P90x Dance?

No worries, there isn't a new P90x out there that everyone needs to rush out and buy. I'd just completed my workout that I missed yesterday (because I wasn't feeling well yesterday), which was Shoulders and Back, and Ab Ripper. But I wanted to stick with my alternate workouts as well. I wasn't really feeling the Wii today, so I took to the Kinect. I put in Dance Central 2 and tried out something I had failed to attempt before.

 

There is a fitness setting within the game. It includes several levels, and I started with "Warm-Up" (having never tried this before, I thought it best to start easy). This consists of 8 songs one right after the other. You don't have to pick a new song, it automatically progresses through the songs for you. This was a GREAT workout!! I think I might try and do the warm-up combined with other selections next week. I noticed quite a bit of moves that were similar to P90x moves (Plyometrics, Kenpo, etc...). It WAS hard to fully extend my arms, as I'd just finished working out my shoulders, but I did my best.

This was FAR more entertaining and the time passed quickly, as opposed to regular aerobics. I still worked up a sweat and got my heartbeat up, but without having to worry about someone annoyingly guiding me through everything. =)

Be well friends!

P90x and more....

So for just over a week, I've been doing P90x with my husband.

 

This has NOT been easy!!! Most of the time I do about 50% of the workout, at best, and HIGHLY modified. That said, this time working out has actually been easier overall.  The actual workout itself is mega-tough, but something is changed this time around. My husband! In years past I've been supported in any menu/diet endeavors I've chosen to take on.  He's readily opted to go along with me and eat the same foods. The only thing I was doing by myself was the exercising. This in and of itself had me quitting pretty early on. I felt like there was little point to it, and had no real accountability to my efforts. My brother-in-law suggested we take on the challenge of doing the P90x workout, and even lent us his copy of the DVDs. So we began! We also started out following the diet outlined in the Abs Diet book. The diet seemed very carb-heavy and had me a bit concerned. After a week and a half I weighed myself and found I'd lost 2 lbs. Though I was thrilled that it was stepping in the right direction, I was less than impressed with the low number. I'd been working REALLY hard (harder than any time in the past), stuck with the diet VERY strictly, and had seen less results than in the past when I'd done less in the past. So I opted to switch to a more diabetic diet for myself. Being that I have 100+ lbs to lose I thought this would be better than all the carbs one usually takes in when working on bulking up/building muscle tone. And its paid off! Yay!! 

I'm still taking in some carbs, but I'm limiting them to within an hour of when I'm going to be working out for the bulk of them, for the energy. I'm less bogged down/lethargic overall. I'm able to work out consistently now in large part due to the efforts of my husband. Neither of us is in the greatest of shape, but having someone in my own house to be accountable to and workout with me helps tremendously!!!

Given that this workout seems to be less centered around cardio, I've also decided to supplement my workouts with daily trips to the gameroom to exercise utilizing the Wii.

 

I'm doing some of the Wii Fit Plus workout for warm-up/cool-down as well as various cardio workouts specialized within the program itself. I'm looking forward to success and being bathing suit ready next year (and less shopping for cute cover-ups)!

Be well friends! I DO have a P90x/Beachbody Coach, a few friends of mine are coaches and are helping me on this journey. If anyone can suggest a program where I can chart my weight loss on a graph I'd LOVE to know about it. I look forward to sharing my progress with everyone who stops by here. I'm currently using MyFitnessPal (on Android) to track my diet and exercise diary. =)

Lost count...

So I've lost count now of how many "fresh starts" I've made over the years of my struggle with weight loss. And it IS a struggle! Every day I struggle with my own mind. In reality, the only time it bothers me is when I go out with my friends or family. When I'm home every day, it doesn't really cross my mind.  My every-increasing waistline keeps me off the scales. I fear that little electronic device that takes up residence in the corner of my bathroom.  Nowadays the most attention it gets, is when I hit my toe on it while I stumble to the bathroom in the middle of the night. But when I have something to attend with family or friends and I need to get dressed up, I fight back tears. I go through the clothes in my closet and the pool of things that fit me and look half-way decent diminishes every day.

I want to look in the mirror, a full length mirror, and like what I see. I don't want to see numerous rolls of skin urging to burst from behind the threads in my shirt or top because what I'm wearing is not at all the right size. I want to put on a pair of high heels and know that inside of an hour I won't be begging for mercy, as my ankles just can't sustain the weight being put upon them.

I must find the determination within myself to do this the right way and stay with it! I know I can reach my goals. I have seem so many around me reach their goals and succeed. I often wonder if I put off working in the professional world, because I'm self-sabotaging my efforts.  If I am simply a "stay at home mom" (which I know is anything but simple) then I won't have to worry about dressing up and going out. I stay at home.

Our neighborhood pool is open again this summer. I'm wondering if I can get back into the routine I was in last year. Go to the pool around 8am and do laps, while supplementing that with working out at home on the xBox Kinect. Tonight I will step on the scale. Tonight I will write down in a small journal that I carry with me what that weight is when I step on the scale. Tonight I will write in that journal everything I ate or  drank today. Tonight I will start fresh.

Forcing a change!

Lately a lot of my friends have been sharing their journey through weight loss on Facebook. They're doing a weekly weigh-in and posting their gains/losses. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that step yet. But I NEED to do something to get this excess weight of mine under control!

Yesterday, I mowed the front and back yards. This was no small task, and I felt like I sweated off several pounds. I also went on a field trip with the kids' ROTC group and walked several miles throughout the day on Friday. Neither of these tasks resulted in a large drop in pounds, that I could see on my scale. Even though this was the case, I will remain optimistic and continue on my journey.



Recently I've been watching The Celebrity Apprentice. Last night they had an episode promoting Walgreens' new walking program. I'm thinking of signing up and using it as another tool. I'm also back to tracking my food intakes. I'm using the Lose It! app on my iTouch. I understand its also available through the Google App Market, so I might be downloading it on my phone also. I HAVE had more success when I keep track of my food in a diary of sorts.

I'm trying to cut down on my carbs, not totally eliminating them, but just monitoring them better. Since my father suffers from diabetes, and given my current weight, I worry that I might also be diagnosed if I don't treat this with the urgency and seriousness it rightly deserves. This morning I had 3 eggs (scrambled, I don't add milk..just plain scrambled), 2 oz of sausage (diced and cooked with the eggs), topped with some shredded cheddar cheese, and served on 3 small flour tortillas.

Be well friends!

Lights, Camera, Action?

Today was a rough day. I didn't eat like I should have. I've had 4 biscuits with margarine & strawberry low-fat jam. I've also been sipping at a Trop-A-Rocka Diet Snapple. I had a migraine headache last night that kept me up all night. I slept this morning, after taking a cpl Advil, and got a couple of the things done that I needed to do for the day.

I'm considering turning this blog into a video blog. I saved up my money from Christmas and selling some items around the house that I no longer need to keep around. With that money, I got a shiny new laptop! Yay, me!! This laptop is not top of the line, but it IS new and has a webcam built-in. This would make it VERY easy to record videos for posting.

Right now, I'm concentrating a lot on my medical transcription studies. I'm inside of a month of finishing (I believe). So I'm really trying hard to knock out at least a dozen transcriptions every day.

I did see a video over the holiday/winter break that was quite uplifting and inspiring! A gal compared the calories burned by running/jogging against those burned by playing games on the xBox Kinect (Dance Central & Kinect Adventures). I LOVE playing these games on the xBox! I especially enjoy Dance Central! I haven't tried the workout mode on the game, as of yet. So I'm hoping to get started on that soon. The video I watched showed that you could get the same cardio workout (or close) by running/jogging and by playing these games on the xBox. Yay!! I'm NOT a runner, never have been really. Even when I was much younger and in great shape, I was a great sprinter, at best. So I don't believe marathons are in my future, but a night of dancing could be! *grin*

By video blogging, I hope to be able to see on film (of sorts) my complete transformation! I've watched others on this wonderful world web change their bodies and lives and share this journey with anyone willing to watch and/or read about their trek.

Be well friends! I believe I'm going to rest for a bit and try to get rid of the remainder of my headache.