P90X Day One Recap

Yesterday was Day One of P90X - click here to read more details and see the pictures of lunch and dinner (yum!).

Very successful day yesterday!  I ate everything I was supposed to eat, drank a protein shake for the first time ever, and worked my back and chest - wow!  I felt awesome bar some soreness, but that's to be expected.

I woke up today sore in the neck and shoulders from yesterday's workout, but I knew I would. Advil is my friend right now. I also didn't sleep very well - I got up 3 times I think to use the bathroom and was restless a lot of the night. I don't know if that's because of my workout and getting used to it or something else, but I hope I sleep soundly tonight!

Workout: Chest and Back
Lots of pull ups and push ups in this workout.  I modify both, since I don't have the upper body strength yet.  For the push ups, I use an exercise ball to lie on.  I roll on the ball until my hips are resting on the pall (ok, like the whole pelvic region is ON the ball).  My legs are straight out behind me, so it's like a decline push up, but I'm supported in the middle of my body.  I can adjust my hands for standard, military, wide, and diamond push ups and still get a great upper body workout without having to support my entire body weight on my arms.  For the diamonds, I have to roll the ball under my stomach and have my hands about 4 inches apart, but hey, it was Day One - I'll get stronger!

For the pull ups, I squat on a chair and extend my arms completely,  When I pull up, I'm able to keep my feet on the chair, which allows me to only pull as much of my body weight as I can - I try not to let my legs do any pushing, so I can strengthen my arms.  The reverse grip chin-ups are the hardest, and I am only able to get about 1/2 way up.  The other pull ups are OK - I can pull myself up from the squat position about 3 times right now. 



My gear: mat, yoga blocks, pull up bar, resistance band, weights, shoes, water, and P90X!

Eating: P90X and Weight Watchers
Just after a day on this plan and knowing that I can still track everything I eat use the Points Plus plan from Weight Watchers, I feel really comfortable with being able to continue eating this way.  The first month is low carb (there are SOME carbs - I eat brown rice), so I'm mainly eating protein and fruits and vegetables.  I eat every 3 hours, so I'm never hungry (well, except this morning when I woke up ravenous), and every time I eat, I have protein.  Lots and lots and lots of protein.  Did you see those pictures yesterday, by the way?

If you want to see what I'm eating and how this works with WW - click here!

Schedule
So I'm drinking my protein shake right now (seriously, it's good) and recovering from my workout and planning out my day.  I was planning to get up and work out right at 6, but I was so hungry that I realized I will definitely need to eat before I work out.  This is my new plan for most days of the week (weekends, especially Sunday when I weigh in at WW will be slightly different):

7:00 AM -- Breakfast, plan lunch and dinner
9:00 AM -- Workout
10:00 AM -- Protein shake, blog about previous day
11:00 AM -- Swim (more like float)
1:00 PM -- Lunch, work
4:00 PM -- Snack, work
7:00 PM -- Dinner, play time with the munchkin
9:30 PM -- Snack, TV time
10:30 PM -- Bed, read

Now that I put it out there, it seems so regimented, and it kind of is, but I know there is flexibility.

Anyone else working out?  What are you doing?  What works for you?  I'd love to hear about it!

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)!!

Summer Reading - "The Woods"

I've started several books, but I haven't gotten further than the first couple of chapters.  All I wanted to do this summer was read and watch movies, and I'm hardly doing either one!  So I was getting some books I've been wanting from Paper Back Book Swap and came across "The Woods" by Harlan Coben.  The description was intriguing, so I decided to get it.  It arrived right before we left for a quick out-of-town trip, so I threw it in my suitcase in case I had time to read.  Of course, when we're on a trip, I always read a lot more and get on the computer a lot less! 

The book's protagonist is haunted by the death of his sister 20 years before, presumably a victim of a serial killer at a summer camp when they were kids.  The story follows Paul Copeland as new information about his sister's disappearance comes to light and he learns more about his family.  Interestingly, Coben writes in the first person, but the reader is a participant in the narrative, as the text is written as though the narrator were speaking directly to the reader.  The pace of the writing was also good, making for a fast read.  Suspense, plot twists, and interesting characters make for a great mystery thriller.

The only issue I had with this book was the ending.  The book is considered a stand-alone book, but Coben leaves an end untied and an opening for a follow-up book.  In a stand-alone novel, I prefer the ending to end the book, not leave me wondering.  This is not a major issue, however, considering that the rest of the book was well written and fun to read.

Summer of Movies - "Prometheus"

I waited too long to write this!  So we went to see Prometheus in IMAX 3D about two weeks ago - I have not seen a 3D movie at a theater since Captain EO at Disneyland as a kid (I just aged myself).  I wasn't keen on 3D, but we thought we'd give it a shot anyway.  I'm glad we did - I really liked the movie.  I was waiting for the aliens, as I had read that this film is a sort of prequel to the Alien films.  I was not disappointed.  I liked the action and the story was interesting. The film was decently acted, and I was shocked by Guy Pearce's role (yes I looked up the plot summary, but didn't bother to see who is in the movie - oops).  Overall, I liked it and would watch it again (on DVD).  

Summer of Movies - "The Avengers"

I had a date with my teenager to see "The Avengers" on the big screen today.  What can I say - I really like these comic books turned movies.  I'm not a comic book reader, but I like the action of the film versions - the fighting, the crashing, all of it.  A lot of my students saw "The Avengers" when it first came out and told me I needed to see it after I told them I like "Batman" and "X-Men".  They were right - it was a great movie.  It had lots of action and fighting, but I also enjoyed the repartee between the characters.  I have loved Robert Downey, Jr., since first seeing him in "Weird Science" and his portrayal of Tony Stark is so much fun to watch in this film.  There were a lot of laughs, even if I was the only laughing (at least out loud).  I was surprised by Scarlett Johansson's performance, though her ass and lips got more screen time than was necessary.  Yeah, we all know she's hot, but c'mon, guys!  If you haven't seen "The Avengers," you should, but make sure you stay through the credits!  And now I need to see if Iron Man is on Netflix - it's time I finally watched those movies...