P90X - Day 12

Have no fear, I'm still going strong!

It's amazing how on the second week I feel so much stronger and capable and the soreness is almost nonexistent. Don't worry, I'm working hard ~ I promise!

Yesterday was hard for me though. Mike is away and the kids have been stressing me out. My plan was to do my video(Yoga X) after the kids went to bed. So maybe not starting the day with exercise changes my ambition level for the day? I started out eating well, but during the afternoon my mood and willpower sunk. I ate a large cookie. A few pieces of chocolate. Then the leftovers(pizza and fries) from a restaurant. Then we got in the car and bought a Hot N Ready Pizza and Crazy Bread. I did, however, make salad and added alot of chicken to mine to help fill me up. I think I only ate one piece of pizza. And yah know what? I finally lost the first pound of this whole experiment. WHAT?!?!

I will never understand my body.

But, hopefully I'm starting the downward cycle. I know alot of people say they don't lose initially with P90X, but eventually it does come off. Hopefully I'll start losing a few - Lord knows I have a few to lose! I did notice the other day my pants fitting better, so I snuck a peak at my measurements. I'm already seeing a difference!!! And that's what matters! Can't wait to get to Day 30 and see the results. I'll post pictures.

P90x = Time Consuming!

I think any time you adjust to something new, it will literally take some time to do so. And so it is!

I'm not sure why, since the diet isn't too far off from how we ate beforehand. The burdensome aspect is probably coming from not only planning every morsel for me but also for my husband. I can never follow a meal plan to the letter, but they give you the building blocks to do so. For example; how many proteins, dairy, fruits, veggies etc... You should consume in a day. Unfortunately my husband and I are on different levels of that plan so I have to work more protein and dairy into my day. It doesn't sound too difficult, but it was. For someone like me who is not naturally organized, keeping track of two people's diet is pretty stressful and overwhelming! I wondered how long I could keep this up!

Until finally I stopped keeping track and set a plan. A pretty firm, but average day plan. I decided we don't have to follow it to the letter but I can just look at the plan and know what I need to pack for my husband's lunch and snacks at work. I don't have to rethink the whole process every day. It seems simple and it's already helped a lot. The nutrition plan is still time consuming ~ cooking two batches of egg white omelets each morning, having all the salad fixing washed and ready to go, having meat and more meat ready to eat all the time! I'm going to make some protein bars to help with all this~ just another thing I need to do!

But in the end, I think it's necessary and worth it. Everything I read emphasizes following the diet plan to get the best results. And I want to give myself the best chance possible. I'm done playing games. I have a lot of obstacles in the next 90 days so I need to get the nutrition plan under control. It's not quite second nature yet, but we're getting there.

P90X - Day 2

I know - it's only day 2, but I wanted to share some thoughts.

We're waking up early, before 5 am to get this fitness in together. I'm excited to get to bed each night, although almost so much so I don't sleep soundly. I'm sure that will change!

The first workout was Back & Chest - all push ups and pull ups. We don't have a pull up bar, but we managed to make some bands work. It wasn't too bad! Granted, I'm doing girly push ups and not nearly the amount in the video, but it's a nice easy pace, lots of resting so it's very manageable.

Today was Plylometrics. I've been dreading this video- not sure how scary and hard it would be. It was manageable too! Certainly hard and the clock moved slowly, but there was rest and he planned the each exercises well for the duration of the video.

I'm sore, but not overly so.

I think the hardest part for me is wrapping my head around the nutrition plan. It's full of protein, which I knew- and it's hard to fit that in. It's also hard to go low fat when you're so used to high healthy fat diet. Turkey bacon sucks. But I'm committed to following the program as much as I can to get great results. And I didn't gain weight from the first day of all that protein and food! So that's good!

I know it's not fair to compare to a different fitness regime, but I try to compare it to the Jillian Michale's videos. They too are very hard. I think with her videos- it's crazy hard from the get out pushing you to your max pretty much the whole time. Sure, there are the floor abs, but those aren't fun either. It's hard to convince yourself to do those videos when you know she's going to beat the crap out of you. Especially the longer ones. But even those seem shorter than P90X. But P90X doesn't have the same intensity consistently throughout the whole hour.

Well, we'll see. It's only been 2 days. I'm glad I have a partner. It's alot of work to prepare the foods and keep on top of two people's nutrition- especially since we're at different levels. But I have the energy to do so- and I'm sure that energy will only increase as I get my Shakeology!

Oh, and I took my before pictures today. I put on my pink tank - I haven't worn that in probably 9 months because I didn't feel good about myself(toned)... I'm not going to wear it to the gym just yet- but hopefully soon.

Waiting

I'm waiting for this weekend! I can't wait to start this new program. I feel like for the first time I have a plan- and I can't wait to check it all out and get started!

Now I've adjusted my faulty thinking. Several time I just wanted to snack, because that's what I do- but I either chose not to for the sake of avoiding unnecessary calories or because when I listened to my body, I knew I wasn't hungry. Yeah me!

I've also been working out a fair amount this week. I haven't been super tight on my diet- a cookie, mac and cheese, not alot- but I just haven't been hard core. Not snacking so much like I just said but not the best meal choices every time.

And I'm down on the scale! It's really weird, I don't think I should be but I'm kinda at a low point for me. I'm not sure why - but I'll take it!

I'm glad to lose a pound or two before starting P90X. Some of the reviews I read suggested losing some weight before starting the program. I'm sure they mean more than 3 pounds. I can't wait for myself to drop 20 pounds- because it's just not happening. I've heard some conflicting comments about the program and how it affects women. I'm by no means near my goals so I know I won't totally reach them after 90 days. But I hope to make good headway. I'm hoping the building of muscle will help replace some of this extra fat I have. I know it's not a weight loss program, but I'm not particularly strong either- so I think I'll like the changes.

I just can't wait for this weekend! I wish I could meal plan for next week - but that will have to wait as well.

Faulty Thinking

So, last week I had the flu. Not a horrible thing for weight loss. Not fun. The tricky part with the flu is not ending up in a bad place as you come into the real world of appetite.

I was grain free- but when the stomach is uneasy, toast and crackers are quite yummy. I didn't want to over do anything, but I let myself slide because it was easy and I didn't feel like getting into cooking something appropriate, even after I was feeling better. I was also a single parent all week, so that was draining my energy.

I was also in a place that just didn't care. It was actually annoying when my husband came back and was still on track and wanting healthy grain-free food. Kill joy.

So that helped get my focus back to healthy. Not totally, but leaning the right direction.

I also decided that I need something, I program or a plan, and I need him to do it with me. I've seen that being on the same eating plan is helpful and keeps me accountable. I don't always like it, but I think it's been a great thing. So now I want to stretch that to my workouts.

I suggested the P90X program. I was watching an infomercial at the gym(extremely motivating while on the treadmill or elliptical) and there was a story of a girl just. like. me. The same weight- the same goals- the same everything. And her results were exactly what I wanted. 50 pounds gone. And her emphasis was just be dedicated to the plan, the diet, and keep at it. I know I can't do 90 days by myself, but maybe with a partner. He was totally on board and his brother has the program and isn't using it. SCORE! So we should get it this weekend, probably start Monday.

But until then, I have a few days to indulge.

hmmm.... NO!

This is my faulty thinking. If I have a plan, that means I'm off plan until I'm on plan. But why keep gaining weight just because I've not started the program? That's DUMB!

I was so tempted tonight to start munching. I did have an ice cream treat earlier in the evening... but one just didn't seem to be enough. And I realized how faulty my thought process was. I still craved something, but instead I turned on my DVR The Biggest Loser and did some floor exercises instead. SCORE!

Lost Hope

I'm so depressed lately, and I've just about given up hope. I was so determined to make a difference and lose some weight before all of our travel plans in May. I finally realized that despite my 'real food'-'grain free' lifestyle, I was cutting corners. I was following those rules, but I wasn't as low carb as recommended and I was concocting foods to replace the grain filled alternatives(read: almond flour pancakes).

So the next week I planned it right. No more potatoes or rice. Meat and two veggies. More salad. No dried fruit. A coconut milk fudge bar for the evening. Not low carb, but fit all the other criteria and was my one exception to whole foods. I was tracking for the first time in ages and stayed around 1600 calories.

I lost 5 pounds in 5 days.

Well, then the weekend showed up. I still did pretty good, but not as strict. Had a family dinner with fried chicken and an apple crumble(I made)but still too much sugar. Alot came home with me too. Everyday I gained another pound, gaining back 4 of the 5 pounds as I struggled to be back on the strait and narrow. I was still tracking around 1600 calories per day.

I exercised alot. Just kept gaining.

What the heck?!?!? Is there no sympathy on the scale for efforts?

My husband has a huge health program at his work(lucky SOB) and asked them about my thyroid issues and losing weight. It's all under control now, so shouldn't it be easier for me to lose weight? The response was, give it time. If it just got under control a month ago, it's not going to reverse everything on a dime.

Totally understandable. I never really thought about it, but it makes sense.

I was so upset. I cried.

It was so depressing. As if there's nothing I can do to make a difference. My body doesn't want to let go of the weight and it's not ready to either. I can be perfect and lose a few pounds, but slack off a bit and it comes back on as quickly as it left. I'm amazed I don't weigh more... but weighing only 10-15 pound less than when I delivered my third child is horrifying to me. I'm a good 50 pounds overweight and I was hoping to lose a few. But I feel like that hope is lost. I'm fighting an uphill battle that's not fair and I'm screwed every time I loaf one bit.

Oh how I wish I still had my metabolism from 10 years ago. You know as you get older your metabolism will forsake you, but 30-ish doesn't really seem that old... once you get there. But I really do believe it was the pregnancies that knocked everything out of whack for me. Doesn't mean I'm any less screwed.

I'm a single mom this week. I have alot of pasta on the menu and break apart cookie dough. I just don't care that much right now. I can't even go to the gym because I have a sick kid. I am trying not to overload on the food though, it feels gross to eat too much junk. For now.

I Threw It Away

We went to Olive Garden tonight. I decided since we're off the bandwagon that we might as well embrace the carbs we kissed goodbye. So I for Chicken Alfredo. Mike got Apricot chicken with veggies.

Kill joy.

But you know what? It wasn't as satisfying as I imagined it would be. It was missing something.

I brought half of it home and I just threw it away.

I also had just finished watching Fat Chef. Might have motivated me a little.

But it's gone. I'll have to figure out something else for lunch tomorrow.

I also made a healthy lunch for my husband, who detested his Wendy's lunch today.

Time to suck it up and be the good wife. I don't want to be this fat come summer.