Falling off the Wagon

Yesterday was a disaster.

I had an early breakfast meeting so I got up and did a short

Zumba workout.  I was coming home and figured I would

get in my Insanity workout after work.

My food choices at breakfast were great.  Lots of protein,

not much fat or carbs.  Then four hours of sitting in another

meeting.  During the break I grabbed a protein bar.

Doing great so far.

Time to drive home.  I grabbed a big bottle of water because I hadn't

drank enough and ate a couple of high carb snacks I had.

(They were all I had left of the food I packed)

Macros (protein, carbs, and fat) weren't too bad but I was low in

the calorie department and I knew it was going to get worse

after my Insanity workout.

Made it back to work and finished out the day in the office.

No baseball practice for hubby because it had

decided to rain most of the day. 

I still planned to get my workout in and I had planned

out my food for the rest of the night to make sure I was pretty

close to the right macros.

Then I got home.  All motivation went right out the window.

Followed closely by my eating plan. 

I ate a high fat and high carb dinner with no extra workout.

Believe it not the world did not come to an end.

While I'm not happy with the choices I made, I'm not going

to beat myself up about it. 

It is what it is &

Tomorrow is another day

I got up this morning a little later than plan because I didn't

sleep as well as normal after that wonderful meal,

but I did workout and again have a workout planned for after work.

Tonight it will happen because I want it to 

not as punishment for yesterday.

Adjusting

Today is day three of my next round of P90x/Insanity.

I've made some adjustments this time around. 

I added some more cardio to the routine.

30 minutes (or close to it) of cardio after work.

It's a great stress relief.

I've also changed the way I'm eating.

This has been way more of a challenge than the extra cardio.

I am now trying to eat 50% of my calories from protein,

30% from carbs and 20% from fat.

As a pasta, rice and bread lover 50% of my calories

from protein cuts out a lot of my favorite foods. 

I had already cut out bread but still this is tough.

I also burn a lot of calories and that means sometimes

I am scrambling trying to figure out what to eat

to make sure I'm eating enough. 

(I'm sure you are all feeling extremely sorry for me right now)

Add traveling out of town for work to the mix

and right now I'm a little overwhelmed by food.

I'm trying to remember that this is a process but as I 

sit here at the computer stuffed because I had to eat more food,

I'm not sure it's working real well.

Tomorrow I'll be home and I think that will help me a bunch.

Round One in the Books

March 31st marked the end of my first round of P90x/Insanity. 

The results were ok but not as good as I had hoped. 

I know, I know

it takes time but I'm not really

good at being patient.

There was progress.  I have to remind myself where I came from. 

This was two years ago. 

This was taken last October.

(I need a more current picture but this will do for now)

There are some noticeable changes. 

Face is slimmer, my arms are showing,

signs of progress.

Another way I've been watching progress is measurements. 

These are the areas I measure.

While I would love to have the courage to put my measurements

out here for everyone to read, I'm not there yet.

But I will share some results.

Waist - down 4 inches

Hips - down 3 inches

Chest - down 5 inches

Thigh - up 1 1/4 inches

Upper Arm - up 1 inch

(muscle as far as I'm concerned)

They might be small changes but they are changes.

On to Round Two....

The Scale

I don't use the word hate very often

but I really hate the scale. 

It is an awful way to measure progress. 

For three weeks the numbers on that silly thing were going

in the downward direction. 

Just what you want to see.

Then I got the flu, one week with no energy,

no exercise and no work.

But the scale still showed a weight loss.

Week five, back to work and exercise.

I gained two pounds.

Ok, I can live with that. 

I'm sure once I'm back into my routine

the numbers will head downward again.

Week six -

I gained another six pounds.

Really??

Six pounds in one week.

I think not.

I may have exceeded my calories a day or two

but from what I've read

you have to eat 3,500 over what's needed

to gain a pound. 

That's a lot of extra calories.

If I did overeat that much, I don't remember it.

On a happier note....

I took my measurements week one and

checked them again at the end of week four.

I've lost 2.5 inches on my hips and

1 inch on my waist.

A few final thoughts:

The scale doesn't just reveal fat loss, a loss on the scale

can be from water depletion.

Muscle is more dense than fat.  If you are working out

and building muscle you might not see the number on the

scale change much.

"Train for a look, not a number on the scale"

~Chris Shugart

From now on I'm ignoring the scale and will

use a tape measure as my new "scale"

Confession is Good for the Soul

Confession No. 1

I am a horrible blogger.  I admit it. 

I go months without posting anything and

when I do get around to posting something I wonder if it is worth it. 

I wonder why someone would take precious time from their day to read my rambling posts.

Confession No. 2

I downloaded an app for the Ipad to help me with

time management and goals.

I love it. 

I've planned out three months and

am working on the rest of the year.

Confession No. 3

I started a new exercise routine December 31st.

P90x three days a week

Insanity three days a week

It's a three month routine and

Another thing I love. 

Confession No. 4

At the end of my P90x/Insanity routine,

I'm going to do it again

but add in some time on the elliptical

I'm not sure this will be something I love

Confession No. 5

In order to get my workout in every day

I get up at 4:15 am.

In order to get up at 4:15 am I have to go to bed at 8:00 pm

Now you know how wild and crazy I am

Confession No. 6

I've set a goal to read the Standard Works in one year.

I'm in Leviticus now. 

So far so good.

Confession No. 7

I'm more excited about decorating my exercise room

than I've been about any other room in the house.

I'm not sure what that says about me.

Confession No. 8

I set a goal to pay off all our debt

(except the house) in 2 years.

Now we just have to stick with the plan.

Confession No. 9

In February Bob and I will celebrate our

25th wedding anniversary.

Hard to believe it's been that long.

I guess time flies when you are having fun.

Confession No. 10

I've added one more goal to my list.

I plan to blog at least once a week.

Hopefully no one will get tired of my ramblings.

Now you know more about me than you probably ever wanted to know, but it feels good to share.

I guess the saying is right....

Confession is Good for the Soul.

Anyone else want to join me?

     

Day 29

Today is day 29 of the 90 day P90x routine.  It's been rough, it feels a lot like when I first started.  Well maybe not exactly like that.  I can get through the entire dvd which I couldn't the first time. 

I'm just frustrated that I have lost so much.  The definition I had in my muscles in June is almost all gone.  I'm thinking that I may need to add some more cardio.  I'm not ready to go back to doing the doubles routine, but maybe I'll try to ride the elliptical three or four times during the week. We'll see.  I really just want to get back to where I was.

Diet has been a struggle.  According to the P90x diet I should be eating around 2,400 calories a day.  I'm sure I do that sometimes, like when we are traveling and we eat out a bunch.  Most days though probably not.  Today I've decided to try to hit no less than 1,800 calories and actually track what I eat.  I've been very slack in watching what I'm eating.  Time to get focused. 

Water needs to became a bigger part of my day.  I'm trying hard to make sure I drink water all day but it's so much easier to grab a can of Diet Coke.  I know it's not good for me but it's my downfall.  I'm working on drinking more water and less Coke but it's a work in progress. 

"Enjoy the journey as much as the destination."

I'm trying to remember this as I keep pushing play each morning.  Frustration gets the best of me at times but I know that I'm in the best shape of my life.  I guess I just can't be satisfied with that.  Now I want lean, defined muscles.  I guess there are are worse things to obsess about.  At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Back At It

This week has been brutal.  Last Friday we left home and flew to New York to take our son Eric to school.  Monday we flew home.  Quick, emotional, stressful trip. 

Monday also marked day one of my return to P90x.  I took about three months off because I knew we would be very busy and I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to stick with a schedule that was one hour a day, six days a week.  Boy am I paying for it now.

I am so tired and sore.  The tired part comes from the fact that Monday we got up at 2:30 am (our time) to get ready and leave for the airport.  We got home, shopped and came home.  That put my workout time at 5:30 pm.  Very, very long day.   Tuesday I was up at 4:00 am to work out and then we didn't get home till around 11:30 pm that night.  I did get some sleep in the car but it was still a long day.  Wednesday I just couldn't get up early and so I ended up working out at 7:30 pm.  But I was up this morning at 4:30 am to work out.  I am running on fumes. 

I could hardly move this morning.  Yoga only lasted about 45 minutes and there were some moves I couldn't do because my arms or legs were shaking.  All I can hope for is that next week will be better.

Some lessons are learned the hard way and this was one of them.  Next time I know my schedule will be extremely busy I will modify my workout routine so that I can continue my weight lifting.  The cardio hasn't been that tough but I also rode the elliptical off and on over these last three months.  Proof that doing something is always better than doing nothing at all.

I've set my calories to 2,000 which seems really high to me but so far I haven't had any trouble meeting the goal.  I can thank Costco and their muffins for helping me with that one.  Hopefully next week will be better for my eating habits as well as my exercise routine.