P90X - Week 9 - Saturday

I ate a protein granola bar & yogurt after blogging last night - six activity points subtracted.

Yeah, my legs are total toast today, so no Plyo. Instead, I did X Stretch, Turbo Jam 20 Minute Workout (143 calories) and Jillian Michaels Cardio Kickbox (24 minutes, 148 calories). Altogether, 291 calories, and I gave myself 3 Activity Points.

Banana Nut Cheerios [3 pts]

scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & salsa. light English muffin w/ light cream cheese & jelly [5 pts]

chicken breast, green pepper slices, corn & black bean salad w/ avocado lime vinaigrette [7 pts]

banana [1 pt]; I am desperately trying not to eat the chocolate in the freezer. I have the points to have a piece or two but I'm afraid I won't stop with one or two.

chicken, pasta & vegetable casserole [7 pts]

chocolates [6 pts]; Obviously, I failed.

Five cups of coffee [1 pt] and 80 ounces of water.

30 points today. 0 weekly and 6 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 9 - Friday

Crazy exercise day. Things start doubling up and shifting around as I try to get everything out of the way before my tubal on Thursday. I know I should probably just suck it up and take an extra week but I am SO OVER this program. Don't get me wrong - I love it, I think it's fantastic, and I see myself doing it again some day, but right now, I just need to get away from Tony Horton. I just want it to be over.

This morning was Ab Ripper X and Legs & Back (2 Activity Points). I didn't get as many unassisted chin ups as I did the last time I did this workout (2 weeks ago). I don't know if it's my mental state or I'm just tired. This whole week, I haven't been satisfied with my performance. I'm improving in some areas and not in others - sometimes even going backwards. I'm sure it's just mental. I know I haven't been nearly as excited about Phase 3 as I was about the first two. Plus, decided to try to squeeze in all the extra stuff is stressing me out. Too late now. I just need to get through the next 6 days.

It's marathon weekend here on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I knew there was an annual marathon but I did not realize there was also a half-marathon, an 8K, and a 5K. So, in honor of this weekend, today's Doubles cardio was a 5K walk (50 minutes 224 calories, 2 Activity Points). I did this immediately after Legs & Back. Don't ask me what I was thinking. I wasn't. But it gets worse.

After my 5K, I grabbed some food and sat down for 45 minutes to watch Friday Night Lights. It's a little light on the Riggins so far this season, which is disappointing. Man, Taylor Kitsch is one fine hunk of meat. What is it with guys named Taylor and total hot? Taylor Lautner's body is even better than Taylor Kitsch's, but since TL is only 17 (18 in 4 months), I can't really comment further. But I digress. After my quick break, I got a head start and did tomorrow's Kenpo X workout (323 calories and 3 Activity Points). I will admit, it was rough because my legs were tired. I have never been so happy to do blocks in all my life. Needless to say, I am exhausted!!! But, I'm hoping my legs will be well enough to do Plyo tomorrow. I know I should rest them more, but this crazy situation I've put myself in really is a one-time thing. I can handle all the regular workouts being scrunched together. It's this Doubles stuff that has me stressed, trying to fit in FOUR extra cardio workouts a week (instead of the three from the last phase). Those three and a half days of rest I'll be getting after my surgery next week are going to be bliss!

Banana Nut Cheerios w/ skim milk [3 pts]

apple & cottage cheese [3 pts]

chicken breast, green pepper slices & avocado hummus [4 pts]

venison sausage patty w/ cheese on multigrain English muffin [6 pts]

green pepper slices [0 pts]

venison tenderloin, corn & black bean salad w/ avocado lime vinaigrette dressing [8 pts]

Four cups of coffee [1 pt] and 80 ounces of water.

25 points today. 0 weekly and 19 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 9 - Thursday

I ended up eating 2 granola protein bars after I blogged last night, taking away 8 of my weekly points. I could have eaten a ton more.

Butt crack of dawn yoga today. I am really getting better. I can do just about everything - the only two poses I still have even a little trouble with are twisting half moon and crane, but I can hold them for a bit. Rock on. 2 Activity Points for Yoga. I did Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 again (371 calories burned, 3 Activity Points). Technically, the fourth day of doubles is supposed to go on Plyo day. Screw that!!! I don't even want to walk to the shower after Plyo, much less do more cardio. So I do it after yoga.

Today is Day 60 for me. Technically, I should have weighed in and done pictures and measurements. That's too much work. I'll wait until the end.

I am rethinking whether I'm going to do another round of P90X. I was so sure I would do P90X+ (along with the other Beachbody stuff I had planned). Then I read this blog. It's a critique of P90X that points out the "flaws" in the program. They aren't really flaws but they do go against my "lift heavy for fewer reps" preference for weight lifting. The blogger points out that the P90X routines are essentially circuits of mid-to-high reps. Yeah, I do opt for the 8-10 rep range, but even that is pretty high compared to what I like. I like the 3x5 and 5x5 or 4x6 rep ranges. I like multiple sets of really heavy (for me) weights. So I don't think I could be happy doing P90X again. And if I use that same logic, ChaLean Extreme won't be "right" for me again. I can't say anything about Insanity yet - that's all cardio, and I know I'm not ready for it. So now I need to rethink my game plan.

This does not mean P90X hasn't helped me. Hello!! I can do pull ups and push ups now. Know what that means? That I can actually use those in any routines I design on my own, or actually do them in routines I find (like New Rules of Lifting - I love that program). I will continue to do yoga and stretch when I finish P90X (probably not the P90X dvds though, unless I need a Daniel fix). I think I need to pull out my NROL book again and maybe do that. My husband has been "doing" the workouts for a couple months - that means he did 2 weeks of Break In workouts, then moved on to the goods, and only did one week (and his workouts are only twice a week!!!). Maybe if I'm doing it, he'll get his ass in gear.

Banana Nut Cheerios w/ skim milk [3 pts]

protein granola bar [4 pts]

chicken breast, cauliflower w/ light mayo & mustard, yogurt [5 pts]

Strawberry Mini Wheats [5 pts]; I only eat Mini Wheats dry. And these were getting stale. I do like them for a snack.

apple [1 pt]

omelet w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ jelly, homemade venison sausage [7 pts]

pumpkin pie [6 pts]

Two cups of coffee [0 pts] and 80 ounces of water.

31 points today. 0 weekly and 17 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 9 - Wednesday

Ab Ripper & Turbo this morning (353 calories - 3 Activity Points). I got through the Fifer Scissors without a break!! I really dislike ARX. Really. I did Shoulders & Arms in the afternoon (2 Activity Points). I wanted to skip the workout so badly. My head was killing me and my gut felt like someone ran into me with a battering ram (side effect from ibuprofen is the only thing I can think of, even though I've never had a problem with the stuff before). I half-assed the warm up and took lots of breaks (usually after every 3 sets). It sucked. My performance was good, until the end - that last set of Congdon curls (or maybe it was the crouching Cohens) didn't go as far as I would have liked. Oh well. I am, for damn sure, doing Legs & Back first on Friday (well, after ARX) and saving the cardio for later in the day.

Total cereal w/ skim milk, banana [3 pts]

scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & salsa. light English muffin w/ light cream cheese & jelly [5 pts]

grilled chicken breast, baked sweet potato fries, green pepper slices, avocado hummus [5 pts]

apple & cottage cheese [4 pts]

ground venison & cauliflower casserole [5 pts]

yogurt [3 pts]

protein granola bar [4 pts]

Four cups of coffee [1 pt] and 80 ounces of water.

30 points today. 18 weekly and 13 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 9 - Tuesday

I am so off my game this week. First there were yesterday's pitiful workouts. I followed up today with another less-than-stellar performance. I did Plyo and only burned 359 calories, as opposed to the 400+ I normally burn. I felt like I should do another workout, because those numbers blow. I only earned 3 Activity Points today.

Then I sat down and thought about it while I was eating my breakfast. I am doing enough. I don't need to exercise more for weight loss. I'm now 100% committed to exercising for fitness now. So the real question is - do I want to lose any more weight? I don't know. I'm considering a bulk next summer - maybe I should rearrange that and do it in the spring. I just don't know. I definitely want to add some muscle, but I'd have to really drop the amount of cardio I do, and find that fine line between eating enough over maintenance levels, and eating too much. I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. So maybe I'll wait until summer.

I'm really sore today. You'd think it was the first time I did pull ups and chin ups.

banana [1 pt]

omelet w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ light cream cheese & jelly [5 pts]

homemade venison jerky [2 pts]

apple & cottage cheese [3 pts]

mozzarella string cheese, steamed cauliflower w/ light mayo & mustard dressing [3 pts]; I did not want to eat before dinner but I was so hungry, my stomach hurt.

yogurt [3 pts]

turkey sandwich [4 pts]

ground venison, steamed cauliflower w/ light mayo & mustard dressing [5 pts]

Four cups of coffee [1 pt] and 80 ounces of water.

27 points today. 28 weekly and 8 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 9 - Monday

When I woke up this morning, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to do Cardio X or Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3. On one hand, Cardio X is part of the program. On the other, I burn more calories and have more fun with Turbo. I went with Turbo, but I didn't get nearly the burn I usually do (only 366 calories - I gave myself 3 Activity Points). I think it's because it was 5 AM and I was afraid of waking the guys up. Next time, I won't care. I did Ab Ripper before Turbo. Then, as I'm supposed to, I did Chest & Back (2 Activity Points) way later in the day. I did it after I picked Sebastian up from school. For some reason, I really struggled with the pull ups today. My push ups were great though - lots of improvement there!

I've decided that I am going to celebrate the completion of this round of P90X by going to see New Moon. I haven't been to a movie by myself in a while, though I keep meaning to go. I definitely think becoming a P90X grad deserves a little reward. And I sure as hell need the motivation to get through the next 5 weeks. So, as soon as I finish my fit test on December 6, I am off to the theater.

The next two to three weeks are going to be a little hectic. This week will be normal until Sunday. I need to start next week's workouts on that day, then move a few things around in order to get everything in by that Thursday morning. I'm having a tubal ligation (cut & burned!) on November 12, and I did not want to get behind. I should be able to get everything in, and that will leave me the afternoon of surgery, and Friday through Sunday to recuperate. And since I did 3 Ab Ripper workouts last week when they weren't scheduled, I'll have the entire week after the tubal free of any ab work. I am pretty sure I can handle the weights & cardio, but I wanted to give my abs more time to heal.

I've mentioned a few times that I bought myself a small bag of dark chocolate M&Ms, but wouldn't eat them unless I had a plan. They are still in my freezer. And I have a plan. I bought the bag on November 12, 2008. My surgery is exactly one year later. Since I can't eat anything after midnight, and only a very light dinner - they actually prefer a clear liquid diet after noon on the 11th (surgery is at 9:30 AM, and I do have a workout that morning before I head to the hospital), I am going to eat the whole bag on the way home from the hospital. It's not much of a plan, but I'm just going with it.

Yikes! Sorry for the novel.

banana [1 pt]

omelet w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ light cream cheese & jelly [5 pts]

grilled chicken breast, green pepper slices w/ avocado hummus [4 pts]

apple & cottage cheese [3 pts]

roased Bambi, mixed vegetables & jasmine rice [6 pts]

Four cups of coffee [1 pt] and 80 ounces of water.

20 points today. 35 weekly and 5 activity points remaining. After this weekend fiasco, I'm afraid to dip in to any of my extras. Fortunately, I wasn't all that hungry today.

P90X - Week 8 - Sunday

Last night was absolutely horrible. I ended up not drinking but I ate so much crap, my body feels as if I got completely drunk. And I have a really bad headache. I just want to crawl in bed and dream of guillotines. There is a reason I don't drink alcohol very often. I absolutely hate how it makes me feel after the buzz is gone. It's the same damn thing with sugar. The buzz from liquor lasts longer than the high from sugar, too. I can very easily say no to booze. I drink once every year or two. And I mean have anything alcoholic. I don't have a beer now and then, and I use as hell don't have the occasional glass of wine with dinner. I want my relationship with sugar to be the same way. Why can't I get to that point? I never crave alcohol. Why do I crave sugar all the damn time?

Thus, my heart was not in X Stretch today. I did it, but it was half-hearted. I don't care to do this workout on its own anyway. I do much better when I've had some cardio warm up. So, I'm moving it to Saturdays after Kenpo.

sliced turkey breast & avocado hummus on Flat Out bread, red pepper slices [3 pts]

grilled chicken breast & baked sweet potato chips [5 pts]

omelet w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, light English muffin w/ light cream cheese & jelly [5 pts]

pumpkin smoothie [2 pts]

Two cups of coffee [0 pts] and 80 ounces of water.

I ate the rest of the chocolate gremlins. I am over on points for the day/week. Starting fresh tomorrow.