P90X (Day 1) Ouch. Already!

So we got the P90X videos in the mail. With all the accompaniments: fitness guide, nutritional guide, calendars, etc.

We spent the better part of yesterday clearing out a room in the basement.

We dusted off old weights, exercise bands, yoga mats and bought a chin up bar at Dick's.

We took our TV/DVD out of the kitchen, much to our childrens' discontent, and put it in said basement room.

We put up a bulletin board in order to track our progress on the calendar, and to post before and after pictures.

As of last night: all set. We are trying to come up with a clever name for our home gym. And when the walls are painted and less dingy, I'll post a picture. Not til then.

The alarm went off at 4:45 this morning: Time for Day 1. I dutifully got up and dressed, and headed down for the Day 1 workout. (Mr. remained snoring, as I fully expected. He's a night person.)

Day 1: Chest/Back (60 minutes) and Ab Ripper X (16 minutes)

I did it. I survived. It was very hard, and I had to modify many exercises, but I finished. I was dripping sweat. Guzzling water. I felt great afterwards. Now, OUCH. I'm starting to feel it already . . . everywhere.

I then showered/dressed, fed & let out dog, woke up kids, got everyone breakfast, made lunches, got everyone's stuff together for camps, Mr. took 2 kids to camp & day care, while I took the third to yet another camp (our summer is even crazier than our school year). And then I went to work.

All before 9 a.m.

I'm still guzzling water - and the hardest part of it all isn't even getting up at 4:45, or the exercise (which totally kicked my butt!). For me, it's the eating.

While I haven't gotten through the nutritional guide for P90X yet, I've already started: No SODA. No PROCESSED stuff. No CRAP. That's the hard part for me.

So far today, just water. Some eggs for breakfast. Salad for lunch.

Hopefully I can keep this up.

So here goes with the posting of weight again. While I may post more throughout the week, I'm just going to post weight 1x week as I'm trying not to be too obsessive about it.

Here goes:

Mrs:
Starting weight 7/12/10: 167.8 pounds
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Lbs left to lose: 37.8 pounds

Mr. promises to do the Day 1 videos tonight. I think doing them at night will work better for him . . again he is not a morning person. I would much rather do them in the morning . . I am much more of a morning person, and as the day goes on, so do my excuses!

Up tomorrow, Day 2: Plyometrics. I watched it yesterday, and boy, am I in for it. It looks even harder than what I did today. My goal . . is to finish in one piece!

Sigh.

Well, needless to say I fell off the wagon. Not the exercise wagon - I've kept up with that fairly consistently, and even did a 5k this month. I fell hard off the eating healthy wagon.

My weight has started the creep up again - I had gotten down to 162 pounds, now back up to 167. Still less than earlier this year, but I'm frustrated. My clothes don't fit, don't look good, and I don't feel good when I look in the mirror.

It's been a whirlwind of a spring & summer. Several trips (Florida, Michigan, South Carolina) and the perfect storm of kids' activities. I've never been busier. I can't remember when I've actually gone HOME for the night after work and not have to go to a baseball game, softball game, karate class, dance class, or some other activity.

But I'm not spouting off excuses. I've just been stuck in a rut I can't seem to get out of.

I don't WANT to eat crap and drink soda, but somehow I do anyway. I guess it's just easier.

And I'm eating too much. Sometimes I think I do so because if I'm eating, I get to sit down - which means the longer I eat, the longer I get to sit and relax. That's messed up, isn't it?

Every once in a while I cook or order something healthy. But it's not enough.

Mr. is in the same boat. At least we're stuck in it together.

So what are we going to do about it? Hmmmm.........

After much discussion we have ordered P90X and are anxiously awaiting its' arrival.

P90X is a set of workout dvd's and nutrition guides, for, as they say, extreme home fitness.

Several of our good friends have done it with phenomenal results. We are ready for some phenomenal results, and need a plan to get there.

We hope this plan is it.

Stay tuned . . . I anxiously check the mail every day and hope it comes soon!

Weigh in #3 Results - yay!

Mrs.

Starting weight: 171 pounds

Goal weight: 130 pounds

Current weight: 165.5

Pounds lost (gained) this week: 5.2!!

Total pounds lost (gained): 5.2!

Pounds left to lose: 35.5

Workouts: Classes: (3) Zumba classes, (1) Kickboxing. Runs: (2) 2.5-mile runs

Mr.

Starting weight: 240 pounds

Goal weight: 180 pounds

Current weight: 233

Pounds lost (gained) this week: 7!

Total pounds lost (gained): 7

Pounds left to lose: 53

Workouts: 2, at the gym (primarily 45 min on elliptical)

OK, so the Sugar Solution diet is working for us. And it's yummy - I've liked everything on it so far. It is enough food and is satisfying. And it is nice to bring everything to work, so I'm not milling around our cafeteria at lunchtime making bad choices.

The down side: it's expensive - all these fruits and vegetables don't come cheap this time of year, and for example, a block of light Jarlsburg cheese is not exactly buy 1 get 1 free at our supermarket. The prep is also a lot of work. I find myself coming home from work, cooking dinner, cleaning up dinner, and then cooking whatever I need for lunch (and sometimes dinner the next day) and then cleaning that up. Phew - that's a lot to do after a long day of work.

Also, the kids are fairly averse to much of this food - so I have to make other things for them. I'd love to have them adopt this way of eating too, but I'm starting to slowly incorporate them into it based on things I already know they like.

So, with results like these, we will soldier on, learning as we go. I am also going to order The Sugar Solution Cookbook, which has even more recipes.

Hopefully more results next week!

Weigh In #3: Snowmageddeon Over, Back to the Real World!

Mrs.

Starting weight: 168 pounds
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Current weight: 171 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (2)
Total pounds lost (gained): (3)
Pounds left to lose: 41
Workouts: Classes: Step-N-Pump. 2.5 mile runs: (2)

Mr.
Starting weight: 240 pounds
Goal weight: 180 pounds
Current weight: 240
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (first weigh in)
Total pounds lost (gained): (first weigh in)
Pounds left to lose: 60
Workouts: working the snowblower/shoveling snow for hours every day

Yup, we got 3+ feet of snow last week here, which pretty much shut the place down. No gym. No fitness classes. I did manage to eke out enough time to run on the treadmill at home, twice. But it wasn't enough. Snowed in, we ate all day long. Lots of cookies and comfort food.

But that's all over now.

Yesterday, Mr. and I started a low glycemic index diet. It is from the book The Sugar Solution by Sari Harrar. It has a 30 day makeover plan, which we are attempting to follow to a tee.

So far, so good. The food is yummy, and it's certainly enough food - three meals and three snacks. The tough part is planning and prepping/cooking ahead of time . . but hopefully this will get easier with practice. I made a HUGE grocery store run, which should take care of essentials for the month, and produce/dairy for the first ten days or so.

Here's what we had yesterday:

Breakfast: Multi grain oatmeal (recipe in book) with 1 tbsp chopped walnuts
Morning Snack: 1 pear, 8 baby carrots
Lunch: Lentil Soup (recipe in book), salad with crumbled feta cheese and 2 tbsp light dressing of your choice
Snack: 1 apple
Dinner: 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce, and 1 tbsp Parmesan or Romano cheese, 1 cup broccoli sauteed in 1 tsp olive oil with onions and garlic (this was easy & delicious!)
Snack: Fat-free pudding cup

It was all yummy, and I wound up not even getting to the apple in the afternoon - the lentil soup really filled me up. Here's what we are having today:

Breakfast: Smoothie with 1 banana, 1/2 c frozen strawberries, 1 cup 1% milk, and 1 tbsp ground flax seed
Morning Snack: Raw vegetables and 1 ounce string cheese
Lunch: Chicken Salad Roll-Up (recipe in book) and 1c cantaloupe
Snack: 3 tbsp hummus (it doesn't sound like a lot, but it actually is) and raw vegetables
Dinner: 1 veggie burger on a whole grain roll with 1 tsp relish and 1 tbsp ketchup with lettuce, tomato, and onion if desired, 2 cups tossed salad with 1/4 avocado and 2 tbsp low-fat dressing, and 1 cup 1% milk
Snack: 1/2 cup low fat frozen dessert (i.e. sorbet, ice cream, etc)

After 1 day, I weighted myself and I had lost two pounds. So I'm cautiously optimistic that if we can keep this up, we can actually lose weight.

I attended a Zumba class on Monday, ran on the treadmill yesterday, and did Kickboxing today. Up for the rest of the week: Zumba again Thursday, and Body Blast on Friday. And whatever I can fit in over the weekend - either gym, or videos/treadmill at home. I'm committed to doing something every day.

Also, they are starting up a team "Biggest Loser" type contest at the gym at work - I'm trying to round up folks to form a team.

What's my big incentive, you may ask? I'm going to Florida on May 6 with girlfriends who are tall and skinny. That's it right there. All this effort won't make me taller, but at least I can try to look like less of a pumpkin standing next to them!

Have a great week!

Weigh In #2 Rollercoaster week, literally

Mrs.
Starting weight: 168 pounds
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Current weight: 169 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (1)
Total pounds lost (gained): (1)
Pounds left to lose: 39
Workouts: Classes: Zumba (2), Body Blast

Well, I got the dreaded stomach virus last week. I was the third in my house to get it after my son and youngest daughter. Through my 2 days of intestinal hell, I had lost about five pounds, but after a weekend of normal eating -- it's back. Plus one. I did no exercise over the weekend, and ate a bunch.

What's good: Other than the two days I was sick, I did exercise during the other days of the work week (Monday, Thursday, Friday), even trying a new class - Body Blast. It's intervals of weights and cardio, and I liked it. (Even though I had to leave 15 minutes early due to a meeting - bummer)

Also, when out to dinner last night, I ate half my dinner and boxed up the rest, which I just ate now for a yummy lunch at work. That's something I always think about, but never do. Last night I did it.

What needs work: Eating better, of course. And drinking less soda. I'm definitely drinking less, but I'm still drinking it. I can't seem to stop altogether. I don't have it in my house, which helps. While I'm faithful to the fitness classes, I've slacked off on my daily running. I started back up today though, running 2 miles after my lunchtime Zumba class. It felt really good. Now if I can just get my butt out of bed at 5am tomorrow to do a run before work! I might have to put off watching Jack Bauer tonight to be able to do that!

Miscellaneous: At the gym, I read an interview in Women's Health magazine with Alicia Silverstone about her new book, The Kind Diet. She of course is a vegan. She said when she switched to this style of eating, she stopped dieting and the weight fell off and she didn't feel deprived, because the food she was eating was so good.

The magazine also included a recipe for vegan peanut butter chocolate cups that looked yummy. Now, I'm not interested in going vegan (meat I could live without, but other stuff - esp. seafood - no way) but her book looks interesting and probably has some great recipes in it. She even says the book is targeted toward people that don't necessarily want to be vegans, but want to move toward a more plant-based diet. I'm going to consider buying it if I see it on sale or a used copy or something.

Have a great week. I still have high hopes that at some point I will start losing weight.

Some old-school inspiration

Yes, one of these women is me.
I'm on the right, in the pink and white swimsuit.
The other two fabulous women are my dear friends C and H.

This was taken around 1990-1991,
when I was around 20-21 and in college.
We lived during the summers in Dewey Beach, Delaware -
we shared a house with 16 girls,
worked at a restaurant during the evenings,
and pretty much did what you us doing here -
all day long, every day.
Good times. Great times.
In fact, of what I can remember,
those days are some of my most favorite memories.
(You don't think it's water in those cups, do you?)

I posted this picture because: LOOK HOW SKINNY I AM!

Can I be that skinny ever again?

I think yes.
(That's a little more confident than
I really feel, but I'm trying to be positive here)

I didn't post a weigh in this week for the usual reasons -
I didn't lose weight.
After 5 exercise classes, 4 thirty minute runs,
drinking 80 ounces of water a day,
only having 2 sodas after the course of the week,
eating weight control oatmeal every day
and packing my lunch for work,
I GAINED TWO POUNDS.

Frustrating? Absolutely. Discouraging? No.

I know it isn't going to happen overnight
I have to remain consistent.

So, I will weigh in this Monday and post the truth -
no matter how frustrated I may be.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Weigh In #1 (of 2010)

OK, here's my first weigh in of 2010.

Mrs.
Starting weight: 168 pounds
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Current weight: 168 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: fresh start
Total pounds lost (gained): fresh start
Pounds left to lose: 38
Workouts: lots planned!

So it's 168. I actually thought it would be more, since I ate a massive amount of chocolate chip cookies, and did NOTHING as far as exercise over the holiday break.

Today I got up at 5:30 and ran for 30 minutes, and I'm planning on going to Zumba class at lunchtime.

I've packed my breakfast, lunch AND snacks for work, and brought a huge water bottle. Hopefully this will keep me away from the cafeteria, where they sell delicious fountain soda.

Have a great week!

A New Year, a New Me

Are you still visiting here? Bless your heart. Thanks for coming back, and for sticking with me.

Sometimes I go away (usually because I'm on a shame spiral), but eventually I come back. Kind of like cockroaches.

Anyway, it's a NEW YEAR. And I've got new motivation:

I TURN 40 THIS YEAR.

Yes, 40.

And I am most unhappy with the way I look- that's the bad news.

The good news: I CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Like I posted on my other blog, I'm not going to obsess about what I DIDN'T do in the past.

I'm going to focus on what I did accomplish over the past year, such as:

• Regularly going to fitness classes
• Regularly going to the gym at work
• Participating in pedometer contests at work (often was named top performer for my team!)
  
• Going to my health club when I can
• Running regularly on my treadmill at home
• I ran four 5k races, improving my time with each one
• I had periods of time where I gave up soda
• I did a lot of yoga, which was great for my stress level, sleep habits, and flexibility
• I read some great books about health/weight loss: Fighting Fat After Forty, Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? and others
  
• I purchased a book to read in the new year: The Zen of Eating and Eating Mindfully
  
• I tried new healthy recipes
  

Looking over all that, I did come along way last year, since prior to 2009, I really wasn't doing any of these things.

All this did wonders for my stress level. My muscles and heart are stronger from the consistent exercise.

Unfortunately, with all I accomplished above, I did not accomplish ANY weight loss. In fact, I GAINED weight.

But I refuse to try another diet. I've done them all, and have eventually rebelled against them all. I don't do well with restriction and rules. But I know I can't continue the crap food free for all. But I'm going to try some things that I hope evolve into habits:

• Pack my lunch for work often (controlling portions as well as costs)
  
• Eat less meat
  
• Eat more fruits/vegetables
  
• Be aware of portion sizes and try to reduce them without obsessing
  
• Drink less soda, more water/tea
• Commit to planning ahead to cook healthy meals for my family
  
• Continue challenging myself with exercise
  
• Run consistently in the mornings before work
  
• Continue running races, 5k's and maybe even a 5-miler or 10k
• Read The Zen of Eating and Eating Mindfully
  
• Stop obsessing over the small stuff
  

I hope these things will push the scale downward. Speaking of the scale, the weekly weigh-ins are back - starting MONDAY.

Enjoy the rest of your week and visit again soon!