You can do it

I looked at my log sheet today and realized that I had plateaued.  So I decided to add 5lbs to every exercise.  It couldn't do it for all of them, but I could handle it for most of the exercises.  Push yourself.  You can do more than you think you can.

DAY 1: Deja Vu all over again

It feels really good to be back on track. Honestly, I had been eating like crazy and I was beginning to feel bad (I was losing the abs I had worked so hard to get in the first 90 days!). I was a little hungry before lunch but otherwise, I’m doing okay. I remember learning the first time that protein makes me feel less hungry. My weakness is dinner. It's almost an addiction for me to go out to eat dinner. It's my unwind time.

I’m wearing my heart rate monitor today and I’m going to try to wear it often because I find it very motivating. So far, I’ve burned 1895 calories and I’ve only eaten around 800! But like I said, dinner is my toughest meal.

DAY 1 is almost history. I'm in this now. I won't stop until Day 90 (which will be New Year's Eve!)

P90X diet

One of the biggest challenges I have noticed with the P90X diet so far is making sure I eat enough protein throughout the day. One thing that I have found that helps is eating Fage 0% total plain nonfat greek yogurt in the morning. The family size conatiner (2 servings of 1 cup each) has 23 g of protein per serving. Of course plain nonfat greek yogurt by itself = horrible so my mom gave my a smoothie recipe to try. Blend 1 cup of yogurt, ice, very small amount of skim milk, blueberries (or other fruit), and 2 tbsp of Nestle Chocolate No-Sugar Added Powder (1 serving = 35 cal). I also add some truvia sweetener to help sweeten it. I can drink this while I get ready for work....love it!

Everything old is new again

Ann and I did the first P90x DVD yesterday.  It was great to get back into the old routines.  I start looking forward to being sore the morning after the workout.  It lets me know I'm doing something.

Congrats to Jean and Charlotte for Surviving Chest and Back!

Yesterday morning Jean, Charlotte and I did the "Chest and Back" P90X workout. I think it's the toughest DVD for women because of all the pull ups. But these ladies were real troopers and did a great job!

See everyone tomorrow a.m. for INSANITY!
Amanda

How to lose a pound a week!

Christy had told us early on that one pound = 3500 calories. So what that meant was that every day I had to burn 500 more calories than I took in. In my case my goal was to burn 1700 calories and take in 1200 calories.

Christy and Peter turned me on to a heart rate monitor as a way to know how many calories I was burning. I was able to wear it discreetly under my clothes at work (and even shower in it) to get an accurate reading of my daily burn. It was a little addicting (kind of like P90X) but more importantly it was the minute-by-minute accountability I needed.

One other comment on nutrition - although 1200 calories is not a lot, I can't say that I was ever really hungry. Adding that much protein to my diet kept me feeling full. My struggles with diet was out of *want* not *need.* :)

My Nutrition Plan...

My goal was to take in 1200 calories and 100+ grams of protein a day. I thought the 100 grams of protein target was harder than the calorie target. You're really supposed to take in 1-1.5 grams of protein for every pound you weigh so clearly I wasn't taking in the recommended amount of protein but it was still a lot versus my normal diet.

I kept a journal and wrote down EVERYTHING I ate. I tracked on a huge wall calendar my daily intake of calories and protein and my daily weight. (and like a real nerd, I graphed it in excel.)

BREAKFAST: Most days I ate a protein bar for breakfast. I had to be careful not to eat a protein bar that was too high in calories. I prefer the Atkins protein bar that is 140 calories and 10 grams of protein. Or the Special K protein bar (not what you see in the breakfast bar section) for 200 calories and 17 grams of protein.

LUNCH: I had a peanut butter (JIF natural) sandwich for 195 calories and 9.5 grams of protein which includes the bread too. And I have a Chobani yogurt which is 140 calories and 14 grams of protein.

SNACKS: I ate a lot of almonds! 160 calories and 6 grams of protein for 1/4 cup.

DINNER: I ate a lot of grilled chicken, green beans, deli ham baked in the oven with cheese, egg whites and turkey bacon, boca burgers.

My favorite meal to eat out...Ted's Montana Grill...bison meatloaf (no gravy), green beans and squash casserole for 600 calories and 64 grams of protein.

SHAKES: I tried tom drink a shake 5 days a week. I preferred mine with skim milk. Powder was 110 calories and 27 grams of protein. Milk was 135 calories and 12 grams protein (that's for 12 ounces of milk.) anyone who wants to taste the chocolate protein powder I use is more than welcome. We all referred something slightly different.

CHEATING: other than a few singular days over the course of the 90-day period, I didn't cheat. I highly recommend sticking with the program. Day 60 was when I realized I was going to LOVE my results if I could just stay the course.

If you have any other questions about nutrition, just ask! It was the hardest adjustment I had to make for the program, but clearly had the biggest impact on my results!