Labor Day Challenge - Week 8 - Monday

No exercise today. I slept so poorly last night! I was exhausted and went to be early - I put my book away before 8:30! However, I made the mistake of wearing my headphones with my Zune to listen to music. Every time I'd be on the verge of falling asleep, my brain would shout "Oh, I love this song!" and I'd be wide awake. It was almost midnight before I finally admitted that I just wasn't going to fall asleep unless I turned the mp3 player off. But then I just could not get comfortable - I was too hot, too cold, stiff muscles from the fit test the other night, sore skin from the sunburn.

I've been trying to decide what to do about my body fat measurements. I've been trying to find a semi-accurate way to track it. The first few readings we came up with seemed really low to me. There's no way I'm 19-20% body fat, which is what we got when I first got my calipers. Over the weekend, we got almost 33% body fat, which also seems off. If I go by the directions in that came with the calipers (a one site measurement - suprailliac, about an inch above the hip bone), I get a reading that's middle of the road. Still, everything I've read suggests that more sites of measurement equals higher accuracy. Of course, it does depend on the person doing the measurements, and my husband is certainly no pro!

I'm also reading more about P90X and Insanity and so far, it looks like it is NOT recommended that they be done together. Bummer. I'm still undecided, and still have a month to make up my mind, based on what I read.

8:30 AM - eggs & toast w/ butter

11:50 AM - grilled chicken breast & green beans w/ light balsamic vinaigrette

1:25 PM - banana

2:15 PM - Fiber One bar; I got a free sample in the mail, which I checked on my way to picking up my son at the school. I ate it in the parking lot, even though I knew it was just impulse eating.

4:00 PM - baby carrots & yogurt

6:15 PM - round steak w/ rice & mixed vegetables

8:00 PM - Cheerios w/ skim milk, plum

Tree cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

Calories - 1658
Carbs - 233 (33 fiber)
Protein - 102
Fat - 41
C/P/F Ratio - 54.7/23.8/21.4

Labor Day Challenge - Week 7 - Sunday

What a long day!! I got up at 6 AM to make freaking taco salad and hit the road. We went to Ocracoke today, a small island south of ours. It's really tiny and about an hour and a half by car, plus a 40 minute ferry ride. There is a small lighthouse there, some marinas, a few restaurants and shops...I think it's where the pirate Blackbeard lived. I'm not up on my North Carolina history, even though I've lived here for over 10 years. Heck, I couldn't even tell you the story of the Lost Colony, which is 10 minutes away, with any degree of accuracy. In my defense, I can't tell you the history of western New York either, and I lived there for 23 years.

Anyway, my husband had never been to Ocracoke before. I usually go during the day, when he's unavailable, with vacationing family. So it was boring as hell for me, but it was a nice chance for the three of us to get out, have a picnic, enjoy the ferry. I love riding the ferry. I love boats. I would live on a boat. I just love it.

What I don't love is the sunburn. I remembered to get some on Sebastian, but I forgot to take care of myself. My back and left shoulder in particular (again!!!!) are very red. It's not too painful yet, but it may give me problems tonight and tomorrow.

Food-wise, today was a bust, and I knew it would be. We went to McDonald's for breakfast, ate taco salad at a picnic bench 80 miles from home, snacked on Doritos on the way home, then stopped for ice cream. Dinner was whatever we could grab - we're all exhausted and going to bed pretty early.

Speaking of exhausted, I think I need to look at that using Insanity as the cardio for P90X Doubles. I forgot that extra cardio is only added on weight days. Insanity would have me doing extra cardio every day! I am not taking the idea off the table at all, but I am going to see how the first month of P90X goes, then when it comes time to add the extra cardio, I'll see. I would still LOVE to take on this challenge though!!

Labor Day Challenge - Week 7 - Saturday

Call me crazy, but I've mentioned before that I wanted to do the Doubles version of P90X, which is the regular program plus extra cardio in the last 2 months. Well, it just so happens that the Insanity program is 2 months of cardio! So, it made sense to combine the programs. I put together a calendar to help me keep track of everything I have to do. I'll admit, it looks daunting, and I will have to make sure I am eating enough, but I think this is a fantastic challenge for me. I'll be doing P90X in the morning and Insanity in the evening. And really, it is no more ambitious than a regular Doubles program, IMO.

I tried to stay on plan today, after yesterday's junk-fest. Tomorrow won't be pretty, either, because I'm making old school taco salad, which we have not had in years. It will have Doritos and lots of Catalina dressing, just like my aunt used to make. Yum!

8:35 AM - apple & cottage cheese

12:05 PM - broccoli & chicken breast w/ vidalia onion dressing, yogurt

2:35 PM - green peppers & mozzarella string cheese

6:40 PM - omelet w/ light cream cheese, onion, green pepper & picante sauce, homemade pork sausage

9:35 PM - Cheerios & banana w/ skim milk

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

Calories - 1561
Carbs - 178 (20 fiber)
Protein - 127
Fat - 43
C/P/F Ratio - 44.4/31.7/23.9

P90X Fit Test Results

I did my P90X Fit Test and body fat measurements/pictures today. I had to get it done today because my husband won't be able to help me with it next weekend. I'll have measurements and weights next Sunday, and I'll be uploading everything to the web, and adding links on my page. Here are the results of my P90X Fit Test:

Resting Heart Rate: 58 bpm
Pull Ups (minimum for women - 1): 3/4, the instructions say your chin needs to be above the bar, and I got mine to the bar, but no higher.
Vertical Leap (minimum - 3 inches): 10 inches
Push Ups (minimum for women - 3 on toes or 15 on knees): 23 on toes
Toe Touch (minimum - 6 inches to toes): 2.5 inches beyond toes
Wall Squat (minimum - 1 minute): 1:19
Bicep Curls (minimum for women - 10 reps w/ 8 lbs): 13 @ 15 lbs
In & Outs (minimum - 25): 35
Heart Rate Maximizer:
-immediately after jumping jacks: 161 bpm
-after 1 minute rest: 116 bpm
-after 2 minutes rest: 88 bpm
-after 3 minutes rest: 82 bpm
-after 4 minutes rest: 72 bpm

Labor Day Challenge - Week 7 - Friday

No exercise today and I ate badly. I can't even begin to remember it all. I'm not overly bothered by it but still...

Labor Day Challenge - Week 7 - Thursday

No exercise today. I did some crap around the house that needed to be done, and it certainly wasn't even close to "heavy cleaning" or anything.

8:50 AM - omelet w/ light cream cheese, onion, green pepper & picante sauce

12:20 PM - roasted chicken w/ broccoli & cauliflower

3:00 PM - apple, tuna salad w/ light balsamic vinaigrette dressing

6:30 PM - chicken breast w/ picante sauce & light cream cheese, corn muffin, peanut buttery bar

Four cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

Calories - 1417
Carbs - 142 (19 fiber)
Protein - 116
Fat - 46
C/P/F Ratio - 39.4/32.1/28.5

Labor Day Challenge - Week 7 - Wednesday

I did Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 again - 50 minutes, 411 calories.

7:15 AM - cottage cheese & light English muffin

10:35 AM - turkey bacon, omelet w/ light cream cheese, onion, green pepper & picante sauce

2:50 PM - turkey breast on homemade whole wheat wraps

5:15 PM - green peppers

7:40 PM - chicken salad w/ vidalia onion vinaigrette dressing

8:00 PM - peanut buttery bar

9:40 PM - Betty Crocker Warm Delights Mini & frozen banana

Two cups of coffee and 80 ounces of water.

Calories - 1870
Carbs - 222 37 fiber)
Protein - 133
Fat - 56
C/P/F Ratio - 46.4/27.6.26