Expanding the Menu

If you know anything about me, I am TOTALLY a creature of habit.  If I find something I like, I will eat it until I'm sick of eating it.  When I did weight watchers a long time ago, I figured out a meal that worked for me for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and I stuck with the same 3 meals for weeks at a time!  It was easy...not the best for me, I'm sure, but easy.  Then, when I got into the Atkins diet, I was pretty simple there too.  I ate a lot of meat, cheese and a bit of vegetables.  Cheeseburgers without the bun was the standard fare in my household then.  Now, on P90X (since I'm taking the portions approach), I find that I slip into the same habits.  I eat a protein shake for breakfast, almonds for a snack, salad with some meat on it for lunch, jerky for snack and then whatever for dinner.  Usually, dinner ended up being a 10-egg white omelet with whatever I still needed to consume cooked inside it.  I would leave myself 1 snack to have a couple pure fruit bars at the end of the night, but try not to wait too long so I'm not eating within 3 hours of going to bed.  I do vary from this plan a bit, but never really a far departure from the daily routine of food consumption.

To give you some perspective on how other people do things, my in-laws (a few years back) made the decision to change how they ate.  They switched to a doctor-suggested nutritional plan that was pretty low carb/high protein.  My mother-in-law, the whiz-cook that she is, comes up with these ridiculous recipes that taste amazing and fall within the requirements of their nutritional plan.  Now...they do have their "staples" that they rely on each day...I'm pretty sure quiche was a regular food item for them for a while, but they have a big variety in what they eat each day.

So....long story, not quite so long, it is my NEW goal to try and dive into the world of P90X recipes.  They look good, but I just haven't taken the time to make them.  Yesterday...that changed!  Since I'm now in Phase II of the diet plan, I have been granted the blessing of more carbohydrates. SO...I flipped through the P90X recipe book and found a recipe for Oatmeal Pancakes.  I wasn't sure what to expect...I knew they would taste "healthy" and sometimes that isn't always a favorable taste. But...since I'm the type of dad that treats Saturday mornings as "breakfast with dad" days, I thought I'd give a new recipe a chance.  Usually we either do pancakes, waffles, French toast, or my own creation...French pan-toast (which is taking a thinner pancake batter to dip the bread instead of an egg wash).  I'm not going to lie...I was a little scared.  My twins weren't around since they were with my parents, but my biggest food critic seems to be my 2 year old (Sarah).  If the pancakes weren't a hit with her, breakfast would become a challenge.  As it turns out, it was a pretty enjoyable experience.  I actually let Sarah help me with the ingredients.  She had a good time and we had some pretty cute daddy-daughter moments.  When the pancake batter was mixed, I felt a bit more comfortable...it looked almost like "normal" pancake batter...a bit chunky, but relatively normal.  I was excited, she was excited...plan was going well.  When we were done with cooking the pancakes, we sat down and enjoyed them.  They tasted really good!!  We don't introduce too many sweets into our children's diet until they are a bit older, so Sarah doesn't know what syrup is yet.  She eats pancakes alone and is usually pretty happy.  Yesterday, while eating pancakes, we shared a 1/2 cup of all natural (no sugar added) applesauce.  We used that as pancake dip and the meal was a hit.  The nice thing for me was that I could eat 4 and only use one unit of carbohydrates.  I ate 6.  She at almost 3 of them.  My wife, Bekah, tried them and she liked them also, so they may become a new addition to the "breakfast with dad" menu.  I'm sure Beachbody, Tony, and anyone else affiliated with P90X will be angry with me, but I'm sharing the recipe below.  If you give them a shot, know that they make 16 pancakes per batch.  I'd love to get feedback from you on them!!  I think you'll enjoy them.

I hope you have a great day!  If you are into reading blogs, a good friend of mine, Chris, is also doing the P90X program with his wife and he is blogging too.  He's about a month behind me, but I'm sure he'd appreciate people reading his blog too!  Here's the link to his blog:  http://p90xcurryfamily.blogspot.com/.

Thanks and keep reading...and I'll keep "pressing play"!!


Oatmeal Pancakes

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup skim milk
2 egg whites
1 T canola oil
2 T brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda


I varied the recipe to utilize the ingredients that I had in my kitchen.  Here are the changes:
1.  I used Old Fashioned Oats instead of the suggested Quick Oats.

2.  I used Olive Oil instead of Canola Oil.

3.  I used 1 cup of skim milk instead of 1/2 cup skim and 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
4.  Since I only used skim milk, I omitted the baking soda and increased the baking powder by 1 tsp.  Not sure what that does, but I read it in an old cookbook and just kept doing it through the years...

Before attempting the recipe, soak the oats in the milk for about 15 minutes to soften them.  Then add the entire mixture to the other ingredients.  When spooning the batter onto your griddle (or whatever you use), use 1/8 measuring cup.  That will yield 16 pancakes about 4" in diameter.

The Joshua Tree Principle

Sorry, fellow readers, for the long hiatus between posts.  As a band director, there are busy times in my life and band camp tends to be one of them.  I will say that I have successfully completed band camp (side note: I have an amazing group of staff and students...which helped a ton!) AND stayed on track with my P90X plan.  Honestly, on occasion, I did take a day off, but made it up some other time during the week and made that my rest day instead of Sunday.  Not what Tony had in mind, I'm sure, but worked for me and my schedule!!

I want to say just a tiny bit about the progress that I've made and then I'll move on to why I chose "The Joshua Tree Principle" as my title.  First...I was pretty juiced to find out that I have moved in 3 belt holes in this last month!!  This has me excited for 2 reasons...the first being that IT'S 3 BELT HOLES, and the second is that I've done this before, but after much more weight loss which suggests to me that I am developing more muscle and burning a lot of fat rather quickly.  I'm now at a point where people are noticing...people that didn't know I was trying to become more fit.  Feels pretty darned good...remembering to tell a fat man that he's looking better when he's trying to GLF (Get Less Fat) is kinda along the same lines as remembering to tell a lady that she looks good!

Note:  if you recall from an earlier post, I mark my weight loss by how much my children weigh.  A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I lost the equivalent of my youngest daughter (a little over 8 pounds).  While I have not caught up to my 3rd child (25 pounds), I have lost the equivalent of my youngest daughter while in a Chicco KeyFit infant carseat.  As I was carrying her down to our van today I wondered what that weighed and much to my surprise...it equaled my total weight loss (18 pounds).  So...if I ever want to consider what life was like 30+ days ago...I just need to haul Sophia (the youngest) around in a carseat...pretty cool!

Now...to the significance of the title.  A long time ago, I took a Graduate Level Class which required me to read the book, "The Non-Designer's Design Book".  Within the body of that book, the author describes this principal.  I don't remember the story exactly, but it goes something like this.  The author wanted to do some landscaping in her yard.  She wanted to be unique with the type of plants, trees, etc. that she used in her yard and found a tree that really fit the bill.  It is called a Joshua Tree.  As I'm sure you'll agree, this is a pretty interesting type of tree.

She believed that it would set her property apart from the rest.  Very shortly after her new Joshua Tree was given it's new home in her yard, she went for a ride around her neighborhood to discover that almost every yard in her development ALSO had Joshua Trees in their yard.  As many times as she had driven around her neighborhood, she never noticed them until she had her own.  I can relate to that story every time I buy a new car...I tend to notice all of the other ones similar to mine on the road, where I didn't pay any attention before.

P90X has been my own version of the Joshua Tree Principle.  When I considered doing this program, I thought that I was the only one around that knew anything about the program.  Then I talked to my wife (Bekah) about it and she said "yeah...I talked to you about this program a while ago and you didn't think it was worth the money...I think our friend is doing it, give him a call and see what he thinks."  And then it began...P90X graduates and enthusiasts started coming out of the woodwork.  As I've been blogging, I'm hearing more and more about it.  Relatives and friends that were considering doing it tell me about it...friends that are P90X graduates contact me telling me about their success stories, etc.  The list goes on and on and on...

So, in conclusion, I never thought I was in this alone...many people are supporting me as I progress through the program, but WHAT A BONUS to have a core of friends and family that have done it, are doing it, or have graduated from it. 

On a side note...I've never really been one for getting tattoos...but I told Bekah the other day that if I get good and ripped...I want to get a big tattoo on my shoulder/upper arm.  She snickered in a "yeah right" kind of way...knowing of course, how I feel about tattoos.  Well, then I talked to a buddy of mine and he suggested that I get a tattoo of my weight before P90X.  Neat idea...any artists out there?!?  If so....send me some pictures of designs with the number 293 in it!  Oddly enough, I'm actually considering it...not seriously, but not totally dismissing it either....

Thanks for reading...TTYL (Type To You Later - I'm getting the Blogging Lingo down!!)

The Results Are In!! - Day 30

WEIGH IN DAY!!!  AKA...DAY 30!!

July 14th - 293 (Pre-P90X)
July 26th - 290.6 (Day 1 of P90X)
August 4th - 285 (Day 10 of P90X)
August 14th - 281.8 (Day 20 of P90X)
August 24th - 275.8 (Day 30 of P90X)

Total loss to date:  17.2 pounds since July 14th. 


30 days have gone by so fast...I can't believe that this month is done already and I'm completing my 2nd day of phase 2.  Below are some pictures for you to check out.  Not a ton of change yet, but I feel a lot better.  Today, when I put my shorts on, I noticed that I was in 3 belt holes from July 14th.  Pretty cool!!

Enjoy the pix...

Phase II: The next 30 days...a new adventure begins!

This will be a short one...or at least I think it will be.  Tomorrow marks the beginning of phase II in the P90X program.  I get to test out a few new DVDs and will probably post my opinions to these new workouts.  When talking to my P90X graduate buddy, he admitted that the 2nd month was a lot more fun than that 1st one.  While I did enjoy the first month, I look forward to some more variety in the workout.  This is my last day of the recovery week.  Yep...I feel recovered.  Although...core syngergistics didn't make me feel as though I was supposed to be recovering!! 

It is amazing to me to know that I've completed a month of this training already.  In a few days, I will post the 30-day results and probably a few pictures to compare to my "before" photos.  I'm excited to see if I can tell any difference when I compare the 2.  Again...as in my previous post, in the mirror, I can't tell a difference, although my clothes are beginning to "loosen" on me.

The other "motivating" thing that I consider is that I kept pressing play for a month...I got past my lazy tendencies and kept rolling along...some days hurt, some days felt great...some days I had a ton of energy and some, I could barely pick myself up off of the floor.  Through it all, one resounding thought cuts through all of my emotions...I AM SO MUCH BETTER OFF, PHYSICALLY, FOR DOING THIS!!  I have made sacrifices...my wife and family have supported me and have made sacrifices also.  I hesitate to think of what kind of shape I'd be in if I just didn't do it or gave up part of the way in the 1st month.  If you sit on the couch long enough, you can ALWAYS talk yourself out of exercising...GET UP and GET MOVING....you'll thank yourself later.  Sounds corny, I know...but I'm a corny guy...what can I say?!?

I am going to bed tonight actually excited to get into another month of P90X.  Tomorrow is a new workout as well as my old buddy, Ab Ripper X....great times are ahead!!!

Check back on Tuesday...that's my results post...keep reading!!  Later!

P90X For Life!

As I type this post, I am lying (or laying...I always screw that one up!  My mother-in-law is an English teacher and I always have to defer to her for the correct usage.) down in a tent with my son, his friend and his father. We are at the tail end of our first camping experience. Last night, some very good friends joined us by the fire but didn't camp out. It was an "all-dude" camping trip so it started with swimming with 4 fathers and their sons, ranging in age from college to just turning 6 today. The fathers "waded" and talked while the "boys" all played water basketball...which was a hoot to watch! As all the dads watched, we talked about a ton of stuff including P90X and fitness for life. One of the dads is a P90X graduate and I talked to him for advice about starting the program over a month ago. He mentioned that he noticed some differences in me and we had a discussion about staying fit for life.  It really caused me to think about the P90X thing.  From the very inception of the idea of doing this program, I set my mind on the fact that I will be doing this more than 90 days.  I went so far as to plan on it being more like P270X (3 times through the program)...but I never really considered what would happen after I have reached my goal.  I've always assumed that the Phase 3 part of the program was what I would do to maintain the work that I've done throughout my life, but truthfully, I'm not really sure.  I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but with all the work I've done and will continue to do, I can't imagine wanting to let myself slip into old habits.  And let's say that I stick firm to my goal and want to maintain good physical fitness....this brings up a ton of questions...here are a few:

1.  How do I know when I really "get there" and achieve my goal?  There was a time in my life when I lost a ton of weight without exercising and dropped to 170 pounds.  Basically, I starved myself...anyway, while I didn't fit into any of my clothes, when I looked into the mirror, I still looked the same as I did before I lost the weight.  Will this happen again?

2.  Is the current diet plan what I will be adhering to for the rest of my life?  When I say this, I mean Phase III of P90X.  Am I destined to say goodbye to pizza, egg yolks, chocolate cake, and a whole host of other things that I love to consume?  Or is this a quantity thing...as I get smaller, I eat less and ultimately create new dietary habits?  I know that my body doesn't like when I consume a lot of carbohydrates.  I found that out the other night when I was at a friends house and ate pasta.  My "tummy" scolded me! 

3.  I am currently exercising 6 to 7 days a week as long as my schedule allows.  Is this what "normal" fit people do...or is it what people do when they are trying to continue to improve themselves? 

I'm not really stressing about these things, but my conversation with my "buds" did get me thinking...so...why not share my thoughts! 

Feel free to drop me a line and let me know your thoughts on the questions posted above...I'd love to hear what you think!

More later...

"That one time at band camp..." - American Pie

So...as the summer dwindled down and I was getting all amped to do P90X, there was this distant thought in my head...how am I going to make this happen while going to work.  Well...band camp is here and we've finished day 2.  I've been steadfast in my quest for athletic excellence and have managed to pull my tired body out of bed to start working out by 5:15 AM.  Monday was Yoga and today was Core Synergistics.  This is the schedule for "recovery week" for phase 1.  The week looks like this, at a quick glance:

Monday: Yoga X
Tuesday: Core Synergistics
Wednesday: Kenpo X
Thursday: Stretching
Friday: Yoga X
Saturday: Core Synergistics
Sunday: Stretch or Rest

I've heard Tony talk about your "core" but I didn't truly understand that until this morning!!  What a bundle of joy that was!!  I got to roll around like a banana, pick up boxes and put them on a high shelf, play "boat", act like Superman, and a whole host of other things to get my core in good shape.  According to Tony, having a solid core is protection in the real world.  This set of exercises teach you to pick up, bend over, etc. the correct way.  If you get in the habit of doing it correctly in Core Synergistics, when you get to the real world, proper habits transfer to daily life...keeping your back safe (as well as other sensitive parts of your body, I guess).  In the end, I got a good workout, but I'm pretty sure I could have pushed myself a bit harder.  Knowing this, I will "bring it" tomorrow and let today go without dwelling on it. 

So, being a high school band director, I am in charge of running a band camp.  In the past, I've had my student leaders take care of morning stretching and calisthenics.  I chose to run them today.  Yep...you guessed it, it had P90X written all over it.  The kids had a good time and I had fun sharing what I've learned with them.  The nice thing about teaching P90X to students is that I see their problems and identify if I'm doing the same things.  By helping them, I'm helping myself as I do my own workout.  They LOVED the calf raises!!  I think I'll do them again tomorrow...nah...I'll hit them with something else!

I was expecting to have a busy few days with camp, family needs, etc. so I knew I wasn't going to blog daily...I'll get a post in every other day or so until things calm down and we settle into a routine.  Rest assured...I am "pressing play" and have pushed past the 3 week "cold feet". 

Sorry for the short post...enough for now...keep reading...have a great day, er, night!!

The Results Are In!! (Part 2)

WEIGH IN DAY!!!  AKA...DAY 20!!

July 14th - 293 (Pre-P90X)
July 26th - 290.6 (Day 1 of P90X)
August 4th - 285 (Day 10 of P90X)
August 14th - 281.8 (Day 20 of P90X)

Pretty successful I think!  I'm feeling great...better than I felt in recent months.  Here are a list of positive changes:

1. Obvious answer...I'm lighter.

2. I'm developing more muscle mass.  I can't tell, but my wife says that she can.  Good enough for me!

3. When I get up in the morning, I used to have a lot of joint pain.  Walking for the first few minutes was always pretty painful.  Then it would go away.  Now, I get up and the pain is gone.

4. I am much more able to participate in the exercises Tony provides.  Don't get me wrong, I still have a long way to go, but the coordination is better...much better!

5. Here's a weird one: I usually have acne on my forehead.  Not very big pimples, but many small ones making my forehead look like I have a rash or something.  3 weeks into the program, acne is gone and face is clear...pretty cool...and unexpected!!

6. I'd love to say my energy level is up...I think it is a bit, but so far, not a  real noticeable difference.  I've been pretty busy lately...so...that has sucked up a lot of my time (and energy).

3 weeks into the program and I'm feeling pretty good about the changes going on in me.  I'm feeling "pumped" for the recovery week and phase 2.  I'm over that 3 week hump and looking to improve more!!

Alright...enough for tonight...more tomorrow or Monday!

Later!

3 Weeks and Out...

So, after talking to a few people I know and the limited amount of research that I've done on the topic, it seems that week 3 is a magical week.  Apparently, many people with great intentions tend to fizzle out around week 3.  I'm not sure what that's all about, but I do know that I felt it too.  The beginning of the week was pretty sluggish for me.  Each day was tough getting out of bed and the beginning of each workout was more difficult than last week.  Whew...if that was a hump/hurdle, I'm glad I passed over it.  I'd love to hear feedback from readers on how they maintained a positive attitude towards exercise when they hit a slump.  For me, knowing that each day I exercised, I'd feel better right after the workout and know that my body was improved from the day before...even if I didn't notice the changes.  Now, after week 3, I feel like I've accomplished something.  Week 4 is what Tony refers to as "recovery week" which I'm told could be even more difficult than the first 2 weeks.  We'll see!

Oh...tomorrow is "weigh-in day".  It'll be another quick post, but I have some exciting differences to talk about...until then...have a great night!

Gravity...I thought you were my friend!?!?

"Gravity, oh gravity, why have you forsaken me? Every time I try to escape your grasp, you pull me back...let me be free to ascend towards the stars...let me return to your loving arms with a soft welcome reception...gravity, oh gravity, why have you forsaken me!" -Rizzo, 2010

Well...today was Plyometrics day and as I've mentioned before, it is also referred to as jump training. That means that you spend about an hour trying to "defy gravity". This would be an inaccurate blog if I said that things were always all sunshine and roses. This morning was the hardest day for me so far. My plan to get out of bed at 5:00 AM failed miserably...I hit the snooze about 10 times before rolling out of bed (literally rolling since I'm still kinda shaped like a ball!), trying not to let gravity take hold of me and bring me to the floor...I "pressed play" at 6:00 AM and began my workout. The warm-up period caused me to start sweating bucket loads...sorry for that vision. Then...the workout...well, I'm not the most nimble man weighing in at over 280 pounds, so landing was anything but soft. I cringed before, during, and after each exercise...I had a thought that this must be similar to what Jimmy Hoffa must have experienced!

Around 25 minutes into the workout, things loosened up a bit and I felt better...but still not what I would have considered a great effort at working out. I DID press play and I DID work up a pretty good sweat with an "in the zone" heart rate...so I DID definitely gain from doing the workout...

My biggest problem, I think, was that I lost the mental battle. My head wasn't in it and it was a struggle for the entire hour.  Amazing how that makes a difference.  On days when I am "amped" to workout, the sweat and the burn feel great.  Today, the pain and sweat were no different, but the burn almost took my breath away.  I have to say that I'm learning what it means when Tony says to "Bring It".  I've heard that phrase many times before and, quite honestly, I get tired of hearing it.  HOWEVER, I also should say that it really does encapsulate exactly the mentality to get the results you want/need.  I'd like to say that my whole attitude will change tomorrow...right now, I feel like I'm going to be really excited.  Tomorrow morning...another story...

I was very fortunate to be part of an endeavor to bring the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps to my high school for the last 2 days.  I think, while being dropped in my lap at the last minute, there was a bigger plan here.  Their show theme was "Toy Soldier".  Pretty amazing stuff and the Indiana community and school district really rose to the task, making it a very memorable evening.  Anyway, their main "character" was a male dancer acting the role of a 10 year old boy excited to be a soldier.  As I watched this young man play the role, I was amazed at how much and how easily he "defied gravity".  He jumped, seemingly to fly, with great ease.  All I could think about was what I would look like if I tried to do that!!  I saw Plyometrics all over his choreography.  Now...I don't plan to dance around a marching band field, but the thought of being able to leap effortlessly is pretty exciting, I guess.

So...tomorrow, I will attack the workout with a better attitude...even though it involves Ab Ripper X!!  Thanks for reading!  Have a great evening!

So nice to meet you, Kenpo X!

So...I just finished my 2nd week of P90X.  I, again, deviated from the plan.  Instead of having my "rest day" today, I took it yesterday and "pressed play" for the Kenpo X workout at 5:15 AM today.  I am now making the shift from afternoon workouts to "stupid early" workouts.  Depending on the workout I will need to start by 5:00 AM on the average.  Since Tony suggests 7 hours of sleep, I guess an earlier bedtime is probably called for...another sign that summer is over and I am on my way back to work!

Tomorrow starts week 3 which is the last "push hard" week before what Tony refers to as the "recovery week."  Not sure what that entails, but I don't think I'll get to sit around and eat bon-bons all day.

Back to Kenpo X...what a great time that was!!  There is a learning curve involved for sure.  Tony is pretty good about explaining the various types of kicks/punches/blocks, but when done in certain combinations, it took me a while to "get the rhythm".  It is a cardio workout with an opportunity to develop some basic self-defense skills.  I HAD FUN!!  I still got my butt kicked (not literally)...no doubt of that, but I had fun and the time went by so fast.  I feel like I missed something by not doing that last week...oh well...with 76 days left in my first time through the program, I'll most likely get plenty more of it!

Results:  I talked last week about the weight loss I experienced during the 1st 10 days.  Today, my wife said that she could see it in my face.  I feel different (slightly), but don't see a difference..not yet anyway.  I have to wonder about how this is going.  Since I'm relatively new at "living the good life", I'm not sure where the 1st 10 pounds came from...was it 10 pounds of water weight, fat burning, etc...OR was it 15 pounds of fat burning and 5 pounds of muscle development?  These questions need answers...if you know, help!  I'm not sure how quickly the muscles in the body recover and begin to grow in size and strength...

One last note about weight loss.  I was talking to 2 very close friends of mine and I was asked how I measure weight loss...to me that was an odd question...I answered...a scale.  But when he explained further, I knew what he meant...he meant, how do you "visualize" your weight loss.  For some, it is the holes in their belts.  Others may do other things.  I choose a rather unconventional way to visualize how much weight I lost.  Here's the quick and skinny of it:  I measure my weight loss by comparing weight loss to my children.  For example, my youngest daughter, Sophia, weights about 8.5 pounds.  So far...I have lost "Sophia" from my body.  Next would be Sarah.  She's coming in around 25-30 pounds.  When I lose that much, I'll say that I lost "Sarah".  The next level would be Sarah and Sophia combined...a which point I would respond that I lost my youngest 2 children.  The twins are about 50 pounds each...so, with combinations of children, I can "see" exactly what I've lost in my body.  The other thing that I do is when I lose a child, I'll carry that child around the house for a while and see what it felt like when I weighed that much...Sophia didn't mark too much of a difference, but when I get to Sarah, I'm betting it'll be pretty significant.  Ultimately, I may end up losing most of my wife...she's a petite little thing, but not knowing how much weight I will end up losing due to muscle gain, etc. I can't predict what percentage of her that I can lose?!?   Did I drive that point home?  I know...pretty boring, but it makes me smile!

Have a great night and unless things get crazy...I'll post again!  I hope you all had a great weekend and are off to a great start preparing for your work week!

Take care!

The Results Are In!!

So....weigh-in day!  When I started blogging, I weighed 293...that was on July 14th.  When I started P90X on July 26th, I weighed 290.6 pounds.  This morning I weighed in at 285, that means that I lost 5.6 pounds on the P90X program or 8 pounds overall.  I'm certainly happy about the weight loss but it's like taking a teaspoon of water out of a gallon.  It's less, but not noticeable...or at least I don't see a difference, not that I was expecting to.  It is definitely a great start and had I not started the program, I'd probably weigh more...so...here's to moving in a positive direction.  (I'm raising a glass of water to the computer!)

Now...I've done weight loss programs with great success for a while, but never with a weight lifting/exercising regime included.  I'm curious to see the effects of working out and following fairly strict dietary guidelines.  I'm told that I'll lose weight slower, but will see differences rapidly.  We'll see...

Yoga X!  Not much to say about it.  It's really difficult...BUT I was able to make it through the entire hour and a half.  Some things were very much improved as well.  I felt more balanced and was able to execute the poses better than last week.  I guess that's the theme so far this week.  Overall, I feel much better and can see results in the amount of reps and the weight/resistance that I use.  Pretty cool!

So...I'm looking forward to my next workout session....really!  I'm excited to see what I can push myself to accomplish...I'll let you know!

For now....sleep well, and for the fitness novices that might be reading this...press play!

'Night!!

"Just Press Play" - Tony Horton

So to explain the title, if you've ever watched a P90X workout DVD, no doubt you would have heard Tony Horton make comments like "Do your best...and...forget the rest" and "Come back and just press play".  He is obviously referencing the DVD clients in an effort to motivate them to come back, regardless of how low their level of motivation is.  Today was one of those days where I actually heard his voice telling me to press play. 

Bekah, my wife, has been pretty amazing about supporting me through this whole thing in light of the fact that we have a 3 week old in our house that still has nights and days confused.  I offer every night to get up and help, but her comment to me is always "why should we both be tired...I can handle it".  Pretty amazing for her to feel that way...so much so that I feel like a "dead beat dad" from time to time.  Well, last night, Bekah awakened me at about 4:00 AM asking me to take Sophia because she needed to sleep.  She even went so far as to say that if she didn't fall asleep in 10 minutes to wake her and she'd take over.  Well, it did take more than 10 minutes but I didn't wake her...she looked so peaceful while sleeping and I figured it wouldn't be a long time anyway so I pressed on doing all the daddy tricks I knew to sooth a child to sleep.  In the hospital, there are the powerful 5 "S's" (Swaddle, Side Position, Shushing Sounds, Swinging, and Sucking).  I did all but the Sucking one and she just had her pretty little eyes fixed in my direction the entire time...very cute moment, but enjoyed much more at a later time of the day.  Anyway, it took about an hour to get her to sleep.  So here we are, 5:00 AM and I'm thinking...bed time!  BUT the other kids awaken around 7:00 so there would only be about 2 hours of rest left in the evening...so as I considered my options...I head the ethereal voice beckoning me....press play...press play...press play...so I did.  5:15 AM, I am pressing play and working out with Tony Horton.  As it turns out...my body is MUCH MORE stiff at 5:00 AM than it is in the early afternoon (which is when I've been scheduling the workout).  Man...I was not into it at all!  I had to take a break during the warm-up time!  Pretty sad!!  I trudged forward for the 1st 10 minutes of the workout and then, it happened!  I got into it and was pushing myself hard; doing more reps with more weight than the week before!!  By the end of the workout, I felt great.  This is kinda how this has gone.  When I look ahead to the workout, I do so with a bit of reservation mixed with a tiny bit of excitement, but as I go through the workout I get more into it and usually feel great (mentally and physically) when I'm done.  Sometimes, I even respond to the 2-dimensional version of Tony on the screen when he tells us to say something...of course, feeling pretty silly afterwards, but I just get caught up in the moment!!

So...in short...not much more to add, but rather something to consider if you're thinking about doing this or any workout.  Do it...if you aren't feeling good about it before, you will afterwards if you're invested in it!

Tomorrow, I post the weight difference from last Monday to tomorrow...we'll see...stay tuned!!

Back In The Saddle Again!

Alright, so after a long 2-day break, I hit play on the DVD player on Monday and Tuesday!  Monday was another round of push-ups, pull-ups, and Ab Ripper X.  Tuesday was my 2nd round of Plyometrics (jump training).  So far, week 2 has gone much better than week one.  I have more energy and don't feel nearly as fatigued as I was last week.  What I thought was pretty cool was that I was actually able to do more of the exercises than before!!  I'm getting past the "learning curve" of week one also.  Since I wasn't familiar with the exercises last week, I had to take some time figuring out exactly what Tony wanted in terms of form, weight, repetitions, etc.  This week, while still relatively new to me, flowed much better.  I'm not going to go so far as to say that I'm seeing and feeling any major differences yet, but I can truthfully say that I was able to do more and I'm guessing that's progress.

My biggest issue to date really seems to be the food thing.  Today was, as usual, a crazy day that just flew by...at dinner time I had eaten 1 carb, 1 condiment, 1 recovery drink, and 1 protein bar (see below for daily allotment).  I planned on "beefing up" on proteins and vegetables at dinner, BUT my kids came in the house after playing outside looking like they were dancing around in soot!!  I couldn't let them run through the house like that and my wife was feeding our youngest, so I gave them their 2nd shower of the day, got them dinner, and had just enough time to go to a meeting that I had tonight.  I did eat my 2 fruit servings at the meeting, but when I came home, I had some major catching up to do.  THIS IS NOT THE WAY TONY SUGGESTS WE EAT!!  I have to make a conscious decision to stop what I'm doing and eat.  This is new to me and I'm still getting adjusted.  Water isn't a problem...it's taking time to make the food.  I have to start thinking ahead a bit more.  For a late dinner, I had my 10 egg white scramble with 3 ozs. of chicken, 2 tbsp of ranch dressing, a dash of hot sauce, 1/4 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, and a side of turkey bacon.  I washed all that down with 16 ozs. of skim milk and one scoop of 100% Whey...essentially, chocolate milk.  Then I topped that off with an "all fruit" frozen treat (which I've come to really look forward to!!).  I was pretty full.  I guess my biggest question is that if I find myself in this position again, which is the lesser of 2 evils...eating a bunch to get caught up or not?  I have to fuel my body, but eating that much 3 hours before bed can't be a great thing either?!?  Advice anyone?

BTW...I mentioned about Proteins, Carbs, etc.  To explain a bit more clearly, I have been given an allotment of servings for the day based on my weight.  I am currently on a 3000 calorie a day diet.  The calories consist of the following:
9 servings Protein
4 servings Vegetables
4 servings Dairy
2 servings Fruit
1 serving Fat
1 serving Carbohydrates
2 servings of double snacks (or 4 singles)
2 servings Condiments
1 serving Protein Bar
1 serving Recovery Drink

I have a lot of flexibility based on the list of approved foods.  That is a lot of eating!!  To give you some perspective, 1 serving of protein is 3 ozs. of any lean meat...you do the math! 

Oh....I wanted to post the protein shake that I've been eating.  It's pretty good....

1 Cup of skim milk
1 Cup of berries (any kind)
1 Cup of ice cubes
1 Medium banana
2 Rounded scoops of Protein Mix. (I use 100% Whey from Costco)
Blend all ingredients together and enjoy...which, quite frankly, is quite filling.  Give it a shot...it'll fill you up!!

More tomorrow...AND on Thursday, I do an "official" 10-day weigh-in so I'll post the results.  I know...you can't wait...BUT you're gonna have to!!  Have a great day tomorrow everyone!!

Well...not a P90X weekend for sure...

Forgive me faithful followers...I didn't do Kenpo yesterday or today.  We had a wedding to go to and with my parents coming to babysit 3 of our 4 kids (Sophia, the newborn, went with us), we had a lot of preparation to take care of.  I actually spent a lot of time kicking myself for not doing it...probably more time kicking myself than if I'd have just actually done it!  I'm choosing to look at the positives here.  I went to a wedding where there were tons of cookies and cake.  I didn't eat any of it.  I only took the "P90X" conscious food from the buffet and drank a ton of water instead of the other beverages that were available.  All-in-all, I really felt good about staying on track nutritionally.  Kenpo will have to wait until Saturday.  I don't imagine it'll have a huge impact as long as I "press play" as Tony requests of his "clients".  So...I start week 2 tomorrow. 

Now...for any of you that have ever started a workout program after leading a fairly sedentary lifestyle...let's talk PAIN.  From the day after I did the fitness test last Sunday until about Friday morning, I really felt like I was run over by a small Volkswagen.  Not only was I in pain, but I just felt like I couldn't control my legs.  My wife (Bekah) asked me how I felt and the best way I could describe it was a "good pain".  I don't know if you can understand that or not, but it was the burning sensation you feel in your muscles when you push your body beyond what it is used to.  On Thursday evening, I felt like I was on the "upswing" and by Friday morning I started feeling pretty good even through the Friday workout.  The pain was still there, but I was able to push through it and functional rather normally.

I suppose my question is...can I expect (as a man striving for a fit physique) to always feel that pain?  Does your body ever get used to it or do you always feel the pain when you push hard, but not as intense?  Not that it matters...I set a goal for myself and I intend to achieve it...any comments on this would be greatly appreciated!!

So, after week 1, here's my summary. I could not do everything that Tony and his proteges could do.  I did what I could, pushed myself to do more than I felt I could handle and took breaks.  Sometimes, I paced with them and took a longer break after the exercise, sometimes I did the exercise at 1/2 the pace of Tony...regardless, I kept moving and believe that I kept my heart rate elevated.  The way I see it, I can't possibly be expected to perform as well as Tony yet....BUT...as I lose weight and gain muscle mass, I'll be stronger and handling less body weight.  This should be a recipe for quick improvement, right?!?

Anyway...I should have more for you tomorrow as I begin week 2.  Thanks for reading...more later!