Day 11

Yoga Yoga Yoga.......how indifferent I am to you. Instead of doing Yoga X from the P90X program, I did a Yoga program I found on YouTube. I thought it would make me like Yoga more. It didn't. I would do Plyometrics everyday rather than do Yoga. I wonder if there is any other way to obtain flexibility? Anyway, I'll just do it anyway. Luckily, its behind me for this week and I have Legs & Back to look forward to tomorrow. Bring it on!

Day 10

Got up at 6:20am to do Shoulders & Arms. 25 pounds never sounds like a lot, but when you're doing a lot of reps in several sets, you can definitely feel the burn. I ate healthy foods (despite having lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and dinner at IHOP). Tomorrow, I plan to sub this Yoga routine I found on YouTube for Yoga X. Hopefully, it improves my flexibility and helps me achieve higher levels of athleticism.

Day 9

Plyometrics nearly kicked my butt again this week! Instead of getting up early this morning, I opted to work out when I got home after work. By the end of the hour, I was covered in sweat from head to toe! I was proud to once again make it all the way through without taking any breaks. Although my legs were on fire (and my lungs too ), I was determined to make it. I'm actually excited to exercise now and see my body change. I just have to keep up this routine and eating healthier. Tomorrow is Shoulders and Arms again :).

Day 8

Yesterday was relaxation/cheat day and I happily got to do both. I had a full day without exercise and indulged myself in two donuts and a snickers bar. The Abs Diet book says a cheat meal is an important part of weight loss (and its fun to eat my old so-bad-but-tastes-so-good food again). However, today was back to the routine. This morning I got up at 6:20am again and did chest & back. I pushed through, doing more reps than last week, and feeling great in the process. I kept my eating light, with a few healthy snacks in between. Tomorrow is Plyometrics again................. :).

Day 6

I got through my first week of phase 1 of P90X! Today was Kenpo X day and I was sweating like crazy as usual. It feels great to have completed my first week again. I started doing P90X well over a month ago, but stopped 27 days in due to laziness and lack of desired results (due entirely to the fact that I was still eating the same bad foods, sometimes almost 3,000 calories a day!) However, I was determined to start all over again with a clean slate and I have. I am now eating as clean as I can and multiple times a day, as suggested by the Abs Diet Book. Tomorrow, I get to rest and not have to think about picking up a dumbbell or punching and kicking. I can just relax and reflect on my progress, as well as ways to work harder next week and push myself even more. In the meantime, WEEK 1 IS COMPLETE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 5

Legs and Back day! I woke up at 6:20am to workout today and I was so sleepy the rest of the day but it was definitely worth it. It's great to get home and not have to worry about exercising when all you really want to do is drop down in front of a TV and enjoy your Friday. For now on, this will be my routine. Legs and back is a challenging workout, but I've always gotten through it. The 25 pounds add 100 times for challenge than before, but I am excited to see the results that are going to come out of it. Tomorrow is the last day this week I have to exercise (Sunday is a rest day) and its Kenpo X. I love Kenpo X because it is reminiscent of Taebo (which helped me lose weight as a teen) with its collection of punches and kicks. It's a workout I actually look forward to! I'm glad I'm making it through this week and ready to continue through the next few weeks of Phase One of P90x.

Day 4

Thursday of the P90x plan is Yoga X-my archenemy. I truly hate it with a passion! I started it today but stopped at 15 minutes. When I did this the first few times, it made me think I hated Yoga. But now I realize I don't hate Yoga, I hate THIS Yoga program. For starters, its 1 1/2 hours! That is insane. Who wants to do 1 1/2 hours of Yoga?!?! Well some people do, but I don't, especially not the same three moves over and over and over again. Luckily, there is the great invention youtube and I found a calming 42 minute yoga workout that I find totally doable. For now on, I will replace Yoga X with this program. Since I'm working now, I'm going to begin working out in the mornings. Tomorrow, I will be doing Legs & back. Let's see how this goes...................... :)

Day 3

Today's P90x workout was Shoulders & Arms.....it was definitely a challenge. I use 25 pound dumbbells and an ultra-heavy resistance band, which made this once easy workout a brutal one. Previously, when I did Shoulders and Arms I used my 10 pound wrist/ankle weights since I was lacking dumbbells. I was able to do more reps than Tony (the P90x instructor) and the class participants with ease. Now, I struggle to do eight reps. Luckily, Tony says that if you're trying to add some muscle, 8-12 reps is a good idea (with 16 or more good for those trying to lean out). I don't know how he can lift 45 and 50 pound dumbbells when I have to summon all my might just to lift my 25 pounders. However, I'm confident that as the program progresses, I will be able to do more reps. I kept my eating basic, yet fulfilling and am ready for the next day. I start a new job tomorrow, so I will have to adjust to exercising after work again. Plus, tomorrow is Yoga X day-the only workout I truly dislike in this program. More on that when I complete Day 4.

Day 2

So after exercising and eating as well as I could yesterday, I found myself ravenously hungry right before bed. Instead of eating something entirely too heavy, I ate some cookie crisps cereal straight out of the box. This satisfied my hunger and helped me fall asleep. I awoke knowing today is Plyometrics day. This is the hardest workout in the P90x program because it consists of jumps throughout. When I attempted it last week, I was only able to make it halfway through, as my lack of breath and sweat covering my body convinced me I had had enough. Today, I was determined to push through the pain and that's just what I did. I didn't take breaks or hit the pause button, I simply powered through. After I was done I felt tired, but the good kind of tired that comes from feeling like you got an amazing workout. The toughest day is now behind me and I'm ready for tomorrow's Shoulders & Arms routine. I just hope I don't get hungry before bed again :).

Day 1

Day 1 is Chest and Back. I used two 25 pound weights and a ultra-heavy resistance band. The workout is definitely tough. I have never been good at pushups and this particular workout is VERY pushup heavy. Even though I wanted to do every rep they did as quickly as they did them, I had to go at my own pace. I made sure to eat healthy today with my only "junk" food being a Snickers bar. Luckily, according to the Abs diet book (which i am also using in my plan), this is a good candy choice. It has peanuts, which give you protein and keep you feeling full. Plus, my fav TV trainer Biggest Loser's Jillian Michaels says she eats about 200 calories worth of chocolate everyday, and if she can eat chocolate and have that body then I can indulge a little too. Tomorrow is plyometrics which is a major workout. Every time I've done it before, I have ended up with a pool of sweat. So signing off now to get a good night's rest so I can do it all over again tomorrow.

Beginning

6 years ago, I lost over 50 pounds. While I was skinny as a small child, introduction to coffee cakes and sweets via my amazing cook of a great grandmother led me from normal clothes to the husky section. As a teen, I ate and ate my way to over 200 pounds. After years of my family calling me fat, I decided to do something about it and began eating less junk and exercising. Over the course of a year I went down to 145 pounds, beginning my senior year as a completely new (and thin) person. Once in college, the pounds slowly crept back. A pound here, five there. I managed to yo-yo up and down with a routine of gain weight, exercise til its off, then back to normal. After awhile the pounds didn't stay off as much. By junior year, I was up to 169 pounds. While I tried to get the extra weight off, I couldn't manage to get it off as fast as I used to. Beginning a new relationship with a partner and mother-in-law that could cook so well, led me to to finally enjoy eating whatever I wanted, and eat well I did. However, that freedom came at a price. Over the course of 6 months I gained 25 pounds, ballooning to 195 pounds. 2 years later, I'm still trying to get back to my high school weight (or at least a healthy one-Wii Fit labeled me "Obese" at first, and now I'm down to "overweight"). Although I've managed to drop 20 pounds (now at 175 pounds), the rest of the weight just won't come off. In an effort to get beach body ready for next summer, I decided to come up with a new strategy. I am going to do the 90 day P90x workout program and follow a healthier eating program. I will use this blog to document my progress and hopefully motivate myself to push through to completion. Below are a few scary before pics. Let's Get to the after!!!!!!!!