It's official! I made my goal!

It's been a while since I've last blogged, but at least I can come back with exciting news. Yesterday I made my goal weight of 125lbs, in fact I weighed in at 124.1!!! This is the lightest I have been in at least eight years, definitely before I had kids. I have tried to lose the weight so many times in the past, and I have gotten within five pounds of my goal, but I have never been able to make it all the way and keep the weight off.

The difference this time is P90X, and lots of willpower! It has not been easy, and I haven't been perfect this past month, but I haven't given up, I just keep pushing play even when I've missed a day or two. I get back on track and I don't stop. I will not let the weight creep up on me again. I will not lose this body that I have worked so hard to build into something that I can be proud of.

This week we've been on track. We've been bringing it. We've worked out even when I've been tired and cranky and I think we're back on a roll. Hubby and I have goals for the end of the year. He wants to be under 200lbs by New Years and I'd like to weigh 120. Maybe when I get to 120 I'll think I am too skinny, I don't know. I know that I want to try and get there and see how I look and feel.

We have two more weeks left of Phase 3 and then we'll head into Round 3 of P90X. Thanks again to my husband who is my biggest supporter, and for the few of you that still read my blog. I'll post again soon.

Hello October!

I am loving the cooler weather. We'll be in the eighties all week, which means that when we work out at night the temperatures will be just right. I was injured last Saturday on both of my knees, and I thought that I could continue to do my P90X on Monday night, but when I tried to do the push-ups it was clear that I wouldn't be able to, the pain was too much to endure. So I took a few days off to recuperate and started up again on Thursday raring to go.

I can totally see the burn-out setting in, but I cannot stop now. Not when I am so close to my goal, and the holidays are quickly approaching. I have a dress in my closet that I haven't worn in nine years or so, and I have every intention of wearing it to my husbands Christmas Party this year. The dress is going to keep me motivated to stay on track, so that when I put that dress on in three months time it will fit me beautifully. It already does fit well, and I am going to keep it that way.

My mom took me shopping last week and she bought me some new jeans because I have lost so much weight she wanted to give me a little something. I love these jeans. They are size 6, dark denim, and they are so soft! I wore them on Thursday and I was given two great compliments about how skinny I looked, thanks to my new jeans and P90X. =) It was a good feeling for sure.

Hubby and I are still chugging along. Some weeks are better than others. This Friday was another great weigh-in day. I hit 126.6 so I continue to break my previous low month after month. This week the fair is in town, so it may be hard to be any lower next Friday for me, but hopefully I will get close.

Keep pushing play people. The results speak for themselves.

P90X Round 2: Phase 2 stats and pics

This phase had its ups and downs. I caught a cold so I missed a few days in this phase, but I still feel like when I did workout, I did my best. The longer this goes on, it has been harder to not burn out. Some days I just want a break. I don't want to do my P90X. But then I look in the mirror, or step on the scale, and I see all the progress I've made, and I don't want to give that up. My hard work wasn't for nothing.

My husband is my biggest source of encouragement. He lifts me up when I want to quit. He keeps me going, and for that I am grateful for without him I wouldn't be where I am today in so many areas of my life, not just weight loss.

So I am onto Phase 3. This should be the phase where I meet my final goal of 125. I am so close and it's well over a decade coming.

Stats:
90 day Weight: 132.9
Body fat %: 25.9

120 day Weight: 131.1
Body fat %: 25.6%

150 day Weight: 126.8
Body fat %: 24.3%

Total Weight loss for Round 2: 6.1 pounds
Total body fat % loss for Round 2: 1.6%

Total weight loss since starting P90X: 24.5 pounds
Total body fat % loss since starting P90X: 5.9%

Pictures! Hubby goofed and put 60/180 when it should be 60/150 but other than that they look pretty good.










Thanks for looking. Before you know it I'll be done with the second round of P90X. Won't that be incredible?!

P90X Round 2: Week 8 Recovery

Well we've made it to the recovery week again. Even though I am not a fan of Core Synergistics, I really do look forward to the recovery week. My Abs like the rest from Ab Ripper especially. I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. Looking at my calendar I'll be finishing up my second round of P90X on October 22nd. That seriously is right around the corner, and it will be here before I know it.

I love this time of year. October is my favorite month of the year and I am looking forward to it greatly. I've already started thinking about plans to keep me from packing on the Halloween candy pounds. I think this year if we do buy candy, we'll lean towards candy that hubby and I do not like. That way we won't be tempted to eat it while it's in the house. I am sure that our sweet girls will part with a piece or two of the good stuff that they get in their bags, so we won't be totally denying ourselves, and we will be avoiding a whole lot of temptation.

That's it for now. Hubby and I are into a good groove this week and I am hoping it continues well into next week. Keep pushing play, I know I will.

It's Friday, Friday, Friday ohhhh....!

It's been a good P90X week so far. I am feeling 100% again which is great considering how badly I was feeling last Friday. Hubby and I have been working out strong all week long. We've had to switch DVD's on Tuesday and Thursday because hubby is riding on Tuesdays now, but it's still working out good. Hubby is enjoying riding his new bicycle, and it is really helping to keep his weight loss going in the right direction. He's doing great. I'm about four to five pounds away from my goal weight. It's so close, and yet feels so far away. I figure as long as I keep eating healthy and exercising I'll make it by the end of October. Hopefully. Candy is a friend of mine. =P

Just thought I'd throw out a little update since my last one wasn't too upbeat. Still on track, still bringing it, and trying to spread the word.

P90X Round 2: Week 6

This past week wasn't a good one for me and P90X. It started out fine with a good workout on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday it was clear that I was sick. It started with a sore throat and a mild fever. By Friday I was in the midst of a full on cold. Hubby was kind and picked me up some medicine and cough drops from CVS. Saturday I started to feel a little bit better, but I wouldn't say I was 100% until today. Due to my illness I didn't do my P90X the past four days. I kind of feel guilty about it, but on the other hand I was just miserable, and I think making myself do the P90X when I was that sick would have only made me feel worse. I felt it was better to rest up, and start fresh this week.

So that's where I am. A new week. A recovered body. And honestly when I think about it I haven't been really sick since I started this P90X thing. Yes, I've gotten a headache once or twice, and an upset tummy once, but no real illnesses until now. And I think that is because I am healthier. I am exercising a lot, and building up my immune system. I am eating better things, healthier foods that help me be strong and stay well. So oh well if I had to miss a few days this week, over the long haul I think that P90X has probably kept me healthier then ever before. =)
Back to pushing play and Bringing it.

Heading into September...

and hoping for cooler weather. These 100 plus days have been killer, and they really make it hard for me to want to work out. I do anyway, but I long for some cooler temperatures at night so we can work out and not be totally sweltering the entire time. Thank goodness for fans and A/C.

Yesterday was a pretty great day. My youngest starts preschool again next week. I haven't seen her teacher since back in May and yesterday I went to the school to help prepare it for the new school year. D's teacher immediately complimented me on looking great and asked me how much weight I've lost. I told her all about P90X and how it has changed our lives. She was very interested to hear all about it, and had mentioned she knew some friends who had done the program also. It makes me feel great to spread the word about P90X, because it may be just the thing that someone else needs in their life that will put them on the right track to healthier living.

Later last night a friend of mine who I see at my daughters school called me up just to tell me how fantastic I looked. I'll tell you what, I was on cloud 9 last night, with two sets of compliments in one day, I was feeling the love. Hubby always says I look great and skinny all the time, but sadly I don't believe him as much as I probably should.

I did my Ab Ripper last night and really rocked it. I finished every move in its entirety which I am not sure has happened more than maybe once. Hubby came home from bike riding and then we went right into doing Cardio X. It is supposed to be Pylometrics but hubby's legs hurt after riding, so we did the shorter, easier DVD and we'll do Pylo on Thursday instead.

Well that's it from me. Enjoy the rest of the week.

P90X Round 2: Week 5

This week was the first week of Phase 2. The two muscle building days are much harder than they were in Phase 1, but that's a good thing because it helps keep your muscles growing and strong. Monday's workout is a ton of really hard push-ups. I have improved a lot with doing push-ups so I don't hate them nearly as much as I did in Round 1. Wednesday has lots of Pull-ups which I don't mind as much anymore ever since I started using the chair method in which I use the chair to rest my heels on while I hoist my body up using the pull-up bar. Much better than the bands IMO.

The rest of the week went smoothly with some minor tweaks to the schedule because we had a fun dinner out Saturday night, so we did our Kenpo on Sunday instead.

Weight wise I hit a new low last Friday and I was four pounds away from my goal weight of 125. We overindulged this weekend, so I am not sure if I'll be any closer to my goal this Friday, but I plan to meet my goal weight soon, hopefully by the end of September. I bought a new dress for our Saturday night out and it sure was fun getting to browse in the teenage/young women section in the small sizes.

Well that's it for me. Have a good week.

P90X Round 2: Phase 1 stats and pics

Yesterday I officially finished the first phase of Round 2. This was a hard 30 days because of the many special events that occurred such as: my 33rd birthday, my Grandma and Uncle came into town to visit for three days, and a day in Monterey with my family. I wish that my stats were better than they are, however I am nearing my goal and I don't think it's possible for me to keep losing 6-7 pounds every 30 days. So I'll take what I can get, although I do hope in the next 30 days my numbers are better.

Stats:
90 day Weight: 132.9
Body fat %: 25.9

120 day Weight: 131.1
Body fat %: 25.6%

Total Weight loss for Round 2: 1.8 pounds
Total body fat % loss for Round 2: 0.3%

Total weight loss since starting P90X: 20.2 pounds
Total body fat % loss since starting P90X: 4.6%


Onto the pics which I am not all that thrilled with because I look heavier in some of the pics then I did last time, but they are what they are.







Thanks for looking and I'll post stats & pics again in another 30 days.

P90X Round 2: Week 4

Recovery week flew by. It was nice giving my muscles a little bit of a rest. I actually kind of miss the Ab Ripper, as Tony says I love it, and I hate it. I'm moving into the harder Phase 2 exercises on Monday and oh boy, those are gonna hurt. My weight continues to creep down, at a slower rate than I'd like, but still as long as I am still going down, I am happy.

School started for my eldest again and I ran into a mom I haven't seen since school got out. She knew I had been doing P90X at the end of the school year, and when she saw me again her eyes lit up and she said, "Are you still doing P90X?" and I told her I was and that I was on Round 2. She said that she could totally tell! That kind of made my day. =) I had few other friends make some nice comments to me on the first day of school also and it made me feel good. I've been working hard and it's nice when someone acknowledges it.

Eating wise it was a bit of a struggle to get back on track, but now I am into the groove of things again. I overate a little last night, but I do allow myself a meal on the weekend when I am not quite as careful with my calories. I figure I have the rest of the week to work it off, and I don't go totally crazy, I just relax a little.

I guess that's it for now. I hope everyone has a super great week! Do your best and forget the rest!

Recovery Week at last!

Yesterday was a fun day with my Mother-in-Law and my girls. My MIL took us to the movies to see Mr. Poppers Penguin's and then out to a restaurant for lunch. I was worried about what I was going to eat when we went out, because I didn't want to blow my diet. What I ordered was a Patty Melt, which I didn't think would be too horribly bad, but I was wrong.

After I got home I went to input the calories for the day and the Patty Melt was 1,300 calories according to the restaurants website. Thankfully I only ate half of it, but still!!! I thought about ordering a salad, but a lot of times the salads are just as bad, if not worse then a hamburger is. My MIL got a large salad, with all the goodies on top, and salad dressing, I am not sure how many calories she ate compared to my 1,300, but it didn't seem like it was the best choice either. Oh well what can I do now? Nada. Just not order that again the next time I am at that restaurant, which may be hard because that Patty Melt was really good.

Last night hubby tried once again to ride his bike, even after the fall last week. Unfortunately the bike was more damaged then he realized, and it's basically toast, unless we want to drop a ton of money into fixing it up, which for a twenty year old bike seems kind of ridiculous. So hubby is officially done riding for the year, and maybe we can scrape up enough money to buy him a new bike next year. He's disappointed that he can't ride anymore, but he starts teaching at the end of the month anyway, so he's really only missing out on a couple of rides.

We had Cardio X last night and it went well. Always fun and fast. We'll be happier exercising when it isn't as hot. We're ready to say good-bye to summer, but I don't think we'll get off that easy. I am ready for Fall. It's my favorite season and I want to enjoy those cool nights, and the smells of the season, and by that I mean pumpkin spice latte's sans coffee. =)

It's been a good week so far and I plan to keep it going. Enjoy the day everyone.

P90X Round 2: Week 3

This week was one of up's and down's. The beginning of the week I was in a low place and had lost my motivation, by the end of the week I was feeling good again, and right on track. High's and low's are to be expected in life, but I can't let the low's stop me from meeting my goals. I am still pushing play, still doing my best and forgetting the rest, and I am going to hit my goal and hopefully it'll happen by the end of 2011.

Not much else to report. Next week is a recovery week so I can take it easy, and get myself excited about Phase 2. Phase 2 is hard, but I am ready for it. I've done it before, I can do it again.

Eating healthy is going well now that I was able to go grocery shopping and restock our household with healthy foods. Celery with laughing cow cheese is a favorite of hubby and me. I also really enjoy the Dreyers single serving ice creams. It's nice to find foods that taste good, but don't cost you too many calories. I also finally tried out the new 64 calorie beer and it tastes good. Even hubby likes it, and he doesn't like beer. So that is another tasty low calorie treat to have on hand.

I'm feeling good and ready for another week of P90X. To all my readers: Have a great week and Bring it!

The journey

It's been a hard couple of weeks for my husband. He's been working hard on losing weight by doing his P90X and riding his bike, but then he got hurt. Last week he hurt his knee and it was really troubling him. I told him he should go easy on the exercise so that it could heal. He agreed that even though he didn't want to, slowing down on the exercise was the right thing to do so his knee could improve, and not be damaged further. By Monday of this week he was feeling good to go again, and was all ready for a great week of P90X and riding.

And then he got hurt. While out riding his bike, which is older than dirt, the bike decided to suddenly dislodge his front wheel, while he was riding over a bump, and consequently my hubby fell off his bike. Thankfully he wasn't badly injured, nothing broken, but he wasn't exactly feeling too swell either. His elbow took a lot of the initial damage with some bleeding and scrapes, he also had road rash on his arm and back. His leg was also banged up and he came home with a limp. But the full knowledge of his injuries were not fully known until the next couple of days, when more of his body complained about the fall that he had taken.

Well needless to say my hubby didn't feel like riding last night. And doing his P90X wasn't his best effort and he eventually stopped after my urging that he needed to rest and not be a hero. My point with all of this is that sometimes shit happens. The best laid plans, fail. Sure hubby had great plans to lose x amount of weight, in X amount of days, and then he got hurt. Twice. So now what? Does he throw in the towel and say "Screw it? I blew it now I am done because I keep getting hurt?" Or does he instead take this time to heal, to get himself back to feeling fine again, and get back to it?

I gave myself a hard time on Tuesday when I went to do my Plyometrics and I had a headache. I didn't want to skip my exercise, but after just the warm-up it was clear that if I continued with the P90X I was going to make myself worse, not better. Hubby encouraged me to stop, and as much as I didn't want to, I did. Because I needed a break. My brain was thumping around in my skull something fierce and doing my P90X wasn't going to help me, in fact it probably would have made things worse. No need to be a hero.

Sometimes you have to just listen to your body when it is seriously hurt, and sit the heck down. P90X was still there for me Wednesday and I even did my Plyo then with no issues. It's all good. It's not a race who can lose the most weight the fastest. It's about the journey, and every journey is going to have ups and downs, highs and lows. I had my low earlier this week, but I am back on my journey. I know other people who have started P90x and then they had to stop because of their health, or because they weren't ready for this particular exercise program. Everyone needs to do what is best for them, for their bodies, for their own journeys, and don't be afraid to stop if need be, before getting back on track, or in my hubby's case back on that bike. You don't need to be a hero.

The Plan

Yesterday I posted about my losing momentum in my healthy lifestyle change. I had a bad day, and after giving it some thought, I think I've come up with a plan to get me back on track.

The first thing I need to do is keeping posting to my blog. No sooner did I stop posting daily to my blog, then suddenly all of my motivation went out the window. I need the blog to help keep me accountable and once a week just isn't doing the job.

The second thing I need to do is to track my calories again. I went for over two months tracking my calories every day using The Daily Plate. When I stopped tracking, I stopped keeping track of what I was eating, and how many calories I was consuming.

I think with doing these two things, along with doing my exercise nightly, I can continue to work toward my goals, and not face the yearly cycle of weight gain and regret.

Today I did both. I am currently blogging, and I have tracked everything that I have eaten. I have a better mindset then I did last night. I have a plan to keep me motivated and focused. Thank you to those of you who supported me last night, and helped me see that a bump in the road doesn't mean waving the white flag of defeat.

Back on track, still pushing play.

Losing momentum

After a big push these last three months to lose weight, and exercise daily, I can feel myself losing momentum. The willpower that pushed me through the past three months, just isn't as present anymore. The sad thing is that this is a cycle I go through every year.

In the beginning I always do well because I know that summer is fast approaching and that I want to look my best in my bathing suit, and summery clothing. I push myself hard to lose weight, and this year with the P90X, I think I looked better than ever, I certainly felt better than ever. But then sometime in August after a bunch of birthdays and celebrations, something just gives, and I stop caring as much about what I eat, and about all the calories I consume. Before I know it it's the winter holidays which always lend themselves to overeating. Come January I am at least ten pounds heavier, if not more, than what I was in July. This past year I was over fifteen pounds heavier than what I was in the previous July.

Hubby and I were just discussing this. How we want this year to be different. He was full of resolve yesterday, until he wiped out on his bike, and totally munched up his body. Now he's not feeling as much willpower, instead he just feels pain.

The upside is that I haven't stopped P90X. I haven't given up completely. I just haven't had my all into eating healthy again. And exercise without healthy eating will only hold off the weight gain for so long, before it catches up with you.

So what's the plan? To keep myself in check. Maybe I need to start posting again every day. It seems like when I posted every day I did better. I know I need to make healthier eating choices again. Sweet Tomatoes your name sounds healthy, but your food isn't exactly calorie free.

Here's to hoping that hubby and I can find that lost momentum again and we can continue to reach for our goals, and meet them in the next few months. We will not give up, we have come too far.

P90X Round 2: Week 2

Another week of P90X down. This week was tough because my birthday was last Sunday. We had lots of opportunities to eat out, and then my relatives came to town, and we celebrated even more. There were so many yummy foods and desserts, that it wasn't any surprise to me to see I was a couple of pounds higher than my lowest weight, while on the P90X. The good news is that I did my P90X exercises every.single.night. We're already back on track eating healthy again, and I hope that I can get back down to my lowest weight in a week or maybe two, depending on how long my body takes to readjust.

I told my Aunt over the phone that I was doing P90X and she had heard all about it and wanted to try it also. She said that a co-worker of hers was looking very muscular and fit and she asked him what he was doing and he said P90X! My Aunt is already a super star. She runs 6 miles every morning and every evening. She has always been physically fit and healthy while exercising without fail, and it was funny to hear her asking me about the P90X and saying that she needs it to build up some upper body strength. I hope she does do the program because I would love to hear her experiences with it.

Well one more week to go and then into my recovery week. The time just flies by. Summer vacation is almost over for my DD and then we're back to the normal around here. This summer has been a lot of fun, but I am ready for the normalcy of the school year again.

Push yourselves to do your best this week, and I will do the same. =)

P90X Round 2: Week 1

I made it through my first week of P90X Round 2. It was considerably easier then P90X Round 1. I made some changes like doing real push-ups instead of girly ones, doing my fifer scissors the right way and not the modified way, and the same for my V-ups. I don't want this to be Round 2 of easy, I want to make it as tough as I can, so I can continue to grow.

My confession for this week is that I did not do my P90X on Wednesday. We drove three hours to Monterey, and then stayed the entire day there enjoying the Aquarium and the sights, and then we drove home. By the time we got home again I was exhausted, as I feared I would be when we had talked about the trip. I just couldn't will myself to do my P90X and instead I went to bed. I felt so guilty I even dreamed about hubby doing his P90X while I sat on the couch and watched.

The rest of the week went as planned. I did my Plyo, my Cardio X, Legs & Back, and tonight was Kenpo. I'll admit to really, really not wanting to do Legs & Back and my Ab Ripper on Friday, but I did them anyway. This is not going to become a "I don't wanna" mindset that drags me back into the land of lazy, I am going to do this second round. Period.

Today was a great day because we got to go celebrate two of our good friends getting married. It was a pool party and I debated on what bathing suit to wear. I have a black one piece which is my go-to swimsuit, but I had debated wearing my tankini instead. With hubby's help he told me to go for the tankini, that I looked "hot" in it. I don't know about that, but I did wear the tankini and it is the first time I have worn it in public before. It feels good knowing that I can wear something a little skimpier and I don't think I looked totally awful in it. Hopefully by next year I can wear it, or another smaller tankini, without any trepidation.

So that's been my week. With my birthday tomorrow I am not sure how much healthy eating I am going to be doing, but by next week I should be back on track and working towards undoing any damage I've done to myself over the next couple of days.

Have a good week everyone.

P90X Round 2 Day 1: Chest & Back

Back to the grindstone. Only this time I did real push-ups instead of girly push-ups on my knees. My numbers went WAY down, but I can only expect them to go up from this point since I will only get better at them and stronger. I did really good on my Ab Ripper. I am trying to modify Ab Ripper less and some of those moves are super killer for me without the modifications. I will continue to make progress.

My birthday is this Sunday. Already I can tell that this weekend/week it's going to be hard to eat healthy and maintain a decent weight loss. However it is my birthday and I have been really good for the past three months, so I think I can enjoy a little cake without too much guilt.

Well that's it for now. Plyometrics tonight. Looking forward to jumping like a locust. Yippee!

P90X Graduate: Stats & Pics

It's official. I am a P90X graduate. The journey to this point wasn't easy. P90X kicks your ass. Period. I started this process questioning whether or not I could do the full 90 days. Somewhere along the way I stopped not wanting to do my P90X, and instead it was something I was going to do without question.

P90X isn't some quick fix. It takes hard work, dedication, commitment, and it hurts in the beginning. Hell, it still hurts sometimes, even in phase 3. But it works. The results speak for themselves. You get the results you put into it. If you skip days and eat like crap your results won't be as good. If you do the full program, if you make the time to not sit on the couch and veg in front of the t.v. for yet another hour, but instead get up and get moving, you will like what you see at the end.

I am in the very best shape of my life and not many people can say that at nearly 33 years old. I have never been this fit, this toned, or this strong. I feel great, I think I look pretty damn good, and I am not done. I start Round 2 today, because even though I am thrilled with my progress I still have a little bit left to go. And to be frank I can't go back to the way I was before, sitting on my butt, and eating crap every night. I deserve better than that, for myself, for my husband, and for my kids. P90X can change your life, just make that commitment and keep pushing play. The first week is the hardest and then you get a little bit stronger, fitter, leaner, every day. It's worth it and you won't believe how much better you will look and feel by the end.

Onto the stats and pictures!

Starting Weight: 151.3
Body fat %: 30.2

30 day Weight: 144.9
Body fat %: 29.0

60 day Weight: 138.7
Body fat %: 27.5

90 day Weight: 132.9
Body fat %: 25.9

Total weight lost for the 90 days is 18.4 pounds.
Total fat percentage lost for the 90 days is 4.3 percent.













And lastly the green short pictures:

I can now wear these shorts comfortably in public. It's a long way from not even be able to button them.





A huge thank you to my husband who helped keep me motivated, who helped push me to do better, and who kept me laughing all the way through.

And thank you to my readers. It really helped knowing that people were following my progress and cheering me on. I will continue to blog, but maybe not as frequently. Rest assured my P90X journey has not stopped here.

P90X Day 89 & 90: Core Synergistics and Kenpo

This is it baby. My last day of P90X round 1. WOO HOO! Hubby took the pictures this morning but I won't be able to post them until Monday. So excited! We'll be up at the cabin this weekend so this is my final post until my stats and pics post on Monday.

Let me just say WOW what a journey this has been. Hard work, determination, and the love and encouragement of a great man helped me make it the full 90 days. Rest assured that tonight I will do my Kenpo at the cabin and then I will be a graduate! Such a great thing to say! Anyway have a fantastic weekend everyone I'll catch you on the flip side.

P90X Day 87 & 88: Kenpo & X-stretch

Down to the final few days. Almost hitting the finish line and it feels so unbelievably good.

Yesterday was Kenpo. Punches, kicks, blocks, etc. The workout went well. Not much bad can be said about Kenpo. Then this morning I did my X-stretch and that was o.k. I think it's about 30 minutes too long. One hour of stretches is pushing it. It was a nice break though.

Two more days to go. WOO HOO! Tomorrow is Core Synergisitcs again and Saturday is Cardio X and then that's it I am a P90X graduate! Feeling pretty awesome and I am excited to see the final stat totals and pics!

P90X Day 86: Core Synergistics

Another night, another workout. Core is meh to me. Not too hard, not too easy, and not too much fun. However it wasn't the Plyo that hubby was doing behind me and at times I was glad I was doing Core and not Plyo. Tonight I have Kenpo which should be a good time.

Today is day 87. I am trying to decide whether or not to take a one week break from starting Round 2 of P90X, or if I should just jump right into the second round. We have a trip planned to Monterey next week which will be fun, but also tiring. I am not sure I'll want to come home and do my P90X after that. If I skip next week then it's a non-issue. If I don't skip next week then I'll need to do it when we get home. Blah. Skipping next week also means I'd sinc up with hubby more so we can do our exercises together. However I feel like I am cheating by skipping a week. And I don't want my muscles to get relaxed and have it be that much harder when I restart it again. Just thinking on this I still have a few more days.

I've definitely decided to do a second round of P90X. Even though I am super happy with the progress I have made, I am still wanting more change in my thigh area. That is where I carry the bulk of my weight, and I still have some to go to get it where I feel comfortable wearing my bathing suit. While I am super happy with my new muscles, my flatter tummy, and overall toned look, I still need a little more work. A second round of P90X should hopefully finish me off and then I can move into upkeep mode. So this is my plan. I am not sure if I'll continue to blog everyday, it has been very helpful in keeping me accountable, but I am not sure if I still need it every day now that this has become such a habit in my life. I am still thinking on that.

Have a good Wednesday.

P90X Day 85: Cardio X

Last night I tore it up with my Cardio X workout. I was just feeling great, and it showed in my workout. I think my hubby is right when he says that for women, hormones can totally wreck havoc with not only our weights, but also our emotions and how well we can workout. Last week leading up to my monthly visitor I wasn't feeling very awesome at all. I was just pushing play but without my normal gusto. This week I am feeling great again and doing my best, and the munchies which plagued me over the weekend are gone.

Good news: I was able to wear my green shorts this weekend. Yes, the green shorts that I wasn't even able to fit into at the beginning of this P90X journey. They now fit great and it is such a fantastic feeling knowing that I have sculpted my body down to a size that they can fit comfortably. It makes me happy. I will throw in one last green short picture when I do my final 90 day wrap-up which I will post in another 5 or 6 days since that's when I will be DONE with my first round of P90X!!! Woo hoo!!

I have Core Synergistics today. Boo. Oh well I will make the most of it and bring my best. I cannot believe that I am at the end of this thing. Hubby is almost on his recovery week for round 2 phase 1. He is still rocking it and looking better and better every day. It's a lifestyle change that I think we've finally mastered. Life feels good.

P90X Day 83: Kenpo

I happily did my Kenpo last night knowing that it was my last normal exercise in Phase 3. I am so glad that I am going into my last recovery week. The extra week in Phase 3 was tough. I was ready for my recovery week on Monday but I pushed through and finished the week as planned.

Yesterday afternoon we went for a bike ride with the girls near my In-laws house. The weather was actually cool enough to go out and enjoy the outdoors. The ride was cut short by our whiny four year old. I long for the day when she can handle longer hikes and bike rides.

Kenpo last night went well. I feel like I pushed myself and I had a really good workout. Not much else to say except that I am glad it's my rest day. Only six more days of P90X and then I am a graduate. Awesome.

P90X Day 81 & 82: Cardio X and Legs & Back

Somehow I skipped blogging yesterday. I had a super busy day and so it slipped my mind and by the time I remembered it was so late I thought I might as well just wait for today instead.

Apparently I wasn't doing my pull-ups with the band correctly on Wednesday. Hubby asked me how I had used the bands for the pull-ups and when I told him he explained that I had just been doing bicep curls. Oops. Last night we went to Target and bought ourselves a new stronger heavy band to replace the one that was broken so last night I did my pull-ups the right way again.

I am so excited that I just have Kenpo tonight and then I am officially on my recovery week. Woo hoo! I am so ready for a rest week, and oh yeah it's my last week of this round of P90X. It brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.

Okay have a good weekend. I'm out.

P90X Day 80: Back & Biceps

Nine more days to go before I am a P90X graduate. Woo Hoo! It's crazy how fast the 90 days has gone by. I am sitting at a comfortable weight, with an excellent body. Sure I'd like to lose more weight, and tone up some more, but overall I am quite pleased. It's nice to be back to a decent weight and shape for my upcoming birthday.

Last night Back & Biceps went well. Hubby accidentally broke one of our pull-up bands. Major bummer so my normal pull-up routine wasn't going to work. Instead I used the medium bands to do my pull-ups and that was really a blessing in disguise. Totally loved the new way of using the bands. Now I am not stuck in our hall closet and I get the fan blowing right on me. We're still going to need another heavy band, but at least I have an alternative for the time being.

I just got back from the grocery store and boy have our eating habits changed. My cart was loaded with veggies and fruits. I love that. We used to be total carb addicts and now we're eating much better. Although I am making party potatoes tomorrow to bring to my IL's house to celebrate my FIL's birthday, but we'll be sharing those with everyone, so it's not like I am just making them for us to devour. They are so good, it's hard to not eat them all up.

Tonight is Cardio X. Sweet! Have a good day.

P90X Day 79: Plyometrics

(The Old me)

Another good day last night jumping like a locust all over the living room. Okay maybe not a locust, perhaps more like a small toad, the results were good none-the-less. I am glad I had Plyo last night because it is one of the most calorie burning exercise Dvd's, and since we ate out last night I needed some good calorie burn to offset the food I ate. I didn't do too bad though. I only ate 1/2 my hamburger and I took the rest home.

Day after day keeps going by and I can see the differences in both me and my hubby. Our old lazy ways are in the past. Hubby was sick last night with horrible allergies, and yet he still did Plyo with me. He's a super star. I am not sure I would have done Plyo if it were me.

It just goes to show the dedication he has to this new lifestyle. A dedication that I have as well. Sure I get down from time to time, but for the most part I feel better than I have in a long time. I feel healthy, I look healthy and toned, and I am living the kind of life I have always wanted. AI a good model for my children so that they see how important eating healthy and exercise is. I am nearing the end of my first round of P90X and I am really happy with the results of it thus far.

P90X Day 78: Back, Shoulders, and Triceps

Last night I was in a funk. I couldn't match my numbers, let alone beat them. My arms were not up to par at all. As I was working out thoughts of self-doubt kept creeping in. How long can I realistically keep this up? Will I really be doing P90X for the next 9 months, or more? Even though I love the changes my body has made, I still can't help but think when will it end?

Hubby got home and he could tell I wasn't too happy with my workout. He encouraged me to not give up, to keep going because I am so close to the end of my 90 days. He reminded me that when we are at our goals we can let up a little on the P90X, not doing it every day, but rather 3-4 days a week to maintain our new toned bodies.

Today is a better day. Tonight is Plyo with my hubby so he should keep me in line, and push me to do my best. Tonight we have dinner out with my mom to celebrate my hubby's birthday from last week. I am not looking forward to the weight gain from the meal, but I am going to try and be good at dinner. We'll see how it goes.

P90X Days 75 & 76: Legs & Back and Kenpo

I'm back. My trip to the mountains with my good friends was so relaxing and peaceful. It was just the break I needed. It was such a great time I wish we could have stayed another night. Maybe next time.

Before I left I did my Legs & Back exercises. Same old, same old. Now that I am nearing the end of my 90 days there isn't much to add to what I did. I worked hard, I did my Ab Ripper, and then I took a nice cool shower.

Last night I did Kenpo with my hubby. It was a good workout. Nothing new to add, we did our kicks, punches, and blocks as usual.

What has changed within both me and my husband, is our commitment to living healthier lives. Our desire to continue to stay healthy and exercise. No excuses. No more we were too tired to get our butt off the couch and do our exercise. We don't give excuses anymore. We just do it. Period.

We're both changing our bodies one day at a time. We're changing our lifestyle for the better. I don't even know if we'll be the same people by the end of this year. I know we're certainly going to look better, we already do. I don't know why it took so long to get to this breaking point, but I sure am glad we decided to start P90X and change our lives.

P90X Day 74: Cardio X

I decided to do Cardio X last night with my hubby early in the evening. This gave me more time later to watch a marathon of recorded Sister Wives. Cardio X went well although it made it clear that we need another Yoga mat. Too bad they are thirty dollars a pop. Ugh. Who knew how much I would grow to love our Yoga mat. We only have one and usually hubby lets me use it and he uses the kids foam play mat, but last night I gave him the Yoga mat to use and that play mat sucked for Vinyasa's. Overall though it was a good work out with hubby and over within a blink of an eye.

Today is my Girls get-away. So excited! That means doing my Legs & Back workout and Ab Ripper this morning. Yuck. Not a fan of working out with the girls running around me. The plus is that it's cooler in the morning. I think I'll eat some breakfast and then get to it and get it over with. Have a great weekend everyone!

P90X Day 73: Shoulders & Arms

Summer is humming along and I continue to do my P90X every day. I long for the days when it isn't 86 degrees in my house while I am trying to work out. The heat makes me not want to work out, but I do it anyway.

Last night was Shoulders and Arms. I enjoy this workout because I like working on my arm muscles. I need some heavier weights soon because the ten pound ones are getting too light for me on the beginning exercises. Maybe I'll buy myself some 12lb ones for my birthday. Ab Ripper went well, even with us doing it right after the Shoulders & Arms workout. I've gotten really good on a lot of the hard moves and by really good I mean I can complete them without stopping. Hubby says my stomach is not only looking flatter but it's also smoothing out some of my stretch marks. Good golly that would be nice if it is true, because those two girls of mine really did a number on my stomach.

I have a fun weekend planned with my two good friends. We're headed up to the mountains by ourselves. I went grocery shopping and tried to buy healthy snacks to bring up like Sun Chips, Kelloggs Fiber Plus granola bars, and some fresh fruit. I did not buy any cookies, candy, or pastries which is usually something I would grab for a trip such as this. The good thing is that my two friends are both healthy eaters so I think they will enjoy the healthy snacks with me without complaint.

I keep thinking about the future and meeting my goals. I don't have a set weight I'd like to be, but I do want to feel comfortable in my skin, and be confident about how I look. Roughly that could take another one or two rounds of P90X but I am willing and able to go the distance if that is what it takes to get me where I need to be. I'll just keep pushing play, bringing it, and I will continue to change myself for the better.

P90X Day 72: Plyometrics

Yesterday was another busy day so we adjusted our working out schedule to make time to set off fireworks later in the evening with our good friend and our daughters. We ended up working out around 4:00p.m. which is much too hot IMO. Plyometrics is a workout that you really want to be nice and cool for since it is a ton of high intensity jumping. We made do, and I turned down the A/C a little to make it a little bit more comfortable. The actual workout itself went well. I was dog tired by the end, but I usually am.

Well I made it through the long four-day weekend and a whole lot of opportunity to eat, eat, eat! And I did it. I managed to stay focused and motivated and not go hog wild. I didn't overeat. I kept myself in check, and thanks to my hard work I didn't gain any weight. I am pleased with myself and my determination to not go overboard this weekend. I may be able to get through July without my usual weight gain.

Another day of trying to stay cool in this awful heat. We have a playdate with friends at their swimming pool so that will help. Until tomorrow see ya!

P90X Day 71: Chest & Back

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July. We had an amazing time with our friends last night. Knowing that we had a party to go to we decided it would be smart to do our Chest & Back workout in the morning, so that's what we did. Hubby started round 2 so we were both on the same DVD which is always fun. We alternated with him doing pull-ups, while I did push-ups and so forth. It was a good workout.

Then we went to the party. Hubby made his delicious Rice Pilaf, and even though I really wanted to make some awesome dessert, he kept telling me it would be better for us both if I didn't make a dessert and he was probably right. There was a lot of food there, but I stuck to eating light, although I did splurge on one cupcake.

After the party we came home and finished up the night with Ab Ripper. Oh so much fun. We had a great Fourth of July which was focused on our family and friends rather than the food. I feel like we did the holiday right, enjoying the important things about the Fourth.

Tonight is Plyometrics. Woo hoo.

P90X Day 69: Kenpo in the mountains

Yesterday was a great day with my family. There was a lot of yummy food to be eaten and it was hard not to go back for seconds on the delicious Taco's my IL's made. I did good and stuck to just the one taco. The birthday cake thankfully is a flavor that I don' care for, so I was easily able to say No thanks to that without any regret.

I got really snacky later in the night, but I held fast to my rule not to eat after 8:00p.m. Overall I did really good yesterday and I ended the night with a good hour of Kenpo. Today is my rest day and I am enjoying that very much. I am not sure what our plans are for today, but you can bet it won't involve Tony Horton. =P

P90X Day 68: Legs & Back

Yesterday was a busy day and I knew it would be hard to fit my P90X in, the old me would have skipped working out completely. Now exercise is a priority in my life so skipping it was not an option, rather it was making the time to get it done. I ended up doing my P90X in two parts, the legs & back potion in the middle of the day, followed by a nice cool shower. After a fantastic dinner with my loving husband we came home and then I did my Ab Ripper to complete my P90X for the day. Ab Ripper was especially enjoyable last night.

Today we're up in the mountains at my IL's cabin to celebrate my hubby's birthday, and we brought the Kenpo DVD with us so we plan to do that tonight. Today marks 90days of _90X for my hubby. He is amazing and so focused. He rocked this P90X and I expect him to do the same thing with the next round. Our lives have changed for the better and we will continue to Bring It every day, doing our best and forgetting the rest!

P90X Day 67: Cardio X

Hey all. Feeling kind of low today. I feel like I did really good all week, but I didn't lose what I wanted to at this mornings Weigh-in. I guess I am still hung up on my scale numbers when I really shouldn't be. I dropped a tiny bit for fat % so that's something good.

Cardio X last night went well. I enjoyed it as always. Today I have to do my exercise early. I am not happy about that but I am pretty sure I won't want to do it tonight after going to dinner to celebrate my hubby's birthday.

This weekend I have an opportunity to wear a bathting suit around others. Not sure how I feel about that. Do I do my normal and keep myself mostly covered, or do I let myself show a little more skin? I guess I'll wait and see how I look/feel on that day.

Have a nice Friday peeps.

P90X Day 66: Back & Biceps

Entertain your ears to the wonderful voice of Dia Frampton. It's the least I can do since she didn't win The Voice last night. Hopefully she'll still get a record deal and I can buy her DVD some day soon.

As for P90X I did Back & Biceps last night. It's clear that I need a heavier weight for most of the moves. I'm thinking maybe I'll buy 12 or 15 lb weights for my birthday. I enjoyed working on my Biceps. I feel comfortable doing the many Bicep curls and I feel like it shows. We compared my arms yesterday to pictures if my arms last year around my birthday and I can see a difference. My arms are looking better this year then they did last year, and last year I weighed less then I do now. So it's a good thing.

We have a super busy weekend planned and hubby and I are thinking of how we're going to work our P90X into it. I think I'll do my Legs & Back in the morning on Friday so I won't have to do it after I stuff my face eating out with my hubby for his birthday Friday night. Saturday we'll do our Kenpo in the morning because we're headed to the cabin in the afternoon to spend the night with my IL's. So we have plans set, our P90X routines will not stop just because we're busy. Exercise is now a way of life for us. Period.

P90X Day 65: Plyometrics

Plyo last night was a lot of fun. It wasn't too hot thanks to an approaching storm, so I had the windows and doors open, and with the cool breeze it was much nicer. I feel like I really pushed myself. I jumped higher, kept my fire going longer, and at the end I felt invigorated. It was a good workout. And to think that Plyo was so challenging two months ago I could barely finish the DVD and now I can do it and feel great at the end. It's pretty amazing how your body can change in just two short months.

Hubby and I have a weight loss challenge that we started April 1st and it ends this Friday. It is based on percentage of weight lost so that it would be a little more fair. Well I must send out a kudos to my hubby since it looks like he has this in the bag. He has rocked it by doing the P90X and riding his bike, and because of all his hard work he's going to win the challenge. I am super happy for him. Friday is the day, so we'll see what happens, but I am pretty sure I'll be congratulating him then. He is amazing when he puts his mind to something you just can't stop him. =)

Have a cool day everyone.

P90X Day 64: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps

I forgot how hard this DVD was. Or maybe I got used to it in Phase 2. Last night it was tough all over again. Some reps I went higher on, but some I didn't. My arms felt tired by the end of it. I guess this is proving that the P90X muscle confusion plan works because my muscles were all like "What the?" When previously my muscles were in a good groove with this workout.

I also figured out the trick with Ab Ripper. If I do my muscle exercise and then wait about 10 minutes to do my Ab Ripper I have much better success with the Ab Ripper. That's what I did last night and I was able to do all the super hard moves on the Ab Ripper. Crunchy Frogs-check! Reverse Bicycles- Check! Mason Twists- Check! It felt good to have another great Ab Ripper run.

This weekend is worrying me. It's my hubby's birthday and we'll be going out to celebrate that. There's dinner with his family, and then the fourth of July. I am not sure how I am supposed to not gain weight with all of these special occasions packed into one little three day weekend. Sigh. This is where we blow it every year. We kick butt until July and then we just lose momentum and peter out. I don't want that to happen this year. Not at all. I've got to figure out what I am going to do to stay on track and not overeat for three whole days. We'll see what I can come up with.

P90X Day 62: Kenpo

Yesterday is another example of Eat bad food= have a bad workout. I know better. I know we shouldn't have gone for pizza and garlic bread, but I was craving pizza and it's been SO long. Big mistake.

My workout last night was pathetic. I was doggin' it the entire time. No energy. No fire. Just going through the motions, and not very well either. Sorry Tony, I didn't bring it. I'll enjoy my rest day and get back to business on Monday, with a better workout.

Today I am going out to lunch with a friend. I plan on ordering light and doing a lot of walking and talking to work it off. I had cheerio's for breakfast so I am off to a good start. I will do better today.

P90X Day 61: Legs & Back

Let's talk about Legs & Back. It's a good work out. My legs still get tired and shaky on some of the exercises. Chair Salutations suck. The Wall squats are not fun either, especially the one leg wall squats. But more than all of that there are lots of pull-ups. Now that I am 2/3rds of the way done by numbers are pretty high in the pull-up department which means if I try to beat my past numbers (which I do) then I really have to push myself. It's a good thing, but during the work out I am not so thrilled with doing 28 pull-ups. Good thing we use the pull-up bar, or I would still not be doing ANY pull-ups at all. Today my upper back hurts so I think they did the job.

My hubby is almost finished with his 90 day challenge. I am so very proud of him for sticking with this, and for adding the additional bike riding. He is a super star. He plans to continue another 90 days of P90X and then after that possibly even another round. He's awesome and he's looking so muscular and his clothes are all falling off of him. I think that because we're doing this together I feel such a huge amount of pride for what he's done. I know how hard the exercises are, I know how hot it's been outside while he's riding, I know how much he's putting into this, and the fact that he hasn't stopped, but rather increased everything, well it's just so freaking great I want to tell everyone how far he's come and how great he is. =)

We have a good weekend planned. So I'd better get to it. Have a nice one everyone.

P90X Days 59 & 60: Shoulders & Arms and Cardio X

I didn't feel like blogging twice yesterday and I felt like my stats and pictures were the more interesting thing to post, so today I'll do a combined post of the past two days workouts.

Shoulders & Arms- It's been quite a lot of weeks since I had done this work out. I'm up to 10 lb weights on all of the beginning exercises. I go down to 8 lbs on some of the middle exercises, and yes I still use 5 lbs on the shoulder flys. I tried 8lbs and it was a BIG no go. I enjoy this work out just because it works on my flabby arms, which I think are looking a little more toned, even if it doesn't show up on the pictures very well.

Ab Ripper- I did better but I am still not getting the Crunchy Frogs done without stopping. I'll keep working on that. Everything else went well.

Cardio X- It was another hot night which makes us wait a little later to do our exercise. When we got started it was 9:00p.m. I can't say too much about this. It went well and I enjoyed working out with my hubby as always.

Another weekend, another chance to do good eating. It should be easier this weekend since there are not any holidays, or special occasions. I can't say the same about the next weekend with hubby's birthday on the 2nd, and then fourth of July on Monday, so I'd better be really good this weekend and week.

P90X 60 day Stats & Pics

Starting Weight: 151.3
Body fat %: 30.2

30 day Weight: 144.9
Body fat %: 29.0

60 day Weight: 138.7
Body fat %: 27.5

Total weight lost for the 60 days is 12.6 pounds.
Total fat percentage lost for the 60 days is 2.7 percent.

I am happy with my weight loss and fat % loss this past 30 days. I am losing approx. 6 pounds per 30 days which isn't too shabby. I love the fact that my fat percentage continues to creep down. That means I am replacing fat with muscle and that can only be a good thing. 30 more days to go and then I'll be a P90X graduate. WOO HOO!


I am not thrilled with the latest pic. It almost looks like I am thinner in the second pic, but that cannot be the case because I am losing inches around my waist, my green short pics proved that last week.



This is better. I can see my waist is thinning out in the last pic compared to the other two. My muscles are not showing up well, but they are there believe me.


We goofed and did the latest back pic wrong but you can still see the progress made. Again a thinner mid-section and just the tiniest hint of muscle.


Thanks for looking and in just 30 short days I'll be back with the 90 day pictures of my P90X journey. =)

P90X Day 58: Plyometrics

Yesterday was so flipping hot, and today is going to be even hotter. Doing our Plyo last night was sweaty and tough, mainly because of the heat. Here is one of the downsides to doing our exercise in our living room and not at a gym. At a gym the A/C would be going and we'd be cool, at our house we can't turn the A/C WAY down, so we stick to a higher temperature and sweat it out. I feel bad for hubby though, he rides 22 miles in the outside heat and then comes home to do his P90X. Now that's dedication.

Plyo was typical except for the point where I stepped on my own foot and crashed to the floor hurting my knee. Good times let me tell you. Usually the Chair kicks have me smashing my toe into the chair, but no last night I got a special disaster. Hubby thinks I am so funny. =P At least I make our workouts entertaining.

Tomorrow is Day 60. I am excited and nervous all rolled into one. I hope I can see some further progress in the pictures. I'll post my pics and stats tomorrow so stay tuned for that. Hubby is nearing the end of his 90 challenge, and I am on the final phase. I can't believe we did it. We're awesome! I can't wait to say I am a P90X graduate. Have a great day everyone!

P90X Day 57: Chest & Back

It's been a long time since I've done Chest & Back, five weeks to be exact. Hubby had told me that I would find the workout much easier this time around, since the Phase 2 workout are so much harder and intense, and I found what he said to be true. I've gained a lot of strength and muscle in the past five weeks. The push-ups were pretty darn easy, I was able to do way more then I could in Week 3. And my numbers on the pull-ups were pretty low compared to the numbers I was doing in Phase 2. The next time I do Chest & Back it will be the last time which is pretty exciting, I am pretty excited that I am onto the last Phase of my 90 day challenge.

The Ab Ripper last night was a little more challenging. I did not do my Ab Ripper last week because it was my recovery week, except for the first Monday when I totally kicked Ab Ripper's butt. Last night it kind of kicked my butt back, although I was still able to do the reverse bicycles, and the Mason Twists all the way through. I got too tired with the Crunchy Frogs last night. Hopefully Wednesday night I'll do better.

Today is going to be a hot day, they're saying 105. I plan to spend the day swimming in my IL's pool and trying not to fry myself. Have a cool (ha!) day everyone.

P90X Day 55: Cardio X

Last night I did my favorite, Cardio X and today marks the end of Phase 2. It's hard to believe that I've made it this far, although once I put my mind to something this strongly I generally don't fail to complete it. It feels good being two thirds of the way through. I have really enjoyed the process of this, and seeing the results is awesome. Thursday will be the full 60 days so I'll have updated stats and pictures then. I have a feeling I haven't lost as much weight as the first 30 days but that's to be expected since the first few pounds come off easily, and the farther you get to your goal weight the harder losing weight becomes. But I don't really care because the pictures will tell the tale of how much better I am looking and I already feel so great, a number on a scale doesn't really mean much to me anymore.

So today is Father's Day and I will get it spend it with my hubby, the best dad in the world and my FIL tonight. Give your Daddies a big hug today since not everyone can, and life is too short not to show someone how much you love them and how much they mean to you.

P90X Day 54: Core Synergistcs again.

Same old, same old with Core last night. I have improved for sure. I was able to do more than ever before, and it got my heart pumping. It still isn't my favorite of the DVD's but I did it and now I'll move onto Cardio X tonight. Now that is a DVD that I do enjoy.

Eating yesterday was not on track, but we were celebrating my Father's Day so I think we were allowed to cheat. I made homemade Italian Rigatoni, garden salad, garlic bread, and for dessert we went to Marble Slab on got some sundae's. SO good. SO bad for us. But the good thing is that we still did our exercise last night, and we're back on track today. I said no to birthday cake... and I love cake. One bad day of eating doesn't derail you, it's continued days of bad eating and little or no exercise that packs on the pounds.

Have a good weekend everyone. =)

P90X Day 53: X Stretch

Last night was X Stretch which I haven't done in a month. I wasn't really excited about it because for one I am not really all that flexible, and two the time goes by so slow. I wish it had been a cardio workout, but oh well. I did my full hour of X stretch and I won't need to do it again until the end of Phase 3. Tonight is Core. Ick.

We have another busy weekend planned, plus its Father's Day on Sunday so I think it's going to be a challenging weekend when it comes to eating healthy. I'll give myself a little slack, but not too much. I usually eat above my calorie range on one of my weekend days, so I'll try to stick to that this weekend and be really good the other days. It won't be easy though.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

P90X Day 52: Kenpo

Last night was another fun round of Kenpo. Not much more to add then that. I punched, kicked, and blocked my way through the hour and then I rested. It was SUPER hot yesterday so doing any exercise at all has me dripping in sweat in no time at all.

For food we went out to dinner because it was just too damn hot to cook. We ended up going to Panda Express. I didn't do my research beforehand so I didn't really know the calorie breakdown until after we came home. I did pretty good. Luckily I love mushroom chicken and that is actually one of the better things you can eat there calorie wise. The sweet fire chicken is not a good item to order but they gave us dried out sweet fire chicken so hubby exchanged it for more mushroom chicken, yeah baby! By the end of the day I was still below my daily calorie goal so I did o.k. overall.

It's going to be another busy day so I better get to it. Stay cool everyone.

P90X Day 51: Core Synergistics & Green Short Pics

Yesterday I did Core Synergistics. One of my least favorite DVD's of the entire set. I don't like that there are so many complicated push ups and Tony doesn't offer up much in the modification of them. I just muddle through them the best that I can, but ultimately I feel like I am not getting the full benefit of the work out. It's just kind of frustrating and annoying to me. Oh well thankfully I only have to do Core on the recovery weeks so it isn't that big of a deal.

Someone asked me yesterday to post the pics of me in the green shorts. So without further ado, and please realize that these were never going to be for public viewing so go easy on me, here are the green short pics.



These were taken April 8th. I weighed 144.9 in these pics. I could not even button the shorts, I had too much fat in the way.


These were taken May 16th. Six weeks into this healthy lifestyle change. I could finally button the shorts.


These were taken June 13th. The closest weigh-in I had was the Friday before these were taken and I weighed 142.6. The astonishing thing is that even though the scale isn't much lower then I was on Week 1, you can see remarkable change to my midsection. This just goes to show that the scale is not the best tool to use when you are exercising daily.

I am happy with my progress thus far, I am hoping to get these shorts to the point they fit perfectly or are even too big, like I said yesterday. I've still got a while to go, but I'll get there.

P90X Day 50: Cardio X and Ab Ripper!

Let me start by saying that I totally rocked Ab Ripper last night. It wasn't even a day I was supposed to do Ab Ripper since I am on my recovery week, but hubby asked if I wanted to join him since he had to do Ab Ripper and boy am I glad that I said Yes.

Normally I can only make it completely through a couple of the moves without stopping, but last night I pushed myself farther than ever before. Last night I did the reverse bicycles, crunchy frogs, and Mason Twists without stopping at all. I felt so damn awesome afterward. Those are a few of the hardest moves in the Ab Ripper and I did them 100%, all the way. Let me just tell you I was on cloud nine last night.

My Cardio X work out went well also. I sweated like crazy and tried to burn as many calories as possible. It was a quick, fun 45 minutes and I felt great when I was finished for the night.

Another thing that had me totally pumped up yesterday was trying on my way too small green shorts. It's been a full month since I've tried them on and taken pictures and WOW! The green shorts that at one time couldn't even fasten at my belly, now button close with ease and I even have a tiny bit of room in the back of them. The pictures I took clearly show a much smaller Ab area.

I have a goal in my head that before the end of the shorts wearing season this year I am going to put those green shorts on and wear them out in public because they are going to fit me perfectly, or if I am really lucky they may even be a little too big on me. That will be awesome.

I have a busy day ahead of me and I am ready for it. Have a great day everyone!

P90X Day 47 and 48: Legs & Back and Kenpo

Legs & Back was a good workout as always. I was pretty impressed by how much my numbers have increased from Week 1 especially when it comes to the pull-ups. To give you an idea I am going to show you what was the most I did on week 1 and then what I did last night on week 7.

Reverse grip chin-ups: 12/26
Wide Front pull-ups: 17/26
Close grip overhead pull-ups:16/26
Switch grip pull-ups: 11/26

There has definitely been some progress made. The numbers don't lie. =)

Tonight we did Kenpo. Not our best work out by any means. I waited too long to start it, we ate later than normal so we were kind of bogged down, and we didn't eat super healthy today. All of these things contributed to a sub par work out. Oh well, I guess everyone is entitled to an off day now and again. We'll rest up tomorrow and then I start my recovery week on Monday. WOO HOO!

P90X Day 46: Cardio X

Another round of Cardio X went off last night without a hitch. We were moving and grooving to the radio while doing Yoga, Plyometrics, Kenpo, and Core. I'm thinking we burned a few calories by the end of it, which is always a good thing.

Last night I was looking for blogs from women that showcase their 90 days with before and after pics and sadly there wasn't many. In fact almost every woman's blog I stumbled onto did not complete the whole 90 days. For various reasons, their kids getting sick, their lives becoming too busy, etc. they just stopped the program. And that makes me sad because I know firsthand how much good the P90X can do if you're dedicated to following it through to the end.

I know I am not yet at the end, but barring some major physical illness I have every intention of making it to day 90. Sure it's hard sometimes to exercise when you don't feel good, or you've had a long busy day and you just want to collapse from exhaustion, but that's not how you get results. You get them by pushing through the hard stuff, by making yourself push play no matter what, and after you get through that rough patch you are glad you did.

I'm nearing my second recovery week soon. That will be a welcome break from the normal routine. It's weird to say I think I might miss Ab ripper a little. Like Tony Horton says I hate it, but I love it. Well it's Friday and I am glad about that. Legs tonight. Woo.

P90X Day 45: Back & Biceps

Something went right last night because boy am I sore today. I am pretty stiff around my shoulders and I blame it on the pull-ups. I swear that pull-up bar will be super loose one day, and freaking tight as hell the next. You just never know. Last night it was super tight so meeting or beating my numbers was a challenge, but I managed to anyway. I increased my weights to 10 pounds for nearly every exercise that required weights. Then I did Ab Ripper with my hubby and that was, as always, a joy. =P The plan for tonight is Cardio X, which I love, love, love!

Last night we ended up eating at Costco but hubby had a plan. We split a Combo pizza slice which always is 2 slices on one plate, so hubby ate one, and I ate the other. Then we got some frozen yogurt and 2 churros and we split everything with the kids. So I really only had 1/2 a churro and a few bites of frozen yogurt. The point of this is that we can still get the good foods we enjoy, we just modify it so we eat less. This strategy can be used for a lot of foods. If you are a dessert-a-holic like I am, you can still have some cake, just share a slice with a loved one, or take a very small slice so that you get a taste for it, without blowing your calories for the day.

The hardest part for me is at big parties, which we have a couple coming up this summer. Parties where the table is filled with lots of yummy things, and it's hard to not want to pile your plate to the brim. You have choices though. You can just choose the things that you REALLY want in small amounts. Or you can skip some things that you just kind of want, in favor of the few food items that you really want. Also if it's a pot luck, feel free to bring something healthy that you enjoy, so that you can at least count on one healthy alternative being there for you to munch on. A veggie plate, hummus and whole wheat crackers, or a fruit plate all come to mind.

Okay have a lovely Thursday and say cool out there. =)

P90X Day 44: Plyometrics

This song came on yesterday as my hubby and I were doing Plyo and I said this is the perfect song for a Plyo workout since all you do is JUMP! And jump we did. Jumping like locusts until the workout got the better of us, then we jumped like two year olds. We did it though, the entire hour, and it was good.

For our meals I've been trying to make healthier alternatives. I bought some ground turkey and I've been trying to work that into our dinners since it is super lean and better for us then ground beef is. Last night we had lettuce wraps with ground turkey, boysenberries, and raspberries. It was pretty tasty, although I won't say it was the most filling of dinners.

That's it for now. Just another fun bicep workout tonight. =)

P90X Day 43: Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps,

Sunday was a great day for our family. We spent a lot of time outside and we even managed to ride four miles with the girls. We got some swimming in as well. It was a nice start to our summer, and the cooler weather is a plus as well.

Last night was my final night of Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps until Week 10. Knowing this I tried to really push myself harder than ever before. Since I usually say how hard I worked but I don't get to really show you, I thought I'd post my stats from the first week and then the third week.

Slow motion 3 in 1 push ups: 11/12

In & Out Shoulder flys: 16 with 5 lb weights/ 16 with 8 lb weights

Chair Dips: 28/30

Plange Push ups: 12/13

Pike Presses: 8/12

Side tri-rises: 17/ 25

Floor Flys: 14/16

Scarecrows: 14 with 5 lbs/ 15 with 8 lbs

Overheard tricep extensions: 12 with 5 lbs/ 12 with 8 lbs

Two twitch speed pushups: 8/16

Y- presses: 13 with 5 lbs/14 with 8lbs

Lying tricep extensions: 15 with 5lbs/ 16 with 8 lbs

Side-to-side pushups: 9/14

Pour flys: 12 with 5 lbs/ 15 with 5 lbs

side-leaning tricep extensions: 23 with 5 lbs/ 22 with 8 lbs

One arm pushup: 3/8

Throw the bomb: 19 with 5 lb/22 with 8

Clap pushups: 6/8

slo mo throws: 8 with 5lbs/ 10 with 8 lbs

Front-to-Back tricep extensions: 9 with 5 lb/ 12 with 8 lbs

One arm balance pushup: 4/11

Flyrow presses: 7 with 5lb/ 11 with 5 lb

Dumbbell cross body blows: 40 with 5 lbs/ 40 with 8 lbs.

Looking over my stats it's easy to see that I improved on everything increasing my weight amount, my reps, or both. I am really much stronger than I was and I'm only getting stronger. Hopefully by week 10 I'll be ready to tackle some of the moves with 10 lb weights.

I also did Ab ripper last night and I really brought it. I pushed myself harder than ever before, really working on my abs until they were screaming. My abs are where I am seeing the most change and since I have always hated my post-baby flabby gut, I am really happy to see it starting to tighen up. Maybe by the end of this thing I will have a stomach I can be sort of happy with, instead of one that I am embarrassed by and always wanting to hide.

Tonight it's Plyo and possibly another bike ride with my family. I love how the changes we're making are changing how we spend our nights and weekends too. I want to be the family that bikes and hikes together, and not the family that just sits like slugs on the couch and vegs out every night.