P90X - Day 15

March 4, 2012

Weigh-In:

     Today's weight was..... 228.0, YEAH even with my week of skipping workouts I was able to take off a little bit of weight. I'll take the additional 1.8 lbs that is gone!

Workout:
     AHHHHHH Sunday my day of rest! I so enjoy you :-) No workout for me today, just church and beautiful sunshine today!
Diet:
     Sunday is not only my day of rest, but also my weigh-In and diet "Cheat" day - now I assure you that I am not going to use it as an excuse to gorge, but I have read and most of my skinny friends attest to enjoying a built in "cheat" day in their schedules. It is suppose to make sticking to a regimented eating plan easier as well as trick your body out of the starvation mode it can get into from too many low-calorie days. Studies show that by upping your calories (just 200-300 cals) on a random day each week that you can actually drop weight more quickly and avoid plateaus, thus see better overall results. Here's my journal:

1 c. oatmeal w/flax
2 c water
-----
v8 juice
fruit & nut bar
-----
whole wheat bread
4 slices lean ham
Dijon mustard
2 slices low fat cheese
1/4 c sprouts
2 c water
-----
3 Cinnamon bears
-----
1 1/2 c Shepard's pie w/ cheese
2 c Caesar salad w/ croutons
diet Dr. Pepper
-----
1 scoop ice cream
2 c water
-----
1720 cals
2 c water


~Laura~

P90X - Day 14
March 3, 2012

Workout:
     Today's scheduled workout was KENPO X and I promise I didn't skip it because I was wimping out :-) A whole bunch of my couples friends all got together tonight and played 2 hours of VOLLEYBALL! YEAH! I absolutely love volleyball. I played in Junior high / High school and I miss it so much :-(
So whenever I get the chance to play I AM ON IT! We had so much fun and I was sweating like a pig so I know my heart rate was up there. I figured Volleyball would be a good enough substitute for Kenpo X since it requires speed and agility to do it well.

Diet:
     My food intake looks much more balanced today. I felt good and had lots of energy, so I must have chosen better. Here's the journal.

V-8 Juice
2 c water
-----
Protein granola bar
1 scoop recovery powder
2 c water
-----
1 slice 5 meat pizza (1/12 of large)
1 lg orange
-----
2 c water
1 c. spinach
recovery, protein & alive powder
-----
1/2 whole wheat ham & cheese
2 c water
-----
2 x 2 square no oil cake
3/4 c lightly sweetened strawberries
-----
1760 calories


~Laura~



P90X - Day 13

March 2, 2012

Workout:
     Today's workout was Legs & Back... Oh My Goodness! I am already sore! I struggle last time with finishing all the reps, so this week my focus was doing every rep for every exercise. I forfeited using any weight because I do not want to injure myself while gaining my strength. I did succeeded in my goal but my butt is gonna hurt tomorrow - Squats, lunges and calf raises will do it every time :-)


Diet:
     I ate a lot more carbs today but I was feeling a bit sluggish after my intense workout, so I figured it would do me some good to throw in a little sugar via my bread. Here's what it looked like:

V-8 juice
5 strawberries
-----
1/2 subway seafood sandwich (no mayo or cheese)
4 c. water
-----
1/2 subway seafood sandwich (no mayo or cheese)

2 c water
-----
V-8 juice
cheese stick
-----
2 slices 5meat pizza (1/12 of large)
1 slice pepperoni (1/12 of large)

1/4 pan cheesy bread
Diet Dr. pepper
2 c water
-----
2660 calories



~Laura~

P90X - Day 12

March 1, 2012

Workout:
     I got my lazy butt out of bed this morning and made it to my local gym for a raging session on my favorite elliptical machine. I set-up for a hill climb, turn on my heavy metal/ hard rock music and I kick it into high gear for 25-30 minutes. SWEAT pouring everywhere, heart pounding like crazy and I feel amazing when I am done! :-) I kinda chuckle at the other women there because it's like they are using the machines to take a Sunday stroll... what exactly is the point of going to the gym if your not going to sweat???
     Today had YOGA X on my schedule and if you recall I had a pretty traumatic Yoga session last time I did it, so today I waited until EVERYONE was in bed, popped in the video and just let myself be. I think once I am comfortable in my own body I could see how Yoga can be so soothing. The 1st half of the video is excruciating! All the poses are held for what seems like forever and your breathing heavy, sweating, tumbling, stumbling and falling. There is nothing peaceful about that! The second half of the video is balance poses and stretching and it is AMAZING! LOVE IT!

Diet:
     I did good today. Calorie count was great, but need to cut back some more on the processed stuff. Here's a glimpse of my diet.

1 c orange juice
4 c water
(early morning cardio session)
-----
1 scoop whey protein
1 serv. P90X Recovery Drink
1 scoop Alive multivitamin (super food) shake
1 c. spinach leaves
2 c water
-----
1 1/2 c. Louisiana Red Beans & Rice
2 c. water
-----
3/4 slice Costco supreme pizza
2 c light lemonade
-----
2 c buttered popcorn
1 oz. almonds
2 c water

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses..... Nope None Here!

     Did you miss me??? Can you believe that after all this talking about being motivated and focused, I just missed a WHOLE WEEK!! I would say that I am ashamed except for once in my life I'm not. Most of my problems with weight I feel have been the direct result of wallowing in my own ___________ (enter any of these emotions) - pity / grief / worry / shame / self loathing / anger / sadness.  Am I sad tht I managed to lose my focus so early on, YES. What I am going to do is NOT let it set me back from reaching my goals! My whole adult life up to this point has been setback after setback, NO MORE!

     Have you ever noticed that overweight/fat women tend to be very perky & bubbly??? That's because we use the food we gorge on to get a "high" during our personal pity parties and can thus go on about our day acting as if NOTHING is bothering us! I have always used food as a coping tool for my emotions. I am trying desperatley to change this behavior.

     So as to be accountable to you all I have not been totally off my game. I have worked out 2 out of the last 7 days at my gym and have overate 2 days. My weight today was the same as my last weigh in (... it was my cycle this week - go figure :-)) I have not been sedetary at all, as part of the reason for my loss of focus was how incredibly busy we have been! I went ahead and did my wednesday P90X shoulders & arms dvd today and will begin blogging my daily info starting tommorow. I am just going to consider this missed week a wash and begin my P90X countdown at Day 12.

~ Laura ~

P90X - Day 11

February 22, 2012

WORKOUT:
     Today was one of those days where I thought I was never going to get a chance to do my workout! It was a pretty high stress day emotionally. I had lots of foster-care drama today, TONS of phone calls to field, kiddos to console and amongst all this a tornado ran through my house and left me a HUGE MESS! It was literally so bad that I had to wash a load of clothes so my foster-daughter could go to school and do a load of dishes so we could all have eat a meal off of plates & use utensils!
     As my crazy day was winding down I was starting to come to terms with the fact that I just was not going to get my workout done today, I was feeling sorta okay with this cause food wise I had been awesome. Then I just said "SCREW IT" and when my hubby came home from his Wednesday night meeting at 9:30pm, I handed him the baby and a bowl of dinner and locked myself in my room for the next 60 minutes while I took care of myself :-)
     Shoulders & Arms was amazing. I lowered my reps and increased my weights today, because my main goal is to PUT ON SOME MUSCLE! I want my body to be a calorie burning machine and I want definition! I've been so long in this body with all of Gods beautiful creation covered in a THICK layer of fat that I want to make it into a work of art!

Curried Turkey Burger Sliders with Cucumber Yogurt

INGREDIENTS:


•1 egg white

•1/3 cup coarsely grated apple, left unpeeled

•1/4 cup minced or coarsely grated red onion

•3 tbsp ground flaxseed

•1 tbsp curry paste or powder

•2 tsp minced fresh ginger

•Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

•2 tsp lemon juice, divided

•1 tsp ground coriander, divided

•1 lb lean ground turkey (or lean ground chicken)

•1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

•1/2 cup peeled and grated cucumber, drained

•Olive oil cooking spray

•8 oz whole-wheat naan bread (about 2 or 3 pieces), cut into 24 2-inch squares

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.In a large bowl, combine egg white, apple, onion, flaxseed, curry, ginger, salt, pepper, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1/2 tsp coriander. Mix in turkey and shape into 12 1/2-inch-thick mini burger patties.

2.In a small bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, salt, pepper and remaining 1 tsp lemon juice and 1/2 tsp coriander. Set aside.

3.Heat a nonstick grill pan or large nonstick skillet on medium-high and mist with cooking spray. Cook patties, turning once, until meat is no longer pink in center, about 5 minutes. Top patties with cucumber yogurt, dividing evenly, and sandwich between 2 squares naan bread.

Nutrients per 3 sliders: Calories: 383, Total Fat: 9 g, Sat. Fat: 1 g, Carbs: 38 g, Fiber: 8 g, Sugars: 5 g, Protein: 39 g, Sodium: 455 mg, Cholesterol: 55 mg

Source:
http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/Recipes/Recipe/Curried-Turkey-Burger-Sliders-with-Cucumber-Yogurt.aspx

P90X - Day 10

February 21, 2012

WORKOUT:
     Today was "Lack of motivation day!" I am pretty certain I could have stayed in my jammies and watched TV for a week very easily today. It took me until about 2pm in order to even try and put in my Plyometrics DVD. I almost even had myself convinced that I would "just jump on the treadmill later" and then I remembered all of you. Oh yeah, I have people looking at my blog to see if I am actually going to finish this bad boy! OF COURSE I'm going to do my plyo video and of course I am going to stop eating those homemade cookies :-)
    
     Now just because I got the video in does not mean that I did not struggle to complete it. I was trying to talk myself into every way to skip something, but in the end reminded myself that something is always better than nothing! Today I had a pinch in my right glute and my left knee was hurting (this I discovered during the warm-up lunges) so modification was the name of the game. I tried to maintain the cardio speed to get the sweating/heart rate benefit and just kept the "jumping" to a light hop or pulse so as to not aggravate anything. Butt was a little tender afterwards and certain sitting positions were pinching a Little but nothing horrible. I will just baby it for a few days and it will probably go away soon.

EATING:
     Not so great on my eating today. Did fine for breakfast and snack and then the cookies got brought out :(
I think I ate 4-5 but either way I stuck to a large chicken salad w/light dressing for dinner, so I could keep my calories under control. Should wash out for today.

P90X - Day 9

February 20, 2012

     Today marks the beginning of week 2 of P90X. Back & Arms went much more smoothly today. I felt energetic and I focused a lot more on form vs. reps. The real kicker today was the Ab Ripper X though... I think I forgot to tell you about that? I am committed to doing the "doubles" workouts and that means more workouts! Everytime I have a weights day I also work my Abdominal muscles. Last week I was lucky to do 1/2 the moves and only 1/2 way. Today though I decided to just pause the DVD when needed, do the exersises more slowly, pace myself and do them ALL! I'm pretty certain to be sore tommorow, :-) But in a good way!

     My focus this week is on following the eating plan more closely. The Meal Plan consist of 3 different phases; Fat Shredder, Energy Booster and Endurance Maximizer. The changes in each plan is the variance of carbs vs. protein. All your food is to be as close to nature intended as possible, with only healthy fats for cooking (olive oil & avocados). Protein is your best friend in this eating plan, because you need it to build up the muscle in order to burn the fat off faster... think like "The Biggest Loser."

     Your caloric intake is based upon your weight and the added calories burned from working out. After calculations are done I was told I needed to each 3200 calories... um NOT! I would normally not argue with the program, (since apparently it's working for thousands of people) but I own a BodyBugg calorie burn monitor and I know that the estimates given for me are wrong, due to the fact that I sit around A LOT!

     My ACTUAL daily caloric burn is around 2000 calories without exercise (the book estimates 2600 for my basic before workouts!) and this is due to my sedentary lifestyle at present - just to explain, my son requires multiple g-tube feedings a day at a VERY slow rate and I usually hold him since he pukes less if I do. I can sit down up to 5-6 hours a day just feeding him!! Once I am up and about cleaning, cooking and moving regularly I will average about a 2800 calorie burn in 24 hours.  LONG STORY SHORT - I am aiming for between 2000-2200 cals. If I am feeling super tired or am not losing I will adjust accordingly.
* This is also what the program recommends doing.

I will be including lots of recipes and reviews from here on out, so enjoy!

~ Laura ~

Meatball Sub with Roasted Veggies & Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS:


•1 lb 95% lean ground beef

•1/4 cup rolled oats

•1 large egg white

•1 tbsp tomato paste

•1 tsp dried thyme

•1 tsp dried oregano, divided

•1/2 tsp ground black pepper

•2 cloves garlic, chopped, divided

•Olive oil cooking spray

•1/2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips (4 oz)

•1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips (4 oz)

•1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips (3 oz)

•1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

•1 cup fresh tomatoes, seeded, chopped and squeezed to release juices, seeds and juices discarded

•1 tsp dried basil

•14 oz whole-wheat baguette (18-inch long; widest baguette you can find)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine beef, oats, egg white, tomato paste, thyme, 1/2 tsp oregano, black pepper and 1 clove garlic. Line a sheet pan with nonstick foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Form beef mixture into 1-inch balls, making about 50. Place balls on pan, not allowing them to touch. On another sheet pan, toss zucchini, bell pepper and onion with oil. Put both pans in oven and set timer for 5 minutes.

2.In a small bowl, stir together tomatoes, basil, remaining 1/2 tsp oregano and remaining 1 clove garlic. When timer goes off, remove meatballs from oven and pour tomato mixture over them. Use a metal spatula to turn meatballs to coat with tomato mixture. Place back in oven for another 10 minutes, again setting timer. When timer goes off again, remove meatballs and set aside. Stir vegetables, return to oven and roast for another 10 minutes.

3.Slice baguette into 4 sections, then slice each section in half horizontally so it opens like a book. Spread open each section and tear out a bit of bread from the middle to make room for the meatballs. Toast bread in toaster or under a hot broiler for 1 minute to crisp.

4.To assemble sandwiches, open up each piece of toasted bread, pile on a quarter of meatball mixture and top with a quarter of roasted vegetables. Close sandwich and serve with a fork for any stray meatballs and sauce.


Nutrients per sandwich: Calories: 452, Total Fat: 10 g, Sat. Fat: 3 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g, Carbs: 59 g, Fiber: 8 g, Sugars: 5 g, Protein: 25 g, Sodium: 552 mg, Cholesterol: 60 mg

Recipe from:
 http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/Recipes/Recipe/Meatball-Sub-with-Roasted-Veggies-Tomato-Sauce.aspx