Today is day 2 of week 2 which means Agility X was the workout. I find that the change in sequence of what we knew from P90X to P90X3 was nice. You expect chest and back on day 1 but you don't get that. You might expect a workout like Plyo X on day and again you don't get that.
Agility X is a good workout, but it is heavy leg and cardio with a hint of upper body near the end. When I did it last week, I could hardly keep up. Maybe again for the reason of looking more than working to get the moves right or the side right etc. No matter the reason, today I was much more in line with the workout in progress on my TV. I was able to keep going throughout each exercise. I may not have looked as proficient or did as much, but I did continue to work for the entire time. It's nice to feel like you did something and you are getting better at it.
Small victories in your daily life lead to winning battles for a lifetime. So as long as you can manage some little victories here and there in your workouts or your eating habits, you will have the momentum to win the battle for health and fitness for your entire life. When you become a better you, everyone else will notice and maybe they will strive to be a better person for themselves as well. That may not be the definition of humanity, but it's good plan to start with.
Now I do not celebrate New Year's Eve/Day except for watching football games. I also don't usually make resolutions for the new year as well. I think those are just ways to set us up for disappointing ourselves and usually reinforcing bad habits or lifestyles. That statement, however, is a negative outlook and one thing I know is that negativity breeds more negativity. As easy as it is to succumb to the "holiday blues" or the anti-holiday feeling when your life isn't where you think it should be or want it to be, I challenge any and every one to look toward 2014 as a year that you can make positive changes in your life. They don't have to be major changes, but they should be positive ones. As negativity will breed negativity so will positivity breed more positivity. Maybe start with a smile as you greet people. Smiles are infectious and the power of the smile is greater than you may think. Once you see how that affects others, work on other things.
I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Eve, have fun and stay safe.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Day 18
I tossed around the idea of actually posting today or not. The reason to post is for the accountability of the workouts and diet. The reason not to would be for the simple fact that I am not really giving any new information. I remember what someone said to me about my blog and they were reading it. Nice to know that in some small way I can help or motivate someone.
Today is day 1 of week 2 and Total Synergistics was the workout. I feel that I made some improvements over week 1. I was able to do some of the exercises better and increase what I could do. Some of this may just be that I have done them before and there is less time now figuring out what and how to do what they are doing, and some may be that I actually feel a bit stronger and more coordinated within that exercise. Let's face it, if you are doing the workouts to the best you can and eating correctly which means as clean as possible, then you should be losing weight which will in turn allow you to do more and better.
I am really digging my breakfast everyday now. I wish it were Shakeology, but right now it is not. I am using Body Fortress whey protein powder, some water, ice a banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter. That makes a pretty tasty shake and a good meal to replace. The protein powder is chocolate flavor as well (forgot to mention that). I usually do a morning snack of hard boiled egg whites and or some Yoplait Greek yogurt. The key thing was removing the cereal meals and the unwanted carbs out of the diet.
I think this is the week that people might quit their workouts if they were to quit. They get a week in and feel "eh" about it all. They don't like that they can't do what they thought they could and use that as a blockade for moving forward. They think that I will never be able to do that. One thing is for sure, if you quit now you never will. People need to see that the daily struggle is what makes the journey worth it in the end. They know what it took when they look back, and they give it a greater value because of the journey and what they were able to accomplish during that journey.
Keep pushing play and always Bring It!!!
Today is day 1 of week 2 and Total Synergistics was the workout. I feel that I made some improvements over week 1. I was able to do some of the exercises better and increase what I could do. Some of this may just be that I have done them before and there is less time now figuring out what and how to do what they are doing, and some may be that I actually feel a bit stronger and more coordinated within that exercise. Let's face it, if you are doing the workouts to the best you can and eating correctly which means as clean as possible, then you should be losing weight which will in turn allow you to do more and better.
I am really digging my breakfast everyday now. I wish it were Shakeology, but right now it is not. I am using Body Fortress whey protein powder, some water, ice a banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter. That makes a pretty tasty shake and a good meal to replace. The protein powder is chocolate flavor as well (forgot to mention that). I usually do a morning snack of hard boiled egg whites and or some Yoplait Greek yogurt. The key thing was removing the cereal meals and the unwanted carbs out of the diet.
I think this is the week that people might quit their workouts if they were to quit. They get a week in and feel "eh" about it all. They don't like that they can't do what they thought they could and use that as a blockade for moving forward. They think that I will never be able to do that. One thing is for sure, if you quit now you never will. People need to see that the daily struggle is what makes the journey worth it in the end. They know what it took when they look back, and they give it a greater value because of the journey and what they were able to accomplish during that journey.
Keep pushing play and always Bring It!!!
Sunday, December 29, 2013
The Glycemic Index: Oh How Puzzling It Is.
We have heard all about the glycemic index, but do we really understand it. I for one have an idea how it works and how it works in relation to weight loss/gain in a person. That doesn't mean I have mastered the finer points and can recite all the true chemical processes going on, but I do have a good idea of how foods affect it in me and what that means long term.
First we should get a little technical, but not so much you don't understand it. The glycemic index provides a measure of how quickly blood sugar levels rise after eating a particular type of food. That is straight from Wikipedia(for the reference). What does that really mean to us. We all know that there are different types of foods, but the main break down is protein, carbohydrate and fat.
Proteins and fats don't really register on the glycemic index. Why? They do not cause a spike in blood sugar levels after eating. The glycemic index estimates how much each gram of available carbohydrate (total carbohydrate minus fiber) in a food raises a person's blood glucose level following consumption of the food, relative to consumption of pure glucose. Glucose has a glycemic index of 100. So what does that mean? If glucose is 100 everything else will be less and have less effect on blood sugar.
Low glycemic index foods are 55 and lower these foods will be most vegetables, beans, whole grains and most fruits. Medium glycemic index foods are between 56 and 69 which will include raisins, bananas, pita bread and basmati rice to name a few. High glycemic index foods are over 70 which is all white rice, white bread, potatoes, pretzels and bagels for instance. Now what does all this mean?
Ok, so we have an idea what glycemic index is and an idea of what foods are where and how they affect our blood sugar levels. How does this affect weight? When you eat something with a high glycemic index your blood sugars spike up but the body doesn't want your blood sugar high. Now we do need sugar as our main source of energy, but we don't need what we might take in when we eat let's say a Big Mac with fries and a coke. We get way more sugar in our blood than we need from the break down of carbs into sugar that our body uses. So what happens? The pancreas secretes insulin which lowers your blood sugar. The way it lowers the blood sugar is to causes sugar to enter the cells, but the excess will be converted into glycogen. Now our body needs to do something with the glycogen, so its stored in fat cells. Rinse and repeat for years and you are obese.
This process is slow and you don't notice it all. This process of blood sugar spikes repeatedly over the years wears out the pancreas and then it fails. Guess what? You are now diabetic. It is not a certainty that your pancreas will all out fail or you become full fledged diabetic, and when I say diabetic I am referring to type II diabetes. It can be controlled with diet ie: low glycemic index foods and/or oral meds. The extreme of this would be taking insulin routinely obviously. This is totally preventable, no matter of your current issues and/or family history.
When you consume low glycemic index foods you have a lower more sustained increase in blood sugar levels and you typically don't need the insulin and therefore the pancreas isn't stressed. Conversely, you will need to convert glycogen to useable sugar for the cells and brain. This process, glycogenolysis, is the how glycogen is broken down into glucose for use in the body. The main stores in the body of glycogen are found in adipose tissue or what we like to call fat.
Let's ball this up in one cohesive thought here. When you take in high glycemic index foods, you create high blood sugar levels which in turn cause insulin to be secreted and force glucose to be made into glycogen which is then stored as fat. When you take in low glycemic index foods, you do not create high blood sugar levels which in turn will cause glucagon to be secreted and cause the break down of glycogen into glucose (sugar) for use in the body, which is stored in body fat. Simply put high glycemic index foods = weight gain and low glycemic index foods = weight loss(if you have body fat to lose). It really is a lot more complex than that, but most of us can't really follow all the C6H12O6 molecules floating around the body going into glycolysis, glycogenesis, glycogenolysis and any other glyco-whatever process happening the in the body.
The body is not really that complicated. Eat whole foods, exercise and get rest and you will be fine. Stay away from processed foods and eat 5 to 6 smaller meals a day. This process of eating smaller meals over the day keeps your metabolism high and more efficient.
If you have any questions about glycemic index, be sure to post them in the comments. Also remember that Google and Bing are your friends and can help you find things you may be looking for. You should always remember that the source of the information is important as anyone can put anything on the internet, always fact check before taking anyone at their word.
Good luck!
First we should get a little technical, but not so much you don't understand it. The glycemic index provides a measure of how quickly blood sugar levels rise after eating a particular type of food. That is straight from Wikipedia(for the reference). What does that really mean to us. We all know that there are different types of foods, but the main break down is protein, carbohydrate and fat.
Proteins and fats don't really register on the glycemic index. Why? They do not cause a spike in blood sugar levels after eating. The glycemic index estimates how much each gram of available carbohydrate (total carbohydrate minus fiber) in a food raises a person's blood glucose level following consumption of the food, relative to consumption of pure glucose. Glucose has a glycemic index of 100. So what does that mean? If glucose is 100 everything else will be less and have less effect on blood sugar.
Low glycemic index foods are 55 and lower these foods will be most vegetables, beans, whole grains and most fruits. Medium glycemic index foods are between 56 and 69 which will include raisins, bananas, pita bread and basmati rice to name a few. High glycemic index foods are over 70 which is all white rice, white bread, potatoes, pretzels and bagels for instance. Now what does all this mean?
Ok, so we have an idea what glycemic index is and an idea of what foods are where and how they affect our blood sugar levels. How does this affect weight? When you eat something with a high glycemic index your blood sugars spike up but the body doesn't want your blood sugar high. Now we do need sugar as our main source of energy, but we don't need what we might take in when we eat let's say a Big Mac with fries and a coke. We get way more sugar in our blood than we need from the break down of carbs into sugar that our body uses. So what happens? The pancreas secretes insulin which lowers your blood sugar. The way it lowers the blood sugar is to causes sugar to enter the cells, but the excess will be converted into glycogen. Now our body needs to do something with the glycogen, so its stored in fat cells. Rinse and repeat for years and you are obese.
This process is slow and you don't notice it all. This process of blood sugar spikes repeatedly over the years wears out the pancreas and then it fails. Guess what? You are now diabetic. It is not a certainty that your pancreas will all out fail or you become full fledged diabetic, and when I say diabetic I am referring to type II diabetes. It can be controlled with diet ie: low glycemic index foods and/or oral meds. The extreme of this would be taking insulin routinely obviously. This is totally preventable, no matter of your current issues and/or family history.
When you consume low glycemic index foods you have a lower more sustained increase in blood sugar levels and you typically don't need the insulin and therefore the pancreas isn't stressed. Conversely, you will need to convert glycogen to useable sugar for the cells and brain. This process, glycogenolysis, is the how glycogen is broken down into glucose for use in the body. The main stores in the body of glycogen are found in adipose tissue or what we like to call fat.
Let's ball this up in one cohesive thought here. When you take in high glycemic index foods, you create high blood sugar levels which in turn cause insulin to be secreted and force glucose to be made into glycogen which is then stored as fat. When you take in low glycemic index foods, you do not create high blood sugar levels which in turn will cause glucagon to be secreted and cause the break down of glycogen into glucose (sugar) for use in the body, which is stored in body fat. Simply put high glycemic index foods = weight gain and low glycemic index foods = weight loss(if you have body fat to lose). It really is a lot more complex than that, but most of us can't really follow all the C6H12O6 molecules floating around the body going into glycolysis, glycogenesis, glycogenolysis and any other glyco-whatever process happening the in the body.
The body is not really that complicated. Eat whole foods, exercise and get rest and you will be fine. Stay away from processed foods and eat 5 to 6 smaller meals a day. This process of eating smaller meals over the day keeps your metabolism high and more efficient.
If you have any questions about glycemic index, be sure to post them in the comments. Also remember that Google and Bing are your friends and can help you find things you may be looking for. You should always remember that the source of the information is important as anyone can put anything on the internet, always fact check before taking anyone at their word.
Good luck!
Day 17
Today is day 7 of the first week of P90X3. This day is what you would call an option day. You can take the option of rest and do nothing or maybe incorporate something you like to do ie: mountain biking, hiking, jogging, walking or some other activity no matter how intensive it is. You also have the option of doing the Dynamix workout. Today I rose around 815am, rolled around, turned on the TV and thought about what I wanted to do. My back was sore and not from the workouts but rather from the car accident in 1995 (SSDD if you don't know it Google is your friend). I took the option of doing the Dynamix workout.
Knowing from P90X program that day 7 was a stretch option and was not any where near as vigorous as the other workouts but more vigorous than just laying around and stretching. What I didn't know is how it worked fully and how intense it really was. The Stretch X I think it was called was only 15 or 20 minutes if I remember correctly, but I could be wrong. With Dynamix, as with all the workouts in P90X3, is 30 minutes as well.
When I got the P90X3 program I opened the boxes and buzzed through some of the materials right away. I also started popping in discs to see what was what. One of the discs I started was the Dynamix disc, but after watching the first series of exercise/stretching moves, I put in another thinking I had a pretty good grasp of what that one was all about. I was wrong.
Although we do a lot of upper body work throughout the program or at least through week 1, Dynamix really focused more from the core to the floor.... Huh, a rhyme. What I mean is that there are a lot of core involved and lower body involved movements and exercises. They are designed to stretch but so is yoga and you work in yoga. You will work a little in this workout, not to the extent of the other workouts, but don't think this is just laying around and stretching all relaxed. I was really surprised to see all the lunge work in this one as well. Sadly surprised as lunges are my least favorite and probably the most effective or they wouldn't be there.
One thing I really enjoyed was the increased involvement of the lower back and sneaky way in which it was stretched. The movements seemed to focus on lower body, but with the lower back getting in the mix it really does help with the stretching and increased core ability. Remember that the core is not just abs, but the back is in there as well, and it's always been said to have strong abs you have to have a strong lower back. With this entire set of workouts you notice how all muscle groups get involved at the same time to increase the burn, work and amount of calories expended.
Week 1 summary:
The workouts were good. I am still sore in many places, but not to the point where I can't move. I feel good about how it progressed and yes I can definitely improve in a lot of areas. I can already feel my chest gaining strength, but let's see how I do tomorrow. I know I need to focus in on some areas when doing those workouts, especially getting my calves burning. With a week in, I should be upping my intensity level every week as I gain confidence in the moves and conditioning.
My diet was, I will say pretty good. My weight today by the scale is at 330 lbs. I know I started around 350 lbs 2 weeks ago, but I didn't actually weigh the first day. This week was Christmas week and the diet suffered a couple of days in there. I am back on track and have been replacing breakfast with a shake every day since starting P90X3 last Monday. I am looking forward to the week coming up and seeing how I respond with a full week of clean eating while doing X3.
One week down 13 weeks to go.
Knowing from P90X program that day 7 was a stretch option and was not any where near as vigorous as the other workouts but more vigorous than just laying around and stretching. What I didn't know is how it worked fully and how intense it really was. The Stretch X I think it was called was only 15 or 20 minutes if I remember correctly, but I could be wrong. With Dynamix, as with all the workouts in P90X3, is 30 minutes as well.
When I got the P90X3 program I opened the boxes and buzzed through some of the materials right away. I also started popping in discs to see what was what. One of the discs I started was the Dynamix disc, but after watching the first series of exercise/stretching moves, I put in another thinking I had a pretty good grasp of what that one was all about. I was wrong.
Although we do a lot of upper body work throughout the program or at least through week 1, Dynamix really focused more from the core to the floor.... Huh, a rhyme. What I mean is that there are a lot of core involved and lower body involved movements and exercises. They are designed to stretch but so is yoga and you work in yoga. You will work a little in this workout, not to the extent of the other workouts, but don't think this is just laying around and stretching all relaxed. I was really surprised to see all the lunge work in this one as well. Sadly surprised as lunges are my least favorite and probably the most effective or they wouldn't be there.
One thing I really enjoyed was the increased involvement of the lower back and sneaky way in which it was stretched. The movements seemed to focus on lower body, but with the lower back getting in the mix it really does help with the stretching and increased core ability. Remember that the core is not just abs, but the back is in there as well, and it's always been said to have strong abs you have to have a strong lower back. With this entire set of workouts you notice how all muscle groups get involved at the same time to increase the burn, work and amount of calories expended.
Week 1 summary:
The workouts were good. I am still sore in many places, but not to the point where I can't move. I feel good about how it progressed and yes I can definitely improve in a lot of areas. I can already feel my chest gaining strength, but let's see how I do tomorrow. I know I need to focus in on some areas when doing those workouts, especially getting my calves burning. With a week in, I should be upping my intensity level every week as I gain confidence in the moves and conditioning.
My diet was, I will say pretty good. My weight today by the scale is at 330 lbs. I know I started around 350 lbs 2 weeks ago, but I didn't actually weigh the first day. This week was Christmas week and the diet suffered a couple of days in there. I am back on track and have been replacing breakfast with a shake every day since starting P90X3 last Monday. I am looking forward to the week coming up and seeing how I respond with a full week of clean eating while doing X3.
One week down 13 weeks to go.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Day 16
If I were posting this on the Beachbody message board it would read.... "Week 1, Day 6 The Warrior done....", and so is the situation. The first week of P90X3 is done for all intents and purposes. Tomorrow is day 7 and I have the option to rest or do Dynamax which is an intense stretching routine. P90X had the same option and I did it about half the time. I think I will do it since the workouts are only 30 mins and it can't hurt and most likely will help with soreness.
First week in and how do I feel. Well I feel pretty good. I knew I would not be able to do all the workouts 100% and with 100% intensity as my personal fitness level is no where near where it needs to be. I also knew that this program is designed for people of all levels of fitness and you can increase your intensity many ways within the workouts. So as you get better at the workouts, your fitness increases and your agility grows you will be able to increase your intensity and difficulty as you like.
I definitely feel soreness where I figured I would in my upper body. My shoulders and chest mostly, but also some in the arms mostly triceps (from all the pushups). While I am sitting here typing this, I feel really no soreness or fatigue in my legs. Then I stand and take a few steps. My legs turn to jello and I feel the soreness in my thighs and butt with each step. My calves have always been the best feature on my legs and they don't feel taxed, so I must focus more when the moves involve as I want to get them burning as well.
My core... That really is sad. It's like a Greek Tragedy when I look at my "core", laugh a little and cry more. Feel pity and remorse, you know how it got that way and you feel there is no real hope in sight. As I do the workouts and most involve the core, I wince a little each time. I know that it is in such disarray, but the only way to fix it is to work it. So I keep trying and maybe with each upcoming workout I will notice improvements no matter how small.
My eating over the week has been pretty good. I did eat whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted on Christmas day. This one thing is not a killer, but rather repeating this everyday. I have been doing a shake after my workouts and that is my breakfast. That has been a good way to start my day and it kick starts my day off right. I workout then have my shake and sometimes jump in the hot tub right after. That is where I am going after I post this.
I weighed a few days back and I think I will weigh officially on Sunday mornings before I do the Dynamax. I started on this scale reading close to 350. The last time I was on the scale it was under 340. Weight, as I have said time and time again, is only a number. Obviously when you are overweight you say that, but when trying to lose "weight" and what we really mean is fat and you are doing resistance work, you have to understand the difference. What I mean is that you do resistance work you are building muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat and there fore has a greater weight. So although you are losing fat, you are building muscle and therefore your net weight loss will be less. If you are in the morbidly obese range, you will still see greater losses if you are eating right and exercising. The leaner you are, the less likely you will show greater losses. Instead you will find your clothes fitting differently and also the definition of your muscles will show more.
All I really know is that I have completed my first week, one of many to go. I will not get anywhere in one week. I will have to string together several weeks to notice any true changes in appearance. I know that after 16 days of eating better or for the most part really good and doing exercise that I am pretty sure I have lost close to 15 lbs. The number I am not exactly sure of, but I will be monitoring it much closer as time goes on. I feel confident I will reach my goal of getting under 300 lbs before the end of this 90 day program. I am excited to see what I can accomplish in 90 days and beyond. I am excited to see what others will do and hope that if you read this and you are kind of close to me, that you might join me in a Tough Mudder in the future as that is one of my goals for either this upcoming year, or the year after.
Until tomorrow.... Keep Bringing It!!!!
First week in and how do I feel. Well I feel pretty good. I knew I would not be able to do all the workouts 100% and with 100% intensity as my personal fitness level is no where near where it needs to be. I also knew that this program is designed for people of all levels of fitness and you can increase your intensity many ways within the workouts. So as you get better at the workouts, your fitness increases and your agility grows you will be able to increase your intensity and difficulty as you like.
I definitely feel soreness where I figured I would in my upper body. My shoulders and chest mostly, but also some in the arms mostly triceps (from all the pushups). While I am sitting here typing this, I feel really no soreness or fatigue in my legs. Then I stand and take a few steps. My legs turn to jello and I feel the soreness in my thighs and butt with each step. My calves have always been the best feature on my legs and they don't feel taxed, so I must focus more when the moves involve as I want to get them burning as well.
My core... That really is sad. It's like a Greek Tragedy when I look at my "core", laugh a little and cry more. Feel pity and remorse, you know how it got that way and you feel there is no real hope in sight. As I do the workouts and most involve the core, I wince a little each time. I know that it is in such disarray, but the only way to fix it is to work it. So I keep trying and maybe with each upcoming workout I will notice improvements no matter how small.
My eating over the week has been pretty good. I did eat whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted on Christmas day. This one thing is not a killer, but rather repeating this everyday. I have been doing a shake after my workouts and that is my breakfast. That has been a good way to start my day and it kick starts my day off right. I workout then have my shake and sometimes jump in the hot tub right after. That is where I am going after I post this.
I weighed a few days back and I think I will weigh officially on Sunday mornings before I do the Dynamax. I started on this scale reading close to 350. The last time I was on the scale it was under 340. Weight, as I have said time and time again, is only a number. Obviously when you are overweight you say that, but when trying to lose "weight" and what we really mean is fat and you are doing resistance work, you have to understand the difference. What I mean is that you do resistance work you are building muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat and there fore has a greater weight. So although you are losing fat, you are building muscle and therefore your net weight loss will be less. If you are in the morbidly obese range, you will still see greater losses if you are eating right and exercising. The leaner you are, the less likely you will show greater losses. Instead you will find your clothes fitting differently and also the definition of your muscles will show more.
All I really know is that I have completed my first week, one of many to go. I will not get anywhere in one week. I will have to string together several weeks to notice any true changes in appearance. I know that after 16 days of eating better or for the most part really good and doing exercise that I am pretty sure I have lost close to 15 lbs. The number I am not exactly sure of, but I will be monitoring it much closer as time goes on. I feel confident I will reach my goal of getting under 300 lbs before the end of this 90 day program. I am excited to see what I can accomplish in 90 days and beyond. I am excited to see what others will do and hope that if you read this and you are kind of close to me, that you might join me in a Tough Mudder in the future as that is one of my goals for either this upcoming year, or the year after.
Until tomorrow.... Keep Bringing It!!!!
Friday, December 27, 2013
Day 15
Today I did the CVX workout. Basically aerobics with a weight in your hand. I had been worried that the shoulders were not going to be taxed in this series. I am glad to inform you that is not the case. Today my shoulders felt all of that.
Most moves were a familiar move, with the small caveat of holding a small weight or say basketball in your hands. A good portion of the exercises you don't just hold, but you move the weight over your head and around your head, so you get that shoulder workout in as well. All in all I like this workout.
We all had temptations over the holidays and some we overcome and some we succumb to. What matters is that we are able to recognize our shortcomings and failures and turn them into successes. If you didn't eat clean for part or all of the holidays, remember that it is only one, two or maybe three days worth of eating. In the grand scheme it is only a very short time. We do not gain 30, 50 or 100 lbs overnight nor do we lose it over night. Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. Move forward.
I am seeing the scale move the direction I like. This is day 15 into the rest of my life and I have seen the scale move downward nearly 8 lbs. This is only a start and I do not expect to lose 16 pounds a month or 5 lbs a week. Weight is number just like age is a number. You can lose 15 lbs of fat and gain 6 pounds of muscle at the same time. Your total weight loss is only 9 lbs, but your gain is much more than that. Replacing fat weight with in whole or partially of lean muscle makes the body a more efficient, stronger and resilient machine. Which in turn makes your a healthier person. That is the true goal.
Most moves were a familiar move, with the small caveat of holding a small weight or say basketball in your hands. A good portion of the exercises you don't just hold, but you move the weight over your head and around your head, so you get that shoulder workout in as well. All in all I like this workout.
We all had temptations over the holidays and some we overcome and some we succumb to. What matters is that we are able to recognize our shortcomings and failures and turn them into successes. If you didn't eat clean for part or all of the holidays, remember that it is only one, two or maybe three days worth of eating. In the grand scheme it is only a very short time. We do not gain 30, 50 or 100 lbs overnight nor do we lose it over night. Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. Move forward.
I am seeing the scale move the direction I like. This is day 15 into the rest of my life and I have seen the scale move downward nearly 8 lbs. This is only a start and I do not expect to lose 16 pounds a month or 5 lbs a week. Weight is number just like age is a number. You can lose 15 lbs of fat and gain 6 pounds of muscle at the same time. Your total weight loss is only 9 lbs, but your gain is much more than that. Replacing fat weight with in whole or partially of lean muscle makes the body a more efficient, stronger and resilient machine. Which in turn makes your a healthier person. That is the true goal.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Day 14
Today was The Challenge. Yes it was!!! The Challenge is the push/pull high intensity workout that P90X was famous for. It was a challenge not only to keep up with you own number each time, but after the workout is done there is a burnout section for almost 3 minutes where you go back and forth nonstop between 1 pullup (choose your type) and 3 pushups (again, choose your type). You just keep going back and forth until the timer is done.
You choose your number at the beginning. This number is how many pushups and how many pullups you will do each time. The phrase, "choose wisely" is said more than once and it is the best advice. Choose the number you think you can do each time every time. 4 different types of pushups and pullups twice, so 8 total alternating between the two and breaks after you do 2 of each type. The break is 1 min each time, so there is more than enough down time to catch your breath.
My personal numbers were 15 and 5. I was using the bands so 15 reps with the bands instead of pullups and 5 pushups. Most of my pushups were modified, but I did between 7 and 10. My resistance band work I did 15, but I did hold at the bottom end to increase the intensity. I think I will up that to 20 next time. I definitely felt the workout and appreciated not doing core work a 4th day in a row. One thing for sure is to write down both your goal number and what you do. I suggest printing the workout sheets, but you can just as easily use a binder, legal pad or notebook you already have.
I have yet to post my before pics, but I do have them done. I also did them on a good camera to get that 300dpi image resolution for the beachbody challenge. Just make sure that you record from where you start so 90, 180 or 300 days down the road you can see where you started and what you looked like and you will remember how you felt. When you look at what you have accomplished, if you stick with it, you will see dramatic results that you never thought you would.
You choose your number at the beginning. This number is how many pushups and how many pullups you will do each time. The phrase, "choose wisely" is said more than once and it is the best advice. Choose the number you think you can do each time every time. 4 different types of pushups and pullups twice, so 8 total alternating between the two and breaks after you do 2 of each type. The break is 1 min each time, so there is more than enough down time to catch your breath.
My personal numbers were 15 and 5. I was using the bands so 15 reps with the bands instead of pullups and 5 pushups. Most of my pushups were modified, but I did between 7 and 10. My resistance band work I did 15, but I did hold at the bottom end to increase the intensity. I think I will up that to 20 next time. I definitely felt the workout and appreciated not doing core work a 4th day in a row. One thing for sure is to write down both your goal number and what you do. I suggest printing the workout sheets, but you can just as easily use a binder, legal pad or notebook you already have.
I have yet to post my before pics, but I do have them done. I also did them on a good camera to get that 300dpi image resolution for the beachbody challenge. Just make sure that you record from where you start so 90, 180 or 300 days down the road you can see where you started and what you looked like and you will remember how you felt. When you look at what you have accomplished, if you stick with it, you will see dramatic results that you never thought you would.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Day 13
Today is Christmas. While kids were getting up and running to the tree and grabbing their stockings all filled with goodies, I turned on the TV and plugged in X3 Yoga and went to work. There were no presents under the tree here or stockings to be emptied. There was only me and the TV with Tony telling me to get in downward dog. Yoga, how I hate it and I love it at the same time.
X3 Yoga is shorter obviously so there is less yoga, less balance poses and less stretching. I felt it and did sweat like always, so I know that the intensity is there. I find it to be a nice change from the 90 minute yoga from X. I do think some will find it too short or incomplete if they expect it to be the same as the Yoga X. It is nice to get your sweat on, stretch and twist and balance in 30 minutes.
With today being Christmas and X3 Yoga is done, I guess the only thing to do now is get the food right for today. After last night, I need to do better today. Last night we went to a church service and then after the decision was made to grab something to eat. I had a baconator. So I ended up with around 2500 cal where I had been hovering around 1900. That isn't a huge deal as that was my only real downfall for the day. I am not really on a low carb diet, so taking in the bread while not the best choice doesn't kill what I am trying to accomplish.
Turkey in the slow cooker and ham in the oven. The pumpkin pie was baked yesterday. All that is left are the potatoes which are boiling now and then the green veggies, which will take only minutes to steam. Lunch will be the big meal and leftovers for a day or so. Eat what you want and don't feel remorse. Remember that tomorrow is a new day and you can always start fresh. Enjoy your holiday and remember that anything in moderation is ok to have.
X3 Yoga is shorter obviously so there is less yoga, less balance poses and less stretching. I felt it and did sweat like always, so I know that the intensity is there. I find it to be a nice change from the 90 minute yoga from X. I do think some will find it too short or incomplete if they expect it to be the same as the Yoga X. It is nice to get your sweat on, stretch and twist and balance in 30 minutes.
With today being Christmas and X3 Yoga is done, I guess the only thing to do now is get the food right for today. After last night, I need to do better today. Last night we went to a church service and then after the decision was made to grab something to eat. I had a baconator. So I ended up with around 2500 cal where I had been hovering around 1900. That isn't a huge deal as that was my only real downfall for the day. I am not really on a low carb diet, so taking in the bread while not the best choice doesn't kill what I am trying to accomplish.
Turkey in the slow cooker and ham in the oven. The pumpkin pie was baked yesterday. All that is left are the potatoes which are boiling now and then the green veggies, which will take only minutes to steam. Lunch will be the big meal and leftovers for a day or so. Eat what you want and don't feel remorse. Remember that tomorrow is a new day and you can always start fresh. Enjoy your holiday and remember that anything in moderation is ok to have.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Day 12
Week 1 Day 2 Agility X. My legs were like jello after about 10 minutes. There are a lot of lunges and jumping, both of which I have difficulty with. I can do lunges, but with my left knee being weaker, I do better on the right side than left. Hopefully, as with P90X, my knee will strengthen over time and be less of an issue.
Jumping, however, is out for me. I do have a great modification for jumping. I do the pre jump movement then go up into the jump without bringing my feet off the ground and really focus on getting the calves involved in the non jumping action. If it requires to jump with high knees, I do the same thing except I lift one leg off the ground and do a high knee with that leg, then repeat with the other leg. It does double the activity, but I think that is a fair tradeoff for the lack of the actual jump. My goal is to get the feel and effort of a jump without causing the high impact on my back.
Agility X is not an easy workout and for me modification is essential at least for now. Some will find it difficult and some will not. I think that for what it does it is a great workout. Mostly legs with a couple of pushup moves near the end. This workout again incorporates the use of balance and explosive power causing more muscle groups to be involved rather than the tired old "leg routine" but with the desired results. Lunges, my least favorite leg exercise, are the core of the workout along with some running and jumping moves to blast your legs into submission.
Intensity level is easy to scale up or back which makes it good for all levels of fitness. I have to do things a certain way to protect my weak knee and back, but I strive hard to get the highest level of intensity I can. I stop at times and restart when I catch my breath or my muscles say ok. I hope to be at a constant level in a couple of weeks where I can continue to do all I can without stopping.
For now, I am happy with the first 2 workouts. I feel like I have been pushed hard and I remember how I felt after the first 2 workouts with P90X and it feels so similar. Tomorrow is X3 Yoga and looking forward to how it is different from Yoga X.
Remember that today and tomorrow bring so many temptations with nonclean food. Do your best to eat as good as you can and when the holidays are over get back to clean eating. Don't beat yourself up if you eat something you shouldn't, just go back to eating clean after. It's that simple.
Jumping, however, is out for me. I do have a great modification for jumping. I do the pre jump movement then go up into the jump without bringing my feet off the ground and really focus on getting the calves involved in the non jumping action. If it requires to jump with high knees, I do the same thing except I lift one leg off the ground and do a high knee with that leg, then repeat with the other leg. It does double the activity, but I think that is a fair tradeoff for the lack of the actual jump. My goal is to get the feel and effort of a jump without causing the high impact on my back.
Agility X is not an easy workout and for me modification is essential at least for now. Some will find it difficult and some will not. I think that for what it does it is a great workout. Mostly legs with a couple of pushup moves near the end. This workout again incorporates the use of balance and explosive power causing more muscle groups to be involved rather than the tired old "leg routine" but with the desired results. Lunges, my least favorite leg exercise, are the core of the workout along with some running and jumping moves to blast your legs into submission.
Intensity level is easy to scale up or back which makes it good for all levels of fitness. I have to do things a certain way to protect my weak knee and back, but I strive hard to get the highest level of intensity I can. I stop at times and restart when I catch my breath or my muscles say ok. I hope to be at a constant level in a couple of weeks where I can continue to do all I can without stopping.
For now, I am happy with the first 2 workouts. I feel like I have been pushed hard and I remember how I felt after the first 2 workouts with P90X and it feels so similar. Tomorrow is X3 Yoga and looking forward to how it is different from Yoga X.
Remember that today and tomorrow bring so many temptations with nonclean food. Do your best to eat as good as you can and when the holidays are over get back to clean eating. Don't beat yourself up if you eat something you shouldn't, just go back to eating clean after. It's that simple.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Day 11
Today was the day! I started the P90X3 classic program. The first disc you start with is Total Synergistics. After watching it and then doing it, I can honestly say it looks much easier than it is. People say (well some have on the Team Beachbody message board) that this is not as intense or physically demanding as the original P90X. I think they are wrong.
I could dissect each move for what I feel is good and bad for me, but that is pointless. The reason I say that as with all things in life, we have our own perspective. We add our own likes and dislikes into dissertations on to what we are talking about. Yeah, the insight as to each moves intricacies could be beneficial, but it's not necessary for my opinions to be conveyed here.
P90X3 is different from P90X. One of the most glaring differences is that the workout time is reduced from about an hour to around 30 minutes. There is a cold start, which I did not do today, for people who really need or want that extended warm up. It lasts about 12 minutes. There is a small stretching session lasting I would say maybe 3 minutes, but it is not timed and it was done at the end of the workout. The start of the workout begins with a warm up but it is included in that 30 minute timer. If you add the cold start to the regular exercise and the minor bit of stretching then you get the time range of around 45 minutes. That is about 10 to 12 minutes shy of P90X in time. If you feel you need more, you can get it.
Day 1 with P90X is Chest and Back. You just do pushups and pullups. You do about 12 exercises for each muscle group one time through then you repeat it in reverse if I remember correctly. There is no core work, it is strictly a push and pull workout under time without stopping except for a couple of 40 second water breaks. Then you do Ab Ripper X after for another 15 minutes, which is pure core work. P90X3 is as I have previously stated Total Synergistics and that can be interpreted as resistance with core involvement. It combines push/pull exercises with balance moves and other I would call core/ab moves. While you are doing your resistance work you are incorporating ab/core work and it definitely raises the intensity level.
What did this all mean for me? I have no core, so it was like hell for me. I can absolutely do some of the moves and absolutely can not do some of the moves. You just do what you can, modify as it becomes more difficult and you don't give up. You can't do the pushup, you go to your knees and do the pushup that way. You lose your balance when doing one of the many one-legged moves, you regain balance stick that leg out and keep going or touch your toe on the ground to assist your balance while doing the resistance part.
I had been walking at a 4 mph pace trying to get my body used to exercising some prior to doing this. Don't take this the wrong way, I only started walking about 10 days prior to today. I was never short of breath. My heart rate did get elevated and I did notice the all day affect of working out (endorphin affect). Today, however, I was short of breath almost the whole time. My heart rate was up there. I can't say to what level as I don't have a heart rate monitor, but YOU know when your heart rate is up from exercising or vigorous activity. I have soreness in my muscles and its about 6 hours since the workout. I was feeling that fatigue and weakness you feel right after a hard workout. Most is in my arms and abs, but there is some feeling of activity in the legs as well.
I am personally not disappointed with the workout. I don't feel like it was not intense enough and I don't feel like it lacked anything. I need to finish the week to see how my whole body feels and then maybe I can more accurately compare it to what I remember as my first week of P90X. All I know is 1 day down and 89 more to go.
I could dissect each move for what I feel is good and bad for me, but that is pointless. The reason I say that as with all things in life, we have our own perspective. We add our own likes and dislikes into dissertations on to what we are talking about. Yeah, the insight as to each moves intricacies could be beneficial, but it's not necessary for my opinions to be conveyed here.
P90X3 is different from P90X. One of the most glaring differences is that the workout time is reduced from about an hour to around 30 minutes. There is a cold start, which I did not do today, for people who really need or want that extended warm up. It lasts about 12 minutes. There is a small stretching session lasting I would say maybe 3 minutes, but it is not timed and it was done at the end of the workout. The start of the workout begins with a warm up but it is included in that 30 minute timer. If you add the cold start to the regular exercise and the minor bit of stretching then you get the time range of around 45 minutes. That is about 10 to 12 minutes shy of P90X in time. If you feel you need more, you can get it.
Day 1 with P90X is Chest and Back. You just do pushups and pullups. You do about 12 exercises for each muscle group one time through then you repeat it in reverse if I remember correctly. There is no core work, it is strictly a push and pull workout under time without stopping except for a couple of 40 second water breaks. Then you do Ab Ripper X after for another 15 minutes, which is pure core work. P90X3 is as I have previously stated Total Synergistics and that can be interpreted as resistance with core involvement. It combines push/pull exercises with balance moves and other I would call core/ab moves. While you are doing your resistance work you are incorporating ab/core work and it definitely raises the intensity level.
What did this all mean for me? I have no core, so it was like hell for me. I can absolutely do some of the moves and absolutely can not do some of the moves. You just do what you can, modify as it becomes more difficult and you don't give up. You can't do the pushup, you go to your knees and do the pushup that way. You lose your balance when doing one of the many one-legged moves, you regain balance stick that leg out and keep going or touch your toe on the ground to assist your balance while doing the resistance part.
I had been walking at a 4 mph pace trying to get my body used to exercising some prior to doing this. Don't take this the wrong way, I only started walking about 10 days prior to today. I was never short of breath. My heart rate did get elevated and I did notice the all day affect of working out (endorphin affect). Today, however, I was short of breath almost the whole time. My heart rate was up there. I can't say to what level as I don't have a heart rate monitor, but YOU know when your heart rate is up from exercising or vigorous activity. I have soreness in my muscles and its about 6 hours since the workout. I was feeling that fatigue and weakness you feel right after a hard workout. Most is in my arms and abs, but there is some feeling of activity in the legs as well.
I am personally not disappointed with the workout. I don't feel like it was not intense enough and I don't feel like it lacked anything. I need to finish the week to see how my whole body feels and then maybe I can more accurately compare it to what I remember as my first week of P90X. All I know is 1 day down and 89 more to go.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Day 10
Well, today is the day before. I actually start what I call my program to lose weight. I have already started eating clean, and I did this before. I started almost 2 weeks before eating better or cleaner prior to starting P90X. I started that on Friday the 13th, weird day to start, and it has been going pretty well.
The idea here is start to form the practice or routine before the workout as it will be tough enough on its own, why add the extra stress of changing your eating habits at the same time. It's been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit, but that is only a supposition by a surgeon who saw amputees getting used to the loss of a limb after 21 days. Another study suggested that the average of people to drink a glass of water routinely within a set of parameters was 66 days, but could happen as quick as 18 days and as much as 256. So, what does it all mean? NOTHING!! We are all different so how long it will take is something that is most likely unique to us, however, we all need the same things to form a habit.
Forming a habit is broken into 3 phases. First, there's a cue, or trigger, that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and let a behavior unfold. Then there's the routine, which is the behavior itself, and finally there is the reward which is something the brain likes that helps it remember the "habit loop" and thus forming a habit which we will do without even realizing it. My personal one is opening the fridge and looking in it. Guess that is why I am over 300 lbs.
Ten days ago I started to form a new "habit loop" by cutting out certain foods and introducing others. Now we all have done this from time to time. "I'm gonna eat better or I'm gonna go on a diet" are all things we have said over the years. As young as 14 or 15 years old this has been said by some of us, but once we get over 30 our metabolism starts on a downward spiral whether we know it or not. We gain weight it is just how it is. One of my favorite lines from Grosse Pointe Blank is from Joan Cusack when asked if she went to her 10 year class reunion. "Yes, I did. It was just as if everyone had swelled." And that my friends is just what happens if we let it. I did.
Hopefully the new forming habit loop (tired of the ""), will stick and so far so good. I really love food, but have found that the better you eat, the more you can eat. The better you eat the more full and less hungry you are. Ever wonder why or how that could be possible? That is your glycemic index at work.
I think that instead of balling this into one post, I will put that into another post.
Good luck to all who are trying to change the bad habits for the good.
The idea here is start to form the practice or routine before the workout as it will be tough enough on its own, why add the extra stress of changing your eating habits at the same time. It's been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit, but that is only a supposition by a surgeon who saw amputees getting used to the loss of a limb after 21 days. Another study suggested that the average of people to drink a glass of water routinely within a set of parameters was 66 days, but could happen as quick as 18 days and as much as 256. So, what does it all mean? NOTHING!! We are all different so how long it will take is something that is most likely unique to us, however, we all need the same things to form a habit.
Forming a habit is broken into 3 phases. First, there's a cue, or trigger, that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and let a behavior unfold. Then there's the routine, which is the behavior itself, and finally there is the reward which is something the brain likes that helps it remember the "habit loop" and thus forming a habit which we will do without even realizing it. My personal one is opening the fridge and looking in it. Guess that is why I am over 300 lbs.
Ten days ago I started to form a new "habit loop" by cutting out certain foods and introducing others. Now we all have done this from time to time. "I'm gonna eat better or I'm gonna go on a diet" are all things we have said over the years. As young as 14 or 15 years old this has been said by some of us, but once we get over 30 our metabolism starts on a downward spiral whether we know it or not. We gain weight it is just how it is. One of my favorite lines from Grosse Pointe Blank is from Joan Cusack when asked if she went to her 10 year class reunion. "Yes, I did. It was just as if everyone had swelled." And that my friends is just what happens if we let it. I did.
Hopefully the new forming habit loop (tired of the ""), will stick and so far so good. I really love food, but have found that the better you eat, the more you can eat. The better you eat the more full and less hungry you are. Ever wonder why or how that could be possible? That is your glycemic index at work.
I think that instead of balling this into one post, I will put that into another post.
Good luck to all who are trying to change the bad habits for the good.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Day 8
Ok, so today I have changed my eating and been working out for 8 days. I haven't started P90X3 yet, but that will be on Monday. I have most everything in place for my start. I have my resistance bands. I have gone through (sort of) the food in the house and replaced bad for good. I think I am ready. Oh, wait... I need to post my before pics and measurements. Sunday!!
The P90X3 nutrition guide suggests that I take in 3000 calories. I was going by memory and what myfitnesspal.com had me set at from my P90X days at 2400 calories. Now with my weight at what I estimated at 350 lbs (which after weighing I was pretty close) and my maintenance calories were around 3400. I have not been taking in that much. My calorie counts in order starting Friday 13th are as follows: 2867, 2576, 2764, 2645, 2623, 2198, 2227 and today 1816. I know that for my first week it looks good, and it is only my first week. The counts for each day are pretty accurate, but there may be a discrepancy here and there, mostly on amount more based on an estimate vs what is real.
Although there may be some difference from reality to what actually took place, I am pretty confident that my measurements were very close. The catch here is that the better I eat, the more I eat and the fewer bad calories I get. I am eating as much as the first day, but not as bad. When you clean up your intake, you find you can eat a ton more food, lose cravings for junk food and increase your energy level. The main difference in my eating today was my breakfast. I try to do my workout prior to eating so instead of a traditional breakfast, I had a Shakeology shake with skim milk and frozen strawberries in it. That breakfast netted me 290 total calories with 41g of carbs, 2g of fat and 25g of proteins. Now the breakfast from the day before was 522 calories and it was a cereal with milk, a banana and 5 hard boiled egg whites.
The total of what I consumed with both breakfasts was almost identical. Infact, I almost couldn't finish the shake as I was getting full. I have noticed too, that with eliminating the late night snacking and abundant eating, I have also reduced the amount I can consume at one setting. This is another benefit of eating clean. Diet is crucial to how your body reacts to what it takes in. That statement is not some sort of illusive epiphany. I believe that is one of those "no shit" statements. Even so, it seems that most of us ignore it and actually assume they can eat how they want because "their metabolism" will deal with it or they could do this when they were a fit 18 year old and now as a moderately obese or just over weight 50 year old they think it will be just like then. I'm sorry to say this is not the case. Yes, some people have the ability to eat whatever they want and I hate them. Ectomorphs!
I really began to appreciate diet during my first round of P90X and I was vigilant and very strict on myself. During my second round of X, I slacked off a bit, allowing less clean food more so as I rationalized it as a test to see what will and will not work for me. I still lost weight and I did get below 300 lbs, however I could have done better and lost more and maybe kept up on at least my diet. I know what I have to do. I have the tools to make it happen and I have the support system allowing me to succeed instead of fail. Now it is up to me to do it. I hope I can keep up what I have started this week and more over do as well as I start the workouts of X3.
Good luck to us all!!!
and...
Bring it!!!!
The P90X3 nutrition guide suggests that I take in 3000 calories. I was going by memory and what myfitnesspal.com had me set at from my P90X days at 2400 calories. Now with my weight at what I estimated at 350 lbs (which after weighing I was pretty close) and my maintenance calories were around 3400. I have not been taking in that much. My calorie counts in order starting Friday 13th are as follows: 2867, 2576, 2764, 2645, 2623, 2198, 2227 and today 1816. I know that for my first week it looks good, and it is only my first week. The counts for each day are pretty accurate, but there may be a discrepancy here and there, mostly on amount more based on an estimate vs what is real.
Although there may be some difference from reality to what actually took place, I am pretty confident that my measurements were very close. The catch here is that the better I eat, the more I eat and the fewer bad calories I get. I am eating as much as the first day, but not as bad. When you clean up your intake, you find you can eat a ton more food, lose cravings for junk food and increase your energy level. The main difference in my eating today was my breakfast. I try to do my workout prior to eating so instead of a traditional breakfast, I had a Shakeology shake with skim milk and frozen strawberries in it. That breakfast netted me 290 total calories with 41g of carbs, 2g of fat and 25g of proteins. Now the breakfast from the day before was 522 calories and it was a cereal with milk, a banana and 5 hard boiled egg whites.
The total of what I consumed with both breakfasts was almost identical. Infact, I almost couldn't finish the shake as I was getting full. I have noticed too, that with eliminating the late night snacking and abundant eating, I have also reduced the amount I can consume at one setting. This is another benefit of eating clean. Diet is crucial to how your body reacts to what it takes in. That statement is not some sort of illusive epiphany. I believe that is one of those "no shit" statements. Even so, it seems that most of us ignore it and actually assume they can eat how they want because "their metabolism" will deal with it or they could do this when they were a fit 18 year old and now as a moderately obese or just over weight 50 year old they think it will be just like then. I'm sorry to say this is not the case. Yes, some people have the ability to eat whatever they want and I hate them. Ectomorphs!
I really began to appreciate diet during my first round of P90X and I was vigilant and very strict on myself. During my second round of X, I slacked off a bit, allowing less clean food more so as I rationalized it as a test to see what will and will not work for me. I still lost weight and I did get below 300 lbs, however I could have done better and lost more and maybe kept up on at least my diet. I know what I have to do. I have the tools to make it happen and I have the support system allowing me to succeed instead of fail. Now it is up to me to do it. I hope I can keep up what I have started this week and more over do as well as I start the workouts of X3.
Good luck to us all!!!
and...
Bring it!!!!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Day 6
Today I received the P90X3 dvds in the mail. I see people saying this all over but it does ring true, "I was like a kid in a candy store" when I got my dvds. I went out early to check the mail from yesterday as we were gone all day out of town and didn't check the mail when we got in. I could tell the mail hadn't run quite yet this morning, our mail is usually delivered by 1030 am, and it was almost 1030. Then a ring of the doorbell and low and behold it was on the porch.
I opened it up and started looking the contents over. A nice new hat and my resistance band was in there along with, of course, the box with dvds in it. I watched a few of the workouts to see how different from P90X it looked. I saw some similarities and some new things. So exciting to see all of this and think of what will come of all this new information in my possession.
I plan on starting the workouts on the 23rd. I have been working out since "Day 1" but obviously not P90X3 or anything as vigorous as that. My diet has been pretty good and I have been using my old guide with a 2400 cal diet. I have been using myfitnesspal.com as well. I have been doing fairly well even with yesterday's slight indiscretion with our trip to McDonald's (not my idea) so I ended up eating one bad thing... One 730 cal bad thing.
The new nutrition guide is different than the P90X nutrition guide. I don't mean bad or good different, just different. Will be planning meals for the weak and going to the grocery store to buy appropriately for the week of eating. It will be the first week of starting X3 and working darn hard at eating clean. The new guide has me on a 3000 cal diet which is plan F. That seems like so much food and after eating today up to this point, which is 750pm, I have taken in 2100 cals... I am not hungry and I really don't want anything else. Maybe if I start doing the protein shakes like I did as post workout recovery drink, it will boost my total intake and not make me feel like I'm eating like a cow.... Who knows?
All in all, after 6 days, I have been doing fairly well with both activity and diet. I can't wait to see how things are going after 30 days.
I opened it up and started looking the contents over. A nice new hat and my resistance band was in there along with, of course, the box with dvds in it. I watched a few of the workouts to see how different from P90X it looked. I saw some similarities and some new things. So exciting to see all of this and think of what will come of all this new information in my possession.
I plan on starting the workouts on the 23rd. I have been working out since "Day 1" but obviously not P90X3 or anything as vigorous as that. My diet has been pretty good and I have been using my old guide with a 2400 cal diet. I have been using myfitnesspal.com as well. I have been doing fairly well even with yesterday's slight indiscretion with our trip to McDonald's (not my idea) so I ended up eating one bad thing... One 730 cal bad thing.
The new nutrition guide is different than the P90X nutrition guide. I don't mean bad or good different, just different. Will be planning meals for the weak and going to the grocery store to buy appropriately for the week of eating. It will be the first week of starting X3 and working darn hard at eating clean. The new guide has me on a 3000 cal diet which is plan F. That seems like so much food and after eating today up to this point, which is 750pm, I have taken in 2100 cals... I am not hungry and I really don't want anything else. Maybe if I start doing the protein shakes like I did as post workout recovery drink, it will boost my total intake and not make me feel like I'm eating like a cow.... Who knows?
All in all, after 6 days, I have been doing fairly well with both activity and diet. I can't wait to see how things are going after 30 days.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Day 5
Today was pretty uneventful. Had to be in the car for over 6 hours on a round trip for dr appts. however I did get my workout in before we left and I ate pretty good all day. The only blight on today's diet is a double quarter pounder with cheese. Yeah, yeah.... I know it's not good for me, but the break down on what I had today for carbs, proteins and total calories was great until then.
I was under my total calorie count by 174 calories and only over by 1 carb. I still need work getting in more proteins as i was under by 140 g of protein, but I will be getting that under control. I enjoy eating almost 2600 cal and being completely full and still doing positive numbers with diet and exercise. Amazing what you can eat and how much you can eat if you dont eat processed fast food and convenience foods.
As far as my P90X3 order, the tracking shows that it is in my local USPS office and should be delivered tomorrow, maybe Thursday at the latest. That would mean a tentative start date of Monday the 23rd. I thought about waiting until either the 30th or Jan 6th, but the holiday is not filled with travel or extravagant food or parties I should just start right away and get to it.
I will be posting before pics and measurements or at least taking them this weekend and post them on or before the first day of X3. As a reminder for anyone starting any type of fitness challenge, you should always at minimum take a before picture. Front, back and side (same side each time) to compare over the time frame of the challenge to see the difference from start to end. It's easy to notice you have changed, but you can't always tell how you really looked unless you have a pic same clothes, pose and lighting.
Fitness challenges should also include sound nutrition principles. I know, I am not the one to preach proper nutrition, you will realize that after you see the before pics. I am in as much need as proper nutrition as the next fat slob, but I am trying and I am tracking what I take in. I suggest you do the same. Myfitnesspal.com is a great place to do that. You can also log your workouts here as well. If you use the Beachbody website and the supergym in wowy you can log it there, but if you are not doing any form of Beachbody product, then logging food and workouts in place is a great way to start your personal accountability. Remember that if you post bogus information, the only person you fool is you.
Keep crushing it and remember to bring it every day!
I was under my total calorie count by 174 calories and only over by 1 carb. I still need work getting in more proteins as i was under by 140 g of protein, but I will be getting that under control. I enjoy eating almost 2600 cal and being completely full and still doing positive numbers with diet and exercise. Amazing what you can eat and how much you can eat if you dont eat processed fast food and convenience foods.
As far as my P90X3 order, the tracking shows that it is in my local USPS office and should be delivered tomorrow, maybe Thursday at the latest. That would mean a tentative start date of Monday the 23rd. I thought about waiting until either the 30th or Jan 6th, but the holiday is not filled with travel or extravagant food or parties I should just start right away and get to it.
I will be posting before pics and measurements or at least taking them this weekend and post them on or before the first day of X3. As a reminder for anyone starting any type of fitness challenge, you should always at minimum take a before picture. Front, back and side (same side each time) to compare over the time frame of the challenge to see the difference from start to end. It's easy to notice you have changed, but you can't always tell how you really looked unless you have a pic same clothes, pose and lighting.
Fitness challenges should also include sound nutrition principles. I know, I am not the one to preach proper nutrition, you will realize that after you see the before pics. I am in as much need as proper nutrition as the next fat slob, but I am trying and I am tracking what I take in. I suggest you do the same. Myfitnesspal.com is a great place to do that. You can also log your workouts here as well. If you use the Beachbody website and the supergym in wowy you can log it there, but if you are not doing any form of Beachbody product, then logging food and workouts in place is a great way to start your personal accountability. Remember that if you post bogus information, the only person you fool is you.
Keep crushing it and remember to bring it every day!
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Day 2
I will not be posting Day 1, 2 etc until either the end of my p90x3 or the end of time. I will post which day it is for my progression for the sense of keeping tabs on it. Although it is not day 2 for my p90x3
workout sadly, it is day 2 for my change and personal challenge of being
that better and more fit self.
Day 2 has been similar to day 1 in most respects.. near same workout with a small addition of some extra warmups and some pushups as the 30 min power walking is mostly about cardiovascular health and my lower body and some slight core work. Moving the arms is not enough so adding some resistance moves to create muscle burn is needed.
Diet is better today but still can do much better. I think up to now I am at 2476 cals with one snack to go which will be 100 cal greek yogurt so my total will be 2576 and I need 2 more 8oz glasses of water and that will be minimum water for the day. Myfitnesspal.com is so helpful for tracking my intake.
For anyone out there if anyone actually reads this, if you think a "whatever" hundred calorie diet wont work based on your size and activity for losing weight will not work or not enough food. I will disagree with you. I am currently stuffed, have not been craving food and I still can eat one more snack. Now mind you I have restructered my diet to be along the fat shredder plan from P90X and I am eating around 6 meals a day instead of cramming it into 3 or 4. Some may not think it works for them, but if you give it a truly honest try and most will find it can work.
Good luck out there and keep bringing it.
Day 2 has been similar to day 1 in most respects.. near same workout with a small addition of some extra warmups and some pushups as the 30 min power walking is mostly about cardiovascular health and my lower body and some slight core work. Moving the arms is not enough so adding some resistance moves to create muscle burn is needed.
Diet is better today but still can do much better. I think up to now I am at 2476 cals with one snack to go which will be 100 cal greek yogurt so my total will be 2576 and I need 2 more 8oz glasses of water and that will be minimum water for the day. Myfitnesspal.com is so helpful for tracking my intake.
For anyone out there if anyone actually reads this, if you think a "whatever" hundred calorie diet wont work based on your size and activity for losing weight will not work or not enough food. I will disagree with you. I am currently stuffed, have not been craving food and I still can eat one more snack. Now mind you I have restructered my diet to be along the fat shredder plan from P90X and I am eating around 6 meals a day instead of cramming it into 3 or 4. Some may not think it works for them, but if you give it a truly honest try and most will find it can work.
Good luck out there and keep bringing it.
Day 1
Today is the first day in sometime that I have tried to eat somewhat properly. It's the first day I've tried to do any exercise purposefully. I am happy with the results of the day and realize that today is day 1 in an everlasting number of days until the end. That end could be my death or just tomorrow when I give up and say screw it, I'm not doing this. The later is the less likely, but it could happen in 2 weeks.. 3 months.. 10 months.. or maybe 2 years from now. Whenever it is, that day when I say "Screw it!!!" I am going to have made my goal.
My goal... hmm... Now that you mention it, I haven't posted any goals yet. Well, I think that not knowing my exact weight is not a big deal, but I will give an ideal weight I want to be at should be around 230 lbs. My guess is that I am around 350 to 360. I have not weighed or measured and as time approaches for my start of the official P90X3 routine, I will do some measuring to what I can. Originally, I had a goal for a certain number of pushups and pullups and my final weight. Since this workout program is a little different, I might alter what I think is a good goal.
I have printed the worksheets for P90X3 and am looking forward to the start. I got my shipping email that also contained my tracking id... so let the games begin. Today was a good day for other reasons. I started a power walking routine. It is pretty simple and it's a good way to get my sedentary body up and moving around before a more extreme workout starts. It only last's 30 mins and does about 400 cal of burn on me. Not bad, and I may even continue to do this on top of P90X3. I am not promising that all.
As for my eating habits today, I did "OK". Now what I mean is that I stayed almost under the total cal count I needed to for the 2400 cal diet. It wasn't perfect by any means and I have not pledged to "eat clean" until at the earliest Monday the 16th. I am not sure when exactly I will be starting P90X3, but I will be eating clean from that moment on. Today was a good start though. It is 1230 am and I am not going to the kitchen for a midnight snack as usual. This is only day 1 remember that "screw it" moment can happen for either or both diet and exercise. I must stay vigilante on both fronts for success.
Baby steps....
My goal... hmm... Now that you mention it, I haven't posted any goals yet. Well, I think that not knowing my exact weight is not a big deal, but I will give an ideal weight I want to be at should be around 230 lbs. My guess is that I am around 350 to 360. I have not weighed or measured and as time approaches for my start of the official P90X3 routine, I will do some measuring to what I can. Originally, I had a goal for a certain number of pushups and pullups and my final weight. Since this workout program is a little different, I might alter what I think is a good goal.
I have printed the worksheets for P90X3 and am looking forward to the start. I got my shipping email that also contained my tracking id... so let the games begin. Today was a good day for other reasons. I started a power walking routine. It is pretty simple and it's a good way to get my sedentary body up and moving around before a more extreme workout starts. It only last's 30 mins and does about 400 cal of burn on me. Not bad, and I may even continue to do this on top of P90X3. I am not promising that all.
As for my eating habits today, I did "OK". Now what I mean is that I stayed almost under the total cal count I needed to for the 2400 cal diet. It wasn't perfect by any means and I have not pledged to "eat clean" until at the earliest Monday the 16th. I am not sure when exactly I will be starting P90X3, but I will be eating clean from that moment on. Today was a good start though. It is 1230 am and I am not going to the kitchen for a midnight snack as usual. This is only day 1 remember that "screw it" moment can happen for either or both diet and exercise. I must stay vigilante on both fronts for success.
Baby steps....
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
New Beginning
Time for a new beginning. Back in 2009 as I previously posted, I got down under 300 lbs. I went even lower than 298. I actually made it to 289. In the grand scheme of things it's not that great, but from 385 it was almost 100 lbs. How and why would someone ever let that happen again. It is a lot easier than it would seem.
I completed my second round of P90X while my kids were visiting me on summer vacation. I looked and felt the best I had in a long time. I had a bad back, a bad knee and bad outlook on my personal life prior to starting the first round of P90X. I saw all my problems slip away. My back is chronically screwed from a car wreck in 1995. The core workouts, plyometrics and abdominal workouts helped strengthen both my back and abdomen. The Yoga X gave me flexibility I hadn't had since playing college football. My knee was a mess. I had been through PT for it up to December of 2008 and with no positive results the orthopedic wanted me to get on weight watchers as that was the only cure for my knee in his opinion. I had swelling in my knee, unresolved swelling and pain even after physical therapy and cortisone injections. In fact, I got a cortisone injection that should have given me relief for (in his opinion) several weeks, but only relieved the pain for about 24 to 48 hours and the swelling not at all. My knee had withstood the workouts and the swelling was gone and the pain was nonexistent. I would have to say from round 1 to round 2 everything was great.
Round 2 started much the same as round 1 and I plodded through with a little less intensity than the first one. I definitely molded the diet a bit differently and so my weight was not going down as much, but I expected that as I was trying to experiment with different foods and amounts of foods based the models in the P90X nutrition guide. It would have been completely possible to duplicate what I had previously done, but as we all know, the repetitiveness of the foods can be a binge trigger and I was trying to avoid that. I did reward myself after my first round and I did take a week off and eat mostly what I wanted, but I didn't go crazy. I was really trying to avoid all of that "I can do this once" type of mentality which would most likely lead me to a downward spiral. How I was ill prepared for my next few life events.
While doing my 2 full rounds and half 3rd round of X(just tired of typing P90X each time), for some reason I lost focus. I can blame a number of things and it sound justified, but in all honesty it was my own lack of commitment to myself. I was trying other routines in to supplement workouts and I failed, lost focus and then... I'll restart. Yeah, right!! Well needless to say I didn't restart and thought once I moved in Dec of 2009 into a house that my best friend owned to help him with his expenses at the time that I would reset myself and get back on the wagon. Losing the space I once used for a new space only caused me to give an excuse to limit me from forging on.
Now that several months have passed and some random starts and stops had taken place, I decided to get back into it full force again. My room mate was even thinking of joining me. We would get up early and do it together. If you have accountability you tend to become more accountable and in turn do what you need to do. That didn't go well. He tried a few workouts without me and decided with his work schedule he was not going to be able to do it. Ok, I get it. It isn't for everyone, however, I was planning on getting going. Now it gets exciting.
August rolls around and wouldn't you know it I get rear ended by a guy texting and driving. I look in my rear view mirror and watch him approach me quickly then look up at the last minute. Now you think 40 mph isn't that fast until you are sitting still and get hit by someone without stopping. Lucky for me I am in a Jeep Cherokee Sport and he is in an Audi Coupe. We were both lucky and were able to walk away from the accident with minor scrapes. I had some back and neck issues, as anyone would after being rear ended without leaving a skid mark to stop.
Two months go by from the accident, I have a new car, well used but new for me, and things are going good. I break 5 bones in my hand one of which is completely shattered and requires THREE pins to put it "back together". The pins come out on November 23, 2010 and I can hardly use my hand. It hurts and I can barely put any pressure on it. This is going to put a damper on my pushups.
Just over a month later, near the very end of the year but not quite Jan 1, I slip on something at work. I didn't fall. I didn't even go down on one knee or move very awkwardly. Now I think that most of us have slipped on ice and your body jolts and muscles tighten up to catch yourself or prepare for a fall. That is what I did, and that was all I needed to do to send my back into muscle spasm hell. I was in the urgent care facility 4 times in the first 2 weeks of Jan 2011, having muscle spasms and unable to stand for more than an hour or two. I was fine when reclined with no pressure on my back. I had to see a pain specialist. I couldn't even work more than a few hours a day. Needless to say, my workouts haven't started yet. By the middle to end of summer, I was back in some sort of shape to be able to do physical exercise. I still had issues with pushups as the pain in my wrist and hand was there, but not gone with exertion on that joint.
It was probably near the end of 2011 before I felt like I could manage to handle pressure without what I felt would be any issue. So by now, my flexibility and my core strength that I had achieved was all gone. My eating habits were in the toilet and my motivation was not there. I kept myself in my room after work, watched tv and slept then off to work to repeat the cycle every day. I decided mid 2012 that I really wanted to get back into working out. I looked at other programs out there, but X was the one I knew worked and I had been successful at. My space and my accessories were now not around. I just lost my motivation.
I allowed small inconveniences and what I thought were overwhelming circumstances (they were not) to cloud my mind and use it as a crutch of inhibition. I justified my lack of commitment to myself any way I could. I ate what I wanted. I gained weight I didn't need to. I felt sorry for myself, plain and simple. I had in 2012, told my employers that I had an exit strategy from the job I was in. I needed to be able to advance. I felt capped at work, strangled at home and hopeless in my life. I told myself my job had to change. I told myself, when I change jobs, I will start working out.
Aug 2nd, 2013 I left Rhode Island for what I thought was an opportunity and it turns out that is not the case. Or is it? A hiring freeze was put in place on July 31 at the place I was going to be working and I didn't know about it until after I make my move. So now as I sit here waiting for that to be lifted I am stagnate. Maybe it will or it won't, that remains to be seen. In the mean time, P90X3 is coming out. I feel about as good as I have in a few years. I can be active and I can maintain pressure on that arm/hand/wrist almost as well as before. So...
A new beginning starts here and now..... P90X3 ordered and I will officially start eating clean on Monday. Bring it!!!!
I completed my second round of P90X while my kids were visiting me on summer vacation. I looked and felt the best I had in a long time. I had a bad back, a bad knee and bad outlook on my personal life prior to starting the first round of P90X. I saw all my problems slip away. My back is chronically screwed from a car wreck in 1995. The core workouts, plyometrics and abdominal workouts helped strengthen both my back and abdomen. The Yoga X gave me flexibility I hadn't had since playing college football. My knee was a mess. I had been through PT for it up to December of 2008 and with no positive results the orthopedic wanted me to get on weight watchers as that was the only cure for my knee in his opinion. I had swelling in my knee, unresolved swelling and pain even after physical therapy and cortisone injections. In fact, I got a cortisone injection that should have given me relief for (in his opinion) several weeks, but only relieved the pain for about 24 to 48 hours and the swelling not at all. My knee had withstood the workouts and the swelling was gone and the pain was nonexistent. I would have to say from round 1 to round 2 everything was great.
Round 2 started much the same as round 1 and I plodded through with a little less intensity than the first one. I definitely molded the diet a bit differently and so my weight was not going down as much, but I expected that as I was trying to experiment with different foods and amounts of foods based the models in the P90X nutrition guide. It would have been completely possible to duplicate what I had previously done, but as we all know, the repetitiveness of the foods can be a binge trigger and I was trying to avoid that. I did reward myself after my first round and I did take a week off and eat mostly what I wanted, but I didn't go crazy. I was really trying to avoid all of that "I can do this once" type of mentality which would most likely lead me to a downward spiral. How I was ill prepared for my next few life events.
While doing my 2 full rounds and half 3rd round of X(just tired of typing P90X each time), for some reason I lost focus. I can blame a number of things and it sound justified, but in all honesty it was my own lack of commitment to myself. I was trying other routines in to supplement workouts and I failed, lost focus and then... I'll restart. Yeah, right!! Well needless to say I didn't restart and thought once I moved in Dec of 2009 into a house that my best friend owned to help him with his expenses at the time that I would reset myself and get back on the wagon. Losing the space I once used for a new space only caused me to give an excuse to limit me from forging on.
Now that several months have passed and some random starts and stops had taken place, I decided to get back into it full force again. My room mate was even thinking of joining me. We would get up early and do it together. If you have accountability you tend to become more accountable and in turn do what you need to do. That didn't go well. He tried a few workouts without me and decided with his work schedule he was not going to be able to do it. Ok, I get it. It isn't for everyone, however, I was planning on getting going. Now it gets exciting.
August rolls around and wouldn't you know it I get rear ended by a guy texting and driving. I look in my rear view mirror and watch him approach me quickly then look up at the last minute. Now you think 40 mph isn't that fast until you are sitting still and get hit by someone without stopping. Lucky for me I am in a Jeep Cherokee Sport and he is in an Audi Coupe. We were both lucky and were able to walk away from the accident with minor scrapes. I had some back and neck issues, as anyone would after being rear ended without leaving a skid mark to stop.
Two months go by from the accident, I have a new car, well used but new for me, and things are going good. I break 5 bones in my hand one of which is completely shattered and requires THREE pins to put it "back together". The pins come out on November 23, 2010 and I can hardly use my hand. It hurts and I can barely put any pressure on it. This is going to put a damper on my pushups.
Just over a month later, near the very end of the year but not quite Jan 1, I slip on something at work. I didn't fall. I didn't even go down on one knee or move very awkwardly. Now I think that most of us have slipped on ice and your body jolts and muscles tighten up to catch yourself or prepare for a fall. That is what I did, and that was all I needed to do to send my back into muscle spasm hell. I was in the urgent care facility 4 times in the first 2 weeks of Jan 2011, having muscle spasms and unable to stand for more than an hour or two. I was fine when reclined with no pressure on my back. I had to see a pain specialist. I couldn't even work more than a few hours a day. Needless to say, my workouts haven't started yet. By the middle to end of summer, I was back in some sort of shape to be able to do physical exercise. I still had issues with pushups as the pain in my wrist and hand was there, but not gone with exertion on that joint.
It was probably near the end of 2011 before I felt like I could manage to handle pressure without what I felt would be any issue. So by now, my flexibility and my core strength that I had achieved was all gone. My eating habits were in the toilet and my motivation was not there. I kept myself in my room after work, watched tv and slept then off to work to repeat the cycle every day. I decided mid 2012 that I really wanted to get back into working out. I looked at other programs out there, but X was the one I knew worked and I had been successful at. My space and my accessories were now not around. I just lost my motivation.
I allowed small inconveniences and what I thought were overwhelming circumstances (they were not) to cloud my mind and use it as a crutch of inhibition. I justified my lack of commitment to myself any way I could. I ate what I wanted. I gained weight I didn't need to. I felt sorry for myself, plain and simple. I had in 2012, told my employers that I had an exit strategy from the job I was in. I needed to be able to advance. I felt capped at work, strangled at home and hopeless in my life. I told myself my job had to change. I told myself, when I change jobs, I will start working out.
Aug 2nd, 2013 I left Rhode Island for what I thought was an opportunity and it turns out that is not the case. Or is it? A hiring freeze was put in place on July 31 at the place I was going to be working and I didn't know about it until after I make my move. So now as I sit here waiting for that to be lifted I am stagnate. Maybe it will or it won't, that remains to be seen. In the mean time, P90X3 is coming out. I feel about as good as I have in a few years. I can be active and I can maintain pressure on that arm/hand/wrist almost as well as before. So...
A new beginning starts here and now..... P90X3 ordered and I will officially start eating clean on Monday. Bring it!!!!
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