All DONE!

Wow, I am done with P90X. I hoped to complete the final week of Recovery. I was able to do 5 out of the 6 days. The last day was absolutely packed, so I wasn't able to do it. But I am so glad to say  I completed all 12 weeks of P90X. Here's what I accomplished in 12 weeks. I can do 25 sit ups from the ground, 10-15 pulls ups with a chair, I can lift 15 lb dumb bells and I can do 30 push ups on my knees and 3-4 without my knees.I lost 9 pounds, 2.5 inches on my waist, an inch on each thigh and an inch on each arm. ALL my clothes fit better and some of them are a little big. I am sorry to not have posted pictures, but I just couldn't do it. It was too personal.

I learned A LOT with P90X. I learned how hard I can push my body. I learned that exercise can be done in an hour and be effective. I learned how to make the most of my workouts and how to make time for it as best I can. I am so grateful for my husband for pushing me to do it. I whined and moaned, but in the end he was right and my body is better for it. At 33 and having carried 6 children, I am glad to know my body will get back to normal. My back doesn't hurt anymore and I feel so much better inside and out.

Thank you to all my family and friends who cheered me on and encouraged me through this process. I am excited to get back in the gym and try some new exercises. I plan to start this up again in the fall when my kiddos are back in school. For anyone out there wondering if they should do P90X, I would say go for it. Even if you can't do any of it in the beginning, know you will get stronger and it will teach you many things about yourself. I'm just so glad that 12 weeks is done and I survived.

WEEK12!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh it's here. It's finally here. At this point I am 9 pounds down from when I started, a total of 4 inches on my body has come off. I am not swim suit ready like I thought I would be, but I am in clothes that I had shoved in the back of my closet from 3 years ago. My surrogate twins turned 2 last week. I was a little depressed that it's been 2 years since they're birth and I still can't get in the swim suit I bought before they were conceived. I do however have to remember that there pregnancy was no easy task, they were big babies AND I had a c-section with them. And many women can vouch for me on this who've experienced both types of births, getting over a vaginal delivery is cake compared to a Cesarean delivery. (sorry boys, tmi, I know) I am enjoying the fact that my back aches are almost virtually gone. My stomach only looks 2-3 months pregnant, not 6 and I can fit in a size 10 jean very well. An 8 will take another 10 lbs to get into.

This week has been off to a great start. I am doing just a few more of everything, but still can't do any pull ups without the chair. I'll get there someday. On Memorial Day and I went to my parents house and forgot to bring the dvd and my dad does not have all the weights I need, so he and I went on a 3.2 mile run. He is 64 and can still out run me. =) My legs were actually doing awesome, but my lungs were dying. I think part of that is due to the fact that with P90 you do more strength than cardio and the elevation I was running in was 3000 ft higher than I am used to. But it was fun and it was the first time in years that I was in shape enough to even run along side my dad. As our parents get older we realize we aren't going to have those opportunities all the time like when we were younger. So, I am so grateful I was able to say, "Hey dad, let's go for a run."

The rest of my week of week 12 was pretty crazy. Trying to fit in P90 is really difficult being a single parent for the time being, tons of activities for the kids as baseball ends and school ends for the summer.But I don't think it ever is easy to put exercise first, especially for someone who would rather be cleaning, baking or being social. I have one more week after this, the recovery week. I am totally nervous how my end result will be. All I can say at this moment in time is I feel good.

WEEK 11:Day 1-6

Wow, I really don't know how the time is flying this fast. The first 2 months felt like an eternity and the last 3 weeks have been going so fast. Part of it is school is coming close to an end, so we are busier as a family and my husband is still in Australia. Also not having a recovery week has made the last 4 weeks more fun. I did the Cinch cleanse for 2 days out of the 5. I totally forgot that I had 2 dinner's planned out that week with friends and it is a cleanse that you really need to do it uninterrupted. So, in the 2 days that I did it I lost 3 pounds. And it's still off and I feel great. The only hiccup I had in week 11 was that on my 6th day, which is Kenpo I did not have time to do it. It's an hour video. I had A hour, so I chose to run for 30 minutes which still allowed me time to shower and get ready. Like I've said before, before P90 I would have said, "Oh, well, no time today" and not done anything. But I knew I had to do something and now I know that if I just do something 5 to 6 days a week I will NEVER get back to where I was 6 months ago.

I am amazed though how much nutrition is a part of losing weight and keeping it off. The minute I think I can coast, is when I either gain, or remain the same. So until I am at my goal weight (145 would be amazing) then I have to keep doing better. I think cheating once in awhile keeps you sane. For myself and my body, I should not be consuming anymore than 1500-1800 calories a day ever. So eating crappy doesn't fit into that number very well-at least large amounts of crappy, and it shouldn't. How I feel when I eat greasy foods, or stuff myself at dinner (sometimes I go for one bite too many mindlessly) is not worth how I feel the next morning. Last week when I ate at my friends, they had a BBQ, and I ate an entire turkey burger, chips, baked beans, salad and smores. I should have only had half a burger, a bigger salad and skipped the baked beans altogether or the smores, but instead I ate all of it and the next day I felt pretty crummy. My main point is, that eating healthier (you will never get me to eat buckwheat pancakes) can be hard, but doing what I'm doing right now; desperately trying to lose 20 pounds is harder. And it's not worth maintaining bad eating habits just because it tastes good. It will continue to be a challenge for me to eat well because I have a major sweet tooth and my husband and I are foodies. But at least I am at a place where I know I will never allow myself to slide back as far as I did; even if I get pregnant again.  =)

Week 10: Day 6

Tomorrow is rest. Oh yes. I am down a pound, so good news is, the eating better is paying off. Kind of bummed I slacked. I thought I was holding on ok, but I guess not. I also noticed a little muscle definition on my arms today. I was doing something in the bathroom, my hair or opening my mascara and I got this glimpse of a defined muscle. My tricep is definitely getting there. Just need to be able to lift more.

I'm a little excited for next week. I am going to do a cleanse. It's called the 5-day Fast  from a book called Cinch by Cynthia Sass. I've done it before, but never on this strenuous of an exercise regimen. I am mainly doing it to "reset" my body and my eating habits. I did it a year ago and it not only helped me lose weight, but also helped me not crave bad food so much. It's a great book in general on healthy eating and having a healthy relationship with food.  I forgot about it, hence why I have gotten back to my old habits. so I'm a little hesitant. But I found my journal of the 5 day process and I remembered how good I felt.  At the time I read the book and did the "cleanse" I was training for my triathlon and in 5 days lost 7 pounds. I feel like it's the boost I need to get to 155. I miss that number. I wish I had remembered to do it in the beginning of the P90. I don't know if it breaks any P90 rules, if you will. It's a balanced diet of protein, veggies, fruit, healthy fats and spices. I may have to squeeze a protein drink in there once a day to keep up on my protein and to help sustain me during my workout. But I am excited to see how it goes. At this point I have nothing to lose. No pun intended.

I feel like my blogs are getting shorter and shorter. I think it's because at this point it is really kind of monotonous. And if I could stand here and tote 5 pounds down every month it would be a different story. But, this girl had a long way to go, longer than I thought. That's for sure.

Week 10: Day 4

I swear I have not fallen off the band wagon!!!! I have been too busy to blog. My husband went to Australia for 3 weeks, so I've been doing the single parent thing for a week. Last week we had something every single night. I did workout, just didn't get to document it very well. =(

I am already half way through week 10. Wowsa. I'm a little glad and a little sad. Still the same weight as my 4th week. And the inches are not coming off anymore. I still feel good in my clothes, but nothing extra. I really think it's my diet. Over the last 2 weeks I honestly can't say if I've eaten under 1800 calories a day. We've gone out to eat quite a bit which makes eating anything low fat, low sodium or low calories a challenge. The good news is I am getting strong. Like, I really, really am. For example, I was telling some friends at dinner the other night that for the past 2 years (since the twin pregnancy) my back is in utter pain after I've spent a day of vacuuming, changing bed sheets or scrubbing bathrooms. (I sound like a maid, but these are my normal chores at home.) Last week, I was working really hard changing all the linens and vacuuming and at the end of the day I realized, my back did not hurt. And I mean not one little bit! Plus, this past Saturday during the ab video I did a wide-leg sit up. For the past ten weeks, when asked to do this exercise, I had to start sitting up and just lean back as far as I could go. Every week I attempt to start from a lying down position, but nothin. This week, I did it! Talk about feeling like stuff is happening. I will say my back hurts now, but it's only because of yesterday's Back and Biceps.

I am committing to myself (and have been following suit as of this week) to eat better and be more aware of how much I consume. I eat pretty well and balanced, but I tend to sneak in bad things; like a cookie, or a piece of cake or even a Starbucks Frappacino (they were half off last week) =) I am daily reminding myself as I read on facebook a girl posted, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny does" Sometimes that's true and sometimes that totally isn't. I have the working hard thing down, it's just a matter of working hard and not sabotaging my efforts.

If any of you have stuck with me I appreciate it. I am sorry I have not been more consistent. I will power through and finish strong.

Week 9: Day 1,2,3 and 4

Here I am in week 9 and I am wishing for life to just stop for a bit, please?? Wow, I did not have time once to blog last week. So, here I am in day 4 of week 9 and just getting back to blogging. This week has been tough. All the exercises for this week I have not done since the first month of P90. So, my body is having trouble doing them. Not as bad as when I first began, but I noticed in my pull ups I could do 12 pull ups with a chair when I ended the first 3 weeks, now in my 9th week I can still only do 12-15 pull ups. So, nothing earth shattering, but I at least haven't lost ground. When I did Chest and Back this week I could do a fair number of pull ups, but my push ups were really bad. I still have to do them on my knees, but even then, I did about as many a I could on my first day. I pushed myself really hard though, so hard that I burned over 500 calories and felt quite nauseous at the end. It is is such a different thought process with P90X. All my life I've exercised to get more energy, to feel energized to go on with my day. But on the weight training days when I'm done I just want to sit down and recover.

On my 2nd day of this week (Week 9) I took my family to the park because we had gorgeous weather here and I thought, "I'll do my plyo in the park" Well, my computer crashed a few months back, which in turn caused me to get a new hard drive. For some reason it would not play the P90 dvd. Man, was I frustrated. I couldn't make the family leave, they were enjoying themselves. So, I just went for a run and sprinted telephone poles. I burned a little over 400 calories in 30 minutes. I was trying to go for a lot of calories in a short amount of time because time had been wasted trying to get my computer up and running. I felt good, worked hard and had fun doing something a little different. Day 3 was shoulders and arms. I like that workout and I was able to burn over 560 calories in an hour and 15 minutes. My triceps were really sore today. Today was yoga. I still hate it, but I'm definitely getting stronger.

I want to say "Whoo hoo, I'm only 4 weeks from the end!" But in reality, I'm 4 weeks from starting it all over again. Ha ha ha. I really am going to do it again, so I have to just keep telling myself to continue to give it my all in these next 4 weeks because the harder I work now, the better my results will be in round 2. I want to give myself of a goal to lose 10 lbs over the next 5 weeks ( 5 weeks because after week 12, I do the recovery week then I'm done). I am a little timid to give myself a weight goal becuase it seems like it doesn't work that way with P90. But so many people lose 20, 30, or 40 pounds total. I would like to walk away having lost at least 15 pounds. So I am going to have to really be conscious of what goes in my mouth, work hard and be consistent.

Week 8: Day 1,2,and 3

Oh boy, week 8 is not off to a great start. I am in recovery week, but did not get to workout Friday-Day one. Our middle daughter turned 10 this week. So we threw her a slumber party. Let's just say that consumed my Friday; cleaning, cooking, planning...there just was literally no time to fit it in. Saturday-Day2, I woke up and fed 6 little girls Swedish Pancakes, then we went to my son's baseball game where I had to run the snack bar. My mother in law was in town, so she and I thought it would be fun to take my girls to get their nails done. What was supposed to be an hour, turned into 2 hours. I had barely enough time to get home and change for my husband and I to head out to dinner and an Ingrid Michaelson concert. All that to say, I didn't work out Saturday either.

Friday would have been Yoga and Saturday would have been Core Synergistics. Since I missed those 2 days I thought about starting with day one today, but then it would mess up my day off and I am kind of in a rhythm with that. I thought about doubling up today and tomorrow, but I just knew there wasn't going to be time. Our weekend was pretty packed with family activities. So, I conceded to do today was and not sweat it. I did my Kenpo workout. I even did it at 6pm, which is late for me. I just told myself not matter what happened today I would make sure I left time for P90. Honestly, since my revelation that this is going to be an ongoing process it helps take the pressure off. Not in the sense that I'm going to be lazy and slacking, but in the sense that just because I couldn't fit it in doesn't mean I have to quit. In the past I would have gotten out of sync and then stopped for a few months, or even years.

At the end of this week I weigh in and measure. I am nervous and excited. I am pretty sure I lost inches, but not sure if I have lost much weight and I definitely don't know if I look any different from my first week photos. Well, lets hope the rest of the week stays on track.

Week 7: Day 6

It's my last day of the week. I goofed up and instead of doing Legs and Back yesterday, I did Kenpo. So, of course today was Legs and Back. I am definitely convinced this is my favorite workout. Not sure if it's because I burn over 500 calories doing it (and it isn't cardio) or because it is so many pull ups. Not that I love pull ups, but I feel  kind of cool doing them and I know they're working.

I had a good day today. I had a slow start. I think it was due to the fact my husband and I got hardly any sleep last night. Our son is not well and kept us up. When I woke up this morning I felt I slept only 3 hours. So, when I got going on my workout I was a bit sluggish, but about halfway through I could feel myself kick it in gear. The best part was on the Ab video I finally did all 25 V-up/Roll-up. I wanted to yell out to my husband, but he was on the phone, so I literally did a happy dance. And on Legs and Back day I usually can't do the ab video well because my legs are so spent.  But that wasn't the case today.

An interesting thing happened last night though. My husband Jon and I were about to go to bed, but I had flipped through a few channels and stumbled upon a P90X commercial. So, I watched for a few minutes. I saw a few of the normal success stories, people with hardly any weight to lose, but more toning needed. Or women who had zero -2 kids and looked amazing. I was starting to get mad, saying to myself, "Seriously, these people don't have my problems!" Then a gentleman came on and he was ripped, but you could tell he had quite a bit of lose skin around his midsection. He went on to say how he had lost 180 pounds. He had my full attention. He explained how the first time he did P90 he couldn't do anything. Most of the video he just walked or ran in placed. Can you imagine? Putting on this DVD and just running in place day after day? He said he began to be able to do the exercise. He lost roughly 60 pounds each time he did a round of P90. In the end he lost 180 pounds and completed P90X 5 TIMES!! I have been expecting to do this thing in 90 days, and boom, be done. But that is obviously not the case. My goal was to lose 20 pounds with this program. I am halfway through and have only lost 6 pounds. But instead of feeling discouraged and frustrated, I felt ignited. Here I was not able to do sit ups, or pull ups or only lift small amounts of weights. But I do not have a whole person to lose. I may have to do this thing twice, maybe three times but at least I know that someday, and definitely less than a year from now I will have the body I so desire. I have to keep reminding myself that this is about getting strong, healthy and being able to commit rain or shine to the well being of my body. I read, I eat well, I wash my face, brush my teeth, clean my house. I do all these things to have better health, but the one thing I keep putting on the back burner is exercise and it's time I stop saying to myself, "OK, do this until you get skinny, or you've got to lose 30 pounds in order to succeed" It can't be about that or I will continually keep slipping up. Hopefully when I feel overwhelmed I can look back at this blog and remember the bigger picture.

I forgot what day it is

I think I am currently on Week 7 Day 5. I have seriously lost track. Ever since my kids were on Spring Break it's been hard to be consistent with blogging. This past weekend my mom and sister came to my house for a girls weekend, which made sitting down to blog pretty much impossible. I was frantically trying to clean the house for them,on Friday which would have been Day one of week 7, and I almost talked myself out of exercising. I didn't think I would finish it all and I was so tired. But at 5:00 I found myself putting in the DVD. One of the biggest reasons I did it, was because I couldn't lie to my husband. So, I got going on my Chest, Shoulders and Triceps and 10 minutes in my sister walks in. She was so stoked I was doing it. So she threw on her workout clothes and got in there with me. 15 minutes later, my mom walks in. She put on her clothes and did it. It was actually quite fun. Just as we were finishing and ready to do the ab video, my husband walks in with my son covered in blood. I'm not kidding. He had been hit in the nose at baseball by a line drive. He was bleeding, but thankfully nothing was broken. So, the video was forgotten and the next thing we knew it was time to eat dinner and send my husband and kids to Palm Springs so we girls could be alone.

Saturday was Plyometrics. My sister Kim wanted to do it with me. She is in way better shape than me. She has run marathons, half marathons and works out at least 4 times a week consistently. She and I had to clear the entire living room of extra furniture so we could jump around. I was worried we wouldn't  both fit. But we made it happen and burned over 620 calories in 60 minutes. That's a record for me so far. It was pretty fun and she showed me that I was doing my squats a little incorrectly and helped line me up. Sometimes it's good to have an extra pair of eyes. Sunday was Back and Biceps. I did really well with the 15 pound dumbbells and I can do almost the entire Ab video. I can at least do all the moves, but I am yet to complete 25 reps for each move. It's so tough.

Monday was Yoga. Still bluh. I wish I could say it's getting better. But it's not. At least I don't think so. Today I messed up. I for some reason thought it was Day 6 and did Kenpo. Halfway through I realized it was Tuesday and not Wed. I don't think it's a big deal. I enjoy Kenpo now, I am not as awkward and I am able to work up a pretty good sweat.

My clothes are definitely fitting better and my husband says I look smaller. My aunt the other day commented that I look thinner. Even though the scale still only says 6 pounds down. That seems so bizarre to me. But I am just going to keep on persevering.

Week 6: Day 5 and 6

Success! I am through with week 6! Wow, it feels so great. Yesterday was Legs and Back. I love that dvd. I seriously do. I burn over 550 calories and in the shower yesterday I  noticed I have calf muscles again. Yippee! Since I burned so many calories during Legs and Back and because it is so intense I did not feel the need to add any extra cardio to it. I am seriously glad we do Legs and Back every week.

Today was Kenpo. Kenpo is odd. It is cardio and I feel I am working hard and definitely sweating, but I only burned 300 calories during it. Granted, you are really only working hard for 40 minutes of the dvd. So 300 calories in 40 minutes doesn't sound so bad. I feel like I worked hard though. I was moving faster and kicking a little higher. As for getting ready for next week I went out and bought 15 lb dumb bells today. I am very excited about those on Friday. Not sure what I can do with them, but just excited that for many of the exercises I am ready for a higher weight.

I have experience many highs and lows with P90 so far. Some days I am feeling amazing and strong and can't believe I am doing this then some days I feel fat and wimpy and I just don't know if I am gaining any ground. Today was a day of feeling high. I felt good, I worked hard and laid it all out there. That is the only thing I can do I guess, give it all I got and see where I end up. The one thing I am continuing to take from all of this is to become stronger and to keep making exercise a daily decision. For example, today I cleaned a house. So, after dropping the kids off at school, I went and cleaned a house for 4 hours, then headed straight home, put on my heart rate monitor and did Kenpo. Then showered, headed out the door, grabbed lunch and picked up my kids. The rest of the days was a blur of activity. In the past I would have said, "I don't have time to exercise" and honestly I didn't think I did. But I was able to find that hour and squeeze it in. In the past I would think, "Well, I didn't get up early like I planned, Oh well." But I can't do that anymore. I have to own that I am not a morning person and find another time of day to exercise and stop telling myself I don't have time.

I am so looking forward to my day off tomorrow even though it's full of housework and errands. At least I can do things for my family and myself without having to stress about that one thing. I am however looking forward to the next 6 weeks, ironically.

Week 6: Day 3 and 4

I am sitting here watching American Idol and trying so hard to get focues on my blog. It's been a busy 2 days, so sitting down to write my blog has not been easy. I've been putting into action my plan to add cardio to my weight training days. Yesterday was Back and Biceps. It was a Sunday and our kids were not feeling well, so I took the morning to make them a yummy breakfast and get my house straightened up. Then we went out to a local bike path where I took my bike and rode 7.5 miles and burned 300 calories. It was really fun. What I learned though was, next time I should do the biking after my P90 video. I was so wiped out. I did the Back and Bicep video well, but by the time it got to the ab workout it was all I could do to finish strong. In total I burned 695 calories. I was so spent that when I was done I just laid on the floor for a good 10 minutes and then was a little out of it for awhile. It was kind of funny. Once I had dinner I came around. I had even had a protein shake before exercising. 

Today was yoga. I decided not to do anything extra. Mainly because yoga is 90 minutes, plus I think it is in keeping with the P90X plan by only doing yoga. It is one of the hardest videos to do. One, its hard to feel like I am accomplishing something while doing it because I struggle with it so much. Two, it is easy to say to myself "I'm not burning many calories doing it, so I'll just skip it" It takes the most will power to follow through and do the Yoga dvd in my opinion.

My kids are back to school this week and I have to say I'm a little glad to be back to the normal schedule. It will allow me to exercise at more consistant times and without interruption. I still can't believe I am almost through with my 6th week. Part of me is so relieved I'm halfway and part of me is scared I won't see the reults I was hoping  for. Oh well, all I can do is, "Do my best and forget the rest."

Week 6: Day 1 and 2

I really hate when I don't blog daily. It makes it hard to keep up with my progress and remember the day before. Good news is, I am down another pound. So, to date I have lost 6 pounds in 6 weeks. Yesterday was Chest, Shoulder and Triceps and wow, was it tough. I thought I would be needing 15 pound dumbbells by now...I don't think so. It was so many push ups too. Ugh. And today my triceps are so sore. Something I am trying to do besides adding 300 more calories and protein to my diet is on weight training day add 30 minutes of cardio. Like I have said in my previous blogs, I am not losing weight fast enough in my opinion and I would feel better if I could burn at least 600 calories everyday. So, I did the Chest, Shoulder and Tricep plus the Ab Ripper X, then went out and just ran for 30 minutes. I think I went 2.5 miles. I was more worried about time and burning at least 300 calories. Once all was said and done, I burned 700 calories in an hour and 45 minutes. I felt really good during my run.

Today I did Plyometrics. I felt really good and I seemed to be "bringing it" more than normal. I was able to keep up mostly and I ended up burning 600 calories in an hour and 4 minutes. I'm having to ice my knees tonight because of the high impact of the workout. I even did some of the moves moderated and I still worked my butt off. A few things I realized today is that my coffee table has been moved to the corner of my living room for these past 6 weeks. I cannot have it in the middle of my living room because it just isn't worth moving it everyday. Plus, I have noticed that my exercise schedule is all over the place. I am just trying to fit it in where I can. Some days I work out at 9 am, some days 7:30 am, some days 4:30pm and even some days at 7pm. 8pm is my cut off.  I think, if I've been so busy that by 8:00 I have not exercised than I worked my butt off all day and I need to relax. Agree with me or not, that is my logic. =)

Food wise, I am still working with 1800 calories. Which has really been helping keep me satiated and keeping up on the right amount of protein. Today I honestly don't know how many calories I consumed because we had brunch at my sister's for my nephews birthday and my husband made a Shpeherd's pie. So, I just made sure I ate good choices like for brunch I only had one Swedish Pancake (crepe) and eggs and turkey bacon. For dinner I ate a healthy portion of the Shepherds pie. Since it was homemade I knew there wasn't a ton of sodium or fat in it.

I can't believe I am halfway through with this thing. When I began I never thought I would finish and now that I am in the 6th week and still alive I know I can finish. 20 pounds down or not I will at least be able to say I finished. My goal now is to finish strongly.

Week 5: Day 6

Yay, I made it through the 5th week! Despite my rough start and not doing the workout the 1st day of Week 5, I feel like I ended the week well. I wish I could say that the pounds and inches are flying off but they're not. I do believe I am getting stronger and that is better for the long haul for sure. Today's Kenpo was fun. I don't normally say that about exercise, but it's fast paced and the hour goes so quick. I still only burned 440 calories, and I wish I could burn more like 500. I look forward to hanging out with my kiddos tomorrow and not having to try and squeeze in my workout.

As for the food, I think I am going to go back to the basics and follow the P90X Meal Plan a little more religiously. I started out following it, but I was using it as a loose guideline and as life got busy I started straying from the plan even farther. My other challenge is I hate eggs. I really do. I can have them once in awhile, but daily? And the P90X Meal plan has egg whites almost daily for breakfast. So I will have to either make myself like eggs or find a substitute high in protein. I am also going to add 300 calories to my daily intake. I am finding with 1500 calories getting enough protein in my diet is tough. So, I am upping the calories and adding more protein. I am going to give this a go for the next 3 weeks and see how it goes. Stay tuned.

Week 5: Day 5

Today I felt like I accomplished a lot. It was Legs and Back, which is one of the toughest, but most fun of the workouts. I was able to do 10 pull ups when last week I did 8. I did 10 sit ups when last week I did 8. Despite the accomplished feeling I had during my workout, I am feeling a bit of frustration. As I come to the end of my 5th week I wonder why is the weight not coming off?  I have had a lot of people talk to me who have completed P90 and their first question is, "So, is the weight just falling off?" And I reply, "No." My theory is that I am just not strong enough yet. When I consider where I began; not being able to do a single pull up or sit up and only being able to lift 5 lb dumb bells compared to 12 now, then maybe I shouldn't be too upset. I've also noticed the people who are completing P90 that I talk to are pretty big guys. So, not only do they have a hefty amount of weight to lose, but they are strong. So they can kill it and their weight just sheds off.  But the weight is not coming off for me and I have 30 pounds to lose!! So far 5 pounds have come off since day one and only an inch off my waist, hips and thighs. Besides the fact that I can do 3 times the amount of pull ups or sit ups than when I started, I am feeling that feeling of "Why am I doing this? How much longer until I see results?" Because at this point, I do not look any different than the day I  began this program. Besides all those things I'm just going to keep it up and see how the next 3 weeks go.

I stuck to my 1500 calorie plan today. And I added more protein to my diet. So, we'll see how that goes and if the inches start coming off and the biceps start showing. =)

Week 5: Day 4

I woke up really sore today. I took an epsom salt bath last night that helped my legs, but my arms were pretty sore. Today was yoga. Doing the chattaranga with sore arms was pretty tough. But it does help with getting the soreness out.

I am trying to get more protein in my diet. I started my morning out with an omelette with spinach, mushrooms and ham along with my coffee. My entire breakfast was 350 calories. For lunch I had leftover pizza and spinach salad (600 calories). For a snack before my workout I had a banana, strawberry with smoothie whey protein. It made a large batch, so an 8 ounce cup was 160 calories. For dinner I made baked haddock with pesto sauce, asparagus, and wild rice. The entire meal was 350 calories.

I dread a little bit tomorrow's workout because it's Legs and Back, but it also for some reason is one of my favorites. I'm definitely curious as to how much I will be able to lift and accomplish after having a "week off". I am also glad that Legs and Back means week 5 is almost over. =)

Week 5: Day 2 and 3

I am beginning to see a pattern here. Things have been pretty busy around here and getting my blog in daily has been proving to be a challenge. The good news is, in the last 24 hours my workout has not suffered despite the crazy schedule. Yesterday was Plyometrics and I was able to burn 585 calories. I felt really good doing it. It is a fast paced and fun workout and as hard at it is, I feel so good when it's over.

As for food; we were not home all day except for breakfast. But I stayed true to my plan as best I could. I had a 270 calorie breakfast; banana nut muffin and coffee, lunch was a Ranch BLT chicken sandwich from McDonalds (600 calories) and dinner was a delicious 480 calorie dinner from Mimi's Cafe. They had a dish that was a 3 oz filet minon, balsamic green salad and brown rice. It was quite surprising to find something that well rounded at a restaurant.

Today's workout was Back and Bicep. I burned 459 calories in an hour and 12 minutes. It was a pretty fun dvd. Pretty tough though. I was also able to do a lot more of the exercises on the Ab Ripper X. Once the workout was over I was pretty shaky and tired. I haven't felt that shaky after a workout yet.

My meal plan today was good, but again not 100%. I am really over not being on our normal schedule. I had a 170 calorie breakfast: a cliff bar and coffee. For lunch I had a cheeseburger and a few fries;700 calories. Our dinner since it is Easter Sunday was a Spiral Ham, Brussel sprout-apple-balsamic salad and mashed potatoes. My entire meal was 540 calories. I had a banana in between my workout and dinner. So my entire day was 1510 and my goal is 1500. Not bad.

Tomorrow is the dreaded yoga. I am feeling a sense of I have to pick it up a notch. The first month is gone and there are only 2 months left. So, in order to lose the most weight I can I will have to really push myself. I do feel stronger and I think that will help with losing the weight I envision losing.

Week 5: Day 1

Well, this is not how I wanted to start my second month of P90X. I did not work out today. Not only that, I ate out for every meal today! I know!! We had breakfast with my wonderful father in law at IHOP. I ordered whole wheat pancakes with bananas, ham and eggs. I ate about half of everything and 1/4 of the pancakes. It's crazy how much food they will serve you. My breakfast was about 600 calories. My kids and I headed to Irvine (about 2 hours from our house) to a Good Friday Service at Mariners church to hear my sister lead worship. I didn't seem to learn from this past week and be prepared by packing a lunch. So, we stopped at Arby's and I got a roast beef sandwich and fries. I skipped the coke at least. =) My lunch was about 500 calories. Traffic was horrific, and we barely made it on time. And the same held true for the trip home. It being rush hour, traffic was almost worse going home. We got back into town and picked my husband up from work and headed to Sammy's Wood-fire pizza for dinner. I ate as light as I could, they did not have nutrition information. So, I have to guess my meal was between 800 and 1000 calories.

I planned to exercise when I came home, but from all the driving and having had dinner before I worked out, it just didn't seem possible. I really considered it, but I just couldn't do it at 9:00 at night. My husband was a bit bummed with me, but somewhat proud that I at least considered it. Ha ha! I thought about doubling up tomorrow, but he insisted that either I do it tonight, or I skip it. I have also considered making tomorrow my day 1. We shall see.

Week 4: Day 6 and 7

One month down!!! I measured today and I have lost 4 inches total and 5 lbs. I am not sure how much I hope to lose. I just hope I am stronger which should in turn help will me lose faster.

Yesterday was yoga. I definitely do not hate it as much. =) Today was my rest day. I am a little nervous for tomorrow. Mainly because it is a new dvd and I fear I will be really sore. I was enjoying not being sore. Plus it will be another challenge to stay on diet and get my exercise in. I knew spring break would be tough. But I love having my kids home though.

As for diet I am just doing my best despite the crazy schedule to stay within my 1500 calorie mark and to eat well balanced meals. Well, here is to the next month and lets hope the pounds just start falling off and stay off.

Week 4: Day 5

Wow, today was tough. I knew it would be tough following through with P90 while my kids were on spring break. But it's proving to be harder than I thought. I tried to wake up early to get my Core Synergistic in. But we stayed up too late last night, so 6 am came way too soon. So, I told myself  I would do it this evening. I was gone all day with my kids. My eldest got her cast on then we went to our local museums. We got home about 6pm. At that moment I REALLY did not want to do my video. My husband was gracious enough to make dinner while I exercised. But I just couldn't seem to get up and go. I took a caffeine pill that the GNC sales guy gave me a few weeks back. But unfortunately, they take about 30 minutes to kick in. So, half way through the dvd I started to perk up. The Core dvd is a lot of push ups and lunges. The two things I hate the most and the two things my body cannot do very well still. I ended up getting through the dvd and burned 300 calories. Nothing amazing, but I did it.

My food was even more of a bit of a challenge. I made delicious muffins; banana and strawberry-orange. I was bummed because I was out of wheat flour. But they weren't too high in calories. I made bacon and had my coffee.  Lunch was the challenge. I didn't pack a lunch because mainly because we were going to a museum and they don't allow our own food. I purchased a chicken salad wrap. The wrap was made with a wheat tortilla, but it did not have nutrition info on it and it had a ton of mayo. I pulled more than half the chicken salad out of the wrap and just ate til I felt satiated. It was pretty good and had a lot of arugula in it. I just wish I had had an apple with me. I was able to bring it around at dinner. We had salmon, peas and bread. I am pretty sure I stayed within my 1500 calories, but I know the food was not the greatest. We are going to Sea World tomorrow, and we will for sure have to sneak in good food. I can't do another day of crap. 

I hope at least between all the walking we did today and the walking we will do tomorrow it will help with my measuring on Thursday. Tomorrow is Yoga at 6 am. Oh joy. =)

Week 4: Day 4

I feel like today was another rest day. It was the X Stretch dvd. I had not done it before. On my rest days I always forgot to put it in and try it out. I enjoyed it. But I'm a bit fearful of gaining the weight I lost. It just feels weird to be resting again. If I can keep up with my 1500 calorie intake I should be ok. I weighed in this morning and was still down 5 pounds. Whew.

My food intake was pretty normal. I was feeling pretty wiped from our busy weekend. I made the kids and myself pancakes, so again instead of adding chocolate chips like I have in the past I added strawberries. I didn't have protein though. =( For lunch I wasn't very hungry so I had a chiobani yogurt. And later for my snack I had a small bowl of Cheez-its with milk. I think having a lot of comfort food this week made me crave my old snacks. So, it wasn't the best choice, but it was low calorie and not the worst thing ever too. For dinner I made a delicious Pineapple-Teriyaki Chicken recipe from  Eatingwell.com. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/pineapple_teriyaki_
It was low in sodium and calories and really tasty. I added a half cup of brown rice and broccoli. It was very satisfying.

Tomorrow will be another day of "how do I fit in exercise?" We have our niece here on top of my daughter having a broken wrist. We are going to get her cast put on tomorrow and after that I am hoping to take the kids to a museum. We will be gone from morning til the dinner hour. So I will probably have to do Core Synergistics in the am. That is not fun, but it's probably better than doing it at 8:00 at night. Only 2 more days til week 4 is complete and I will be measuring. I'm kind of excited about that and kind of nervous. Til tomorrow.

Week 4: Day 2 and Day 3

This weekend we headed to my parents to visit for Palm Sunday. I brought along my dvd's and told myself I would make sure I would do them. I put on my workout clothes to travel in so that when we got there early Saturday morning I couldn't use that as an excuse. When I got there I got right to my yoga dvd. My mom was awesome and joined in with me. She even kept up with me and did an hour of it. That made it fun. It was really fun having my 2 year old nephew come in and try and do some of the moves. I for the first time since I started P90X enjoyed the Yoga dvd.

As for my calorie counting and nutrition Saturday, well, lets just say I tried. I had a good start. A Starbucks Artisan sandwich (320 calories) and a Skinny latte (120). For lunch I had a pb&j sandwich and some apples. But after lunch it went down hill from there. We took my kids and their cousin to see Mirror Mirror and we of course had to get popcorn. So, I split a box of Raisinettes with my mom and a diet coke, plus about 1/3 of a large popcorn with her.The good news is, I really didn't go overboard.  I didn't leave the theater feeling gross or stuffed. That is big for me. I usually mindlessly eat the popcorn, then when we leave I feel really stuffed and gross. For dinner that night we had delicious turkey chili my husband made and cornbread. I had a decent portion and only one slice of corn bread plus carrot sticks. I don't know my calorie intake, but I'm getting better at gauging how I feel and I am sure it wasn't crazy high.

For today I was SOOO proud of myself. We had a late night hanging with family. Plus, my daughter couldn't sleep on the couch do to her broken arm. So, I took the couch for her. So, the night turned out to be a bit short. I woke up at 7:30 and did not want to exercise. We had church later that morning and an Easter Egg hunt plus lunch with family in the afternoon. I knew my day was full and that if I didn't work out then, I wouldn't. I made myself put on my shoes and put in my Kenpo dvd. I forgot to put my heart rate monitor on, so I don't know how many calories I burned. But I worked hard and didn't stop, so I'm sure if was a fair amount.

My food today was similliar to yesterday. My breakfast was a good choice. Wholegrain toast, peanut butter and 1/2 a banana plus a cup of coffee with vanilla creamer (340). For lunch we had tri-tip roast, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, asparagus, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. I didn't prepare the meal so I don't know how many calories were in everything. But again, I went off of portion and how I felt. I did not stuff myself. And lastly for dinner we went to Olive Garden on the drive home. I ordered their Parmesan Crusted Tilapia. The meal was 590 calories plus their salad and bread sticks. I only ate half the fish, it was huge. Part of me feels I fell off the wagon, but the other part of my is proud of staying within reason. Even though I was in a setting where I didn't have my normal meal choices, I didn't allow myself to think or use the excuse "Well, I haven't been good so, I might as well throw out all the rules."

If there is one thing so far that P90X has taught me, it is consistency. No matter how I feel, where I am, or what my circumstances are I have to keep making a wise choice in food and getting my body moving. I just hope this weekend does not reflect on the scale tomorrow.

Week 4: Day 1

I made it to recovery week. At least that's what my brother calls it. I am not happy that there is yoga twice. =) My rest day was awesome. I had a good day of eating healthy and getting stuff done for myself. I even got a new P90X worthy hair cut. I had to chop it off because I was having to wash my hair every day since I sweat so much in P90. My husband loves that I finally sweat during workouts.

Today was interesting. It was supposed to be Yoga, but somehow I misread it and did Core Synergistic.Wow, that thing was tough. I again, couldn't do a lot of it well, but I still managed to burn 400 calories. So, I was pleased with that. I can do a plank push up finally. I've had to do push ups on my knees this whole time. That is exciting.

For breakfast I had coffee with organic vanilla creamer;70 calories (which I have every day) a mini Cliff bar; 100 calories and a banana;100 calories. For lunch I had a yummy spinach salad with tuna, pineapple, almonds and balsamic vinegar. The whole salad was 240.The only bummer is, I went to dinner with some girl friends and the restaurant we went to did not have their calories listed. It was a healthy restaurant with locally grown produce called Tender Greens. I figure my meal was anywhere from 700-900 calories. So, even if I went over, I would have only gone over about 100-150. That is nothing to go crazy about. I ate a normal amount and did not over stuff myself. I think right there is key to keeping this lifestyle up.

This blog is not very well written today. Between my daughter breaking her wrist for the first time ever, packing for a trip this weekend and dinner out with friends, I am wiped. Tomorrow I am headed to my parents and it will be interesting to find time to exercise, but I have to make it happen.

Week 3: Day 6

I have lost 5 pounds! I got on the scale this morning and low and behold I lost 2 more pounds! So in 5 weeks I have lost a total of 5 pounds. Next week I will measure. I'm kind of excited about that. Today was Day 6, Kenpo. Oh how I love Day 6. I worked extra hard today in Kenpo and burned more calories than last time. My lower back is hurting due to all the twisting. But I think it will feel better with icing and sleep.

I do have to say I am quite proud of myself. I mentioned in yesterdays blog I was worried how I would squeeze exercise in. I take my kids to school and usually come straight home to exercise. But today I had to clean a house, eat lunch and pick up the kids. I cleaned and came straight home, did my Kenpo and then ate lunch and had just enough time to get to the school to pick up the kids. It was a good thing I did that, because my afternoon got very complicated with my husband needing me to pick him up for our son's game. I am so glad I for once made use of my time and chose exercise first (I even showered and got cute before the game).

My meal plan today went smoothly. I had a big calorie breakfast, 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and coffee totaling 390 calories. Normally I would put banana on top of the toast, but I was out. For lunch I just repeated dinner, pork loin and wild rice, 250 calories. I didn't have any spinach to make a salad. I was a little bummed about that. For snack I had a Chiobani Greek Yogurt. Those are so tasty and have 14 grams of protein in them. For dinner, since my son had a 5:00 game we swung into El Pollo Loco. I had 4 oz of chicken thigh, 2 flour tortillas, 1/2 C black beans and green salad. My entire meal was 500 calories and it was very filling. The best part is, I had over 200 calories left. I chose to have a glass of wine with my husband. I don't know if  Tony Horton would approve of that one. =)

Tomorrow is rest and I can now officially say I completed 3 weeks of P90x! Bring it!!

Week 3: Day 5

Well, it's official, I have lost 3 pounds in 3 weeks! I am trying not to be discouraged at how slow that is. But I am grateful that I can finally say that the pounds are coming off. I have been in a bit of a funk these last 2 days. Yesterday I struggled with the level of difficulty in Yoga. Today I struggled with intensity during Legs and Back. I just couldn't seem to push myself today. I tried, but my body just didn't want to cooperate. I usually burn over 550 calories during Legs and Back, but today I burned just shy of 400. Yikes. I did well during the Ab Ripper X. I am getting somewhere with the core work, thank God.

My food today was nothing exciting or out of the ordinary. I am getting better at staying within my calories without having to think too hard about it. Dinner was really tasty. My husband made a pork roast and I used the P90X Chile-Honey Sauce on top of it with Wild Rice. So tasty. 

I hope I feel better tomorrow. I do know that fitting in my exercise will be a challenge. I have to clean a house in the morning, pick up my kids from school and then take my son to his baseball game and somewhere in there exercise and make dinner. Hmmm. Oh and did I mention I do not do 6 am? So, we'll see how I squeeze it in. Thankfully it's Kenpo and only an hour. 

Week 3: Day 4

Yoga. I feel like that's all there is to say about today...because if I say anymore it will just be a negative rant. I will say this, P90X Yoga is just ridiculously hard.

As for food I had an interesting morning.  A sweet little lady invited me over for coffee. So, I didn't eat breakfast knowing I couldn't turn down her offerings. I left the house without my water on accident. Then when I had coffee, she offered girl scout cookies and strawberries. They weren't Shortbread cookies, which would have been doable. They were thin mints and samoas. I stuck with the thin mints, I think those are 5 cookies for 300 calories. I had 2 cups of coffee and still forgot to drink water. By noon I had a splitting head ache. I usually only drink one cup of coffee a day and try and drink 40 oz of water by noon. I really enjoyed my coffee date, I just wish I had been better prepared. I ate well the rest of the day.

I look forward to Legs and Back tomorrow. I am not looking forward to the fact that next week I have to do Yoga twice! Oh boy.

Week 3: Day 2 and 3

I completely fell asleep last night without writing my blog. I was wiped. Yesterday was Plyo and it was kind of weird. I burned 568 calories, when last week I burned 600 calories. But even though I burned less, I felt I did more of the exercises correctly. I think I just was a little slower and more intentional. So intentional, that I couldn't get myself off the floor when it was over. I worked super hard. I had to ice my knees, my back and take a bath with epsom salt. It was that bad, but I felt good. So bizarre and not normal for me. It's amazing how much this system makes me try harder than I ever thought I could.

In terms of food and meal plan, I stayed on track. I made yummy strawberry pancakes for breakfast. Usually I have chocolate chip pancakes, but I wasn't willing to add the chocolate and then have nothing left over at the end of the day. For lunch I had a delicious Subway Turkey and Black Forest ham sandwich. It was only 280 calories. And then for dinner we had chili. It was 400 calories and it was really hard for me to not put sour cream and cheese on it. It didn't help that my hubby made it pretty spicy. But again, the extra calories just aren't worth it for me right now.

Today for exercise it was Shoulders and Arms. It was kind of an off day. I had church this morning, then we came home, had lunch and I helped my daughter with her homework. I then felt a nap coming on, so I laid down for 30 minutes and took a good nap. When I woke up it was time to get dinner going. So, by the time I got exercising it was almost 5. Then I had a lot of interruptions. It was really tempting to just say, "Oh well, it's too late today. I'll just not work out today." But once I got going I was good and I worked hard. I did 6 V up/Roll ups on the Ab Ripper X. One more than last time and I was able to do 5 on each leg of the leg up sit ups...or something like that. One thing I noticed this morning is I wasn't that sore. I usually wake up after plyo and I can hardly get out of bed, or my body is just really tight. But when I got up I was tight, but not too bad and by the late morning I wasn't feeling anything.

Food today, was again, pretty easy. I had Starbucks for breakfast, I had their Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Gouda along with a skinny vanilla latte. It's only 320 calories, but a Skinny vanilla latte is 90 calories. I made a tuna melt for lunch and a spinach salad with balsamic vinegar. And dinner was way yummy. We made Melissa D'Arabian's Stuffed Bell Peppers. She is from Ten Dollar Dinners on the Food Network and we love her recipes. Instead of Bulgar I used quinoa since it has more protein and I didn't use meat because I try and make one meal a week for dinner, meatless. It is really tasty and filling. Since dinner was 250 calories I decided I deserved a treat. So I made a banana split. Yummo! I still have 90 left. But I think I'm good.

I still can't tell if I'm losing weight. I was 164 this morning, but like I've said before, I'm not going to get excited until I am under 165 for a few days in a row. If I am 164 tomorrow morning, then I can safely say I've lost 3 pounds. I'll keep you posted. Til tomorrow.

Week 3: Day 1

Yesterday was my day of rest. I didn't post because there was nothing really to post about. Except that I had a cheeseburger for dinner because my son's baseball game was during dinner. It was a horrible burger and not a very healthy dinner. So by 10pm last night I was literally starving and only had 40 calories left. I tried to brush it off, but I was actually hungry, not just feeling snacky. So, I made hot green tea and had a cup of popcorn. Only 50 calories. It's amazing how much you don't want to eat bad because you know your calories can go so much father with better choices.

Today I am in Week 3 of P90X. I honestly can't believe that I am in week 3. As of yesterday on my rest day I was feeling somewhat discouraged. As of yesterday I didn't feel like my clothes were any more lose nor do I look different. I know I am only 2 weeks in, but I thought for sure my jeans would be more lose by now. But today that discouraged feeling went away. My jeans felt a little loser this morning and I could do way more in my Chest and Back dvd. I upped all my reps of pull ups by 2 and all my push ups by 5 and the most AMAZING thing I did today was the V-up/Pull up for the Ab Ripper X. 2 weeks ago I could not do a sit up from a complete lying down position. Today I did 5. I also did a few more of the exercises on the Ab video that I couldn't do last week. It feels really good to be getting somewhere.

I'm staying within my 1500 calorie range. And I am feeling satisfied as long as I make wise choices in food. I am actually a little excited for Plyometrics tomorrow. I'll be curious if I can jump a little higher. =)

Week 2: Day 6

Wowza am I sore today. That Leg and Back dvd is just nuts. I think the wall squats is what makes my behind so sore that any type of bending, sitting, or climbing just kills! I had a fun conversation last night with my  brother lamenting about the Leg and Back dvd. He even encouraged me that by the 3rd week of this thing I will be amazed at how much I can do in terms of the yoga and the Kenpo.

Speaking of  Kenpo, that was today's exercise. I was really surprised at how much better I did than last week. I burned a 100 more calories than last week during Kenpo and I felt a lot less ridiculous. And not once did I have to stop. I fell a few times or didn't do as many because they were faster than me, but I never stopped.

In terms of food and diet today, I feel a little more back on track. I had the same breakfast and still am in need of protein at breakfast time. But it's whole grains and fruit, so I am at least doing that part right. I used the hamburger patty that I accidentally got out of the freezer last night for lunch. Beef makes the calorie level a little higher, but I haven't had beef since I started this thing, so it was a nice change. My entire lunch was 544 calories, it included a 1/4 lb hamburger with a bagel thin for my bun topped with spinach, mustard and white cheddar cheese. I also had a cup of roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup. I usually try and stay within 400 for lunch, so I have a good amount to get me through the day, but I just can't do a burger without cheese. =)
Dinner ended up helping me make up for lunch. We went to Pei Wei for dinner and their Ginger Broccoli dish was 290 calories. Along with the brown rice, it totaled 390 calories, but I could only eat half. It was a lot of food. So, now I have a 200 calorie lunch for tomorrow.

This evening I purchased Protein powder. I am only planning to take it once a day. I have been told it will help me recover faster. I hope that is the case. Tomorrow is my rest day. I am so glad my 2nd week is over and that I survived. I wish I could say I will have time to get into a hot tub, but being a wife and mom of 3 means tomorrow will be my catch up day on laundry, errands, cleaning, baseball games and anything else that comes along my way. But at least I don't have to squeeze in exercise for one day.

Week 2: Day 5

I totally woke up today thinking it was day 6. Man was I bummed to find out it was day 5. I do however enjoy the Leg and Back dvd. It is really hard and makes me want to vomit. But for some reason that one is somewhat exhilerating. And it amazes me that it is a strength training video and not a cardio per say, and in 58 minutes I burn 522 calories. Compare that with my 600 calories in an hour on Plyo day, I would say 522 is pretty awesome. I did 2 extra pull ups today and I increased my length of wall squats. Last week I completely fell on my butt. Not this week. I am still really struggling with the ab video. But I am at least doing my best.

Food today was tricky. I had a good breakfast but I ran out of time for lunch and grabbed a banana before heading out the door. I then forgot to eat my banana on my way to my appointment. So, when I got out at 3, I went to eat my banana and it was pretty smooshed. I ate almost half, but I couldn't do the smooshy part. I know, so lame. =) After picking up my kids from school I was starving and my son had baseball. So, I swung into McD's, I know, I know! I had a kids meal of chicken nuggets and fries. My lunch was only 380 calories. I didn't think that was too bad considering the source. It gets worse though. After baseball practice, I go into the kitchen at 6:15 to make chicken thighs, quinoa and broccoli. Well, somehow I read the bag wrong in my freezer and pulled out two thighs and a hamburger patty. I didn't have time to defrost more chicken and cook it. So I made the chicken for my kids and found a small chicken pot pie in my freezer that only took about 25 minutes to bake. So, I had the quinoa and a mound of broccoli. I felt I had to make up for not having a salad for lunch. I ate just the filling of the pot pie and only a little bit of the crust. I was sad that my food plan today felt like a bust. But even though it wasn't the best of choices, I stayed pretty well within my calorie range.

I will say that even though this blog may be boring to the reader and I don't know if I'll ever have the nerve to post pictures; if I didn't have this blog to write at the end of today I think I would have either talked myself out of exercising or I would have had a 600 plus calorie lunch at McD's. Or maybe even with dinner being a bust I would have just said "Oh screw it" and made myself a Sunday. But because I know my family, my husband and friends are reading this and encouraging me, I felt like I couldn't let them or even myself down. I may have to repeat P90X twice to get back to a size 6. But I have to keep taking it one day at a time and do as Tony Horton says, "Do your best and forget the rest."

Week 2: Day 4

Today was Yoga and today was sucky. I really hate the yoga dvd. It is so long and so difficult and so uncomfortable. I need to ask some fellow P90 graduates and get their feedback on the yoga. Because at this point I am tempted to go back to other videos until I am more flexible. It is a very discouraging video.

I did, however, really well with the Meal Plan today. I am not a fan of eggs or oatmeal. So that makes the Meal Plan for breakfast tough. I found a cereal from Cascadian Farms (it's Organic). It is granola with raisins, cranberries, sunflower seeds and almonds in it. A serving with milk was 250 calories. It is very tasty and very filling. The only puzzle piece I was missing was protein. So, I will have to figure that out. Maybe I will have to add turkey bacon or Canadian bacon to the meal next time. For lunch I had a delicious salad. I made it with romaine lettuce, spinach, cutie orange, a sliced strawberry, turkey and ham. My dressing was balsamic vinegar, orange juice (fresh squeezed from my cutie) basil and thyme. I also had a cup of Red Pepper and Tomato soup along with a slice of whole wheat toast. It was a very satisfying lunch and only 400 calories. For dinner I had tacos-about 600 calories. And I had to sneak in a dark chocolate brownie(160 calories). It was small and so worth it. My calorie intake goal is 1500 calories a day. That's lower than the P90X Meal Plan, but I am convinced his calorie intake is set up for a man.

I am hoping by the end of this week I will see some progress. I have not measured myself. I weigh myself everyday but I fluctuate 1-2 pounds daily, so until I see 2 or 3 pounds stay away I will not get excited. Until tomorrow.

Week 2 Day 3 (sort of)

It is Week 2 and Day 3 of the P90X exercises, but due to a hamstring strain I had to skip 2 days of exercise. I am very glad I listened to my body. I was doing Plyo and half way through I felt a twinge in my right hamstring. As the night went on it got really tight and painful. Per instructions from my dad who is very athletic, I iced it. I did that off and on all night. It really helped. The next day was Friday and my daughter's birthday. I was limping pretty good and could not fully straighten my leg. Since it was my daughter's birthday and my day to volunteer at their school I knew I couldn't get in for a massage. So, I did that the following day and planned on getting back at it. I ended up doing a one hour massage and I am so glad I did. I was a mess! I was so full of knots, my ankles felt bruised, my hamstring was tight and even my sciatica was really hurting. In case you don't know what Sciatica is, the definition according to Wikipedia: it is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that give rise to each sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the left or right or both sciatic nerves. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, or various parts of the leg and foot. In addition to pain, which is sometimes severe, there may be numbness, muscular weakness, pins and needles or tingling and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg. Typically, the symptoms are only felt on one side of the body. My sciatica issue is something that began with the twin pregnancy and was sometimes so painful I would have to stop what I was doing and breathe through the pain. It comes and goes and since I have been more consistently active it hurts less often and less severely. I honestly didn't realize I was in much pain til I had the hour massage and the pain was relieved. Once I left the spa I felt that it was smart to take one more day off and fully recoup.

Today I am back at it and I feel awesome. Today's exercise was fun. I know, I just said fun! The 8 pound dumbbells are still a challenge and sometimes I can do 12's, even a few exercises caused me to use the 5 pound dumbbells. I am still not able to do all of the Ab Ripper X exercises or at least all the reps per exercise.. The V-up Roll up is just so hard. I do a Pilates 100 instead. I try and keep my legs and body in a V shape. If  I am faltering, I put my legs in table top position just to get to 100.

The last thing I want to mention is the P90X Meal Plan. I have been trained over the years that 3 oz of protein is a serving size, especially for women. In Tony Horton's meal plan that is not the case. One of the meals that I planned to make for Friday night was 8 oz salmon, 3 T lemon dill sauce, one cup of Wild Rice, 1 C Asparagus, 2 cups Red Pepper soup and 2 T Protein Powder. Holy cow that is A LOT of food! I could never eat a half pound of salmon or any other protein. I decided to do what was comfortable for me. The meal that I had that night was 3 oz of salmon, a 1/2 C qiunoa (I had already had wild rice and wanted to try the quinoa), 1 C asparagus and I skipped the soup altogether. I have yet to get Protein powder. I would like to do that this week. And another thing with this meal, the recipe for the Lemon Dill sauce called for 6 Tablespoons of lemon juice. My gut told me while making it that that was a lot. But I put it in anyway. Well, I was right. It was soooo sour. I had to go back and add more chicken broth and then some raw honey. So, if you make the Lemon dill sauce go easy on the lemon juice til you get the right flavor.

Last night I had pizza and a huge serving of salad. My kids requested it and after a slumber party and day of shopping I was too tired to make dinner. Tonight I am making another fish. I am making Haddock in replace of the Halibut in the meal plan. Halibut was not on sale, but Haddock was. I also bought Pesto sauce instead of making my own. Pine nuts are just so expensive, it wasn't worth the cost.I made sure to buy a brand low in sodium and no added ingredients. The meal was delicious. And the best part about the P90X Meal plan is that all the dishes are normal and the rest of my family enjoy them as well. So I am not stuck with making 2 separate dinners.Tomorrow I plan to do better at incorporating the Meal Plan in my entire day. So far I've only used recipes for dinner. I am not a fan of eggs, so that makes it tricky.

Week 2: Day 2

Today was Plyometrics, "Jump Training". And this is the one that last week I was sure I wouldn't make it through. Well, I made it through and I burned roughly the same amount of calories as last time, 600 in 60 minutes. I was jumping a little higher and squatting a little deeper. I felt a twinge about half way through in my hamstring but just thought I was putting too much weight on that leg, so I adjusted. But by the time I had cooled down and started fixing dinner I could tell I had tweaked my hamstring. I can't say I pulled it, but it was feeling close. So, I called my dad who will always be my coach and asked him what to do. He said ice it. So I have for 10 min every hour since this evening and it is definitely helping. I am going to take tomorrow off. I am a bit bummed about it, but I would rather take a day and get it better than do something really stupid. Plus, the next workout is upper body, then Yoga, so by day 5 when I do Legs and Back I should be good to go.

One new thing today, I decided to try and cook from the P90X Diet. I think it's assumed everybody does the diet and supplements, but it seems the more I talk to people no one really buys into all of that. I eat fairly well already, but I struggle with breakfast and sometimes making time for a good lunch. So, I thought I'd go for it. My focus today was dinner. I made a delicious chicken breast with the P90X Chile-Honey sauce. Wow, was that good. And my entire family tried Wild Rice for the first time without it being from Rice-A-Roni. I'll eat brown rice, but none of them will touch it. Well, they all ate it and loved it. I made it with low-sodium free range chicken broth and it needed absolutely nothing on it. My husband was also out of town and he is a great cook, so he usually takes on dishes with sauces. But tonight I was a lone-ranger and pulled it off. It was delicious and quite easy. Tomorrow night we are having salmon and quinoa. We'll see how the kids go for that one. 

Week 2: Day 1

Well today is day one of week 2. I really enjoyed my rest day yesterday and was anxious yet nervous about today. Today was Chest and  Back. I was proud of my progress. I added a pull up to each set and using the 12 lb dumb bells on some of the moves proved to be difficult, but there was one exercise that 12 was not as hard as I thought it would be. So, that means I'll be buying 15 pounders by next Wednesday. I don't feel any different going into my 2nd week except that I was able to do the exercises better.

Even the Ab Ripper X did not bring me to tears and I only had to modify 2 of the exercises when before I was modifying at least 4 of them. Some moves I can't do all 25 reps, but at least I am doing them. And as Tony Horton says, "Do your best and forget the rest"

P90X Day 7

REST!!! Awwww....I have never looked forward to the 7th day in all my life. I had visions of sitting in a hot tub and soaking away the pain and getting my muscles back up to par. Well, that isn't how it went. My 7th day landed on a Tuesday and my eldest is turning 11 this Friday and asked for a slumber party. So, I had to clean 2 bathrooms, the kitchen, my room and vacuum the entire house. It wasn't relaxing, but it felt good to have the whole day to clean and not try and fit exercising into the mix. It definitely went way too fast and I don't feel ready for it all tomorrow. But at the same time I am kind of excited to see how it all goes. Til then....

P90X Day 6

Well that was awkward. Today was Kenpo X. It felt very similar to Taebo if any of you did that in the 90's. I hated Taebo so much and I am feeling similar to Kenpo. It was extremely awkward and I was frustrated that I only burned 355 calories in an hour. I just couldn't do their speed or get my feet off the ground like I wanted. I know it will come in time, but it would be much more helpful if I had a slick surface to move on. I am anxious to see how I do on this same video a week from now.

Today is the first day I have not awoke to completely sore muscles. I am still sore and certain muscles I didn't know I had I am feeling now. But I am surprised that at Day 6 I am feeling better.

P90X Day 5

Today I woke up feeling much more loose than I have all week. Yesterday's yoga really seemed to help with that .

Today's workout was Legs and Back. I went on a decent bike ride with my family earlier and then spent some time shopping. I bought myself 12 pound dumbbells. My 8's were not doing jack on some of the excercises. So, by the time I got home to do the video my legs already felt a little jello-y. I also had a pretty decent sized snack about 30-40 minutes before.

Well, the video proved to be tough. So tough that my snack wanted to come back up and visit.(mental note, eat a snack more like 2 hours prior to video) I didn't throw up, but more than half way through I wanted to. Having the 12lb dumbells definitley helped with intenisty. My pull ups are improving too. Before P90 I could not do one. Then by the time I started I could do 4, now I'm almost to 7. I still use a chair mind you, but it is getting easier. I really didn't think it would.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow, because it's day 6 and then after that, a REST!

P90X Day 4

When I woke up this morning I was still pretty sore. I decided to take another 30 minute brisk walk. I walked to my son's baseball game and did some stretches when I got there. I was going to walk again when the game was over, but I just felt plum tired. Plus, we planned to go bike riding, so I thought I should take it a little easy. It turns out we didn't bike ride, but we ended up walking a lot at a local Farmers market, so I'm glad I didn't walk home from the baseball game.

Today's workout is Yoga. Oh how I love yoga. I found a video on Netflix streaming a year ago put on by Crunch. It is very tutorial and really helps a beginner learn yoga, the breathing, the lingo and of course flexibility. Well, Yoga X is not a tutorial or a learning tool. It is a video that makes you feel like the most unlimber slob on the planet. It is an hour and a half long, which totally threw me. All of the videos up until the Yoga are 60 minutes. And boy was it hard. During some of the moves I was just laughing at myself because I knew I looked ridiculous. I was very grateful for my Crunch video though during the Yoga X dvd, because if I hadn't used the Crunch video when he said words like Viniasa, Cat or child's pose, I might have been extra lost.

I wish I had watched the Yoga X video the night before. I didn't and had to pause a lot. I have viewed the other videos the night before and it helps move things along. Well, at least I can say I did the entire 90 minute video and I'm really hoping I feel a little less tight tomorrow.

P90X Day 3

As I woke up this morning I remembered my sister in law Megan telling me that when she does P90X she can't sit down for days...well today is the beginning of that for me. Any type of movement where I had to get up from a sitting position or bend over was almost excruciating. Going down my stairs this morning was a challenge and I needed my husband's help. My knees are a little sensitive and tend to get fluid in them so they were pretty puffy and tight. Nothing icing and ibuprofen can't cure, but they are definitely hurting. I think it's going to be a long day of pain.

The workout for today is Shoulders and Arms. My husband asked me to wait til the evening to do it so he could help me with some of the ab moves and see if we could figure out some alternative moves until I get stronger. I did the work out and was bummed I still hadn't bought heavier weights yet. It was difficult, but some of the moves I was doing 20 reps when Tony says to do 12-15 and the last 3 should be hard. But I was still burning calories and getting used to everything. After the video I took a 30 minute brisk walk. I had to do something to break up the lactic acid from the Plyometrics workout. It helped a lot.

When Jon got home I began the Ab Ripper X. I could do the first 5 or 6 moves, but then it got ugly. So, my husband (who is very athletic and has worked with professional trainers) helped me modify a few of the exercises so that I could strengthen those ab muscles. Most of the exercise went back to Pilates for me. I came to tears a few times because that darn incision tends to burn and twinge. But I thankfully got through the video and felt pretty good.

P90X Day 2

It's Day 2 and I didn't think I would be that sore after yesterdays Chest and Back workout. I was of course wrong. I woke up this morning and the middle of my back and my biceps were so tight. It made me kind of scared for today's workout. I really didn't know what to expect.

It is the Plyometrics dvd. Which Tony says is jump training. Again with the issue that having multiple children makes jumping awkward, so I remembered the words of my wise sister, "Put on a pad and bring on the pain!" I put on my heart rate monitor and got to jumping. I made it through the video AND I burned 600 calories in 53 minutes. I have to say, at this moment I can still walk and I'm quite proud. I am concerned about living in an upstairs condo and how much it will hurt tomorrow. But I am feeling a little more empowered that even though I couldn't do the exercises as hard as Tony and his team, I was at least able to do them.

P90X Day One

Today is the day, day one of P90X. I dropped my family off at work and school and got home, cleared away my coffee table and got to it. As I said in my previous blog that when I first got my kit, I could not pass the fitness test. Well, I was surprised to see that I was able to do 4 pull ups with a chair. Before I could not get myself up even with a chair. So, wow, that's cool. Then with the weights, I was surprised to know that an 8lb dumbbell was cake. I will need to go buy a 10, maybe even 15 lb dumbbell. That is very cool.

Now, push ups. Well...I can do push ups on my knees. Again, in my fitness test I could do 2 or 3. Now I can do 30. I could not for the life of me do the decline push ups. I just sat there upside down, because if I tried to do the actual move I would fall face flat. But just sitting there in the decline push up position was hard and my lower abs burned. At the end of the dvd I was feeling kind of proud. I burned 400 calories in an hour, which is low for me, but it was not a cardio workout, just weights and chin up bar. Since I wasn't able to do it all I can only imagine how many more calories I will burn when I up my weight and can actually do a dive bomber.

The next step was the Ab Ripper X dvd. I put it in and was thinking it would just be a lot of reps of core exercises I already knew, nothing I hadn't done before. Well, I was wrong. ALL of his moves had to do with the lower abdominal. And some were moves I have never seen or tried before. By the 4th exercise I was almost in tears. Partly because I was angry that his moves were using muscles I don't have right now and part of me was mad that my body was this broken. All I could do was do a few Pilates moves I learned that help strengthen those lower stomach muscles while he and his crew kept going on.

I am nervous for tomorrow, but I am looking forward to how my body will respond a month from now.

P90X

Preface to P90X:

I have had the P90X Dvd in posession for the past 6 months. When I received it, I read all the success stories and was extremely pumped about trying it out. But I could not pass the fitness test. My husband assured me I would get better if I just got going. Physically I was not in my best shape. I have been pregnant the last decade, literally. I birthed 3 children of my own over a 3 year span. Then 4 years later I became a surrogate and carried a baby girl for a family as well as twins for the same family 18 months later. The twin pregnancy was the toughest. Not only was I older, but I had a Cesarean Section with the birth of the twins. The pregnancy itself was not only a heavy load on my body (the babies totaled 10 lbs when they were born 8 wks early) but the surgery just killed my lower abdominal muscles. So here I was 15 months later and I could not for anything do a sit-up. I use to do Pilates and can still remember the proud day of doing a full roll up.

Instead of doing P90X, I got back into the gym and started running again, biking and ab work. I did the Slim in 6 video Tony Horton recommends to get yourself to the point of being able to succeed with P90. Recently I read Tim Milburn's Leadership Starts With You, and the author of this book is a P90X graduate and encourages his readers to commit to an exercise program. Since Tim had survived P90X, I felt his book encouraged me to stop talking about doing it and actually do it. I think it was now time to begin. My biggest challenge with this program is it is not female friendly. And I mean that in the sense of a female that has had multiple births, c-section and even someone that is not incredibly athletic. I am beginning this program with much hesitation and even a little angst towards Tony, since he includes A LOT of jumping jacks and any woman knows after kid #2 jumping jacks are not our friend. But I am bound and determined to lose these 30 lbs from all these babies. Ok, here goes nothing.

Introduction

My name is Kelly Miller. I am 33 years old, a wife to my amazing husband of 12 years and the mother of our 3 children. I was a track athlete in high school and held the record for the 800 meter for a few years. I have always enjoyed being outdoors hiking, swimming, biking and sometimes running, mostly walking. My family has always been active in some way or another. My Dad and sister have both run a marathon and completed triathlons. My brother was a basketball athlete in high school and is a graduate of P90X. My husband Jon is also a great athlete in tennis and basketball. He was also my fitness buddy in high school. It may not seem like it, but exercise has never been my first choice of activity and because of that right now I am not where I want to be physically.The biggest reason for this is that I have been pregnant for the last decade... I'm not kidding.

I became pregnant with our first at the age of 22. We had our 3rd when I was 25. 3 years after having our 3rd I decided to pursue the dream of being a surrogate. That dream came true just after my 29th birthday. I was able to carry a healthy 10lb baby girl for our couple. The process was so successful they asked me to do it again. So, we did and the 2nd pregnancy was just 16 months later and we conceived twins. I carried the twins to the 32nd week and the babies totaled 10 lbs. Because they were early and baby B was sideways, I had a Cesarean Section. After my first surrogate baby I got a trainer and got in the gym and lost 15 lbs and looked and felt great. With the twin pregnancy I gained a healthy 28 lbs but it's been almost 2 years since they're birth and I can't seem to get my stomach to not look 4 months pregnant, or to get these 30 lbs off of me. I have even gained 8 lbs from when I gave birth to them. So at this moment I am the heaviest I've ever been in my life outside of being pregnant.

A year ago, almost to date, my sister and I were able to do a Sprint Triathlon. I hadn't exercised once since the 5th month of carrying the twins. It took me a full 6 months after the birth to feel myself. At that point in January I started the training and I remember having a panic attack outside my in laws house while trying to run for 30 minutes. I didn't know how in 3 months I was going to be ready to swim a 1/4 mile, bike 15 miles and run a 6K. When the time came for the triathlon I did finish under 2 hours and during the process I lost 13 lbs. I was so relieved. I didn't feel broken anymore. But as soon as the pressure was off from the triathlon, I completely stopped. I felt frustrated because I wasn't strong. I wanted to lift weights but I didn't know where to start and I was quickly gaining the weight back and felt helpless in the process.

The purpose of this blog is two fold. I want to use this as a tool for women out there who have had children or who are extremely out of shape and see that it can be done. The other part is that by doing this blog, for me, the fear of failing will be greater than actually quitting. To know that once I begin and post this blog then I have no choice but to finish through. I guess you could call it attention, but it really it is more along the lines of accountability. If I have only myself to answer to then I will think of a million excuses. But if I have a dozen or so friends to answer to, then the heat gets turned on.

This is where my story stops and P90X comes in. Now that you are familiar with my story, who I am and how I got here I hope you will enjoy reading my journey.