P90X Day Six Recap

Yesterday was Day Six of P90X - and it was a really good day for both the workout and eating.  My knees are "crunching" (it's the only sound I can think that comes close), possibly from the leg workout on Day Five and aggravated by lots of kicks.  They don't hurt, so I'm not concerned yet.  Today is a recovery day, just the stretch workout, so my knees can get a break.  My main concern is that I might have bad knees.  My mom is about to have her other knee replaced this year (first was 6 years ago), so I wonder if I inherited them.  All I can do is wait, get my knees in shape, and hope not!

Workout: Kenpo X
Kenpo is a martial arts workout that starts off with a lot of upper body exercises (jab, cross, hook, uppercut and variations thereof), moving into lower body (lots of kicks).  It was a tough workout and I had to do a lot of the exercises more slowly, so I didn't do as many, but it felt good.  I love kickboxing.  The first time I tried it was in 2003 while attending Cal State San Marcos.  There was a free lunch time class.  OMG.  It was a killer hour and I felt strong, powerful, like I could do anything after that.  My teacher was about 4 inches shorter than I was, a slight little guy, but he had me going full force on those kicks and even told me I should really get more serious about it.  I wish I had, but maybe I will now. 

I can't kick that high.  Yet.

Eating: P90X and Weight Watchers
Yesterday, my schedule got off a bit because I went shopping (stocked up on cereal for the kids - couponing, baby!) and planned to get some protein bars, since I was out (gasp!).  No protein bars at Vons, at least not the kind I wanted (MetRx Peanut Butter).  There were others but they didn't have as much protein.  So I had to take the food home (in the blazing heat) and go to another store, where I know they have what I want (usually).  And CVS came through.  Not only did they have the bars, but they were Buy One, Get One 50% off.  Yippee!  I took what they had (only 6), so I'm set for a little while, but I'll be back. 

Anyway, enough about my protein bar caper...  I have to be careful not to slip into old habits, like eating when I'm bored.  Last night, I stayed up late (I think I've established that going to be before 11 isn't ever going to happen) and almost talked myself into having another serving of nuts.  I had all kinds of justifications in my head: "You worked out hard today" and "You have SO many activity points left over" and "It's just one time, no big deal."  Well screw you little voice in my head - I win!  I didn't have the nuts after all - my other voice, the one saying, "You have worked hard for five days. You are not going to throw that away," came out victorious!  Now that's something to celebrate.

And what I really wanted to mention was that I ate dinner late and then really didn't feel like cooking, so I just kind of through stuff together.  I think it worked out OK.

Turkey, avocado, tomato basil string cheese (yes, it's yummy), and vegetable soup

To see what I ate yesterday - click here!

If you slip up, what are the reasons?  What do you do to keep from slipping up?

P90X Day Five Recap

Yesterday was Day Five of P90X - I am still going strong!

Workout: Legs and Back
This was a tough workout, but a great one (or it will be great when I get some weight off and have better knees and improve my balance A LOT)!  Yeah, I have some knee issues, likely from not working out and gaining weight - duh. All the lunges and squats were killer, but I can see this one being at the top of my list as I improve. 

Oh yeah - steak for dinner!

Eating: P90X and Weight Watchers
I ate steak for dinner - it's awesome!  I love this recipe, and I'm so glad I've been able to incorporate some of my favorite WW recipes into this plan.  There are some good recipes in the nutrition plan, but I will go crazy if I have to eat the same things ALL THE TIME....  Basically, I just have to increase the amount of protein (meat) I am eating and recalculate the points, but so far, that has not been a problem - it's only a couple points increase.  Bonus - the teenager loves this recipe (gotta love when the teenager sees what's for dinner and says, "Yes!" instead of, "Is there anything else for dinner?"

Some things are the same every day - the protein shake and the protein bar - but I try to mix it up with my meals.  I need to figure out some new things for breakfast.  It feels weird to be eating eggs every day (albeit egg whites), almost indulgent and wrong.  I make a different omelette or scramble every day, but still, it's eggs. Every day. 

To see what I ate yesterday - click here! 

Help! I need some low carb breakfast ideas?  Any suggestions?

P90X Day Four Recap

Yesterday was Day Four of P90X - my worst day so far.  Not the eating so much as the workout.  It was kind of emotional for me yesterday.  The regular workout was Yoga X, so I started it and the first 30 minutes was variations of one basic move.  I was so frustrated because part of the move I couldn't do because of my sciatic nerve.  Another part of the move, I couldn't do because of my belly.  I figured that I would skip the part on the floor and just do the standing movements, but I was so frustrated that they were all just variations of the same thing - there was no variety in that first part. 

When I started yelling at the TV, I knew it was time to do something else, so I decided to try the ab workout.  This is where I completely broke down.  Six years ago when I lost all the weight, one thing I was most proud of was that I had a (relatively) flat stomach.  I worked hard for that stomach.  I loved doing ab workouts.  But then, you know, pregnancy happened and life happened after that and I never worked out that hard again (until now).  It was hard for me to finally realize how far I am from that in-shape person that I was.  But I think that was finally a wake-up call for the work I need to do now.  It's not going to fix itself.  I know I have to work at it, but it's been hard to make myself do it.  It's only going to get harder if I don't start, so here I go.  I'm starting. 

Workout: Yoga X, Ab Ripper X, Walk
See above for yoga and abs - not a good morning for me.  I did end up doing a lot of crunches and other moves using my exercise ball to get a nice core workout.  I love working out the abs, but I have a long way to go before I can do all the exercises on the Ab Ripper workout.  I've been kind of bummed this week not walking when that's been the main exercise I've been doing for the three months, so I decided to walk.  I walked about 45 minutes before it just got too hot, but I felt better, calmed down.  My sciatic nerve stopped aching down my left leg.  Yep, I have to keep walking every day - I like it too much to stop!

Eating: P90X and Weight Watchers
I had to make another trip to the store - apparently I didn't buy enough food!  Maybe we need a separate freezer - I eat so much damn chicken!!  Last night I made turkey burgers from a recipe in the nutrition guide.  Breadcrumbs, yeah that's normal.  Buttermilk, uh, that's weird.  But I tried it and it was OK in a "diet" sort of way.  Would I make them normally? Probably not.  But I broke down and used ketchup because I burnt it and didn't want to waste it.  Mustard, too.  Don't you love how ketchup and mustard make (almost) anything taste better? 

With my three workouts, I had a lot of extra activity points, so I ate a whole protein bar last night.  It was like dessert (see, told ya it was like a treat).  I only have one left!  Overall, my eating has been really good.  I use some of my activity points each day and never go over into my extra weekly points.  I'm excited to see some good weight loss when I weigh in on Sunday.

To see what I ate yesterday - click here!

What gets you motivated to keep going?  What holds you back?

P90X Day Three Recap

Yesterday was Day Three of P90X - my favorite workout so far!
Workout: Shoulders & Arms
Awesome!  It's been a long time since I've worked out, so I figured I would start with my itty bitty 2-lb weights just to see where I am right now.  I want lean muscle not bulk, so I should be doing 12-15 reps with a weight that's heavy enough that the last couple reps take more effort.  What I found is that for most of the exercises, 2 lbs is OK, but I can probably go up to 3 lbs for now.  There are several exercises that 2 lbs was nothing, so on the second set, I used 5 lb weights.  Apparently my biceps are still strong, but I need a lot of work on the triceps!  After a couple weeks, I should be doing 5-lb weights for most of the exercises and 8 lbs for the others.  Here's to having some rockin' arms once again!

My protein bar - it's actually tasty!

Eating: P90X and Weight Watchers
I feel like I'm always thinking about food.  Always.  And I feel like I'm eating SO MUCH food!  I'm already feeling a little tied down to the nutrition plan - it was good to get me started, but it's time to branch out a little.  WW has some great recipes that I can incorporate without getting off track.  Two of my favorites are an Asian chicken salad and feta-stuffed chicken breasts.  Another recipe I really like is roasted garlic-rubbed sirloin.  I was planning to make it last night, but my sirloin had gone bad (before the date dammit), so I made pork tenderloin.  The one I bought was seasoned and I really didn't like it.  I tried to mask the flavor by covering the pork and rice with my vegetable soup (the veggies and only some of the broth), but it really wasn't that good.  I might try an unseasoned one, but not for a while.

A note on protein bars: I had eaten protein bars before.  They're thick nasty bars that taste nothing like they're supposed to, so I was pleasantly surprised when this one turned out to be really good.  Granted, it is the only I've tried, but I could totally eat the whole thing and feel like I had a treat.  For those who don't know, I have a chocolate allergy, so I stay away from anything with cocoa, which means I'm limited on protein bars (this is me in the store: "Are there any without any freaking chocolate?!?!?!?!"), but as long as there is peanut butter, I'm a happy girl.  And on a side note, I got about 30 bars for under $1 each by using coupons during a sale - oh yeah!
To see what I ate yesterday - click here!

I want to hear about your favorite workouts!

P90X Day Two Recap

Yesterday was Day Two of P90X - I'm staying strong and pushing play!

For those of you who haven't done one of these workouts, "Keep Pushing Play" is one of the slogans they use.  It's kinda cheesy, I know, yet a good reminder to put that DVD in and do the next workout!

I'm still sore today, mostly in my pecs, but it's getting better (slowly).  I'm feeling the legs a little this morning after yesterday's workout - I hope that's as bad as it gets!

Workout: Cardio X
Officially, the workout for Day Two is Plyometrics, which has a lot of jumping moves.  The (getting old) knees aren't ready for that action yet, so I switched to Cardio X.  I will probably do this workout for the first month in place of Plyo, then try it next month.  This was a good cardio workout with some jumping moves that can be modified for lower intensity and some martial arts moves (love it).  One thing I really like about the program is the trainer in the DVD, Tony Horton, is a normal guy and the workouts are fun because he jokes around and keeps it light.  It's not super cheesy like some other workouts can be.  It's really like working out with your buddy.

Tuna Salad over Romaine (I added some ranch) and vegetable soup (see those potatoes - yum!)

Eating: P90X and Weight Watchers
So Day Two was good.  I modified a couple of the recipes to make them lower points (3/4 cup of brown rice instead of 1 cup) and because I felt like I ate SO much on Day One.  I ate everything, though, and even had the nuts at the end of the day, so I went over my daily points by 3.  The great thing is that I have activity points from my workouts that cover those extra points, so I didn't dip into my weekly points allowance.  These workouts, according to WW eTools, are 6 points each day, so if I wanted to, I could eat those points, but I want a slight deficit each week to maximize weight loss.

To see what I ate yesterday - click here!

What are some good, healthy recipes that you like?  I could use some more variety!