Kiss My Rut Goodbye

I've been in a rut lately. I don't really know why because I should be super happy. My life is great, I just got a promotion at work and I have a wonderful family. But for some reason I've just been feeling BLAH, especially when it comes to working out. I guess you've already figured out by the lack of P90X posts that I did not complete my 90 days as desired. Part of me feels like a failure for not sticking with it but another part of me understands that it is okay. It isn't the end of the world and I still own the videos so I can just start again.

Yesterday I kissed my exercise rut goodbye. Perhaps I underestimated the affect that running has on me and how I may need it to stabilize my moods. My new plan is to alternate running with the P90X workouts. The main benefit of the P90X workouts is that if you follow the plan your muscles stay "confused" and therefore get more out of the workouts. Adding in runs and spacing out the workouts won't affect this aspect of the program and it will help me maintain a better attitude.

I also realized that I eat horribly. I know I'm not the worst but my eating habits are pretty terrible. If I ever want to achieve that fat loss that I claim to want then I am really going to have to do a better job of sticking with a healthy eating lifestyle. Not a diet, I need to change my mentality and just improve the way I eat overall. Damn those delicious, unhealthy foods that always tempt me.

I went for a run yesterday and while it wasn't as long or as fast as I would have liked it felt great. I shortened it because about a mile and a half into it a crazy downpour started and I was soaked to the bone so I decided to turn back before I got struck by lightening or a tree branch fell on my head. Even though the rain cut my run short, I felt like it was cleansing for my soul. My desire to do and be better is renewed and now I'll work even harder to achieve my goals.

BodyBugg

I'm thinking about getting a BodyBugg or at least trying one out. I think the gym I go to has something where you can rent one for a month so I'm going to look into how much that costs. If you've never heard of the BodyBugg, it measures your caloric output to help you accurately estimate what your caloric intake should be in order for you to lose weight.

I know, I know....do I really need to spend money on another gadget? Probably not, but I have come to the realization that I have a small addiction to gadgets. I love them, when I find out about a new gadget I want it. If I had the money or less restraint, I'd probably have all of the items that they sell in those infomercials. I think this particular gadget could be useful in helping me break my current plateau, at least I hope that it will.

I'll let you all know if/when I get it and what it tells me. What I really need is something that I can just attach to my body that will beep when I've eaten too much. Maybe I could even set it to give me a mild shock when I even think about eating unhealthy food.....too extreme?

P90X and More

My friend and writer extraordinaire Dena asked a question on my last blog post about the feasibility of doing P90X and still running several times a week. There are two main things that factor into whether or not this would be possible for a person.

The biggest issue is time: Each of the P90X workouts lasts approximately a hour and a half. For me that is about all the time I have for working out during the week. I get up around six in the morning and I don't get home from work until around six at night. At that point I don't really have the time to do more than a hour and a half of exercise, especially if I'm going to cook and/or do any type of cleaning. If I was the type that enjoyed getting up in morning and working out then it would be a lot easier to fit in multiple workouts during the day. Or if I won the lottery and therefore didn't have to work I could workout about three times a day. (A girl can dream....)

The second issue is soreness: Soreness isn't exactly the word I'm looking for but the point is that the workouts are fairly intense and you would need to plan on which days you're going to run so that you aren't in too much pain. The plyometrics and leg/back workouts are brutal on your legs so you probably won't want to run the next day. Now if you did a relatively short run in the morning of those workouts then that would probably be okay.

If you have the time then it should not be a problem to fit in running (or another exercise) in with P90X. If you are already pressed for time and barely fitting in your exercise then you probably won't have the time to do additional workouts with P90X. I really believe that the people that they show on the P90X infomercials are doing additional workouts (or maybe they just aren't eating chili-cheese fries).

In my ideal life I wouldn't be at work for 9-10 hours a day (not including the time it takes to get there) and therefore I would be able to get up in the morning and workout and then workout again in the evening without quickly becoming run down.

If anyone else has any thoughts on this situation then please feel free to comment.

P90X Update and Longest Bike Ride

Today I went on what turned out to be a 57 mile bike ride. My longest ever. The weather was PERFECT and the scenery was beautiful. I enjoyed the route because it was different from our normal route and it wasn't very hilly.

This ride demonstrated just how stronger my legs have gotten with P90X. We rode at a pretty decent pace, about 15 mph, and I was comfortable the entire time. I only got a little tired around mile 48 but then I got my second wind. My legs felt powerful and strong throughout the ride and I know that it is due to all of the squats and lunges I have been doing in P90X. I wonder what affect this will have on my running...I may sign up for a race before the end of the year.

I have 4 weeks left in the program and I am satisfied with my results thus far. While it is true that my fat gill hasn't completely diminished, a friend of mine reminded me today that I had that fat gill even when I was about 30 pounds lighter so maybe it is just a deformity of mine. Maybe after I have children and I have more money I'll just have it sucked out....

This past Friday and Saturday I did my workouts with my mom. It is pretty embarrassing when your 63 year-old mom can do more pull-ups than you. Sheesh....I have to get my strength up. I also determined that I really need to get a pull-up bar because using the bands isn't giving me the workout that I really need. I bought one of those pull-up bars that goes over the door but my attempt at using that resulted in me almost breaking my neck. So I'm going to buy one of the ones that you screw into the door frame and hope that works better.

I have lost some weight and an inch off my waist as well as about 2% body fat. If I really buckle down and start eating healthier then I know I will continue to see even better results. I'm going to look into the books my friend Dena recommended, hopefully there will be some things in there that I can convince my husband to eat. He's kinda picky.

P90X - 1 Month Left

I am close to the end. I have four weeks left in my P90X journey and I am fairly satisfied with my results. I am definitely stronger than I was when I started the workout and I have lost some fat. I have to be honest and admit that I slacked off a little bit this past month and therefore I haven't seen the results I probably could have seen had I tried a little harder.

I still enjoy the workouts because even though I've been doing them for 2 months they are still challenging and I feel like I've worked out. I have some thoughts about what I'm going to do after I finish this last month but I will wait to share those with you once I get closer to the end.

Hands down my biggest pit fall is FOOD. I am starting to think I have a problem. It is a problem that I share with many other people but it is still a problem. I generally can do alright during the week (unless someone tempts me into going out for lunch). I cook healthy dinners and I keep healthy snacks on hand. Where I fall apart is the weekend. There is something about the weekends that just messes me up completely. How do you blow a week's worth of healthy eating in two days? With cheeseburgers and fries that's how! Even if it isn't fast food, I still end up eating too much on the weekends. If I really want to see the results I desire then I need to fix this problem of mine. That will be a goal of mine over the next few months....stop having disastrous weekend eating habits.

Does anyone else have this weekend eating problem? What do you do to avoid overeating on the weekends (or in general)?

Recipe of the Week: Oven-Fried Spicy Chicken

I know it has been a while since I posted a recipe but I honestly hadn't made anything using any new recipes. I decided to get it together this week and try out some of 100s of recipes I have around here.

Ingredients:

1 cup corn flake crumbs (I just crushed up some Special K)

2 tsp chipotle chili powder (or regular chili powder)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp season salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

4 bone-in chicken thighs (I removed the skin)

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375. Line backing sheet with aluminum foil. (I recommend spraying the foil with cooking spray because mine got stuck to the foil.)

2. In a bowl mix together buttermilk, 1 tsp cayenne pepper and seasoning salt. Place chicken in bowl to soak.

3. Meanwhile, mix corn flakes, chili powder, cumin, salt and rest of cayenne pepper in a large ziploc bag.

4. Remove chicken from bowl and place in bag. Shake until coated with cornflake mixture.

5. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 50-55 minutes or until golden and crispy and internal temperature registers 160. (I just want to say that having a probe hookup in your oven is wonderful.)

Nutritional Information per thigh: 285 calories, 18g fat, 21g protein, 9g carbohydrates

P90X - Week 6 or 7

I was nicely reminded by my good friend Dena that I've been slacking on my updates ;-). I won't even promise to do get back to daily updates but I can make weekly ones for sure.

My first week 5 didn't go so well because Mother Nature and I had a disagreement and I really didn't feel well enough for a week full of workouts. I made the decision to do week 5 over since I missed several of the workouts. That makes this week my new week 6. Only 6 more weeks to go.

Workouts:

This set of workouts incorporates two slightly different arm workouts. I like both of these workouts but I still have problems with the push-ups due to my wrists. Luckily doing them on my knees still provides a workout for my chest and arms. It does however cause rug burns on my knees which is definitely not a good look during the summer...

Body Changes:

My back fat has not decreased as much as I would like but I'm still keeping hope alive. My arms and legs are stronger and more toned. I'm excited because I'm only half way finished so if I keep it up then I'll have some really noticeable results.

Nutrition:

As I said before, I hadn't been doing as well as I should have concerning my eating habits. This week I have been very diligent and have recorded all of my food and exercise into my calorieking account. I have met my calorie goal every day so far and my carbs/protein/fat ratios haven't been too far off. Now if I can just stick with this for the next six weeks.....

Additionally, I went for a four mile run today and it was great. I had been feeling kind of frustrated the past few days and the run definitely made me feel better. I have to make sure to keep running as a part of my routine.