Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Sickness Reigns

Ohhhh man....

I hate being sick. A lot. I turn into a serious weakling!

My throat is burning, my nose is stuffy, it hurts to swallow...bleh.

Okay, enough moping.

I missed Yoga yesterday. Big surprise though, since I'm not feeling well. And the whole I hate the Yoga DVD thing. This morning, I did the Ab Ripper DVD and half of Core Synergistics - it was too hard to breathe so I had to stop. But I did like the workout. The only thing is that I really need to get myself some push up bars. My wrist makes it impossible for me to do anything like a push up in good form.

On the food front, I found a hummus that I looooooove. It's artichoke and garlic and so tasty!

I think I'll go eat some right now...

Until tomorrow...

Monday, May 24, 2010

New workout week!

Sorry I haven't written for a while. Friday's are crazy busy at work because I usually have a short day from working longer than 8 hour days the rest of the week, but there is just as much work to do in 6 or 4 hour day!!
I missed last thursday's Yoga session. I just couldn't do it. I tried to motivate all day and couldn't bring myself to face that hour and a half of h-e-double hockey sticks. Instead, I cuddled on the couch with The Boyfriend and watched movies. It was exactly what I needed!

Friday's Legs & Back was awesome - I woke up super sore the next day because I added my 5 pound weights to the moves where weight was suggested. Ouch! But the soreness is so good- it means somthing's happening in there!

Saturday's Kenpo was pretty normal - I made it through fine and didn't get sore. I think it's the easiest of the DVD's, but that's because I've been doing Cardio kickboxing since January.

On Sunday, The Boyfriend and I went to visit my mom. We had a good time, I took them out to lunch, and we got to chat for a while. I also picked up her old yoga blocks and a chin-up bar! Yay! Thanks, Mom!

I am so ecited for this new part of P90X. I get to add some new DVD's, and it's called a rest week, which is just perfect because I caught The Boyfriend's cold.

The part I'm NOT excited about is that not only do I have Yoga tonight, I've got it on Saturday, too! They're trying to kill me. I am looking forward to trying out the Core Synergistics DVD tomorrow though. I can't tell from the name whether it will be a calm, stretching DVD like X Stretch, or something more like Yoga but centered on the core. I'll find out tomorrow!

I won't peek ahead because I like surprises. Also, if I peek and don't like the look of it, I won't do it. I know myself. So, the DVD's stay unwatched until I come to them!

Yesterday was a little funny in the fodo department. The Boyfriend, my mom and I went out and grabbed some burgers for lunch. They were pretty tasty, but the fries stole the show. I didn't order any, but wound up picking off of both of my date's plates. Yum!

Then, The Boyfriend's mom made burgers for dinner! Burger overload! But...she made a few spicy lamb burgers. I normally wouldn't try them - they sound a little far outside my comfort zone - but since I'd already had a normal burger for lunch, I figured I'd give the lamb burger a shot. And it was good!! The Boyfriend stayed inside his comfort zone and inhaled politely nibbled on his regular burger.

Then we both went to bed and crashed since we were sick. Boo.

I don't know what I'm in the mood for tonight. Something simple because neither of us feels like cooking. And something soothing...but not soup. I don't like soup.

Hmm.


Until tomorrow...

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Thursday...almost there!

Last night was the first night I did the P90X Shoulders and arms DVD because I have been doing my own workout at the gym and then heading to kickboxing. But, since I'm trying to baby my legs as much as possible, I skipped kickboxing and headed home to give the DVD a shot.

I loved it! There are some great moves on that DVD, and I am definitely feeling it today, even though I stuck with 5 lb weigts throughout the whole the routine. I do not have great upper body strength and I wanted to make it through the entire DVD, plus....I only own 5 lb weights!! So there wasn't much of an option...

We had the yummy Turkey Delights with Tomato soup last night, and good thing too because The Boyfriend wasn't feeling very well. He's been cramming a lot lately, and you know how your body always fends off illness until after your final? Well, same thing with him. But he says he's feeling a little better this morning, so hopefully he stays that way!

Tonight, we've decided we want breakfast for dinner. Brinner!!

I'm going to make pancackes and eggs, and sausage for The Boyfriend. I don't eat Pig. Except to be polite in social settings. And no, I'm not Jewish, but it is a long story involving the movie Babe and a stuffed pig my father gave me when I was a baby...all resulting in the fact that I don't like the idea of eating pig, and never developed a taste for it so I don't enjoy eating it.

Or if I do, it is a rare, rare occasion.

Tonight it's the dreaded YOGA...boo...I'm not even close to motivated to do it, but I'm going to.

Because it's good for me.

I guess.

Or so I'm told.

Not that I believe it.

Anyways...Next Monday I get to start a new weekly routine, because that means I am in week 4 and almost done with my first month of P90X. The Monday after that I will weigh myself and take measurements, because I'm guessing that's where the big results come into play.

So...wish me luck with Yoga!!

Until tomorrow...

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Rushed

Man I feel so pressed for time today. My list of things to do at work expanded from 3 to 9 today - and these are not "I'll get it done in the next hour" tasks. These are all 'Take a least a day - or maybe a month" tasks. Whew! At least I've got job security for a while!

Last night was Plyo and it actually went pretty well, aside from my shin muscles. And no, these are not shin splints. I had those in high school was I was in track and this is nothing like it. It feels like I pulled the muscles - so I had to be careful with all the jumping around. But, I did all right, considering!!

The Boyfriend helped with dinner last night! He made some delicious delicious delicious chicken with all sorts of yummy spices and lemon and butter. YUM. We also had Annie's mac & cheese and I steamed some asparagus. All around, not a bad meal at all!

Tonight it's Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper - really looking forward to it. I'm skippin kickboxing again because of my legs. I refuse to stop working out altogether, but I can definitely reduce the amount of strain I put on them!

We're having grilled turkey sandwiches (aka turkey Delights) and tomato soup (low sodium, of course) for dinner. The weather is crappy and I'm tired so it's an easy, delicious meal to make. Added bonus - I don't have to go grocery shopping on the way home! The Boyfriend took care of that for me, too!

Until tomorrow...

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Ho Hum

So last night I felt pretty blah about everything...

Blah to Ab Ripper X (It's true. I felt blah and sore all at the same time. Very confusing.)

Blah to Chest & Back. Blah to me not being able to do all of Chest & Back thanks to my lack of gear.

Blah to my shower which was the perfect temperature of Blah.

Blah to the dinner I made, which was grilled Chicken, Steamed Veggies and Brown Rice. Healthy, yes. Tasty, actually, yes (except the rice). Exciting? No. Exhillerating? No. Something I enjoy eating every single night (Like pizza or pasta or anything with some sort of sauce or cheese. Or chocolate.)? No.

See? BLAH.

I'm hoping to get it together today. I've got Plyo tonight so I'd better! It's not something I'd like to do half-heartedly. It requires commitment! It is an hour of toture after all.

And dinner tonight better shape up too. I'll have more time to do it, and The Boyfriend will be home to keep me entertained so I don't watch my trashy girly shows like Housewives of NYC and 16 & Pregnant.

What should I make? I'm free of chicken unless I want to buy more.

Steak? No...

Fish? Gross...

Shrimp? Maybe...maybe a stir-fry?

Chicken? Always a possibility.

Turkey? Wouldn't even know what to do with it...

I do have some delicious strawberries and some vanilla yogurt for dessert, so the most important part is covered. :)

I'll figure something out.

Until tomorrow...

Monday, May 17, 2010

New Car



Here she is.....

(drum roll, please)

MY BRAND NEW CAR!!!!!


Isn't she pretty?


Weekend Adventures

Sorry it's been so long. I became distracted and felt like taking a weekend of neglecting responsibilities! So I did.

Let's see if I can remember everything that's happened since last Thursday.

Hmmmm....

Thursday's Yoga session went better, but I still hated it. It's because I'm not good at it. I wobble and fall and don't have the strength to raise myself into certain poses - it's kind of discouraging, but I know that's onyl because I like to be good at things AS SOON AS I start them. Seriously. Drove my mom crazy when I was a kid!

Friday's Leg & Back was tough - remember I couldn't finish last week due to some family things? Well I finished this week and boy oh boy! There are some hard things! It did make me realize how badly I need a chin up bar - the entire back portion of the DVD was done on a chin up. Okay, I exaggerated a little - but not much. I need one ASAP. And Ab Ripper was extra hard having just done legs!! But I made it through and made us some yummy shish kabobs and brown rice for dinner!! Yay healthy!

Saturday...Saturday...Saturday...What happened on Saturday?

Oh yeah.

A man leapt in front of my BRAND NEW CAR on the FREEWAY.

Oh yes. You read that correctly.

Let me start from the beginning.

I was off to a lovely breakfast with my mom so she could meet my new car. Halfway there on the free, there is a man walking on the side of the road. Obviously, he is a crazy person, because he decides that the best way to get me to slow down and let him into my car is to jump in front of me while I am careening towards him at 70 miles an hour. Thank GOD I was in my new car and my brakes were a week old rather than 23 years old. I would have smashed him in my old car, I'm sure of it.

He stood there, shirtless, holding his hand up like "Look, I hurt my hand, please let me in your car."

Yeah, right.

While I was parked on the freeway and traffic continued to flow around us, the man may have noticed he was being a crazy person. Maybe it was the fact that I was staring at him in complete shock. Either way, he sauntered off to the side of the road, still talking to me (I had my windows up so I have no idea what he was saying, but by the look on his face he was begging me to take pity on him.), and I was able to drive safely away.

And call the police. What if he had jumped out in front of someone with less reliable brakes or a slower reaction time? He'd probably be dead, the people in the car would be injured and traumatized for LIFE, and there may have been others involved as well. They said they would send someone to pick him up. I sure hope they found him.

To whoever was driving behind me, thank you. Thank you for paying attention to your surroundings and having a quick enough reaction time to stop after I slammed on my brakes, succesfully keeping yourself from crumpling the end of my new car and possibly injuring both of us. Thank you for keeping your car in good condition so you and I can count on your brakes to keep us safe. Thank You.

I'm glad I was going to see my mom - it was great to get a Mom Hug after I almost ran over a crazy.

When I got home, I took Bear for an hour walk and did my Kenpo DVD, which is growing on me. It seems easy enough, but I am always plastered in sweat when I finish.

On Sunday, I took the day off, except for a quick walk with The Boyfriend and Bear and The Boyfriend's sister and The Dog That Hates Bear (aka Sydney. She only hates him when there are people around.) in the sunshine and had a delicious dinner while watching the Survivor finale.

Any Survivor fans?

I HATE Russell. That man is evil and needs to go contaminate some other planet with his vileness.

Let's see.

Tonight I have Chest and Back, Cardio Kickboxing and Ab Ripper X. I'm looking forward to class, but the muscles along my shins are still hurting! I don't want to give up class, even for a week or two, but I may need to in order to heal. I'll see how it goes...but man do they hurt!!

I'm thinking of making something with chicken tonight...imagine that! It's my favorite meat. Hmmm.

I'm feeling adventurous, but kind of thinking I may end up grilling the chicken and steaming some veggies because it's SO easy and Monday's are rough in the time department. Class gets over at 6:30, then shopping, usually home by 7:30, 16 minutes of Ab Ripper, about 15 minutes to shower and put clothes on...that puts us at 8 before I even START cooking. And, The Boyfriend has softball on Monday nights so he can't usually take over the cooking duties.

It's complicated. Welcome to life, Jessi. Welcome to life.

Also, I plan on weighing myself tonight, so I'll be able to tell you if my hard work has paid off at all yet.

Until tomorrow...

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Puppy Love and an Injury

So, I know I haven't spoken about him yet, but The Boyfriend and I have a puppy. This puppy is named Bear, and he is absolutely the most adorable dog anyone has ever seen in the world. And I'm not at all biased.

Bear is also my child. He is my Little Mister - quickly becoming my Little Mister Man, which I don't like nearly as much, but I guess as a parent I'll have to deal with the whole growing up thing. Why couldn't he stay so small I could pick him up and snuggle him forever? Hmm??

No but really, he's a cutie, and I'm obviously smitten by him.

HOWEVER.

He loves to play. More than anything in the whole world, except for maybe food, and if he could figure out a way to be eating while running circles around us at warp speed with something he's not supposed to have (like a sock, a piece of firewood larger than his head or a toy he has stolen from The Boyfriend's Mom's elderly dog who despises him), he would be in Bear Heaven.

Apparently, me laying on the ground doing Ab Ripper X also means play time. And by play time, I mean lay down underneath my legs while I'm doing the scissor, drop a slobbery ball on my stomach during Crunchy Frog (and then try and retrieve it which involves gumming my arms, my thighs, my stomach, and anything else that is NOT his ball), attack my hands during the leg climber, and jump over me a few times during the oblique V-ups, then lay down, exhausted, as close as he possibly can to me and turn his head to stick his slobber ball in my face.

All in all, a successful workout. For Bear.

On to the injury.

It must have happened during Plyo, because I remember being a little sore afterwards. But it all begins yesterday at the gym I was lifting away, doing great at my arms & shoulders lifting, then looked at the clock and saw it was time to stretch for Kickboxing. During stretching, the muscle that runs along the inside of my shin felt a little tight. I didn't even know there was a muscle there!

So, from the very first move in class, those muscles proceeded to hurt, twinge and get more and more tender. By the end of class, I was basically only moving my upper body. And then I limped my way through the grocery store and home.

After the limping and "playing" with Bear, I made a fabulous dinner. That chicken I thought up yesterday (because obviously I'm the only one in the world who has thought to stuff chicken with mozzarella, mushrooms, spinach and basil. Duh.) turned out super-amazing-fantastic. I brushed it with olive oil and vinegar, and diced up some garlic and sprinkled it on top. It was superb.  If I do say so myself. I made 4 breasts, so The Boyfriend and I could have an amazing lunch, too. I'm REALLY looking forward to lunch!! We had a salad, too, so there's chicken and salad for lunch. Yum. :)

Tonight it's Yoga again... :( Although that may be good since I appear to have injured a muscle that I didn't know I had. And who knows what's for dinner - I'll just have to get inspired :)

Until tomorrow...

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Things I need

Through looking through different blogs, and my personal experience with P90X, I've decided I need a few things. I'm hoping that writing it down will inspire me to actually DO something about these needs...

1. Food Processor (So I can make Frozen Banana Ice Cream, which looks SO good!)

2. Chin-up Bar

3. Push-up Bars

4. Resistance Bands

5. Small set of low weight weights

6. New shoes with better ankle support and padding in the sole...plyo kills...

So. There it is. Now it's up to me to get on it!!

Plyo Once More

Last night I had Ply-ouch-metrics again. I was really not looking forward to jumping around for the next hour of my life, but I calmed myself, took a deep breath, and hit play. It's good for me. My belly is going to go away!

And I was surprised!

Since I knew what I was in for, I didn't go all-out-extreme-hard-core-super-tough-intense at first, which I think was my mistake last time. Instead, I reserved my energy, swallowed my pride, and did some modified moves in the beginning. It really helped! I think the last week of exercise helped a bit, but I know that I made the real difference in that work out. I was proud of myself! Wow!

I did do one naughty thing though...

I skipped the stretching at the end. I just right on to Ab Ripper. I know, I know, and with flexibility being my weakest point, how could I skip it? I was feeling pressed for time. It was already 7:30ish and I still had to finish Ab Ripper, shower and make dinner for a starving boyfriend who was going to be coming home soon. So, I skipped it. Sue me.

Anyways, I know now why they don't assign Ab Ripper after Plyo...my legs were so dead and heavy I could barely do the beginning moves! I had to modify, modify, modify...I could barely do the scissor move (which is SO easy!). So, lesson learned. I did make it through the whole disc though. Yay me :)

Dinner was okay...I had some chicken that seemed like it was on it's way out (turns out, it was...after I cooked it we tried it and had to through it out...better safe than sorry!), a box of organic mac & cheese and I steamed some asparagus. I actually really liked the asparagus steamed! I've been trying to bake it in the oven, which has not been going well for me.

Tonight I'm on my own for dinner, The Boyfriend has ground school and a night flight tonight so he won't be home until 11-11:30 pm. I'll be sleeping by then!

I'm actually craving a salad...and veggies. Maybe I'll finish off the asparagus, make a salad. What else? I've been thinking of maybe making some stuffed chicken breast...like spinach and mushroom basil mozzarella or something. MMMmmmm that sounds good. SOLD!

I'm glad we had this discussion.

Tonight it's shoulders & arms, cardio kickboxing & Ab Ripper, then grocery shopping. Late dinner again!

Until tomorrow...

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Oops...

So I failed at being any sort of  healthy yesterday.

But that's okay because...

I got my car! It's absolutely perfect - everything I could have asked for. It's quite the story, actually. At least, I like it!

So it goes like this. On Saturday, The Boyfriend and I pull up to the dealership a little before my appointment time. I'm working with the salesman who sells cars to the company I work for (which means he had a lot more business to lose than mine if he was mean or rude or anything!). Turns out that wasn't a problem at all. His card says it all - Nicest Car Salesman in the World. Seriously, his card says that. And he truly is. I'd go back and buy a car from him in a heartbeat, and recommend him to anyone else who asked.

He let me test drive car after car after car - I drove for about 3 hours! Then sat me down and gave me a lot of information about the car I liked best, a Toyota Matrix, which is the one I came into the dealership wanting anyways! I just never thought I could afford one. On introducing us to his sales manager, he called us the "Lithia Toyota Power Couple" - turns out, The Boyfriend's Dad's company buy all their Toyota's from the same guy. I walked out of the dealership that day feeling absolutely no pressure, which was so nice.

The next day, Mother's Day, we went back to get a little more information, and I wound up signing papers to get a car! It was at another dealer, so I had to wait until yesterday to get it, but that was fine with me. I got a screamin' deal thanks to my wonderful salesman,an awesome rebate for being a recent college grad, and a great deal as far as financing goes. As in - 0% financing for 5 years. SWEET.

So yesterday, I needed to bring all sorts of paperwork in, proof of residence, proof of insurance, title to the car I was trading in, $$$ for the down payment, and, my diploma.

Now, I graduated last June. I got my nice diploma holder at graduation, went home, and moved a few months later. I packed that nice holder neatly into a little box with my cap and gown, and there they stayed until we moved AGAIN, this time putting everything into storage, including my grad box.

So, here was my plan. Get off work at 4, head to the storage unit, find the box which I clearly remembered putting in the storage unit, head home to clean out the car I was trading, and be at the dealer ship by 5.

4:00 - Leave work and arrive seconds later at the storage unit. It's so convenient!

4:27 - 1st call to salesman to tell him I'm having a little trouble finding the box with my diploma so I'll be a little late for my appointment.

4:28 - Called The Boyfriend in tears and asked him to come home from work and help me find the box - which clearly was NOT in the storage unit because by then I had torn through the space like a tornado trying to find it.

4:45 - The Boyfriend arrives and starts asking rational questions, like, "Could the little grad box be inside another box?" Answer: "ABSOLUTELY NOT. I would remember something like that." So I leave to head home and start cleaning the car while he searches the unit.

5:00 - Find the notebook in which I wrote down the contents of every numbered box.

Box 11 -  Grad Box.

5:00:37 - Called The Boyfriend and asked him to please look inside Box 11. Thank goodness he is such a nice person - he didn't rub it in my face even a little bit. Just said "Sure babe, I'll be home soon." I love him.

5:20 - The Boyfriend arrives with beautiful diploma holder in hand. He walks over to me and opens it. No diploma. WHAT?!?!?!?! Apparently I needed to ask for it to be sent to me, or something. But there is a nice little letter from the President's office with the date and year, so I think I'm good.

5:30 - We finish cleaning out the car and I hop in to head to the dealer. Of course, the battery is dead. So, we start the process of jumping it.

5:55 - 2nd call to salesman "I'm on my way..."

6:25 - I make it to the dealership for my 5:00 appointment to buy my dream car.

6:45 - The salesman walks outside to evaluate my car. I hold my breath. He comes back in "Is there a special way to start your car or am I just being dumb?" I walk outside, turn the key - nothing. The battery died. Awesome.

The story does have a happy ending though. I got my car, The Boyfriend made it to his softball game on time, played well, we ordered pizza just under the wire for when our favorite place closes, went home and watched an episode of Chuck while chowing down. Not healthy, not healthy at all, but so satisfying after such a stressful afternoon and evening. There's no way I was going to cook dinner at 10:00 at night.

But tonight is a different story. I have Ply-ouch-metrics again, and I'm going to do an Ab Ripper X Make up if I feel up to it. Then a healthy dinner, HEALTHY I say, and hopefully to bed at a reasonable hour. I've been tired lately.

Until tomorrow...

Monday, May 10, 2010

Big News

So...Big News. I wish I could say 'It's a miracle, I lost 20 lbs overnight and can now eat whatever I want with no repercussions!" Alas, that is not my Big News.

I bought a car! It's my dream car...I never thought it would be something I could afford, but it turns out that with a little luck, some power behind me, and a relatively substantial down payment...I got it! YAY! I pick it up today.

Which means...no kickboxing for me tonight. So I will do as much of the Chest & Back DVD I can without a chin up bar (in the process of ordering) and push up bars (I have a funky wrist, so pushups are ridiculously hard for me, plus my form is terrible.) or bands. I will proably add in the Kenpo DVD, since it's low impact but fun. And of course, Ab Ripper X!

Yesterday was Mother's Day, which means I overindulged on free champagne and the breakfast buffet, which included dessert! But that's okay. Constantly watching what I eat and how much really frustrates me, whichs makes me want to rebel and eat a huge bar of chocolate (Green & Blacks Organic Chocolate - Toffee. So. Good.), which then makes me feel guilty so I eat nothing but salad for a week. Kind of.

It's a viscious cycle. I guess I would classify myself as an emotional eater - I definitely eat crappier food when I'm feeling down (I like to call it "comfort food!"). And then I feel crappy for having eaten the crappy food. So I eat more crappy food. It's crappy.

I'm trying to break the cycle. Heck, if The Boyfriend and I feel lazy about dinner, I'm fine with ordering pizza. I know that one pizza wont make me expand into a Veruca Salt-sized human being. I know we eat well overall, a few indulgences just keeps us sane!!! Sanity is good.

That's all easy to say here - I can feel powerful and in control. But when life hits, sometimes it's a lot harder. But I'm trying to stay positive!

Which is tough with all this rain! Although I am a BIG fan of rain, I have my limits. I do appreciate it holding off until after Mother's Day brunch yesterday, but today it's gloomy.

So, tonight I have my car to look forward to, Ab Ripper X, a mix of DVDs and who knows? Maybe a celebratory dinner out with The Boyfriend.

Until tomorrow...

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Half-way Friday

So last night was supposed to be Legs and Back & Ab Ripper X...that didn't happen. I got maybe 20 minutes into the legs and back DVD before family matters called me away from the workout. By the end of the matter, I was so hungry I'd gotten a headache and my stomach was grumbling so the workout was abandoned for food.

The Boyfriend and I went out to dinner with his mom and sister, since we all happened to be together and hungry. We had a delicious meal and a lot of fun together. I'm so lucky that he has such a great family who love and accept me! We didn't get home until late, so I decided to call it good on the exercising for the day. I knew I had Kenpo X to take care of today, so why stay up super late just to finish a disc.

I have flipped my way through the Kenpo DVD, and I'm kind of disappointed in it. I was expecting something similar to my Kickboxing class, but it doesn't seem to be very high intensity. I'm SURE it's harder than it looks though! And I'm going to add in the Ab Ripper, since my stomach is my main goal anyways!!

I'll let you know how my first weekend workout goes.

Until tomorrow...

Friday, May 7, 2010

Chocolate Attack

Ohhhhh man...

MAJOR munchie alert. And it's for my arch nemesis (and bestest best friend) chocolate. I am a huge chocoholic. I personally believe it doesn't get much worse than me. I've been know to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies and eat all the batter before it's cooked...eat an entire batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (with help from my roommate, of course. Like 3 cookies in her belly. 30 in mine.)...down a pint of Haagen Dazs White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle ice cream...eat 2 king size Snickers and go back for a box of dark chocolate covered raisins (Thanks, Blockbuster. Thanks a lot.)...eat half a chocolate cake...the list of embarrasments goes on and on...and on...and on...(♪♫ strangers, waiting, up and down the boulevard ♫♪)

I'm hoping the writing about it will help curb the craving for stuff like this...







I wish I could bathe in this stuff...Why can't chocolate be the new super food?

Yoga...sheesh!

Holy cow.

I've never felt more like quitting and curling up into a pudgy pile of failure goo than I did with the Yoga X workout last night. Thank goodness for the boyfriend - I kept yelling that I wanted to quit (starting at about the 15 minute mark. The workout is an hour and a half.) and he kept telling me not to. My hero!

I'm a perpetually unflexible person. Seriously. I've never been able to bend down and touch my toes in my life. No lie. So after 15 minutes of Downward Dog merging into various poses, I was seriously ready to quit. Seriously. But I stuck with it. I actually felt a little nauseous after...maybe I worked harder than I thought!

And this morning...oh man! My shoulders are SOOOO sore. Stupid Downward Dog.

I was really looking forward to the Yoga, like I said yesterday. One of my shouted complaints to the boyfriend was "This isn't stretching! It's very slow exercising!" Which is true. I was under the impression that yoga was just a serious of stretches - WRONG! It's a serious of stretches - true - while holding all of your weight on one foot and balancing with your body twisting like a pretzel. I know how they feel know - the pretzels - tortured.

On a lighter note, I went to a friend's art show last night with the boyfriend and his mom. It was amazing! Kudos to her - she is an incredble photographer. I was so proud!

After, we went and had a pretty awesome dinner. I had a salad and pesto pasta - not the healthiest choice, AGAIN, but I order the smaller portion and only ate about half. The salad had actually filled me up!

Tonight I've got Legs & Back and Ab Ripper X. It's almost the end of my first week of P90X and I've made it through everything so far, no matter how badly I wanted to quit. I'm proud of myself! Not something I've felt in relation to fitness in a long time. It's a nice feeling.

So, until tomorrow...

Thursday, May 6, 2010

So sore

Ouch.

Today is a full body soreness I haven't felt in a while. I've got the 2nd day soreness coming in from Plyo on Tuesday, and a whole lot of sore coming from my upper body workout last night.

I actually had fun doing it - I made my own little sets using 3 machines and then tried to do between 15 and 30 reps at each maching before moving on to the next. I did each set 3 times. It was like a fun little game!

The negatives of last night were that I only made it to the halfway point of kickboxing before heading home. My legs were just too sore to fully complete the moves, and I could tell that if I kept going I would pay for it today in both my muscles and in terms of exhaustion.

Plus, yesterday was Cinco de Mayo! After class, I had to run to the store to get ingredients for Chicken Fajitas, one of my favorite things to make. I haven't made them since college, when my best friend (and roommate) lived off of them.

When I arrived at home, I still had the Ab Ripper X DVD to do, so I busted that out, with only a slight interruption by my dog getting sick only a foot away from my head. Nice. So, pause, clean, play. Then a delicious, delicious warm shower to soothe my muscles and cleanse my body. It was great, but short. I still had to cook after all!

My fajitas turned out great. The boyfriend helped me by cutting up the chicken while I cut the veggies (peppers, mushrooms and onion), add a little oil to veggies, let 'em cook, squeeze in half a lime on both the chicken and the veggies, and some spice, put on a can of refried black beans, and wa la! Tasty chicken fajitas. I LOVED them. I think I needed everything in that meal - protein, vitamins from the veggies, and the carbs. I need to keep myself in check though - rich dinners two nights in a row! Tonight I'm thinking maybe a grilled chicken salad. I might even branch out and try fish, although I've never made it before in my entire life. No joke. I'm not a fan! Maybe shrimp? I'll figure out something that's healthy, light and filling.

Tonight it's Yoga X, the longest DVD and from what I hear, really intense yoga. But I'm looking forward to it. Flexibility is not my strong suit, so this will help. Plus, it will almost be like a nice recovery day!

Until tomorrow...

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Ply-ouch-metrics

Whew! Until last night, the only experience I've had with Plyometrics is a set of 30 jump-back, jump-forward, wave your arms in a big circle while jumping-ies, halfway through kickboxing. Let me tell you - almost an hour of Plyo kills!

I couldn't finish all the sets, usually stopping about 3 seconds before the end of our 30 second rep. I know, I know, what's 3 seconds out of 30? A LOT. My body just literally could NOT do it anymore. I did make it through the whole DVD though! Next time, I'll be better! :)

This morning, my calves, thighs, back and even my arms are sore! All good sore, though...all good. Tonight, it's kickboxing, and before hand, I'm works my shoulders and arms, which is what the DVD would have been. When I get home, it's time for Ab Ripper X, then dinner.

Speaking of dinner, last night my lovely boyfriend and I made delicious mushroom swiss burgers. I had avocado on mine, too. Definitely NOT the healthiest dinner we've ever made, but boy were they tasty! Considering our ingredients, though, they definitely could have been worse for us! A half pound of 90% lean beef (literally! I could barely finish!), Safflower mayo, sugar free ketchup (basically just smashed up tomatoes, not my favorite, but hey, what are you gonna do?), organic mustard, organic lettuce, and a side of organic baked beans...MMMmmmm. I did make a salad to go along with, but it was just too much food! The salads were converted into lunch for today.

So, off I go to work, sore but happy.

Until tomorrow...

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Hello, world.

In an attempt to actually hold myself to my new exercise regime, I'm attempting a blog. I know, how original. But hey, if it works, it works.

To begin, here's a little back story.

All throughout high school, my only contribution to the round tables of negative body image conducted by my friends was the fact that my butt was too small. I was a runner (I say that, but really, I only ran Freshman and Sophomore year), and really could eat whatever I wanted.

What I wanted, mostly, was sweets and carbs. Thus began my demise.

When college began, I was on my own for nutrition. I actually did okay for myself - I worked in the cafeteria and after seeing exactly what went into the food they were serving, I was loathe to put it into my body. I stuck to cereal for breakfast, a salad or sandwich for lunch and usually was at a friends house for dinner, so whatever poor college kid meal we could put together, which usually consisted of pizza or some kind of pasta. Let's face it - Top Ramen.

After that, it was a 4-year downhill slide into pudginess. At first, I loved the weight I was gaining. I had boobs! A butt! HIPS! My pants fit correctly, I was filling out shirts with the best of 'em, and to be frank, had my fair share of boys looking at me with new eyes! I felt sexy. I was curvy and thin and fit and LOVING it. After a while, I met my amazing boyfriend and we began the journey to fitness together. And boy did we succeed! I was in the best shape of my life and still felt sexy, because some of the fat I had gained stuck around in the appropriate areas.

Then, I got lazy. I had a good body, a great boyfriend, why work at it anymore? It would all just stay the same, right?

Wrong.

After a year...a year and a half...almost two years out of the gym, I finally sulked my way back to the gym in loose clothing, embarrased to be seen there with a belly and cellulite (gasp!) starting to congeal at the top of my thighs.

Previously, I was a religous stationary bike rider. I loved it, I would just sit down, turn on my iPod, crack open my book, set my legs on autopilot and poof! My hour was gone and I had burned a ton of calories.

For some reason, that didn't work for me anymore. But I did find one thing that did. My local YMCA offers a Cardio Kickboxing class with a fantastic, energetic, fun teacher. So, I dedicated myself to an hour Mondays and Wednesdays. And I left it at that. 3 months later, I find myself still enjoying class, and constantly improving my abilities, but with very little results. Imagine that!

So, here's my new goal. P90X - How that came about will be explained later - mixed with my kixkboxing. By that I mean, since yesterday was Monday, I did kickboxing. Today, I'm sticking with the P90X schedule and rocking the Plyometrics DVD. Tomorrow, I'll do kickboxing again, plus the Ab Ripper X DVD. I usually do upper body lifting before class anyways, so I will just concentrate on the areas I would be working on the DVDs. Not as intense, I know, but a comprise to keep me interested.

So, here's my starting info. Limited, I know - I plan on taking measurements but haven't been able to face the tape yet. I'm 5'4", and yesterday I weighed in at 140 1/2 lbs. My clothes don't fit. And I am REALLY looking forward to this life change.

REALLY.

Until tomorrow...

It's about time.