30 Day Shred: Final Results

I finally finished!

Saturday was my final workout and I put everything I had into it.  I tried to do all the advanced moves even if it meant I only did for them for a little bit.

I was so proud of myself because I could tell that I had made big progress.  Especially when I was able to do full on jumping lunges for the first set.  Big win for me!

I'll just jump right into the stats.

Measurements:

30 Day Shred

Day 1:
Chest:  40"
Ribs:    33"
Waist:  33.5"
Hips:    42"
Belly Button:  34.5"
Upper Thigh:  24"
Leg @ Knee:  18"
Left Arm:  12"

Day 30:
Chest:  39"
Ribs:    31.75"
Waist:  32.5"
Hips:    40.25"
Belly Button:  34"
Upper Thigh:  22.75"
Leg @ Knee:  17"
Left Arm:  11.5"

Total inches lost:  -8.25"

And I'm totally loving it.  I keep buying new clothes just because I'm starting to feel so good about myself.  In terms of scale weight, I pretty much didn't lose anything.  And I don't care :)

As long as my inches keep going down, then I'm a happy girl.

And finally, my pictures - - side note:  please excuse the mess in the 2nd set :(

Day 1

Day 30

Not the biggest difference in the world, but I think I can see a little change in the side view pictures.  To be perfectly honest, if I didn't take measurements, I probably wouldn't have thought I had made any progress at all!

Here's another fun fact, I weigh almost the same in both sets of pics. 

And since you know how much I love doing this, I went back in time to check out some stats I had from doing p90x last year.

After 30 days on p90x last year, my weight was 3 pounds LESS than what I am now, however look at my measurements:

Chest:  43"
Ribs:    34.5"
Waist:  36.5"
Hips:    45"
Belly Button:  40"
Upper Thigh:  25.25"
Leg @ Knee:  18.5"
Left Arm:  13.5"

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  take your measurements!

I'm so happy I do.  It really does help me keep my head in the game.  Otherwise, I probably would have given up by now.

Just sayin'

 Today's Menu:
B:  homemade larabar
L:  roasted chicken + veggie salad
D:  portobello mushroom pizza

p90x - Weekly Weigh In

I didn't get all of my workouts this week, but I've been so busy that I've been moving and shaking like it's my job so I think it all balanced out.  I got in 4 of my workouts.  3 were strictly cardio and the 4th was what I call my Super Saturday Workout.  Which is odd because I do it on Sunday.  I honestly don't know how that name came about.  In any case, it's a full upper body, lower body AND cardio workout so it usually lasts a couple of hours and burns some really insane calories.  I really, really wanted to get another day of strength training in but I'm happy nonetheless.

I lost another 1.2 pounds.  YEAH!!!  Apparently my body is just stuck on that number because that's 3 weeks in a row but you'll get no complaints from me.

As for inches, as of this morning another inch is gone from my waist and a half inch from my ribs.  I only got in those 2 quick measurements because I was running late for work.  I'm hoping to do another chart soon because the visual reminder is a great motivator.  I'll try to make that a weekend project.

I'm telling you, calories are the KEY.  I've been hitting my target EVERY WEEK and I'm finally having success.  The hard part is just finding your own individual calorie target!

Here's to another great week!


Today's Menu:

B:  Breakfast Burrito
S:  Apple
L:  Wild Salmon + Mint/Yogurt Sauce + Orzo
D:  I'm unfortunately out of food but I'm hoping for a salad of some sort.  It's too hot out to cook!!!

Continued p90x Weight Loss Results

I've had 2 weigh-ins since last I posted so lets get to that first.  My first weigh-in, I was down 1.2 pounds and my second weigh-in, I was down 1.2 pounds!

Words cannot explain how happy I am with these results.  If you've been following my p90x saga, you'll notice that I didn't do too well with any weight loss.  It seems the secret is simply counting calories and eating less.  I have been pretty strict with my caloric intake and extremely strict with my exercise.  I'm working out 6 days a week with double workouts occasionally.  I did start back with my strength training 2 weeks ago and so far so good.  Both upper and lower body did well.  I am NOT doing push-ups because I don't think I'm ready for that stress on my elbow yet.

I'm still on board with p90x but with a few tweaks.  Simply put, when the p90x schedule has me doing cardiox, kenpox, or core conditioning, I do some sort of cardio:  biking, running, swimming, walking, or one of the aforementioned videos.  And when p90x has me doing legs and back, I do ... well, legs and back cause it's an amazing workout.  And when they have me do an upper body workout I do an upper body workout of my own or one from p90x.  It all just depends if I feel like being indoors or not.

I've realized that p90x isn't some magic weight loss/get in shape system.  p90x is just one of many really great workout schedules/systems.  The magic happens when you actually put in the time and effort AND count your calories (eat less).  The working out is incredibly important but what really seals the deal is figuring out how many calories it takes to lose weight and I, hopefully, have figured that part out.

I still need to take some measurements so I will TRY to get to that tonight.

Today's menu:

B:  Rostini with Egg + Coffee + Creamer
L:  Cod + Ratatouille + Wild Rice
S:  Apple
D:  maybe a burrito?  I really have no idea.

p90x End of Round 1 Measurements

Sunday marked the last day of my Round 1.  I'll be honest, it ended with a fizzle.  The workout wasn't a fizzle.  I did legs and back and it was an AMAZING workout.  I just feel like I didn't do as well as I should or could have during the last 30 days.  I know I got injured but I feel like I should/could have done more.

In any case here are the final results:

-->

Day	1	8	30	60	90	TOTAL LOST
Waist	41	38.5	36.5	35.25	36	5
Chest	43	43	42	41.5	42	1
Left Arm	14	13.5	13.5	13	13.5	0.5
Neck	n/a	13.5	13	13	13	0.5
Rib	n/a	35	34.5	35	34	1
Belly Button	n/a	42.5	40	37.25	38	4.5
Hip	n/a	46	45	43	46	0
Left Leg-Knee	n/a	19	18.5	19	18.75	0.25
Left Leg-Upper	n/a	26.25	25.75	25.75	26	0.25
						13

I'm overall pleased.  There's no denying that I got some results.  I'm not sure what happened to my hips between days 60 and 90.  Measuring is a little hard when you're doing it by yourself but maybe it was also just a fluke.


I ordered a new measuring tape that looks like this: 

It's supposed to help out when you're measuring by yourself.  I'm going to retake my measurements tonight (if it gets here in time) and use those numbers for round 2.   Hopefully it will be a little easier.  We'll see.

As for weight, according to the scale I gained 4.2 pounds.

According to my body fat % numbers:  I gained 4.5 pounds of lean mass and lost 0.3 pounds of fat. Not exactly what I wanted but it's better than gaining 4.2 pounds of fat!!

But please keep in mind those numbers were taken with a handheld body fat analyzer so while they're probably not crazy accurate at least I was getting a downward trend.

I start Round 2 today.  I'm having to modify it due to my arm but that just involves the strength training days.  I'm also switching back to the lean schedule (4 days cardio/2 days strength) for this round to make things easier on the old elbow.

This is Phase 1 of the lean schedule:

Weeks 1-3:

Day 1 – Core Synergistics
Day 2 – Cardio X
Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X
Day 4 - Yoga X
Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 6 – Kenpo X
Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Week 4:

Day 1 – Yoga X
Day 2 – Core Synergistics
Day 3 – Kenpo X
Day 4 – X Stretch
Day 5 – Cardio X
Day 6 – Yoga X
Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch


As for my modifications, so far I know I'll have to switch out Shoulders and Arms (obviously) most likely with another lower body strength workout (I have tons at home) or just do Legs and Back twice.  I'll also have to modify any move that doesn't look so good for my elbow (ie push-ups, planks, body bearing exercising using my arms) by substituting walking in place or jumping jacks etc.

I'm hoping by the end of this phase, I'll have some sort of progress on my elbow.  If I don't, I'm REALLY going to have to suck it up and go to the doctor.
Also, today I ordered Shakeology.  I've been debating doing this since I started the last round.  I keep reading reviews and I figured I might as well try it for myself.  It's a bit on the pricey side but I figure if it helps get me healthier then really it's worth the price.

Today's Menu:
B:  egg + ww english muffin + ham + goat cheese
S:  protein bar
L:  chicken and apple sausage + ww bun + kale salad + red peppers + cucumbers + dressing
D:  ??

p90x Week 12

I'm on week 12.  It doesn't feel like it.  I started it off yesterday with a great day of eating and a great workout.  I had to modify my workout greatly due to my injury BUT I managed to get in a few pushups.  I was so happy that I hadn't lost all my strength.

I also made a discovery last week.  Trying to do Insanity and p90x at the same time just wasn't happening.  It's too much.  So, I'm just replacing my p90x cardio with Insanity workouts this week.  Easy fix.

And my knees are ever so thankful.

Speaking of broken body parts.  I think I have self diagnosed myself.  I am pretty sure my elbow pain is tricep tendonitis.  No, I am not a doctor but I've read a lot about it and I have the symptoms.  I've also read up on the other 5 things it could be.  I'm not too worried about misdiagnosing myself because they all have the same treatment.  I was pretty excited to narrow it down.  Now, if the stupid thing would just hurry up and magically get better.  I have no patience.  It's a fact.  It IS getting ever so slightly better so that's good.

Since it's my last week of round #1 I'm going to level with you about this entire program.  Honestly, it was awesome.  I do not regret a single moment of any of it.  I finished workouts that I never thought I could do.  I gained strength, I gained confidence, and I gained some muscle.  Did I lose all the weight I wanted?  Nope.  In fact, I lost not a single scale pound (so far).  I did lose inches.  And just watching those measurements change over the weeks was extremely encouraging.  The last 30 days were rough and I didn't get out of it what I had intended but that was due to the twists and turns of life.  However, I managed to see the light at the end of the tunnel and keep up the fight.  I've always known strength training was important.  I've read the research on paper, but this is the first time I saw the results first hand.  In fact, I've never been a big fan of strength training.  I was always a cardio girl.  Now, I'm waiting with baited breath for my arm to get completely better so I can get right back into it hard core.  In fact, as soon as this week ends, I'm just going to keep on keeping on.

So, I guess that means Round #2 starts next Monday. 


Today's Menu:
B:  2 eggs + 1 slice ww toast + chicken and apple sausage +
S:  1/2 Protein Bar + Coffee
L:  Cottage Cheese + Apple
S:  1/2 Bagel + Almond Butter + 1/2 Protein Bar
D:  Zucchini + Eggplant + Tomato/Ground Turkey Sauce + WW Angel Hair

p90 Week 11 / Insanity Week 1

I had to put off my workouts for a few days due to a minor sickness but no big deal.  I began everything on Sunday and so far so good.

First, p90x:

Week 11:  This is proving to be a little trickier than I thought because of the elbow but I think it's just more due to my own frustration than anything.  It gets frustrating not being able to use an entire body part.  I'm doing 2 strength workouts this week: Shoulders and Arms and Legs and Back.  I know continuing as best I can is what is most important but my pride or whatever you want to call it is having an incredibly hard time not going full force.  It truly is a sheer act of will that I don't say "screw it" and just go full force.  Someone should totally applaud me for showing some restraint ;)  Honestly, I just want to get through this week and next.  I want to finish out p90x and post my results and bask in the glory of it all.  It won't be the way I had planned on finishing but by God, I'm going to FINISH!

Insanity:  I'm on day 3.  Wow.  It's incredibly difficult.  That's really all I can say about it.  My body hurts pretty bad today.  I'm actually thankful I did p90x first because I have a REALLY good base to start with.  Especially my legs.  They are much stronger due to p90x and I think that is incredibly important for Insanity due to all the jumping/jarring motions.  My bad knee was ever so slightly achy this morning due to last night's killer workout.  I can't imagine how bad it would have been if I had jumped right into this thing.  It's definitely doable but crazy difficult.  I'm both excited and scared to continue.  Excited because these are great workouts and sticking to them will probably definitely show results.  And I'm a little scared because the workouts are INTENSE and I don't want to injure myself.  I have to remind myself to modify when needed and take breaks when necessary.  Other than that I'm sure everything will be fine. 

Speaking of injuries, my elbow is slowly getting better.  I'm being very strict about stretching, icing and wrapping it after workouts and hopefully that is helping.  I did a few modified pushups last night during my Insanity workout and it ached so I immediately quit.  Thankfully when I woke up this morning there was no sign of pain.  I would give anything to have this thing get better.

Here's hoping it happens soon.


Today's menu:

B:  2 Eggs + English Muffin + Mozzarella Cheese + Tomato
L:  Salmon Sushi + CA Roll + Miso Soup + Salad
D:  probably Sirloin + Steamed Broccoli + Sweet Potato

p90x Lives!

My elbow is definitely getting better but very far from perfect.  I'm also pretty sure I'm out of the woods as far as needing a doctor is concerned.  Here's the thing, I know my elbow needs to rest but I've very agitated with the standing around waiting to see when it will be fully operational so I've decided to move on. 

Here is my 2-part plan:

First, today is my official first day of Insanity.  Hoorah!!! New program, new start which means new measurements and pictures will be taken this evening before my Fit Test!!!  9 weeks of hell lie before me.

Second, I'm going to finish p90x.  True, I can't do anything that involves my left elbow but I CAN workout my lower body AND my right arm.  This will severely limit my workout time and which workouts I can do so I figure I can try to handle both for the next 2 weeks so that I can finish weeks 11 and 12 thus completing p90x with my head held high.  There is a week 13 but it's a recovery week so I'll just do a week of Insanity and call it even.

I could not just sit by and watch my 10 hard weeks of p90x fall by the wayside.  I figure if I have good, working parts then I should be working them out!

So this week will be my week 11 which calls for:  Chest and Back, Shoulders and Arms, and Legs and Back.  I will only be doing Shoulders and Arms (right side only) and Legs and Back (no pull-ups).  Chest and Back is 99% push-ups and pull-ups which are definitely out. 



I've actually read several places that continuing to train unilaterally while injured actually helps.   I found this study.  Long story short, participants wore a cast on their non-dominant arm and continued to do strength training exercise with their free arm.  The findings showed that continuing to strength train the "free arm" reduced the loss in strength during the period of immobilization.

Thanks research!!

Today's Menu:

B:  2 eggs + coffee
S:  Turkey + Swiss Sandwich
L:  Chicken Breasts + Barley
D:  Maybe a Caprese Salad, maybe Spaghetti with Meat Sauce - Yes, I'm feeling Italian today!

p90x Week 11 = canceled

I did Insanity in lieu of p90x Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday due to my elbows.  I'm pleased to report that my right one will most likely be good to go in the next day or two.  However, it has become apparent my left one is going to take some time.  I tried to test it out last night.  I tried one push-up  during my workout and it wasn't happening.  I felt all kinds of pain.  I then tried bending my arm while resisting and while it wasn't as much pain I could definitely tell something wasn't right.

I'm pretty bummed out.  More so than I thought I would be.  I even thought about just pushing thru the pain and figuring it out later.  I know that's the worst idea ever but it was a little shocking to me how at the time I thought it was a GREAT idea.

I finished my workout but had to modify it to take out push-ups.  I held planks instead of push-ups which seemed to work ok, no pain there.  I immediately iced and took advil afterward and will continue to do so for at least the next 4 days.  I'm going to give it 7 full days of rest (meaning no p90x) then go from there.

Sigh.

I will continue this Insanity route until Sunday and then decide if a doctor needs to get involved.  Yuck.  Oh please, dear elbow, please get better.

Today's Menu:

B:  2 eggs + 1/2 WW English Muffin + Coffee
S:  Turkey Sandwich on lite whole wheat bread
L:  Fish + Rice + Veggies
S:  Yogurt
D:  Maybe some bruschetta and salad

Week 11 P90x

I can't believe I'm coming down to my final weeks.  Hopefully I'll be able to finish out my workouts strong because I had a little accident yesterday.  I fell down the steps in my apartment and decided to catch myself with my right elbow and hip.  They took quite the beating.  I had just started Chest and Back, got through the first exercise of push-ups, ran down my steps to get water and BOOM!  I fell.  Hard.  It hurt.

I grabbed an ice pack for my elbow and sat on the couch for a second debating whether or not to go back up and finish the workout.  It was nothing but push-ups and pull-ups and I knew I needed my elbow for both.  I waited a few minutes, went back upstairs, did one set of pull-ups then immediately stopped.  Wasn't happening.  So, I popped in an insanity workout and did that instead.  I'm glad I chose to stop the Chest and Back workout because during my insanity workout, my whole right arm decided to swell and become stiff.  It hurt to just bend.  I did some major icing, elevating and ibuprofen and it got a little better by the end of the day.

It's still sore and pretty bruised today so I'm putting off Chest and Back for at least another day and hitting the cardio hard.  I figure it's better to be safe than sorry.  I'm already having issues with my left elbow.  For the past week or so my left elbow has been very tender when I place it on hard surfaces.  I googled some stuff and saw a lot of "overuse injury" stuff but who knows what it really is.  Rest and ice are usually always a good bet so that's what I'm going to do to save both my elbows.

Apparently I'm falling apart.

Hopefully things will be right as rain by tomorrow.  It would be a shame to get this close to the final weeks and have to switch things up but I don't really mind.  I really enjoy these strength workouts and really feel like I'll be incorporating them into future workouts so I don't feel like I'm abandoning it.  I was going to do the Insanity program next anyway so if I have to start that early, no big deal.  Honestly, I have had too many times where I ignored minor injuries.  I wouldn't give them proper rest and sure enough, they became major injuries.  Totally not worth it. 


In other diet and exercise news I have come to the conclusion that my doctor is right.  I definitely need more cardio.  I used to hate weight lifting but now I LOVE it.  I love how strong I've gotten and I especially love how I can feel my muscles.  Unfortunately, I remembered recently why I didn't like it so much.  I get better physical results with cardio.  I'm a fortunate woman who actually builds muscle.  Quite a lot.  I know they say that women can't without steroids but that's not entirely true.  No, I don't look like a body builder but I definitely have more muscle than the average woman.  My mom is the same way.  The thing is, once I get the fat down, I just look really, really athletic.  Exactly how I want to look actually but cardio is the only thing that gets fat off for me.  This is one of the reasons why I'm excited to start Insanity.  I figure as long as I do my cardio and watch my calorie intake, then I'm going to have pretty amazing results.   Especially since I have all this glorious muscle now.

Today's Diet:

B:  scrambled eggs + whole wheat english muffin + coffee
S:  apple
L:  salad + thai chicken w/ rice noodles
S:  yogurt
D:  beef and broccoli + stir fry veggies

p90x Day 60 Results

I was wrong about my measurements:

-->

Day	1	8	18	26	60	TOTAL LOST
Waist	41"	38.5"	37.25"	36.5"	35.25"	5.75"
Chest	43"	43"	43"	42"	41.5"	1.5"
Left Arm	14"	13.5"	13.5"	13.5"	13"	1"
Neck	-	13.5"	13"	13"	13"	0.5"
Rib	-	35"	34.5"	34.5"	35"	0.0"
Belly Button	-	42.5"	42.5"	40"	37.25"	5.25"
Hip	-	46"	45.5"	45"	43	3"
Left Leg-Knee	-	19"	19.5"	18.5"	19"	0.0"
Left Leg-Upper	-	26.25"	25.25"	25.25"	25.75"	0.5"
						17.5"

I improved on more than chest and arms.  My waist and hip area went down nicely as well.  I honestly can't tell when I look at myself in the mirror.  I definitely feel stronger and can lift more and do pushups so I know I've gained muscle.  I also FEEL firmer in almost every area of my body but in full disclosure I see MINIMAL changes in the mirror.  Also, I have no change in pants size yet.  I find that very, very strange seeing as how in my waist area I've lost around 5 inches or so.  However, traditionally, I don't change pants sizes til I drop 20-25 pounds.  Seriously, one pant size for 20 pounds.  So I'm HOPING that's why.  I did put on a pair of "just out of the dryer" jeans this morning and they feel a little looser in the butt area.  Maybe that's something.

Anyway, not to take anything away from the work I've done, I must say these numbers are not too shabby.  And to put it in scale perspective, at 60 days I was also up 3 pounds from my beginning weight.

I have the feeling that as long as I continue there will be a breakthrough.  Maybe it just takes my body longer to adapt but whatever it is I'm not discouraged and am, in fact, excited to finish this round and begin a new one!

Well, here's to the last 30 days.  Who knows what will happen!!

Today's menu:

B:  1 egg + 1 egg white + bacon + ww english muffin + coffee
S:  string cheese x 2 + blackberries
L:  spring mix + roasted turkey + carrots + baby zucchini + cottage cheese + asiago dressing
D:  hhhmmmmm ......

p90x: Week 10 and a Doctor's Visit

First, I apologize for not posting my measurements.  I took them, I just kept forgetting to post.  And now that I have the time, I don't have my little notebook with me.

I can't give you exact numbers but I CAN tell you it's nothing overwhelming.  I believe I only lost inches in my arms and chest.  Everything else is holding steady.  I wasn't too surprised because I have gained a few pounds and I can tell they aren't good pounds.  Totally my own fault though, I was eating too many calories.

Lots of calories :)

I was eating so much that I had to give myself an intervention.  I laid down the law with myself and I've been back on track for a whole week now.

Today is day #1 of week #10.  That means in three weeks time I'll be staring down my final days of this round.  However, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will be doing some sort of round 2.  I know it won't be a full on p90x but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a hybrid that will involve p90x and I'll tell you why.

I had a visit with my doctor last week and we went over a bunch of stuff about my weight loss ventures.  Long story short:  I need more cardio.  It was with a heavy heart that my doctor informed me that I need to up my cardio.  She kind of cringed when she told me because nobody wants to hear that but I wasn't too surprised actually.  Her initial recommendation was 7 days a week of 1 hour of cardio in addition to 3 days a week of strength training.  That's a lot of working out isn't it?  As for calories, she recommended 1500-1600 but also said I have to monitor my results because "it's a fine line between eating too little and eating too much" so it's my job to find the proverbial sweet spot.  My doctor is older than me and in really good shape so she shared with me her exercise and diet program so that helped.  She works out every day of the week, eats incredibly healthy and also has to keep a strict eye on intake.  She also stressed that it's important to kick this in the butt now because it's only going to get harder as I get older.

Kind of hard to image this getting any more difficult.

Anyway, we had a really great talk and I'm glad that I'm able to talk to her so freely about all of this.

So now I'm going to up my cardio.  I'm not sure I'm going to be able to jump right into 7 days a week of 1 hour of cardio plus my weights but I'm going to start incorporating more cardio as soon as possible.  I'm going to continue to follow p90x as scheduled but try to throw in some walks, runs, cardio dvd into the mix to start.

Once this round is over, I'm going to create a "round 2" that tries to follow her recommendations.  I just got the insanity workouts so I figure why not incorporate that into my hybrid.  She wanted me to do more cardio and Insanity screams CARDIO!


Today's Menu:
B:  1 egg + 1 egg white + 1/2 ww english muffin + bacon + coffee
S:  string cheese x 2 + blackberries
L:  spring mix + baby zucchini + carrots + light dressing + roasted turkey + cottage cheese
D:  un croque monsieur + salad (Maybe, if I feel like cooking cause my apartment is crazy hot right now)

Week 8 of P90x = Phase 2 Recovery

I have been meaning to write an update for a couple of days now I just haven't gotten around to it.

When we last met, I had a seven day workout week ahead of me.  Well, right after I published that post I spoke to a friend of mine who is currently on his own journey doing Insanity (another program like p90x) and he told me to not kill myself by skipping my rest day but rather to just "kill it" that week.

And kill it I did.  I did all 6 of my workouts.  All 6 were amazing and I burned tons of calories.  I also ate really well.  And now I am in my recovery week.  That's right, I'm 8 weeks in.  I'm so very proud to have made it this far but in all honesty, it has been very, very enjoyable.  Last night I got to do Core Synergistics which I hadn't done in awhile since I switched to the Classic schedule and it was amazing.  I know I've been progressing through this whole process but last night it was glaring me in the face.  From the push-ups to the lunges, to the dreya rolls, I was able to do every, single, one.  Don't get me wrong, it's still a challenging workout and I sweated my way through the whole thing but I was working out at a whole new level.  And yes, it felt amazing.

I haven't gotten around to measuring myself but I am going to try to do that in the next day or so because I'm a little curious to see if I've lost any more inches.  I still haven't lost a single pound according to the scale.  I mean, that number goes up then down then back up so I don't know what to make of it.  I can't wrap my head around it so I'm just going to let it be.  My jeans are FINALLY showing signs of being baggy and to me, that trumps the scale not moving.  Also, for the first time, I noticed my face has gotten slimmer.  Isn't it weird how that kind of stuff just magically happens? 
I didn't notice it yesterday but suddenly today it's slimmer.  Go figure.

I'm still working on my nutrition.  I've heard it a million times over and over again, "it's all about nutrition".  And it really is.  Turns out, working out isn't the hard part.  The eating is the hard part.  If you're going to try this program, trust me, the workouts are nothing.  Planning healthy meals and choosing healthier options is a job all by itself.  But, I AM getting better at it.  I think my tastes have changed as well.  It's a known fact that I love pasta.  Weird thing is, it just doesn't do it for me anymore.  I had a cheat meal about 2 weeks ago and I made my favorite pasta dish.  I was so excited to sit down and eat it and when I did ... NOTHING.  It tasted fine, I just wasn't satisfied with it.  I find myself more satisfied with a good hamburger for a cheat meal.  Crazy right?  I guess I've taken a liking to protein.

Who knew?

Today's menu:

B:  2 egg omelet + diced tomato + shredded cheese + coffee/creamer
S:  edamame + string cheese + buffalo jerky
L:  turkey + fresh mozzarella + broccoli + lettuce + whole wheat bread + pickles
S:  cottage cheese
D: ?

Today's Workout:
I switched out Cardio X for a run on the treadmill.

Week 7 p90x = Mental Endurance

I made a mistake yesterday.  I switched up a workout this past week and yesterday I was scheduled to end my week on Legs & Back and have today be a rest day.

I had plenty of time to do my workout but somehow I talked myself into doing it today.  I remember sitting there talking it out with my boyfriend and how it seemed like a good idea.

Well, today is Monday and I know I have to do Legs & Back today but I don't think I thought this thru clearly enough.

Today was supposed to be my rest day.  My one, single rest day for the week.  But since I took it yesterday I don't get to rest today.  Instead for the next SEVEN days, I have to do workouts.  Oh, I could finagle the schedule again and move a day here or there but I feel like I've worked the system enough.  I need to get back on course.  And in order to do that, I NEED to just muscle thru the next seven days.

Unless of course, I do a doubles day.  That's right, a doubles day.  Two workouts in one day.  Maybe I will and maybe I won't.

Ok, I probably won't.

Lesson learned.  Stick to the schedule and don't allow yourself to think.  You'll come up with crazy ideas that will end up being worse then just going into your workout room and doing the stupid workout.

Well, week 7 is proving to be interesting already.

As for week 6.  It was ok.  I'm still fighting with my calorie intake.  I sincerely hope I win the battle this week.  Weight loss is still almost non-existent.  I think I finally hit the 2 pounds lost mark.  WOO-HOO!  Inches are still coming off but not as quickly as in the first phase.  I will be posting the newest numbers at the end of this week.  I wanted to wait two weeks this time around.  Also my body fat percentage is showing a downward trend, so while I'm not exactly sure the number I'm getting is correct, it at least keeps going down at a slow rate.  That's got to be something right?

As for my post title.  I really believe this is the time where you need to figure out why you're doing this and why you want to continue.  The workouts are getting more awesome because I can feel how strong I've become and how far I've progressed.  However, the monotony is starting to show.  The same workout for weeks on end would take its toll on ANYONE.  For instance, talking myself out of Legs & Back yesterday was stupid.  It's one of my favorite workouts and yet I am a little bored with it so I let that influence my decision.  I have to remind myself that I committed myself to 90 days of doing this.  After the 90 days if I want to switch it up I can, but for the next 6 weeks, I'm sticking to what's written on my schedule.

So in light of this, I'm really trying to keep mentally focused this week.  I don't want to be this far into the game and then be one of those people that said "Oh, I had to start over".

Because in all honesty, if I had to start over I'm not sure I would see it through to the end.


Today's menu:

B:  Protein Shake + Coffee
S:  Turkey Jerky
L:  Roasted Pork + Vegetables
S:  Almonds
D:  Hamburger on WW Bun + Salad

Week 6 p90x and CALORIES

My apologies for not posting sooner.

I am officially in week 6 of p90x.  Week 5 rounded out ok.  I got 6 workouts in, 3 of which were p90x approved.  I did all of the strength exercises and did my own cardio workouts for the week.  I had to adjust due to time constraints/life, whatever you want to call it.  I figure it was better to get in some kind of workout but in all honesty, none of the workouts were at the intensity they should have been.  Which might explain why I've been in a rough patch these last few days.

I haven't felt like I'm making the progress I'm supposed to.  I know I've lost inches, I THINK I look different in the mirror, but I think I'm in the mindset of MORE MORE MORE.  I just want to wake up tomorrow morning and go "well, look at that, I lost 15 pounds overnight" ;)

I'm halfway thru and I'm sure this is the point where a lot of people lose their focus and give up but not to worry, that's not me.  I'm going to finish this one.

So lets talk about things.  So far this week has been amazing.  I really tightened up on the logging of my food which is ever so useful.  I write down EVERYTHING which is very important.  I've got 2 workouts under my belt one which was new.  I did the plyometrics last night.  I was a little nervous because you hear things about these workouts.  But I LOVED it.  I was able to do the entire workout.  I only had to modify a few moves but man was it a good workout.  It was challenging but doable and I blasted over 500 calories according to my polar FT7.  This morning my legs feel like jelly but that's ok.


Speaking of calories - I'm trying yet another calorie range.  I'm trying to find that "sweet spot" because I have NOT lost any scale weight.  My weight fluctuates between starting weight and it'll go up or down by 1 or 2 pounds, which I'm taking as maintaining.  Now, before anyone spouts that since I'm losing inches I must be gaining muscle and losing fat I'm not going to dispute that theory but at some point my weight will HAVE to start going down.  To give some insight, according to the calculations for the program I should be eating 1800 calories.  I'm 5'2" and I started at 185.  I had my RMR tested a few years ago and it was 1235 which at the time was 18% lower than what it should have been.  EVERYBODY'S metabolism is different.  So I was a little weary of eating 1800 calories therefore  I set a goal of 1500.  Fast forward 6 weeks and since I keep track of calories and such, I can tell you that I have been averaging 1770/day.  WHAT?? That's not 1500.

I know right?


It's true, you do need food to fuel these workouts but you have to be careful cause there were days I just wanted to EAT.  Obviously.  So I looked over my numbers and found on the weeks I netted around 1250/day on average, I lost more.  That's where we are today.  I am aiming to have my daily net be 1250-1300.  So for example, if I eat 1600 calories for the day but burn 375 during my Legs and Back routine, I NET 1225.  Easy enough.  Therefore on my rest day, I'll just eat 1250-1300 (god willing!).

 Also, the calorie calculations for p90x say to add 600 calories per workout.  I haven't found that to be the case so far.  I wear my HRM every time and like I said above, that plyo was the first workout to hit over 500 calories.  And even when I do legs and back (my favorite and I really hit it hard) I'm hitting under 400 calories for the workout.  I feel like that's important info especially if any women are out there trying to figure out calories.  HOWEVER, I do think that if this is your first time REALLY working out hard, then you'd probably burn more than me.  I've already got a pretty good fitness base underneath me.

Today's Menu:

B:  Shakeology (first time using!)
S:  PR Bar
L:  Turkey Burger
D:  Maybe some sort of awesome mexican-like dish

Week 5 p90x

It's been an interesting week 5.  I've learned one important thing this week:  this program probably works best if you get adequate sleep.  I know I mentioned earlier how I was running on fumes and that trend continued until last night.  I went to bed at 9pm and slept like a log.

I WILL be working on getting adequate sleep starting Monday.  I just need to figure out my workweek workout schedule better.  In other words, I need to stop doing my workout at 11pm at night ;)


As for the first week of Phase 2, all I can say is so far so good.  I'm on the classic schedule now so I've done two new strength workouts this week.  Monday I did Chest, Shoulders, and Tris and Wednesday was Chest and Back.  I'll admit, I felt like a beast after both of those workouts.  Monday's was tons of pushups and Wednesday were the pull-ups so you can imagine.  And when I say beast I just mean that by the end of both workouts my upper body was quite fatigued and the blood was pumping through my arms so mentally my entire upper body felt HUGE.  I seriously felt like the incredible hulk, that at any moment I'd flex everything and rip my shirt.  However, my boyfriend laughed at me when I pointed it out to him because apparently I looked the same. 

Tonight is Legs and Back and I don't mind one bit because I actually like this workout.  It's a killer for the legs and I definitely see a big difference in my legs, thighs and butt because of it.  I actually just noticed yesterday that I'm starting to look much better in my jeans.  The area that is lovingly referred to as saddlebags on women, that area is getting very narrow.  I didn't have very pronounced saddlebags to begin with since I tend to carry my extra fat evenly all over my body so noticing that means that everything is probably shrinking.  So, yay!

I haven't been very good with the other workouts.  Tuesday was supposed to be plyo but as I said earlier, I skipped that day because I went running and I was so tired.  And yesterday was supposed to be yoga.  No need for me to express my sentiments on the yoga workout so all I will say is I went to the gym instead.  So I DID workout I just didn't do the planned workouts.  Next week I will DEFINITELY be doing plyo because I'm actually eager to try it out.  I just need to learn not to go running on the day it's planned.

As for yoga.  I'm honestly not sure if I'll ever do that one again.  I know people tout left and right how great it is for you and how you need to just power through it but I don't see the point of forcing myself to do something I hate.  I mean, you'll have a greater likelihood of sticking to a workout if you like it so I'd rather do something I like instead of forcing myself to endure 90 minutes of pure torture.

Just a thought.

This week's eating was not perfect but definitely pretty stellar.  I did NOT hit my 50%/30%/20%.  I tried and failed.  I did, however, hit around a 30/30/30 most days of the week and that's honestly not too bad.  Also, I lowered my calories.  I had initially planned on getting 1500 calories per day.  Well, I added up my calories for the first 30 days and realized I'd been hitting closer to 1750 calories per day.  And with a margin of error that is BOUND to happen when one counts their calories - that number could be off by another 100 calories (give or take) per day. 

So starting the 16th I started aiming for the 1350-1450 calorie range.  I've also been making sure to log EVERY SINGLE thing I eat because honestly, those little bites add up quick.  I hadn't been that mindful before so I really wanted to take some time to make sure I was being honest about how much I was eating.  I mean, if I'm putting this much effort into my workouts I definitely don't want to sabotage myself by not putting equal effort into my eating.

Today's Menu:

B:  2 eggs, 3 slices of bacon, 2 pieces toast, coffee+creamer


Yeah, since I went to bed at 9pm last night, I woke up earlier than usual and had ample time to make breakfast, sit down with my coffee and watch some of my taped programming.  It was quite nice.  I wanted to eat a bigger breakfast this morning because I have been doing just a protein shake and I've been STARVING  by 11am.  So, I took some calories from my lunch and mid-afternoon snack to give to breakfast to see if it would hold me over better.  Hopefully it wasn't in vain.

S:  Buffalo jerky
L:  Quinoa salad, Roasted Turkey Breast and Fresh Mozzarella roll-ups

D:  Might be Shrimp and Vegetable Curry with Brown rice

Phase 2 p90x = Ouch

I've had a rough week thus far.  My little brother is turning 30 this weekend and I had decided WEEKS ago to help his wife out with some of the party planning.  Part of my responsibility was to make this photo montage thing.  Actually it was my idea but I kind of put it off.  His birthday is this weekend and so naturally Monday night I finally started piecing it together.

Long story short.  I didn't get to my workout until 11:30pm on Monday night.  I was DETERMINED not to miss it.  I kept saying "I'll do it at 9:00pm" then "I'll do it at 10:00pm" and then finally I forced myself to put the computer down and just go do it.  Surprisingly, I had a decent workout.  This was the first time I've done the Chest, Shoulders and Tris workout.  Unfortunately, it involved an incredible amount of push-ups.  TONS.  I did my best and finished.

Needless to say, I didn't get in bed until after 4am.

Then last night, I finished my project (which I think turned out great) and took a skip day for the plyometrics workout I was scheduled to do.  I had already gone running on my lunch break and that coupled with the exhaustion and incredible soreness I'm still feeling in my Chest, Shoulders and Tris (naturally) were enough to make me take the pass. 

However, I still didn't get to bed until after 3am.

I'm running on fumes.  FUMES.  My plan is to get home from work and just dive right in to tonight's workout.  Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I'm going to pass out.

Today's menu:

B:  protein shake
L:  roasted turkey, tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil, balsamic on bun
S:  almonds

D:  Beans and Brown rice (sounds boring but hopefully not - I'm going to cook some beans in taco seasoning with onion - put that on top of some brown rice and add greek yogurt (in lieu of sour cream), salsa, shredded cheese, and shredded lettuce - I'll let you know how it turns out.

Day 26 - p90x Measurements

Today is:

Day 5 of Week 4 of Phase 1 or
Day 26 of 90

Either way, I'm almost 1/3 of the way thru the program!

I made a little chart of all of my measurements to date.  Quick explanation:  where you see hash marks means that I hadn't started taking measurements for that particular body part yet.  And the ? means that I forgot to do that this morning so I will do it tonight!

-->

Day	1	8	18	26	TOTAL LOST
Waist	41"	38.5"	37.25"	36.5"	4.5"
Chest	43"	43"	43"	?	?
Left Arm	14"	13.5"	13.5"	13.5"	.5"
Neck	-	13.5"	13"	13"	.5"
Rib	-	35"	34.5"	34.5"	.5"
Belly Button	-	42.5"	42.5"	40"	2.5"
Hip	-	46"	45.5"	45"	1"
Left Leg-Knee	-	19"	19.5"	18.5"	.5"
Left Leg-Upper	-	26.25"	25.25"	25.25"	1"
					11" Lost

Even though I've been losing inches this whole time, I didn't REALLY feel it until this past week.  I definitely felt FIRMER but also kind of bulky at the same time.  This week though, I'm definitely feeling smaller all around.

 As for my weight.  I went up 0.4 pounds this week but am still down 1.2 pounds since the beginning.  Honestly, as long as my measurements keep going down I'm not going to pay so much attention to the scale.

As for my body fat.  I had taken a preview 2 days ago and it was down almost 2%.  That's why I was so excited to post it.  However, this morning crazy things were happening.  I took it 3 times and I got these readings:  30.4%, 34%, 38%  -- and I took them right in a row.  I always take 3 readings for my body fat and just average them out but it usually only varies by 0.1 - 0.3.  So, I don't know what to tell you.  Maybe the batteries are going.  I never thought of that - I'll change them out and try again tomorrow morning.  I'll do the 3 readings, take the average and just right it down I guess.

Today's menu:

I'm out of food again!!!

B:  ww english muffin +PB
S:  Cottage Cheese
L:  Tuna Fish + ww bread

That's all I got so far - I tried to make a protein shake but left my container somewhere and couldn't blend it.

Week 4 of p90x = Recovery Week

And I need recovery bad.  I'm exhausted!!  Between meal planning, finding time to work out, actually doing the work out, and just every day life, this program is very time consuming.  Don't take that as any reason whatsoever to not do it if you're thinking about it.  It's not an excuse, it's just a fact.  Living healthy takes some work.  But like all hard work, there are rewards:

1.  Guess who can do real push-ups?  I can!  I'm starting out all push-up exercises on my toes and not on my knees and this is very exciting for me. I can't finish entire sets that way but I'm getting closer.

2.  I've lost body fat.  Real, actual body fat.  I'll give the exact reading on Friday with the other stats but from what's been popping up on my monitor, I'm pretty excited. 

3.  I can feel my muscles in every single thing I do.  Whether it's feeling the firmness in my legs while I'm just walking down the hall or how my back muscles tighten when I do something as simple as stretch, they're there and they are getting strong.  It's kind of an awesome feeling.  Do I look like I have ripping muscles?  Nope.  I still have an awesome layer of fat to work off but I definitely feel firmer all around.

4.  I'm progressing.  It always shocks me when I realize this too.  My reps are getting higher and the amount I lift keeps going up.  I mean, it makes perfect sense that this would happen but it's nice to see it on my workout sheets.  It's real, actual proof that I'm improving.



Those are just a few things that I've noticed.  Yes, it's hard.  Yes, there are days I hate it but I can't deny the fact that it's pretty darn effective.  Phase 2 for me begins on Monday.  I'm switching over to the classic schedule just to see.  It's supposed to be the more intensive of the 2 (lean vs. classic) and I'm intrigued to see how much so.


Also, I haven't been following the nutrition plan exactly.  During the first phase I was supposed to be following the Fat Shredder eating plan - 50% Protein / 30% Carbs / 20% Fat.  I have yet to hit that.  I pretty much have been maintaining 40p/20c/30f.  At the calorie level I'm using, 50% protein comes out to be about 187 grams of protein.  That's a whole, whole, whole bunch.  To put it in perspective - 3 ounces of a roasted chicken breast has about 25ish grams of protein.  Therefore, I would need to eat about 1.5 pounds of chicken a day to eat my protein requirement.  Yikes.  I, of course, would not try to get all of my protein that way but that's a lot of bird.  Anyway, while it seems difficult it's obviously not impossible to accomplish, so I have challenged myself to start Phase 2 trying to hold fast to the nutrition plan.  I mean, on one hand I know it's the key to getting optimal results, its just the other hand is whining about how hard it's going to be ;)

Whatever, I'm doing it.

In other p90x news I still hate yoga.

Today's menu:

B:  Coffee + Creamer + slice ww toast + 1 T PB + 1 c. cottage cheese
S:  1/2 ww english muffin + 1.5 ounces ham + 1/2 laughing cow wedge
L:  4 ounces Roasted Turkey + Laughing Cow + Stone Ground Crackers + Romaine + Carrots + Edamame + Ginger dressing

Ok, this is where I'm at in my eating day - - and for reference this is what I have so far:

22% fat
42.7% carbs
35.2% protein (I'm at 96.9g so far)

Eh, not too bad.

S:  Maybe whey protein shake w/ some almond milk
D:  Maybe some breakfast for dinner

Tonight's exercise is either Stretching or Kenpo - I haven't decided.  Did I mention I'm running on 3 hours of sleep?

Friday Weigh In and Measurements: Day 18 p90x

I went home from work yesterday fully committed to not working out.  I'm sure you can tell from my post yesterday that I'm having a rough go at the moment.  I sat down, ate dinner and then prepared myself for a good run of The Big Bang Theory on TBS and NOT working out.  Then out of nowhere I thought, "if I'm going to be sitting watching tv I might as well workout".

And so I did.

And it was amazing!!!

I did shoulders and arms.  By the end of the workout I was so glad that I did it.  I then took measurements and I got an even better boost.

Day 18 results:

Waist  -3.75 inches
Chest  no change    
Left Arm  -0.5 inches
Neck -0.5 inches
Rib  -0.5 inches
Belly Button  no change
Left Upper Leg  -1 inches
Left Leg @ knee  +0.5 inches
Hip -0.5 inches

Total lost:  -6.25 inches

Not too shabby!

As for the number on the scale:

You know how I trend my weight loss numbers?  For whatever reason, I did bad math.  Like, really bad math.  The fact of the matter is that I have been losing a small amount of week since the beginning of p90x.

Overall:  -1.6 pounds total and in the last week -0.4

So I'm completely happy with all of that.  The inches are what I feel the most.  I can tell my pants fit differently.  This is also a nice recharge since Monday will be the first day of week #4.

Week 3 of P90x = No Fun

Have I done the workouts?

Yes.

Are they becoming incredibly difficult?

In reality, no, but for whatever reason my brain is fighting me tooth and nail on this one, therefore they feel brutal.

It's true.  I did my workouts on Monday and Tuesday kicking and screaming.  I guess it's just one of those weeks where everything in my body is saying "sit down, eat this, you'll feel better".   It's crazy how strong that impulse can be, and how incredibly difficult it is to fight it.  I'm pretty sure hormones are playing a huge role in all of this too.

I took last night off but I feel ok about it.  What I haven't been mentioning is that in addition to doing my scheduled p90x workouts, I have been working out on my lunch breaks.  I have been doing this from the beginning because I wanted to reach a certain calorie burn (400-500 calories) per workout and I knew that the p90x workouts were hard and I might not be able to finish them before I hit my burn.  So I've been walking in order to reach my goal.  It's actually been a life saver.  For instance, take last night.  I was beat when I got home from work.  Just tired to the bone.  But I had actually had a decent lunch time workout and hit 50% of my calorie burn for the day so I chose to take the night off from p90x (I get one a week).

But in full disclosure, the workouts I have done this week were mediocre at best.  I have to remind myself that in order to see any sort of results I just can't phone in these workouts.  They're tough for a reason.  They're tough because they get the job done.  And knowing how hard they are makes me want to do them even less.

It's a double edged sword.  Take Monday night for instance.  Truly a tough time getting motivated to workout.  For whatever reason I was just feeling completely down on myself.  You know the drill - looking in the mirror and not seeing any sort of progress, clothes feeling like they were 2 sizes too small and while it seems counter-intuitive, the last thing on earth I wanted to do was workout because I felt disgusting.  Truly insane I know - I mean, the only way to combat those things is working out and getting in better shape!!  So,  I huffed and puffed my way through the workout that night til I hit my burn and I collapsed.  And I guarantee you I whined through the whole thing.  I'm sure if anyone had been watching me they would have been laughing because I probably looked like a 2 year old throwing a tantrum.

 In addition, my eating has been less than stellar.  I felt it coming.  I mean if I was feeling that way about working out imagine the eating portion.  So instead of giving up or giving in, I compromised with myself.  I have allowed myself to eat at maintenance this week.  If I eat less great, but definitely no more.  I knew that if I tried to restrict my calories I would have, at some point, gone crazy.  So, I'm eating what I'm supposed to, I'm just allowing myself to have maintenance calorie levels.  And you know what, it's the best idea I've had in a long time.  It allows me to have some sort of control when every other function in my body feels out of control.

And that's been my week 3 thus far. 

Hopefully I will have a different tale to tell tomorrow.

Today's Menu:

B:  Protein Shake
S:  Turkey Jerkey
L:  Italian Stew + slice ww bread
D:  unplanned thus far

Tomorrow is check in day.  Weighing in and measuring for the week.  Here's hoping ...