P90X Day 41, 42, 43, 44/90

Busy, busy week for me! Summer time is the busiest time of year for me as far as work goes, so it's starting... but that's even more reason to make sure I get my workout in to "relax" me.

P90X day 41/90: hike and walk in the AM, HIIT in the PM
I took off on Tuesday and made it an extra long weekend for me so my boyfriend, Anthony, and I went out hiking. It was a pretty short hike but still gets your HR up big time. The hike is basically "stairs" going up the side of a mountain. Well it's actually an old railroad track but the steps are huge and gives your legs and glutes a good workout too. Went walking for an hour after the hike as a cooldown, then later that night I did my HIIT by running/walking the stairs in my apartment. 20 floors up only takes about 2 minutes!

P90X day 42/90: Rest day
Wanted to do Stretch X today but Anthony and I decided to start acting like it's summer so we hit the bbq grill downstairs in our building. We made kabobs and they were so good! Mushrooms, onions, zuccini, and lean steak.

P90X day 43/90: Chest, Shoulders, and Tris and ARX
Only got half-way through Chest, Shoulders and Tris because my elbow started to give me problems again. Once I start doing any overhead tricep work, my right elbos goes sore and tweaky. But yesterday it was pretty bad because it affected the way I did push ups too. Still pushed play on ARX. Think I need to lower the weights I'm using or need to check out some elbow braces.

P90X day 44/90: Plyo P90 Master Series Cardio Intervals and HIIT
Got my hands on some of the P90 Master Series dvd's so wanted to give the Cardio Interval workout a try. Really liked it, but after doing P90X, I think it's a step down in intensity but it was a nice change of pace. Tony looks so young!

Tomorrow is day 45!!! Halfway through P90X... I can't believe it. I think the 3-week phases with a 1-week recovery week makes the time go by so fast. Anyway, I'm no where near where I thought I'd be but no problem... still gonna bring it... even if that means doing two or three more rounds to get there.

Playing catch up... AGAIN! But still bringing it!!

Well, I've got my motivation back!

Saturday I weighed in at 139.6!!! I actually broke into the 130's!!!! This is exactly what I needed to get me inspired again and I can't wait to start really brining it... diet wise and exercise wise.

I tried to get confirmation weigh-in's yesterday and today... but...

I forgot to jump on the scale yesterday morning so missed getting the confirmation weigh-in, and then last night the boyfriend and I went out to Chessecake Factory for a 3-year-and-2-month anniversary. Okay that's a lame excuse. We just went out for dinner for no real reason other than we wanted to eat there. I've been really active this weekend getting several hikes in as well as doing P90X so this was definitely my cheat meal of the week (I need to go back and read through my week to make sure I'm not having more than one cheat meal).

Anyway, with a night of beer, fried calamari, pasta, pizza, and cheesecake, there was no way I was going to keep that scale in the 130's but I managed to still pull a 140.8 this morning.

Since I took off of work tomorrow (LONG WEEKEND!) we're doing two hikes, spending the day at the beach then going to try and get a run in during the afternoon. This coming Friday is an official weigh-in for me so I'm hoping to bring my weight back down to the new decade of 130's!

I was hoping to be at or close to my goal weight of 120 by the end of summer, but since I switched up my exercise to P90X and cut a lot of cardio out, the weight-loss has slowed down quite a bit. I've started doing cardio in the mornings 5x a week again so I'm hoping that moves the scale even more. But looking at how far I've come since I started all 176+ pounds ago, this journey has been amazing! Even if it's taking a little longer than I planned, I couldn't be happier with what I'm doing with my life and where I am now.

Keep on keeping on...
____________________________________________________________

P90X day 36/90: Chest, Shoulders and Tris and ARX
Still one of my favorite days! The only complaint I have is that I wish there was more shoulder work. But I love working my triceps!

P90X day 37/90: Plyo

P90X day 38/90: 2-hour walk on the beach, Back and Biceps and ARX
My boyfriend and I are working on building a frame for our doorway so I can finally get my pull-up bar set up! I'm hoping when I start week 7 this week Thursday, I'll have it up.

P90X day 39/90: Yoga X Hour hike and Stretch X
Was feeling really tired yesterday so I decided to take it a little easier and threw in Stretch X instead of Yoga. Love how Stretch X makes me feel!!

P90X day 40/90: Legs and Back, and ARX
Legs a little tight from the hike yesterday but boy did they feel good after this awesome workout! And ARX is getting better!!! I try to make it a point to at least match or increase the number of reps for each exercise that I did the previous time. So far I'm still on track!

Was I really THAT fat?!

No, that's not a picture of me but sometimes I feel like that's how I used to look to others. Why? Because people keep telling me to stop losing weight!

WHAT?!

I'm 5'0" tall and currently weigh about 140. That's a BMI of just under 28. As most of you know, a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. I need to weight 127 at the lowest to be considered in the "normal" range of weight. So you might be saying, but BMI is not a good way to judge how "fat" you are because it doesn't take into account lean muscle mass. Based on BMI, a professional athlete can be categorized as "overweight". That's right. So let's also look at my waist-to-hip ratio: currently it's at .87 which means "high risk of health problems". Again, this test is bias and is more a measurement of the fat location on your body, but that's still not good news for me. Still don't believe I'm "fat"? Just go look at my most current progress picture that was taken on April 25.

My point is, I still have quite a bit of weight to lose before I can even be considered healthy! That's my goal right now... to get my health back... not to look hot in a bikini (but that's great motivations also). So it irritates me that people tell me I don't need to lose any more (and I've had over 8 people tell me this so far). I know some of the people say this to be nice and that's their way of complementing me on how far I've come, but it makes me feel like I was a huge whale before! If these people think I look skinny and so good now, still fat and overweight, it makes me wonder how people saw me when I was 176+ lbs.! I still have over 20 pounds to lose to just get to a healthy weight range... are these people going to think I look anorexic when I get my dream body?

The other thing is I don't even know how to respond to comments like this. Especially when the comment comes from someone bigger than me (which I'm sad to say, but is a lot of people now days). Am I suppose to say "No, I still have a lot more work to do." Cause that sounds like I'm calling them fat. My response to these people has been "It's doctor's orders to lose more so that's what I'm gonna do." Even when it's not (I've been lucky and haven't had health problems yet).

Anyway, I'm done ranting... I guess it's not that big of a deal since people are noticing the changes I'm making, but I do get a little offended from comments like this!

Sheesh... taking everything so personally!

Thank you for your responses!

I really liked all the suggestions and will be playing with some of the ideas like switching my carbs to earlier in the day. I especially think I need to up my cals so I'll be looking into that also. As far as my breakfast calories, I normally hit 300 - 400, but this particular day it was a little low.

THANK YOU!

Nutrition Suggestions PLEASE!

So I'm trying to clean up my diet to get this body closer to my goal but thought I'd ask you all for suggestions/improvements. Here is what I ate today. Just an FYI, this is how I eat about 2 or 3 times a week and a multi-vitamin/mineral is thrown in there on the days I need it, meaning the days I don't hit all my nutrition goals. Other days I have a chicken/veggie lunch with some brown rice or whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and some times (about 1 or 2 times a week) dinner consist of a frozen dinner, usually Lean Cuisin. Now I know these aren't the greatest, but being on a budget makes it a little harder to have homemade prepared meals for EVERY meal. Anyway, let me know where you see improvements. Anything from switching out a high glycemic food to a lower one or even changing up when I eat what.

Breakfast: 280 cal
- 1 Tbs. ground organic flaxseeds
- 1 scoop Shakeology
- 1 cup soy milk

Mid-morning Snack: 174 cals
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1/2 cup kiwi
- 15 raw unsalted almonds

Lunch: 324 cals
- 3 cups organic baby spinach
- 1.5 Tbs. raspberry walnut vinaigrette
- 1 cup cucumber
- 1/2 tomato
- 4 oz. grilled chicken breast (grilled with 1/2 Tbs. olive oil)

Mid-afternoon snack: 200 cals
- 1/2 cup dry old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 Tbs. ground organic flaxseeds
- 1 Tbs. organic wheat germ
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- stevia to taste

Dinner: 227 cals
- 1 whole egg
- 3 egg whites
- 2 Tbs. fat free cottage cheese
- 1/2 tomato
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 slice whole wheat bread

Mid-evening snack: 210 cals (eaten at least 3 hrs. before bed)
- 1 scoop whey protein
- 1 Tbs. ground organic flaxseeds
- 1/2 cup soy milk

TOTAL CALS: 1415
Fat: 44.3 g = 27%
Carbs: 139.7 = 37%
Protein: 133.6 = 36%

Playing Catch Up w/ my blog

WOW... so much to catch up on. Though I haven't been here, you can bet I've been pushing play and brining it with P90X! But my diet has been crap for some of the days (I'll explain later). Here's a recap of my exercises the past several days:

Sunday, day 32/90: Kenpo X Core Synergistic and HIIT

Monday, day 33/90: Legs and Back Rest day

Tuesday, day 34/90: Rest Day Legs and Back and elliptical

Wednesday, day 35/90: Took my exercise outside and walked

I did a lot of switching around the last several days because of schedule conflicts and slight knee pain. I tweaked my knee a little bending down to feed my dog but it's nothing major. One or two days of rest and it's completely better now. So when I first started P90X, it was my plan to eliminate Yoga X except for Recovery weeks, but think I want to bring it back. I have been doing DOUBLES but have been switching between Cardio X, Kenpo, Core Synergistic, elliptical or running, but think I may want to rotate between Yoga X too. I know the Doubles version of P90X is suppose to incorporate a cardio routine at the opposite time of the weight-lifting routine, but may start to incorporate all the other exercises into my AM routine. And I am being careful and timing everything so the same muscle group isn't worked two days in a row and so far I feel good doing it.

Right now, I've been really struggling with my nutrition. For some reason, I have become less motivated for both diet and exercise, but have kept on track with the exercise. Diet is much harder. I keep making up excuses to why I can eat crap and I hate it! I hate how it makes me feel after I eat it (both physically and emotionally) and I tend to beat myself up for a day or two after. This past Sunday I had a wedding reception which was my cheat meal for the week but I think this is where it started (and everything from mashed potatoes to creme brulee to cheesecake didn't help either! At least I passed on the wedding cake.) Monday I ended up snacking on things at work that I normally don't eat and later that night I ended up eating a bowl of cereal right before bed. Tuesday I went out to lunch with my boyfriend and had another bowl of cereal right before bed. Not so much because I was hungry but because I just wanted to eat it. I have to say that I did refuse ice cream when we went grocery shopping yesterday and even though I was complaining that I really wanted some last night (and my boyfriend was willing to drive out and get some) I said NO.

I don't know what's going on. I think it's my body's way of telling me it needs something that it's not getting whether it's more protein, fat, carbs, or even just more food. Will need to really take a look at what I'm eating and try to figure it out. I track all my food and nutrients daily with an on-line food journal (myfooddiary.com) but need to start paying closer attention to my diet and maybe start to tweak it.

P90X 30-Day Stats and Day 30 and 31/90; diet: Y

First, the good stuff: 30-day stats! So although I didn't lose much weight (which was expected) I couldn't be happier with my results. I remeasured about 3x because some of the measurements looked really surprising. For example the body fat in mm and my waist measurement, but I got the same number every time. It could also be because I messed up on the first measurements but looking back at my previous monthly stats (see blog below) the numbers look consistent. Over the past few months, I have noticed a big difference in my waist so I'm pretty sure my numbers are legit. The wall squats I had to postpone because my legs are sore right now from a hike the other day, but I'm going to try and get that done early next week.
P90X day 30/90: Plyo
Skipped Plyo yesterday because my legs are pretty sore because I did a hike the other day. It wasn't a particularly hard hike, but about 45 minutes of it is walking down at a pretty steep angle over tree roots and rocks. I noticed one part of my quad is especially sensitive to this type of downward pounding because it gets really sore when I do something like this. So just gave my legs a break yesterday. Diet today was pretty on-spot besides a small, bite-sized shortbread cookie. I know, I know...

P90X day 31/90: HIIT, Back and Biceps, ARX
Got up early this morning and knocked out my HIIT session on the elliptical (I love how this makes me feel after!) then did Back and Biceps this evening. Again, any exercises that work the arms I love but I noticed I'm having some forearm issues on my left side. It gets sore before my bicep does. I know this is totally due to my form and grip so I'm working on it. And today I skipped out on ARX because I wanted to do Core tomorrow morning then Kenpo in the evening. So saved the ab work for tomorrow.

Starting and Current Measurments (not P90X)

P90X Day 29/90: START OF PHASE 2! diet: y

Awww... Chest, Tris, and Shoulders! THIS has got to be one of my faves! I love working my shoulders and arms (missed out on the biceps today) so I knew I would like this one! I struggled with some of the exercises like the overhead tricep extensions, but I always have because my right elbow gets sore when I do it. Most times I would substitute any overhead tricep work with your standard tri push-ups, chair dips, or bent-over tri extensions, but I really liked all the different angles Tony introduces. So I stuck it out. My elbow gets sore while doing the exercise, but never after so I'm afraid it has something to do with my form. But watching myself in the mirror doesn't help because it looks correct. I think it's time to take up this personal trainer who keeps bugging me to come in for a free session. Might be useful!

And I've decided to channel ChaLean Extreme for this Phase 2 of P90X. Like the second month of CLX, I'm upping the weights and lowering the reps, maxing out at 8 - 10 reps. I really liked the results I got with CLX during the Push phase (second month) so thought I would incorporate that into my P90X routine too. I will keep Phase 1 and Phase 3 of P90X at 12 - 15 reps, but Phase 2 I'm bringing it HEAVY!

I also took my 30-day stats and picts and will have those up by this weekend - the stats that is, not the pictures. I'm not too comfortable showing the "before" bikini shots until I have a decent after. But check back for my stats!

P90X Day 27 and 28/90; rest day and cardio

Yesterday was Day 27 of my P90X journey. It was suppose to be a rest day, but the weather was so nice I couldn't help going for a leisurely 2-hour hike with my boyfriend. Nothing strenuous but my legs felt really good getting out there for a long walk instead of the weight lifting or plyo or kicks that I normally make them go through. We got home just in time to watch the Biggest Loser Finale, and can I just say that I was bummed with the winner? I mean yes, they all did AMAZING jobs, but I really wanted Mike or Tara to win. Tara has totally proven herself the entire time on the ranch and to never fall below the yellow line is awesome. Helen still did a really good job and for someone at her age to win it is very inspiring. There really are no excuses now.

Anyway, today is my cardio day. Instead of doing any P90X exercises my boyfriend and I ran a short 5-mile course. We had dinner with my parents (nothing fancy) so we decided to run to the restaurant instead of drive. Haven't been out running in a while but can tell my stamina is much better. I accredit that to the awesome P90X program. Not even day 30 yet and I'm already reaping the benefits of the program... LOVE IT!

BTW, tomorrow starts Phase 2! I'm so excited!

Shakeology recipe and mini-review; 2-Day Fast Formula

Shakeology and Mini Review

- 3/4 scoop chocolate
- 1/4 scoop greenberry
- 1/2 cup soy milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup frozen, fresh strawberries
- 1 tbs. ground flax seeds

Loves it but think I'll add in an extra 1/4 cup of the strawberries or other mixed berries, bringing it up to 3/4 cup strawberries, just so the berry taste is a little stronger. I think frozen cherries would be awesome too!

Okay, so the other day I missed my Shakeology drink because I was in a rush and had to leave the house (YES, I was in such a rush I didn't even have 2 extra minutes to make my shake). Anyway, I kid you not, but I could feel a big difference in my energy level. Now before I go on, let me say that drinking a shake does not "put you on edge" like energy drinks. No jittery, heart-racing effects, but I just feel more awake then normal, like I got a REALLY good night's sleep. Well anyway, I've been drinking one shake daily for the past 12 days and missing it just this once put me in slump for the first half of the morning until I could get some whole, clean food into me at lunch time. I guess it's a good time to mention my routine. I make my Shakeology and have it as my breakfast every morning. Since starting to drink the shakes, I have cut out my daily multivitamin/mineral because I track my nutrients daily in a food log and by adding Shakeology, it covers a lot of what I miss out on daily. I get the rest of my requirements from fresh fruits and veggies but I do add in my multivitamin/mineral on days that I'm lacking on some of the nutrients.

Well the day I skipped my shake I didn't take my vitamin either and I just wasn't "up" like I normally am. I felt a lot more tired even though I've gotten good sleep the previous nights before then, and I noticed throughout the day my eyes were getting dry and irritated again like they used to pre-Shakeology. So far I'm still loving it and will report back on other "findings"!
_________________________________________________________________

2-Day Fast Formula

So I've had several people ask me about how the 2-Day Fast Formula went (I mentioned I was going to do it on the weekend of my recovery week), however I didn't get around to doing it. That weekend turned out to be crazy filled with outdoor (and indoor) activities with friends so thought it was best to not do the fast. My next Recovery week is the first week in June so maybe I can do it then. But with Summer coming in, not sure I want to give up a beautiful weekend again. We'll see. But for now, the 2-Day Fast will have to be postponed.

P90X Day 25 and 26/90: Stretch X and Core; diet: N

Yesterday I reluctantly pushed play on Stretch X but I am so glad I did! This is the first time I've done it because on my normal "rest days" I use it as a rest day! I thought it was going to be like Yoga X (which I still don't care for too much) but it wasn't and I loved, loved, LOVED how it made my muscles feel when I was done. I actually found myself doing some of the moves while I was sitting on the floor watching TV with the boyfriend last night. I got into the Kenpo quad stretch (one of my faves) and he thought I was being weird. Whatever, I know it's just because he's jealous! :)

Today was Core Synergistic again and I added in a short cardio session on the elliptical after too (I just felt good so I went with it). And did I mention that I'm seriously thinking of adding Core in during the regular Classic week. I love it so much and really think my core could use the extra exercises. Maybe add this to my AM workouts along with Cardio X and Kenpo. That would be a really good mix! I start doubles this Thursday - the first day of Phase 2! Man, that went by fast!

Chocolate Chip Cookies! Ahhhh.....

Ugghhhh... just downed 2 chocolate chip cookies at an Employee's Benefit Fair! I wasn't even craving it but they smelt SOOO good just sitting in the room. Why did I do it? It's not even my favorite snack and I'm not a huge chocolate person. I already had tuna and cucumber slices ready for me at my desk when I got back to the office. What a waist of calories and extra sugar. It's okay, at least it wasn't this kind of chocolate chip cookies:

Bacon Chocolate chip Cookies with a Cinnamon Maple glaze. SERIOUSLY?! This belongs on This Is Why You're Fat!

P90X Day 24/90: Kenpo HIIT training instead; diet: N

Today was suppose to be Kenpo but decided to do some HIIT (high intensity interval training) instead. I plan on doing Kenpo tomorrow morning and then Stretch X in the afternoon/evening to make up for it (unless I decide to go for a run instead; the weather here has been GORGEOUS!). Back when I first started losing weight, I would do HIIT at least 2 or 3 times a week and I really think it helped a ton in my initial weight-loss. I haven't done it since last December so thought it would be a perfect time to bring it back since I've been stuck at the same weight since January. It felt so good to get the heart going and sweating that much and I'm amazing at how much harder I can push myself on my elliptical.

Since starting CLX back in February and even up until today, I've cut a lot of cardio out of my workout schedules because I wanted to focus on the weight-training side of exercise. Sure, I would still jump on the elliptical or go for a short run about once or twice a week, but other than that and the scheduled cardio days in CLX and P90X, I wouldn't be doing any other cardio. And that's a huge difference from doing only cardio 6 days a week before CLX.

So I feel if I add in HIIT on my double-days, I can break through this plateau... FINALLY!

And diet-wise, I was on track pretty much all day, but I did stop by McDonald's and had a vanilla cone... first time in 4 months and totally worth it! Other than that, ate clean, clean, clean! I'm still giving myself a "N" for diet today for going into McDonald's.

P90X Day 23/90: Core Synergistic; diet: Y

Yesterday was day 23 of P90X, or day 2 of my first Recovery week and it was Core Synergistics. Absolutely love all the exercises in this dvd. Chatarunga run kills me and I can't even do more than the first 10-second interval so I have to stay in plank for the rest of the run, but I love it anyway! All I can say is I wish this was incorporated more into the Classic routine... I think I'll start adding this in the AM instead of Cardio X. Well actually I'll switch back and forth between Cardio X, Kenpo, Core, and another type of cardio workout. That's right... you heard me... I'm starting doubles next week! Need to get my body beach-ready, you know!

P90X Day 21 and 22/90: Cardio X, Yoga; Diet: Y and N

Yesterday morning I set my alarm to go off an hour early and I pushed play on Cardio X. This is the first time I did Cardio X in the morning and I loved it! Short but effective little workout. Plus I gotta say, the yoga in the beginning of the dvd really wakes you up! LOVES IT! Anyway, I had an early Mother's Day dinner and show last night and the dinner was cheeseburger, fries, and a drink! I haven't had that in months so I'm using dinner tonight as my cheat meal for the week. I ate a big salad for lunch yesterday so I'm ready! (One cheat meal, not day, a week has gotten me results so far and keeps me from craving things.) Since I'm had the cheeseburger last night, skipping the fries, I have to give my diet a "N" for yesterday.

Today was day 1 of Recovery week so I did Yoga X. I did a little over an hour but stopped because I had plans tonight. I'm really surprised to have gotten that far! This is the first time this round of P90X that I did Yoga X because I have been subbing my yoga days for an extra cardio day. I have done the P90X yoga before and just didn't care for it. I had a hard time getting through most of the moves the first couple of times around so it was nice to see that I've gotten much stronger/better/balanced than before. I did forget how good yoga makes my body feel, but Yoga X just kills be because it's too long. I'm thinking of ordering Fountain of Youth from Tony's One on One series and subbing it for Yoga X. At least it's shorter, right?

Shakeology and Carl Daikeler

Carl has made my day! First he commented on my blog about my Shakeology post the other day and when I wrote back to him, he answered my questions! See my other Shakeology post for the beginning of the "story" here.

Anyway, here is the continuation of my question/answer from Carl:

Annie said...

Hey Carl,

Not sure if you'll get this, but you commented on my page about Shakeology and I was interested in your science about adding a raw egg to the shake instead of whey. Trying to get the most out of my Shakeology!

And I can't wait for INSANITY to come out!

2:56 PM

Carl Daikeler said...

I add a raw egg to my Shakeology because, from my own limited reading and information Isabelle has provided to me, it seems that the whole egg, uncooked is really, really good for you. Eggs contain valuable fat which helps cleanse and lubricate the body. But I'm not going to drink an egg "Rocky Balboa" style. I add it to the shake.

Raw, unheated, uncooked organic eggs from a clean source benefit your health as the raw egg yolk and white helps your body eliminate stored toxins. Body builder's have long used raw eggs to help build healthy muscle without the extra fat.

When you cook animal proteins, eggs, milk, meat, and so on, it changes the structure of the proteins. This is not to say that all cooked animal proteins are unhealthy, but that when we don't cook the proteins, they are often healthier. Consuming eggs raw means that vital enzymes and nutrients are left intact.

Just as pasteurization destroys many beneficial enzymes (put there by mother nature to help assist in digestion) and vitamins, in order to make milk "safer", similar situation exists with cooking eggs.

Now getting technical; Raw egg whites contain a glyco-protein called "avidin" that binds itself to biotin, one of the B vitamins. The concern is that this can lead to a biotin deficiency in the body. The simple solution is to cook the egg whites as to deactivate the avidin. The problem is that it also completely deactivates nearly every other protein in the egg white. While you will still get nutritional benefits from consuming cooked egg whites, from a nutritional perspective it would seem far better to consume them uncooked.

The egg's natural design carefully compensates for the biotin issue by putting tons of biotin in the egg yolk. (Egg yolks have one of the highest concentrations of biotin found in nature.) So it is likely that you will not have a biotin deficiency if you consume the whole raw egg, yolk and white.

This is one example of mother nature's wisdom - both combined are very balanced.

Search the web and you can find more info on the value of raw vs. cooked eggs, and many articles on how the connection between eggs and high cholesterol is not valid (high cholesterol is more an issue of putting bad fats like margarine and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, not eggs) Here's a place for more info on cholesterol myths: http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm

Another Shakeology recipe and a short review

This morning I tried the Greenberry again but had to tone it down a bit with some Chocolate Shakeology too. And I didn't add protein powder this time (thanks to Carl Daikeler who left a comment on my previous Shakeology blog!). This is what I tried this morning and the taste of the Greenberry was so much better (or rather masked):

- 1/2 scoop Greenberry
- 1/2 scoop Chocolate
- 1 banana
- 1 tbs. natural peanut butter
- 1/2 tbs. ground flaxseeds
- 1 cup water and a couple of ice cubes

I like my Shakeology thick and creamy so the banana did a really good job at thicken up the shake. I usually use soy milk in place of water to give it a little froth, but since I'm planning to have my "cheat meal" today, I didn't want the extra 100 calories. Anyway, it was really good this way and next time I think I can add a little more Greenberry. I'm trying to get used to the taste. Need to pick me up some OJ because that helps a ton with the grassy taste.

So far, this is day 5 of enjoying Shakeology as my breakfast replacement, and I LOVE IT! Seriously! I know it's expensive to buy it up front, but $3 -$4 a serving is not bad at all! You can't even buy a meal for the price and I guarantee you won't get the nutrition like you do in Shakeology. Again, I AM NOT A COACH so I'm not trying to "sell" Shakeology... but... I can see a big difference already. Mainly in my energy level. When I get to work, I'm completely awake and I'm so much more efficient! Seriously! I can concentrate so much better and I feel so much better overall. I usually workout in the afternoons, but on the mornings I exercise before work, I feel AMAZING and so much more energized for the rest of the day! This is how Shakeology has made me feel the past three days... without a workout in the morning. And I'm still so shocked at how full one shake will keep me. I drink my shake at 7:30 in the morning and I can last the 3 or 4 hours before my mid-morning snack.

I'm so glad I shelled out the money for it... I can't wait to see what happens after 2 weeks... and a month... and more!

Tossing the Scale for good!

Well kind of... I've been having too many issues with the number on the scale so I have decided to toss it... every two weeks that is. I normally weigh-in on Mondays and Fridays to keep me accountable, but for the last 4 months I've been kind of in a plateau. My weight has fluctuated between 149 - 143 for the last 4 months and seeing the same decade every week was slowly driving me crazy. I understand that plateaus are a natural part of weight-loss and I've been really good about not letting the number affect me, however to help myself even more I've decide to only weigh in every other Friday. I don't think I can (or should) give up the scale for good right now because I still need to keep on track... keep myself accountable. I realize it will be harder to judge my progress with only two weigh-ins a month, but I've gotten too caught up with what the scale says. I take measurments monthly and to me these numbers are much more important. My next weigh-in is scheduled for May 15, right around my 30-day mark for P90X so that will be perfect timing.

As long as I keep up with the exercise and eat as clean as I can, I know I'll be doing my body only good.

P90X Day 19 and 20/90: Legs and Back; diet: Y; 2-Day Fast Formula

Yesterday was Legs and Back and ARX, however I "didn't feel like working out" so I didn't do anything. I'm so ashamed to say it, but it's true.

Well technically I didn't skip the workout... I just postponed it to today so I'm still on track. Today was suppose to be my modified cardio or rest day so I'm the "rest day" today, doing Legs and Back instead, and doing cardio tomorrow. Is that confusing? Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the two days that switch around a lot depending on my schedule. It's either Kenpo or my rest day. But since I took the rest day yesterday, I'm doing Legs and Back today and doing Kenpo/cardio tomorrow. So for the week, I'm still on track!

This Thursday starts my recovery week, however I'm going to double up on some of the days because I'm going to take Saturday and Sunday as rest days. I'm giving the 2-Day Fast Formula a try to get things moving along in the body. I'm pretty "regular" already, but I've been stuck in a plateau for the last 4 months so I think a good flushing will get things moving again. I'll be sure to blog about what happens.

SHAKEOLOGY is here!!!

I finally got my Shakeologies (is that a word?) in the mail on Saturday... chocolate and greenberry! Now I am NOT a Beach Body coach so I'm not trying to sell Shakeology, so over the next 30 days, I will be giving an honest review about it and the wonders that it's suppose to bring to me. I also know this is not some kind of miracle drink that will let me lose weight and give me great skin and nails and tons of energy all by itself. I do understand that this has to be paired with a proper diet and exercise program. I'm looking at this as a wellness drink for my body rather than a weight-loss drink. I feel like this is the biggest misconception out there about Shakeology. First and foremost, it's a healthy, healthy drink to add to your diet and one of the many benefits of using it is weight-loss.

Anyway, on to my concoctions.

Last night I used it as my meal replacement for dinner and made this:

- one scoop chocolate Shakeology
- half a scoop of vanilla whey protein
- 1 tbs. natural peanut butter
- half tbs. ground flaxseeds
- 1 cup light soy milk
- couple of ice cubes

It was so good!!! I thought I was drinking a chocolate peanut butter milkshake or something! I'm not planning on using it for a dinner replacement, just had to try it out. This morning I tried the Greenberry and I'm on the fence about the taste of this one. It's a little too wheat-grassy for me but I'll try it with different ingredients first. This is what I made this morning:

- one scoop greenberry Shakeology
- half a scoop of vanilla whey protein
- 1 cup soy milk
- half a cup of frozen berries

I've tried it with only orange juice and I have to say, that was better than this recipe. Will try it again tomorrow and we'll see!

And P.S.
NO GAS PROBLEMS FOR ME!! That's the biggest thing I was worried about!

P90X Day 16, 17, and 18/90: diet: Y

Been busy but still pushing play!

Last week Friday was plyo. I set my alarm an hour and a half early so I could do plyo in the morning but that was a bad idea. I got started feeling good, but about 20 minutes into plyo, I was getting really light-headed and nausea. I had no energy and at the 40 minute mark, I had to turn it off and lay down for a little bit. I don't know why I got like this... whether it was the lack of food before my intense workout or if it could have been something else. I've been having a really hard time getting a good night's sleep so I'm sure it was a combination of both. Anyway, went home and pushed play again and did plyo on Friday night.

Saturday was Shoulders and Arms... my fave! I've been switching out the ARX with Extreme Abs from CLX just to mix it up a bit and I really like it because I can really feel a difference in what areas are being worked. With ARX, I've been having some lower back issues on a lot of the moves so CLX is a good substitute to give my back a rest.

Today was Yoga X/Kenpo however I did a nice long, two hour walk with my dog instead. It's still really early so I'll try to get in some Yoga but we'll see. Will be back later if I get it in.