Idea Nugget

I had an idea this morning.  (Rare, I know!)

I was all filled with "back on the wagon!" thoughts at the end of May, centered on June, but then I've been filled with a lack of motivation now that June is actually here.  I'm feeling a strong motivation to take photographs.  Just not to exercise, heh.  I think some of it is just that I have some very disruptive things coming up this month and the beginning of next month, so it is hard to get excited about 2 weeks when I know what follows.

But, BUT, I've finally gotten an official start date for new-work, which is August 1.  I love that.  Nice round number, nice beginning of the month.  And I was doing P90X3 this morning and I thought, there it is.  I want to do a P90X3 actual 90 day program, beginning August 1.  This is perfect.  It is only 30 minutes per day.  It is after all my scheduled races, but I also know that it keeps me in good enough shape to go run a 5K if I want to.  It coincides with the new job, so I would be establishing a good habit with my new routine.  Starting in August allows me to finish before the holidays, which always mess stuff up.

I like this idea.  I need to flesh it out more... I am thinking right now that I'll do it free form like I did at the beginning of the year - whatever makes me happy as long as I do one routine per day... but I like this idea.

Just a Feeling - More Progress!

Yesterday I did my very favorite Yoga routine, and for the first time in a long time, it felt different.  I was able to get noticeably farther in two of the stretches - the extended bound angular and the head-to-knee forward bend.  I mean seriously farther.  It is interesting because I don't necessarily feel that I've been focusing on hamstring/groin flexibility, but there it is.

Also, I LOVE the new thicker yoga mat I got for Christmas!  No more knee issues on the wood floor with the thin mat!

Then this morning when I was doing P90X3 Accelerator, I noticed real progress in all the planking.  I was able to get all the way through the plank walking and the mountain climbers, and almost all the way through the plank-to-sphinx and back again section and also the double trouble mountain climbers.  That is massive progress from the beginning of December where I could only get most of the way through the first section and then ended up doing everything else on my knees.  I am very very pleased with this!

Progress, and Feeling Twitchy

Last week I ate well all week leading into Boston, as promised.  I started tracking on MyFitPal, I sterted actively trying to hit 10,000 steps per day, and I was doing really well.  When I got to Boston I tried to eat well but not stress over it too much, and with the exception of one exorbitant meal, I actually think I stayed or very close to my calorie allotment, even without doing exercise each day.

I knew, KNEW, that when I got back my weight would be up, because that is just what my body does when I travel, especially when I fly.  But even knowing that, it really hurt when I stepped on the scale the evening I arrived home and saw a 4 pound gain.  Now, there are a lot of things wrong with the scenario, including the fact that I know better than to weigh myself in the evening, but I just couldn't resist.  I should have resisted.  But the very next morning I was a pound down.  And the next day, two more.  And this morning, two more than that!  So I'm actually a pound down from my pre-Boston weight this morning, and I am freaking THRILLED with that.

Ok, so the goal is so keep it up.  It is working, keep it up.  IT IS WORKING!!!!!

I have two cheats coming up:  tonight I'm going to see Tool, therefore I will be awake much later than normal, and I'll probably need to eat more because of that.  I also wouldn't put it past myself to have a drink.  Because Tool!!!  Saturday I'm having my annual lunch with an old friend.  Other than those, the goal is no additional cheats til Tuesday.  I've actually been managing to have my ice cream within my calorie limits, which is awesome!!  Yesterday I measured it out and everything, and I discovered that when I use the small helmet cups, I was dishing myself up just about a serving without measuring, which is a fabulous thing!  I like the idea of only having the 3 cheat meals and ditching the cheat dessert combo.  3 and 3 may have been too much room to wiggle and still lose.  We will see how it goes from here.

In terms of exercise, I've been good about P90X3 since I got back.  Tomorrow I want to go for a run because I signed up for the Piney Woods Trail 5K.  I don't think I'm going to get in much specific training, but a few runs leading into it would be smart.

And that leads me into: I'm getting a little twitchy beginning to worry about 5Ks and bike rides and triathlons and lack of specific training.  This is a fine mental line to walk with me because P90X3 is working, and I don't want to stop right now, and I don't want to stress myself into a headspace where it is ok to just roll over and go back to sleep in the mornings.  BUT I need to start doing at least a little specific training.  So I'm thinking maybe continue with basic free-form/P90X3 through the end of January, throwing in a run or a ride on nice days if I want to.  I was actually thinking about trying to hit it hard with 2-a-days next week, just to up the weight loss ante.  Maybe in February I could shoot for at least one swim, one bike, and one run per week, with the balance of the days being whatever I want, which will probably still be P90X3.  Then from there we can shoot into more specific training in March.  I like this... I may need to flesh it out a little, but that is my tentative plan.  I feel better just typing that!

My Fitness Pal

So I broke down on Monday and started using My Fitness Pal again to track calories.

I am still not fully committing to the plan until next Tuesday, January 12.  For the record.  But some healthy eating and committed exercising leading into a weekend of debauchery can never go amiss.  Plus one of my co-workers is on, so you know, strength in numbers and all that.

My Fitness Pal is VASTLY improved since my last usage (4 years ago).  I've got it set to count my calories for steps, but to counteract that, I set it for losing a pound a week, instead of the more reasonable half-pound.  I am always leery of calculating exercise calories and would prefer to err on the side of not counting anything at all so I can be sure I'm hitting my food targets, BUT if I exercise a lot I do recognize that I need to refuel.  Hopefully this will be the best of both worlds, but I'll turn it off if I have to.

I'm also not 100% sure how it is going to interact with my glitchy brain, because I think my plan is to allow myself 3 "treat" meals per week, plus 3 "treat" desserts.  The desserts I'll just count maybe as if I ate only one small serving, but really I'll eat a bigger serving.  Truly, this is mostly to accommodate my love of Blue Bell ice cream and my belief that a half-cup is not sufficient.  The 3 meals are to accommodate Tuesday evenings at my mom's, the lunch-happy culture at work, and eating out once a week.  I can still try to make good choices for some or all of these meals - at my mom's, that means limiting portion sizes, and for the eating out, that may mean what I order, or I may let it go, and if I do, that is ok.  What I'm not sure about, yet, is how to count these off meals.  I'll have to play with it.  Yesterday evening was an off meal at my mom's, but it had a bunch of things that were fairly easy to count, so I counted and guesstimated and was ok with that.  And it didn't make me go over my daily target (as long as the steps were counted) and so I didn't fry a circuit with a feeling of failure.  I have a feeling I'll need a little more data to figure out what method is going to work best for me.

Monday stats:
Calorie goal: 1490
Ate: 1528
Exercise: 300 from P90X3 Accelerator + 387 from 12,686 steps.
I'm not counting the steps calories, so Net: 1228

I would like to be netting 1200-1500 in these first few weeks, so I am very very pleased with that.  And also hungry.  But pleased.

Tuesday stats:
Calorie goal: 1490
Ate: 1948  (BUT the evening meal was a "treat" meal, which I fully counted!)
Exercise: 200 from P90X3: Triometrics + 371 from 11,754 steps
Net: 1748 without the steps

I am pleased with this net on a "treat meal" day!

One more note: A calorie goal of 1490 seems pretty generous to me.  I used to aim right around 1500 for MAINTENANCE.  But, I'll see how it goes for a week or two and make adjustments if nothing is happening.  It would be nice if I could leave it there because it is high enough to make me feel like I actually have a little flexibility and can actually succeed.

Holy canoli!

I fell off the wagon a little bit last weekend, but going strong during the week.

Monday: Pilates X.  This one... I have really mixed feelings about this one.  On the one hand, I can't do everything that they want me to do, so it should be a good workout, right?  But on the other hand, I just don't feel like I get that great of a workout from it.  I was barely sweating at the end and the only thing that hurt the next day was (you guessed it!) my ass.  HOWEVER, as I was doing the next day's workout, I did feel like I was more aware of my breath as it should be connected to my lifting, so maybe there is something to it after all???

Tuesday: The Challenge.  O. M. G.  OUCH!  This was not what I was expecting.  I was expecting an aerobic workout, not a lifting one.  Not sure why, just was.  The principle of this workout is simple.  Pick a number to aim for for push-ups and a number to aim for for pull-ups, and try to hit that number over and over as you shift through various torturous grips.  I can't even do one pull up, and I don't have a pull-up set-up for my bands yet, so I just try to mimic the motion as best as I can with hand weights, even though I am aware that that is officially pushing and not pulling.  So for me it was an all push morning.  OUCH.  I picked the number 12 for both.  12 of everything!  And dudes, I did do 12 of all of the things.  Except the burnout.  By the burnout I could no longer lift my arms, so I did 75 crunches and then planked til the time was up.  Last night I had a dream that my neck was breaking and this morning I woke up and the muscle between my shoulder blades hates me.

Wednesday: Yoga X.  I think I will like this one once I learn it and don't really have to look at the screen as much.  It is challenging enough for there to be stuff for me to work on and for me to break a sweat, but I left feeling nice and stretched.

Oh, also: weight this morning was 150.6, down a pound from my starting weight at the beginning of the month.  Now that doesn't sound impressive, but I have been so far off the wagon that the wagon is a dot to me in terms of my eating leading into the holidays.  So it is actually pretty freaking awesome.  If I can end December in a wash leading into January, when I plan to hit the diet hard, then that would be a win for me.

Off the Plan

I'm off the plan, but I'm still trying hard.

I ran in a 5K on Saturday morning!  I didn't know it was happening until Friday evening when I got a text that the park was going to be closed, but it was so close to home that I couldn't resist.  Between the walking back and forth to the park and the running, I reckon I got in about 5.5 miles.  It was HOT, about 75 degrees that morning.  This weather has been CRAZY!

Sunday I skipped.  There was baking and family time and it was lovely.

Yesterday I did P90X3: Eccentric Lower.  It was... different.  I didn't hate it, like I was afraid I would.  I may even like it... jury is still out. :-P

This morning I wanted a good aerobic workout, so I did P90X3: MMX.  One of my favorites.  Some day (but not today!) I'll be able to do ALL the sprawls.

I still have 4 videos left that I haven't done!!  I think tomorrow I'll do Eccentric Upper.  Then either Yoga or Pilates.  Then the Challenge.  Then the other of Yoga or Pilates.  So by Saturday (or Sunday if I get distracted) I should be through them all for the FIRST TIME.  Wow!

'Tis the Season

I missed P90X3 yesterday. I was so tired when my alarm went off at 4 that I literally couldn't keep my eyes open. I "reasoned" with myself that I could do it after work, knowing that that rarely works, but hoping that my commitment to this month would somehow override my desire to do nothing after work.

I think it may have worked, but I forgot to factor in Christmas. While at work I received a reminder that the cookie exchange I had agreed to take part in will be this Saturday, and suddenly my plans changed and instead of exercise, I spent hours baking. Hours!  Then there was dinner, cleaning the Kid, and bed. I suppose I could have stayed up late to get that workout in, but then this morning if have been hit with the same can't-open-eyes problem. Better to fix the problem at its root.

I struggled with guilt over missing the day, but only a bit. I'd really prefer to see it as a smart mental move to do what I needed to do, keeping my overall commitments, stress levels, and physical health in mind. Because honestly I am proud of how much I got done yesterday afternoon!

This morning, as I hoped, I woke with less trouble and knocked out Triometrics. My right - I don't know what it is - maybe IT band? - is quite pissy. It seemed displeased by all the one legged squats. Will try to steer the next few days away from angering it again!

P90X3: Incinerated

All the things seem to have stopped hurting, but I'm back to being very very tired.

Did Incinerator this morning.  It wasn't what I was expecting.  From the title I was expecting aerobic, but it was a very arm heavy weight workout.  It was a good one, though P90X: Shoulders & Arms will always have my heart.  (And I can do that one in only 40 minutes, so it is almost like an X3, amIright??)

P90X3: Days 7 and 8

Day 7: The Warrior.

Woke up with a renewed sense of sore in my ass.  And this one was an ass-kicker.  By the end of the day was also quite tight in my shoulders.

Day 8: Dynamix.

Ah yes, I remember liking this one, probably because I don't look like I've taken a swim afterwards.  Sore this morning we have ass, shoulders, and abs.  Nice.

It seems like I'm settling into a pattern of 2 hard days followed by 1 easy day.  I'm not going to lock that in or anything, I just find it interesting.  I also haven't repeated anything yet, although by the end of this week I think I'll have to.  I must say that Eccentric Upper and Eccentric Lower both make me nervous, though for different reasons.  I always dread the Upper because it is my weak spot, but also because I don't have an easily accessible chin-up bar or a firm anchor for bands.  For Lower I always just need to be careful that I don't break my knee.

Mission P90X3 Month: Day the Fourth

I am SO TIRED.  Soooooo very tired.  Like long-blinking useless tired.

But I got my butt, which is becoming marginally less sore, up this morning and did Isometrix.  Which did make me sweat but not as much as the others.  I did lol at the idea that the yoga mat was optional.  It was sooooo not optional.  And I struggled with some of the poses but I suppose that is the point.  Was easier today to put my laptop (on which I watch the P90 vids) on the floor because this one is up then down the whole time.

All in all, a WIN just for waking up today.

Today is the P's birthday and I have reservations at a fancy restaurant which will keep me up later than I like.  (Read: past 8.)  But perhaps I can nap ahead of time and I can definitely sleep late, if Grimmy lets me.  So I just need to get through today.

Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot: Race Report

I did run the Turkey Trot this year, despite being woefully under-prepared for it.

Actually I ran the Kid K AND the Turkey Trot, so extra pie for me!

We headed up around 7:30, were able to easily pick up the packets, and then tool around for a while.

Kids K had better corralling than last year. Zoe did really well!!  She ran the whole thing with only one short walk break.  It was... muggy.  Which meant I was hot.

The good news was that shortly after that finish it started gently raining and cooled me down nicely.  The bad news was that the whole adult race was in and out of the rain and my glasses drove me NUTS.  Really really need to remember to wear contacts on rainy days.

It was as it always is - Austin is hilly.  Really hilly.  I never ever remember how evil those hills are.  I very very quickly decided to walk up and run the rest, and it worked well for me.  By mile 3 though, I was hurting.  And for some reason in there I had decided that it was a 10k so I suffered some mental anguish for a while before I realized it was only 5 miles and then I was all excited because I was "almost" done.

Final time: 1:05:18.9 at a pace of 13:04 per mile.

I got cold quickly after finishing, so stopped by Starbucks on the way back to the hotel for a nice warm chai.  As always the best way to start off Thanksgiving!  (Oh, also need to remember to take Ibuprofen after Turkey Trot.  I always forget and my legs always HATE me later because I follow the race with hours sitting in a car.)

P.S. P90X3 Day 3: Agility X.  My ass still hurts, and now my shoulder blades hurt.  Seriously.  The getting up this morning was very very difficult.

P90X3: Day 2

Total Synergistics.

I was very sleepy very early last night, I can feel a bunch of "muscles" I didn't know I had, and my ass hurts.

P90X3 Month

I have decided to embark on a month of daily P90X3 torture workouts.

I am doing this because, frankly, I have been sucking at getting out of bed since the weather changed.  And because if I don't work out through December, I'll gain 10 pounds and feel terrible.  And because P90X3 does not require me to walk out into the cold cold air.  And because it is ONLY 30 minutes per day.  So I SHOULD be able to guilt myself into it.  EVEN ON CHRISTMAS.

I am placing no additional requirements on this.  No set schedule.  I can do any one that I want on any day that I want.  I just must do one per day, daily.

Today was day 1.  I sat up immediately at my alarm and forced myself up.  I did Accelerate.  It hurt.

I weighed 151.6.  Sigh.

State of the Union

February was a busy month for us.

We got a lot done at the old house.  We had movers, for only a few hours, but I worked to make the most of it.  We also had the floors put in.  Outstanding is sheet rock repair and painting, and getting the rest of our junk out.  My goal is to have it ready to go on the market by the end of March.

We also, and partially as a result, got a lot done on the new house.  Continuing to unpack and settle in.  I have a ton of boxes in the garage to go through, but I'm satisfied to do that slowly.  The movers mean that the furniture situation has filled out nicely - in fact, when I sat down to write this, I was really pleased with how far the place has come in a month.  I finally (FINALLY) selected a color for the master bed/bath.  They shall be: Rhino and Pensive Sky.  Heh.  Z's room finally has curtains!  All of the books/DVDs/CDs are either unpacked or stacked in closets for longer term storage!  We have a guest bed now!  And a desk!  It is really coming along.

In terms of diet/exercise, I've also had a pretty satisfying month.  Weight loss - well, I'm still bouncing around a little.  Frankly I think I'm in the 137's, but the official weight on the first was 138.6.  (Grr, weekends, undoing all my progress!)   Even more importantly, I only missed FOUR days of exercise this month!  Annnnnnd, I'm really starting to feel the progress.  I'm feeling stronger in my core, and that's where I love to feel it.  So even though those numbers are dropping only ever so slowly, I am pleased with where I'm headed and how I'm getting there. 

I got another bomb dropped on me at work, and frankly, there I've really been struggling.  I have to look right now to my kid, my lovely new house, my exercise, and everything I'm accomplishing to keep me going right now.  And I am.  And it is working.

Goals for March:
Keep exercising!  Booty Barre will end, so it'll be time to start pole dancing. ;-)  I've got one more week in this P90X3 cycle, then a "rest" week, then a new cycle, so I'm looking forward to all of that! 
Get the old house on the market.
Keep working on the new house.
Get the tax info together (BOOO).