P90X - Week 12 - Friday

I did my final Ab Ripper X and Legs & Back workouts today. I can't believe the hard part is over. Well, I am not a fan of Recovery Week and I still have to get through that and another Fit Test. But for the most part, it's over. Now I get to be Math Geek and play with numbers to see what I've done. I already calculated how many ARX reps I've done - 10470. And I am pleased to say I did break through my goal of 100 pull ups - I did 108 today.

I still need to figure out what I'm going to do about my horrible eating. I know all the strategies for not making bad choices. I have goals and can picture what I want my body to look like. And I still fail. I really do want to continue with Weight Watchers. Like I've said before - the eating plan itself is not the problem. The whole "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels" saying is bunk. Nothing tastes as good as Death By Chocolate ice cream on a double chocolate brownie. Or a spicy chicken pizza with double mozzarella. So that strategy just won't work for me. I don't buy into it at all. So I need to figure out what I do buy into.

P90X - Week 11 - Friday

Legs and Back this morning (2 Activity Points, but I really should take 3). I am so close to breaking 100 pull ups. I'm up to 20 unassisted chin/pull ups. I'm going to break 100 next week. I am sure of it. I also did my 4 mile walk (309 calories burned, 3 Activity Points). I don' know why the numbers are so high today as compared to others the last week. I was walking quite a bit faster (completed it in under an hour) and against a vicious wind. Yeah, that sounds good :p

I don't know what the deal is but my belly is really bloated, even more than it was when I left the hospital. In the last two days, my pants are suddenly tighter and it's annoying the crap out of me. My throat is also sore again. That's the most annoying of all.

Banana Nut Cheerios w/ skim milk, banana [4 pts]

omelet w/ onion, green pepper, cheese & salsa [6 pts]

chicken breast w/ barbecue sauce, carrots & green pepper slices w/ avocado hummus [5 pts]

fudge baby [2 pts]

mixed vegetables [1 pt]

venison tenderloin & garden vegetable medley [7 pts]

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

26 points today. 5 weekly and 20 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 10 - Tuesday

I suck. I suck so hard I make my Dyson look weak. After I blogged last night, I ate so much crap - candy corn, chocolate chips, pretzels, pumpkin pie. I might be overestimating, but I'm going to take away all my weekly points. I am completely disgusted with my inability to control these impulses for more than a week. I don't know if it's the stress of Thursday's surgery or what. It may be, but that doesn't excuse my other binges. Hell, it doesn't even excuse this one. I felt like total crap (physically) as I was eating the junk!! Why the hell do I do this to myself???? GAHHHHHHH!!!

Ab Ripper & a 4 mile walk this morning (266 calories burned, earned 2 Activity Points). I did Legs & Back (2 Activity Points) later in the morning. My pull ups are increasing each week, which is good, but for some reason I can't match Week 7's unassisted chin up count. Must have been a fluke. Still, I'm up quite a bit overall. I wish I would have done some chin ups in the fit test, which calls for wide grip pull ups. It would have been interesting to see some real progress, because I think my final fit test pull up count is going to be the same as my initial. I just can't do wide grip pull ups. I can do 1 close grip pull up at a time, and I can do chin ups. But no wide grip. For one thing, my arms are way too short to reach even the closest "wide" grip on my bar (comfortably anyway). And I still don't (and probably will never) have the upper body strength to haul 130 pounds straight up.

cereal w/ skim milk [4 pts]

omelet w/ onion, green pepper, avocado & salsa, multigrain English muffin w/ jelly [7 pts]

sliced turkey w/ mustard, carrot sticks, sliced green peppers, pickle [3 pts]

banana [1 pt]

turkey sandwich [4 pts]

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

20 points today. 0 weekly and 9 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 7 - Friday

Today was Legs & Back. I did Ab Ripper first, because I'm always toast after doing this workout. I totally rocked it. All my chin ups were unassisted. I also managed 2 close grip pull ups, unassisted. Hell yeah! Then after taking the child to school, I did Cardio X (246 calories burned - I earned 2 Activity Points here, and 2 from Legs & Back). I was tired but I made sure I put in some good effort. I really need to wait until afternoon to do my cardio. I could probably do something more hardcore than Cardio X if I did.

Ugh - I just looked at the schedule. Phase 3 Doubles has Cardio X four times a week, instead of 3, with the extra being on Plyo day!!! There is no f'ing way I am doing ANYTHING on Plyo day. I may move it to Sundays and do it before X Stretch.

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

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

chicken salad w/ light sour cream & salsa [5 pts]

grilled hamburger on homemade bread w/ roasted vegetables [12 pts]; Totally not worth it. Extra lean burgers taste like ass.

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

26 points today. 1 weekly and 18 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 6 - Friday

For some reason, I was absolutely dreading my workout today. I woke up around 4 and dozed on and off until 4:45. At 4:59, I turned my alarm off and intended to try to get back to sleep. At 5:01, I got up because I heard my text alert going off on my cell phone. It was - my sister sent me a message late last night, and it beeped all night. I found out out later that it kept my husband awake until after midnight. Why he didn't check the message to stop the noise or at least bring the phone in is beyond me. Anyway, thanks to my sister and a new call phone that I didn't know would keep beeping if a message didn't get read, I did my workout.

And as always, I'm glad I did. I totally rocked Legs & Back today (earned 2 Activity Points)!! I did my first set of reverse grip chin ups as unassisted as possible. I got 5 unassisted chin ups in, and 1 assisted pull up, before I ran out of time. I've been trying to figure out a better workout because pull ups is something I really want to focus on and improve. Doing them with the chair, even with it as far out as my legs will reach, I don't always feel it in my back and arms. So I was going to go completely without the chair - just do the pull up, lower, re-grip, pull up, and so on. For chin ups, that is feasible, but for overhand grips, not so much. Well, unassisted wide-grip pull ups are probably a pipe dream for me, but I can do close grip pull ups (1 at a time). I posted on the Beachbody.com message boards about this, and it was suggested that I throw some negatives into the mix (get up with the assist and slowly lower down without). So that is the route I am going to take with the overhand grips. I think I can manage unassisted chin ups now, though. I did a total of 14 unassisted pull ups today, compared to 4 in week 1.

And as usual, I did ARX and Cardio X (229 calories, 2 Activity Points).

banana & cottage cheese [4 pts]

Kashi cereal w/ skim milk [5 pts]

scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & salsa, toast w/ jelly [6 pts]

chicken breast & black beans w/ salsa [4 pts]

Special K snack bar [2 pts]

roasted chicken w/ mixed vegetables, onions & toasted sesame seeds [7 pts]

apple & cottage cheese [4 pts]

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

33 points today. 9 weekly and 18 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 5 - Friday

I got up at 5 AM and did Legs & Back, followed by ARX. I tried to use the chair less for the assisted pull ups. As a result, I did fewer reps than I did the last time I did this work out, but I felt like it worked me better. Crazy me did Turbo Jam Cardio Party 2 (43 minutes and 320 calories) less than 2 hours after finishing my workout and it was rough. I probably could have handled Cardio X that close to the other workout, but TJ was tough as hell with wasted legs.

My son was a riot today. I was cooking dinner and he yelled, "Mommy, I'm doing sneaky lunges!" I walked out to the living room and sure enough, he was sneaky lunging across the room just like Tony Horton and the gang. Then Sebastian wanted to learn more exercises, so I picked out some of the funnier stuff - wacky jacks, Groucho walk, leap frog. Then he wanted to try some yoga. He's pretty good with the vinyasa. He does a fantastic downward dog, too! Child's pose - nails it ;p Then for good measure, he threw in my favorite Turbo Jam move - the Twist. Fun kid. I'm pooped.

Food sucked today, and I'm really disappointed in myself. I bought some candy corn and ate most of the damn bag. I'm completely out of weekly points, and I'm down to 3 activity points (I'll earn 2 more tomorrow) to get me through Sunday. Bummer.

apple & cottage cheese [3 pts]

chocolate milk & banana [4 pts]; I definitely needed a pick me after my P90X workouts this morning.

eggs & toast w/ light cream cheese [7 pts]

green pepper slices, chicken breast on romaine lettuce wraps [5 pts]

candy corn [12 points]; Yeah. Really.

banana [1 pt]

pita pizza [7 points]; We made pizzas with whole wheat pitas, onions, green peppers, turkey bacon, Canadian bacon & mozzarella cheese. They were delicious.

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

41 points today. Damn it. I can't even be sure of my math.

P90X - Week 3 - Friday

Legs & Back today. I actually did the Ab Ripper exercises first. HUGE difference in how I feel at the end of it all. I made huge improvements this week. I can get through everything in Leg & Back, except for balance lunges, without a break. Oh and the left leg deadlift squats - I need a break for those, but I can do all of the right leg, if I tap my toe down at the end. So I'm definitely making progress. I got the wall squats (both versions), the chair salutations, and the toe roll iso lunge all in one shot. My pull ups have also improved. In week one, I managed 3 unassisted and 69 assisted pull ups throughout the entire workout. This week, I did 5 unassisted and 81 assisted pull ups. Of course, all the unassisted pull ups are of the chin up (reverse grip) type. But hey, progress is progress. The only area I did not improve in, in fact I regressed, is the calf raise. For the first two weeks, I'd been using weights but I wasn't able to get the height on the raise. So I ditched the weight this week to see if I could get teh heigth, and I can. So next time (two weeks from now), I will use weights again, but probably lower then my initial weights.

Food has been bad today. I know I said I was going to try to be good because of our anniversary dinner, but it just didn't happen. I'm not upset about it. I just made some bad choices. It wasn't a case of being out of control - I was fully conscious that I was making crappy decisions. No one to blame but me.

And I am posting this early because I am off to the library to pick up the latest book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (my favorite books ever), and I am turning the computer off. The book is over 800 pages, and I plan to read until my eyeballs fall out.

P90X - Week 2 - Friday

Legs & Back - this workout makes me sweat. I have improved a bit over last week. That is always good. Ab Ripper - doing the V-up roll ups right helps, but I couldn't get through all the Mason twists without stopping for a break. I hope it's only a problem I'll have on Leg & Back day. I wasn't as pooped as I was last week, but I still needed to eat something immediately after I finished. And yes, I still will not buy the recovery drink. Product pushers...

Speaking of product pushers, I see Jillian Michaels has a new line of supplements out. I wish I could remember from her podcasts exactly why she was opposed to the supplements that were already out there. Seriously, at this point, I doubt there is anything "new" to be offered. She just wanted her name on something because she has a following. I am a part of that following, sure, but she's a product pusher now and because of that, I've lost a little bit of the respect I had for her.

7:10 AM - apple & cottage cheese

9:55 AM - plum

11:20 AM - toast w/ light cream cheese, omelet w/ onion, green pepper & picante sauce

3:30 PM - chicken breast on romaine lettuce & black beans

6:30 PM - tilapia w/ picante sauce, broccoli & cauliflower w/ pepper jack cheese

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

Calories - 1426
Carbs - 123 (23 fiber)
Protein - 170
Fat - 30
C/P/F Ratio - 47.3/34.2/18.5

P90X - Week 1 - Friday

Legs & Back today, along with Ab Ripper X. I did ARX without using the dvd, and I had to take a few pauses. I did all the reps though. Here are the exercises in Legs & Back:

reverse grip chin up
wide front pull up
closed grip overhand pull up
switch grip pull up
balance lunge
calf raise squat
super skater
wall squat
step back lunge
alternating side lunge
single leg wall squat
dead lift squat
three way lunge
sneaky lunge
chair salutations
toe roll iso lunge
Groucho walk
calf raise
80-20 Seiber speed squat

I used 5 and 10 pound weights for some of the exercises. Some of the unweighted ones, I had to pause the video. I swear, my goal for this round of P90X is to just get through the damn workout without pausing. I felt pretty good during the workout, but I was totally wasted by the time I got into ARX. When I finished ARX, I just sprawled out on my yoga mat until I could get the energy to crawl into the kitchen for some fruit. Then I was fantastic! I suppose this is where some people would drink the P90X recovery drink, but honestly, I hate when an exercise program pushes particular products. So fruit or chocolate milk will do.

I did better with my calories today but I still didn't hit the right macronutrient ratio for this phase of P90X. I hit my range for calories, carbs, and fat but this protein is killing me. I wasn't under by much and I could have pushed it, but it would have put me over elsewhere.

7:05 AM - banana & cottage cheese

10:50 AM - plum

11:35 AM - scrambled eggs w/ onion, green pepper & picante sauce

3:05 PM - chicken breast & broccoli

5:15 PM - chicken breast, black bean & corn salsa

7:20 PM - chicken breast, turkey meatballs & pepper jack cheese

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

Calories - 1535
Carbs - 130 (18 fiber)
Protein - 165
Fat - 40
C/P/F Ratio - 33.8/42.7/23.5