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!