Mamavation Monday

I am fully back in the swing of things and it feels good. I got up each morning last week and fit in my current workout - The 30 Day Shred, level 3, followed by a 2-mile Walk at Home routine for a cool down. It feels good. The Level 3 workout is really a good one, it is hard and I feel like I am getting progressively better.

I have decided that when I finish the 30 Day Shred, that I will return to P90X. I think my goal will be to do the workouts in the morning and then in the evening either fit in a 1 mile walk or Ab Ripper X, depending on the day of the week. After really starting to be able to do some of the Ab exercises in the 30 Day Shred, it inspires me to want to do Ab Ripper X. Let's see if I can stick by it when I start in a couple of weeks.

After a family wedding and a lot of eating out this weekend, I think I am ready to get back on track with eating and tracking. I started out really great today, until I got to work and found out I had a lunch meeting. I guess I could have brought my packed lunch, but in the end I decided to do my best to eat a balanced meal. I filled my plate first with salad and then treated the meat and other sides as sides, having only a minimal amount. I almost avoided the temptation of the dessert, but grabbed a cookie to go after the meeting.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. Subway is sponsoring the Mamavation Monday post, and by mentioning them, I am entering to win a $50 gift card from Lulu Lemon, a green Gaiam gym bag and yoga mat. That would be fun to win.

Mamavation Monday...errr, Wednesday

I keep meaning to post my weekly Mamavation Monday post to share with you my journey to becoming healthier and more fit. I just have been motivated - I think because I'm not really progressing, which makes me feel like my post won't be motivating and who wants to post a downer post?

Unfortunately, like many people, I tend to use my weight as one benchmark on this journey and it is just not cooperating. Some travel, some dining out, some desserts, and some more, I'm sure, have left me maintaining at best - there have been days (yes, I weigh daily, even though you aren't supposed to) where I have been up and thankfully, days where I am right where I have been since the end of summer.

The good news is that I did fully return to my workout routine this week. Two weeks ago, you may recall, I took a break because I had a cold and couldn't breath and felt that the rest was a good thing for my body. It was. Then last week, I did only cardio workouts and only 3 of the 5 days, due to my schedule. This week, I have resumed the 30 Day Shred Challenge, followed by 2 miles of Walk at Home with Leslie Sansone. I jumped back in at Level 3. Guess What?!? When you take a couple weeks off, it is an intense workout and I can feel it in my muscles the next day (at least in my legs). My plan is to continue the 30 Day Shred, which will wrap up for me at the end of the month. Then, I plan to restart P90X - which will carry me through the end of January.

I feel so much better when I am eating right and working out. Now that fall sports are over, I need to figure out my schedule and find a new Weight Watchers meeting that will work for me. My husband has class the night of my regular meeting and dragging two kids along is more work than I want it to be.

I know that with a renewed focus on my diet and the further discipline of maintaining my food log online with eTools, accompanied with a return to P90X, that I can move past this plateau. I must say, I am thankful that at least with my regular exercise and the lifestyle changes that I have made as a member of Weight Watchers, I have been able to maintain. In years gone by, a lack of focus on eating could have been a bigger issue.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday.

I am an advocate for Weight Watchers. No compensation was received for this post.

Mamavation Monday

Well, here I am two weeks into the 30 Day Shred Challenge and I would love to say that I have stuck with it fully, but my husband surprised me with a get away weekend (he even arranged for my parents to watch the kids) and then, this morning, my daughter woke up with a stomach bug - cuddling won out over working out. I do intend to return to the routine tomorrow. I continue to do both the 30 Day Shred and the Leslie Sanson Walk at Home DVD together for my morning workout.

The temperatures have finally cooled down to a more seasonable level and I hope to get some walking in at lunch again this week.

My eating was pretty good, until the weekend, when it fell apart a little (hard to travel and not indulge!). I expect to be able to return to normal this week and get right back on track. Of course, I haven't really planned a menu - which typically is a recipe for disaster. I might have to do some mid-week menu planning.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday and the 30 Day Shred Challenge.

Mamavation Monday

I did it! I not only completed the first 8 days of the 30 Day Shred Challenge, but I also completed P90X. It was difficult and there were some days where I had to cut the P90X work out a little bit short or do a portion later, but I did it.

The Level 1 workout on the 30 Day Shred was a lot more difficult than I remembered. It took me a couple of days to be fully coordinated at it. Those compound moves may be great for the body, but they are hard for the uncoordinated. I did love that the workout goes so quickly. I would find myself struggling through the first circuit cardio, but before I knew it, I was done with the second circuit strength and the workout was half over.

As for P90X, the one thing that still disappoints me is that even though I am lighter than when I started it the first time, I still don't feel light on my feet. I watch all of them as they turn on Kempo through that section where you do the different punch sequences with a foot switch after each - they seem to float from one to the other, whereas I land like an elephant. I would like to be lighter on my feet - maybe it really is a question of coordination, again, it's asking me to move two things at the same time.

My eating was pretty okay last week, until it wasn't. The first part of the week went well, then I had four days in a row of catered lunches and dining out. I made reasonable choices, but let's be honest, even the best choice isn't as good as having complete control over what you are eating. It also didn't help that for my husband's birthday I made an Oreo Cheesecake - yum! I also splurged end of week by splitting a bottle of wine with a friend when she came to visit. I don't regret anything I did, it just delayed my progress.

Yesterday I moved on to Level 2 on the 30 Day Shred. Again, I might need a day or two to figure it out and get on the rhythm. Since I work out early in the morning, I have the volume down significantly and sometimes miss the cue to move from one exercise to the next. So far, I like the second workout, but I have a question. It seems that you work a slightly different set of muscles (or maybe you are working the same ones in a different way?), which might be fine for a little while, but shouldn't I be rotating through the workouts regularly to work out everything?

I've also found that with the 30 Day Shred being just under 30 minutes, that I feel like I need more. I have been adding the Leslie Sansone Walk At Home DVD that I got from Kozy Shack through a mail in offer a while back. I like that in 25 minutes, I can get in 2 miles of walking without leaving my living room. I think I would like to check out her other DVDs, especially the one that the second mile comes from. I also think I might try to work in some Ab Ripper X after the 30 Day Shred some days - we will see, that is the one workout that I still neglect when I do P90X, because I don't have the extra time. I am getting Abs in the 30 Day Shred and don't want to overdo it.

Eating right has started better this week and there are only two dining out/catered lunches this week, so that should be an improvement itself.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday, which is sponsored this week by Subway. This post linked up to the 30 Day Shred Challenge linky.

No compensation was received for this post, but by mentioning Subway and linking back to Mamvation Monday I am entering for a chance to win Subway gift cards.

Mamavation Monday

Finally, this past week, I saw some real movement on the scale. I'm finally making progress back to where I was at the beginning of the summer. I still feel like I am the only one who gains weight in the summer and can lose it more easily in the winter. I think there definitely could be a sleep connection, amongst other things. In the winter, I tend to be more successful in getting to bed on time. Which is not only good because I am sleeping, which my body needs, but also because I don't eat. In the summer, the kids get to bed later, which means that I get to bed later. I'm up more hours, which gives me more time to snack - it's been a little while since dinner and I just feel like I need something little.

This past week, certainly not winter, but with the return to school a few weeks gone by and finally getting back to routine, I once again have the kids in bed by about 8 or 8:15, most nights, which means that a 9:30 upstairs, 10:00 in bed target for me is working out much better. Nights where our calendar is full with sports are a little more challenging. We want to eat as a family, so that tends to mean later dinner after sports and later bed, but not much later.

This is my final week of this pass of P90X. With the gains of summer, I'm not sure how much change I will see in terms of measurements, but we will see at the end of the week. I am extremely proud that I am wrapping up my third time through. It really is a tough workout and 90 days is a commitment. I definitely will do it again, just not right away.

I've decided that I am going to take a P90X break for about 3 weeks after I finish. Why you ask? Well, I've decided that I'm going to participate in the 30 Day Shred Challenge that many other bloggers are starting this Monday. As I have mentioned, I have tried this workout, which I borrowed from a friend. I am a little bit concerned about time, since I am wrapping up P90X this week, but with the 30 Day Shred workouts requiring only about 30 minutes per day, I think I can make it happen. This morning, as example, I did the 30 Day Shred and then did P90X Yoga. I had to cut the Yoga short to only 55 minutes of a normally 1 1/2 hour workout. I can definitely say that Yoga is harder as a second workout than as an only workout. There were points where I wasn't sure I could keep my hands up for the entire pose.

I'm sharing my before pictures with you here (everyone else seemed to be doing it, so why not - I do apologize for the quality of the pictures, I had to use a napkin basket and timer to get the shot without getting the table). I also measured and will report back on changes at day 10, 20 and 30, relative to today.










Here is to a great week! Good luck to you too!

This post shared at Mamavation Monday and linked up at The 30 Day Shred Challenge.

This week's Mamavation Monday is sponsored by Chefs Requested. By sharing this post, I am entering for a chance to win product coupons for their 100 Calorie Portion Sized Steaks.