Day 94 - More Insanity

Today was supposed to be a rest day, but given that it's New Years Eve (read: there will be drinks and snacks), I figured I better do some cardio beforehand. Since Chris does Insanity workouts regularly, I figured I'd try one again and see if it got any easier from last time. Nope. Still hard, brutal and painful. And my feet were aching the whole time, no idea why. But I did my best, and it's done, and now I can go to my sister's New Years party knowing I did some good for my body today!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Day 92 - I'm officially a Yogi

I. Love. Yoga.

I really can't stress that enough. I love it. I love the stretching, the holding, the pain and the willpower it takes to get through that pain. The shaking muscles, the huge increase in flexibility from start to finish. Love, love, love! I can't wait to start looking into yoga classes in town. I have no idea what it'd be like to do yoga with a room full of other people. Plus, I'm pretty stoked on learning new poses. P90X has turned me into a yogi! This is good since, according to Women's Health, yoga practitioners tend to eat mindfully, eating when hungry and stopping when full - they think it's because yoga teaches calmness in the face of discomfort, which might make it easier to cave in to cravings.

Speaking of Women's Health, their January issue has a few delicious looking soup recipes. I made one tonight, Savoury Moroccan, which has chicken stock, diced tomatoes, zucchini, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, couscous, parsley, raisins, scallions and spices. YUM! I added chicken myself, boiling it and cutting it into little pieces. The end result? To die for. We had it with a delicious Blue Menu whole-wheat baguette. WH says to make sure that whole wheat is the first ingredient (check), it has no trans fats (check), and it has at least 3 grams of fibre per serving (check!). This recipe definitely made the books. I can't wait to try the other four recipes - and I intend to!

This isn't my final result - I stole it from WH!

And a gratuitous photo of me in Warrior Two.

Day 91 - Back to the grind

And by grind, I mean workouts that feel amazing after many days of overeating and underexercising.

Day 1 of our last week was Core Synergistics, and it was great. Definitely a little harder, given the 5-day lapse in workouts, but it felt really great to get moving again. I can't believe the change in my attitude, even from half a year ago. I used to go weeks without working out. Now I don't think I could go a couple days without missing the burn.

Christmas was fantastic, wonderful, and relaxing, everything a good Christmas should be. Chris and I had a great time traveling around between families, get-togethers, dinners and present openings. It sure is nice to be home, though. Sometimes you're on the go for so long, you don't realize it until you stop. That happened to me, and only today did I realize how busy we were over the holidays. So nice to lay around our own home and really relax together.

So, I guess this blog will end up being 97 days instead of 90. But that's alright. Tony will just have to rename it P97X. ;)

Day 88 & 89 - It's official

Christmas ruined P90X!

Real bacon and whole eggs for breakfast? Don't think that's in the meal plan! What a truly awful time to be finishing this program. But, there's hope - Chris said that, when he gets home, he plans on doing the last week over again. Or rather, doing it properly. I'm going to join him. I don't want these last few days to ruin the momentum of P90X, so I guess I'll have more than 90 posts when I'm all done! I'll also be joining Chris for some Insanity workouts to get some cardio and get my heart going.

It's amazing how crappy I've felt at the end of the day, with not working out and eating like this. I'm not used to it, my body isn't used to it, and my muscles feel like they're wasting away! I miss working out! Hahah I never thought I'd say that, but it's true. I miss it!

We're heading back home today, then back to Mom's tomorrow, and back home the next day. So that day, which would be the 28th, we'll restart the last week. I can't let these 90 days end like this!

Day 87 - Christmas Eve!

Happy Christmas Eve day, everyone! We spent the day with the family again, and I showed Chris around town (not that there's much to see!). Tonight we're going to my step-dad's sisters house for dinner, which is a big tradition in their family. Lots of family to see!

As far as working out goes, well... No workout has happened yet. But, this morning I found out my Mom has a yoga mat, and I have a Women's Health yoga app on my iPhone. I'm thinking I'll attempt some yoga, at least 20 minutes, before bed tonight. Will keep you posted.

I feel like such a mega-slacker. Oh, gotta go, the sugar cookies are calling... ;)

Day 83 - Pouring on the Pounds

Today, I did absolutely nothing. For the first time in months, I didn't leave the house, I had no homework, chores or errands to do, and I didn't even get dressed. And I loved it! It was so great to have a day to do nothing. Mind you, one day is about all I could handle. If I didn't have to leave the house tomorrow, I still would. I'd find something to do. I can't sit around for too long, I get shack whacky.

Chris and I did our Kenpo workout tonight, and we learned why Tony didn't have Kenpo following Back & Biceps. Both of us were grunting and groaning because our biceps were so sore (that may be a slight exaggeration). We did the usual mix, the first half of Kenpo X and the first half (or so) of Kenpo Cardio +. Followed by Ab Ripper. Oh, Ab Ripper. I thought I could master you in 90 days... I thought wrong. I only have one more Ab Ripper workout!!! This means that I either have to a) master it in one go, or b) accept the fact that I won't master it this time around. I'm leaning toward b.

So, my step-mother works for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She (and many others) developed this ad campaign describing the negative effects that soda has on peoples' health. They have a website, a Facebook group, a YouTube video and mass transit posters, and they're causing a stir in New York, in the States and around the world. I highly recommend checking it out (especially the YouTube video!) and passing it along to friends.

Day 81 - Total slackers

Today, we slacked. Big time. Not only did we skip our workout (bad!) we also had some not-so-good snacks this evening. Corn chips (reduced salt) and salsa, shrimp, meatloaf, squares.. Yeah. I'm definitely losing the solid discipline I had when I first started out. Where did it go?!

But, tomorrow's a big day. Yoga (Fountain of Youth) in the morning, and Back & Biceps and Ab Ripper (which was actually tonights workout) tomorrow night. I won't feel so bad once we're caught up.

Day 80 - Christmas is coming..

With Christmas a mere 8 days away, treats and temptations are extra-hard to resist. A friend of mine brought by some homemade Bits & Bites and peppermint-chocolate cookies. My mom is in a baking frenzy at her house, having completed three full days of cooking and baking. And it is all sooo tempting! Starting P90X, Chris and I gave ourselves three "eating occasions": Thanksgiving, his birthday, and Christmas. For our Christmas dinner I'm not going to worry, but it's the appetizers and snacks and treats leading up to Christmas that I'm worried about! I'm really proud of myself for passing up snacks and treats for the last 80 days, and I know I won't let that all go to hell by pigging out every day around Christmastime. But still, something inside is telling me that something's gotta give.

I think the best thing is going to be moderation. It's unfortunate, but Christmas celebrations are a lot about eating, and the last thing I want is to a) come off as rude or b) feel like I missed out on the celebrating. So here's my plan: I'll have some Christmas treats, but in moderation. Far, far, far less than I would normally have. I figure that this way, I can relax more and enjoy my vacation, and at the same time, not doom my health and body and my hard-earned abs. (Plus, we're doing another round of P90X after Christmas - back on the wagon I go!)

We made tonight our rest day. Tomorrow will be Back & Biceps and Ab Ripper, followed by Yoga the next day (which will be the NEW Fountain of Youth disc that we received!). So, off I go to rest! :)

Seriously. How could you pass that up??

Day 77 - Kenpo +

Since it was a Kenpo day, Chris and I started out doing the regular Kenpo disc. We stopped once the kick sequences were over, and we switched to Kenpo + from the P90X+ workouts. It's a lot more involved, and a lot more fun. My only qualm is that Tony doesn't really explain the moves, he just kind of.. starts doing them. But I got the hang of it! We only do Kenpo two more times (eeep!) so I'll definitely be doing the Kenpo + workout for those!

Last night for supper I made a fierce pork tenderloin. Chris was MMMM-ing the entire time, so it got his approval, too! I browned the tenderloin in a pan for a few minutes first, then I put it on tin foil and twisted up each corner of the foil so it made a bowl shape. Then I poured in a mixture of chicken broth (1/2c), ketchup (2tbsp), brown sugar (2tbsp), Worcestershire sauce (1tsp), and 4 cloves of garlic. Then I folded over the edge to seal it, put it on a cookie sheet and baked it at 350 for about an hour and a half. And my god. The tenderloin was so tender, it was stringy and falling apart! Delicious! I'll be making that recipe again, for sure.

Next up: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps!

Day 76 - The countdown begins

T-minus 14 days! Two weeks! Eeeek!

We just finished up Legs & Back and Ab Ripper. I feel like we do that workout all the damn time! Good thing I like it. I had a hard time this time around, because for some reason I was really dizzy after each exercise. Like the kind of dizzy from standing up too fast. It usually passed within 10 seconds or so, so I kept going. Odd though. Chris said it could be from lack of water, which is true, but I didn't have any less water than I do on most days. Hmm.

I'm changing my diet tomorrow, shifting back to Phase Two. More protein, less carbs. I miss my protein! Namely, chicken bacon. Tony says that once you're in Phase Three, you can either stay in the Phase Three nutrition phase or go back to Phase Two, whichever works best for you. If the dizziness is from a lack of enough food, hopefully this nutrition shift will help with that.

On a totally different note, my abs are coming along nicely.. Still have a little ways to go to get to where I want to be: like her!

I will look like this!

Day 75 - Christmas shopping

Yesterdays workout lost to Christmas shopping and gift wrapping. I hate skipping workouts, but on the other hand, I'm done shopping and everything is wrapped, so I still feel like I accomplished something. Since yesterday was our rest day, we're going to do yesterdays workout (Legs and Back) today, and today's workout (Kenpo) tomorrow.

While at the mall, Chris and I got chicken wraps for supper. One of our favourite pastimes is to people-watch, and mall food courts are prime people-watching areas. I love watching people order from Taco Bell when they really shouldn't be ordering from Taco Bell, or watching them shove a whole tray of donair meat down their throat before I finish my wrap. People are so entertaining and they don't even know it. :)

Spotted this at the Chinese food place, and I snuck in line to get a photo.

Yes, that's right. Deep fried cheesecake. Sigh..

Day 73 - Plyo, plyo, plyo

Oh, how I've missed Plyo! I love it (I know I say that about every workout)! It's definitely in my top 5 favourite workouts. During the Hot Foot exercise, I always used to switch feet every 15 seconds instead of every 30 like Tony does. My calf and foot hurt too much, and I couldn't stand it. But today I managed to do the whole 30 seconds per foot, both times! I was so excited! Nothing else has changed - I still have to take mini-breaks near the end of most workouts - but I'm still feeling great, and I'm still impressed that I can do both 1-minute sessions of the Swing Kicks. Love those!

A few days ago during Legs and Back, Chris took a video of me doing Lawnmowers.. Check it out, I look like such a gym buff!

During my workout, Chris was busy in the kitchen.. When I came out, I was served this: chicken breast with honey chili sauce on stir-fried veggies with walnuts sprinkled on top. Heaven!!!

Mmmmmm tastyyy

Day 71 - Dive bombers

I have a confession: I love dive bomber push-ups. Sure, I do the more easy 'modified' version, but they're still awesome. I did 15 my first set and 11 my second set (in contrast, I did 13 then 5 diamond push-ups). I actually enjoy the dive bombers!

We had a friend over for supper last night, and she loved the Island Pork Tenderloin that Chris made. We got a little cherry cheesecake as a treat, and we each had a little piece. Now we have five pieces of cheesecake in the freezer. I'm thinking we might have to give that away so it won't get eaten! Maybe I'll take a few pieces into school. Everyone loves cheesecake!

Hard to believe we're so far into the program. I was looking at our schedule yesterday. We X off every day that's gone by, and they're almost all marked off... Getting there!

Next up: plyometrics!

Day 64 - CST, baby!

Chest, Shoulders & Triceps has got to be one of my favourite workouts. I love how many pushups I can do. I just tried to do as many as possible and I got 14; mind you, that's after this CST workout. On weigh-in day I did 20 pushups. I can't wait until I can do more!

I love the tricep workouts too, and the weird burn I get from them. No other way to explain it but weird! I think I love this workout because I feel like a total hulk grunting and grimacing and watching my muscles swell. It sounds weird, but I love feeling like a man in this respect!

Our diet changed a few days ago, and it's been... meh. The nutrition guide advises that you can either stay in Phase Three diet or go back to Phase Two, whichever feels best. I definitely liked Phase Two better, but I'm sticking it out because I want to complete this program as it was designed.

On another note, I subscribe to Women's Health magazine and I often check their website for advice and stories. They have these 12 powerfoods that are good ab foods, but you have to submit your email in order to access it. Lame! So I'm posting it for all to see. It's not rocket science, but it's still pretty neat.

Click for full size!

Day 59 - Power Blocks!

Today was a good workout day, a not-so-good diet day. I went to a lunchtime conference where there was pizza and salad being served. I had a piece of BBQ chicken pizza (thinking that this was better for me than pepperoni or works) and a giant salad, fruit and water. Not so bad I guess, but this is the first time in over 59 days that I've had a piece of pizza! That's wild. Before this, Chris and I would order or make a pizza at least once a week!

As far as the workout goes, I did Shoulders & Arms. I like this workout because once it's over, there's so much blood flow to my arms and shoulders that I look HUGE! I don't want to ever look that muscle-y, but it's fun to see how much bigger my arms get when I work them out.

It's hard to believe I'm in Phase 3! I literally don't know what I'm going to do with myself when I'm done with P90X. Obviously I won't stop working out, but it's hard to say how often I will (likely 3-4x a week) or what I'll be doing (Yoga? Dance? Insanity?). I'm just enjoying this program and I'm making the most of it while it lasts. I'm even considering doing it over again, just minus the super-strict diet. Time will tell..

Oh yeah, and Chris got some Power Blocks! He found a used set on Kijiji (which is good because they're very expensive). Power Blocks are dumbbells with adjustable weights, so you can have a set of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 lb weights with only one pair of dumbbells. They're huge space savers, which is great in a tiny little apartment like ours. Chris is loving them! I'll stick with my 5, 8 and 10 lb sets, thanks. :)

The Power Blocks!

Day 56 - Slacker!

I don't know what's wrong with me - I post here every night for 53 nights and then forget a bunch in a row?? Not cool, Heather! Not that there's anything pivotal to report, just that yesterday was a rest day, and we're doing photos and measurements today instead of last night. I'll post tonight with the results! :)

Also, our diets change today - PHASE THREE! I now get two protein, three carb, two fruit, two vegetable, one fat, one dairy one bar, one snack. Hope I don't crash in the middle of the day from lack of protein!

Day 53 - Rest day (AKA: Shopping!)

I spent the day at the malls with my buddies, looking for a dress for an upcoming occasion. Not for me, for her. With no luck. :( But it was still fun and a great way to escape the schoolwork for a little while!

Today was a rest day, and the diet was pretty boring: chicken bacon and egg whites for breakfast, Subway for lunch, tofu sausage and salad for supper. But, speaking of diet, I found a great website listing the 20 worst drinks in America. It states that "The average person consumes an extra 600 calories a day between Thanksgiving and New Year's, which translates into an extra six pounds of belly fat heading into 2010." These drinks don't help! Check it out, then commit to water and tea. You don't need the other garbage! Eat This, Not That!

#1 worst drink: The Cold Stone Creamery PB&C Shake

2,010 calories

131 g fat (!!!!!) (68 g saturated)

153 g sugars

Day 51 - Yooooga!

For the first time in 51 days, I held a pose in yoga that I never could before. I have no idea what it's called, but basically you're in a lunge, twisted, with one arm behind your back and the other reaching under your leg with your fingers intertwined. Sounds ridiculous, I know, and it is! It's soooo hard on the quads, by the end of it they're so hot it feels like they're on fire. But I love it.

There are still a lot of moves I can't do. Like the moves that follow warrior three, where they stand on one leg with the other leg extended in the air behind them for about 2 minutes per side. Huge balance and strength requirements for those poses, and I can't do it. But neither can Chris, so I don't feel so bad. ;)

Nothing to report diet-wise - just a standard day! Sorry to be boring! 

Day 48 - A tasty breakfast adventure

I took pictures of my breakfast endeavors this morning, as promised. I cooked some chicken and shredded that, and chopped up red, green and yellow peppers, tomatoes and green onions:

I dumped all that in with some egg whites..

..then I threw half of it in a pan..

..and, ta-da! Christopher's breakfast!

His omelet didn't really turn out (because I can't cook omelets..), so I cooked mine more as a scramble. It turned out wonderfully..

And, because I prepared enough chicken and veggies to make four omelets, the remainder went into a salad..

..and we ate it for lunch with leftover pork chops from last night!

A photographic journey through my breakfast. Fun! I should do those more often.

Day 47 - Donut.. D'oh!

I woke up in a fury at 0615 this morning because I was supposed to be at the hospital to shadow an RN for 0630.. Needless to say, my alarm did not go off. I threw on some scrubs, called a cab, ran a brush through my hair, tossed a couple protein bars and two packs of oatmeal in my purse, and ran out the door. (Then I waited 20 minutes for my cab, but that's another story.)

I ate a protein bar while waiting for the cab, which, I guess, could count as breakfast.. but I still had no lunch. So during first break I went to the horribly overpriced cafeteria and got a turkey wrap, a yogurt, and - for the first time in 47 days - a donut. I was feeling so sooky and sour that I was so rushed this morning, I got the donut as a comfort food. I know, I know, "it's one donut, it's no big deal". It wouldn't be a big deal if this whole program didn't mean so much to me. But, I can forgive one donut. And in my defense, at the time, I purposely chose a glazed donut (honey dip) over the cake donut that I really wanted (sour cream glazed), because I know they're lower in fat.

So there.

I got back on track once I got home. We had pork chops and salad for supper, and I had a second protein bar at 1500 when I'm actually supposed to have one. Speaking of breakfast (well, I was), we don't have any chicken bacon, so I don't know what to do about breakfast. I can have oatmeal, I love oatmeal.. but that's two protein servings lost. I guess I could make egg whites.. Ooooh, I just thought of something: an egg-white omelet with chicken, peppers and salsa. YUM! See, this blog is good for something!

I'll be taking pictures of this breakfast. Can't wait!

Oh, and about the workouts: We did Legs & Back, skipping Ab Ripper again to do tomorrow morning. Chris is a maniac and has started doing intervals on weekend mornings, with his regular workouts in the evenings. I might join him tomorrow, but probably not. Let's be honest here. Anyway, for the chin-ups, Chris was reading that it's really effective to do negative chin-ups if you can't do a lot of regular ones. That'd be me. Negative chin-ups are half of a normal pull-up: the down part. You get your hands in place, stand up on a chair, then step off the chair and lower yourself down. And repeat. It really works, but I was a little disappointed because I had mega strain in my upper abs, to the point where I just stopped because they felt like they might get hurt. Chris says it's probably because it's working my body in a new way, and I hope he's right, because that means it'll go away with time. So I'll keep trying these negative chin-ups, and I'll keep ya'll posted!