Working Out is Hard to Do

My workout routine has been so odd lately.  I don't like it at all.  We've been so busy -- lots of cool things are going on like vacations, weddings, parties, and general friend dates. I've been eating sort of better -- and have cut my alcohol intake a lot in the past two weeks, but I feel like I can't stick to my workout schedule.    Damn that needing to make money and find a job! ;)  I have been prioritizing it less in the last few weeks, which is such a departure from how it was before we went to Hawaii.  I'm not sure I'm busier now, but there's something going on for sure. 

I keep going back to the idea of working out in the morning.  BUT, given my previous not-so-positive experience with that, and the fact that in order for it to really work I'd have to get into bed at a reasonable hour and not fall asleep on the couch, I'm not sure it's the best idea. 

I'm not sure if I'm liking the alternating weeks of Insanity and P90X2.  I'm a little concerned that I'm not getting the benefits of both as much as I thought.  I wonder if that's part of the reason I'm not as motivated to stick to my schedule. It's something for me to think about this weekend when I'm purposefully not making plans other than to work on my to do list.

 I also have been running -- badly.  I can't keep a good pace, I'm worn out so quickly, it's a hot mess when I run. 

Okay, complaining post done. ;)

Checking in on my goals

When I started the program, I had the following goals for this program

1. Follow nutrition plan as described in the P90X2 materials (minus the 5 cheats)
2. Be able to do 1 pull-up by the end of the program 
3. Get a 4 pack before summer 2012 
4. Reduce my body fat to 20%

I'm not on track to reach any of my goals, well, maybe the one about having 4-pack abs ;). I am surprisingly okay with it.  Given how achievement-oriented I am, I expected to be way more disappointed, but I actually feel pretty good.    

I should clarify -- I'm working toward my goals, but I'm not confident that I will be able to reach them all by the time this first round is over.  I am also not sure that I WANT to reach them -- for instance, to get my body fat down to 20% (which means a decrease of at least 4%), I'd have to really restrict my diet, and I've learned that I'm not willing to do that. 

Maybe it's a result of the unexpected outcomes, like having more sustained energy throughout the day, being able to get through the workouts (even with modifications) and being proud of that, knowing I'm getting stronger, having visible changes in my body, increasing my flexibility.

Yesterday afternoon, when I did yoga, I noticed that my chattaranga was much better after having done Superman during PAP Upper.  What a surprise!  My low back was simply stronger and more flexible! 

So, at the end of the day, I'm really happy with my results, even if they aren't what I had originally anticipated. 

Food Update

Sometimes, the food is just right.  The Herbed Veggie Soup and Chicken Salad Pita are delicious.  I made the individual Meat Loaves for the second time last week and actually followed the recipe correctly, so they were much better than last time!

I can do without most of the salads, except for the Broccoli & Chicken Salad which is amazing. So, John and I have decided to stop making them in general.

I love grapefruits -- we're eating them every week.  I love them more now that we have grapefruit spoons -- who knew they were so amazing! I also love the Soy Sausage Muffins from P90X and the Breakfast Quinoa. 

Oh yeah, and we're eating ProMax bars -- especially the Cookies n Cream, Nutty Peanut Crisp, and Cookie Dough.

Overestimated appetite in the AM

I am contemplating what looks like a half full plate of food. I've already been eating for 15 minutes, and I'm starting to think I won't make it. This breakfast is 3 egg whites, breakfast potatoes (using one whole potato for just myself), and 3 slices of turkey bacon. Don't even get me started on the grapefruit (which I'll eat later in the morning). It's too much. And egg whites just aren't as good as regular eggs. I need to scale back breakfast.

In the time I've written this, I did finish the turkey bacon. A girl has to have her bacon.

Crisis of Faith in the Diet

I am becoming less sure that the things I have given up are the right things. I am feeling DEPRIVED of foods I love, and GUILTY when I indulge. Perhaps this 5 cheats situation has created a monster.  I have found this week that I have less patience and tolerance for things, comments, people.  I am consumed with thoughts of what to eat, what not to eat, how to manage eating and not eating.  

Perhaps I am not being true to my philosophy of food.  Food is more than a means to an end, more than fuel for life.  It is central to good conversations with good friends, to laughter and sharing.  Not that food has stopped being that these last 3 weeks.  We have had people over for dinner and made recipes from the P90X2 recipe book, and the results are the same.  Good conversation, laughter, sharing with good friends.

So then it's something else.  In the beginning, I gave up sweets, caffeine, and alcohol, in part because the P90X2 Fitness Guide recommends it.  This can be an incredible detox experience -- and it seemed like a good idea to detox.  Additionally, it is giving me insight into my relationship with these "vices."  I thought caffeine was going to be the hardest one to give up, but other than going to bed earlier (and getting up earlier), not having caffeine hasn't been that big of a deal.  I noticed it in particular last night.  We had plans to go out to Bootie LA for our cousin's birthday -- starting at 9 PM.  You're probably thinking, "But, Kenna, you are usually asleep on the couch by 8:50."  I knew a nap would be in order.  It was hard to wake up from the nap, but after getting up, washing my face, and getting ready, I was up dancing and hanging out until 1 AM!  John suggested burpees to wake up, and I wanted to punch him in the face.  But, perhaps it was a good idea.

The alcohol is also not that big of a deal.  Don't get me wrong, some things, like dancing at Bootie with friends who have had a few drinks when you haven't isn't as much fun as I had hoped. But, I don't generally feel like I am missing out on much by not having alcohol.

It's the not having sweets that is killing me.  Or rather, it's the guilt I feel when I have two delicious banana-walnut oatmeal chunk cookies at Earic and Aisha's house that is troubling.  And the desire for these sweets, the frustration I feel at giving it up.  The Fitness Guide notes that if you can't go 90 days without these things, it's probably time to look your relationship with them.  I have always had a sweet tooth, and at the same time have had good self-control.  My mom occasionally notes how, as a child, if given a bag of M & M's, I would eat half and save some for later, while my brother would consume the whole bag in one sitting.  This remains true -- I can have sweets in the house for a week and snack on them over time, but if John is up late and looking for something sweet, I wake up in the morning and my mini chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joe's are significantly decreased.    

Let's also be honest.  This is the first diet I've been on in my life.  This is the first time I have actually attempted to give anything up.  So, as I start the 4th week, I am beginning to feel the mental effects of the nutrition plan.  Don't get me wrong -- I love the rest of the food, and am continuing to enjoy the cooking that I get to do.  I've noticed that I don't crave the sweets, and don't feel deprived of them, when I am in my normal routine.  I don't need to sit down with a serving of cookies like I did before.  It's when I'm dining with friends that I notice my ability to refrain from sweets goes out the window.

I've been getting some advice -- people who say one glass of red wine is not so bad, others who say one bite of something isn't going to hurt, John who says I should let today (Superbowl!) be 1 cheat if I want.  I think I'm going to go in moderation -- Kent is supposed to bring over delicious mac n cheese (one of my all time favorite foods), so if I feel like having a bite, it's not going to be that big of a deal. If I want to have a cup of mac n cheese - that's a cheat.  If I want to have a beer, then I will count it into my overall cheats.   I just have to decide what will make today be good for me.

I will tell you -- I don't like being so obsessed with food.  The exercise feels like a normal part of my life, but this constant worry about food is for the birds.        

Balance & Power [I was so much stronger this week than last week!]
Calories Burned = 646
Average Heart Rate = 134
Peak Heart Rate = 173

A Word (or More) About the Nutrition Plan

For those that don't know, the P90X2's nutrition plan is different from the original.  Rather than telling you exactly what to eat for each meal, there are daily guidelines based on your calorie level and the phase you are in. This means you get to customize the plan to suit your specific needs.  Sounds easy, right?

Don't get me wrong -- it's great if you want to eat vegan or grain-free menus without having to work too hard to modify the recipes to suit your needs.  It's not as great if you are like me and you just want someone to tell you what to do.  Sometimes, I want to scream, "Just tell me how to eat healthy, Tony Horton!  I'll do whatever you say!"

Thankfully, we got the kit a few weeks before we started.  Plus, I found a copy of the P90X nutrition plan on-line.  Still, it took me a few weeks to figure out the nutrition plan.  And I'm still figuring it out.  One thing I decided to do from the beginning is to divide the week into 2 sections -- I can't eat the same thing every day, but it seemed silly to eat something different every day.  So we have Day A which we eat for 4 days and Day B which we eat for 3 days.  It seems to be working out so far.    

Last week, our breakfasts consisted of omelets and scrambles.  John doesn't like eggs.  But, he powered through and made the best of it.  This week, breakfasts are soy sausage muffins and breakfast muffins -- I'm enjoying both better.  Meat and cheese in the morning -- yum!  We are also experimenting with grapefruits.  John asked, "Do we need to buy some grapefruit spoons?" to which I replied, "How hard can it be?"  Oh, it's hard all right.  Have you tried to eat a grapefruit with a fork or spoon?  It's not as easy as it looks. Plus, one morning John had to prepare his own grapefruit, and promptly cut it the wrong way.  Oops.

We're eating a salad nearly every day.  This week, I mixed it up with a soup instead.  Plus salmon and chicken.  Sweet potatoes, broccoli, and black beans.  It's not that different from what we were eating before, which is nice.

We're drinking a lot more milk -- 8 ounces a day at least.  It turns out I like milk.

We also get snacks in the P90X2 nutrition plan!  Rice cakes, peanut butter and celery, cottage cheese (for John, I wouldn't touch the stuff with a 10-foot pole).  There are lots of other options for snacks, we just haven't tried them yet. 

And, to round it all out -- protein bars and recovery formula. Thank goodness for those protein bars -- they are giving me a little bit of sweetness, without which I would probably have poked my own eye by now.  I am in love with Promax Nutty Chocolate & Cookies n Cream, as well as Balance Bar Cookie Dough.  The BeachBody protein bars are also delicious (we got to taste some thanks to our friend, Jess), but we just haven't bought them yet.  I am not using the BeachBody Recovery Formula, partly because we had some Muscle Milk Light.  It's not as many calories, but it was free.  In the future, I'll probably switch over the protein powder John uses, but I have to drink it with milk instead of water.  I'm holding out until I absolutely have to. 

I'm eating 1800 calories (give or take) every day.  Since we are cooking a lot more, we're buying so much food!  Our refrigerator looks like real adults live in our apartment!  It's a little bit of sticker shock --  we are spending more than we were before.  I didn't realize how much it takes to make all this food.

On the plus side, I have a ton of energy.  I'm able to get up at 6:00 AM with relative ease to cook breakfast, and have consistent energy all through the day.  However, don't think that I am staying up late. In fact, before I started this process, I was notorious for falling asleep on the couch at 9:00 PM.  Some things aren't changing.

I'll put more detail on another page so you can get a sense of what it all looks like. :)

Keep reading... and happy eating!
       

Cheating

I should have better defined what "cheating" meant before I started; perhaps then John wouldn't be subjected to a barrage of questions as I ate bread and olive oil or homemade mini chocolate cupcakes last night at Will & Colin's house.  Thankfully, Will made this delicious lentil soup, so I felt good about the main course.

Why didn't I bring a sensible tasty dessert -- something with fruit in it perhaps?  Instead, I looked for a recipe with chocolate in it.  Enter Low Fat Mini Chocolate Cupcakes.  I had two, at 74 calories each.  Is this a cheat?  Maybe half a cheat?  Well, add the slice and a half of french bread, and call it a cheat.

I guess I did define the cheats early on as diet oriented.  A fitness cheat would be not doing all the exercises I'm supposed to do in a week.

On the plus side, I did the Balance & Power Workout today -- LOTS of room for improvement, especially related to my push-ups, plyo push-ups, and not collapsing into my hips when standing on one leg (surprisingly, there's a lot of one-leg movements in Balance & Power...coincidence?).  My hips are the least flexible part of my whole body, the most tight when stretching, the most in need of work.

Calories Burned = 777
Average Heart Rate = 142
Peak Heart Rate = 178

In the beginning...

I'm not out of shape by any means -- I lift weights, run half and full marathons (as well as run around the neighborhood with Falkor, the dog), take yoga and spin classes, hike occasionally... you get the idea.  But, I was unsatisfied with my results.  I would go a few weeks or months eating right and exercising, but then one crazy weekend and my nutrition was out the window ("Yes, I will have those french fries," "That beer sounds delicious").  Plus, I was getting bored at the gym lifting weights.  I always had a goal to do a particular workout routine for 12 weeks, but I would stop after 8 or 9 weeks.  There's only so many bicep curls a woman can do before she wants to throw the weight at the gym mirror.

I needed a change -- in exercise and nutrition.  Although I love to cook, it wasn't a high priority between PhD classes, dissertation writing and researching, hanging out with John (my fantastic and fun husband), seeing friends, working out, etc.  I cooked well for guests.  I did the bare minimum for me. 

So, our friend, Jess, works for BeachBody and told us that a new P90X was coming out.  We pre-ordered it as a joint Christmas present.  We cancelled our gym membership.  I figured I'd do the program with all the nutrition and the workouts as they were intended.  I've decided to give up sweets, alcohol, and caffeine -- ALL AT ONCE (Good idea or not?  Time will tell).

Knowing me, and knowing that life is sometimes unpredictable, I gave myself 5 cheats.  If something comes up, and I have to/need to/want to cheat, so be it... but only 5 times (I mean, really, sometimes you can't say no to that chocolate chip cookie or exquisite glass of Pinot Noir).   It means I have to choose wisely.

I have the following goals for this program

1. Follow nutrition plan as described in the P90X2 materials (minus the 5 cheats)
2. Be able to do 1 pull-up by the end of the program 
3. Get a 4 pack before summer 2012 
4. Reduce my body fat to 20%

All that said, and in the spirit of full disclosure, here are some of my before photos (taken 1/12/12).

There I am, in a sports bra.  

See, not totally out of shape, but goodness, I'd like to be firmer! 

And here are my stats from 1/12/12:
Weight: 134.1
Body Fat Percentage: 24.1
BMI: 21.8
Chest: 34"
Bicep: (r) 10.75", (l) 10.5"
Waist: 27"
Hips: 35"
Thigh: (r) 22.5, (l) 22.75

Here we go.