P90X

Today is the day!

I've been struggling with my weight for a long time (you can read the old posts about this here and here and here and here), and while I've made great progress in being more active (walking nearly every day at least 3 miles, usually 5), any effect on my weight the walking would have is completely undone by the fact that I can't be bothered to eat well.  I have used every excuse in the book why I'm eating so badly: I just walked, so I deserve a treat; I'm too tired; I don't have time; it's too hot to cook; etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.  Every post I've written previously has been a poor me, pity party post, and I realized that the problem is ME.  I have time to cook (I'm working from home after all) and the reason I'm tired is that I'm eating crap food.  And yes, I walked, so I probably do need to eat SOMETHING, but maybe I should try a banana.  And if it's too hot to cook, to damn bad!  Anyway, all of this is to say that I've decided not to struggle anymore.  It is a choice, after all.

I've heard some great stuff about P90X from Beachbody, so I'm giving it a try.  I'm doing the full-on program, not just the workouts, which means that I'm going to have to take my multi-vitamin like I'm supposed to (you know, like, every day) and drink protein shakes (aren't these just for body builders?) and go low carb for the first month.  Today is DAY ONE, and I feel the need to report that this day thus far is a resounding success!  Here's how my day is shaking down:

6:30 -- Up early to get the coupon lists posted on my coupon blog.  I only ate half my breakfast because I had to weigh in a WW - 1 cup of fat free cottage cheese and 1 cup of cantaloupe.

9:30 -- Weighed in at WW.  Up 3 lbs from last time (I haven't gone for 3 weeks) and now my heaviest weight ever.  While this may seem quite depressing, it's a very effective catalyst for moving forward and taking better care of myself.

10:30 -- Back home to eat the second part of breakfast, an egg white omelette.  6 egg whites, 1/8 cup of shredded cheese, tomatoes, and green onions (I opted out of mushrooms - they're nasty).  Hello huge omelette!

11:30 -- First official P90X workout.  I've been doing X Stretch the last couple days after walking, but this was the first "workout."  Workout #1 is Chest and Back with lots of pull ups and push ups.  I bought a pull up bar just for this (the teenager gets on it and shows off - punk) and there is absolutely no way I can do a full pull up.  I had to modify by using a chair.  Of course, my legs are on the chair, but I made a serious effort to really pull myself up and not use my legs.  I can do 3 this way, which is much better than the ZERO I can do otherwise.  On the reverse chin ups, I can only pull myself about halfway up, but I'm not discouraged.  This is Day One, after all.  I have 90 days to do pull ups!  I modify the push ups, too.  Back when I lost weight before, I used the exercise ball to do pushups, so I got the ball back out.

12:30 -- Done with workout #1.  Sweating, breathing heavy, and feeling amazing!  I was glad I took Advil before the workout, though.  I was sore, of course, but I'm sure tomorrow I will really be feeling it.  Then I drank my first every protein shake.  I got vanilla and added in a banana and strawberries - it was good!  I couldn't finish it, though, so H got to try it, too. 

3:15 -- Time for lunch now that I'm trying to eat every few hours.  This is something I knew I needed to do.  Last time I lost weight, I ate every 3 hours.  Today I'm a little off because I had my breakfast in two parts, and I'm eating a little more often than every 3 hours, but it's all good.  Lunch was a chef salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado, ham, turkey, and mozzarella chese topped with low fat ranch dressing.

Today's lunch - lots of protein!

6:30 -- For dinner, we're having garlic lemon chicken with brown rice and broccoli.  The recipe looks good (fingers crossed). (Edited to add dinner picture).  OMG so delicious!!!!

Look at all that chicken!

9:00 -- Nuts (cashew, macadamia, almond mix) for a snack

10:00 -- Going to bed at a decent time will be difficult for me.  I'm a night owl, and after the munchkin goes to bed, I like my alone time to watch shows I've recorded and play around on Facebook.  That is going to be replaced with reading in bed.  I'll go to bed at 10, but probably won't fall asleep until 11.  I plan to wake up at 6 and do my workouts first thing in the morning, so I have to be getting enough sleep.

Until I sat down and planned out my meals for the day, I wasn't sure how the meal plan was going to fit with the WW Points Plus program.  It seemed like I was going to be eating too many calories, but the points calculated out perfectly.  My workout adds points in, so I could eat part of a protein bar if I want to, but I don't think I'm going to be hungry between now and dinner, and I don't want to eat too much before bed, but if I'm hungry close to bed time, I'll try that protein bar and will still come in within my points for the day.  My little WW tracker isn't going to be enough, so I'm going to track in a spreadsheet which I'll post on my blog. 

Part of making this whole thing work is making myself accountable, so I plan to post on here every day (or at least every other day), so it's out there.  I'm not ready to post photos yet, but I will probably post my before shot at some point so I have a comparison (same with my starting weight - I'm not ready to admit that number quite yet).  Feel free to comment, and if you are working on your own weight loss, I'd love to hear from you and give my support, too!

Thanks for reading this super long post (they won't all be like this)!!