What I Learned From a 30-Day Shred

Over the last month, I have participated in a 30-day shred program that I came across on Instagram. I liked the recipes that the trainer had posted, and her before/after pictures of the program were impressive. So I decided to drop the $99 and start 2021 off with a challenge. 

This particular trainer is focused on macros for nutrition, which was right up my alley since I have done macros since July. The workout program is 5 days a week, which was where the challenge came in for me. I typically work out 3 days a week on a good week, plus running. So I knew it would step it up a little for me.

You start by filling out a questionnaire where you tell her your activity level, typical calories, weight, goals, etc.  She is supposed to use this questionnaire to set your macros for the program. A few days before the program started, I received an email with my set macros and I nearly cried. It was as though she had not even read the questionnaire because she set my macros at 1630. To some, that might seem like a good amount of calories. But you can eat way more than you think you can. 

People, particularly women, get the number '1200' in their heads when it comes to "healthy" calories and what they need to lose weight. But throughout my time doing macros, I have learned that if you are fairly active, you can eat way closer to 1800 - 2000 rather than 1200. Maybe even more, especially if you are doing cardio, which I do a LOT of with running, which I told her. But since I had paid $99 for the program, I decided to give it a shot. I am a rule follower and if I sign up for something, I tend to follow it to a tee.

Let me tell you, it only took about 5 days for me to start to lose my mind on those macros. It was just way too low for me. I had spent the last 2 months prior to the program eating close to 2100 calories and gradually losing a little bit. So going from 2100 calories and losing (which means even that was lower than my maintenance), to 1630 calories was a significant drop. I felt it physically and mentally.  My mood was shit. 

I stuck to the macros for the first 7 days. Day 8, I had a little bit of a splurge fest but still lower than I was eating before. I did 4 more days on point, followed by 4 more days of splurging because my body was begging me for food. And repeat. A few days on macros, a few going over. 

By day 16, I decided I was done doing the whole restrict/splurge cycle. That's not a healthy lifestyle at all, and honestly one of the biggest issues with "dieting". From then forward, I would keep tracking, but just eat a normal amount of food, normal portions, when I was hungry. If I ended up hitting my low macros, then great. But if it was a day where I was extra hungry and I went over, oh well. I would then average everything at the end of the 30 days to see where I ended up landing.  Either way, I knew I was going to be in a deficit. 

Days 20-22 were spent camping. I tracked it, but definitely ate closer to 2100-2400 than 1630. Hard to partake in Hobo pies and wine and beer and cheese on low macros.  But on the flip side, when I got home, I still felt bloated so I wasn't as hungry and I ate much less. It evened out.

Final average:

Set macros: 1630
My final average of the 26 days (I called it quits early): 1868

See?  Still a deficit from my normal 2100. But I did what I needed to do to not gnaw my arm off or murder someone. And enjoyed a camping trip with family without restricting myself.  You will never see me turn down camping food, cheese, or a beverage. I'm not about that life. My parents have always had a giant Sam's Club sized block of sharp cheddar in their fridge at all times since I was little. This giant block of cheese came on that camping trip and I was there for it.

In defense of this lady and her program (which I have chosen not to mention by name on here out of respect since I'm kinda bashing her macros), it IS called a "SHRED".  So her low ass calories were for a purpose - results in a short amount of time. And I DID get results.  Not on the scale, but in measurements and in pictures. Nothing mind-blowing, but results nonetheless. 

Weight loss: 0

Waist: -1.5"

Bust: -0.5"

Thighs: -0.5" each

Hips: -0.5"

Funny, huh?  Lower calories than I was used to (even with adding some), lots of workouts, yet the scale didn't move? It moved more when I was doing 2000 calories. 

So many factors play into the scale. One of them being that your body actually requires food. And if you restrict TOO much, you can see the reverse effect. Google "cortisol and weight loss".  My body was stressed as hell.  😂

Here's the before and after:

Proof is in the pudding that a) the scale isn't everything, and b) you don't need extremely low calories on top of workouts and cardio to get some results. I'd rather eat a lot of food and workout in a way I enjoy, and gradually get sustainable results.

One positive of the last 30 days was the workout program. I actually did love this a lot.  That first week, 5 days of strength workouts was tough because my whole body hurt.  My butt muscles were like, what are we doing here?  Staaaaahp!

But by week 2, I got into a good rhythm and enjoyed the extra workouts.  I kept doing run sprints for my HIIT, and considered my long run the MISS (moderate intensity steady state). By week 4, I ended up cutting out the running altogether because it just made me more hungry, and I was tired. Runners need to EAT!

In summary, these are the things I learned or re-realized on this program:

A) I love to eat. Shocker. 

B) I really do love macros, but not in a restrictive way. They can truly transform your body if you do it correctly. But I'm not a good "dieter". Just feed me. 

C) 30 days is not enough time to see major gains. I already knew this but they really get you with those progress photos. You have to be realistic and not play the comparison game. 

D) I'd rather have a chubby butt than to eat 1600 calories for a month and risk losing my job with my attitude.

E) I love running. The significant decrease in running because of my decision to do this program has made me realize how much I actually love it and how much it makes my soul happy. Can't wait to get back to it, after my stupid hip stops getting in my way. 

Now that that's over, I've decided I'm going to spend the next month and change between now and the half marathon not tracking at all. I love macros and they really helped me to get back on track in 2020, but I've always been a pretty successful intuitive eater. So I'm going to give that a go again, and see how I do. I don't like focusing so much on my food. I just want to eat and enjoy it.  This program made me realize how much I want that lifestyle again. 

I may go back to macros later depending on how I do in Feb/March. It's enjoyable to me (well, before this program, it was) and I do have some fitness goals for 2021.  But will play it by ear.

If you have any questions about this shred, the workouts, macros, whatever, let me know!  Happy to share my thoughts on the topics.