152 Days....

152 days until what???  DISNEY WORLD!!!!  I am so excited, I can hardly contain myself.  I think I am more excited than my 4 y/o.  But I only think that is the case because she has no idea what is in store.  

So the last time I posted I was turning 34.  I was hoping to get down to 179 lbs.  Guess what.... I did.... and guess what else.  I ended up gaining it back over the course of a year.  Yup, I ended up back in the place I said I never wanted to go again.  At just over 200lbs.  

I never quit working out, I just stopped eating like an athlete, and started eating like an unhealthy pig.  I changed jobs, and most weeks I end up working mostly day shift, but at least once a week I end up having to switch gears and work night shift.  It has been really challenging to say the least.  My resolve slipped and back I went into old habits.  

I keep telling myself that if I can quit smoking, I can quit this.  But quitting smoking was easy.  I stopped hanging out with smokers, and I stopped going into gas stations and paid for my gas at the pump.  To this day I rarely step foot inside the gas station convenient store.  But I can't just quit going to the grocery store.  Or completely avoid the birthday cake that someone has brought in at work.  

I have a few will power issues that I need to work out.  I even tried doing BeachBody's newest workout plan, 21 Day Fix.  I ended up losing 7 lb. in the first week.  But guess what, week two went completely downhill.  So the first round I only lost about 8lb.  Not bad, but it could have been more.  So I went for round 2.  And it went horrible.  I gained back almost all 7 lb. that I lost.  

So now where do I stand.  I'm not really sure.  I know what I have to do, I just keep questioning myself and wondering if I can really do it this time.  I hate being in this place.  None of my scrubs fit very well.  And I hate the way I feel!  So what do I do?

I give myself 151 days to get my butt in gear and lose some weight before we go to Disney.  That's October.  I know I can do this.  I have done it.  I just need to have a stronger resolve and remember why I am doing this.  

Why am I doing this???  Because I am tired of waking up each morning and looking at myself and thinking, well I guess one more day of bad eating won't hurt me.  I am tired of putting on my clothes and thinking if only I were 5 lb. lighter, they would fit better.  I am tired of waking up and calculating how long before I get to go back to bed.  I want to be able to enjoy life.  I want my daughter to see a healthy role model.  And I want her to know that it's okay to have a piece of cake at the birthday party, just not every day needs to be sugar filled.  

I need to get my life back in order and figure out what is most important.  And right now my #1 priority needs to be me.  I can't take care of anyone else if I don't first take care of myself.  

So here are my DAY 1 stats:

weight: 200lbs

Chest: 43.5"

Waist: 42.5"

R arm: 13.5"

L arm: 14"

R thigh: 21.5"

L thigh: 21.5"

I am going to be doing Les Mills Pump.  I ended up losing the most weight I have ever lost with this program.  I have found that weight training is the best for me.  Cardio is okay, but since I build muscle so well, I can really ramp up my metabolism.  I will be doing several different cardio workouts on the other three days of the week.  Choosing from T25, TurboFire, 21 Day Fix, and Les Mills Combat.  Depending on what workout is scheduled and how much time my work schedule allows for.  

I am going to follow the 21 Day fix eating plan.  So far it is the easiest plan I have ever come across.  No calorie counting, no macros to figure out, just fill the containers and eat.  I will stick to it!!  I am tired of starting over..... I will not quit!!

I'm 34 Today

Happy Birthday to me.  I am 34 today.  Never thought I would be excited to be 34, but things just seem to keep getting better and better the older I get.  And now that I have decided to take control of my health, I feel so much better.  I have a completely different outlook on life.

Things don't seem quite as bleak, and depressing.  My life is now full of possibilities.  I can see myself starting to dream big.  Where those dreams will take me we will just have to see.

Well it is now time for my protein bar, and time to get my little one out of her PJ's.  Especially since it is 1030 now.  Ha Ha.  But it is the weekend, and my birthday so I guess I'm allowed to slack a little bit.

But not too much slacking, because I still have to work out today.  It may be recovery week, but I still have Core Syn to do.  Can't wait to get it started.  I always hate this one before I start, but once I get going and about halfway through, i love it.  Go figure that one out.

Ashley

Wow

So just a quick post here.  I found my picture from when I started Insanity.  And I compared it to my 30 day picture.  And all I could say was WOW.  It was really cool to see how far I had come in 90 days.  Yes it could have been better had my nutrition been better.  But the things that you can't see like the parts of my belly that are hiding, are shrinking tremendously!  I am very excited to see where the last phase of P90X will take me. I know that the last week was full of bad nutrition.  But now it is back to business as usual.

So here is the picture:

Pretty amazing if you ask me!

And here are the results of my 30 day pics from P90X:

So there you have it.  I will be taking my 60 day pictures next Tuesday.  I am not expecting to see any change at all really.  Maybe a little more toning in my arms and less, but that's about it.  And that's okay.  I am getting better everyday and pushing play everyday and that is what matters the most!

Ashley

Phase 2

So phase 2 of P90X starts tomorrow.  Since Hubby is a week behind me I am going to be doing one more week of phase 1 diet.  It just makes it easier to plan out the weeks meals.  I will be so glad when I get to add a few more carbs into the mix though, it will be much easier to plan meals for the week.  We can start to eat some sandwiches for lunch, and I can get back to eating cereal for breakfast.  I know hubby will be happy when he can have oatmeal for breakfast more often.

I think we are going to try and eat the majority of our carbs during the day and stay carb free to carb low at night.  Eating smaller meals at night will definitely help hubby, since he works out at night.  Of course we didn't stay carb low last night.  We had pizza.  It was so good, but I was a piggy!  We both had 4 pieces, the two of us ate an entire large pizza.

But we are back on the bandwagon today.  Every once in a while you just gotta be bad.  I can't be good all the time, that's definitely no fun.  So now I am saving myself for my birthday, and something sweet this time.  I am going to make myself a banana cake, my favorite!!

I am going to take my 30 day pictures tonight.  I think there has been some change, but not really all that much.  I am really hoping for a little more change here in the second month.  Of course in an interview with Tony Horton, he said that a lot of people in the test group didn't see big results until like day 70 or so.  So I am just going to stick to the nutrition as best as possible.

I am also going to try and not weigh myself as much in this second month.  All of the sudden I have become scale and weight obsessed.  I am usually not like that.  Of course I guess since I am so anxious to see results I am weighing myself more.  My goal is to be down 10 lbs by the end of next month, or the end of this phase.  I am pretty sure I can do it, we shall see, I have a few hurdles to overcome.  Like going to my parents house, and a football game next weekend.  And then going to Tampa for a meeting/mini vacation with hubby.  But at least I will have hubby with me to keep me in line!

I will post pictures in the next few days or so.  And by the way the mashed cauliflower was awesome!!

Ashley

Three Weeks Down

Can't believe how fast time is flying.  It seems like only yesterday I was starting Insanity.  Now Labor Day weekend is coming up, and my birthday at the end of September.  I am hoping to be down below 180 by then.  That is going to be my goal anyways.  To be turning 34 and be down to 179.  I haven't weighed that much since probably my junior year of high school.

I really want to get there.  I think I can, considering that I lost 10 lbs in the first month of P90X.  I think 10 lbs in the second month is an acceptable goal.  Although I am still having doubts sneaking in.  Saying what if I can't, what then.  I guess I just keep going, and be proud of whatever I did get down to in a month.  I guess I'll always have that little voice in my head.  But that doesn't mean I can't prove it wrong!

Going to try something different for dinner tonight, mashed cauliflower.  One of the girls I used to work with told me she made it all the time and they were fantastic.  So we shall see how that goes.  Got a huge head of cauliflower to make it with.  Hopefully we will have leftovers!  Sounds like something you would want the next day as well.  If it goes well, I'll post my recipe in the next couple days or so.

I Earned It

I got my Insanity T-shirt today.  I was so excited when I opened the mailbox and realized what could be in the package.  I almost ripped it open right there on the street.  But I did show some restraint, and waited til I got in the house.  Had to take a pic right away though, and send it to hubby to  gloat!  He didn't fill out the form yet, so he doesn't have one.  We are going to do his stuff tonight so he can have a shirt as well.  I think he is pretty jealous though!!

So here it is.  Took all the willpower I had to make dinner first and not start plastering the internet with photos.

August 22, 2012

Tonight for dinner we had Bacon Wrapped Chicken Shish Kabobs.  They were pretty good.  You take chicken marinated in a little bit of red wine vinegar, and low sodium soy sauce.  Marinate for in fridge.  About 20 min before assembling kabobs, throw in pineapple chunks and mushrooms.  Boil some bacon for 5 min (yeah sounds and looks nasty, but turns out better in the end).  Then ready to assemble.  Take small piece of jalapeño put on chicken then "wrap" with a small piece of bacon.  Then put on skewer with pineapple and mushroom.  Repeat.  Broil for 5-7 min on each side.

Like I said it was pretty good.  The best part of todays meals were the twice baked potatoes.  I used half a huge potato for my husband and I.  Cooked tater in microwave, scraped out innards.  Mixed that with a very small amount of cheese, 4 oz turkey, 1/2 cup fat free sour cream.  Scooped back into potato skins.  Popped in fridge for overnight safe keeping.  Then when at work, I just nuked it in the microwave.  Got a lot of compliments on how good it smelled at work.  And it was really good.  It was nice to have a whole carb in a meal.  Of course that meant no carbs the rest of the day.  But hey, it was worth it!

If I have any more outstanding recipes I will post them later.  We have had a few that I really liked.  Especially the tzatkiki sauce for turkey olive feta burgers.  I now use it over my bocca burgers, with a little feta cheese.  Oh and it is soooooo good!!!  I'll post a recipe tomorrow or the next day.  Oh and I will have to post my protein bars as well.

Ashley

Previous recipes from myP90xnutritionplan.com