Wednesday, September 30, 2009

P90X - Week 4 - Wednesday

I was not motivated at all today. I took my son to the doctor this morning and the poor little guy has oink flu. Most likely, anyway. He was negative for regular flu so the doctor assumed, based on what they've been seeing there, and his symptoms. I took him in to rule out strep throat. We can deal with flu on our own but he needs antibiotics for strep. Anyway, he doesn't have strep but he has lots of pus in one ear, so she prescribed antibiotics anyway. And for the flu, we just keep on with the ibuprofen and liquids.

So, it was pretty late (after noon) before I got my Kenpo in. I burned 378 calories. I know I wasn't putting in 100% effort. Sebastian was bugging me (not in a sick and needy way, just an annoying, the-fever-is-down-for-now kind of way) so I was distracted. I almost skipped it altogether, but I'll have to be half-dead with the flu myself to skip a workout.

I will admit, I am afraid I'll get sick and have to push my schedule. That would royally piss me off.

After lots of thought, I've decided that the P90X nutrition plan is not for me. I've tried, really, I have, but the more I obsess about getting it "right" the more I want to binge. So I'm going back to my more intuitive eating style. I want to be able to grab a yogurt or a couple handfuls of vegetables without worrying about whether they fit into what I can have for the day. I'm still going to focus on protein, but I need to be less strict. If I want three servings of fruit, I'm going to have 3 servings of fruit, not settle for the one serving I can have with Tony's plan. And two servings of vegetables a day is not cutting it. I need my green peppers. So I'm done following any plans.

8:50 AM - apple & cottage cheese

11:40 AM - Special K Protein Plus cereal w/ skim milk

2:45 PM - chicken breast, baby carrots & green pepper slices

6:00 PM - roasted chicken w/ risotto

6:35 PM - part of a Snickers bar; Funny story here. I was cleaning up the dinner dishes and put some Palmolive w/ Oxy dish soap in the bottom of the roasting pan. I didn't notice the fork at the bottom until I put the soap in. I picked the fork out, tossed it into the sink and immediately licked the chicken grease off my fingers. But it wasn't chicken grease. It was dish soap. My husband fell over laughing at me as I gagged and spit and tried to ask for water without my tongue touching my mouth. It was quite amusing. I rinsed my mouth out, but I still needed something to get the taste out. Of course, chocolate was the closest thing.

9:00 PM - eggs w/ multi-grain English muffin

Two cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

Calories - 1509
Carbs - 158 (27 fiber)
Protein - 140
Fat - 43
C/P/F Ratio - 40/35.6/24.3

21 comments:

Melty said...

I can't imagine not being able to eat something because it didn't fit into the plan. One of the great things about WW. I'm glad you sound pretty comfortable with that decision.

I couldn't give my Kenpo 100% today either.

Becky said...

Regardless of the plan, my problem is still portion control. I can't even follow WW because of that. It's just not enough food for me.

Melty said...

Really? You'd have whatever your base is. 18 for you maybe? Plus AP which if you burned 400+ I think that'd be 4 AP. So that's 22, plus whatever you needed from your 35 weekly allowance. So if you divided it equally, that's 27 pts. That's a lot of food. Especially if you are getting your recommend 5 servings of veggies. I find that I can't even finish all my points sometimes.

Jess said...

LOL! The finger licking thing sounds like something I'd do! :D

Becky said...

A rough calculation of yesterday, I ate 33 points, and I could have eaten a shitload more. I'll check by meal today (rather than whole day totals) and I'm still sure I'll come in over points. And besides, I will still obsess. I'll wonder what I can eat that will "fit" into the plan. And if you think I'm going to eat vegetables just because it's the only option left, think again. I like vegetables just fine, but I don't want to HAVE to eat them because they are 0 points and I'm hungry. That will just piss me off and I'll be come resentful. It's better if I just eat what I want and if I lose weight, fine. As long as I'm not gaining, I'm good.

Melty said...

LOL! Actually, I just checked your tracker on SP and you ate about 24 pts yesterday. Roughly of course.

I'm not trying to sell you on WW. I really think that everyone has an approach that works best and it's never a one-size fits all deal. I'm just giving you the reasons that it works for ME!

And I totally know what you mean about obsessing because I've been there and done that. I used to be CRAZY about counting points. I'm still a bit obessive about weighing myself. I probably do it 10 times a day. But I've discovered what I need to do to not get so obsessive about counting points.

For me, everything fits into the plan. If I want ice cream, I eat it. If I want pizza, I eat it. And if I'm hungry, then I eat. I don't care if I'm going over my points for the week. And that is what they want you to do. The program teaches you that most of the time, you are eating for other reasons than hunger. And to recognize what is truly hunger and what is just habit or something else. But they encourage you not to go hungry. It actually works against the plan and will back fire on you.

And just like you, I'll eat my veggies but I'm not going to eat them just because they are 0 and I'm hungry. When I'm hungry, I want something with sustenance. Bring on the cheese!

Becky said...

What are you using to calculate? I downloaded a program that does it, so maybe it's wrong.

I do get what you're saying. Today's blog is going to focus on it a lot, actually. What's the point, though, of have a range of points (or calories) to eat in if no one cares if you go over? If the point is to show how your choices affect your weight, I think we all know that. And I know I have issues with eating for reasons other than hunger, but if I'm not in the mood to control it, I'm just not going to control it. So it doesn't matter what "rules" I have for food. I'm impulsive and emotional, and that's never going to change. Having rules makes feel weak and out of control. Without rules, I don't have to feel guilty for breaking them. When I break rules, it makes me want to throw in the towel. I'm very big on "Oh, I ate something I shouldn't have - might as well blow off the rest of the day." Or "I ate so much, I might as well keep going." This has always been my issue. I think I need to read my blog from the beginning and see if I've changed the way I've handled it (or even perceive it).

Becky said...

To clarify - you should calculate based on meal not day? Maybe that is my problem with the calculating?

Becky said...

Or is it per food?

Becky said...

It's too bad SparkPeople can't include a WW calculator.

Becky said...

Ok,I'm done post whoring my own blog.

Becky said...

Maybe I'm not done. I see the actual formula and the explanation. Only the first 4 grams of fiber count. Best not do go by overall day numbers. Oh, math geek in me wants to calculate by hand now!!

Melty said...

I'm using my brain and my knowledge from doing WW for on and off for the past 10 years. LOL! I can pretty much calculate most things in my head now. I do have and use my points tracker too. For what you listed, because there was no info on the fiber, it's a little more tricky. But also, I eat alot of the same stuff so I know the points of it off the top of my head.

You do have your daily points target and you are expected to always eat your target. You can choose to eat your APs. I usually eat most of them. You are also expected to stay within your Weekly Allowance points.

If you are getting in 5 or more servings of veggies a day, following portion control, eating healthy foods, you WON'T be hungry to eat more. However, if you are truly hungry, the eat! But choose something heatlhy. A piece of fruit. A stick of cheese. Some peanut butter and whole grain crackerws. You are expected to following your target, AP and WA points, but no one wants you to go hungry. It's mostly likely still a many, many calories less than if you were not doing the program. (no you, generic you)

There is more to the program than just eating your points. You are expected to get a certain amount of water, healthy oils, whole grains and lean proteins. But if you are eating healthy, then you are getting it. You can't just sit down and eat your points worth of doritos and expect the program to work.

I honestly think that if you took your meal plans for like a week and compared it to the WW plan, you probably would hit it or very close to it everyday. You eat the way WW wants you to eat. You get the lean proteins, the whole grains and the portion control. You just look at in different terms because that's what works for you. A "program" or "plan" doesn't work for you. You psych yourself out. I'm a rule follower by nature. That is why it works for me. I want guidelines. For me, it allows me to somewhat plan my day w/ healthy foods.

They used to have a core program where you didn't really count points unless they fell outside a certain guideline. Like crackers you'd have to count but grilled chicken you didn't. I could never do that program. I need numbers to hit. I need some kind of restraint to be put there for me.

One of the things my leader always says is, the minute someone tells her she can't have something, that's all she wants and she has to have it. So she really stresses moderation, knowing your limits, knowing yourself and what triggers your binges and how to try to control that so you can have the things you want and love without going headlong into a binge.

It's really so much more than counting points.

Melty said...

Sorry, I was typing my novel while you were posting.

It's by food. But like an apple is one pt. You don't have to measure it's size. It's just one. A half a cup of milk is 1 point. A full is 2. Your Special K protein cereal...one serving is 1 pt. You ate two servings so that's 2 pts. Doesn't matter what the calories/fat/fiber comes out to.

Yes, you can only count up to 4 grams of fiber.

Your peas and carrots, you could eat 200 calories worth but they are still 0.

Becky said...

Well, shoot, that is what I normally do (what I did all summer), I just don't assign value to it. Those are all things I believe in. I think it's just when I start applying labels to everything, I freak out.

And I have been calculating my points as I go today, just to see where I end up. You may be wright about being within range. Like I said, I get obsessive when things get a little "formal" in the terminology.

Thanks, Melissa!

Melty said...

Definately don't go by overall day.

They try to teach you tools to deal with those feelings. A really good leader can do it.

Melty said...

Oh anytime! Hehe...I would be happy to help you figure out points just to see where you are falling or if you have any questions or if you want me to just double check. I really think you actually following the plan without realizing it. But that's fine because it's what works for you.

You know, I was thinking about this last night too...I'm the same with the exercise. I think the idea of 90 days of P90X is so much easier for me to handle because it has a natural ending that sounds doable than to just say I'm going to exercise every day for the rest of my life. And even like the 30 day shred. It has a naturally stopping point where I could move on to something else. Plain videos or whatever with no real target ending are harder for me to digest. I need to have some kind of plan. I just learned that about myself. :)

Jess said...

Popping in to offer my user ID and password for the on-line Weight Watchers to you.

There is an on-line points calculator and you can also search for point values by foods. There is even a recipe builder (since I know how much you like to make new foods :) that will figure out your points for you. For instance, Matt has homemade chili that he makes which is really, really high in points. We are going to get on the recipe builder soon and swap out ingredients to see if we can get the chili down to a reasonable point value. There is also, of course, an entire data base of recipes. You can also read about how their new plan works to see if it might work for you.

E-mail me if you're interested. :) (I'd LOVE to help you for once!)

Becky said...

I'm not even sure I want to be taught to deal with it, you know? And that is also something I've struggled with - do I need to talk this out and learn real strategies or can I somehow find my own path? it was a big question I had when I first realized I'm a binge eater. I'm not sure how much I believe it will help me. I can be taught until the cows come home but I suck at actual application.

Melty said...

Becky
I think it's interesting to see where you fall when it comes to the program, but I also think that if this is working for you the way you are doing things now, the don't try to fix it. Do you feel like it's working for you? Do you feel like you've found your path?

Do you need strategies to handle situations or are you handling them well now? It doesn't come overnight. That's for sure.

Becky said...

Jess, that is very kind of you to offer! I'd love to take you up on it and look around. Hit me up on FB whenever it's convenient for you! Thanks!

Mel - I agree about the exercise. Even as "experienced" as I am with it, I still like to have determined time frames in which to do this or that. Even if I design something on my own, it's nice to have a start and end date. If I exercised the way I ate, I'd be lost. I can't just get up in the morning and say "Oh, I think I'll do this today" because chances are I'll do nothing. That actually happened over the summer with my cardio. I decided to be more flexible with what I was doing and just do whatever I felt like. More often than not, I felt like doing nothing. So that is what I did.

As far as whether or not "this" is working, I think my laid back approach helps with the binges but it's not all that wonderful for weight loss. So there's definitely room for improvement. But I am looking forward to seeing where paying attention to points takes me.