End of Phase 1 is Close at Hand!

Good afternoon!  I am almost finished with Phase 1 of P90X!  3 weeks, whoa!  I honestly think this might be the longest I've stuck to an exercise regimen.  Although, truthfully, I had a rough week 3 due to the cramps and bloating I endured, (see previous post), and the past few days haven't been that great either.  However, I can't let some not so great days get me discouraged, though it's easy to do.  I just have to find my motivation again!

Yesterday I went out and bought a heart rate/calories burned/watch for myself and some yoga blocks.  To be honest, I really am excited to try out the new items!  I think my yoga will be a bit easier with the blocks, as I'm not all that flexible yet.

I'm also excited to start Phase 2 of P90X.  I'm going to be attempting to do the doubles program.  It may be a bit ambitious for my first go round, but I figure I should just go ahead and try it!  If you're unfamiliar with the programs, there's basically 3 subsets of P90X programs; Classic, Doubles and Lean.  The Classic is the basic program with 3 days of resistance and 3 days of cardio/yoga.  Double is the Classic with more cardio thrown in, with both AM & PM workouts.  Lean is gain based off of the the Classic as well but with 4 days of cardio and 2 of resistance.  If you'd like to read the official explanation of the 3 different types of programs, you can read them here, and even see the workout schedule.   

And that, ladies and gents, is about all that I have to say for the moment.  Short, I know, but what more is there to be said?  I'll be posting pics next week, as it will be the end of Phase 1 and start of Phase 2.  Yay!  I can't wait!!!  Now, I just gotta get over this little slump I've been in.  I can do it though, I know I can!  Just gotta remember why I started in the first place!  Hope y'all have a great day!

Later,

Sarah   

Progress, Laziness, and Sweets

And the journey continues!  So far so go in my re-re-renewed motivation to get fit and healthy.  This week I managed to lose 2.4 pounds!  Here are my current stats and the differences from last week:

Weight: 221.8 (-2.4)
Bust : 40" (same)
Chest: 35 5/8 (-3/8)
Bicep: 13 5/8 (-3/8)
Forearm: 10.5 (-.12)
Waist: 34.5 (+1/2)
Midway: 37 (+1/2)
Hips: 47.75 (+1/4)
Thighs: 27 (-1/4)
Knee: 18 (-1/8)

So, how is it that I can lose a couple of pounds, lose in some places, but GAIN an entire 1.25 inches in other areas?  Well, it is one of the joys of being a woman, and eating certain foods at the wrong time, one simple word: BLOAT!  Yes, that rather lovely word that can be attributed to other fun symptoms that a woman of child bearing age must endure once a month.  Yay for water retention!  I guess this week's measurements were pretty much a mixed bag, although, I think that they would've been a lot better had I not had that little issue.  But, to be honest, bloat was just one of the things I've had to battle this week.

Laziness; I've fought it fiercely all week!  Some days it has gotten the best of me, and others I have prevailed in triumph!  Sunday I didn't do my work out, (Kempo X), neither did I do a workout on Monday.  However, in my defense, Mondays are my rest days.  Today, I did manage to drag myself out of my bedroom and do today's workout, Plyo X, which happens to be my LEAST favorite so far. I didn't do as well as usual, but I did my best through the yawns & considering the cramps & bloating I was feeling, I'd like to think I earned a couple of brownie points for doing it. I was going to do my Kempo X Monday or yesterday, but yeah, that didn't happen.  I mean, c'mon!  Who wants to workout when they're feeling bloated and having some cramps?  Especially when it involves lots of kicks.  Ladies, am I right or wrong on this?  Am I the only one that might take an extra day of rest when the joys of womanhood creep up on you?

Which brings me to another one, craving sweets.  Sunday I wanted something sweet after dinner, so I made something that I've been meaning to try, a mug cake!  Here's how it turned out:

Here's the recipe that I used:

3/4 scoop chocolate Shakeology or chocolate protein powder
3 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp flax meal soaked in 4 tbsp water
1 egg
1 tbsp honey (or Stevia)
1 tbsp Nutella
3 strawberries
banana
1 dark chocolate covered almond


-Mix all dry ingredients in mug, add wet ingredients, and bake in microwave for 2-3 mins.
-Slice strawberries & banana.
-Take mug cake out, flip over, let cool slightly. (You may have to use a knife to get the edges of the cake away from the mug).
-Cut cake in half, put half of the Nutella on the bottom half of the cake, put in banana and strawberries.  Put top half of cake on top and put rest of Nutella on top of cake, place strawberries, banana and chocolate almond on top.  Enjoy!

NOTE: The cake will expand while cooking.  You can also add some unsweetened coco powder to make it more chocolaty!

Calories: 377 per serving (1serving = 1 cake).

That, my friends, is how I took care of my sweet craving!  I hope you enjoy this treat as much as I did!  Feel free to make whatever modifications you'd like!  I made my own modifications, (the honey), from the original recipe which I got from my friend at church who is a BeachBody coach.  I think I'm going to try it with vanilla protein powder instead of chocolate next time, or maybe strawberry!!!  I'll post that one too. :)


Anyway, overall it's been a tough week so far, but as Tony Horton says in the Plyo X video, "No one said it was going to be easy!" Indeed Mr. Horton, indeed.

Until next time my friends!

Sarah