Made it!

okay, okay, i know that's a little premature. i've got a long way to go yet, but i think it's important to celebrate the successes, no matter how small and i think i had quite a few this week. 


first, i made it through 6 consecutive days of full workouts, including today, which i got up early to do so we could go to the snow together (with the youth) because i knew i wouldn't want to do it when i got home. and i didn't. saturdays will be the toughest because it's a different schedule, which is why i'm so happy about today.


second, i'm sore, but i feel good and am still mega motivated for next week. and i got my pull-up bar in the mail so i'm excited to add the extra challenge. i think it's probably a good thing i did my first week without it.


third, i've been creative at dinner and better about making lower calorie dinners. plus, i've been under my calorie goal almost every day this week (the one day i did go over was only a very little bit). i'm enjoying making more vegetarian dishes and cooking more things from scratch to avoid extra sugar and other less healthy things.


fourth, and most important, i've been very good about what i've eaten all week. but wait, there's more! the sugar cravings are starting to go away! hooray! and it's such a great feeling to go through ideas for dinner such as fast food and not find any of it very appealing. it still sounds really good when i'm hungry, but i've discovered if i don't let myself get too hungry (read: let my blood sugar drop) it really doesn't sound very appealing. in fact, paul and i went out last night and we stopped to get ice cream at rite aid. i got a single scoop of chocolate brownie because it sounded really yummy, but after about 5 or 6 bites the sugar craving was gone. i've been at this point one other time in my life and it was really nice.

one week down (almost)....

i have one more workout day tomorrow (kenpo--which one i really like) and i made it through my first week of p90x! that means only 11 more weeks to go, haha. but seriously, i feel great. i've already lost over a pound and a half since monday, which is great, but even better, i feel so much better already. i've also gained quite a bit of muscle already! i know this because the ab ripper x is killer! and the first day i couldn't finish any of the workouts but the first one today i finished a couple other AND got more consecutive reps on several others before i collapsed with burning muscles. 


the best thing about this program for me is that i get to do a different workout every day of the week. this very much appeals to my need for variety. i get bored so easily. i can handle a certain workout once, maybe twice a week, depending on how much i like it, but anymore and that and i lose motivation. i'm excited to see how this plays out in the next few weeks. i plan to take pictures at 30, 60 and 90 days too. fortunately, i've found a system that works time-wise to get my exercise in each day too. 

melissa and nate, i can't thank you enough for letting me borrow this! i was so ready for it!

huts so good

it's day two and i'm feeling it. already. pathetic, right? i'm a little tight from yesterday's back and chest workout, though thankfully, not nearly as bad as i thought. hopefully i won't be even tighter and stiffer tomorrow. 


then today was plyo so basically crazy tough lower body. i'm a little ugh all over, but i so love how i feel right now. in case anyone is wondering, i'm not following a specific meal plan. i find that unrealistic for sustained usage, so i'm doing my best to eat lower calorie, higher health foods. i'm making lots of little changes, but ones i feel i can sustain. i'm also discovering how much i love making food from scratch. i'm looking forward to what's coming!

Wow

I made it though the first exercise. . .kinda. Wow, what a killer! I finally ordered a pull-up bar last night on e-bay so hopefully it gets here soon. In the meantime I'm using resistance tubes anchored to my door. I'm stoked though. I'm so ready for this mentally and physically. They recommend you do a "fitness test" before you start the program and give you a base to make sure you're fit enough to start the program. I passed everything on that with flying colors minus the pull-ups--no surprise there--so I feel good! I feel ready. I (finally) took "before" pictures. Hopefully I will have some wicked "after" pictures to share in just a few months. I took some with sports bra and shorts only for my own benefit, but since I didn't figure everyone wanted to share in my half-naked "before" pictures. So, in an attempt to be bold and open, here are the "before" pictures: