I Got Cut … From Making the Cut

I’m sitting here watching The Biggest Loser — side note, did it drive anyone else crazy that they left us with a cliffhanger last week? — and it seemed appropriate to finally review Jillian Michaels’ Making the Cut program.

To recap, I talked about the program here and here. And I started it because the 30 Day Shred DVD had kicked my butt so badly … I knew Making the Cut would be even better. (For those who don’t know what 30 Day Shred is, it’s a half-hour workout that comes in three stages — a mix of cardio, weights and abs, all led by Jillian.)

MTC is a mix of diet and exercise, but to get to the details, you have to read chapter after chapter of information on the history of food, the way our body works and more. It’s fascinating stuff, and if you decide to try the program, I highly recommend you read it all. It really helps to understand why later in the program, she’s so crazy about the proper balance of macronutrients.

Anyway, the plan is very regimented — she lays out 30 days of meal plans and 30 days of exercises (although there are several rest days built in). For 21 of the 30 days I followed the meal plans to.the.letter. It’s lots of fish, lean proteins, healthy fats, with NO alcohol and limited caffeine.

I followed the meal plan to the detriment of my wallet (she calls for Ezekial bread a couple times a week, all organic fruits and veggies, nuts and more) and my stomach (eggs, eggs, eggs UGH and swordfish). But I figured, if you want to look like this:

you follow the rules, right? Eating plan aside, the workouts were also tough. They’re circuits, with a mix of cardio and weights, and include some C-R-AZY routines like hill runs — treadmill incline 10, speed 6 — and a move called a burpie that’s as awful as it sounds.

But I tell you what … they work. After three weeks, my arms looked more cut than ever before, my calves were tight and I could do twice as many pushups as when I started. After THREE WEEKS!

But that’s where the program ended for me. I had followed it so religiously that it became a chore, and I just couldn’t do it anymore. Bless Lucas, he ate all the MTC dinners that I made … supported me when I had to go to the gym on bizarre days, and when I complained that despite the toning, I wasn’t losing any weight.

(By the way, I followed the book and took my pre-workout measurements and pictures. Maybe some day the Web will see those, but today is not that day.)

So, I guess I am a MTC failure. I loved the program, and would recommend it to anyone who’s ready to get their butt kicked. But you have to either decide from the beginning that you’re not going to follow it to the letter, or you have to be ready to devote four straight weeks of your life to living the program.

Love ya, Jill … but I hit my limit.

In other news, I am doing another sprint triathlon this weekend!

I’m not exactly as prepared as I’d like to be, but I have the parts down — I can swim 1K+, which is more than this tri calls for. I can bike the 12.5mi easy, and now that I am running 6-7 miles, three times a week, the 2.75 miles seems like a sprint (easy to say now, right?)

My biggest fear isn’t my fitness level … it’s getting lost. Don’t worry, you say? Ha! I got lost at this same venue last fall and ended up running an extra mile. So, yeah, I’ll worry.

I think it will be a lot of fun, especially if I meet up with Meghann, who is planning on competing despite a terrifying cycling crash that left her sister in the hospital. So stay tuned for details!

While you're here...

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