INSANITY Day 1 (Fit Test)

After a weekend of rest and eating whatever (and feeling gross and uncomfortable because of it) I started Insanity today with the Fit Test.  Below are my results (so I can compare them to the Fit test 2 weeks from now):
Switch Kicks: 105
Power Jacks: 52
Power Knees: 80
Power Jumps: 35
Squat Jumps: 9
Suicide Jumps: 14
Pushup Jacks: 20
Plank Move: 22 (44 total)

I am going to track what I eat on MyFitnessPal.com and try to stay around 1900 calories and try to eat clean 80% of the time or more but I'm not going to be quite as strict as I was during P90X.  I will use the scale and my progress to judge whether I need to rein it in.

Here's to fantastic results 60 days from now!

P90X: Final Results

I finished my 3 day Shakeology cleanse yesterday.  My weigh in this morning showed 122.5 lbs which is 6.5 lbs down from my weigh in Wednesday morning (I was high anyway from poor eating last weekend and bloating).  My guess is I will gain 3-4 lbs of that back but I'd be happy to end up around 125 for now.  This morning we took my final 90-day measurements and pictures.  Here are the stats:

                       Day 1          Day 90          Change
Weight            128              122.5            (5.5lbs)
Chest              33"               31"               (2")
Waist              34"               29.5"            (4.5")
Hips                41"               39"               (2")
Thighs             22"               20"               (2")
Biceps             11.75"          11.75"          none
Body Fat         31%            28%             (3%)
If you're counting that's a total of 10.5" gone!  Woo hoo!

P90X Round 1: Done!

Yesterday was officially Day 90.  Although I definitely slacked a bit this last week (had some not so clean food at Sarah's shower this weekend and a slice of Reese's birthday cake Tuesday night) and didn't get every single workout in this last week due to travel fun, I am proud that I made it to the end.  I decided to finish it off with a 3-day Shakeology cleanse (am on Day 2 today).  So far so good.  I will take my final measurements/weigh in/pictures Saturday morning after the cleanse is over.  Then probably rest a bit for the weekend and it's on to INSANITY starting next week.  Wish me luck!

Day 78- beginning of week 12

Today beings Week 12 which is the last "tough" week of P90X since Week 13 is a recovery week.  I have been doing pretty well these last few weeks.  I have not missed a core P90X workout but have not made all of my double workouts with my travel schedule.  I have also not be as good with my diet.  I'm probably about 80% with clean eating and although the 20% is not cake and ice cream, it's also probably pushed me over my calorie targets on a few days.  Anyway I would like to commit to finishing strong so I'm going to try to do every workout and eat well for the next 2 weeks.  I'm also considering doing the 3-day Shakeology cleanse at some point, probably towards the end so it falls in the recovery week.  13 days to go!

Day 68

I put on my brown suit this morning and the pants were HUGE.  While this made me smile it did make for a dilemna as I didn't think to pack a belt this week.  A safety pin from a co-worker, however, saved the day.  I did my Cardio X workout this morning and was wiped throughout.  I think I may not be eating enoug carbs.  I had a weird day yesterday after working late Sunday night in the ER so didn't get in all of my meals/calories.  That probably affected my energy level this morning. 

I made a great stir fry from CE magazine this weekend and liked it so much I made it again last night for dinner with leftovers for today's lunch.  It's weird to think I only have 3 weeks left.  I'm feeling good but now starting to worry about how I can maintain this while also incorporating more cardio, different exercise, etc.  I want to keep the muscle tone but also do more cardio and I don't think there's much more time in the day to add workouts so I'm going to have to create some kind of hybrid.

Day 59 (Phase 2 stats and pics)

Here are my 60 day "results":

                               Day 1          Day 29           Day 59

Weight                    128              129                125

Body Fat                 31%             30%              29%

Chest                       33"              32 7/8"          33"

Waist                      34"               31"              30.5"

Hips                        41"               40.25"           39"

R Thigh                   22"               22"                21 7/8"

L Thigh                   21.5"            21.5"             21.5"

R Arm                    11.75"          11.5"             11 1/16"

L Arm                     11.75"          11.5"             11"

Here are the Day 1, 30 and 60 pics side by side:

I'm certainly happy with the progress, especially in the last 30 days.  I like that I can see ab muscles again and I feel a lot stronger.  I'm muscling through my double workouts and still hanging in there with the diet plan.  Overall I am pretty pleased.  The real question now is should I break out the fake tan and airbrushing/makeup for my 90-day pic? ;)

How cute is this?

Day 58

I stepped on the scale this morning and...125!  I hit my first goal weight and now weigh what I did when I got pregnant with Reese.  I'm pretty happy with that and it's nice to see the hard work paying off.  Got up and did my Cardio this morning (after a double yesterday) but still have Plyo this afternoon.  This will be the first time ever doing Plyo on a day with another workout so I anticipate it being pretty rough.  The necessity of a Friday-Saturday-Sunday doubles schedule because of my travel is going to be rough.  6 workouts in 3 days.  But it's worth it to get them all in and try to finish what I've started.  I also switched to the Phase 3 eating plan which is 20% fat/20% protein/60% carbs so that should help get me some more energy.

Day 56: end of Phase 2

Today is the last day of Phase 2.  Tomorrow I start Phase 3 Doubles (4 days a week of doubles).  Phew!

My first week back traveling went well.  Monday was a really long day as I arrived at 5:30, grabbed food and then spent 2+ hours getting apartment supplies and food and then moving in.  So I moved my stretch/rest day to Monday and didn't work out.  Tuesday I did Yoga and last night I did Plyo (just for fun, crazy, huh?).  Today I finished the week with Core Synergistics.  I definitely didn't feel great during Core today, probably not enough recovery time between Plyo and now.  Oh well.  Lesson learned.  I'm hoping I can get into a good routine next week .  To fit in the doubles I'm going to modify the suggested schedule a bit and do doubles on Friday/Sat/Sunday and then Tuesday so I can avoid travel days (Mon and Thurs) since I have 6a flights both days, making doubles pretty impossible.  Hopefully it will work out well.  I'll be taking Phase 2 measurements this weekend so hoping there's still some progress.

Day 50

Week 7 is complete and I am onto Week 8 which happens to be a recovery/abs focus week.  I weighed in at 126 again this morning but was actually happy with that because I felt like I was eating a lot this week and was worried I would gain weight.  I was just hungry a lot.  I ate well, but just more calories than I had been.  Monday I start traveling again so hopefully I can get back in a good routine that works with that.

I think if I want to lose any more weight i'm probably going to have to cut out the Peanut Butter and the honey and maybe eat less fruit.  Even though it's good for me, the fruit has natural sugars.  We'll see.  i'm going to try switching to Almond butter for the PB as this has less calories/fat and use the honey less.  I know I've been slacking on eating vegetables so I need to add more of them to my daily meals, especially salads.

Halfway (Day 45)

After doing my doubles workout today and still being exhausted after both workouts (although I am able to make it through ARX at least without taking breaks anymore) I sometimes find it hard to believe I am already halfway through the 90 days.  I do feel like I've made progress and I certainly feel in better shape.  But I'm also glad it's not P45X because I don't feel "done" yet either.  Maybe I won't feel done after 90 days, either, but I at least hope to have made more progress in 90 days than I have in 45.  Many other bloggers claim the biggest results they saw were in the 2nd half so we'll see.  I am definitely finding myself hungry often so am eating more calories.  The last few days closer to 1800 or 2000.  I'm still eating clean and healthy and I figure if I'm hungry, I'm gonna eat.  Maybe it's because my metabolism is higher, maybe my body finally recognizes the extra workouts. I don't know.  I just hope it doesn't negate my hard work if my calorie deficit isn't as great as it has been.  Guess we'll see.

Day 43

Week 6 is complete.  The scale this morning said 126 so I feel pretty good about that, especially since I had some cheat meals last week for my anniversary and skipped one Cardio X workout because I was sick.  Today is Week 3 of Phase 2 Doubles.  I felt pretty good in my Cardio workout this morning although it still wears me out.  I thought about running instead of the Cardio but I think I may actually burn more doing the Cardio intervals (unless I ran 6 or 7 miles which I'm not yet in shape to do).  Food wise things are good.  Last night I tried a roasted Salmon dish from Clean Eating magazine and the family seemed to like it.  Tonight I'm making turkey chili and healthy cornbread.  I definitely prefer being able to cook and mix it up.  If I'm too busy and just have to rely on the staple meals it gets pretty boring.  Unfortunately that might be what happens when I start traveling again in a week but we'll see.

Day 37/38

Yesterday was our 7th anniversary, a day I had been planning to celebrate with a cheat meal or dessert or something like that.  I woke up feeling rough, having caught the cold that the kids had last week.  I powered through Plyo yesterday anyway (although it was tougher than usual for sure) and we took the kids to Chili's for a "romantic" anniversary dinner :)  I celebrated with some chips & guac but stuck to just the chicken, shrimp and green peppers part of the fajitas and left the tortillas, cheese and other toppings for CK.  Today was supposed to be another doubles day but I just didn't feel good and with my head pounding I decided to skip the extra Cardio workout this morning and just do the back & biceps and ARX tonight.  I made it through and am hoping I will feel better tomorrow.  I also splurged on ice cream this afternoon since I didn't do dessert last night.  I am calling it my cheat weekend although I think I minimized the damage pretty well by eating light outside of the cheat items.  Tomorrow it's back to normal (i.e., CLEAN).  To be honest, the ice cream was ok, but not as great as I somehow thought it would be.  Maybe a great piece of milk chocolate or a slice of cake would have been better or maybe my taste buds really have changed.  I'm trying to cook more clean meals while I'm at home for another two weeks because turkey burgers and chicken breasts are getting old.  Hopefully I can keep that up once I'm back at work.

Day 36

Finally!  5th week weigh in this morning: 126.5!  Not sure whether the extra cardio from the Double routine was the trick or my body just finally accepted "the new reality" and stopped hoarding fat but woo hoo!  As I said in the beginning, my goal here was never to lose a ton of weight but when you're working out 9-10 times a week and eating like a saint for 5 weeks you kind of expect a little somethin' somethin', you know?

Did my first workout of the day this morning with Asher climbing all over me (made it just a tad more difficult) while CK and Reese slept in.  Remember sleeping in in our house is 7:30 :)  Tomorrow is my 7th wedding anniversary and for the last 30 days or so I have been planning to "cheat" or eat something unsanctioned.  First it was a cheat day, then I revised it to a cheat meal and, honestly, now that I'm seeing great progress in both inches and pounds, I think it might just be dessert for the first time in awhile.  We'll see.

Day 31

Well I did my second day of doubles today.  It must be taking something out of me because my Plyo workout yesterday was the hardest I've had yet.  Thank God that one is on a single day.  Today's morning Cardio X was also tough but I am liking the increased intensity and feel pretty good.  Since I'm home I'm getting a little more creative with my meals, trying to cook some recipes from Clean Eating magazine that I've been saving for awhile.  I still have my staple meals- Fage and banana, Shakeology/milk/frozen fruit, sandwich thin/turkey burger/string cheese, grilled chicken and veggies, etc. but it's nice to branch out now and then.  I made some homemade granola bars that turned out pretty well.  The kids like them so that's a plus.  And home means more time to make egg white omelets in the morning.  Had one with spinach and goat cheese today- yummy!

Tomorrow is Yoga which is always a tough (and long) workout so hopefully I'm eating well enough to fuel me through it.  I want to get leaner (which likely means eating a caloric deficit) but I don't want to bonk.

30 day (Phase 1) Results

Here are my 30 day "results":

                               Day 1          Day 29
Weight                    128              129
Body Fat                 31%             30%
Chest                       33"              32 7/8"
Waist                      34"               31"
Hips                        41"               40.25"
R Thigh                   22"               22"
L Thigh                   21.5"            21.5"
R Arm                    11.75"          11.5"
L Arm                     11.75"          11.5"

So, as you might imagine, I'm a little disappointed with the lack of weight change and was hoping for a bit more reduction in body fat.  However, I am using a 10 year old Tanita body fat scale that is likely not all that accurate so who knows.  I am pleased with the waist reduction as, in truth, that's probably the place where I had the most to lose.  That's really the only difference you can see in the pictures above (Day 1 on the left, Day 30 on the right).  I certainly hope for more dramatic results at 60 days and have heard/read online that many people don't see true results until 45-60 days (especially if you start the program not really overweight as I did).  I certainly feel a lot better than I did 30 days ago.  My energy is more consistent, I am stronger and in much better shape.  I'll take it.

I started Phase 2 today and that means Doubles.  I did Cardio X for the first time this morning and then have Chest, Shoulders & Triceps and ARX tonight.  I was looking forward to Cardio X because it's one of the few workouts that I haven't done yet.  I realized, however, that I actually have.  Cardio X is 15 mins of Yoga followed by Kenpo moves, Plyo moves and then some Core Synergistics moves.  Don't get me wrong, I was sweating for sure and it was a good workout, but nothing new.

Day 28- Phase 1 complete

Today is Day 28 and that officially means Phase 1 is complete.  I know that 28 is not 1/3 of 90 but the way P90X works Phase 1 is 28 days, Phase 2 is 28 days and then Phase 3 tacks on an extra week for 35 days.  So tomorrow morning I will take my measurements and get on the scale again and we'll see.  While I haven't lost any weight I am hoping for some loss in inches and/or body fat %. 

So tomorrow starts Doubles.  Cardio X in the morning and then weights in the evening.  Hopefully this will kick start some fat loss in Phase 2.  Or at least get me in phenomenal shape :)

Day 25

I'm typing this as I sit in at ATL waiting for my last flight to Jackson, which is delayed due to maintenance.  My last week in Jackson and I took the late flight today (leaves HLN at 1p) which was great to be able to see the kids/CK this morning and work out before getting on the plane.  The downside, however, is that I'm going to land close to midnight and probably not get a chance to run to Walmart to get groceries.  Tomorrow I actually have meetings for breakfast lunch and dinner so I'm just going to try to eat well at all 3 restaurants and maybe have a shake or protein bar in between.  Wish me luck!  First day without completely planning my meals ahead of time...guess it's a good test for "real" life post P90X. 

A few more days and I will complete Phase 1.  Looking forward to taking my measurements but I'm not getting my hopes up because I just don't "feel" different.  I guess we'll see.  I am definitely going to start Doubles on Friday so will be burning more calories 3 days a week.  Perhaps that can/will speed up the fat burning a bit in Phase 2.

Day 22

Well another week without any progress on the scale.  I am trying not to get discouraged and am patient awaiting taking my 30 day measurements next Friday.  That being said, I am toying with the idea of moving into the P90X Doubles routine for Phase 2.  For those not familiar with P90X the Doubles routine is the same as the Classic except 3-4 days a week you do a Cardio workout in the AM and then the P90X workout in the evening.  I am thinking it could help me get a bit leaner and lose some of the "extra" that is still sitting on top of the now-emerging muscle that I am gaining.  Luckily I'm WAHing for the 3 weeks of Phase 2 that I would need to do this so I think that could make it a bit more doable. 

Yoga today was good, weird to be doing it on a Friday but since this is my recovery week I think I have another session in a few days. 

Day 21

Week 3 is done!  The past few days have been tough.  Yesterday was a long day.  Got up at 5a for an early client meeting, then drove to Memphis for our end of project celebration which lasted until 11, then got up today at 5a (CST) to fly home.  Managed to eat fairly well (had a small piece of cornbread with my salmon and veggies last night) and I traded my rest/stretch day and used that yesterday (as rest) and today did Kenpo.  I felt really good in Kenpo, it was still a good workout but not as challenging as the last two weeks so hopefully that means progress.  I feel like I'm  building muscle but don't feel like I'm losing weight or getting leaner.  I think I may end up needing more cardio to "lean down" so i'll think about ways to incorporate that over the next week, which is technically my first "Recovery" week.  Think a lot of Yoga and cardio but no lifting/abs.  I don't do ARX again until July 1st which is a week away!  I am missing running a bit so maybe I can do some short 3-milers along with Phase 2 which will start 7/1.  We'll see.

Day 18

Yoga today was good, I can definitely tell I'm getting stronger.  Some of the poses I still have to modify but it's getting better.  Made it through 3 plane rides carrying a box of yummy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies as a goodbye gift for my client and didn't eat any!  Sad, I know, but that is actually kind of impressive for a sweet tooth fiend like me.

I've been looking on some great websites for some clean eating recipes that I want to try as soon as I can let more carbs back in my life.  I definitely know I'd like to make the change towards cleaner eating (not sure 100% clean is realistic, but maybe 75-80% as a goal?) and there are some yummy ones out there, even for sweets.  I also want to try to make some homemade protein bars as I like the convenience of having them but don't really like the taste, nor the cost, of the store-bought brands.

Day 16/17

Overall it was a good weekend.  The workouts went well although I fell off the wagon a bit for food.  I ate well 95% of the time but did cave to a cookie on Saturday, some pie filling (skipped the crust to try not to be TOO bad) and another cookie today.  Didn't hurt my overall calorie count but didn't help with avoiding sugar like I'm supposed to be doing.  Tomorrow it's back on the wagon.

Day 14/15

Well, week 2 is in the books.  Yesterday was good. I did the X Stretch and definitely felt better after doing so.  Ate well on my airplane rides and am getting used to saying no when they offer food in First Class.  Not too hard when they serve creamy pasta alfredo.  Yuck! 

I weighed myself this morning for my Week 2 check in and, disappointingly, saw 128 flash back on the scale.  What does that mean?  Who knows?  Possibly that I haven't been eating enough, which is why I decided to up my calories from 1200-1300 to closer to 1600-1800 in the middle of last week.  Possibly that I'm just building muscle which weighs more than fat.  I know I feel better and I can tell I'm getting stronger.  My stomach feels tighter and I can feel muscle (albeit under a layer of mush that I'd still like to get rid of).  I am hanging in there and although I'm disappointed that the scale hasn't continued to go down, I will continue to follow the plan and see it through.  I figure after my 30 day measurements, if I still don't see progress (at least in inches if not pounds) then I will consider tweaking my diet.  For now, though, I'm off to Week 3.

Day 13

My second day of Kenpo X.  I decided to get up early and get the workout overwith this morning and I'm glad I did because I am wiped tonight and just want to go to bed.  I'm on a really early flight tomorrow morning so need to get some sleep.  The workout was good and I'm definitely still sore in places when I do a lot of leg or arm work a few days in a row.  Nothing like the first week, though. 

Food is fine although I was hungrier the last few days.  So either my appetite is increasing or I'm not getting enough calories.  It's hard to get a straight answer on how many I should be eating so I'm still shooting for somewhere in the 1300-1500 range.  We'll see.

Day 12

Legs and back and then ARX this morning.  I was definitely tired after 90 minutes of yoga last night and then waking up early to get in my workout but glad it's done with.  The pink band still seems lighter to me than the purple one (or at least the same), which is not what the packaging says.  It seemed light for some of the pullup moves so I may bring the red one with me next week to use instead.

Went to a whole foods-type natural market (they don't actually have Whole Foods in Jackson) last night but their selection wasn't great so I still had to make a trip to Walmart after my Yoga.  I'll stick to Walmart from now on as at least it's one stop shopping :)

Day 10/11

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday but had a good day.  The arms/shoulders workout was tough but I increased my weight on almost all the moves.  Did the ARX first again which seems to be a good way to go.  Ate well all day and even made a yummy salmon with Greek yogurt dressing for me, CK, Asher and Tanner (Reese was snoozing because she missed her nap).

On the road again today.  Sitting in ATL waiting for my last flight to Jackson.  I plan to land, pick up the rental car, head to the grocery store for food for the week and then to the hotel for Yoga.  Not a bad Monday.

Hoping Week 2 goes as well as Week 1 and that I can continue to challenge myself in the workouts. Overall I feel pretty good.  I don't really crave anything.  CK even made chocolate chip cookies last night and I was fine.  Doesn't mean I won't want a sweet now and then (I mean you don't undo a lifetime sweet tooth in 11 days) but I think I'm doing pretty well for now.

Day 9

Yesterday was my first meal out since I started P90X.  CK and I went out to lunch with a friend of his.  I got some chili and a side salad and seemed to be fine.  Not quite as virtuous as I have been eating since I don't really know what's in the chili, but high in protein and certainly not a "cheat" meal.  Tonight we are celebrating the LaPraim June family birthdays (Steve, Andrew and Kaitlyn all have birthdays in June) so I'm not sure if I'll be able to partake in dinner (and certainly not in any wonderful birthday cake).  I plan to bring some snacks in case dinner isn't P90X-friendly.  I've learned to just be prepared.  For 90 days I can do it.  I don't plan to be "that girl" (the one who never eats anything bad or can't have fun when you take her out) forever, but for this summer, that'll be me :)

Plyometrics today.  Definitely the hardest P90X workout in my opinion.  Tons of sweat, tons of jumping, but I did it and that's what't important.

Day 8

Week 1 is in the books and I lost one pound.  I am going to weigh myself once a week and only do measurements and updated photos at Days 30, 60 and 90.  I'm pretty happy with one pound, especially given that I'm likely building some muscle.  I tried to switch it up today and did ARX first and then Chest/Back.  I liked getting the Abs out of the way first :)  I definitely pushed myself doing push ups and tried to max my reps and am already feeling it even as I simply type.  Guess that's a good thing :)

Late night last night as I didn't get home until 1:30a so we'll see at what point my body starts asking for a nap on a hard workout and 4:30 hours of sleep.

Day 7

Did the Stretch X DVD this morning before work.  Didn't break a sweat but I definitely needed it.  It's a mix of stretches and yoga moves, many of which I could not do.  So that right there proves I need to do this every week.  I am completely inflexible and have a long ways to go to be able to do what they were doing.  A good end to my first week.  I can't believe it's a week.  It really hasn't been terrible.  I do still miss Diet Coke a bit and pizza sounds pretty good but I'm not really craving anything and I'm definitely not starving on the 1200-1400 calories I'm eating a day.

Travel day today so hopefully I can pack my cooler well enough to make it home tonight without any slip ups.  I don't plan to ruin the week now :)

Day 6

So Kenpo X is essentially Billy Blanks without Billy and with a few more jumping jacks.  It was a good workout, don't get me wrong.  And I was sweating all the way through.  But it wasn't anything I haven't done before.  He keeps it pretty engaging and there aren't a lot of breaks so the hour went by pretty fast.  Tomorrow is Day 7 which means Rest or X Stretch so I plan to try the X Stretch in the morning before work.  I figure on my first week I can use all the extra stretching I can get :)

Other than eating pretty much the same thing every day the nutrition part is going well.  In some ways bringing all my food for the day actually saves me time because I can eat during meetings and not have to try to find time (or energy) to think  about what I want to get for lunch, etc.  It takes more planning and prep time at night but does make the day a lot easier, especially when my calendar is back to back meetings all day from 7 to 6.

Day 5

First leg and back day.  The routine was pretty good.  I think legs are probably my strongest body part (from all the running) so this one was tough, but not as challenging as some of the others.  Then again, I did a lot of the moves without weights to make sure I knew what I was doing first.  Next week I'll add some weight and we'll see...

Then I did the Ab Ripper and it kicked my butt.  Normally it kicks my butt, but today after working my legs and my back, apparently I didn't have much left.  I barely made it through most of the moves and had to take more breaks than I remember taking this weekend.  Oh well.

Food went well.  I was able to get the yoga in last night (all 90 minutes!) and then head to Walmart to grocery shop.  Picked up a George Foreman and a single-serving blender so was able to have a Shakeology shake for breakfast this morning on the way to work and grilled some chicken for my salad and some turkey burgers for tonight.  Not too shabby.

Dare I say I already feel much better, or at least more consistent throughout the day.  Without the caffeine and sugar highs/lows my blood sugar and energy levels definitely seem more consistent.  I'm also eating every 2-3 hours so that's probably helping.

Day 4

First travel day going ok so far.  I'm actually sitting at ATL waiting for my last flight to Jackson.  I packed a soft-sided cooler this morning and ate my perishables in my first few hours (because I don't have ice or anything to keep it cool) and now am noshing on almonds, protein bars, my shakeology shake and some raw veggies.  I've stuck to just water (although it was almost second nature to reply "Diet Coke" when they asked me what I wanted to drink on the plane :) and am feeling pretty good.

Working out today is going to be tough.  I land at 6, head to the hospital and then have a scheduled session with the night ED supervisor from 8-10p.  Unfortunately this doesn't leave much time for my Yoga workout (90 minutes) nor my grocery shopping.  If I can get to the hospital in time I may try to run to the grocery store before 8 but we'll see.  I'd prefer not to be doing Yoga in my hotel room at midnight tonight but I guess we'll see...

Day 3

Today's workout was shoulders/arms and Ab Ripper again.  The shoulders/arms weren't too bad but I probably need to increase my weight next time and do less reps with more weight rather than the light weight and high reps.  Regardless, I will certainly be sore tomorrow.  More sore than I am today?  Is it possible?  I'm sure it is.  Also probably why yoga is scheduled for tomorrow.

I managed to make a pretty delicious salad today with lettuce, grilled chicken, quinoa, broccoli and avocado.  I think the avocado just gives the salad that creamy texture that makes it feel decadent even when it's not.  I'll have to keep that in mind.  My headache is better today so I think the caffeine is leaving my system once and for all :)

CK's still away for his basketball tournament so I've had to be creative with timing my workouts.  Reese helped me again today while Asher was sleeping which worked pretty well except that she wanted to carry the weights around which, of course, wasn't very safe.  I gave her the 2-pounders because I don't use those anyway.

So far so good.  Of course it's the weekend and I don't have much else going on.  We'll see how this works starting tomorrow with airplanes, hotel rooms and long work hours.  Wish me luck.

Day 2

Well, I made it through Day 1 and am about halfway through Day 2.  I've been battling a pretty constant headache, from the lack of caffeine I'm sure. Sad how addicted I've become to that little silver can.  Looking forward to getting rid of that addiction once and for all.

Eating has gone pretty well and seems relatively easy as long as you plan ahead.  I'm sure it'll be a lot tougher next week with 2 full days on an airplane and 2 more at work all day.  I didn't purchase the P90X recovery drink that you're supposed to use after workouts but others online have said it's mostly just important to drink/eat something with a 4:1 carb:protein ratio.  Turns out simple skim chocolate milk does just that so I'm trying that after my Plyometrics workout today.  Speaking of which...plyometrics...ouch.  As sore as I was this morning from my chest/back work yesterday I can only imagine how tomorrow is going to feel from all this jumping and squatting.  Wow.  I made it through, however, despite Reese trying to "help" by holding onto my leg at times.  It was pretty tough but I was able to finish it.  Now we'll see if I can walk tomorrow :)

I went to bed last night with the kids at 9:30 and we all got up at 6a this morning when Asher woke up.  I was still tired enough to fall asleep on the couch this morning while the kids were in the playroom.  I'm glad Plyometrics is on Saturdays so when CK is here (normally) I can hopefully sneak in an afternoon nap in the future :)

Day 1

My P90X adventure has finally begun.  Today was the Chest/Back & Abs.  It was pretty tough but about what I expected.  I would say I was able to do 75-80% of the reps.  The Chest/Back routine is a lot of different types of push-ups, all of which I have to do on my knees for now.  I am hoping that by the end of 90 days I can do many of them as regular push-ups, though.  I also don't have a pull-up bar (which is probably fine because there's no way I can do even 1 pull-up/chin-up right now) so I do those moves with the resistance bands.  The bands will also serve as my weights when I'm on the road but on days like today (when I'm at home) I use my free weights.  Overall I feel pretty good about my first workout.  It feels really good to be working out again and pushing myself.  I forgot how much I just enjoy feeling like I'm doing something active.

The nutrition plan has been fine (for the entire 6 hours I've been doing it).  The increased protein and more frequent meals means I'm eating before I actually feel hungry.  This is in stark contrast to my usual waiting 6-8 hours between meals and then scarfing down anything in front of me because I'm starving.  I'm tracking what I eat on myfitnesspal.com which is a pretty cool tool and will help me know if I'm sticking to the 50%Protein, 30% Carb, 20% Fat ratio that is recommended for Phase 1 of P90X and if I'm getting enough (or too many) calories. 

I had my first Shakeology shake today, which I received as a free trial with my P90X system.  I have the Chocolate version and it tastes pretty good (I mixed it with milk and frozen raspberries to eat after my workout).   It's expensive so I'm going to see how my diet shakes out for the first week or so before I commit to actually ordering more of it but it could be helpful as a breakfast or dinner meal substitute.

Before pictures and stats

If these aren't motivation I don't know what is.

And the stats:
Weight: 128 lbs
Chest: 33"
Waist: 34"
Hips: 41"
Thighs: 22"
Biceps: 11.75"

Body fat (According to my 9 year old Tanita body fat scale): 31% (ouch!)

Starting Friday so I can a) get better before beginning (still hacking up a lung regularly), b) have 3 days at home to start before getting on a plane again and c) have my rest/stretch day on crazy-travel Thursdays.

When to start?

My journey to fit and fabulous has been delayed.  I was planning on starting Day 1 of my P90X journey today but am still battling a bad cold/laryngitis that I've now had for 6 weeks.  I am frustrated that I can't start today but also know that  I need to get myself in fighting shape (and able to breathe) before I plunge into this challenge.

The purpose of this blog will be to chronicle my 90 days (or as many as I can actually find time in the day to write about after working, seeing my family and working out for 60-90 minutes- oh yeah, and sleeping once in awhile).  The reason I've decided to go "all in" with P90X is that I'm 33 years old, have had two kids in the last 3 years and have gone from being in pretty darn good shape to flabby and out of breath when I walk up simple stairs.  I want to get in shape, to be strong enough to pick up my kids without throwing out my back and to be able to say I'm in the best shape of my life.  If a little weight loss comes with that, all the better, but my primary goal is to tone, tighten and change fat to lean muscle.  I plan to do the entire program- the workouts (at least 6 days a week, 45-75 minutes) and the nutrition (high protein for first 30 days, clean eating the entire 90, giving up my beloved Diet Coke).  To achieve the results I am looking for I think I need to truly go "all in" so that's what I'm doing.  Wish me luck!