P90X - Days 12 and 13 Recap

Back to business after the previous two days, feeling off track and hungry all the time.  These two days were good.  I had to make adjustments and worked out at different times, but I felt good, though a little tired during the workouts, which makes me thing that even though my points are right on for WW, I probably should be eating more.

Workouts: Legs & Back and Kenpo X
Day 12 was Legs & Back.  I'm still feeling this workout in my glutes this morning.  Ouch!  It's a tough workout, but I have made progress!  On the wall squats, I was able to do the whole time (90 seconds for both legs, 60 seconds for single leg), though I can't quite go to 90 degrees yet (close!).

Day 13 was Kenpo X, the martial arts workout.  The workout definitely gets the heart pumping!  I love it.  I can't kick all the way up yet, and I'm a little shaky on side and back kicks (working on balance), but as my legs get stronger, I'll get better.

Eating: P90X and Weight Watchers
As my eczema spread beyond just a random patch that could be due to the weather or pollen, which are usually small patches that go away in a couple days, I had to admit that something I've been eating is likely the cause.  You can read all about it here.  I finished my last protein bar on Day 13 because I couldn't stand the thought of it sitting there mocking me while I figured out if I was allergic to it.  And I had eggs for the last time until I figure the whole allergy thing out.  I didn't have any nuts (tree nuts) either, so now the waiting game.  I decided not to cut out dairy.  After giving it some thought, it's unlikely that it's the cause. 

Eating has been okay the past two days, but on Day 13 I ate nuts because I stayed up too late and wasn't really hungry, but I just wanted to eat something.  So I ate nuts and used up all my activity points again.  (But maybe I need to be eating those anyway, so I'm not too concerned).  Day 14 was off because I went to see Batman (yeah!) - I ate at midnight because I had way too many points left at the end of the day.

Here's what I've been eating - Day 12 and Day 13

Do you have any food allergies?

Allergies

I have a lot of allergies.  And not just, "oh I have hay fever" in the spring kind of allergies.  No, we're talking allergic to 89 out of 90 of the most common allergens in the Central Valley.  As in, I reacted to everything but eucalyptus - pollen, mold, grass, animals - if it was on the list, it had + next to it (well, except eucalyptus, of course).  In addition to that list was another smaller list of common food allergies.  I didn't give that much thought, but when peanuts came up with ++ next to it, I was a little concerned.  But the doctor explained that food allergies are really hard to test and false positives on the skin test are quite common.  I laid off peanut butter for a while because that ++ made me nervous, but slowly I've gotten back to having some occasional peanut butter. 

Skip ahead 6 years to my P90X adventure.  For the past 12 days I've been eating egg whites, fruits and vegetables, lean meats - you know, stuff you're supposed to eat to lose weight and be healthy.  Included in my new regime is a protein bar every day as one of my snacks.  Well, I already knew I was allergic to chocolate because when I would eat it, I would get eczema on my arm.  So about 3 years ago, I stopped eating chocolate.  Anyway, because of my chocolate allergy, I can't eat the majority of protein bars on the market, which leaves me with ....... peanut butter. 

I thought nothing of it.  It's been 6 years, after all.  So every day for 12 days, I have eaten a peanut butter protein bar.  And now I have eczema.  It started on my leg, just a little patch.  I thought nothing of it - I have eczema, it comes and goes.  But it's getting bigger and itchier (if you've never had eczema - it sucks!) and I have found more this morning around my armpits - not the center, just around the sides. 

But it may not be the peanut butter - those tests show false positives, remember.  It just as easily could be the eggs I'm eating every day for the past 12 days.  It could be dairy, which means that the whey protein I've been using for my protein shake every day is the culprit.  No matter what, the only real way to test for food allergies is to get the food out of your diet and then introduce it back in.  So I have to revamp my entire eating plan because all the possible culprits have to go.  And that means that some main sources of protein are gone from my meal plan.  Ouch.  At least I'm relatively sure I'm not allergic to chicken (I hope!).

Anyone know any good sources of protein that aren't dairy, egg, or nuts?

P90X - Days Ten & Eleven Recap

The last two days have been challenging.  On Tuesday (Day Ten), I felt hungry all day, even right after I ate.  I ate lunch late and then while I was making dinner for myself, I ate a slice of the pizza I made for the kids.  It totally wasn't worth the points.  I ended up using all of my remaining activity points and one weekly point, which I had hoped not to do. 

Yesterday was challenging because I wasn't prepared.  I hadn't finished laundry, so I had no workout clothes, which threw my schedule off.  That actually wasn't too bad.  I didn't technically eat "lunch" but I still went over my points when I ate a second protein bar at the end of the day.  I stuck to the plan, but my motivation was off (see below) and I didn't drink my water.  I had one serving the whole day and I'm feeling it today.

Workouts: Shoulders & Arms and Yoga X
Day Ten was Shoulders & Arms - my favorite!  I moved to 5-lb weights for all the exercises to see if I could do it.  For triceps, that's enough.  For the shoulder moves, it's enough.  But my biceps want more - I'm going to move up next week.  The progress I've made is amazing!

Yoga X - not my favorite.  Not my second or third or fourth or fifth or sixth favorite.   It is my anti-favorite.  I got on the Beachbody message boards to ask about substituting and a woman told me to skip to the second half where it's focused on balance poses.  Good - I can do balance poses.  Next week, I try again and hope it goes better.

Eating: P90X and Weight Watchers
This is going OK.  My motivation to stay on plan is flagging a little bit.  Even though I'm trying new recipes (quinoa!), I'm finding it difficult to be in the kitchen all the time.  And the number of dishes is crazy.  If I'm not cooking, I'm doing dishes.  And I'm thinking ahead to next month when the semester starts and I'm teaching again.  I'm only teaching one class, but it's right in the middle of the day two days a week.  When will I eat?  When will I do my workouts on those days?  What about when I'm grading? 

I guess I need to focus on now, and just do what I need to do now.  And I need to streamline my processes - cut up fruit ahead of time so it's ready and things like that.  I know I can do this.  As I sit here, eating another egg white omelette, though, I'm feeling like I can't eat another egg or I'll scream.  It might be time to add in a little more carbs to my day to fuel these workouts. 

Here's what I've been eating - Day Ten and Day Eleven

Do you drink enough water every day?  Do you find it difficult to get it all in?

P90X - Days Eight & Nine Recap

So Week One is over and I'm two days into Week 2.  Last week I was so focused on doing everything right.  This week, I am working to fit the program into my life right now.  Figuring out when to eat, when to workout, when to do things I need to do.  I am dealing with things not going as planned and having to adjust, to be flexible, and to not let that get me off track.

Tonight I got a massage from a local massage school and she really dug in.  She spent extra time on my pecs and upper back.  It was definitely something I needed!

Workouts: Chest & Back and Cardio
I reviewed what I did last week for Chest & Back and decided to go with a heavier weight for the exercises with weights.  I'm using 5 pounds (for now) and feeling it, so I'm good for now.  I want to move up to 8 pounds when I go to Phase II.  For the pull ups, I'm using a resistance band instead of the trying the pull up bar.  I need to get the kind of band that hooks around the door.  I can't do pull ups yet and trying on the bar was getting frustrating.  With the bands, I feel like I'm actually doing something to gain strength.  I'll get those pull ups, but I need to get stronger.

Ah, cardio - what can I say?  I do love cardio!  Especially when it has martial arts moves.  My knees have been hurting, so I was a little nervous about the workout.  No problem, though - my knees survived!

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Eating: P90X and Weight Watchers
While I'm still following the plan and adding new recipes, I am feeling the rigidity of this first phase.  It's not horrible - I still get to eat a lot, but I really want some bread.  I can have whole grain English muffins, so I'm adding those to the grocery list, so I can have one once in a while.  I had my first trip going out to eat.  My friend is always open to watching what we eat and she had a great recommendation.  We went to a small Mexican place and ordered tostada salads with no tostadas and no sour cream.  We still got guacamole and went easy on the cheese (they really didn't put all that much on there).  When I counted the points later, I found it was right on track.  So I know I can go out to eat and still make good choices.

Here's what I've been eating - Day Eight and Day Nine
What have you done just for yourself today?

P90X Day Seven/Week One Recap

Yesterday was Day Seven of P90X - the end of Week 1.  I made it!!!  It's tough, yes, but not quite as bad as I had imagined it would be.  I have a long way to go to be able to do some of the complete workouts, but I've got lots of time to get better! 

Sunday is weigh-in day, so I'll update my stats each Sunday:

Weight Loss Week One: 3.6 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 3.6 lbs

Workout: X Stretch
Day Seven is always a recovery day, which means no intense cardio or weights, just stretching to rest the body and get ready to do it all over again :)  I love this workout.  I did this workout twice before officially starting P90X and was able to do a lot of it, but there were a couple things I just couldn't do.  In just a week, while there are a couple moves I still can't do completely, I can do part way.  One of them I still can't do at all, but that because of the sciatic nerve issues (damn you, sciatic nerve!).  Success - in just a week, I've gained back a lot of flexibility!

I had some carbs for breakfast.
It's low carb, not no carb, after all!

Eating: P90X and Weight Watchers
Still hanging in there, though I have my moments where I just want to eat something sugary.  The only thing I've eaten this week that wasn't on the plan was about 10 pieces of popcorn at the movies on Saturday.  Other than that, I've been really good all week.  It can be difficult eating at home.  It takes time to prepare food, to menu plan, and to shop.  I've been to the store three times in the past week, so I need to really plan more carefully to get everything in one shot (especially my protein bars).  And I had some carbs for breakfast today - steel cut oatmeal with apple and cinnamon and some Truvia.  Yum!

To see what I ate yesterday - click here!

So anyone want to join me now that you've seen the first week in action?