt you during the workout. For example, I get an acidic stomach, which can be brought on by working out or eating too much or eating tomatoes. So I stick with toast and add peanut butter if I’m hungry. Usually I don’t even eat the whole piece of toast, just half. The carbohydrates give your body fuel for the workout, so it doesn’t feel like it’s going to have to eat itself, and then after your workout your body doesn’t try to make up for the lack of calories by making you eat everything in sight. Just half the things in sight.
Also, can I just note that I am SO happy you are doing this feature. Last night, I was exhausted and nauseous and I did NOT want to work out, but I thought of this feature and how bummed I was going to be if I didn’t do it, so I said to myself, “Self, just do the beginner version of everything. You will probably not throw up.” So I did my workout and I did not throw up and I was so pleased with myself! Yay!
I try to eat more protein, especially in the AM, when I’m exercising a lot, and (if I’m paying attention to calories) I try to redistribute a little so more of my daily calories are in the AM. I eat a lot of Lean Pockets (dunno how healthy that one is) and with my cereal instead of regular milk I’ll have Yoplait Greek 2x Protein yogurt (the best flavor is honey vanilla, but one of the competitor brands of high-protein yogurt also has a honey flavor that is NOT AS GOOD. just a warning). I also love LaraBar minis–you can get a box of baby ones at like REI or Target, and they’re PERFECT between meals or even during a workout. LunaBar also makes minis in a good size, but they taste a little dessert-y, which is good depending on your needs. I can tell myself they’re a candy bar, basically. If you stash a bunch of those in your desk, I think you’ll make it! Also, obviously, drink WAY MORE WATER! It helps!
I remember this from when I started swimming! After my first day at the pool I left and ate cheesecake and bacon. I do not recommend this as a healthy snack. I think I just did the best I could snack-wise for a week or so until my body regulated the new calorie requirements.
Hulled barley. It takes about 45 minutes to cook in a pressure cooker, but the taste is out of this world, and it has a nice low glycemic impact (so it sticks with you and doesn’t cause a glucose spike). I literally cook up 2 cups of barley with 6-8 cups of water, store it in a big container in the fridge, and eat off of it for the next week. It keeps well in a sealed container.
Hulled barley, as opposed to pearl barley, has been minimally processed, giving it more fiber and flavor. It’s kind of hard to find in your average grocery store. Whole Foods’ bulk aisle has it. You can use it in place of rice or other grain, or just slather some butter and salt on it and eat it warm. Yum.
Oh thank you– I will have to hustle on over to Whole Foods. I’ve never tried it before, but I must find a solution!
ha ha ha, this is so relatable! I’ve been working out semi-regularly for months, but a solid 5x/week for about a month now, and my appetite went crazy! There are days when I feel like I could eat all day and still feel hungry. On those days, I know I have to do an omelette or something for breakfast instead of just grabbing a banana. And I better pack an extra snack if I want to avoid running to the vending machine like a crazed person around 3pm.
Some good snacks to help fight the bear-like hunger:
-apple w/peanut butter or cheese
-banana
-nuts (I don’t really eat them alone, but I’ll add them to a salad to bulk it up)
-boiled egg
-avocado
-greek yogurt w/honey or fruit
As for my week, my workouts have been good. I’m really excited to go to Zumba class in the park on Saturday morning. And I lost 3lb. this week, which puts me on track to reach my first mini goal by the end of July! I’ve also been able to move my belt buckle over 2 notches, and I’m developing some mighty fine calf muscles.
Hooray for fine calves and moving belt notches! Woot! And thanks for the snack ideas :) I love boiled eggs, and they’d be good to have on hand….
I actually missed my workout last night due to hanging out with family, and I found myself really miffed. I can’t wait to get back into it tonight.
I am finding it difficult to extend my arms all the way though! Super stiff!
Oh and I hate to say it….but lentils. Seriously. I love them so much!!!
Almonds have never done it for me. Whenever people say “a small handful of almonds!” I think they must mean like Hagrid’s handful because I never feel the fullness or energy or anything you’re supposed to feel. :(
Also I am so jealous about your shred!
eggs. nuts. QUINOA. Fish. LOTS OF NUTS. Almonds in particular make me feel like a million bucks. I look for extra ways to slip protein into my normal meals, too; since I don’t eat most meat, I find things like veggie crumbles are good add ins for breakfast, salad, even pasta dishes.
Thank you for reminding me I have to buy a bag of almonds. I’ve cut out most meant from my diet but haven’t properly balanced my new diet with protein. Almonds are easy.
Ooh I am always on the lookout. Here are some of my go-tos when I’m exercising more.
Crackers or apples with cheese or peanut butter.
Luna bars (in moderation. I think they have a lot of sugar.)
A healthier egg mcmuffin: A high fiber english muffin with a fried egg, a slice of cheese and either canadian bacon or jimmy dean turkey sausage patty. I would use regular bacon too but it’s not shaped in a circle. Sometimes I use a bagel thin instead of an english muffin.
It keeps me full seriously all day. If I have one at 8 or 9 I’m not even thinking about food until at least 1. Even if I’ve worked out.
I also like to have a banana after I’ve worked out.
Oh and I used to be really into turkey pastrami with some avocado mushed up and spread on it and then rolled up. I would eat like three or four of those.
yummo to all of the above.
I have no help for you – I’ll be hanging out here looking for suggestions.
But thanks for these, I just finished Day 3 and it’s motivating to see these pieces every day. I’ll watch out for the hungry bear:)
be on the look out! I feel like I lock my food up like when we go camping or something. The eggs helped this morning, as did the peanuts I’ve been munching on. Glad the daily posting is a motivator!