P90X Complete!

WOO HOO!!!  We are officially done with P90X!  No more feeling guilty about eating chocolate!  Wait 'til you see how I celebrated...

On a side note, something happened to me this week that has never happened before.  At least that I can recall.  I joined a women's golf league this year, so the others members are just getting to know me.  I can have a pretty mean drive (I am convinced it's because of my increased core strength), and one of the other members was commenting on one of my monster drives.  She said "Where do you get your power?  You are so little."  It took a couple of seconds for me to register that she had called me little.  Me?  Little?  I have never thought of myself that way since I was a scrawny pre-pubescent teenager.  It felt really good though, and put a smile on my face for the rest of the day!

Here are my results:

                   Before                    After                 Difference

weight        141.8 lbs                  135.1 lbs            -6.7 lbs
BMI           24.2                          23.07
Resting heart rate 68                     53                      15
                   
chest          36 3/4"                     35"                    -1 3/4"
waist           30"                          27 1/2"              -2 1/2"
hips             38 3/4"                   36 7/8"               -1 7/8"
R thigh        20 3/8"                   20"                      -3/8"
L thigh        20 1/8"                   19 3/4"                -3/8"
R arm         12 1/4"                   11 5/8"                - 5/8"
L arm         11 3/4"                   11 1/4"                -1/2"

Total inches lost - 8!


Things I Have Learned

• I don't like to cook (I already knew that, this just reinforced it!)
• everything in moderation - that includes chocolate!
• I love asparagus soup
• my husband can be trained to wash dishes and cook - heehee!
• eating healthy every day is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be
• my body composition can be changed, even at my age.  That is what I am most happy about.
• I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT CHOCOLATE!  Sorry, but there's no other way to say it.

That being said, here is how I celebrated my graduation from P90X...

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake with Real Whipped Cream.  Yum!!  Did you expect anything different?

The best thing about it was I didn't feel one ounce of guilt!

Thanks for hanging with me through this whole ordeal.  It's been a great journey, and it isn't really over.  It will be a way of life for me.

K

P90X Update Week Fourteen

Are we done yet?  That is mostly how I felt about the meal plan this week.  My husband was traveling for the third week in a row, and I didn't feel like cooking very much.  My meals were a little on the unbalanced side, and I ate way too many carbs, and not enough salads and veggies.  Not to mention the bag of Reese's peanut butter cups that was on clearance after Easter.  Why did I even buy it?  Ugh!

The longer I do this, the more I realize I don't really enjoy cooking.  I wish I loved to cook as much as PW, but the fact is, I don't.  I've tried, but I don't know what I'm missing.  It's just something that I'm not passionate about.  And unfortunately, if I don't cook, we go out to eat.  Dear hubby is not much of a chef.  Something about the smoke alarm as a dinner bell isn't very appetizing, but I do appreciate his effort, and don't complain about the blackened crusts on everything.  (Or the tuna salad with 2 tablespoons of celery seeds that he surprised me with by making one day.)

I am going to reach out to all 5 of my readers today for some help in the kitchen.  How do you plan your meals?  Daily?  Weekly?  At 5:00 when it's time for dinner?  (That would be me!)  Do you love to cook?  Or hate it?  Have you always loved it, or did you learn to love it?  What do you enjoy about cooking?  Did you luck out and marry a professional chef?  What can I do to find the passion?  Help me please!  Any tips would be much appreciated by me and my waistline.

Speaking of waistline, I gained a little weight this week (thanks, Reese's!), so now I have my work cut out for me for our final week on the program.  Final weigh in and pics are coming up at the end of the week.  Guess I better get my hiney in gear!

Have a great day!

K

P90X Update Week Thirteen (Phase 2 Revisited)

I'm a little late posting this update.  It's hard to believe, but I haven't even been on my computer for the past 3 days.  It is spring, we've had nice weather (finally), and yard work was my priority.

If my husband and I would have stuck to the plan, we would be done with the P90X program now.  But we were "bad" for 2 weeks, and decided they needed to be re-done.  So we still have two more weeks to go.

This past week we went back to Phase 2 with the meals, which introduces more carbs.  (That reminds me - I'm supposed to be posting pictures of our meals.  Oops...guess I've been too hungry, and I've been forgetting to take pictures.)  Phase 2  was easier for me this time around.  I found that I was still hungry between meals, and ate all my allotted snacks.  Plus a little chocolate...shhh...don't tell anyone!  I did fine at Easter, but didn't show much restraint at bunko.  Maybe it was the glass(es) of wine!  Oh, well, at least that only comes once a month.  The exercises went really well this week, too.  I think my control issues have subsided, at least for the time being, and I wanted to work out every day.  I never had to force myself this week.  That's how I want it to be...I hope it stays that way.

Once again, I didn't lose any weight this week, but that's ok.  My clothes are almost falling off of me now, so I'm not too concerned about the number on the scale.  I am feeling stronger, and can really push myself to "Bring It" during the exercises.

Weight, just like age, is just a number.  How you feel is much more important in my book.

Thanks for stopping by.  K

P90X Update Week Twelve (Phase I Revisited)

In our attempt to refocus and shred some of the sludge that had accumulated the previous two weeks, my hubby and I decided to do the fat burning phase again this week.  We did the menu and exercises from week 1.  It involved a little more cooking on my part (egg white omelettes with some form of protein and veggies vs. store bought whole wheat waffles), but it was definitely worth it.  I didn't crave carbs or chocolate like I did the previous weeks, but I think that was just hormonal!  Every once in a while, I snuck an M&M from the kids' stash (shhh!  don't tell them!), but I didn't eat a whole bag like I would have previously.  I learned that depriving myself doesn't work, so now I will allow myself to have a bite, but only a bite, if I want it.

We have both recovered from our "injuries" and jumped right back on the bandwagon and exercised every day.  It felt really good, too.  I only had to force myself to work out one day this week.  The rest of the days, it just happened without even thinking about it.  I wish it could be like that all the time.  Sometimes life gets really busy, and the first thing to go is working out.  It suddenly disappears from the priority list.  But we all know what happens when we don't stay active.  Sludge starts to accumulate, we say "I'll work out tomorrow", and we end up right where we started.  I don't want that to happen again.

I did another jaw drop when I weighed myself this morning, but it was a happy jaw drop.  I lost all 4 lbs that I had gained in the previous two weeks.  I'm sure most of it was water weight from our little Chili's shenanigan, but at least I am back to where I want to be.

Today I am going to challenge you to go for a walk.  Even if it's just around the block or a shopping mall if the weather is bad.  Get out and breathe the fresh air.  Enjoy the beautiful spring weather.  Think about how much better you will feel when you are done!  If you are already used to exercising, increase your intensity or reps to change it up a bit.  You'll be glad you did!

Time for me to Bring It!  (That's a P90X thing)

K

Mmmmm...Lunch!

I thought it might be interesting to post some of the meals we eat on P90X.  That is, if I remember to take pictures before they are half eaten!  Most days I don't even eat everything I am supposed to, so I can't really day it is a diet.

Take a look at this...

Doesn't it look yummy?  The recipe called for snap peas, but I didn't have any on hand so I used green beans instead.  I am not a big shrimp eater, but this quickly became one of my favorite meals.  It is a cinch to prepare, and contains no oil so it is really healthy.  And it is delicious!

It's what I am having for lunch today!  Yum!

What are you having?

K

P90X Update Week Ten - The Rollercoaster Continues

Have you noticed a pattern here?  Good phase, bad phase, good week, bad week.  This was a bad week, and my worst week so far.  I strained my shoulder early in the week and that was an excuse for me not to exercise.  Plus, it was a busy week with other activities, and the exercising just didn't happen like it should have.  My husband hurt his back playing golf, so he was out of commission, and his motivating factor wasn't there either.  Instead of having one day off from exercising, we had four!  Ooops!

I can feel it, too.  I don't have as much energy, and I feel sluggish.  I am not motivated to stay away from the chocolate and raisin bread.  I paid the price and gained 0.4lbs this week.  There is no one to blame but myself.  I know I need to recommit myself and stay focused on my goal...to be healthy and feel good in my skin.

I really want to go take a nap right now.

And eat a piece of chocolate.

But I think I'll exercise instead.

Make it a great day!

K

P90X Update Week Nine

Yea!  I am one week closer to my goal of completing the P90X program.  Only four weeks to go!

This was a good week for me.  We started the third phase of the program which is called Endurance Maximizer.  The menu changed, and I was very grateful for that.  I was ready for some new recipes.  My chocolate cravings have (temporarily, I'm sure) subsided, and that was a big help, too.  The days I ate chocolate were fewer than the days I didn't.  That was a good thing.

Part of the beauty of this program is being able to track your progress on the worksheets for each video.  Not only can you feel how much stronger you get, but you can see how much stronger you get over the course of the program by writing everything down.  If a particular exercise was too easy/too hard, you can note that on the worksheet and increase/decrease the weight the next time.  Your progress is right there in black and white.  I really pushed myself during the exercises this week.  My body is definitely stronger, and I was able to do more reps with more weight.  My arms paid the price and were a little sore this week, but it felt good to feel strong.

Once again, I didn't lose or gain any weight for the week.  That's ok with me, because weight is just a number.  I feel stronger and look better, my clothes fit me better, and I am probably in the best shape physically of my entire life.  Sure, I still have some fat to burn off, but it will happen with time.  I have a good twenty years of accumulation to get rid of, and no matter how hard I try, I know it won't all be gone in 90 days.

One thing that makes me happy, though, is I am actually looking forward to shopping for a bathing suit this year.  I have never said that before!

P90X Update Week 8 - Phase 2 Complete

Whew!  I am so glad the second phase is over!  It was the hardest part of this whole ordeal so far.  I'm not sure if it was the menu, the cooking and cleaning up, not wanting to go grocery shopping, feeling controlled by the program, or my chocolate cravings, but I can't say that I really enjoyed it.  It wasn't as easy or as gratifying as the first phase.  The one part I did enjoy was the exercising (for the most part).  There were a few days where my husband had to light a firecracker under my computer chair to get me going, but after working out, it was worth it.

Exercise is always worth it.

I didn't lose or gain any weight this week; I weighed exactly the same as last week.  We are supposed to take our "after phase 2" photos and measurements today, but my husband is out of town, so I'll have to post those results later.

We have five weeks left on the program, but it will never be over.  Eating right, exercising, and making healthy choices is a lifetime commitment.

But that doesn't mean I can't dream about PW's cinnamon rolls and molten chocolate lave cake!

Make it a great day!

K

P90X Update Week Seven

I kind of blew it this week.  I fell off the wagon right into a big vat of chocolate.  Boy, did it taste good, too!  Chocolate kisses, Dove chocolate, peanut M&Ms, plain M&Ms.  Mmmmmm, mmmmm, goooood!!!  If it was chocolate and in my house, I ate it!  (Note to self - remove all tempting food from house.)  I'm not sure if it was my hormonal cravings that made me cave, or just the fact that I wanted chocolate and didn't have enough will power to "just say no", but I had chocolate almost every day this week.  The worst part of it is, I didn't feel guilty after I took that first bite.  Handfuls of M&Ms found their way into my mouth.  I felt entitled!  I had, after all, gone without chocolate for 6 weeks (not including that silly chocolate donut at the Cub Scout event that started it all), and that was long enough in my book!

The key here is moderation.  If I had eaten a 45 calorie Dove chocolate whenever I wanted one during the first six weeks, I probably wouldn't have gone so overboard this week.  One hundred extra calories wouldn't have done much harm over the course of a week.  That's only an extra 600 calories spread out over 6 weeks.  I'm sure I consumed more chocolate calories than that in this past week alone.  Deprivation doesn't work for me.  We all know that as soon as we can't have something, that "thing" suddenly becomes an obsession, and we will try everything we can think of to get it.  Now that I am starting a new week, I will practice a little more restraint when it comes to chocolate.  I will think really hard about whether or not I really want to eat it.  I think that is a more sensible way to be about it.  Besides, there's hardly any chocolate left!

That being said, I have still seen improvements this week.  My whole body continues to get stronger, and I have the beginnings of a mini six-pack.  It's faint, but I can still see it.  (Maybe because I'm trying so hard to find it!)  My fat cells are getting smaller, just in all the wrong places!  I am getting pretty saggy on top if you know what I mean, but my bottom is still bigger than I would like.  Why do women always lose it on top first?  It's just not fair!  I've also started to notice more definition in my arms, and I'm really close to being able to do a full pull up without cheating.  I don't think I have ever done a pull up my whole entire life.  That will be cause for celebration!  Maybe I'll eat a piece of chocolate.  :) 

As you can imagine, I was very hesitant to weigh myself this morning.  Thoughts of all those extra chocolate calories haunted me.  How sad would I be if I gained a whole pound or more?  I would have to work that much harder to lose it again.  Well, I just now weighed myself, and this week I lost 1.5lbs!  I couldn't believe it!  That's -6.6lbs so far.  I know that doesn't give me free reign to eat all the chocolate I want like I did this past week, and I won't.  But are the health benefits of chocolate true?  Could it mean that maybe chocolate can actually be good for you?

I know it was good for my mind.  And my body.  So have another piece of chocolate for me this week.  This time I'll have one with you!

Toodles!  K

Dear Mom,

Since the beginning of our P90X journey, the meals in our house have been a little...different; more healthy, less processed, not out of a box, and not ready in 5 minutes.  This has caused my children much stress.  They are for the most part good eaters.  Vegetables are usually the first to disappear from their plates, followed by the fruit, then the meat.  And I can't complain about that.  Except that the "meat" is mostly in the form of a hot dog, corn dog, chicken nugget, or macaroni and cheese.  (What am I doing to their poor young bodies?)  It's no wonder they eat their fruits and vegetables first!

Before P90X, whenever I fixed chicken I would hear every complaint as to why it couldn't be eaten.  "It's burned" (grill marks), "it's too spicy", "it just doesn't taste good", yadda, yadda, yadda!  With P90X, we have chicken 2-3 times a week for dinner, and fish 2-3 times each week as well.  My son is allergic to fish and my daughter conveniently doesn't like it, so on fish nights, the kids get to have their overly-processed "meat".  You can imagine the increase of complaints we have had to endure with the new and healthier meals I have been preparing.  I have always taught my children not to complain about the food that is put before them; they should be thankful that they have good food to eat and it isn't nice to make the cook feel bad.  But things were starting to get out of control.  It was time for a new rule.

The new rule was that if you complained about what was for dinner that night, the food that was left on your plate went away, and you didn't get anything else to eat until breakfast the next day.  That may seem harsh to some, but my kids aren't going to starve overnight, and hopefully they will be hungry enough that it will teach them a lesson.  Both kids were reminded several times of the new rule as soon as they started their protest.

Then there were no more warnings.

My son was first to break the rule.  We were having chicken, and the whining commenced.  His plate was taken away...he had only eaten a few vegetables if anything, and he had to go the rest of the night without anything else to eat.  He was very upset and crying, but he was reminded that he had made his own choice.  What made it especially difficult for him was that his piano lesson was that night, and they always get treats during their lesson.  He knew he wouldn't be allowed to eat any of them.

Before we left for his piano lesson, he handed me this note...

Poor thing!  He thinks I cook food he doesn't like on purpose!  Well, we had a little talk that night, and guess what?  I haven't heard a complaint about what the chef cooked for dinner for 2 weeks!

Gotta love those rules!

K

 

P90X Update Week Six

Good morning!  I could have titled this entry "Plateau".  I think I've reached mine.  This week, I lost the 0.2lbs the scale said I had gained last week.  (Notice I said what the scale said...it really isn't that accurate is it?  Heehee!)  I could tell my weight hadn't changed much this week.  Funny how you can tell things like that when you are really tuned in to what your body is saying.

I really pushed myself with the exercises this week, and I was much better with the cooking and meal preparation part.  I made all the meals I skipped out on last week.  For instance:  Filet Mignon with Pear and Peppercorn Sauce, Italian Meatloaf, Chicken Ceasar Salad, and Breakfast Potatoes.  You may be wondering why anyone wouldn't want to eat any of those...they all sound so appetizing.  Well, it wasn't that I didn't want to eat them, I didn't want to cook them.  I'm glad I made them this week, though.  The pear and peppercorn sauce was really good, and something I would never think to make on my own.  Shoot, all of it was good!  Every recipe has been very tasty, and will be something I incorporate into our meals in the future...even though my daughter will pick out every last onion before she eats anything!

I found myself thinking a lot about food this week.  Like what I am going to have to eat as soon as I am 'done' with P90X.  My thoughts wavered from Molten Chocolate Lava Cake with real Whipped Cream (if you know PW, you know this cake!), to our favorite Mexican restaurant, to a pan of brownies, to all the Dove chocolate I still have sitting around tempting me everyday.  Can you tell I miss my chocolate?  All of my mouth-watering thoughts about these foods (chocolate is a food, isn't it?) were followed by thoughts about how my body would feel immediately after eating any of them.  Remember the chocolate donut at the Cub Scout event?  Ugh!  Then I would think to myself that it really wouldn't be worth it to eat any of them.  It is still fun to think about it though.  Kind of.

Even though my weight loss has come to a standstill, I am still feeling stronger every week.  I continue to be able to do more with each and every exercise video.  One day I was so overcome with emotion for doing all the reps in the Ab RipperX video that I was moved to tears.  Tears of joy that I was getting stronger, and all my hard work was really making a difference.

And that felt good!

Make it a great day.  And eat a piece of chocolate for me.  I said it's ok.

K

P90X Update

Good evening!  (I started this in the morning, but my day got in the way.)  Here is my P90X update for this week.

This was probably the hardest week for me so far, and it was a combination of many things.  It all started last Friday night when we were at a Cub Scout banquet, and I was called up to the stage during the entertainment skit to participate in a contest.  I was ok with that until they announced that it was an eating contest!  Ack!!  I wanted to run off the stage!  I kept thinking to myself that this couldn't be happening to me.  Why did they have to pick me out of the whole room full of people?  Didn't they know I was so proud of myself for sticking to a diet for 4 weeks without snitching?  (Not even once!)  How was I going to get out of this one?  What was I going to have to eat?  I had visions of whipped cream pie all over my face.  I knew it would be embarrassing because it was all about the entertainment.  Then they pulled out a broom handle with 6 donuts hanging from strings.  Each one of us had to eat a donut off the string with our hands behind our backs.  Oh, great!  If the donut fell off the string, guess what?  We had to get down and eat it off the floor!  In a last minute attempt to politely decline, I whispered to one of the Entertainer Guys that I couldn't possibly eat the donut, I was on a diet.  He simply whispered back that it was ok, there weren't any calories.  Ha!  He had no idea the turmoil I was in.  I wanted to take one for the team, and being very competitive, I wanted to win!  But that meant I had to eat a highly processed, sugar and chemically laden donut that had more carbs than I had consumed in an entire month!  Before I had time to come up with another plan to get out of it, the contest was on.  The Entertainer Guy was gracious enough to hold my donut for me, so I never had to eat it off the floor.  (Wasn't that nice of him!)  The first bite was sickening sweet, tasted like chemicals, very dry, and hard to swallow.  I couldn't believe I was putting this stuff in my body.  But I had to do it for my 'kingdom' half of the room that I was representing.  More inner turmoil.  I imagined how good a glass of cold milk would taste with it.  Then the second, third, and fourth bites came and went.  Was I actually eating a donut?  I felt like I wasn't in reality.  I told myself this must be a dream and couldn't possibly be happening.  It was hilarious watching all the others wriggling on the floor trying to eat crumbs and pieces of donut with their hands still behind their backs.  The room was loud with laughter and cheering.  Then I realized that I could really win this contest.  My donut was still hanging neatly by it's string, one little bite left, and all the other donuts were in crumbs on the floor.  You couldn't even tell whose donut was whose!  It was quite a sight.  As I was chewing my last bite, one of the other contestants got up on his knees chewing his last bite.  The real contest had begun.  I felt like I was on Survivor, and realized how difficult it is to eat something and swallow it really fast when you have that much pressure on you.  At least it wasn't pureed sea creatures.  Long story short, I won the contest.  All to be disqualified because the Entertainer Guy held my donut for me.  (That was part of the skit).  And it was all downhill from there.

When I returned to my seat, I thought I was going to be sick.  I wanted to go to the bathroom to get rid of it, but I'm not one to stick my finger down my throat.  Besides, someone might come in and hear me wretching.  I was just going to have to tough it out.  And that I did.  My stomach gurgled, rumbled, and bloated, and I felt awful for the rest of the night.

Oh, yeah, back to the update...  Are you still with me?

This was the first week of the second phase of the program, so we had a new menu, and I AM TIRED OF COOKING THREE MEALS A DAY!  Sorry for the shout, but that's how I feel.  I still cooked some of the meals, but a lot of them were modified, and we ate the same thing day after day.  I think I had tuna salad for lunch 4 times this week!  The carb allowance increased in this phase, and I was really looking forward to that.  Who doesn't love carbs?  But it only made me want to eat more carbs!  I craved them all week long.  It was (and is) a terrible feeling.  Every time I see a carb, I want to eat it.  It shouldn't be that way!  This isn't so easy anymore.  Curse that donut!

Another reason this week was difficult for me was that it was a very busy week with school activities, music lessons, volunteering, Dr. appointments, etc.  Life got in the way.  I didn't take time to go to the grocery store every other day.  I stayed up late too many nights and needed more sleep.  I played bunko last night and didn't eat much or drink anything there.  (Ok, so I had a few celery sticks, a cherry tomato, one dark chocolate M&M, and 5 Hot Tamale candies, and no alcohol.  Bunko isn't as much fun without a glass of wine or two).  I realized how much I would have normally eaten and that was scary!

I paid for all my difficulties this week.  I didn't lose any weight.  I gained 0.2lbs.  I was off in some of my previously posted weights, so I've still lost 5lbs. in 5 weeks.  This week has made me realize how much effort it really takes to be healthy.  As long as I stay on track for the long run, it will all even out.  There will be days or weeks where life gets in the way, and you can't stick to your plan, but as long as that is a motivation to get back on track and not give up, it will all work out.

I am still happy with how far I have come, and now I'm even more motivated to stick with it.  I want the results.

At least the donut was chocolate.

K

P90X Update - Phase 1 Complete

Good morning!  As promised, here is my weekly update.  We just finished the 4 week Phase 1 of P90X, and all I can say is WOW!  I can't believe how fast it went, and how relatively easy it was to stick with the program.  I did find myself a little more hungry this week than in past weeks.  I hadn't been eating the full amount of snacks allowed each day, but this week I added them in.  The muscle I am building was wanting to be fed!

So now, we are on to Phase 2 of the plan.  The menu and recipes are different, allowing more carbs into our diet.  We got to have oatmeal for breakfast today!  Yippee!!  After not eating many carbs, it almost seems overwhelming to eat oatmeal and pasta in the same day!  This is called the Energy Booster part of the plan and I can see why.  Carbs.  Yum!

And now, for the weigh in...this week I lost 0.7lbs. for a total of 4.5lbs. in 4 weeks.  Not a lot this week, but I'm still heading toward my goal at a good pace.  The excercies for the final week of each phase are not as intense, so I wasn't burning as many calories this week.  The real shock to me was how many inches I have lost since the start.

chest  -1.25"
waist  -2.25"  (Can you believe that?!)
hips  -1.5"
thighs  -0.25" each
R arm  -5/8"
L arm  -0.25"

That's over 6.25"!!  That's the difference I see in the mirror and feel in my clothes.  If that isn't motivation, I don't know what is.  Well, the improvement in how I feel and move every day is motivation, too.  I haven't felt this good since I used to run every day when I was in my 20's.

And that was a quarter of a century ago!

I think I'll stick with it.

Make it a great day!

K

P90X

This is long...

My husband and I have been doing the P90X program for 3 weeks now.  So far it has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself.  If you haven't seen the infomercials, it's pretty intense.  If you have seen them, you know what I'm talking about!  It's 90 days of intense exercise paired with a nutrition plan.

The first week was HARD!  I was so sore after the first 2 days, I could hardly walk.  I couldn't even sit down without grunting and groaning in pain.  Every move I made took much effort, and was usually accompanied by more grunts and groans.  Even rolling over in bed was painful.  Then my Results and Recovery drink arrived,  (it's one of the P90X supplements), and the post-work out pains were gone.  That stuff is amazing!  They must put narcotics in it or something, because I haven't been sore since I've been drinking it.  It tastes yummy, too!

P90X has a nutrition plan to go along with the excercises.  If you do the portion plan, you make your own menu using the appropriate amount of proteins, carbs, fats, veggies, etc. every day.  Since I am Terrible (with a capital T) at meal planning, we chose to do the meal plan.  You have a week's worth of meals and snacks already planned that you will repeat for the first month.  All you have to do is cook them.

Sounds easy, right?

I spent more time in the grocery store and kitchen that first week than I did sleeping!  There was a different soup to cook every day, along with some kind of dressing, sauce, gravy, or salsa that had to be chopped, cooked, pureed, reduced, reduced again, mixed, pureed...  You get the point.  The cooking and eating part was harder for me than the exercising!  And since my husband can't boil water without burning it, the cooking was up to me.  Needless to say, Dear Hubby has learned how to chop vegetables AND do the dishes!  He has been a wonderful help in the kitchen since that first week, and has even prepared a few meals alone.

His training is coming along well!

After the first few days of a 100% change in my eating habits along with new exercises, my body felt much better.  I almost felt detoxified.  I didn't crave chocolate and sugar like I thought I might.  I didn't crave carbs even though the first phase of the program is low carb.  I just felt good!  My body felt good.  My mind felt good.

Then came the weigh in.  My goal for the program is to lose 10 lbs.  After the first week, I was really excited to see how much weight I had lost.  We don't own a scale, so we use the Wii fit for our weight.  I stepped on the fit board and waited for it to calculate my weight.  Imagine my surprise when the number popped up on the screen.  After only one week of circling the grocery store buying foods I had never heard of, chopping them up, cooking them, eating so much food I couldn't finish it all, and sweating my pants off, I had lost...are you ready?...drum roll please......  0.1lb.  Yes, that's right - one tenth of one pound!  That's only 1.6 ounces!  Not even a drink of water's worth!

But you know what?  I wasn't discouraged.  Not even one little iota.  Because I felt so much better.  My body was happy with the changes I had made, and that made me want to continue.

The second week in the kitchen was much easier.  All the dressings, soups, sauces and gravies were already made and waiting in the freezer.  I didn't feel like I was spending every spare moment grocery shopping or cooking.  But I had just started this blog and it took a lot of my time.  My husband was traveling, and I didn't find the time to exercise every day like I should have.  My body needed a break, I told myself.  I could only do so much.  I could tell my body was melting away the fat, though.  My clothes fit better, and I could actually see myself getting smaller.  I was even more excited about my weigh in after the second week.  This time I lost 2.4lbs. for a total of 2.5lbs in 2 weeks. Not bad!

My hard work was paying off.

Cut to the third week.  The cooking and eating came naturally this past week, and the exercising happened every day like it was supposed to.  I could still feel my body transforming and becoming more proficient at the exercises.  I actually enjoyed the Ab Ripper X exercises this week ('cause I could finally do them!)  My body felt 'clean' and preservative free.  We had a potluck at work yesterday, and none of the sweets even looked good to me.  (I'm not sure if I want that to last!)  I look at food in a whole different light now.  I see at it as fuel, and if you want the car to run at it's best, you have to use the premium grade gas.  Ok, I'm scaring my self now!

Let's get this post over with!  For my weigh in this morning, I lost another 1.3lbs.  Total 3.8lbs in 3 weeks.  Wow!  It feels good!

I will be posting a P90X update every Friday.  If I'm brave enough at the end, I might even post before and after pictures.  That should keep me motivated!

If you've made it this far, thanks for hanging with me.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

K