Insanity workout day 5

Pure Cardio

Wow. Today was insane on my heart and most of the push-ups I changed to being on my knees.

Insanity workout Day 4

Cardio Recovery Workout

Today I awoke more energized than yesterday. I ate cookies but unlike my first three days, I did not double my daily caloric intake limit. I baked cookies yesterday (as my excuse of getting rid of the junk in my pantry). So, I ate them because they were around but the memory of the nausea from the bulk of them with milk in my belly yesterday kept me from going crazy.

Before my workout, I stretched on my own for one hour. My body felt great overall but my muscles were begging for stretches. I was only the slightest bit sore and stretching felt amazing. I did not know that today's workout was going to be mostly stretching but it was a welcome relief from all the jumping and I am still glad that I did my own stretches too.

The first few days I averaged 424 calories burned per workout. I figured it would be helpful to write my stats here, so from now on I will.

Today's stats

Average heart rate: 138

Maximum heart rate: 171 

Caloric intake: 2453 

Calories burned: 229 

Weight: 114 

Today is the lowest amount of calories I've had in a while. I'm still supposed to have considerably less because I'm petite. Perhaps I must stay away from eggnog too since I'm gaining weight.

I'm tracking my calories through my fitness pal. At the end of each day of data input (re your food and activity) the app tells you how much you'd weigh in the future if you continue the same intake and your activity.

Insanity workout Day 3

Cardio Power & Resistance

I did not get to the workout until midnight on day 3. Sure, the time I spent making cookies... and eating them could have been spent on insanity but honestly I was dreading it a bit today. My calves were quite sore today so before and after today's workout I spent more time stretching.

To commit myself to a lighter workout than yesterday I set my heart rate monitor to warn me when I reach 170 beats per minute but I still do not know what percentage I should stay in (especially since I have palpitation problems). I heard the watch beeping like crazy so I ended up modifying a lot of the exercises so that I had less bounce or jump but I still kept hitting up to 182.

After the workout I felt great. The time flies by. During the workout I felt the milk and cookies bouncing around in my belly. It felt awful. I know I was going to wait until the new year to work on my diet but I will start behaving more tomorrow. My meals keep me horribly sluggish.

My only problems with the workout is that I sweat so much. I shower right after the workout but if I keep washing my hair every day I am afraid it will dry it out.

Insanity workout day 2

Day 2 is over!

Since yesterday I forgot the post workout protein today I set up my shake before my workout.

Aside from these ingredients, I added a teaspoon of peanut butter, ice, & smart water.

Workout review

Working out with a heart rate monitor really shows me that I used to overexert myself in the past. I used to go as hardcore with workouts as I would as a child thinking that if I could physically bring myself to do things then I should. I thought my body would stop me if I could not go further. While that is true I think I may have been pushing myself towards a stroke.

Today's workout was the plyometric cardio circuit. I had to stop myself from fully doing the exercises even before I felt I needed to stop because my heart rate was quickly going over 180s.

The worse part of the workout was that I felt nauseated. But I think that was related to some of my bad eats of the day...

Tarte flambée

This was a pan of flan that I ate over the last week
except for a shared 3 inch row

I have no idea nor do I want to find out how many calories were in that flan but this picture should keep me from eating flan again... until next Thanksgiving or Christmas. ;-D

Post workout protein

As I head off to bed I grabbed a jar of Nutella and spooned away at it for a while until I realized why I was hungry. I did not feed my body after exercising. Since I started around 10pm I had already eaten dinner and two servings of dessert. So consuming something didn't cross my mind.

You're supposed to feed your muscles within one hour of beating them up. To prevent deprivation of nutrients I'm going to move up my workout time as often as I can.

Day 1 of insanity

Update

I abandoned this blog when I was last working out because it was hard enough fitting in the workouts that I could not continue my posts too.  I stopped after 6 weeks.  But I was eating okay and feeling good.  Since then I've gained fat back.  I don't weigh myself often so I gauge my weight by how I fit my clothes and lately I find my stretchy workout clothes more comfy. Elastic waistbands mean workouts are in order! So, here goes take 2.

I still have P90x but I was gifted the Insanity workout program so I am going to try that now.  Since Insanity is a 60 day challenge with shorter workout times (at least in the first phase), I think it will help keep me on track and get me into a workout routine.

After Thanksgiving I have been on a downward spiral with my eating.  My diet usually consists of daily chocolates and cookies or ice cream but of course the holiday season brings new temptations.  For now I will continue eating badly but I am starting to exercise to prevent a heart attack :)

Insanity Day 1

'Twas the night before Christmas... and I started my workout :) Today I got (the DVF for Neiman Marcus & Target) yoga mat and had to break it in.  After all, Monday = fit test day.  I found mu trusty Polar heart rate monitor and was ready for a workout!

I have a high resting pulse rate and I can easily go over 200 beats per minute so I have to be careful. I tried to take it easy today but my highest was still 198.

Day 1 fit test results:

Switch kicks: 62

Power jacks: 36

Power knees: 42

Power jumps: 12

Globe jumps: 7

Suicide jumps: 8

Push-up Jacks: 9

Low plank oblique: 20

I need to figure out what should be my max HR and set it asap.

P90x Day 8 + protein packed cottage cheese/oatmeal pancakes

Moving on to P90x week two.

Although it may just be in my head I feel like I look better already ;) For one I do feel more confident and stronger. The more my muscles ache the better I feel about how my end results may turn out. But I must admit that my life got a little hectic and I started binging on bad foods on day 8. Hmm, shall I blame the taco night? :)

Day 8 review

Back to Day 1 with Chest & Back and Abs. My only gripe about this workout is that I really cannot do the ab workout. I wish there were more instruction on what to do as a modified version or alternate to the exercises shown. My core is just too weak to do pulse-ups, V-ups, leg climbs, or the raise in the middle, cross leg touch. Not eve one :(  So, I think I might be better off substituting another ab routine wherein I actually struggle but can complete a move.

Food intake

As I posted a couple of days ago, I discovered protein pancakes made from 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 4 egg whites. Of course this is the base of the recipe so more can be added to it. So, I tried almond extract and dressed up my pancakes with strawberries.

Here is an example of one of my bare bear berry delights. ;)

P90x Day 7 + healthy homemade tacos

P90x first week down!

Day 7 review

Instead of just taking the day off or skipping this stretch day (since I am behind 1 day of a workout) I did the X Stretch DVD because my muscles were feeling tight and my calves felt in need of stretches a la downward dog.

Food intake

As I mentioned previously, I only recently tasted cottage cheese and I love it! Since it is high in protein and I usually eat a lot of cheese I figured this could be my new go-to high-carb. As such I need to get on the hunt for recipes that call for it. So, I figured it might be a good replacement for sour cream--not because of the taste but because it actually looks like a good replacement.

Since I figured tacos would not make it into my clean eating lifestyle switch I had not picked up anything at the supermarket with tacos in mind.

[Enter the pantry and refrigerator raiding]

I found:

• Cottage cheese
• Cilantro
• Spinach
• Scallions
• Garlic powder
• Ground turkey (left-over from a meal where I seasoned it with Mrs. Dash garlic & herbs and yellow and white onions.)
• Corn
• Tabasco sauce
• Cherry tomatoes
• Red onion
• and:

I wanted a hard shell taco instead of a burrito-esque meal so I preheated my Breville conventional oven at 375F. Next, I cut up my veggies and since I wanted the look of guacamole I blended some cottage cheese, spinach, scallions, cilantro and garlic powder.

Then I wet two paper towels and wrapped a tortilla in it, to provide a steam effect once heated in the microwave and to prevent hardening from the microwave. I heated this for 35 seconds.

By the time my tortilla was done from the microwave my oven was successfully pre-heated. So, I placed the tortilla on the rack and heated it for 9 minutes.

I was famished so I did not have time to take a picture of the end result!  

P90x Day 6 + vanilla flavored protein pancakes with peanut butter & cinnamon

P90x Day 6 of 90: Kenpo!

My calves are still burning from Legs & Back! I did not think the workout would make me feel this sore but now I know I need to stretch my calves more on Legs & Back days. My hamstrings do not feel tight so this tells me that I may have been too easy on myself. Next week I will squat lower and make sure I am holding everything for the suggested counts.

Day 6 review

Kenpo is my favorite of all the workouts. I dabbled in kick boxing and Tae Kwon Do in the past so I felt most comfortable with this workout. Since the other workouts (especially yoga) were all new to me I feel as if I wasted too much time double checking the video to make sure I was following along properly.

Food intake

I have been flipping through my clean eating recipe books as well as old Food & Wine and Oxygen magazines to add diversity in my meals and have seen cottage cheese mentioned a lot. Can you believe I never had any? Well, that is until today! I tried some and found that there are a ton of pancake recipes using cottage cheese!

For the best protein packed punch I opted for:

• Pancake mix:
• ½ cup oatmeal
• ½ cup cottage cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 egg whites

(cooked in coconut oil)

• Pancake topping:
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ½ tablespoon peanut butter 

I hope that next time I remember to snap a picture!

P90x Day 5 + goat cheese & shrimp omelette, grits, & crawfish beignets

P90x Day 5 of 90

Okay, so I had my first mess up: I missed Day 5 on Sunday! I was entertaining a guest and did not have alone time to complete my workout. So instead I did Day 5 on Monday and I am contemplating skipping the rest day to get back on track. I tried to edit my excel sheet to reflect the day missed and I somehow messed up the code so I just rather catch up than deal with dates that are totally off.

Day 5 review

Legs & Back workout was fun. I definitely want to work out my legs so even though this workout burned my legs I kept at it (for the most part). And I am happy to report that while on Day 1 I could not do one closed grip overhand pull-up (without a chair--and even with chair assistance only maxed out 3) today I was able to do 3!! It may seem small but it feels like such a major accomplishment for me, particularly since it has been less than one week. I do not know if it is due to advancement through P90x or because I saw my boyfriend do it and all of a sudden my competition mode kicked in. -Of course he can go on with his and my arms shook after the three...

But this gets me thinking: would I get better results if I did P90x with a friend? Hmm... 

Food intake -brunch with friends

I went to brunch and ate tasty, buttery, cheesy, calories: 

Crawfish beignets topped with cayenne pepper and scallions

Buttery cheddar cheese grits with cornmeal, a goat cheese and shrimp omelette, and sourdough toast.

I think I may have tacked on a pound to myself off of brunch paired with the lack of exercising :(

P90x Day 4 + healthy ice cream dessert recipe

P90x Day 4 of 90

I just came in to post about today and I am sad to see that my thoughtful post about yesterday's session apparently never went through and I do not even see it listed as a draft! :(

Well, my brief recap will follow since I don't have the energy to rewrite my detailed post over.

Day 4 review

Ahhh yes, P90x Day 4....

I tried my hand at yoga! I always thought yoga would be too slow and boring. I was wrong. What a humbling experience his workout was! I was surprised that it made me sweat and I was too busy struggling to keep or attempt some poses that I never found myself bored. The stretches felt really good on my muscles that have for the most part recovered from all previous workouts.

Food intake (DIY healthy ice cream)

For St. Patty's day my boyfriend woke me up with a 3 egg spinach omelette with low-fat cheddar cheese. Of course I could have done without the side of tator tots but who am I to refuse any bit of a nice gesture?

In place of sugar-filled ecstasy dessert I made a one ingredient dessert. Here is the recipe: banana. Seriously. I have always been a sucker for frozen grapes so I like to see which other fruits lend themselves to freezing. So far I have found citrus fruits to not be okay frozen and berries (especially strawberries) are too hard frozen unless used for a smoothie. A mango can be amazing if you only leave it for up to half a day.

Now, drumroll, please: A frozen banana is fighting for the number one position with the grapes. If you freeze a banana you will notice it does not feel as hard as a brick; clearly it wants to be frozen. I was using bananas for smoothies or protein shakes and noticed the bananas would make the drinks sweeter and creamy. So, I decided to blend the banana on its own to gauge how much sugar to add so that my drinks would not come out too sweet. I blended a banana I had frozen for two days and voila: ice cream! I used a bit of milk to help with the mixing since I used my magic bullet machine.

Tidbits about one-ingredient banana ice cream

• The smell of blended frozen banana is amazing
• The texture is like soft serve (I don't know how the frozen banana concoction is once placed back in the freezer because I can't stop myself from eating it once I make it) 
• The taste is sweet on its own if you freeze the banana when it is ripe
• The heavier the spotting/darkening the sweeter
• If it is too sweet play around with it--add things like spinach, peanut butter, or almond oil
• If it is not sweet enough throw in some honey ;)
• Add protein powder to boost the health factor!

P90x Day 3 + recovery shake talk

P90x Day 3 of 90

I did not have a chance to post after my workout yesterday because I did it later in the day and got caught up afterwards. I was dreading the workout because my arms were still so sore from Day 1 that I could not complete one push-up or pull-up straight up as opposed to my 10-20 on Day 1.

Imagine my surprise when I wet to jot down my numbers and realized there was no space for a Day 3/March 16 Chest & Arms workout! I thought I was supposed to already repeat Day 1 but actually Day 3 was Shoulders & Arms! I was so relieved!!

Day 3 review

I had pectoral muscle pain and soreness on my calves so I was happy throughout the Shoulders & Arms workout because it felt like an off day. Unfortunately I used a weight that was far too light (only a 5 pounder for most exercises and 10 pound dumbbells for a few of them) because I do not want to build muscle so I figured I should do lighter weight with more reps. But I did not struggle at all or break a sweat; so, I'm afraid that my underachievement here may have stolen a good day of working out for me. :(

Food intake

Like I mentioned before, I am not following the P90x diet. Post-workout shakes on the first two days were the Pro Complex vanilla shakes (only 1 scoop) but for Day 3 I just had a bottle of Slim Fast. I bought a few packs of the low-carb ones that have 20 grams of protein. They are delicious! -My milkshake substitute since I am not having sweet desserts for lent.

P90x Day 2

Quick recap of my P90x Phase 1 start

I am on day two of my fitness journey and I am happy to report that I am sore. I did not complete most of the Ab Ripper workout yesterday so I thought I would not feel any soreness in my midsection but I feel it a little bit. My arms are still feeling the workout for sure. When I straighten my arms it feels like a stretch on my muscles.

Food intake

As I said in my last post, I have stopped almost all dessert intake for lent but aside from that I am raising my protein intake and sadly decided to cut back on my daily cheese binges. I do not believe in depriving myself from foods altogether since I am not a fitness model or competitor--yet ;) so I will eat up to 3 ounces of cheese weekly and I will alloy myself pasta for energy a night before a big workout or just because I want it.

My focus will be on a lifestyle change not a diet and I know that I will not continue a carb-less lifestyle. I will partake in clean eating as much as possible but my goal is to not overindulge and instead eat proper portions and to only et when I am hungry. A big problem of mine is snacking while watching TV. Find healthy alternatives to snacking is good but I think my main issue is I eat even when I am not hungry. I do not focus on my food when I do this and end up eating just out of habit. Instead, I will try to incorporate exercises or stretches during shows or commercials to keep me busy.

I have now started tracking my food intake through the "My Fitness Pal" app. It is great because you can scan bar codes to track your food aside from searching for the names. But if you are looking for another option I highly recommend the Spark People website, which also has an app. You can create your own blog there, find a great community, track workouts, discover new workouts, find recipes, etc.

Day 2 review

Today I did the P90x Plyometrics DVD. Oh em gee was it hard! I could not yet keep up with the whole routine but it is fun and targets the lower body like I want; so, I think it will be my favorite routine. My hamstrings feel tight/strong as if I am flexing them. I hope this means these workouts will build them up! :)

Tomorrow I have to repeat yesterday's workout so I hope my arms recover. Otherwise I may go do a different high impact full body workout with a friend and substitute pushups during the squatting segments.

P90x Day 1

Today I started my P90x 90-day challenge.

About this blog

I hope that this blog will help me stay accountable to myself and maybe others in the cyber world who happen upon my blog. If you have advice or are on your own fitness journey, please leave me a comment.

Here I will discuss my progress and I will post pictures chronicling my success. I will post my first round of photos starting after the first month. This first set of pictures will include weekly benchmark photos.

Who I am

I am a female who is in her 20s and although I may look in shape to the naked eye  while I am hiding under a coat I do not work out, I have never been on a diet, and my cardiovascular system is a mess.

When it comes to health and fitness I am just an average American girl who has high blood pressure and no sense of portion control--or a true idea of what a normal portion size is. I am used to indulging in sweets, carbs, and fried food daily.

I gave up most sweets for lent and have started to see a difference in my body already. I have naturally bigger arms and shoulders so I really want to work on my bottom half. Before that I realize I need a stronger core. I cannot do one full sit-up unless my feet are held down... sad, I know.

Why I am starting P90x

I always use the excuse that I don't have time to exercise; however, I find myself with plenty of time for reality television, eating out, and shopping. So, since there is no time like the present, I am starting P90x mid-week already cutting out my other usual excuse that usually I'll start exercising on the beginning of the next week.

I have had the P90x program for over 2 years with only one prior use. The one time I used it I was bummed that I was unable to do as many pull-ups or sit-ups as I had done during my first wound so I gave up. Then, I met a woman this last weekend who told me about her success with the program and how she started off being able to do only a handful of push-ups and can easily pump them out now. When I googled before and after pictures I saw many people who started off even double my size and showed cuts by the after photo. Since I have always had a dream of being a fitness competitor (at this point I will settle for just entering a competition without even placing last) I am hoping that P90x will show me results that motivate me to continue towards this goal.

Day 1 review

I am going to do the classic program option, so today I started with the Chest & Back dvd followed by the Ab Ripper workout. I am keeping track of my progress through an excel spreadsheet.

I was able to do many of the pull-ups without the assistance of a chair (although most were with the chair) but I discovered that at this time I cannot do any unassisted closed hand overhand pull-ups. As to the pushups, the diamond pushups were a great struggle for me.

But I got through the workout and had the added benefit of getting more than my normal daily water intake. As a recovery shake I used 1 scoop of Vanilla Pro Complex, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, cinnamon, and water.

I did the workout early in the morning and by the evening I was feeling a fun burn on my arms whenever I grabbed anything over one pound. It felt great!