P90X and Weigh-In

Regular Friday business first. The weigh-in. Well today I am at 177.8. Better than last week! Still working like a dog though. Oh well, I guess that is what they mean when they say lifestyle change. My new life is that of a hard-working dog. But I am happy (especially if you scratch my belly).

P90X Update - This week was my 60 day mark. I am starting week 10 (of 13). I may have made a mistake. There are 3 versions you can do with this - lean, classic and doubles. Lean is what most ladies do, classic is what hard-core folk and dudes do and doubles is for those who want to be like body builders. I picked classic because I thought it was what I needed to try and tighten these loose skin areas. Well each time I work out I am noticing new muscles or definition. Not bad until the other day when I was doing push-ups in a class in a tank top (this is new for me too) and got a glimpse in the mirror. My shoulders are getting cut. I can only compare it to Serena Williams or a dude. Then during my leg workout this week, I saw my thigh while doing squats and I got a vision of male body builders. I will be finishing this program because I WILL FINISH WHAT I START. However, I will then either switch to lean or body pump classes.

Here's another little tid bit you probably don't want to know about me. This program (and the tons of cardio) have really given me confidence in my body. I could totally walk around the house in my undies now and not think twice about it except that I have lost so much insulation (a.k.a. fat) that I am freezing. I cannot wear enough heavy, bulky, frumpy clothes (including double socks). Ironic. Perhaps when the weather is warmer I will not be so damn cold!

Well I must jet off to body attack (the class with the push-ups.....no tank top today). Stay tuned this weekend for a new recipe. Cheers to your weight loss this week!

Also....I am working on trying some new diet stuff. I will let you know about it soon. Later gators!

What had happened was...

Some retired teacher had brought me some Chex Mix (okay, alot of Chex Mix). She made it herself. Mistake #1 - I opened it. Mistake #2 - since I did not have a snack packed for Friday afternoon I thought I would have a little (afterall, this had Capt'n Crunch in it and I have never tried that in Chex Mix before, it was a little spicy and sweet - AND VERY ADDICTIVE). Mistake #3 - I kept saying one more taste. Mistake #4 - I left the container (half full) in my classroom and I will have to face it again tomorrow morning.

That was Friday afternoon. It triggered a hunger in me that needed to be satisfied. I ate more than I should have Friday night (not super bad stuff, but a lot of it). Until I went for ice cream. I never liked ice cream really until I tried Brusters. This week the deliciousness was called chocolate peanut butter chip. I enjoyed every bite.

Saturday started out well. Worked out for over 2 hours (and I am sore from this new round of P90X - hello one-armed push-ups *do not be impressed* I looked like an injured animal) and ate Subway. Went to a Xmas party for a short while and only ate 2 cookies (which I could have turned down but I was getting hungry). Left there and shopped alot (for myself mostly) and got a burger for dinner (afterall, it was cheat meal night). Not too terrible until I decided I deserved some more of that ice cream and I ate it again.

The nerve of me, complaining about all these food temptations but I did this to myself. We have been doing biggest loser at school since August. We are going by pounds lost in one category and percentage in the other category. Some of these folks are way bigger than me. One lady has lost 20 pounds (I think I am at 15). If I could lose just a few more by Wednesday I would stand a chance at winning the percentage category. So why am I stuffing my face with delicious ice cream?

I am back to healthy eating....until that weigh-in on Wednesday. Then I have a holiday luncheon and dinner that day that I will par-take in. Tuesday is another potluck day but I can say no to that. Sometimes I just pretend that my co-workers have a lot of cats at their house that walk on the counters and drop hair balls everywhere and that if I bite into their sensational looking treats that I might get a disgusting hairball surprise. I know I am sick but it makes me not want to eat anything.

Then I will have to do my best to maneuver through the food road course until the New Year when everyone gets the same resolve that we have.

I guess I will be happy if I can maintain my weight through the month. I will continue my workouts and eating the best I can. For some reason, this seems harder to me than last December. I know I was focusing on hitting 40 pounds lost before school got out. I hit that goal with 2 days to spare and then I ate pretty much what I wanted over vacation. I gained a few pounds and it took a long time to get back to losing at a regular pace. I am not looking forward to that again either.

Oh well. Must suck it up and quit being my own worst enemy here. I need to get ready and workout. I can't be eating if I am exercising, right?

What a weekend!!

Well it has been a weekend full of adventure....sort of. Friday I went to a 5:30 body combat class, worked with the kids all day, did a P90x workout after school (and I took it to a new level) then went to best bud's house to play with the twins a bit and hang out. When I finally made it home about 11:30 hubby and I watched part of a movie. Around 12:30 when we went to bed we discovered an infestation. Our dogs had fleas. We have NEVER had this problem before. So I got to go to nasty Wal-Mart and buy lots of flea-be-gone crap. Came home and gave the two monsters baths and collected all bedding and blankets in the house. Went to bed after 2. That means I was up for almost 24 hours straight.

Was up by 7 on Saturday to start washing and cleaning and I had a double workout to do. Went to a friend's house for dinner and went to Home Depot to pick out new carpet (yahoo!!! 6 years I have been waiting for this moment).

But Sundays I have decided to be hiking days. I was bit disappointed last week with the flat, paved walk. I wanted adventure. I ordered a book called 60 hikes in 60 miles. I think they have them for every major city. There is a nature center at Lake Worth which is about a 40 minute drive but it is exactly what I was looking for. The trails are crazy! All of these pictures were taken from the trails. I walked for over two hours (and I am assuming a little over 7 miles) and still did not walk all the trails. They are also very empty. I only ever saw 2 people and they were not on the trails. At one point I realized I had dropped the map and had to back track to find it or I may have never made it back to the car.

The trails were narrow, muddy, steep - and fun! I felt just like a kid going exploring like when my folks used to have woodlands behind their house.

I will do this again for sure! Now I am procrastinating going to the store. I have school Monday and Tuesday but many districts around here don't. **JEALOUS**

P90X update - I have found a way (with the help of some ladies at the gym) to do actual modified pull-ups instead of using the band. Holy crap are they hard but I shall do them. I'm gonna bring it! (This is a gay saying from the videos). I am not even through the full 2nd week yet and I can see a difference in my arms. More definition. Wow this stuff works hard and fast. Tomorrow is legs and back (I like this one the least).

This post is forever long so I will post a hello dolly bar recipe tomorrow (yummy sweet treat). Hope you had a great weekend!

Exercise Update

Last night was cheat meal. I decided on breakfast for dinner. I love that. Pancakes, bacon and hash browns with a big glass of milk. Yum, yum. As a kid I would love when my mom would say "we're having breakfast for dinner!" It maybe due to my love of syrup.

Thank goodness for Cracker Barrel who serves breakfast whenever you want it (and skim milk). Best bud and I ordered breakfast and it turns out that is what the twins wanted too. So we all left full and happy.

But the day after cheat meal I must get up and get back to healthy eating and continued exercise. That used to be so hard for me. After a year, it is easy. I used to think of it as a punishment but now it is just part of the routine.

Today I walked the dogs 1.2 miles, did my 40 push-ups, ran for a few minutes on the treadmill at the gym for a warm up, completed the shoulders and arms workout from P90X (including the bonus round) and walked at a pretty good pace at the park for about 3 miles.

I went to a park that I thought would have some hiking trails. When I found some and went down them they were covered in brush and fallen trees. A little more dangerous than I was looking for. So my search for local hiking trails continues. I did wear a 10 pound backpack for added challenge and broke a decent sweat.

I have been a little sore from the P90X so I assume I am doing it correctly and working the right muscle groups. However, the shoulders and arms workout today was alot. I can see how these people get ripped. I have a feeling that I will be sore tomorrow. I like that good-sore feeling though.

My bruises from the mud run are still pretty dominant on my arms. They have turned to lovely shades of green and purple. It is not that they hurt but other people think I am in pain. I wonder how long that will take to heal. Oh well. As long as I am not green forever.

I must shower (at 4:15pm, there is no need to rush things) and head off to buy some groceries and new workout clothes (again). During body combat on Friday my pants were slipping down and my sports tank was riding up. I was scared my big white belly would blind someone. My clothes used to move like that because I was too big. Now it is because they are too loose. I know this because the size mediums I have do not give me this problem, just the larges and extra larges. I hate to spend money but I like to be comfortable and covered in my workout classes. Look out Target...here I come!

In the Beginning...

Okay so I am going to turn into one of "those people" who talks about their exercise on their blogs. I like to read them but others may not. I promise I will try not to bore you too much and I will not post every morsel of food I eat (mainly because I eat the same stuff most of the time and I would bore even myself).

Yesterday I did walk/run with the dogs, take body combat (this class is awesome, I am pissed it is only offered once a week - and at 5:30am) and began P90X.

The overview video tells you this program is not for beginners. I can see why. You do have to have some strength to do some of the moves. Day 1 is back and chest. Between everything I did yesterday, I did 324 push-ups (none on my knees either - holla!). All different ways and at different times but I never would have thought I could do so many in a day. This journey is amazing. I am a little sore in the right places today so I think I did everything correctly.

I am still working on my plan for myself but I am not going to use the TOTAL P90X system. I am not following their diet because according to the book I should consume 2400 calories a day. I am currently at 1600 and I like that number. Especially since I am not done losing yet. I am not using their cardio or yoga dvds either (at least not now). I like my cardio classes and I am changing them up a little. I will probably do more cardio then they have in their program because I already do. Cardio makes me feel so accomplished when I am finished.

You may be thinking - what the hell are you doing then? The answer is the strength/weight training and the ab ripper X dvd. According to their schedule I should do abs everytime I do strength training but I may move that to cardio days. I will try it today. It looks kind of awful (meaning hard - 16 minutes). We will see how sore I am from it.

I was talking to one of the turbo instructors this week about changing things up and my fear of loose skin. I told her where I thought it would be and she gave me a suggestion. Wait for it.......cycling/spinning class. Dude, if you read my blog over the summer you know I have an extreme dislike for this class. I know it is awesome and burns a TON of calories but it is hard for me. Mentally. That, and I hate feeling all squinched up over a bike. I like to be up and around and free. It may sound stupid but I feel too restricted on those things. She swears it will take the fat of my midsection (and she really knows her shit). I may (cough, cough) try a class this week but I will have to give up the only Zumba class I have left. But I may have gone as far as I can (as far as body shaping) with Zumba. Zumba is still fun and it tones and gives a good calorie burn.

So for P90X, I will do their strength training which is 3 days a week (I was doing 3 days a week before but for less time and less intensity) and the ab ripper 3 days per week. I am sticking with my 40 morning push-ups and walking/running the dogs 1.2 miles daily. I have turbo kickboxing 3 days per week (my favorite class), body combat 1 day and walking/hiking 1 day. And....possibly.....maybe.....cycling 1 day.

Best bud and I are curious as to how cycling shapes that particular part of your body. It does not seem like it would move that much to do that. But, what do we know?

So there it is. My tentative plan. Oh yeah....in the book for P90X it tells you to take your measurements and 6 different before pictures. I did measurements last week. I was not going to take the pictures but I will want to compare the end results (because I am like that). So this morning I made my husband take my pics. I even did it in a white sports bra and undies (I wanted undies because I will want to compare my thighs where I think loose skin maybe lurking). I didn't even feel bad looking at them. Even wearing white they do not look too bad (I say that now, in a few months when I look back I may change my mind). I kinda wish I had done them at my heaviest just to see how far I have come. I would have never posed for the pics though....not even for my husband.

I am off to try ab ripper X. May you all have a super successful weekend!