An Injury...

(Photo Credit)

I figured I should get on here to provide an update. We were doing great and were on track to finish P90X successfully when I last updated on February 23rd. Unfortunately in early March, I started to notice that my right shoulder was hurting me when I worked out. I pushed through though for about 2 weeks and then in mid-March I figured I should schedule a Dr's appointment to ensure that I wasn't doing any long term damage.

I finally got to the Dr in early April and was told that I have tendonitis in my shoulder. I was told to take advil for the pain and ice the area regularly. I'm still doing that now and it's very slowly starting to feel better. It's very challenging not to use your dominant shoulder. Every time I move my right arm, I feel it. When I hook up my bra, it's painful.

I have decided to not do any more lifting/push-ups/pull-ups until this is fully healed. I want to finish P90X. I want to do it again. I really enjoyed how I felt on the program. I lost weight and got toned. It was the first time I felt good in my photos and my clothes were loose. I will come back and update again once I'm healed up to let you know where I go from here.

Change

We're still chugging along with the program. We're in the 4th week of phase two. Lots of core work this week. It's hard but it's worth it. Change doesn't come easy. I like the phrase above, it's so true!

Cheats!

So, I've had a couple of cheats this past week
and I figured I should be honest and share them on here. 

The first cheat was on Valentine's Day. The hubby and I made a last minute decision to stop at Olive Garden for dinner after work. We were a little burnt out on our nightly meal of oven baked chicken with steamed squash so we decided to treat ourselves. Looking back, a heavy Italian meal may not have been the smartest option, but it was the closest to our house!

The good thing about the menu was that the calorie count was listed, so I knew how many calories I was eating and I told myself to stay around 1,000 calories. I ordered the following -

Lobster Cannelloni = 510 calories

Salad - 150 x 2 servings = 300 calories

Breadstick = 140 calories

Wine = 230

This brought me up to 1,180 calories, so a bit over my budget. Oh, throw one of those delicious Andie's Mints in there too. Needless to say my weight was up a bit the next morning.

My second cheat was Friday night after work. Some co-workers threw together a sudden going away get together for me at a local brewery. I ended up having 2 craft beers. I'm not sure what the calorie count was on those, but I just decided to skip dinner afterwards since I wasn't hungry.

On both of my cheat days I worked out. Yeah, it was pretty funny doing an hour and a half of yoga late Friday night after having 2 beers, but I got it done.

My opinion is that life is going to happen and I'm going to live it. Sure, there will be a few cheats here and there, but I just need to get back on track and pull it together the next day. I think it's important to still work out and burn those extra calories off instead of letting them just sit there. Within a few days my weight got back to normal and I even dropped a bit. Life happens, enjoy it!

Day 48 : Sunday February 17, 2013

I hit 10 pounds lost with P90X this morning!

That means I'm down to 135! My next big goal is to weigh 128... what my license says I weigh! Ha,ha, I don't think I've weighed that since college. That was a few many years ago. 

We're past the half way point and I'm ecstatic. I can't believe we've made it this far. I mean, I guess I kind of thought we'd make it this far, but we're really here and it feels great! It's kind of surreal. Looking back at the last month and a half, it has been challenging at times but we pushed through. There were days when I didn't bring 100%, but at least I got off the couch and did the workout. I'm proud of myself for that. I have started to see the changes in my body. My stomach doesn't stick out as much anymore. I'm still not looking like the body in the pic above, but as the tagline says... Every day I'm one step closer to making it happen!

Woot-woot!

So, I tried on my wedding dress this morning! And it fit... GREAT!

I know it's been a while, and I'm truly sorry for it. It's been challenging, working out 1-2 hours per night. Honestly, if you think you were going to have extra time at night, you won't! This program takes up a good amount of time. It works for us, since it's just the two of us. If you have nighttime commitments or children, I can't image how you fit it all in. I am in awe!

Anyway, things have been going well. We are now in phase two!! It requires more energy. The hubby and I have both increased our food intake a bit. We believe it's we've converted our fat to muscle and need more calories throughout the day. I hope this is the case anyway!

We are using our core slightly more in this phase and it's challenging! Believe me. I am almost down 10 pounds since starting though, so I am stoked. Really, I look much better. I have muscles! As I said above, I am losing weight and my dress fit well... It also fit differently. In a good way! I love that I have a tighter body. My weight may not be less than it was at wedding time, but damn, the dress fits fine.

That's a good measure for me!

Day 20 : Sunday January 20, 2013

I've been lazy with my blogging lately, so I decided to really make the effort today to get on here. Yes, we are still kicking ass with P90X! Unfortunately, we've had a pretty busy month (we are prepping for an upcoming move), so by the time we finish P90X and have dinner, there's very little time to get online to post any updates.

Anyway, on the exercise front, things are going well! We have stayed on course and are doing great. We are starting to get stronger and do more reps or lift heavier weights. It's really motivating to see our progress. Things we had a hard time doing during our first week are much easier to do now. That's how our body is showing us that it's stronger. We even see it with yoga and our stretches. Our flexibility has improved too, which is great!

I weighed myself this morning and was down to 139.8! I'm super excited to be down in the 130's. It took a bit because I had my period last week and my weight went up which was discouraging but I knew once it passed I'd be back on track and I am!

So, I'm sorry if my posts aren't as frequent now. I'll definitely update you if something strange/different happens, but right now, it's the same old/same old. Next week we should be doing new stuff, so I'll update you on how that goes.

See ya! 70 days left baby!

Alcohol

It's hard to give up alcohol to look better.

I hate wasting things. I have some bottles of champagne and wine in my fridge that I see each time I open the door. I know I should just throw them out, but I don't want to. I mentally give myself a pat on the back each time I choose to fill up my glass with water instead of a more tempting drink.

But, honestly, I'd love to be able to enjoy a glass of wine while reading a book or listening to some tunes at night. Ugh, I won't have any though. I'm staying strong. It's not easy, but if I can do it, anyone can.

TIP - Although it is challenging to eat and drink "clean" and it's easy to give in to temptation, stay strong! You can do it. It's only 90 days, right? 

Day 12 : Saturday January 12, 2013

Today we started our morning with a 5 mile walk at the beach. We don't have to do it as part of P90X, we just enjoy walking the boardwalk. It started the day off on the right foot.

Then this afternoon, I went for a wonderful massage and got to work the knots out of some of these new muscles we've been working recently. It was glorious!

We stuck with eating our normal food as we do during the week and did our exercises around 6pm. Tonight we did the legs and back routine, followed by Ab Ripper X. 

It went pretty well! It's not an easy workout, but it's a good workout. We made some progress on our reps from last week. I just keep reminding myself that it's a marathon, not a race.

TIP - I liked the phrase above about waking up with determination. I have a ton of these phases that I look to for motivation. I know it sounds corny but if you're looking to get fit, I suggest you print some of these out and hang them up where you can see them... like the fridge, the bathroom mirror, your closet door, etc. Do what it takes to get you up and moving! Then as Tony says, all you have to do is "press play!"

Day 11 : Friday January 11, 2013

Today was our second attempt at Yoga X!

If you recall from last week, Yoga X didn't go so well for us. Well, I'm VERY HAPPY (and proud!) to say, that we successfully finished the workout today!

We were both feeling good, no real soreness and we were pumped to give Yoga X another try. Things went well. We were already familiar with some of the moves from the first half of the workout, so we didn't need to lower the tv this time to watch Tony as much. The second half was just holding poses for a short amount of time, which we both enjoyed much better than the first half. 

It was a great feeling to push through and finish all 95 minutes of it! Believe me, we weren't perfect with all the poses, but we tried! It helps boost our confidence to know that we CAN do the whole Yoga X workout. I look forward to doing it again next Friday and seeing what progress I've made with the moves and my flexibility and strength :o)

Day 9 : Wednesday January 9, 2013

I wasn't feeling it tonight. 

I've got a lot going on in my life right now. It's a combination of stress from our upcoming move, a possible new job and needing another car. Everything hit me at once this afternoon and I just wanted to come home, put my feet up and have a glass of wine. It's my go to routine when I'm stressing out.

Instead, I worked out. Today was Plyometrics. Although my heart wasn't in this workout, I got it done. I kept telling myself that maybe I'd feel better at the end. I could only muster up 80% energy level for the workout, but it was a hell of a lot better than skipping it all together... WHICH WAS WHAT MY HEAD WANTED TO DO.

I just put the disc in and pressed play and had to follow through. Normally I'd pause the routine to catch my breath, but I was too scared that if I did, I wouldn't continue. So, I pushed through - what seemed impossible - and got it done. I thought the quote above summed up how I felt about this workout today.

Day 8 : Tuesday January 8, 2013

Today starts week 2! 

I woke up with mixed feelings this morning. I was feeling a bit happy that I had now completed most of the  routines that we will need to follow this month, but dreading the workout tonight because I hated didn't love the chest and back workout we did last week.

This is definitely my hubby's favorite workout and my least favorite!

I will say that once we started going, I felt a little better about it. I was able to do more push-ups than I did last week. Not that many mind you, but a few! I'm hoping that I'll continue to get stronger and be able to add more each week. I guess it's just human nature to want to be perfect right from the start. P90X does NOT work like that. At all.

Also, I'm happy to report that my weight was down to 141.6! I'm expecting hoping to see the 130's when I weigh in next week :o) It's been a while since I've seen them.

Day 7 : Monday January 7, 2013

We made it a whole week on P90X!

I'm quite proud of us! Today was our rest or stretching day. We woke up not too sore, which was the first time all week! We decided to do the stretching routine after work. That was a good routine to do. It helped close off the week on a good note and get us ready for the next week to start.

We actually felt pretty good after our stretching and decided to add in a 3 mile walk around the neighborhood. This was good because we both felt like getting a little cardio in.

Overall, we feel a tiny bit stronger, maybe a little leaner and ready to face the workouts of week 2.

GO US!

Day 6 : Sunday January 6, 2013

I loved day 6!

So, when I woke up today I was thinking how part of me wished that we started P90X at the beginning of the workweek, on a Monday because today would be our rest day.  But... since I was adamant about starting on the first of the month, we began on a Tuesday which means that our 7th day (and rest day!) will be on a Monday. Oh well. Not a huge deal. I guess having Monday "off" will work fine.

My upper thighs feel much better than they did yesterday. Today, the pain I feel is in the back of my legs mostly and my shoulders and abs a little bit. It's definitely less painful than the past few days! I truly appreciate being able to sit on the toilet without yelping in extreme pain. For realzzz.

I actually woke up feeling STRONG today. I felt that my tummy was tighter and that I was leaner somehow. My weight has dropped a bit, but I'll update that when we officially weigh in.

Today was Kenpo X, which I loved!

There were a ton of kicks and punches and I got to get rid of any built up frustrations I had. It was great!! I am so excited that we made it through the first 6 workouts. Tomorrow is a rest day or stretching if we want to. We'll see how we feel tomorrow and decide then!

Day 5 : Saturday January 5, 2013

Today we worked out our legs and back.

I couldn't even fathom how we would be able to do that since we were still in pain from the lower body workout the other day!

We started our morning with a nice 5 mile walk at the beach, which actually helped loosen up our legs a bit. This is our normal weekend routine and we didn't want to give that up now that we are on P90X. Even though it's the weekend, we decided to stay on our normal weekday workout schedule and do P90X at night.

We put the disc in around 5pm tonight and hit play. This was not a bad workout at all! Even though our legs were still sore, we were able to do most of the exercises without too much struggle. Don't get me wrong... it wasn't easy! There were lots of involuntary moans and grunts but we pushed through. As Tony says, "Do your best and forget the rest!" We did just that.

This was followed up by Ab Ripper X, which was challenging. The exercises are done in sets of 25. I was lucky if I did 10 of each. They really hurt. I'm looking forward to the day when I can successfully do 25 reps! It will be a glorious day.

I'm happy and PROUD to say that day 5 is in the books and there are only 85 more days left :o)

Day 4 : Friday January 4, 2013

Day 4 - Surprisingly my shoulders and arms were not that sore when I woke up today. It was easier to get my bra on too, which was nice. What hurts today is my legs. Upper thighs to be exact. My hubby is sore there too. Moving from a standing to sitting position hurts... a lot. We are starting to understand that our body parts hurt the most two days after the workout.

We typically work out after we get home at night. Tonight we had yoga, which we were both so excited to try. We were really looking forward to it! The hubby isn't very flexible, so he was really hoping this part of P90X would help him with that. I was looking forward to learning some poses.

Well, it sucked! 

We were both so bummed with the yoga disc. I'm not sure if Tony just wasn't feeling it on the day they did the taping or what, but we hated it. The hubby hated it more than I did. It's just very slow and boring. Not to mention, super difficult to do the poses while having to keep looking up at the tv (which is set up high on our bureau) to see if we're doing it right.

Eventually we ended up lowering the tv to the floor so we could see it better, but it didn't help much. We got through about half of the disc, before we shut it off. It lasts about 90 minutes, so we hung in for 45. I still wanted to work out and get some stretching in, so I put in the stretching disc and did some of that.

I know you can "modify" as Tony mentions, so overall, I felt as though I ended up getting a pretty good workout with my own mix of yoga and stretching. My hubby was bummed that he got frustrated with it and ended up going for a 4 mile walk instead to get some cardio in.

When he came back from the walk, he decided to really try harder with the yoga one next time. I agreed to do the same. Although we didn't love it, we can push through and do our best.

Oh yeah, here's a tip for us ladies... be sure to start wearing a sports bra. All of mine were in storage and I thought I could get away without one for a bit, but those things will be flopping all over the place if you don't wear one, especially when you do the Plyometrics exercises. I ended up going out today and getting a pack of 3 simple ones from Walmart for around $10. So worth it!

One other tip - I had started working out with 10 lb. weights, but after listening to Tony, he recommends you do more reps with a lower weight if you want to be lean and less reps with a higher weight if you want bulk. I picked up a set of 8 lb. weights today at Walmart as well. They were about $10 each. Although I could do the exercises with the 10 lb. weights, I decided to not push myself yet and maybe work up to them if I end up wanting larger muscles down the road.

86 days left!

Day 3 : Thursday January 3, 2013

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. 

If I thought I was sore yesterday... Times that by two today!

Yesterday my shoulders, chest and abs were a bit sore. Today those feel worse and now my legs kill too. I'll be honest with you...

It hurts to cough.

It hurts to pee.

It hurts to latch my bra. 

But, it's a good pain! Really. It gives me a physical reminder that I am changing. I am getting stronger. What's that great saying about pain? Oh yeah........

True dat! 

Honestly, I was a little anxious about the day 3 workout because my upper body was still recovering from day 1. I couldn't imagine being able to do anything else with my upper body at this point.

We put in the DVD for shoulders and arms. It wasn't as torturous bad as I thought it would be. I'm really happy to say that. I was able to do most of the exercises. Sure, not as many reps as Tony and friends, but I tried my best and held my own. With the exception of an exercise in the last set that has you lay on your side and try to hold your weight on one arm. Nope, that was NOT happening. Not AT ALL. I just fell flat and couldn't do it. Not this time anyway. I do plan to improve on it the next time we do this DVD though!

I was feeling pretty good once the shoulders and arms ended. Then came Ab Ripper X again.

Holy F! Unbelievable pain. Tony wants you to do 25 of each exercise. I was aiming for 5-10 at best. Each rep felt like my insides were ripping. Maybe that's where the Ab Ripper title comes from.

Day 3 is history. I'm laying in bed with a laptop on my lap, needing to pee, but dreading the pain I'll feel when 1) sitting up, 2) standing, 3) walking to the bathroom and 4) having to sit on the toilet. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. 

We peaked ahead and tomorrow is yoga. It's 90ish minutes. Kinda long, but I'm looking forward to it! Night.

Day 2 : Wednesday January 2, 2013

Today was Plyometrics.

This includes A LOT of jumping and squats.

F-, my legs were spent and shaking like jelly before Tony even finished the gosh darn warm-up. THE WARM-UP! What is wrong with me? How did I get so out of shape?!?

This set of exercises does not require you to write things down. Tony starts with a brief warm up to get your heart pumping and then he gets right to it.

One thing that I loved about today was that Tony had a girl perform "modified" versions of the exercises. This was helpful. You don't always have to jump as high as you possibly can. There are ways to get the exercise done that are a little less strenuous. I like the idea that I can still work out, just maybe modify the exercises a bit.

This also worked for my husband. He has panic attacks and often feels he has heart issues. The jumping was intense and scared him a bit, but then we hit pause a couple of times (as Tony suggests it's okay to do), and we modified the exercises to what was comfortable for him.

Soreness - Although we did chest and back yesterday, my shoulders were killing me the most today. In addition, my abs were sore. I could feel them each time I coughed or if I moved a lot. It was kind of a good pain (if there is one). I felt as though I got a good workout and was feeling the pain of progress. Pain of progress can be a good thing... right?!?

Only 88 more days left and 9 more times doing Plyometrics :)

Day 1 : Tuesday January 1st, 2013

"Just press play!"

Those are the words of Tony Horton, the trainer you'll get to know well when you watch the P90X videos. I like Tony. He has good energy and keeps me entertained. I think that really helps when watching an exercise video.

Today we took our measurements. Mine are as follows:

Weight        - 145 lbs.
Chest          - 37.5 inches
Waist          - 30.5 inches
Hips            - 37.5 inches
Right Thigh  - 22 inches
Left Thigh    - 22 inches
Right Arm    - 11 inches
Left Arm      - 11 inches

We also took before "goodbye" photos. I love that - goodbye photos! Goodbye to the untoned, chunky version of myself and hello to a tighter, toner, better me! I can't wait.

Since we had been anticipating starting this up for a few weeks, we were both anxious to begin the program. Although they recommend you perform a fitness test first, we didn't. My hubby is the type of person who just likes to get started without reading instructions and such (you should see him trying to build something from Ikea!). Because of this, he didn't want to do a "stinking fitness test" and said "let's just start!". There are different versions of P90X, (honestly, I haven't figured out the differences yet) but we are doing the "classic" version.

So, we just put the DVD in, pressed play and got started!

The first day is chest and back, followed by Ab Ripper X. As a warning, you should have a notebook handy so you can write down what you did or put it into your fitness guide. (We weren't quite prepared for this and had to grab something to write on midway through.) I agree with Tony that it's a good idea to write your weights and reps down. By documenting what you did, you can easily track your progress and see how far you have come.

Today was hard. Honestly, it varied a lot between push-ups and pull-ups. Since we don't have a regular pull up bar yet (for fear of damaging the door frame where we are renting), we are using bands that hook between the door easily. The bands work okay to simulate the pull-up feel, but aren't the best. I think they should be higher too. Right now they seem pretty low when we pull on them.

The exercises are done 4 at a time, for a total of 12. There are short water breaks in between, which I highly recommend you do! You'll need and want them. The 12 exercises are repeated, but the order is switched up this time.

This first day was humbling. I couldn't even do some of the push-ups. It was sad. Really sad. But you know what? At least I'm trying. At least I hit play and did my best.

PS - I normally read EVERYTHING in full before starting something like this, but I'm winging it so far. I'm embracing the surprises of what the next day will bring. Not sure how long that will last, but for now, it's working for me. 

Oh yeah... only 89 more days left! I can do this.

I started P90X!

And so the journey begins...

My husband and I started P90X yesterday (1/1/2013). I know, it's kind of cliche starting on New Year's Day, but it just kind of worked out that way. Really! The back story is that my hubby and I are couch potatoes by nature. We found ourselves getting home from work and taking up residence on our couch, stuffing our mouths with food, drink and desserts and then heading straight to the more comfortable position of lying flat in bed watching TV, doing absolutely nothing physical. You'd think we were in a competition to see who could move the LEAST each night and who could pack on the pounds the fastest!

Life was good and lazy until around October when my hubby weighed himself and saw the dreaded 200 on the scale. This was an all time high for him, so he decided then and there that it was time to change. He started eating healthier and walking nightly. I, on the other hand, was stubborn and not "ready" to change my ways, so I continued to eat and be lazy for another few weeks. I was watching the positive changes my hubby was making, while I continued my gluttonous ways.

About two weeks later, I decided it was time to change too. My clothes were uncomfortably tight and I had refused to buy new, larger ones. I weighed in at 155 lbs. Honestly, this weight isn't horrible on my frame. I am a sturdy 5 feet, 6.5 inches. But, I just felt gross. You know. Like when you look in the mirror and see all the lumps and bumps on your body. Or when you take your pants off and have the deep, pink line cut into your stomach from pants that are two sizes too small. Or in pictures, when your face shows the double chins. I know it sounds silly, but I was tired of keeping a two year old profile pic on Facebook because that's the last time I felt I looked good in pictures. So, I joined my hubby and our health kick began!

We started eating less, making healthier choices and walking nightly - together! I can't tell you how great it is to do this with a partner. Someone that pushes you when you need it and that is there for you when you're feeling lazy. We even started jogging a little bit. Yes, you heard me right - jogging. If you knew me, you'd know that this is a BIG DEAL! By the end of December, I had lost 10 pounds and was down to 145 and the leader of our team was weighing in at a low weight of 180. He had successfully dropped 20 lbs. Stupid guys and their wonderful ability to drop weight fast! :p

So, where does P90X come in? 

The hubby told me in early December that he was thinking of starting P90X around Christmas. When he gets an idea in his head, it's hard to get him to change his mind. He has the strongest will-power of anyone I've ever met! He's quit smoking, drinking and anything else bad for you. He's a great example for others.

I was able to talk him into starting on the first of the next month, which happened to be January 1st. More for  ease of tracking, than anything else. Since the program is broken up in 3 phases and has you measure every 30 days, I thought we could measure at the end of each month. Nice and easy for tracking.

Before we started, I did a bit of searching online for more info on P90X. I found some good info, but it primarily targeted  men. I really wanted to sink my teeth into info for women. I wanted to read what other women thought of the plan and details of their journey along the way. I didn't find much. Once I started the program, I decided that I would detail my journey for others to read and maybe learn from.

The plan is to write a post for each day, outlining my progress and thoughts along the way. I plan on being open and honest with this process. If you found this blog, you may see my other blogs and notice I started blogging a few years ago to get my finances on track. I was successful with that and the blog held me accountable. I have the same hopes for this one.

Here's some pics of other people who have been successful with this program. I hope to have similar pictures at the end of this journey :)

 Here goes nothing!