Why I Benched Jillian Michaels as My Wedding Workout Coach

jillian michaels body revolution
jillian michaels body revolution

Even though my soon-to-be mother-in-law has teased me about being a mini-bridezilla (aka "zillie"), I'm doing everything I can to plan my May 2013 nuptials in a go-with-the-flow way. And now that includes when it comes to losing weight for the wedding. Oh yes, I committed to doing the Jillian Michaels Body RevolutionDVD program back in the spring. At the time, I was dead-set on completing all 12 weeks -- in a row -- no questions asked.

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By week 8, I was feeling like I had accomplished something awesome ... even though the scale was moving slower than I thought it would given these grueling daily workouts. Still, I planned to persist. Until life butted in.

Right around the time I got to week 9, my fiance and I took a much-deserved summer vacation. I actually planned on working out that week, even going so far as to bring my heaviest weights along for the trip, but after two months of hardcore daily workouts, I wanted needed to chill out. And when we got back home, we were catapulted into pure chaos, having to pack for a grueling move out of our apartment in less than a week.

Compounding the issue, it's summer. There's no way in hell I'd rather be cooped up, working out inside staring at the TV! I've wanted to spend every free moment I have being active outside.

So, quite honestly, I've put Jillian on hold to focus on tracking my Weight Watchers PointsPlus while walking more, taking more stairs, going for mini-jogs with my future MIL's dog, taking spontaneous dance breaks. Plus personal training sessions and attending classes at the gym with friends. And believe it or not, the scale's actually been moving more steadily in the right direction and I've had more energy.

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And you know what? It's not that surprising to me. I know one woman out to drop her baby weight who has lost over 50 pounds since January ... She's not sweating it out in spinning classes. She's been following the Weight Watchers plan and taking her stroller to the park more often!

As far as I can tell, there's no wiggle room allowed in the Body Revolution plan, which strikes me as a bit absurd. To think anyone could adhere to 12 straight weeks of daily (sans Sunday) workouts without fail, divergence, or boredom for that matter, is unrealistic. I'm all about making exercise a priority, but a regimen that doesn't allow for real-life adaptation simply isn't sustainable. What's more, at least in my experience, a program that's stressing you out more than relieving stress isn't going to produce results either.

As a result, for the time being, Jillian Michaels' Body Revolution is hanging out on my shelf. I'm sure I'll pick it back up again when I have the time/space/incentive to do a DVD workout, and I figure out how to include it as part of an overall pre-wedding workout plan that offers more variety. Because, to me, a wedding -- and ideally, lifelong -- fitness strategy is serious business, but it can and should still be fun and livable.

This is the second in a mini-series of posts I'm writing on how I'm shaping up for my walk down the aisle.

Have you ever had to put a workout plan on hold only to find you're better off doing something different?

Image via jillianmichaelsbodyrevolution.com


Written by Maressa Brown for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.

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