Day 39

Well, I thought yoga sucked before... it turns out that doing it alone sucks even more :[ Jacob is super busy with homework right now so I had to fly solo. To make it even better, our TV decided to die so I had to put the DVD on my laptop. I did not like that at all! I did the best that I could, though. I think I'm getting more flexible, which makes me happy! I still don't like yoga at all, though, even if it is helping me, haha. I was happy to get it over with today and not to feel as stiff as a board like I did last week. I'm tellin' ya, I do not understand how people like early morning yoga! My body felt so tight and gross working out first thing in the morning. I can run but yoga just does not feel good. At least tonight was better than that.

Tomorrow is legs & back and the ab ripper. The combination of ab ripper last night, yoga belly 7 tonight and ab ripper tomorrow night is rouuuugh! It totally tears up my core. I'll continue bringing it, though!

Day 38

My body feels like jello. Or overcooked noodles. Or a very heavy bag of sand. In other words, it is very sore and worn out. The combo of back/biceps & ab ripper x is totally brutal. Why? Because you destroy your upper body with the back/biceps component then tear up your entire core with the ab ripper. My quads even get sore from the beginning moves of the ab ripper! I was thoroughly SPENT by the time I finished it all tonight. Down for the count. Of course, that is partially because I didn't start working out until after 9pm, oops. Late night workout sessions always wear me out like no other... Seriously though, my body is certainly feeling the wear and tear of p90x! I collapsed on the floor for a couple minutes before even stretching out my core with some cobra. Owie. To be quite honest, I'm getting sick of ab ripper x. I know it's effective and I definitely can't get through the whole thing yet without a couple short breaks, but I'm sick of doing it. I get sick of workouts very easily, haha. But hey, as long as it's doing what I need it to do I'll tough it out and rip it up!

I realized that I never blogged my new portions that came along with phase two, so I guess I'll throw 'em out there now:

• 4 protein
• 2 dairy
• 1 fruit
• 2 veggie
• 1 fat
• 2 carbs (hallelujah!)
• 2 snacks (single & double)
• 1 condiment
• 1 recovery drink (this goes for every phase)

I am so happy to eat more carbs!! I still choose wisely but it's nice to know that I can have twice as many as I did in phase one. One less protein isn't too bad... And everything else is the same. Oh, minus one fat but I'm not super adamant about eating my fats anyways. I cook with a little extra virgin olive oil and call it good, haha. Overall, I think my body has adjusted to my new eating habits pretty well. I must admit that I miss sweets, though. I'd love to have some frozen yogurt! That was the best snack in phase one. But I loooove the soft pretzels and popcorn as snacks in phase two! :D Om nom nom. Oh, one other thing I miss/am craving- cranberry orange scones. I had a lightened up version of them that I would bake every one in a while and I'd really love to have one right now... Alas, I don't know how that would fit into the p90x diet. I did discover a recipe in the nutrition guide for some pear muffins that I'm going to try making soon. They sound yummy.

I'm dreading yoga tomorrow. Last week's early morning session left a very foul taste in my mouth which makes me not want to do yoga tomorrow... but it won't be an early morning workout so I think that will help. I'll bring it! I have no other choice, really. I've committed myself to this program and when I commit to something it's 100% or nothing. So I'll give it my all!

Days 35, 36 & 37

Day 35 was a much needed day of rest. It was nice to just relax and recoup a little... One day isn't enough for my muscles to really recover but it's still nice to get one rest day a week.

Yesterday, day 36, was chest, shoulders and triceps & the ab ripper. Since Jacob and I were leaving his parents house in Kentucky to drive back to our place in Pennsylvania, we got up extra early to squeeze in our workout before getting on the road. As much as I wanted one more day to sleep in, I knew that if we didn't workout in the morning we wouldn't workout after a 12 hour drive. I started my day of with a whole wheat bagel, waited a little over an hour and pushed through the workout! I seriously that that is the most challenging workout of this entire program. There are a lot of move I have to modify or I can't do many reps or much weight on... but I do it! That's what counts- I'm putting the DVD in and bringing it the best I can. It felt good to workout in the morning and not have to worry about it once we got back here. Eating on the road was tough, though. On the way there, I had packed a buuunch of p90x approved snacks. On the way back I wasn't able to do that. I didn't eat anything not p90x approved, but I did miss a few portions- one protein, one veggie and one carb. I wasn't about to discard the nutritional guidelines to get those portions, though. I just wish we would've found a Subway at a decent hour. Oh well.

Tonight, day 37, was plyometrics!! I think I waited a little too long between eating and working out tonight. I wasn't cramping, which is great, but I felt like I was running on empty. But I brought it!! I was seriously drenched in sweat by the time I was done. I love that. I can hardly believe that I'm already done 37 days. In some ways, it feels like I've been doing p90x for a VERY long time. In other ways, the weeks have zipped on by! It's good. I'm feeling pretty good.

Tomorrow is back & biceps and the ab ripper. Another very challenging upper-body workout for me... I'm getting to the point that I can do assisted chin-ups/pull-ups on the pull-up bar, but I'm not too great at them, yet. I'm working on it!! I'm going to try my hardest and briiing it!

Day 34

Another week conquered!! Tonight was kenpo, so obviously it was a great workout ;] My body is so sore. Legs an back & the ab ripper really tore me up last night! I think this first week of phase two, following the recovery week, is especially challenging on the muscles. But hey, muscle confusion gets big results so I'm not complaining! I'm just anxious to see those big results. I'm happy to be through another week! Feeling good. I was great with eating again today, too! :D I'm ending the night with a couple half-portions left but I don't think it's a big issue to skip them today. I'm not hungry and it's late anyways. That is all for tonight- time to sleep!

Days 32 & 33

Yoga was awful yesterday morning. Awful awful awful. I planned to get up and start yoga around 7am since our water was being turned off from 9am-12 and I wanted to shower before getting on the road for Kentucky. However, when I woke up at 7am I had a terrible pounding headache! I went back to sleep and didn't end up starting yoga until around 9:30am. I officially decided that I hate early morning yoga!! I was tired, sore, stiff and very hungry! Not a good combination. Not to mention I only got like 10 hours of rest between back and biceps on Tuesday night and yoga the next morning... But seriously, my body was so stiff, it hurt to stretch and balance. Yoga always stinks to begin with, but I really struggled to get through it first thing in the morning. I like working out in the evenings because I've been awake for awhile, had a chance to eat and move around... not so first thing in the morning! It hurt. But Jake and I pushed through it, doing the best we could. We had a delicious breakfast once it was over! :D I made overnight French toast with whole wheat challah bread, soaked in egg whites, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Yummmm.

Legs, back and the ab ripper went well tonight! I like the legs/back combo. My legs were seriously shaking and burning but it was good. I even did a set of pull-ups on the pull-up bar!!!! Granted, I used a chair to make it an assisted pull-up... but I got up there! I did eight alternating grip ones (or whatever they're technically called). My arms were shaking at that point, haha. I was happy to actually try some on the bar! I know it isn't completely legit, but I'm getting better! Jake was really proud of me so that made me feel great! :D I'm definitely going to do real pull-ups by the time I'm done the p90x program. I'm so determined!

Honestly, it wasn't as hard to stick to my diet today as I thought it would be. I had a bunch of turkey (om nom nom), some steamed carrots, and mashed potatoes that I made with a little smart balance light and skim milk. Not bad at all! I didn't have any dessert... I pretty much ate normally, minus all the turkey, haha. I had egg whites and turkey bacon for breakfast, a few soft pretzels, some popcorn, a bagel... Yeah, I was very good today. Go me, haha. I think a big part of that is being at my in-laws. I don't like eating when I'm at other peoples houses so it's pretty easy for me to stay disciplined. I wasn't tempted by the unhealthy food. Well, the cheesecake did look delicious but I kept telling myself "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"! Hopefully I can stay this well on track during the rest of my little vacation.

Tomorrow is kenpo. WIN. I'm excited to bring it! :D

Day 31

Quick update tonight: back and biceps was a rough but really good workout. It wasn't as awful to get through as Sunday's chest, shoulders and triceps workout was but it was still very challenging. I definitely need to get a heavier resistance band, though. I could feel it with each rep but I know that I could do more. I need to remember to pick one up sometime this week... But yeah, the workout was good tonight! I'm finally starting to get biceps, hahaha. I've got a little bicep bulge and it makes me happy. I've been working so hard to improve my pathetically weak upper body and it's nice to see it paying off a little.

I'm getting up super early to do yoga tomorrow morning since Jake and I are heading to Kentucky for Thanksgiving break... I'm interested to see how yoga goes for me first thing in the morning. I don't think I'm going to want to get out of bed but I gotta bring it!

I'll update again on Thursday or Friday, depending on how hectic things are.

Day 30

Woah, thirty days of p90x complete!! That went by pretty fast... Plyometrics was a killer tonight!! It always is, though. It is brutal yet so satisfying. My love/hate relationship with this workout grows more intense every time I do it, haha. But I brought it tonight!! I felt like a million bucks afterwards. My apartment was super hot (thank you radiator heat) which made plyo feel even more intense, if that's possible. I've also been dizzy all day and I have no idea why but that made me get pretty nauseous tonight. It was not easy to push through all the moves. I still did it, though. And I'm happy I did! After my frustration last night, I felt so hardcore busting out plyo tonight. I suck at upper body stuff but I'm getting pretty good at the cardio. Not fantastic but I'm getting better at it every week.

Tomorrow is another new workout- back & biceps. Considering the fact that my chest and triceps are extremely sore from last night's workout, tomorrow should be interesting to say the least. I'm not too anxious to see what this one is like. I do not like upper body work. I'm going to do my best and forget the rest, though! And that means bringing it!! Here we gooo.

Days 28 & 29

Yesterday was day 28: the last rest day and therefore the official end of phase one! Jacob and I spent the day (and I mean the entire day- 15 hours!) in New York City, which made sticking to our diet a little tricky... We had a good breakfast of egg whites, veggies and turkey bacon before getting on the bus for the city. I honestly didn't do too bad eating while we were out, though! My vice was Starbucks. I love red cups! Ahhh. But I got a skinny peppermint mocha and didn't even finish it, so that isn't too bad. Other than that, I had shrimp and veggies at Bubba Gump's, turkey sausage egg white flatbread at Dunkins, some dried fruit and soy nuts that I packed and nonfat frozen yogurt with fruit. See? Not bad :] I was proud of myself for sticking to my diet so well during our outing. It wasn't easy (so many goodies all over the city!!) but I toughed it out.

Today was the first day of phase two. Oh boy. I was thrilled to eat TWO carbs today!!! :D I had oatmeal for breakfast. I was so happy to eat oatmeal and still have a carb left for later in the day. And yes, I realize that I sound completely pathetic saying that but whatever. I missed my morning oatmeal. Jacob and I then decided to buy whole wheat pizza dough and make a veggie pizza for lunch. Technically, I don't think pizza dough is in the p90x nutrition booklet, but we figured it was wheat and we only ate a little (1/4 of the package each- thin crust style). We counted the dough as a carb, the sauce and veggies as a veggie (duh) and the cheese as a dairy... it was a pretty big meal, but tasty and worth it! I was also beyond excited to eat popcorn today!! I love popcorn! It used to be my go-to munchie before p90x so I was missing it quite a bit. Oh, and we get to have soft pretzels now. Can you say win?! I am very sad to say goodbye to my nonfat frozen yogurt and mini rice cakes, though :[ I enjoyed those a lot. And I'm not too happy to lose a protein... but I think it'll be worth it for an extra carb. Now to get used to eating in this phase...

As far as the workout, tonight honestly beat me up hardcore. Chest, shoulders and triceps is a nasty workout!! I struggled through it... And had a small breakdown after it was over. I just lack upper body strength so much that it really makes me angry. I push and I try my hardest, but I get so discouraged that I'm using 3 or 5 pound weights and getting "the burn". I know the goal is to find that burn but seriously Alayna, THREE pounds?!! I'm pathetic and weak. Oh and one handed pushups?? Yeah, right. Even on my knees I can barely bend my arm... How about clap pushups? Right. I think I did five. And by that I mean I barely struggled through being able to do five from my knees. Yeah. Great. I feel so pathetic. I am so pathetic. And ab ripper x. Lovely ab ripper x. Still can't get through the whole thing! Yep. I need to take breaks during some of the moves. Why? Because I'm pathetic, remember? It's true. Ughhh. In case it isn't blatantly obvious, I'm very discouraged tonight. Maybe I've hit my plateau. I'm not sure. I just hate my stupid weak body that can't do everything I want it to do. I want to be stronger. I want to be able to do upper body work without having to modify moves. I want to do all of the ab ripper without resting a couple reps. I just want to be better. And I know I'm doing p90x to get better. I understand that I'm my own biggest critic. I know that it's great I'm at least doing it, staying committed and trying to force my body to change. I know all of this. But it doesn't translate into a difference in my capabilities. It's a frustrating day for me. I'm hating p90x right now to be completely honest. I won't quit. I refuse to quit. I just wish the changes would come quicker. Ugh. Slow and steady though, right? :/ Stupid body.

Tomorrow is plyometrics. That workout is also a killer but at least I know I can do it! It might make me want to die but I'll get through it and feel awesome afterwards. Plyo, I'm gonna bring it.

Day 27

I am done with phase one!!!!!! Well, technically tomorrow is my last day of phase one, but it's a rest day so it doesn't really count, haha. I can't believe I'm already 1/3 of the way through p90x!! :D Eeeee! I'm not gonna lie, when Jacob and I first decided to try p90x, I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle it. I didn't think I'd make it through the workouts, I thought I would fail with the diet... I feel so good for making it this far! I compared the pictures we took today to the pictures we took on day one and I do see some changes! Nothing major (well, I can see some major changes in my hubby- I'm so proud of him for working super hard at this!) but I do see little changes... And I'm determined to make those little changes become BIG changes. It's so going to happen! I've toned up a lot more in my upper abs, which makes me happy. I can see my legs getting more lean and toned, too! My legs are so long, I want to make them killer ;] I'm nowhere near where I want to be quite yet, but I'm making progress. I'm taking it one day at a time, pushing myself, staying disciplined and making the changes happen!

I think I get a little better at yoga every time I do it. I still hate it, but I'm getting through it a little better now. I think I expect too much too soon out of myself and get so frustrated when I'm not at that point... I'm trying to teach myself to just do the best I can, do as much as I can and leave it at that. Like Tony Horton always says, "do your best and forget the rest". It's a good catchphrase, but it's also so true. I need to really listen to that advice and not beat myself up for not doing everything perfectly. I'm doing the best I can. I'm getting stronger everyday. That is what truly matters.

Tomorrow is a glorious rest day before honing in on phase two on Sunday! It won't be a "down" day for me, per se, considering I'm spending the day walking around New York City, haha. I guess it's good to still be up and active even on a rest day, though! It'll still be rest compared to the p90x workouts, that's for sure ;]

Day 26

Today was my second experience with core synergistics. I must say, I did much better with it this time around. I feel good! This workout is seriously a full-body challenge. It has everything from planks and pushups to mountain climbers, lunges, boats and bananas (think low v-sits, hello abs), bicep curls, squats... and a whole lot in-between. It's a very challenging and exhausting workout but getting through it makes for one wonderful feeling of accomplishment! I'm not lying when I say that this is one of the most well-rounded full-body workouts I have ever done. I even got through the "bonus round" (a few extra challenging moves at the end) tonight!! I skipped it on Tuesday and went right to the cool down. I toughed it out tonight, though! I managed to do 25 one-legged table dips! That was hard, haha. My body is tired but my muscles definitely feel better than they did at the beginning of the week. I was a little leery about this recovery week but I think it's doing the job. I didn't think I would like doing all these workouts when I should be resting... but I'm glad it wasn't a solid week off because that would make me feel very lazy and gross. I do love working out. I'm feeling pretty well recovered... In fact, I'm getting pretty anxious to start phase two on Sunday! Unfortunately, I gotta get through yoga tomorrow first. Booo. Oh well, I guess it'll be good to stretch a little more, rest on Saturday and hit the ground running, so to speak, on Sunday.

I've been getting a little more creative lately with my meals :] it's making a big difference. I'm still hooked on my egg white, turkey bacon and low-fat cheese on an English muffin breakfast. Om nom nom. Although, I did discover today that I have accidentally been using four egg whites instead of three every morning! :X Oops! I have no idea how that happened and I feel guilty for the extra protein... nothing I can do about it now, though! A couple nights ago, I used half a carb and a dairy to make myself a delicious mini baked mac 'n cheese :D I made it in one of my cute red ceramic mini casserole dishes, hehe. It was so good. Tonight, I sauteed some shrimp, scallops, French-cut green beans, pressed garlic and a splash of lemon juice. I served it over rice for dinner- WIN. It was different and quite tasty! I'm also discovering a love for avocados (3oz = 1 portion of fat). Mostly, I like them in the form of guacamole, which I think is allowed since it's just dry seasonings added to the avocado... I have decided, however, that I will no longer eat taco-seasoned chicken on a day when I'll be doing a cardio workout, haha. I kept burping it up and it was so nasty! Sorry for the TMI ;] But it was not my wisest choice. I will, on the other hand, be cooking with more shrimp. I love shrimp. I have a (slight) allergy to them that makes me get itchy every once in a while after I eat them... but they're totally worth it, ha! Either way, I'm enjoying coming up with different recipes to try out. It can be annoying when I'm just hungry and want something quick but if I plan ahead it isn't very inconvenient. I'll tell you what, though, I am excited to eat a bowl of oatmeal next week when I get two carbs a day! :D I miss oatmeal. But I'll miss my nonfat frozen yogurt. A LOT. I love that stuff. And mini rice cakes. I'm losing my two favorite snacks in phase two :[ At least I gain popcorn and pretzels as a snack, though! I'll survive.

Tomorrow marks my last workout of phase one. Ready to briiiing it!

Day 25

It was so nice to just stretch today! I wasn't in love with the x stretch workout, but it was nice to take it easy and get all my muscles warmed up and loosened up a little! A lot of the moves reminded me of yoga which is probably why I wasn't crazy about it... But it was easier and less annoyingly redundant than yoga so it was nice. Obviously every workout begins with a warm up that includes some stretching so in some ways I was waiting for the actual workout to start tonight, haha. I knew it was just stretching but it felt weird to stretch without a real hardcore workout! I think my muscles will thank me tomorrow, though. I used to stretch allllll the time when I was dancing but I lost that habit once I left for college. This workout made me miss those dancing days!! I always loved getting all limbered up, especially on a cold and rainy day like today. It's healthy to take time and stretch out your muscles. It helps prevent injury, increases your flexibility and range of motion... and it feels good! Uncomfortable, but in a soothing way if that makes any sense, ha. Anyways, I enjoyed x stretch! Tomorrow is core synergistics again. I'm not excited for it but I'm determined to do a little better with it then I did on Tuesday. In other words, I'm gonna BRING IT doing core synergistics tomorrow!

Day 24

Half-way through recovery week! Today was kenpo <3. I looove it. My shoulders were burning tonight... I'm tellin' ya, my body is exhausted! I really brought it- threw hard punches, got my kicks up really high, push push push! I felt awesome. I worked out between my morning job and babysitting so it made for a very busy day but it was good. I really can't complain. As much as my body is begging for a break, I am thankful that I have the physical capability to workout like this. It's definitely not easy but I was thinking today that so many people would probably kill to be able to workout like this. I'm lucky to be healthy and able to use all my muscles and do an hour long cardio routine. I can breathe, I don't have to modify moves for an injured muscles... I can do it. I struggle and it hurts, but I am physically capable of working out this hard. I love it.

In some ways, it's hard to believe that I'll be done phase one in a few days! Not gonna lie, it went by pretty quickly. I know it'll only get harder from here but I'm getting used to the diet and setting aside an hour or so to workout everyday. I'm excited to start a new phase! Some days and workouts have seemed painfully long... I can feel every excruciating second inch by as I push my body harder and harder... Yet, I get through it. And here I am, almost 1/3 of the way through my journey! Obviously, I'm feeling pretty accomplished and happy tonight, haha. I think this will all be worth it in the end. Gotta take new pictures on Saturday to compare to my day 1 pics. I'm not going to post any pictures until I'm completely done with p90x, though. I'm not losing weight or seeing too much difference, but I am noticing that clothes are fitting differently and I feel healthier, tighter. I can't wait to see how I look at the end of this! I better see some good changes, haha. I think phase three is going to be ridiculously tough. The time fram (December-January) is rough and I'll be working a lot which means less free time for planning/cooking around the diet and way more temptation to skip a workout... but I'm determined to make it! I'm doing my best.

Tomorrow is x stretch. Fabulous. I've been told that this "workout" is glorious. Not gonna lie, I'm basically thrilled to spend a workout focusing solely on stretching out my overworked muscles. Yes please. Even though it's a low-kay workout, I'll bring it ;]

Day 23

Well, core synergistics is just about as bad as yoga. I was rather unpleasantly surprised. It's this painful blend of pushups, cardio bursts, multi-muscle strength moves, intense core work... Oh man, it was really rough!! Synergistics means engaging multiple muscles at a time. Like doing lunges, kick backs and curls all in one move. Owie. I thought this was supposed to be a recovery week! It sure doesn't feel like it! My muscles are so worn out. They need a REAL break. I pushed through as well as I could but there were definitely some moves that I couldn't manage to do. I feel like this workout is just brute strength and agility. And I couldn't really hack it. That frustrates me. But hey, at least I did it. I did my best. I'll tackle it again on Thursday and try even harder to bring it!

Tomorrow is kenpoooo :D Thank God there's one workout this week that I love! It's going to be a long day for me, though... I'm going to try to workout earlier in the day so I think that'll help. Either way, I'm going to bring it because kenpo is the best!

Day 22

Today was my first p90x-style recovery day. It's nice to have a week off(ish) and some change of pace... But I really dislike yoga. I would've rather been doing chest/back and the ab ripper tonight! I did my best with yoga, though, and managed to do a little more of the one-legged balance stuff than I have previously, which is good! It wasn't great but I did my best. I wish I didn't have to worry about yoga for another week but unfortunately I have to tackle it again on Friday. Booo.

On a happier note, I had a delicious lunch today! Jacob and I were inspired by Chipotle and decided to make our own taco salads like they do. We cooked up some shredded chicken with taco seasoning, sauteed some peppers and onions and ate it on top of lettuce with low-fat cheese and homemade guacamole! It was so delicious! We needed a good hearty meal- we've both been annoyed with the p90x diet and feeling like we have to eat the same things over and over. We're sick of chicken and eggs like we can't even explain. I need to get more creative but it's hard to find the time and ideas... We nailed it today, though! Oh and we found some flavored nonfat frozen yogurts last night- mocha fudge and cookies 'n cream! YUM. And totally allowed on our diet. Winning! Now I just need to think up more meal ideas and we'll be okay. I'm so ready for phase 2 to start next week so that I can eat two servings of carbs a day :D I miss cereal, oatmeal and bagels. I tend to just eat English muffins nowadays.

Tomorrow is core synergistics. I have yet to try this workout so I'm a little excited and a little nervous. I'm worried that it's going to suck as bad as yoga, but we'll see! Either way, I'm ready to bring it!

Days 20 & 21

Sooo I didn't kenpo yesterday :X I had a rather (very) crappy day and wasn't feeling the best so Jacob and I decided to postpone our workout to tonight. Saturday is usually our rest day but we figured with our recovery week coming up it wouldn't be too bad if we rested yesterday and did kenpo today. That's exactly what we did. I felt guilty not working out last night but I needed the night off. Kenpo was fantastic today! I was so exhausted but I brought it! I pushed it so hard, I owned those kicks and punches like I never have before. It was great. My muscles feel like they're dying- they are so sore it isn't even funny. My shoulders were on fire throwing all the punches and blocks... I was literally cringing. 

Like I said, this week is my first recovery week!! I'm a little excited, haha. Tomorrow is yoga (yuck), Monday is core synergistics, Tuesday is kenpo (yay!), Wednesday is x stretch, Thursday is core synergistics again and Friday is yoga (again, yuck). I'm interested to see how this goes... My muscles definitely need the break but I still hate yoga so I'm not looking forward to that aspect of the recovery week. All-in-all, I think it will be good.

I don't really see results yet which is making me a little upset. I know it takes awhile, but I' almost done the first phase! I see my upper abs coming through more but I haven't really lost any weight. Ugh. Maybe after I finish this week and take pictures I'll notice the difference... I hope so at least. I'm really expecting some great results from all this hard work. I'm starting to wonder if I'm eating too much... I'm following the portion approach set forth in the p90x nutrition guide, but obviously it isn't personally tailored to my body so maybe I need to cut back my caloric intake overall. I just don't know. Ugh. Admittedly, I'm a little frustrated. I just want to see changes... I want to lose fat and tone up! That isn't too much to ask! Especially for how hard I've been working.

I guess all I can do is continue to bring it! Even though I hate yoga, the change of pace will be nice so here goes nothing- three weeks done and one week away from finishing phase one! Briiiing it! 

Day 19

Nothing exciting to report today... I pushed it doing legs & back and made my muscles tremble. My quads were on fire! Especially during the beastly wall squats. I didn't feel like doing the ab ripper AT ALL tonight but I busted it out anyways... I'm excited that I don't have to worry about those workouts for a little while. I'm ready for a recovery week. I need it. My muscles are begging for it.

I cooked a delicious chicken and veggie stir-fry for dinner :D A little orange teriyaki sauce and a splash of low sodium soy sauce- yum!! It was delicious. I need to start marinating meat more often or something. Mix it up so I don't get bored eating the same foods.

Tomorrow is my favorite workout- kenpo x!! Woo-hoo! That workout is such a great way to end the week. I'm going to bring it so hard!

Day 18

I must admit, I didn't completely despise yoga x tonight! :X  I decided that I only truly hate the section where I'm supposed to do all these balance posture/stretch moves on one leg. I reallllllly hate that part. I've hated it enough to hate all of yoga x. It just frustrates me so much because I cannot stand on one leg and move weird ways for that long!! It just doesn't happen. I get this nasty charlie horse in my hip and my extended leg starts shaking... ahhhh! I hate that. I got so upset that I actually threw one of my yoga blocks across the room tonight :P Yep. Not my proudest moment... But other than that painfully long one-leg section, I didn't mind yoga x too much tonight... It was very nice to stretch out during the stretching section... Yoga belly 7 still kills me. It's hard to do ab ripper x last night, yoga belly 7 tonight and the ab ripper again tomorrow. Owie. I'm feeling pretty good, though.

As far as the diet... I wasn't as ravenously hungry today! Yay. However, I did cook a filet of fish with lemon and garlic and it tasted slightly reminiscent of vomit. Yeah, epic fail. It was so bad. I got Jake to try it and then laughed so hard as I watched his face distort when he realized how bad it tasted, lol. Then I threw it away and made chicken instead. Woooo chicken :P I also used all my carbs on pancakes again today. Again, a wonderful choice. I love pancakes. And I love cinnamon flavored agave nectar. Yum.

Tomorrow is one of my favorite workouts- legs and back!! I'm not exactly excited to do the ab ripper again since I'm already sore... but I do like legs and back. Even when I do the one-legged wall squats and convulsive uncontrollably. Embrace the burn! I'm BRINGING IT!

Day 17

Halfway through week three! Thank God next week is a recovery week- my body needs it!! Every day my muscles ache more and more... They're taking longer to recover so each nightly workout builds on top of the soreness from the day before... My body is tired and ready for a little break!  I did well with arms/shoulders and ab ripper x tonight! I upped a lot of my weights, which makes me feel a little better about my lame-o upper body strength. It's not impressive (yet) but it's the progress that matters. Gotta count every victory, no matter how small! My abs were sore before I even started the ab ripper tonight. That was pretty rough to get through. For the first time, I did all the mason twists at the end! Even the ten extra :D I'm going to feel it tomorrow. More than I already feel it tonight, haha.

On that note, my right hand/wrist has been killing me today! I thought it was from push-ups but it wouldn't make sense for me to have done all the push-ups on Sunday and not have this pain until today. Weird. Whatever it is, it seriously needs to go away. It hurts to grasp anything so that made getting a good grip on my dumbbells really hard tonight. Other than that, my appetite is back. With a vengeance! I was hungry all day today. Constantly hungry! Ahhh! No good. No good at all. I didn't binge or cheat, though, so I feel good. I'm still hungry but my portions are done for the day and I need my three-hour digest window before going to bed.

Tomorrow is the worst workout of all- yoga x. Ughhhh. Maybe it'll feel good this week with how sore my muscles are? It's good to stretch out... so I'll bring it!

Day 16

Plyo owned me tonight!! I don't know why, but i was seriously exhausted beyond belief! Even warming up I could feel some cramps and I was getting tired... It was brutal! It was the worst plyo experience I've had so far. I toughed it all out and didn't take breaks, but I couldn't keep up with all the double-time jumps this week :/ It's weird to think how one day or week a workout can feel so great and the next it just kills you! Good days and bad days, I guess. It felt soooo good to finish, stretch out and guzzle my recovery drink! I needed it for sure. My muscles are worn out. I suppose it could be because this is week three and I have less energy than I did weeks one and two... but I still felt crappy for struggling so much. I did my best though! All that's left to do is forget the rest :] On the upside, no plyo next week because it's recovery week! Yay! Even though I'd rather do plyo than yoga twice... it'll be nice to have a different week.

Tomorrow is arms/shoulder and ab ripper x! I need to get some heavier weights so I can bring it!

Day 15

The beginning of week three! After a long day out and about and a two-hour drive home, I wasn't exactly looking forward to working out. I just wanted to eat my dinner and unpack... but I worked out despite myself and I totally brought it! I'm up to the heaviest resistance band that I own (I'm not sure how heavy it is, but I was definitely feeling the burn) and I did some of the push-ups on my toes!! Plus, I increased the weight on everything else... I pushed it so hard! I felt awesome. It might not sound major, but these are improvements for me! I'm happy to see some improvements. I was worn out by the end and my arms still feel like overcooked spaghetti... but I'm glad I pushed so hard even though I didn't feel like working out at all! Sometimes I think those workouts are the most satisfying- when you really don't want to workout at all yet you do anyways and you totally push yourself. I love it. I'm not seeing any change on the scale but I can feel my body changing, which is exciting! I can see minor differences and it makes me anxious to see how major those changes might become eventually. Or WILL become eventually because I'm not gonna stop pushing myself to make the changes happen!

I stuck to my diet very closely today, following my chips and salsa binge last night ;] I ate all my portions and nothing extra. I'm becoming very fond of drinking my recovery drink while working out, it helps quite a bit. Other than that, nothing is new with the diet... My appetite is back a little bit but not completely. I went almost four hours today without eating and didn't even realize it until I started to mentally sum up what I had left for portions on the day. Haha, oops! I changed it up with some herbed tilapia from Wegmans for dinner and that was delicious! I needed something quick to cook after working out since I was getting home a little later. I need to start planning weeknight meals on the weekends and preparing stuff ahead of time so I'm not as bored with plain old chicken tenders.

Tomorrow is plyometrics, yet again. The killer workout with which I have a very intense love/hate relationship. I'm ready to bring it!!

Day 14

Rest day number two today! It felt so good to have a day off :D I slept in, lounged around the hotel, had some turkey and veggies for lunch with my love, took a long shower, watched some of Jake's squadron's annual football game, made chicken and veggies for dinner and caught up on a couple shows. I must admit, though, I cheated on my diet tonight :o/ I couldn't help it! I wanted chips and salsa sooo badly! At least I ate whole wheat Tostitos, right? And I only ate an english muffin as far as other carbs... I felt bad, but I needed the splurge. And it was considerably healthyish, haha. Oh well. I'll get strict again tomorrow and it won't matter... Chest/back & ab ripper x tomorrow!! I'm gonna make up for this little binge and BRING IT hardcore!

Day 13

I HEART KENPO X. Best workout of the entire series, for real. It makes me tired and kills my shoulders, but I love it! And with that, I am officially done week two of p90x! Woo-woo! I'm feeling good. Still not very hungry and sore as all get out, but I'm happy that I made it this far! Sunday starts the last intense week of this phase then it's onto a recovery week and the beginning of phase two. I'm excited to get more carbs in phase two, haha. With my appetite being next to nothing, I find that I'm drinking most of my protein portions as a shakes and wishing I could just eat a bagel. That probably sounds silly/crazy/like it doesn't make sense... but I think my stomach was having a hard time processing all the protein I was eating from chicken... I dunno. Maybe I just miss my bagels. Either way, it'll be nice to change things up a little in phase two.

On a very exciting note, my abs are starting to come through a little! I have a somewhat weird looking two-pack, lol. Supposedly that's how it starts... I'm gonna find out! :D

Short update tonight because I'm about to hit the road for the weekend... I'm thankful to have tomorrow off since I'll be away. I'm hoping to sit in a hot tub for a little while and relax my muscles. Mmm, that sounds so fantastic right now!

Day 12

Last night I had this weird dream that I skipped day 12 and went right on to day 13. I guess I just really love kenpo! I did day 12, legs/back & ab ripper x, anyways though :P At least now I have kenpo to look forward to tomorrow!

The workout was good tonight! I like this one better than the other two straight-up strength workouts. However, I have a bad aching pain in my right hamstring up to my butt. I'm not sure if I overworked something or if that side is weaker than my left or what the deal is. But it hurts! Hopefully it'll get better over the next couple days. I can't afford to be injured. I'm hoping I just tweaked it a little with all the squats tonight.

Small victory: I completed all of the forward and reverse bicycles and 40 of the mason twist in the ab ripper tonight!! First time I've done that! I was excited, haha. My abs are gonna hurt tomorrow! Love it.

On a side note, my appetite has gone missing. Oh no! The only time I actually feel hungry is the middle of the day around lunchtime. But even then I don't want to eat much... just a veggie or fruit maybe a few rice cakes. Maybe it's stemming from me being sick of chicken and egg whites but it's weird that I'm just not hungry. The only other time I can recall my appetite being gone like this was when my hubby left for his deployment... so it's weird that I'm feeling this way. Even right now: I just finished my workout and I do not want to eat. You'd figure after about 3 hours without food and a 1.25 hour workout I'd be starving! Nope. I think I'll just have another protein shake and an apple. Ugh. I hope this goes away soon!

Other than all that, I'm feeling good! Anxious to start seeing results... excited to be wrapping up week 2... and happy that I've been bringing it!

Day 11

Have I mentioned that I hate yoga? Because I do. I hate it with every fiber of my being.

See, I do not like doing things that I suck at. Maybe that sounds immature, but I try not to regularly engage in activities that I cannot accomplish/complete. Well, I suck at yoga. A lot. There's one section that I seriously cannot do. I try and I fall over. Not kidding. I know I'm supposed to say "currently struggle with" instead of "cannot" but this workout makes me so frustrated! And it makes me angrier than words could ever express! Rage. I'm getting upset now just thinking about it! Gahhh!! Some of the moves are very advanced and I hate that I cannot do them. So I get frustrated and discouraged and hate yoga more with every passing second. It doesn't help that the workout is so long... A whole hour and a half and I feel like I accomplish nothing. Irritating. I'm glad it's over for this week.

Today, I decided that I needed a break from chicken. I've been eating tons of chicken tenderloins lately (easy portion control and quick to thaw out) and I needed a change of pace. I actually opted for a protein shake for dinner, haha. I had snap peas and half a mango on the side... I just did not want chicken. And I didn't feel like cooking. I also decided that I need to buy more fresh veggies. I want some good raw broccoli! Chocolate protein shakes are delicious, though! Oh, I got more Recoup today, too! The GNC I went to didn't have fruit punch (boo) so I got blue raspberry instead. I think Jacob will like it quite a bit.

Tomorrow's workout is legs and back. Another killer! Heck, they're all killers! I'm finding that my muscles are getting sore more easily and taking awhile to recover... my whole body is in a perpetual state of aching... It'll be great to have a recovery week in two weeks. For now, I'm going to stick to it and let my muscles feel the burn... I'm ready to shred my legs again tomorrow and BRING IT!

Day 10

I don't have anything exciting to say today... it looks like Tuesday's arms/shoulders & ab ripper routine gets me frustrated and a little discouraged each time...  I feel like such a weakling even admitting this, but there are two moves I can only do with 3 pounds! THREE. That is so lame, I want to punch myself. Unfortunately, my arms are so sore I don't want to lift them off the comfort of my keyboard :P  I'm "getting the burn" with the 3lbs, but it's just so pathetic!! Grrr. Stupid weak arms.

I decided today that homemade pancakes are totally and completely worth my one carb of the day!!! At first I thought 3 pancakes at 3.6oz each would not be worth splurging on... I was WRONG! Oh man, so good! Then again, I've always been a huge fan of pancakes :D I used the heart healthy version of Bisquick, added a little vanilla extract and some cinnamon... topped them with cinnamon agave nectar (1 condiment) and a side of turkey bacon (1 protein). Epic win for me!! It was the most filling and delicious lunch I have had since I started p90x. Thrilled. I even used my last dairy of the day just to drink a cold glass of milk with the pancakes. Yum yum yum!! Okay, now that I'm hungry, haha...

Tomorrow is yoga x, the bane of my existence! Ughhhh. I'm dreading it. I hate it so much. I guess I'll keep bringing it, though ;] Here's to being halfway through week two!