P90X - Week 13 - Friday

I AM SOFA KING DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did Core Synergistics this morning, then decided to go ahead and get my last yoga workout out of the way. I did not do push ups with the vinyasas (because I had just done all the push ups in Core) and I had a hard time with crane (again, because of Core) but I did well. I didn't nail the twisting half moon like I'd hoped, but I'll get that eventually. I have no plans to stop doing yoga. I really, really wanted to get my Fit Test out of the way, too, but thought better of it. I will need very fresh arms. So I will do it tomorrow night, along with pictures, and post all of that on Sunday. I'll also have some just-for-fun math: how many push ups & pull ups I've done, how much total weight I've lifted, per-exercise improvement over time. Lots of stuff that is just keeping me busy with a pencil and a calculator.

Food was much, much better today. Not stellar, but nothing to cry about, for sure. I even resisted the new mint M&Ms I bought for my cookies for next week. I'm going to post a list (with links) of the recipes once I get everything baked (next week). The problem is going to be storing everything (my refrigerator and new freezer are full) until I finish baking all 13 double batches and prepping it for distribution. I'm giving some to my mom, some to my son's teachers, and some to the front office at the school. And of course, lots to my belly.

P90X - Week 13 - Monday

I was just going to make this a week-long post because I didn't think I'd really have anything to day. I don't, not of importance, but I still need a space to sort out all the crap in my head about my diet. I know I screwed up badly. I think I am over the hump though (for now - I have to accept that I will never not have this problem). I ate cleaner today. I didn't weigh or measure or even track but there was no junk. It was a lot of food, but fairly clean.

As it is Recovery Week, today's workout was Yoga X. I had every intention of doing it at 5 AM, but I did not sleep last night and I just didn't have the energy to do it at that time. I waited until I drank some coffee and finished cleaning my house. By that time, I had my second wind and was able to get through it. I really put a lot of effort into the first half and managed just about everything, including a good portion of the twisting half moon. My crane pose was fantastic. Not the full minute but I get stronger and can hold it longer every time. My hamstring stretches were great. I'm looking forward to that part of the Fit Test on Sunday.

P90X - Week 12 - Thursday

I woke up this morning, feeling like hell. I've had some sinus pressure lately that won't go away not matter what I do. I've tried medicines, steam, neti pot - nada! I don't know if it's a cold or allergies. I have a cough but I think it's due to post-nasal drip, rather than anything else. No fever, no headache unless the sinus pressure is bad. Nights are worse than the day. So when I woke up this morning, I wanted to push Yoga X to Sunday. Then I thought I'd do it Saturday, and do Kenpo on Sunday. Then I thought I'd try to just rest for a bit and do Yoga X later in the day. Finally, I just got off my butt and did the damn yoga. At times, it was hard to do the breathing right, and I was off my game so my moves weren't as steady as they normally are. I have two more shots at nailing this next wee. I will say, today's Crane was pretty darn good.

I don't even know what to say about food. I am so frustrated with myself. I've spent the last six months not in definite weight loss mode that I don't know whether I'm coming or going. Every day, I go back and forth - do I want to lose more or do I want to maintain? All this indecision is causing me to make crappy choices. I want to lose more weight, after all. I wish there was a plan I could actually stick with. No matter what I do, I still eat crap (sometimes lots of it). I don't understand this weakness. I am not eating out of boredom or lack of planning or lack of healthy food on hand. It's not a matter of not buying crap. I have stuff in the house often that I don't even think about, but I'll go buy some other crap when the mood strikes.

P90X - Week 11 - Thursday

Yoga this morning (2 Activity Points). I didn't stretch my core too much during the upward dogs and such. My incisions have healed nicely but I am still trying to take it a bit easier than normal. I was able to do Yoga Belly 7 with no problems (other than hating it as usual). And I swear, I am never going to get that twisting half moon crap down. After yoga, I took about a 4 mile walk (224 calories burned). Between the two, I earned 4 Activity Points.

I'm having a bit of a problem with food. I swear, I am a bipolar eater. I either don't care and eat everything in sight, or I panic and try to stay within my daily points, and not touch my weeklies or my APs!! It's ridiculous because I know I'm supposed to eat at least the weekly points. I definitely think I should be eating my APs because Weight Watchers doesn't give me enough points (IMO, of course - I don't think the calorie deficit should be so big). I also don't think I get enough activity. I'm a total contradictory mess right now. I'd like to lose a few more pounds (I'd be perfectly content to lose only 5 more), but I also want to bulk. I can't bulk on Weight Watchers, I know that. But I cannot go back to counting calories. I just can't. It makes me nuts. And in order to get enough calorie to bulk, I'd need to know how much I'm eating. I don't want to overdo it. Damn, damn, damn. I hate when I get my head like this, especially when I know damn well that it's all going to fall apart with the holidays. I'm not even going to say I'll try to be good. I say that every year. The only part of the stupid holidays I like is the sweets. I have 11 different treats planned out. Maybe I should make it 12 for the 12 Days of Christmas. I want to make lots and lots of goodies to give out to my son's teachers, and to my own mouth. I should have named this blog "I don't know what the hell I want!" I love thinking, prepping, and eating in terms of points - it makes life so much easier. But I'm just always so hungry.

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

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

chicken salad [4 pts]

fudge babies [4 pts]; Portion control with these sucks.

broiled tilapia parmesan & broccoli in cheese sauce [6 pts]; This fish was fantastic! I'd leave out the celery salt though.

fudge babies [4 pts]

apple & cottage cheese [3 pts]

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

31 points today. 11 weekly and 15 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 10 - Monday

Yoga and Plyo (362 calories burned) this morning - 5 Activity Points. There's not really much to say about the workouts. They were typical.

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

omelet w/ onion, green pepper & turkey slices, multigrain English muffin w/ jelly [5 pts]

sliced turkey w/ mustard, carrot sticks & green pepper slices, pickle [3 pts]

black bean & corn salad w/ avocado lime dressing [4 pts]

teriyaki chicken w/ mixed vegetables [5 pts]; This was so, so good. I could have eaten the entire batch, but I only had a little bit.

yogurt & candy corn [7 pts]; Don't ask.

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

29 points today. 26 weekly and 5 activity points remaining. Damn candy corn.

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 8 - Saturday

ARX & Yoga this morning (2 Activity Points) and Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 (429 calories and 4 Activity Points). I did ARX first, then the first half of yoga, then TJ, then the second half of yoga. I was still hot and sweaty from TJ by the time I finished the yoga. And I had a hell of a time with yoga belly today because I did Ab Ripper. It was harder to stay in the pose, but I did it, damn it. I fell out and went right back into it. I completely rocked yoga today, though. All the poses I'd been having trouble with (like the twisting half moon crap), I was able to do. And crane. I did it. Not for the whole time, but long enough (several times). My hamstring stretches kicked total but - I wish I had a yoga block because I was practically kissing my knees. I knew if I kept working at these poses, I'd get them down. Yay for perseverance! Great workout today. I may not Turbo tomorrow like I'd planned. We'll see.

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

Halloween cookies [10 pts]

hot dog mummies & Halloween soup [12 pts]; I used turkey dogs. They are wrapped in refrigerated bread dough and baked. Very cute. The soup is just tomato soup (homemade, thanks) with a spooky cheese cut out on top. I did ghosts. Add some fruit punch with ginger ale (all diet) in a skull goblet and you have a party!

cauldron of chili & spider bread rolls [6 pts]

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

Actually, I'm going to go get my annual drunk on. Assume I ate everything in sight, and that tomorrow will be an X Stretch only day, eating nothing but my 20 measly daily points.

P90X - Week 8 - Monday

It's Recovery Week, but I am still going to bust my butt. I plan to do Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 on yoga and stretch days this week. On the other days, I'm going to add on Ab Ripper X because there will be a point next month when I won't be able to do any hard core ab work for a few days. So I'm going to do it now so I don't miss anything.

Yoga this morning was so-so. I had every intention of bringing it but I had so much trouble with even the easier postures. By the time I got to Warrior Three and Twisting Half Moon, I was ready to scream. I couldn't even pretend to get into Crane, and I spent a lot of time (overall) trying to get into position. Still, I'm taking 2 Activity Points for it, and 4 for Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 (404 calories burned). I love CP3 so much!! If I had to pick one cardio to do the rest of my life, this would be it.

I also drop down to 20 daily points this week. That sucks.

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

dry Honey Nut Cheerios [1 pt]; I was so hungry after yoga and it would be a while before i could cook, so I just grabbed some cereal.

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

sliced turkey breast & mustard on Flat Out bread, baby carrots & red pepper slices [4 pts]

steamed tilapia w/ black bean, corn & avocado salad w/ lime vinaigrette dressing [7 pts]; I used my microwave steamer (for the first time, for fish) and in less than 3 minutes, the fillet was ready. So ready, in fact, that a good quarter of the meat blew off. It was good though. I've never had fish ready so quickly! Definitely the way to go for me!

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

20 points today. 35 weekly and 6 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 7 - Thursday

Yesterday's disappointing numbers have taken some of the wind out of my sail. I slept like a rock last night (thanks to my BFF, diphenhydramine) and woke up shortly before 5 AM. My first thought was, "Go back to sleep. You can do Yoga after taking Sebastian to school." But that would have cut into my lazy Tivo time, so I got up, ate a bowl of cereal, and got to it. I didn't put my all into it, maybe 80% (100% into child & corpse pose!) and I feel guilty about that. I did sort of get into crane position - I can hold myself up better & longer if my knees don't touch my arms, but then that's not crane if they don't. It just hurts my skin to do that though. I don't know how to get around that. I think - no, I know - I'm not getting my knees high enough on my arms. I will have to work on that. Anyway, I did it, and earned 2 Activity Points for it. I would have given myself 3 but the effort just wasn't there.

I put yesterday's pictures online (at the end). You'll have to pardon the crappy copy & paste job. My computer doesn't have a lot of oomf.

Kashi cereal w/ skim milk [5 pts]

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

banana [1 pt]

chicken breast w/ romaine lettuce, green peppers, light sour cream & salsa [4 pts]

protein granola bar [4 pts]; I made my favorite recipe. Instead of almonds, I threw in the last of my Kashi cereal, you know - the crumbs at the bottom of the bag. So good, and so dangerous. I can barely control myself with just 1.

green pepper slices & baby carrots [1 pt]

chicken breast & roasted vegetables [5 pts]; This was the first time I've ever made roasted vegetables and it was awesome!

protein granola bar & frozen banana [6 pts]; I probably shouldn't have had this but it was so darn good!!! Better than a brownie with ice cream on top.

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

32 points today. 6 weekly and 14 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 6 - Thursday

Yoga this morning - earned 2 Activity Points.

Kashi honey almond flax cereal w/ skim milk [5 pts]

banana [1 pt]

chicken breast w/ black beans & red peppers [3 pts]

red pepper slices & mozzarella string cheese [3 pts]

omelet w/ cheese, onion, green pepper & salsa, toast w/ reduced-sugar jelly [6 pts]

waffles w/ sugar-free syrup [4 pts]

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

23 points today. 21 weekly points and 14 activity points remaining.

P90X - Week 5 - Thursday

Ahhhhh, 5 AM yoga! I still have trouble with the half moon stuff and crane, but I nailed that under the leg/behind the back grab thing!

Meditation is still going well. Mostly, I'm too tired at night to concentrate too much, but I'm making the effort.

I'm so hungry today. I used up all my daily points before dinner.

apple & cottage cheese [3 pts]

scrambled eggs & English muffin w/ light cream cheese [5 pts]

roasted chicken w/ mustard & romaine lettuce on whole wheat homemade bread [4 pts]

Special K cereal w/ skim milk, banana [3 pts]

mozzarella string cheese [1 pt]

ice cream [3 pts]

half a Hershey's Sundae Pie from Burger King [4 points - FOR HALF!!!]; So not worth it.

chicken fried steak w/ mixed vegetables [6 pts]; I have a massive Word doc full of WW recipes - I think I got it from someone on Babycenter. It's awesome - if you would like a copy, email me - rjwalker22@gmail.com

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

30 points today, thanks to a couple bad decisions. I'm down to 8 weekly points and I have 6 activity points. I am not sure if I should give myself APs for my weight workouts or not. I'm not giving myself any for yoga/stretch, just the cardio workouts. I'm using the 100 calories burned = 1 point guideline. I have the slider (thanks, Mel!) and it's pretty close to that if I count Plyo (for example) as 45 minutes of high intensity exercise. Yeah, the workout is almost an hour but the warm up and cool down doesn't make me sweat so I don't bother. I do sweat with the weight workouts, but I'm no continuously in motion (as in doing reps). That is the same reason I don't wear my heart rate monitor during weights. So I'm not sure how to classify it. It's definitely high intensity, but what's the actual time of work? Certainly not an hour, or even 45 minutes.

P90X - Week 4 - Saturday

I did yoga this morning and it went well. I'm still having trouble with the half-moon stuff and crane, but I can see improvement in the other moves. My flexibility is improving - that move where you reach under your leg and behind your back to clasp your hands together, I can do that on one side of my body (I still fall out on the other).

I'm not sure when I'll stop counting calories. This is going to be a transition to just points, then just writing down what I eat. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to track my points. I told my husband I was just going to string some beads and move them from one side to the other throughout the day as I eat. Or, I'll make us both an erasable chart for blocking off points eaten. I don't know. I do know that it's a pain in the ass to concern myself with calories and points, so the quicker I make the switch, the better for my sanity.

8:15 AM - banana & cottage cheese [3 pts]

11:25 AM - turkey bacon, multigrain English muffin, omelet w/ onion, green pepper & picante sauce [7 pts]

1:15 PM - baby carrots [1 pt]

3:00 PM - chicken breast w/ light barbecue sauce & cheese on whole wheat bread, McDonald's apple dippers; I ate the whole bag of apple slices but only a quarter of the caramel sauce. [6 pts]

7:15 PM - turkey stuffins (turkey muffins made with stuffing mix), mixed vegetables [5 pts]

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

Calories - 1495
Carbs - 170 (28 fiber)
Protein - 121
Fat - 41
C/P/F Ratio - 44.3/31.4/24.3
23 points, if all my math is right. It may not be. I lost my whole blog draft and tried to redo it from memory.

P90X - Week 4 - Monday

It's Recovery Week - no weights!!! I did Yoga this morning. I was up at 5 AM, but I'd been up all night with my son. I didn't actually start my workout until almost 6. I'm making some really good progress with most of the moves, but the half-moon sequence really gives me trouble. I keep falling out of position but I do get right back into it. I'm determined to master these moves by the end of the program. I'm also going to get crane one of these days. I have a hard time getting both feet off the ground. My skin hurting is still the biggest problem, not lack of strength or balance. And because I was so exhausted today, I fell and skinned the side of my face a bit on the rug. Yes, I know he says to put a pillow down, but I wear my battle scars proudly.

I had a really hard time with food today. I was stress eating, but I think I stuck to decent foods. I just ate a lot.

5:45 AM - apple & cottage cheese

8:30 AM - chocolate banana protein shake

11:15 AM - tuna fish w/ onion, green pepper & light mayonnaise on multi-grain English muffin

2:10 PM - omelet w/ onion, green pepper & picante sauce

3:55 PM - tomato basil soup, left over roast

6:40 PM - green pepper slices, grilled chicken breast w/ mozzarella string cheese, yogurt

7:00 PM - tomato basil soup, left over roast

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounce of water.

Calories - 2047
Carbs - 182 (24 fiber)
Protein - 217
Fat - 54
C/P/F Ratio - 35/41.7/23.4

P90X - Week 3 - Thursday

Yoga today. I was up at 5 AM again - a 2 day streak. I am going to try to go for 3, but I don't know if I can get Legs & Back and ARX in and take a shower before I take Sebastian to school. Fridays are my roughest days, workout-wise.

I came pretty close to my ratios today, and I hit my ranges. I'm craving chocolate and food in general. Tomorrow night, we're going out for dinner. It's our 10th wedding anniversary so the three of us are going to pig out on sea food. I will be good for the rest of the day though.

I did have a really rough afternoon/evening. I was craving ice cream in the worst, worst way, just like last weekend. I didn't think I would make it through. I was miserable.

5:15 AM - apple & cottage cheese

8:20 AM - turkey bacon, multigrain English muffin w/ light cream cheese, omelet w/ onion, green pepper & picante sauce

11:20 AM - tuna w/ salad mix, green peppers & light balsamic vinaigrette dressing

3:25 PM - green pepper & turkey slices

5:50 PM - chicken breast omelet w/ picante sauce

7:40 PM - cottage cheese w/ cinnamon & Splenda

Two cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

Calories - 1570
Carbs - 124 (18 fiber)
Protein - 194
Fat - 35
C/P/F Ratio - 31.3/49/19.7

P90X - Week 2 - Thursday

Yoga X today, and I was up before 5 AM to get it done. This is the perfect workout to do at that time. My house is small and the workout is quiet. Of course, my son did wake up by 5:30 so I don't know why I bother being quiet.

I was way over on carbs today. I'm doing a terrible job following the P90X nutrition plan, but that aside, my food intake is really good. I could stand to get more vegetables though. That is the one thing I absolutely hate about the P90X plan - only 2 servings of vegetables a day.

THEN...my husband brought home some hush puppies from the restaurant his boss owns. He's been raving about these fore weeks and finally brought some for me to try. I ate them all. Then I lost it. I ate the coconut M&Ms I planned on eating after I finished P90X. That ticked me off. Not that I ate crap, but that I ate something I specifically set aside for a later date. Oh well. I'm over it.

5:00 AM - banana & cottage cheese

7:00 AM - apple & peanut butter

10:15 AM - Kashi blueberry waffles w/ sugar free syrup, omelet w/ onion, green pepper & picante sauce

1:30 PM - chicken breast w/ light barbecue sauce, baby carrots & green pepper slices

3:30 PM - yogurt

6:50 PM - tuna patties on romaine lettuce, half a grilled cheese sandwich my son didn't finish; I hate letting food go to waste. I actually logged the grilled cheese in my tracker.

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

P90X - Week 1 - Thursday

Yoga today. It was the workout I had been dreading because I'm not a fan of yoga and everyone else seems to hate it. I can't count the number of "Do I have to do the Yoga or can I do something else?" threads I've seen on P90X boards. I am a firm believer that the program is written the way it is for a reason, so I told myself I was going to do it and I wasn't going to bitch about it. I was quite surprised when actually doing the moves was a lot easier than watching them and thinking, "Damn, that looks rough!" I really, really enjoyed the work out. I couldn't do some of the more advanced moves and I could not hold most of the moves the entire time, but I did the whole 90 minutes. Half hour into the dvd, my husband called with an emergency - he forgot his phone and needed it for work, so I had to stop the dvd and drive 45 minutes (one way!) to take it to him. But I jumped right back in when I got home. The worst part of the dvd is most definitely the ab work near the end. I hate ab work.

It was another day of not so great eating. I did have a plan to eat better than I did yesterday, but having to take an hour and a half out of my day to take my husband is phone messed me up. By the evening, I'm just not hungry enough to try to cram in the rest of my calories. I do need to make a better effort though. I get so worried during the day that I'm going to go over my limits that I tend to under eat. I think I need more food in the morning.

7:15 AM - apple & cottage cheese

12:00 PM - omelet w/ onion, green pepper & picante sauce

2:20 PM - chicken breast

5:00 PM - chicken breast & whole wheat pasta

5:30 PM - yogurt

7:35 PM - tuna fish w/ light mayonnaise & onion on romaine lettuce

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

Calories - 1197
Carbs - 116 (10 fiber)
Protein - 131
Fat - 22
C/P/F Ratio - 44/39.3/16.7