Day 3 - Choose to commit. Choose to win!

Today I *almost* listened to that Day 3 voice that often says, "You can take a break.  You deserve it.  This is haaaard!"

I almost skipped my Insanity Day 3 - Cardio Power & Resistance workout to go to lunch with my roommate.

But part of me knew it was a hard-as-anything workout that I would not want to make up later this evening.  That's what I've previously allowed to happen; I push my supposed "priorities" & commitments aside when they get too hard to live up to.  Then I kick myself.

Today, I insisted I needed to workout.

So I did.

And I still had time to have a healthy lunch with her after.

Huzzah for changing some deep ruts in my brain for better ones!

Day 2 - Deep Water

So, I'm 33 years old, Black woman from the South.  Never learned to swim.

Some other people dispute that because I can dog-paddle myself from one end of the pool to the other as long as I can keep my head under water and/or make it in one breath.  I maintain I can't swim until I can tread water without fearing for my life.

Yesterday was my first time ever to swim laps in 11-ft deep water with a kickboard.  Heart pounding, probably flop-sweating but you couldn't see it because I'm in the water, I eventually psyched myself up enough to make it all the way across the pool.  Whoo-hoo!

After a while I was able to open my eyes underwater.  I noticed that the water looked much better in the deep end of the pool - where I felt I was in more danger - than in the shallow end.  In the shallow end the water was murky, the lanes were more crowded, and I could easily see the debris floating around.  It was a little bit gross.

Out in deeper water I couldn't see or stand on the bottom and had to trust physics actually works and I do, in fact, float.  Out there, beyond the BLACK LINE OF SELF-LIMITING DANGER at 5.5 feet the water was bluer and crystal clear and more peaceful.  Fewer people were out there thrashing around.

So, I feel a metaphor coming on.  (Blame those 2 semesters as an English major.)

Could it be that when I push myself beyond those self-imposed limits and irrational fears, my heart will pound, I'll break out into a flop sweat, and it'll be okay anyway?

And could it be that when I look around after I've pushed myself beyond what I think I can do, I'll find a beautiful new world and a compelling new perspective around me?  Hmmm.

Rocktober First!

01 October 2012 - 91 days left in 2012!

And what are you going to do with it?

One of my favorite sayings is 'The best time to plant a tree was 100 years ago. The second best time is today.'

So yeah, it would have been awesome if I'd learned how to make a *realistic* schedule & stick to it back in January like I intended.

And it would have been spectacular if I had started Insanity with the proper intent & a support system in place back in March so I'd be at my goal weight for my 33rd birthday in May.

And -Lord love a duck - it would have been aaaah-maze-ing if I had been building my savings all this time so I'd have more of a cushion.

But I didn't.

So now I can either wallow in shame and blame and recrimination...

Or I can get to work!

Insanity - Day 37 - Max Interval Plyo

Alright - so I'm back in the saddle again!  Just finished Max Interval Plyo for the first time.

These hour long workouts are kickin' my tail!  In a good way, though.  I can definitely tell that my body is adjusting from the 30-minute workouts to the 60-minute-ers.  There's a point where my body's saying, "Alright!  That's the 27 minute mark so let's push hard for this last rotation and we'll be outta here!"

But then my mind says, "Au contraire, mon ami!  We've got another 28 minutes or so! But thanks for that second wind!"

I can tell this month is gonna kick my tail.  Which is good.  Because I've gotta hoist my body weight over a wall in about 60 days!  Urgh!

Shakeology Cleanse - Day 3 Done!

So, I've lost about 8 pounds - which is awesome!

But more than that, I feel more in control of my eating habits.  All the starchy, sugary carbs I was craving & ate in great quantity - I feel like I can resist them now.  Mainly because I'm feeling pretty good about how my body is humming along.  I'm rehydrated.  I've cleared the crap outta my system and I'm ready to reboot on Insanity!

I ran for 3 miles on the last morning of the cleanse.  That worked out well, I just was extra hungry after my salad dinner so I added a large banana at the end of the night.

So yeah, definitely worthwhile.  Hard as I was working to train myself to not use food as a reward for a job well done.  And I know my sugar and salt and fat and general nastiness cravings aren't gone forever, but mentally I know I can work through them.  And that's HUGE!

Feelin' good!  Ready to hit training for the Tough Mudder with full force!  Combining an "easier" half marathon running plan with Insanity and eating good, nourishing food is gonna do it!  Whoo-hoo!

Shakeology Cleanse: Day 2 Done!

Day two of the cleanse down!

Okay, I've done the cleanse before and had to give it up after day 2.  This time I'm feeling strong and capable, ready and raring to go for day 3.  What's different?

Well, this time I know what to expect.  I know how to modify my energy expenditure and I'm keeping my aggravation level as low as possible.

Also, this time, I'm aware of how ~amazing~ Shakeology is for my body.  I once was off Shakeology for 2 weeks due to a snafu on my part.  Holy crap, I felt like death on toast.  I was still eating well and exercising, but I had *no* energy, my face was a grease pit, and my digestion wasn't too thrilled with me either.

So, after day two - I'm pretty sure my innards are scrubbed out ;)

Also, water is important, but again, best friends with the bathroom.

Feeling pretty good.  Still distracted as all get out by all the various yummy and healthy and really, really NOT healthy food out there.  Staying focused on staying on the plan.

Also, a friend and I have monthly cycles that have synced.  I spent yesterday kinda bleh but otherwise okay.  A little tired because I've recently started training for a new position at work.  I went from working nights to working days and was using coffee the first week to stay awake.  I cut that out during the cleanse.  I don't normally drink a lot of coffee so it's not hard for me to kick.  But I'm still a bit tired.  The friend was PMS'ing bad and needed some fast food and gave into her cravings.  She felt great while she was eating it but felt like crap about 15 minutes later.  I know that feeling.  I've done that so many times.  Urgh.  Now making plans for next month.

Onto day 3!

Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse: Day One Done!

What's the Shakeology Cleanse, you ask?

First - Shakeology is this awesome meal replacement shake.  Comes in Greenberry, Chocolate, and Vegan Tropical Strawberry.  Recently I've been on a Strawberry kick.

Normally you drink one shake for breakfast or to replace another meal or snack.  It's freakin' amazing - like a scrub brush for your innards.  Magic in a glass!

But, since I celebrated my 33rd birthday for about 2 weeks prior, I needed to clear out the system and reset things a bit.

So the Shakeology Cleanse lasts 3 days.  During which you eat:

Upon waking:

1 cup of green tea upon rising in morning

Breakfast:

1 serving of Shakeology with ice and water (fruit is optional, no more than a cup)

Snack 1:

1 piece of fruit (your choice)

Lunch:

1 serving Shakeology with ice and water (fruit optional)

1 cup of green tea

Snack 2:

(Last snack of day can be done either before or after dinner)

1 serving Shakeology with ice and water

Dinner:

Salad and 3 serving of greens and vegetables, 4 ounces of protein (fish or poultry), and no more than two tablespoons of low fat dressing.

 

- You may want to add the optional fruit to Shakeology if you're doing an intense exercise program during the cleanse.

- Drink 2-4 liters of water each day.

 

=========================================================

 

So, how'd I feel after day one?

- I was really hydrated - which usually isn't an issue.  But dang, the bathroom and I were best friends!

 

- I felt mostly full, just a little hungry and draggy between lunch and my 2nd snack because I had a bigger gap of time there than I anticipated.  It was freeing to know exactly what I'd be eating for the next few days.  

 

- But it was distracting seeing all the snacks and cookies and candies and cupcakes and fast food and other people's lunches at work and recipes I was sorting through.  Urgh. 

 

- Honestly, my life is planned out about as far as my next meal.  Doing this cleanse helps me realize I need to cut down on the number of choices I give myself.  I'm getting better at going down to just a few options for lunch and dinner and snacks that I rotate through, but I'll still go to the store, buy stuff to make 5 recipes.  Maybe I need to just make 2 at a time and eat everything that week and freeze anything beyond that for some later time when I'm desperate.

- I did a 3 mile run this AM and felt good.  Whoo-hoo!  But I'm not gonna run tomorrow.

Week 2, Day 1 - Done!

And I am a sweaty, sweaty mess!

Just finished Cardio Power & Resistance.  My upper body is still much weaker than I'd like.  But it's getting stronger.  I'm definitely making progress with the Moving Push-Ups and the Power Jumps.  My pauses are getting shorter and I'm better able to do the Hit the Floor move without worrying about my lower back.

I'm getting better at this!  Can't wait to see what I can do in 16 more days when I'm 33.  Double Thrice - whoo-hoo!

Off the road again

Today is Saturday, May 5th - last day of my workweek since I typically have Sunday and Monday off.  Whoo-hoo!

The roomie and I took of Thursday & Friday from work.  Drove down to Myrtle Beach to see Chris Young in concert.  (He's awesome - buy tickets and his albums!)  The opener was Brinley Addington (also awesome - the roomie bought his album after the concert and I'm buying it ASAP.  Careful, his site has insta-music playing.  But at least it's good insta-music, in my opinion.)

It was an awesome night, tiring as all get out since I'm ~old~ (33 years old in 23 days, whoo-hoo!).  And when I'm on the road I tend to eat crap.  I also got precious little exercise over the 2 days.  I made sure I did Cardio Power & Resistance before leaving Charleston.  I brought my discs with me but they never left the bag.  I did attempt to paddle in the pool for a bit, but I can't actually swim so I mostly tired myself out rather than actually getting in a decent workout.

Friday was even worse.  We got back and had cocktails with a friend and then went out for Mexican food where I proceeded to eat about a day's worth of calories in one meal.  Urgh.

So now I feel cruddy, need to do two Insanity workouts today to get caught up and maybe also convince the roomie to go for a run at the gym after work tonight.

So, what do y'all do when you're on the road to stay on track?  And, what do you do when you're out with friends?  Any hints you'd like to share?

Also, any road trip music playlists anyone'd like to share with the group?

Wild Hare & Calories

I had a wild hare this morning, so I just recalculated my calorie needs for Insanity.  That's what happens when my alarm goes off unexpectedly and I nearly launch myself outta bed onto the floor in surprise.  Heh.

Anyway,

• I'm 5'9", or 69 inches tall,
• (close enough to) 33 years old (25 days away baby! Whoo-hoo!),
• and weigh 175 lbs this morning

So, first I find my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - the amount of calories I need to live if I'm just chillin' on the couch all day.


For men it's -
66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )






But I'z a lady, so for females it's - 
655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years) =

655 + (4.35 x 175) + (4.7 x 69) - (4.7 x 33) =

655 + 761.25 + 324.3 - 155.1 = 1585.45 = numbers of calories I need to chill on couch all day.


Then I use the Harris Benedict Equation to estimate the number of calories I need while I'm on Insanity.  I'd rather err on the side of having to add calories later rather than removing calories.  In the Insanity Elite Nutrition Guide they suggest multiplying my BMR by either 1.55 for "moderately active" (ha!) or 1.7 for "very active."  Since I spend the rest of my day at a desk, I chose 1.55 for moderate.

So 1585.45 x 1.55 = 2457.4475 calories needed to maintain my weight while on Insanity.

But I want to lose pounds, so I build in a 500 calorie deficit each day

2457.4475 - 500 = 1957.4475 = approx 1957 calories needed a day

So 1957 is the calorie goal I'm putting into My Fitness Pal (MFP).  Then I'll ignore the calories burned by my workout according to MFP and just aim for the 1957 unless I do some workout beyond Insanity that day.

Good news from the doctor

So, about 6 months ago I attempted to join the fitness center at work.  But I was thwarted by high blood pressure.  The blood pressure issue would likely be fixed by diet and exercise, but I needed a doctor's note to be allowed to exercise at the center.

My blood pressure at the time wasn't too bad, just a little elevated.  But I'm a Black Girl From the South (BGFtS - all rights reserved) thus pretty much everyone in my family over the age of 50 has some combination of high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and Type II Diabetes.  I wanted to fight this particular family tradition.

Late last year at the first appointment with this new doctor, I got the signed note to allow me to workout at the fitness center of my employer.  I've been to the work gym sporadically, but mostly I've been working out at home and occasionally going to some local gyms with friends.

The biggest thing has been working on my diet.  Apparently people of African descent are especially sensitive to sodium.  Ah well.

But, fast forward to 8 AM this morning (aaargh!  Practically middle of the night for a second-shift worker for myself!) and I've got the BP of a healthy person - 127/59.  Whoo-hoo!  BP is in mostly in check, I've not gained any weight (even though I *meant* to lose 10 pounds since the last check-up), and I'm cleared from doctor visits for another year unless something goes wonky.

Whoo-hoo!

Beyond the DVD player

Something I've noticed - folks that can stick to these kickin' Beachbody workouts often have an outside fitness-y reason why they're doing them.  I mean, yes, I can keep doing Insanity because I'm trying to get better at Insanity, but I might have an even more compelling "why" if it involves something beyond the workouts themselves.

Make sense?

I mean, I lost a good amount of weight before and have kept a decent chunk of it off, but really, my own vanity is not a compelling enough reason to eat well + exercise hard like I want to.

Anyway, I've never been an athlete.  I'm much more of a slug, frankly.  But I've been an at-home workout fan for years and years and years - back to high school after rehabbing my second hip injury.  But, other than my four years of marching band, I've never been one for physical activity.

I'm thinking I need to find an outdoor activity.  I'm a native Sandlapper (South Carolinian) so golf is always an option.  One of the local parks has beginner rock climbing classes so I might need to explore those.  I've also been interested in maybe pursuing a martial art.  I was thinking of trying to run a marathon, but someone in a podcast said that your body responds to the stress of running a marathon the same way it responds to being hit by a truck.  I may have to think about that goal a bit more.

Yes, I'm running the circuit of doing all the experimenting with extra-curriculars your average 8 year old does.  But better late than never when it comes to keeping my fitness up.

Let's do this again, shall we?

I visited my hometown this weekend.  I went to one of my fave greasy spoons from my youth - The Beacon Drive-In.

And one of the ladies who's been behind the counter for years recognized me.  That is a *bad* sign.  Yes, I probably went through stretches in junior high or high school where I'd eat at least a Hash Sandwich, heavy on the red and a small onion ring with a Beacon (Sweet) iced tea every 2 or 3 days.  But to be recognized after not going for years, holy crap I ate there more than I thought!

I had the same thing today, I can't even estimate the calorie count for that, but it's gotta be less than a Hash-A-Plenty - same sandwich served in a white cardboard takeout box & covered by a layer of onion rings covered by a layer of french fries.

It really is no wonder I was about 30 pounds heavier when I graduated high school.  Good grief.

But last night the roommate and I went to the gym and I broke a sweat for the first time in a while doing a 30 minute treadmill run.  Then I woke up bright and early today and redid my Day 2 of Insanity - Plyometric Cardio Circuit.

And I still *friggin* haaaaate the Level 1 Drills.  Darn my lack of upper body strength!  But it's gonna get better.

So, what had happened was....

I just finished Cardio Power & Resistance.  I should be on week 3, instead I'm on week 2.

No excuses - wasn't sick.  Had plenty of time.  Just lost my mojo.  As I *often* let happen around day 10.  Blurgh!

I had a friend who was visiting Atlanta.  I drove over to pick her up and we celebrated by eating 2 Egg Breakfasts (with hashbrowns for me) at Waffle House, then Palm Sunday services at a local church, then lunch at The Varsity (2 chili dog combo with onion rings for me).  And downhill from there.

It's easy for me to make the excuse that I don't want to subject friends to the inconvenience of my healthy eating and exercising patterns.

"My early morning workouts involve a lot of jumping.  I could wake them up."

"If I insist on finding restaurants with healthy options, it'll cut down on our happy-happy fun tiems together."

Bull.  Generally, other folks don't care all that much as long as I'm not being obnoxious about it.  Basically I've gotta learn new patterns of hanging out with my friends.  Scary thing - some friends won't like the new patterns and will resist and *I've* gotta figure out how I'm gonna respond.

So, I've gotta stick up for myself and the life I'm trying to live.  It's not like I'm gonna expect my friends to help me pay for my diabetes meds if I drive myself into a preventable illness because I'm trying to be a "gracious hostess."

Also, the net result of my downward slide - about 3 days of eating crap with abandon and then feeling like crap for another two days as my body tried to deal with processing all that.

Lessons learned:
- Figure out what I want, why I want it, and why it's worth the inconvenience and change of getting it.
- Realize that my friends want me to be happy.  And exercising and eating healthy stuff makes me happy and they're pretty accommodating when I ask them to be.
- Eating crap + not exercising = bad mood for ~days~ for Lisa P.

Motivational Moment

"Keep reminding yourself that you have tremendous reservoirs of potential within you, and therefore you are quite capable of doing anything you set your mind to. All you must do is figure out how you can do it, not whether or not you can. And once you have made your mind up to do it, it's amazing how your mind begins to figure out how." - Bob Proctor

Insanity Day 6 - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Second time with this workout - still not any easier!

Those friggin' Level 1 Drills - four push-ups, plank run, up & down, ski abs, in-and-out abs.  Yeah, kills me every blasted time.  Which is a good thing.  But I can't WAIT for my upper body to be strong enough for me to get good, deep push-ups all the way through that drill.  By the end I'm on my knees just hoping I don't plop down and smash in my nose!

But it's fast and ridic and I end up as a sweaty, snotty mess.  I love it!

Keeping up my committments (heh)

Before I started Insanity, I made some commitments to y'all and myself.

As you can see by my posting schedule, I've not kept them :(

But, here's what I have done, other than getting off schedule last night, I've done all my workouts on the day they were scheduled!  So 6 out of 7 days = cool beans!

I've finally got my Day 0 pictures (actually Day 3 since I had to wangle the roommate into taking them for me since my camera is busted).  They're in my email and I'll post them in a bit.  (Urgh.  Fat rolls, ahoy.)

I've been tracking my meals in my fave Android meal tracker app - MyFitnessPal.com.  I love that I can save my frequent meals and recipes and just plug them in.  I also love the social aspect; I joined because a friend was already on it and encouraged me to join in.  You can give kudos to people for meeting goals, connect with people's blog posts about their meals, and encourage folks who haven't logged in recently. My username is Lisaparker528 if you want to friend me.

I'm trying to figure out the way to copy the MyFitnessPal record into a blog post, once I do, that'll be one step removed instead of trying to re-type everything here.

It's not been a perfect start, but it's been a start.  Remember "Perfect is the enemy of DONE!"

Szechuan Black-Eyed Pea Salad - Awesome Recipe!

We're having a potluck at work and I was struggling to find a healthy, simple-to-prepare, hopefully crowd pleasing recipe.

But this is awesomesauce!  I just made it for the first time and I'm kinda chomping at the bit to make it again for myself!  Also, I'm not the world's biggest fan of beans or peas, but the sauce and the other elements cover up the black-eyed pea flavor so I barely notice them.  Also, Asian flavors for the win!

Szechuan Black-Eyed Pea Salad - Serves 6
- 2 14-oz cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
- 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
- 1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and finely minced (2 Tbsp)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp)
- 1 avocado, cut into cubes (1 cup)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Szechuan sauce (try to find a reduced-sodium variety)
- 1 Tbsp honey

Toss together black-eyed peas, bell pepper, onion, jalapeno pepper, and garlic in large bowl.

Toss avocado with lemon juice in separate bowl.  Add avocado to black-eyed pea mixture.

Whisk together oil, vinegar, Szechuan sauce, and honey in bowl used for avocado.  Toss black-eyed pea mixture with Szechuan sauce dressing.

For variation: try rolled in whole wheat tortillas, or serve over baby spinach that has been sauteed in a nonstick pan with veggie cooking spray or a touch of olive oil.

Motivational Moment

The best time to plant a tree was 100 years ago.  The second best time is today. - Chinese Proverb

Cardio Power & Resistance - Day 2 done!

I really liked this workout.  Yeah resistance exercises!  My bread and butter!  And body weight resistance - even better.  As much as I like hurling large dumbbells around, pushups and squats are always a killer.

I was a bit sore before bed last night.  Woke up this morning - was gloriously sore.  Not so much that I couldn't Dig Deeper today, but I could mos def tell I was forcing my body to do some new stuff.

That said, I'll be dang happy to do Cardio Recovery tomorrow.  My poor flat feet need a break! 

Insanity Day 0 + 1!

So, I did the Insanity Fit Test late last night (Sunday-ish into early Monday AM).  I was pleasantly surprised with my results:

Switch Kicks - 71
Power Jacks - 52
Power Knees - 110
Power Jumps - 33
Globe Jumps - 7
Suicide Jumps - 12
Push Up Jacks - 24
Low Plank Oblique - 36

And I did the first workout today (Monday) - Plyometric Cardio Circuit.

To paraphrase someone on the intertubez, there's that moment of horror when you realize you've been sweating like a fiend and you're outta breath and your heart is about to pound outta your chest...and then the warm-up ends and the workout really begins.  They really aren't kidding in the informercial about being soaked with sweat by the end of the warm-up.  I can testify to the truth of that.

A great thing about the workout is that the movements are deceptively simple.  "Of course I can jump like that for 3 minutes," I think.

No.  No, I can't.  But neither can the super-fit folks in the video.  Everyone's pushing to their own personal limit and beyond.  People are falling out on the floor all over the place.  I seriously haaaate that dang circuit with the 4 pushups, plank runs, jump up, ski abs and all that.  But in a few scant weeks when I turn 33, it'll be worth it to have earned my t-shirt and my new body.

Insanity is here!

::scary music plays in background::

I turn 33 in about 66 days (May 28th, if anyone's looking to give any gifts.)

That gives me just enough time to start, struggle through, and FINISH Insanity in time to celebrate another year around the sun.

And I'm flipping terrified.  I haaaaate cardio.  I'd rather lift weights all day long.  I also hate paying attention to my eating habits.  And if my nutrition is 80% of my physical results while workouts make up 20% of my results, I've gotta stop eating at Waffle House every night.

I know that working out at high intensity makes me reluctant to eat crap.  Struggling through a workout because I ate foulness the day before is closer to the instant feedback I need.  Ideally some alarm would go off in my body the second I open the wrapper on a Snickers mini bar.  But the next morning will have to do for now.

So my commitments:
- I'll post my Day 0 pictures and measurements here on LPO
- I'll post  after my workout everyday - maybe a full post, maybe a blurb, but something
- Which means I'll actually *DO* the workouts every day they're scheduled
- Since the hard part for me is not eating the crap, I'll also post what I eat - everything that crosses my lips from Day 1 - Day 60 (Egads!  Accountability!)

Let's do this thing!  Onward to 33!

Motivational Moment

'Whatever you can do, or dream, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it. Begin it now.' - Goethe

My Fitness Story

Okay - I've never been fit.  I was a round child who grew into a slightly-less round adult.

I'm also a Black girl from the South.  So...pretty much everyone in my family over the age of 50 is struggling with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, and the like.  I'm now 32, had a brief bout with high blood pressure myself, and decided to work on that.

At various points in my life I've been addicted to TV and Nutella.  Occasionally both at the same time.

When I was in 5th grade, I had surgery on my left hip: three screws put in to anchor the femur back into the socket.  Not a big deal.

Except for the fat rolls in the x-ray.  Urgh.  I was nearly my current full height of 5'9" and about 200 pounds.  Not cool.  Not cool at all.

So, I got interested in fitness as I was going through physical therapy.  I started using videos at home and I learned to love lifting heavy weights.  Dang I wish I could love cardio, and I'm trying my best.

So, if I've been working out for about 21 years why aren't I more fit?  First reason: I love food.  Around the same time as the hip surgery, I learned to cook.  I've practically burnt out a deep fryer from overuse, y'all.  I've made deep fried Twinkies multiple times.  Over the years I've been embracing healthier eating patterns.  Just because God gave us Krispy Kreme doughnuts, that doesn't mean I need to eat them every time the Hot light is on.

Second reason: I'm flamingly inconsistent.  I have great ~plans~ for exercising.  And I love it when I get into a routine.  But then I get frustrated, want instant results, get distracted, and fall off the wagon.  Or I get bored.  Doing the same thing day in and day out makes me bonkers.

But it's a journey, and I'm committed, and I'm sharing it with you all (gulp).  This is gonna be awesome - I can feel it!  No more short cuts - it's time for the long cut.