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...
3 comments:
i don't have a lot of personal experience, but i'm guessing that after months and months of making a habit out of eating healthy and exercising, you won't even want to go back to your old habits. however, ruling out the foods that we all love might not be completely necessary, as long as you eat them sparingly and in moderation. as for the exercise, maybe you won't have to work out as intensely as P90x requires you to, but you might not want to stop. i know people who have been doing it (working out) for so long, it just becomes part of their daily routine that they don't want to live without. i think generally if you aren't blessed with amazing genes and a natural physique, people that look good work hard to maintain it. and feel good as a result of it!
Wow, what a great birthday party that must have been! I'm sure the birthday boy is STILL talking about how much fun he had and wants to do it all again next year. I can imagine that the birthday boy's mother must be very thankful to have great friends like you to make his dude party so much fun. ( :
No, you don't say good-bye to these things forever, but your lifestyle changes forever. Exercise becomes part of your every day life, and treats are that--treats, not every day events. The results and the feeling of not being a pig are so worth it. A Study of people who have lost 30 lbs or more and kept them off more than a year shows these characteristics in all of them: they exercised 1 hour a day, ate breakfast and continued to monitor their portions. Otherwise, the fat will come back, and unfortunately, it will be worse... Just saying!
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