I'M DONE!!!! I am a P90X Graduate! Woo Hoo!

Good morning all!
As of Sunday night, I am officially a P90X graduate! I can not tell you the feeling of accomplishment that I felt the very moment that I finished that last workout. I am very proud of myself, and this is just the beginning of my new, healthier lifestyle. I'm learning more about myself every day, and I want to take care of this body that God blessed me with.
Yesterday, I signed up for a 5K run/walk that is taking place here in Winchester on the 15th. For the next week and a half, I will be training for this. I've never been much of a long-distance runner. Sprints....yes, but miles...no. I'm excited though. Something new, something exciting, and I DO plan on running the whole time. Let's see if I can get myself ready for that in time. :o)
Other than the run, I will be taking a little bit of a break up until the end of school. We have 22 days of school left. I will continue doing workouts 3 nights a week until school is out. Once we have said goodbye to the school year, I plan on finishing another one of Tony Horton's 90 day programs. I will probably do the P90X again, but do a difference calendar....the lean calendar. There's a few things that still need some tweaking and tightening. :o)
Thanks again, everyone for being so very supportive. I know ,any of you have suggested before/ after pictures. I do plan on posting some to this blog....I just have to get my husband to take some new ones for me. Pictures of me are VERY hard to come by around here. I've always hated pics of myself. Anyway, I will post them on here as soon as I can.
0 DAYS TO GO!!!

WEEK 13!!!

Well folks,
This is it!!! I am in my final week of the P90X program. I will finish my 90 days this Sunday. I can't believe that I've done it! I am beside myself excited, not only about how much better I feel, but that I actually stuck to the committment. Believe me...this process is far from over. I've already begun to plan my program for the summer. The next 90 days is in the works.
As of right now, I've lost a total of 25 pounds, and MANY inches during this process. I've went from a size 16 pants, down to a size 10. I haven't seen a 10 since high school! Anyway, to anyone who wants to really feel empowered and feel healthier, I highly suggest this workout system. It's difficult...but hey...anything that's actually going to have results is going to be some hard work, right? I plan on continuing the hard work to maintain AND improve what I've worked so hard for over the last 3 months. Thanks to all of you for all of your support and for your kind words of encouragement. That has really helped me in this journey. I will post again when the 90 days is officially over.
3 more days!!!!

Day 77, Week 11

Well folks, I have just finished week #11, as of last night. Unfortunately, this morning, there were no signs of weight loss...in fact, a .2 increase. YUCK! I will attribute it to being bloated...yes....that's my excuse. Hey, I can't complain too much. I was just on spring break, and I may have eaten a meal or two that wasn't the best for me. :o) (For example...my mom's amazing recipe for tater tot casserole...YUM!!!) Anyhoo, I am feeling really good, other than the typical stress of end-of-the-school-year stuff. We have kindergarten registration tomorrow until 5, then Noah has soccer practice until 6:30. Choir practice Wednesday night, and thankfully, a couple hours free Thursday night to finish the bazillion projects I have due for grad school on Friday. I have class Friday and Saturday, then Noah's birthday party Saturday evening. This is definitely a kicker of a week coming right off of spring break. I can't believe my baby turns 6 tomorrow. Where has all of the time gone?
Well, back to P90X for a minute....things are going great and I am already excited about starting my next 90 day venture. I'm going to tweak things a bit and follow the "lean" calendar rather than the "classic" that I have been following for the last 11 weeks. I'm going to be focusing on those trouble areas. I have really enjoyed having this as a part of my life the last several weeks. I know that I would miss it if I didn't continue. I guess, in a lot of ways, it already has been adopted into being part of my lifestyle. Ok...I'm a little sleepy, so I'm rambling. I will just get to the point.....
2 weeks to go!!!

Day 70

Hello All!
I finally have some time to blog this week, being on spring break. I am ready to get back to it! I fnished week #10 yesterday. Weigh in day was this morning, and I lost 2 more pounds! YEAH! I have now lost a total of 22 pounds. I am down to 145 now. YEAH!!!! That was a huge goal for me when starting this whole venture. I really, deep down, didn't think I would reach that goal. Well, I've always learned that, whenyou reach a goal, set a new one. So, now....my goal, over these last 3 weeks, is to lose 5 more measley pounds and hit 140. If I can do that, I will be at my high school weight! Woohoo! I know I can do it. After this is over, I'm going to go back through and follow the lean program. This will not focus so much on weight loss, but rather toning, firming, etc. I can't believe I'm even considering starting another program, but this one, I will be able to do over the summer, so that will make a huge difference. Anyway, I am so excited and proud of myself for reaching such a milestone. I've seen some amazing changes, and the way I feel these days is just priceless.
To anyone who is considering this program, know that it will feel impossible at first, but like Tony Horton says, you just have to make sure that you turn it on every day. Do as much as you can, the best that you can. That's all you can do. It's really been exciting to see how far I've come. When I started, I could hardly make it through any of the exercises....maybe only doing 1 or 2 of some things. Now, I can pretty much do it all...,maybe not as many or as perfectly as the folks on the video do, but I can hold my own weight and keep up pretty darn well.
Thatnks for all of your support, comments, and interest in my venture. I will try and keep closer tabls on my blogs over these last few weeks.
3 weeks to go!!!!

Day 63

Ok, so I know I haven't been posting my blogs as frequently as I had been. Just know that all is still going wonderfully. I am still sticking to the plan. I've not missed any of my workouts since the one I skipped a couple of weekends ago. I think, honestly, I am just starting to get a little worn thin with the whole blogging thing. I am feeling like I am being repetitive. I know that it's good for me to write it down every day, just as a way of keeping myself in check. This was my whole intention of starting the blog in the first place. Anyway, to make a short story long, as my husband says I am so good at doing, I apologize for my very uniteresting last few weeks of blogs. I am totally smothered in work at school and my other work for grad school. Most days, as pitiful and unconvincing as it sounds, it just seems like I can't even find the time to sit down for 5 minutes to type something up. However, the countdown is on....4 days until spring break begins!!!!!! This is refreshment that has been long awaited, anticipated, and needed. I can't wait to have the time to get some things done around this house and simply take some time to think, breathe, and recouperate.
So, I just finished week 1 of phase 3 of the program. In this phase, I started off doing the week's worth of workouts that I did during the first 3 weeks of the program. This week, I will go back to the workouts that I had to do during phase 2 (weeks 5-7). Then, back to the first 1, then the 2nd on again. The final week will be my last recovery week. This has been a very long, but very worthwhile program. I have seem tremendous results, and I know that in these final four weeks, that I will see many more. I'm very excited to flip through Tony Horton's workout collection to see what program fits me best. That's what I'm going to start as soon as my 90 days are up.

I again, lost that 1 pound that I gained back last week and lost another one in addition. That puts my grand total, as of today, right at 20 pounds lost. I was really hoping, yet again, for more of a loss, but I am so happy with the physical results and how good I feel, that I am trying not to focus on the actual number too much. I don't want to be distracted or discouraged. So, there you go. I've caught up on how I'm doing and feeling. Pray for me over the next 4 weeks that I don't lose my mind. I really want to successfully finish this program. I've worked really hard, and I don't want life's stresses to take over during this very crucial last month. Thanks for all of your support.

27 days to go!

Day 58

Ok,
So yesterday was day #58. I have EXTREMELY sore arms and shoulders today, from Monday's chest and shoulders workout. Last night, it was back to the butt-kickin Plyometrics. It's wierd doing this weekly routine again. It's been a month since this schedule and now it's back. This program really does know how to confuse your muscles. Your body seriously never gets used to working out when you are working something different every night of the week. It really is pretty cool.
Tonight, it is back to arms and back. Next week, the routine will switch up all over again and will go back and forth for the next 4 weeks. The fifth and FINAL week will be a so-called recovery week. I'm so close, I can almost taste the victory! haha
Feeling good, feeling fit. I have an allergy ridden baby at home, so we are taking the night off from Noah's choir practice tonight. We are all looking forward to an early bed time and a good night's rest.
I will check back in tomorrow, as always. God bless!
32 days to go!

Day 57

Good morning!
I'm a little sleepy this morning, but I guess that's expected when you don't go to bed until after 11 and have to get up at 5. I somehow managed to get myself stuck on the phone with a few different folks last night and didn't realize that it was after 9:30 before I even got started . Even still, I got finished with Chest and Shoulders and Ab Ripper at around 10:30 or so. I am really seeing a difference, by the way, in how much more/ better I am able to do on these push-ups and such than I was able to at the beginning of this whole thing. It's really something. Anyway...I would've been able to salvage a decent amunt of slepp if it weren't for my big 'ol goofy boxer who decided that it was play time when I decided it was bed time. He is rotten! Rotten, but I gotta love him. To make a short story long, as my husband always says....the last time I remember looking at the clock was 12:26. Eeeeek! I think I had fallen asleep for a little cat nap before then....that was until one of my cats decided to start scratching at the bedroom door. I swear, sometimes I think our animals plan this stuff just for their own personal amusement.
Anyway, I am feeling really good, other than tiredness. I am VERY much looking forward to my spring break which is now only 9 days away! I know that during the break, I will be able to take some time to really recouperate and realx some...catch up on some much-needed sleep!
I am feeling good, feeling strong, but I must say that I am really hoping to see some changes in the firmness over these last few weeks. I see that I'm stronger. I know that I've dropped some weight...the proof is in the pant size. However, there are still some physical changes that I hope to see by the end. Come on P90X! Don't disappoint me now. :o)
Oh, just a quick weigh-in result. For some reason, I am blaming it on this last week's recovery week. (Well, that and mother nature.) I have gained a pound back this week, as of this morning. I'm ok with this, because I know that next week, I have the potential to show a bigger loss. So, to date, that's an 18 pound loss in 8 weeks. I wish it were more, but I am hoping to be surprised here in this last month. We shall see!
33 days to go!

Day 56?

Well, somehow I've gotten myself mixed up on what day I'm on. I guess it's because I've started writing the blogs in the morning....that , and I've been so busy the last couple of weeks that I've only been blogging every couple of days. Anyway, As of last night, I was finishing up week number 8. That would've have made last night's workout day 56, right? haha I have no idea how I got so off on my day #. It's a little depressing to move backwards, but oh well. Whatcha gonna do?
Anyway, I just finished up phase 2 of the program. last night, I enjoyed yoga for the last time during that so called "recovery week." I am now down to the final 5 weeks. For teh enxt 2 weeks, I will be switching my weeekly workout lineup each week. The final, and 5th week will be the last of the recovery weeks. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, entering this third phase. It's now time to get down to business, and I can't wait to see what changes take place during that last few weeks. I will post this week's weight loss result when writing my bog for today.
Everyone enjoy your new week!
Back to 34 days to go!

Days 54 and 55

Well, I just finished my yoga workout a little while ago. Last night was Core Synergistics again. What a killer! I know this is short and sweet, but this weekend was another weekend full of classes. Honestly...ALL I can think about is being lazy on the couch and watching some tv. I really need to wind down. Even after yoga, I feel like one, big tight ball of stress. Ughhhh!!! Hopefully, after a nice morning at church, I will feel nice and relaxed and a will be a little more capable of sounding pleasant in my blog. Good night everyone!
30 days to go!!!!

Day 53

Well....that was a nice nap. I didn't get to be until almost 1 a.m. this morning. Ughhhh! Noah had choir practice last night. We didn't get home until quarter of nine. After I got them into bed, I had to breeze through Kenpo, without even having the time to really enjoy it as usual. The night before, I caught up on the Core Synergistics workout that I got mixed up earlier in the week. So, after Kenpo, I had to force myself to work on the presentation that I have due on Friday. With the consignment sale and everything all going on this week, I haven't seemed to be able to find the extra time to really put into this project. However, it's down to the wire now, so I just don't really have a choice now, do I? I know I'll get it done. If I can make it through the next 48 hours, all will be good. The presentation will be over with and I will not have to work about another class until min April.
Sorry guys....gonna be short today. I feel like I'm wasting precious time just spending 5 minutes typing this up. Gotta run!!! That's the story of my life these days. *YAWN*
32 days to go!

Day 52

Last night was a later night than I really hoped it would turn out to be. I volunteered at the consignment sale until 7 and by the time I got home, it was a mad rush to find something that my picky oldest son would eat for dinner. He didn't cooperate with Ceth very much while I was gone. Not to mention, I hadn't eaten either, not since our crazy lunch time of 10:30 at school. Needless to say, the kids stayed up a little later than they're used to. I think we are STILL fighting the daylight savings time change. Oh well. After I got them into bed, I did my workout for the night. However, I forgot that it was recovery week. I was supposed to do Core Synergistics, but ended up doing Chest and Tricepts and Ab Ripper. OOPS!!! I think I will have to tweak a few things and skip Yoga tonight and go back and do the core workout I was supposed to do last night. After I finished that, I just HAD to get some of my reading done for my class this weekend. I am trying to force my way through a 30 page chapter on the validity of school testing and assessments. Ughhhhh! It is written in typical textbook form....VERY hard to read. One day, before I die, I am going to write a textbook that is actually interesting and easy to read. Pray that I can make my way through the rest of this chapter and get my power point done before Friday. This particular assignment has been a real struggle for me. Well, as you can see, I've been a little distracted. I'm just going to try andhave an easy going day and regain some focus.
34 days to go!

Days 50 and 51

Good morning, everyone!
Well, the time change has really thrown me for a loop. Isn't it amazing just how much an hour change can make? Am I the only one who's feeling it? Anyway, we had a really nice weekend, other than the fact that, again, the time change had me all messed up yesterday. Saturday was my wonderful Kempo workout.....by far, my favorite one of the week. Yesterday, of course, was my day of rest. Ahhhhhhhh
This week is week 8, so I am starting another recovery week. There will be a lot of core workouts, a lot of yoga, a lot of stretching, and a few other gems thrown in there. As far as my weigh in this week, I am holding steady from last week. I am not goign to complain though. Yesterday, eating dinner at 8 o'clock, I expected that to kind of throw off any slight weight loss from this week, since I weighed in this morning.
Looking forward to a busy week. I start my volunteer hours at the consignment sale tonight....working 4-7. I've got a couple more hours later on in the week, and my week will end with a big project that's due for my other class on Friday night. Eeeek! No, I am not finished with it yet. :o( I will check back in tomorrow morning. I hope all of you have a blessed week.
35 days to go!

Day 48

Well, yesterday was day 53.
I had a pretty good day at school, but an even better night at my class. Last night was the last class meeting for one of my grad classes this semester. We had to give our final presentations and we received our grades for the 8 page papers we turned in earlier this week, as well as our grades for our presentations and the article summaries we had emailed her a while back. Maybe I'm tooting my own horn here, but I am very proud to say that I passed the class with a perfect A! I made the max number of points possible on each assignment. Man! I'm so relieved that that class is over, but I tell you, it's really nice to see that the hard work does pay off. Now, I only have next weekend and 1 more weekend in April before I am finished for the semester.
Now, on to the workouts. Last night, after I got home from class and got the kids ready for and in to bed, I did the Legs and Back workout.....one of my favorite muscle building/ toning workouts. That is where I've needed the firming to take place, so I am loving it. Afterward, I did the infamous Ab Ripper.....nothing new to say about that other than it still kicks my butt every time. I am feeling godd and feeling strong, KNOWING that when this 90 days is up, I will be sooo pleased with the results. I already am! I just can't wait to see in May! From there, I plan to still do workouts 3-4 times a week, focusing on my trouble areas and the cardio. That's the plan. :o)
37 days to go!

Day 47

Last night, I had an amazing workout. I completed Back and Biceps, sweated my rear off, felt PUMPED after working out those vanity muscles...lol
I was supposed to do Ab Ripper last night as well, but I had a TON of laundry to get caught up on, so I decided to save if for tonight, after I do my Yoga workout.
I am feeling really great these days, enjoying the changes that I am seeing and feeling. I am gonna be one tough momma when this is all said and done.
I will be starting to write my blogs in the mornings, I think. it seems to be easier to find the time first thing in the morning, rather than last thing at night. Anyway, thanks for checking in guys. Today is actually day 53, but I haven't done today's workout yet. I will tell you guys how it went in the morning.
37 days to go!!!

Days 48-51

Hello everyone! I am back online. In case you didn't see my last status on facebook, we just got our internet back yesterday....yes....I completely forgot to pay our cable bill! Ughhhh! We lost it this past Friday and we just get it back yesterday afternoon. Oh well.....at least I forgot that and not something more important, right?
My workouts have been going great. I'm working hard and feeling strong. I've lost another 2 pounds over this time, bringing my grand total to 17 pounds as of Monday.
I will be returning to my daily blogs starting today. Surprisingly I'v had a few people ask em where I've been. Some folks thought that I'd given up. Well.....I haven't. Not at all! I'm hanging in there through the craziness that is my life. Thanks again for all of your support and I will check back in tonight after tonight's workout.
Take Care! I am still here!

Days 45 and 46

Good evening, everyone!
Time to catch up on my blog, yet again. Unfortunately, it's already 10 at night and I still haven't done Ab Ripper yet. I've got to keep it short, but just letting everyone know that I'm hanging in there...just crazy busy and trying to keep up with everything.
Last night was Plyometrics...jump training..high impact, lots of jumping around, MAJOR cardio workout. Tonight was Back and Biceps, which I've already done, and the Ab Ripper that I am about to do. Luckily, that is only about 15 minutes. Anyway, I am feeling good, thinking thin, emptying my closets of everything under a size 12! I am hanging in there, as tired as I am. I am staying committed....officially more than half way through now. I am beyond excited to compare results on the big day, day 90! I am doing well, but Noah had choir practice tonight, so it's made for a late night. Take care everyone, and I will check back in tomorrow.
44 days to go!!!!!

Day 43

Good morning!
Didn't get around to blogging last night, but thought I would take a couple minutes to catch everyone up this morning.
Last night was my Chest, Arms, and Triceps video...followed by Ab Ripper. It was, yet again, a tremendous workout. Afterward, I started thinking about how much I will miss this when it's all over. I think I am going to have to create my own calendar to go by once the 90 days is up. I want ot maintain my new healthy lifestyle! :o)
Yesterday morning was weigh-in time, and I am VERY glad to say that not only did I lose that pound that I had gained back last week, but I lost an additional pound and a half! Yeah!! Still not as much as I'd hoped for, but I know it will come off. So, that puts my grand total to 15 1/2 pounds. Honestly, I'd hoped for more by the 6 week mark, but I know that I am in better shape. The truth is in the waistline! Anyway...I'm just going to keep on truckin'.
Food intake for yesterday:
Breakfast- Slim Fast meal shake
Snack- apple
Lunch- Left my lunch at home again, so I ate a cassadilla and a little bit of rice from school
Snack- banana
Dinner- Can of Progresso Light chicken Rotinni soup
(I did splurge a little bit and hae a 150 calorie Skinny Cow ice cream sandwhich...My FIRST taste of sweetness in 6 weeks!) lol
47 days to go!

Day 41

Good evening, everyone!
I know it's been a couple days, but just to let you know, I haven't been skipping my workouts....only the blogs. I've just been so tired by the time I get finished each night, I keep telling myself that I will blog in the morning...it's just gotten away from me the last couple of days. Anyway, I did Yoga on Thursday night. On Friday, i did the Legs and Back workout....KILLER! Tonight, I just completed my favorite workout of the week....Kempo X. This workout is a butt-kicking good time. Tomorrow is a day for rest, but I've asked Ceth if he would like to give Kempo a whirl. I would LOVE for him to get into this with me. It would be fun for us to get in shape together.
I flexed my muscles in front of the mirror today....I can REALLY tell a difference. It's AWESOME!!! Even Ceth could notice a change in my arms. It's really excited seeing the changes that are taking place over time. I am almost half way through, and the changes are very evident. I can't wait to see what else happens over then next few weeks. I am now officially in a size 12, but even they are quite baggy on me. I may just pass out when I comfortably fit into a size 10.....I don't even remember being in a size 10. Maybe high school?
Food intake has been good, but I do need to get back to writing it down. It's very easy to lose track of calories. I know I'm not going over, but I want to continue makign sure that I'm getting enough....goal for tomorrow....write it down.
49 Days to go!

Day 38

Good morning!
At least I'm trying to tell myself that...lol I didn't get around ot myblog last night, simply because it was sooooo late! Noah's choir practice stated back up last night. Our church is about 30 minutes away, and it doesn't start until 7, so that really makes for a long night. I guess we got home around 8:30, and luckily I had alredy given the boys baths, so we were able to pretty much go straight to bed. However, after taking a little bit of time for myself to just wind down for the evening, it ended up being about 11:00 by the time I finished my Plyometrics. GREAT workout last nght, but I was drained, so I showered and went straight to bed afterward. Tonight is Yoga again. Nice and slow.....I LOVE the stretches in that workout. It really pushes you to your limit. I am looking forward to it tonight. Even more so, I am really looking forward to catching back up on my sleep this weekend. I'm not sure how many more 5 and 6 hours of sleep a night I can take. I still don't think I've recovered from my 4 hour night Sunday night when I was writing my paper. Anyhoo, I'm doing well. Last night, I REALLY didn't want to do my workout...for the first time, I kinda pouted about it. I did it anyway, and I was really glad that I did. I felt very good about it afterward...much better than the guilt I would've felt if I hadn't done it.
I wish I could remember what I ate yesterday, but it's kinda foggy. I was good, don't worry. :o) I think I just had cereal for breakfast, leftover rice/shrimp concoction that Ceth had made for lunch and I think dinner as well. I kknow that at one point I had some popcorn for a snack. I will try and keep better track of everything today.
53 days to go!

Day 37

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, folks. Things have been crazy busy! I got all 10 of my papers turned in for my next class on Sunday night. Since then, I've been going crazy tring to finish report cards andgetting ready for parent/ teacher conferences which were today. Now, I've still completed my workouts for the last few nights. Sunday night, I just did my stretch video. Last night was shoulders, chest, and triceps. Tonight, I am supposed ot be doing Plyometrics, but I pulled a 13 hour shift today, by the time I got home, and I just want ot go to bed tonight. I've decided that, instead of doing Back and Biceps tomorrow, I will make up for my Ply then. I think that the cardio is more important for me than the mass building arm exercises, so tomorrow I will do Plyo and Ab Ripper. Things should be settled down for a little bit now, so I amm hoping to keep my blogs up to date again. I'm sorry I've fallen behind, but know that I am still doing well.
Now, yesterday was weigh-in day. I can't, for the life of me, figure out how, but I actually gained a pound back. I am trying not to get down on myself for it...trying to convince myself that it's just muscle weight. Anyhoo, I'm all right. I'm just going to look forward to a much bigger loss next week. This week, I know, will be a lot better, and hopefully, much less stress. Thanks for all of your encouragement. I will check back in tomorrow.
God Bless!
53 days to go!

Day 34

Hi everyone!
I am feeling really good this evening. I had a GREAT day! I had brunch with a wonderful friend of mine, the art teacher at my school, Jennifer. Thanks, Jen! Afterward, I took my sweet boys to one of my student's birthday parties. It was at the skating rink! FUN!!! Noah LOVES skating, and watching him do it made Jonas want to run out onto the floor. I never in a million years would have thought I would have my baby, who is not even two yet, out on skates by the end of the party! He was DYING to get out there, so I gave in. He was a natural! I couldn't believe it. he was on the little safety skates. he didn't even want to hold my hands. He was dancing around, skating, like such a big boy. *tear* On top of this, what a beautiful day it was!!!! I hope tomorrow is the same.
Well, onto this evening. It was my favorite workout of the week tonight, Kempo X. This is the martial arts type workout. I really feel like I could kick some butt after I did this. It really gets the blood pumping and the heart racing. I LOVE the adrenaline this rediculous calorie burner brings. LOVE IT!!!
It is time to switch gears now. After my shower, I have about an hour of typing to do. In addition to everything I've had due for this class this week, I have to read and summarize 10 different articles on the topic of homework. they are due on Monday. Eeeeek! I've got 5 done so far, so I am hoping to get another 2 or 3 tonight. I may just roll into church looking a little haggard tomorrow. May God refresh me and bring me some energy. :o)
Food intake: Nothing amazingly good or too bad...I guess things are always a little off on the weekends.
Breakfast.....none.....saved it for a nice, big brunch. :o)
Brunch-(I'm just estimating by what was left on my plate) about 2 small pancakes, 1 egg, and a pretty good sized sausage link :o) YUM! Mimi's in Murfreesboro
Slept in this morning....at a late breakfast/ early lunch, so I had a snack after the birthday party. I had a yogurt and a granola bar
Dinner-(early dinner) leftover spaghetti
Snack-raw broccoli and carrot slices w/ light ranch dip.
56 days to go!!!

Day 33

Good evening everyone!
Today was a pretty good day. After all of the stressing out over this weekend's grad classes, I was very pleased to receive a perfect score on, not only my presentation tonight, but also a perfect score on the paper I had to submit last week. That certainly makes it feel like the hard work has been worth it.
As far as my workout goes, I completed Back and Legs tonight, along with the Ab Ripper. Good workout, but felt a little more tired than normal. I'm praying against it, but I'm feeling the symptoms of a cold coming on. All in all, it was a great day, but I am now ready for shower, a little tv, and my comfy, cozy bed.
Food intake;
Breakfast- wasn't very hungry this morning, so just grabbed an apple
Snack-yogurt
Lunch- Progresso Light chicken noodle soup
Snack- 90 cal granola bar
Dinner- 350 calorie fresco chicken wrap from taco bell....lol. Didn't want to cook after being in class until 8 tonight! haha Hey....at least I thought about what I ordered. lol
57 days to go!

Day 32

Yoga day, and thank God for that! It's been quite a week, so when I realized that this was my workout for the night, I was more than happy. However, I still had a very hard time just clearing my mind of all of life's stresses. I guess I just wasn't completely in the right frame of mind tonight. Oh well. great workout, nonetheless.
Tomorrow, it's back to grad school. Classes tomorrow night, directly after regular school. I've got a presentation to do tomorrow that I'm not too terribly excited about. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I don't want nerves to take over. I just really wanted to take a second to thank my amazing friends on here for your support and constant encouragement. I couldn't possibly stick to all of this if it weren't for your kind words that always seem to come at just the right time.
Looking forward to hitting it hard with Legs and Back and another round of the Ab Ripper. YEAH!!!
Food intake:
Breakfast- SLim Fast breakfast shake
Snack-granola bar
Lunch-Leftovers from last night- Tilapia fillet, green beans, and a very small serving of rice
Snack- An AMAZINGLY good pink naval orange....picked that up on accident...didn't even know they existed. haha
Dinner- Spaghetti and 1 piece of garlic toast

Day 31

Back into the game full force, folks! I am so happy to back into my routine. I shouldn't feel guilty about being sick, right? Anyhoo, today was Back and Biceps. Killer routine. I feel pumped, and all I can say is BRING ON THE HEAVIER WEIGHTS. Anyone have any dumbells laying around that they don't need? haha
After this cd, it was back to Ab Ripper X! I did the whole thing!!!!! I am so proud of my own progress. That's allowed, right? The best thing about it.....no pains this time. I really think that I must have pulled a muscle and that it just needed to be stretched and strengthened. I know I should still get it checked out. I will try to stay aware of any changes or differences and keep that somewhere at the top of my list.
I am feeling stronger and better than ever. This is an awesome way to focus on myself while, at the same time, working out all of life's stresses and frustrations. Killing 2 birds with 1 stone......that's the way I like it.
Food intake: (much better and more back to normal today)
Breakfast- bowl of cereal and a banana
Lunch- ham and cheddar hot sub (hot pocket...lol)
Dinner- Tilapia fillet, 1 serving of white rice with garlic salt, and a big bunch of green beans! YUM (Also tomorrow's lunch)

31 days down, 59 to go!

Days 29 and 30

Sorry, I've been off on my blogs guys. That stomach virus really threw me for a loop. Once again, I've definitely appreciated these extra days off!
Anyhoo, yesterday, since I still didn't have much of an apetite, I thought I would take 1 more day to just rest and recouperate. I figured that I would start fresh today. Since I didn't want to get behind on my new weekly schedule, I did yesterday's chest, back, and triceps video this morning. I will be doing today's Plyometrics video tonight. I am VERY much looking forward to getting back in the swing of things.
I'm not going to bother posting my food intake for the last couple of days, cause until today, I hadn't consumed hardly any calories at all. I'm finally starting to get my appetite back, as well as my strength. Taking the virus into account, my weigh in results were yet another 2 pounds down this week, as of yesterday. I weighed in at 153. Total weight loss for my first month was 14 pounds! Pretty cool, if I don't say so myself.
I will keep updating as always, and hopefully, starting today, I will be back on my regular schedule. Now, this is my post for today. I won't be posting anything else until tomorrow evening. I've got A LOT of grad school work to get going on. LOTS of stuff is due on Friday.
Thanks for your prayers, thoughts, and support through my being sick and through this journey in general. Your comments and posts have meant a lot to me. I can't believe I'm already 1/3 of the way done with this!
60 days to go!

Days 27 and 28

Hello all! I am sorry that I haven't gotten around to my blog the last couple of days. I am hoping to get back on track today. Saturday, Ceth and I had plans to have our date night, so I had to do my Yoga earlier in the morning, while the kids were napping. I didn't have time to write my blog before I had to head out to Fayetteville to drop the kids off at Ceth's dad's house. Anyhoo, we had a great night....nice alone time with eachother, exactly what we've been needing.
Now, yesterday, was a completely different story. For some reason, around 10 in the morning or so, I started feeling AWFUL. On our way to pick up the kids, I had to get Ceth to pull ver so I could vommit. Yeah, it was like that ALL DAY LONG! I couldn't even hold down water....within 10 minutes, it would be right back up. I know....thanks for the details, right. ANyhoo, I've not eaten anything in over 24 hours now. I'm about to go experiment with some toast. Please pray that it stays down. Obviously, because it would've been completely stupid, not to mention dangerous, I hadto skip my workout, for the very first time last night. :o( Boohoohoo! However, I'm sure I probably lost more weight yesterday, just from...you know, all day. Anyway, thanks for stopping by, and I will write more tonight. Hopefully I will be able to keep some food down and will get back on track this evening.
Thanks everyone!!!!
4 weeks down!!!!
Weigh in posted later today!
63 Days to go!!!!

Day 26

AGood evening, everyone!
I know the blogs have been kind of boring lately. I am hoping that they will get more interesting when I start some new workouts next week. Tonight, I had to do Core Synergistics again....Man....ROUGH!!!! I already know that my middle is gonna be mighty sore tomorrow. However....that's the part thatneeds the most work, so I guess that's good, right? I believe that tomorrow is more Yoga, and I plan on finishing it earlier in the day tomorrow. Ceth and I have an overnight sitter for tomorrow, so we plan on being gone.....well, overnight!! Yeah, us! We haven't had a successful date night in approximately 6 months...lol. It is long overdue, and we both so desperately need this time together. Anyhoo, I will write more tomorrow....hopefully....just keeping it short tonight because it's late and I have got to get some sleep. See ya tomorrow!
Food Intake:
Breakfast- Bowl of Special K cereal
Snack-orange
Lunch-Can of Progresso Light Vegetable soup
Snack- Carrot sticks w/ ranch dip...YES! I DID TURN DOWN EVERY ONE OF THE VALENTINE GOODIES WE HAD AT OUR PARTY TODAY!!!!
Dinner- Leftovers...baked boneless/ skinless chicken breast and steamed veggies
65 Days to go!!!

Day 25

Hello all!
Nothing new or exciting today. Today's workout was X Stretch. It was nice, but I am really looking forward to seeing some of the new workouts that start on Monday. Dreading Core Synergistics a little bit tomorrow. It's pretty rough. Every exercise on that workout focuses on everything between the chest and the knees. Anyhoo...it's late and we've got a big day at school tomorrow, with the Valentine's parties and all. I will write more tomorrow night.
Food Intake:
Breakfast- bowl of cereal
Snack- banana
Lunch- forgot mine at home, so got a very healthy slice of cafeteria pizza and some corn.....lol
No Afternoon snack
Dinner- Baked boneless, skinless chicken breast (1/2 piece), some steamed veggies, and 1/2 cup of rice. Yummy! Yeah...that's going to be tomorrow's lunch too.....if I don't forget to bring it!
66 days to go!

Day 24

Good evening, everone!
I'm done and ready to shower by 10 tonight....not too bad. This is recovery week, so my scheduled workouts are a little different than weeks past. I ad Kenpo again, which we all know that I absolutely LOVE. It's the kickboxing type workout...lots of kicks, jabs, and SWEAT!!!
Good stuff!
Had a nice, very unexpected day off of work today. I was able to take the kids out with a good friend of mine and her young children. It was very noisy, but a lot of fun....not to mention, much needed laughs and fellowship. Thanks, Brittney! Now I feel refreshed and ready to go back to school tomorrow.
Food Intake:
Breakfast- 1 egg white, 1 slice of sausage, and 1 piece of turkey bacon
Lunch- Grilled chicken sandwich
Dinner- Grilled chicken wrap
Snack- orange.
(I didn't eat as many snacks today, since I had taken in more calories with my meals. Good thing I sweat so much during my workout tonight, huh?)
66 days to go!

Day 23

Hello all!
Can't say that today was much better. I did make it through Core Synergistics today, which was a pretty cool workout. This was my first time doing this workout, so it was kind of new and fun. I'm just tired, folks! Today was just an extraordinarily long day. We had a PTO meeting tonight, which was not only intense, but quite long. I do feel like we got some things accomplished though, which is good. However, I didn't get home from school today until after 8:30. UghhhH! Then, I had to get the kids ready for bed, which was not easy, considering they both missed me and wanted to stay up with me. This all resulted in both of them being up waaay past their bed time, lots of crying, and a gigantic headache on my end. Oh well. The night has finally come to an end, and I am just about to say good night, at 10:30....well, probably more like 11, cause I now have to shower. lol
Anyhoo....tomorrow is a new day, and I will be refreshed and ready to begin in the morning.
Food intake:
Breakfast- bowl of Special K
Lunch- 6" turkey sub with vinegarette, lettuce, cucumbers, banana peppers, and green peppers YUMMY!!!!! on wheat
Snack-1 pack of peanut butter crackers
Dinner- Progresso Light Roasted chicken and Rotini soup
67 Days to Go!

Day 22

This is gonna be short.
I had a kinda dumpy day. Looking forward to a better tomorrow. I did, indeed make it through Yoga tonight, somehow, but now, all I want to do is go to bed. Pray that I can keep my strength and my hopes high. Again, today was just one of those days. I will hopefully be more myself tomorrow.

On the brighter side...today was weigh in day. I weighed in at 155...that means 4 more pounds! I am a total of 12 pounds down in 3 weeks! This was the best news of the day, by a country mile. :o) Hopefully I will reach my goal of 140 by the end of all of this. I will get back to you all tomorrow.
God bless!
Erin

Day 21

I have officially made it through the first 3 weeks! Yeah!!!
So, tomorrow, I start my first recovery week, which occurs every fourth week. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I get the week off from doing the Ab Ripper, which is nice. I will be doig Yoga, X Stretch, Kenpo, and something called Core Synergistics...not sure if I spelled that right, nor am I sure of exactly what kind of workout it is, but I am very excited to find out. Anyhoo, tomorrow is my 3rd weigh-in. I am excited to check on my progress and share it with all of you. It's been a very rough and stressful week, and I am very glad to have it behind me. Tomorrow is a new beginning, as is each day that God blesses us with.
Ok, so today, I did do my X Stretch video. It's nice. Not much to share or talk about...other than I am super relaxed now, so hopefully, I will be able to get our crazy dog relaxed so we can go to bed. I will actually be getting in bed close to 10 tonight. Score!
Food intake:
Breakfast- bowl of Special K vanilla almond cereal
Snack- orange
Lunch- Grilled chicken wrap on flour tortilla, with lettuce and light ranch dressing
Snack- banana and some peanut butter crackers
Dinner- Bowl of chicken noodle soup (Progresso light)

69 days to go!!!

Day 20

Good evening readers!
I know it's late. It's like 11:30, but I had a surprise visitor...my friend Brittney....so I was so happy to see her that I was willing to put the exercise off for an hour or so so we could visit. Anyhoo...made it through Kenpo once again. I hope no one's in the mood to mess with me, cause I could kick some serious butt with all of the kicking/ punching training I've had with this video! haha
Workout was great tonight...much better than the rest of my day. Not such a great day. my grad class work doubled as I met my new professor this semester, so I've got a long road of reading, paper writing, and presentation making in front of me....but hey...it will all be over in about 8 weeks, right? :o)
Gonna keep it short and skip to the food intake. I had an extremely stressful and busy day, so my eating was not fantastic today. Unfortunately, I think I underdid it on the calories again today....I was so busy that I honestly just forgot to eat.
Breakfast- I did manage to grab a quick bowl of cereal before I headed to class this morning
Lunch- no time! I was in class until 2....did run home real quick and grab an orange
Dinner- I had a hot dog with the kids.
I know this was not good...but I did make sure that I had a yummy raw broccoli and carrot snack this evening, once I had time to settle down a bit and realized that I was actually hungry.
Oh! I did have a cappuccino this morning on the way to class. It was really stinking cold this morning and I really craved a dose of caffine to get me going...this just seemed like the solution. lol I will do better with my food tomorrow....I promise!
70 days to go!

Day 19

Good evening, readers!
Just finished my back and Legs workout....spectacular! Feelin' pumped! Not to mention, I finished this workout by 9:45 tonight, which is like a record for me! Good time....very sweaty.
So, I just met my second professor for the semester tonight. I am soo terribly overwhelmed, I could just scream! However, I'm just going to grit my teeth and bare it, as I always do. I know God will get me through it. He's the only reason I can ever keep my rediculous schedule under control. The work load for this class, I must say, though extensive...not quite as bad as I was anticipating. I'm just going to have to manage my time well, and use every moment that I have wisely. I am already almost 20 days into this program that I would be devastated if it got messed up, so I'm just going to pull out all of my God-given strength to give everything in my life the attention that it needs and deserves....even my health and my body.
Ok....that sounded like a commercial a little bit. Anyhoo....today was a good day, but I am mentally drained and I've got about 7 hours of class ahead of me tomorrow, so I'm not going to waste any more time. Thanks for stopping by! :o)
Food intake:
Breakfast- blueberry breakfast bar
Snack- orange
Lunch- AWESOME turkey sandwhich with light mayo, 1 slice of cheese and some lettuce...From S&J...Mr. Butler's treat! (I couldn't make it to our staff Christmas party.) and a blueberry fat free yogurt
Snack- granola bar
Dinner- Out of a desperate need to go to the grocery store....a frozen burrito with a slice of cheese and some salsa...about 320 calories.
Doing well with my food...even when eating something not so good for me, like the burritio, at least I am portioning. A couple of weeks ago, I would've eaten 2 of those burritos in 1 sitting, in a heartbeat.....making healthier changes and choices.
71 days to go!!!!

Day 18

Good evening everyone! Tonight was Yoga night. i LOVE Yoga night. I never knew I could be so flexible. Pretty cool! no body aches today. However, everyone's going to be mad at me, but I missed my dr. appointment today. OOPS!!!! Things just got crazy and hectic. I am going to reschedule for monday afternoon. I promise I will listen to my body and not overdo it. :o)
Short blog tonight. I have GOT to get in bed before 11 tonight. I feel very sleep deprived, and I have my second grad class starting tomorrow. I have to get get a better schedule going on here. Ughhhh!
Food Intake:
Breakfast- cereal, skim milk, orange
Snack- fat free yogurt
Lunch- turkey sandwich on wheat, no crust, 1 slice of cheese and mustard...wierd combination, I know, but with the sandwich, I had my leftover broccoli from dinner last night. :o)
Snack- a serving of yogurt covered raisins
Dinner- YUCK! fast food!!!! I couldn't bare the thought of cooking tonight, so I went to Burger King. However, I think I chose the healthiest thing on their menu...a BK Broiler...no mayo or tomatoes....just the grilled chicken, lettuce, 1 slice of cheese, and the bun (the worst part) I looked this up on my iphone and the sanwhich, as menu made, is around 480 calories! However, hopefully I knocked a few of them off by taking off the mayo.
Not too bad, right? :o)
82 Days Left!

Day 17

Good evening friends!
This is me, on day 17 of the P90X fitness program. so far, so good. Tonight, again, was the Arms and Shoulders workout. I am looking forward to finishing this week out, because starting next week, my routines will change up a bit. Every 4th week is called a "recovery" week....still daily workouts, but ones that really focus on stretching and taking care of your body. After that, for the 5th, 6th, and 7th week, I will repeat the same routines but they are different from the ones I've been doing for the last 3 weeks. I am really interested in seeing what they are like. I didn't want to scare myself away, so I haven't checked them out yet.
In addition to Shoulders and Arms tonight, Iwas supposed to do Ab Ripper X. Well, my stubborness caused mer to go ahead and try it out, in spite of the pain that I've been having. However, after simply leaning in for that 1st move, the pain arose, so I took all of my wonderful friends' advice and decided to stay away from it tonight. In the meantime, I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow afternoon, after school, to get everything checked out and try to find the source of the problem. If I have to slack on anymore of my workouts, I may just FREAK OUT!!!! I've GOT to get to the bottom of it. Anyway....feeling great tonight, and Avanell, I just wanted to take a second to really thank you for all of your encouraging insights and words of wisdon. Love you!
Todays Food Intake:
Breakfast- banana and a granola bar
Snack- orange
Lunch- More chicken soup. I LOVE chicken soup...especially on cold days!
Snack- a serving of yogurt covered raisins (YUMMY!!!!!)
Dinner- 1 pork chop...(not breaded....roasted in my flavor wave oven!,) 1 serving of turkey stuffing, and a healthy portion of broccoli with just a smidgeon of cheese sprinkled on it. :o) I am trying to look more at healthy portions rather than dictating to myself that I can't eat certain foods. It's all about portioning, right? I've been doing really well. My soda intake is now maybe 1 every other day. I've NEVER made it more than 24 hours without a soda before now. Also, NO SWEETS!!!!! NONE in 17 days! How about that, huh?
Finally, I wanted ot share one last thing tonight....I guess I am working on self improvement all around these days. I have now officially broken a lifelong habit....My Grandmother will be soooo proud! I have completely quit biting my fingernails. I used to bite them down as far as it is possible to. I've done this for as long as I can remember. I quit this around the same time that I started this whole shebang. I now have nails that I don't have to hide, and I am having so much fun actually being able to paint them and such. Yeah....just wanted to share that.
73 days to go!

Day 16

Ok, so it's 10:15, and I just finished my workout. If you can't say anything good about be, you can say that I'm committed to this, right?
Tonight was Plyometrics again! I am really growing to LOVE this workout. It is AMAZING!!! Again, Plyometrics is the art of jumping. There is a lot of squat jumps, some crazy switch lunges, and even some fun sports moves.....altogether, really quickly, combining to be one of the most intense, efficient, and effective workouts I have ever been a part of. Again...I really am beginning to love this one inparticular.
For those of you who may be concerned about my last post, this workout doesn't affect that pelvic pain at al. Aparently, during this workout, I am not using that muscle, or whatever it is. I do have a doctor appointment for Thursday afternoon, so I am taking your advice and getting it checked out. With that said, I think I am going to listen to my body and skip the Ab Ripper X tomorrow night. I will continue on with the Arms and Shoulders workout, but I will skip the Ripper for the night tomorrow. :o(
I am feeling good, but very tired. I've got some MAJOR grad school work coming up, and I have got to somehow figure out a better way to manage the little bits of time that I have. This whole thing means so much to me that I feel like I just can't give it up. however, I have some other extremely important committments in my life that I can't forget about...most importantly, my children. They are why I wait until late at night, once they are in bed, to do my workouts. However, I am finding myself with a lot less time to get my grad school work done, not to mention, the late nights are taking their toll a bit. Therefore, for the next week or so, I will be experimenting with how to best manage my time. Tips and advice, again, are greatly appreciated. Anyone know how to add another 2-3 hours to the day?
Food Intake:
Breakfast- Special K cereal (I had 2 servings of it this morning. :o)
Snack- Banana
Lunch- Progresso light Roasted Chicken SOup, Light banana strawberry yogurt
Snack- raw carrot slices with light Ranch dip
Dinner- Whole wheat pasta with spaghetti sauce (no meat), 1 slice of garlic bread
As you can see, I've been working on bringing up my calorie intake a bit. I feel like I am doing better, but I would like to try to start eating a bigger breakfast, and smaller meals as the day goes on. I know I need some carbs for an energy boost, but I hate eating them in the evening. Hey...that's what it's all about, right? Learning how to tweak things to best suit.
74 Days to Go!!!

Day 15

Ok....so, this morning was time for my 2nd official weigh-in. I was a little disappointed to see that this past week, I only lost another pound and a half. I am down to 159 even...which is fantastic, because I am no longer in the 160's. Anyhoo, I do realize that every week is not going to be a big weight loss week like last week. However, I couldn't help being a little disappointed because I feel like I did so much better this past week and that I was physically able to work harder. Ceth assures me that it's because I've been putting on a lot of muscle. I think I will stay positive and keep telling myself that. :o)
Tonight's workout was back to the Chest and Back. I don't know what is going on, but for the past 2 weeks, as soon as I put myself in the push-up position, I get this HORRIBLE shooting pain in the lower left side of my tummmy....like almost down in my pelvis. Anyone know what in the world that could be? I hate it, because it affects my performance, and I am afraid to push myself too much out of fear of really injuring myself. I also hate it because tonight was Ab Ripper X night again, and after doing sooooo well on the Ab Ripper on Friday, it was realld discouraging not to be able to do as well this time around. Last week, the pain did not go away until after my Thursday Yoga workout. I can't figure out what it is, but it seems to be a strain or a pull of some sort. Any tips would be GREATLY appreciated. It was a very painful workout night. I am VERY much looking forward to Plyometrics tomorrow night, believe it or not. I won't have to use that muscle, or tendon, or whatever it is!
Food intake is improving. I've bumped up my calorie intake to between 1,000 and 1,200 a day. I think this is much better than 800. I've added some fruits, like bananas, oranges, and fruity yogurts. Today, however, since I had the day off of work yet again, the family and I decided to headout to Murfreesboro to hang for the day. We went to Demos' for lunch. I had never been there before, but had always wanted to go. I was really hungry, since it was like 1:00 and all I'd had so far was my bowl of cereal. I decided on a roasted chicken soup starter, and a seafood pasta salad....BAD IDEA!!!! Not only was it probably LOADED with calories, but I haven't eaten anything rich like that for a couple of weeks now. All I can say is that I definitely paid for that choice. lol I haven't even had an appetite since then, but I did snack on some raw carrots this evening around dinner time. I do feel much better now. Anyhoo, I am hoping tomorrow will be a better day, and please, don't forget, that if you have any idea what this pain might be, please share any ideas you may have. I've GOT to get rid of this!!!!
75 Days to Go!!

Day 14

Good evening, everyone!
Today, I completed my 2nd week of my new exercise program. On the 7th day of every week, I am given the option to either rest or do the Stretch video. Our day wrapped up really late tonight, and because of a little visitor I received today, I'm just not feeling up to doing my stretches tonight. If it had been a mandatory workout, I would be all over it, but, call me a woose if you will, I am opting for the "rest" tonight.
I did not get my crab legs as I had hoped to last night, thanks to the weather. We braved the roads and went to visit my mom in Lewisburg. They really missed the kids and we were all going stir crazy. So, our wonderful date night turned into dinner in Looserburg, walking around Walmart, and spending the night with my mommy. We had a good time playing Beetles Rock Band all night and just visiting. Anyway, I am beat, so I am going to bed. Hopefully tomorrow's blog will be more interesting. My weekly weigh-in is tomorrow, so be sure to check in on my progress. I am excited to see myself.
76 more days!

Day 13

I am writing my blog a little earlier today. Ceth and I have a babysitter for the night and actually get to go out on a much needed date! YEAH!!!
Today was Kenpo X. I LOVE this workout. It is kind of martial arts, so to speak. It's a lot of kicking, blocks, jabs, etc. It's a lot of fun, but it's a lot of work. This is the sweatiest workout EVER! I LOVE IT!!!!
I can't log my food intake today, other than breakfast and lunch. I will not be able to get back to my computer until tomorrow. However, I can tell you that I full intend on eating some Dungenous Crab legs from Joe's tonight. :o) I deserve a little bit of a treat, right?
Breakfast- Bowl of cereal 1/2 cup of skim milk
Snack- Banana
Lunch- Turkey sandwhich on wheat, 1 slice of low fat cheese, blueberry yogurt
No afternoon snack....saving calories for dinner tonight! haha

77 Days to go!

Day 12

Good evening, everyone!
I'm finishing my workout a little late tonight. I let the kids stay up a little later tonight, in hopes that they will sleep in a little bit in the morning. :o)
Tonight's workout was Legs and Back. This time around, I was able to do ALL of the leg workouts, for the set amount of time. I even added some weights this time around to add a little more resistance an dintensity. YEAH, ME! Now, as far as the pull-ups go, I am still struggling. i still have to use a chair for assistance, but this time, I was able to push it back a little further and rely on my arms a lot more. I know I will be able to push out 10 at a time before long. haha
It was also Ab Ripper X night. This went better than ever. I guess that pain I'd been feeling in the left side of my pelvis must have just been a tight muscle. Whatever it was, Yoga took care of it last night. I hung with every exercise they did, even got a few reps in of some exercises that I'd not been able to do until tonight. My abdominals are DEFINITELY getting stronger.
GREAT WORKOUT TONIGHT!!!!

Food intake:
Breakfast- Special K cereal and a banana
Snack- 100 calorie pack of popcorn
Lunch- other half of mu turkey sub from last night
Snack- The juciest, most amazing orange I've ever had
Dinner- 1 baked porkchop (no breading), green beans, and 1 serving of rice.

Drinks: TONS of water, total of 1 1/2 cups of skim milk for the day, Oh, and I did cave and have 1 VERY small glass of diet coke. :o)

Day 11

Today was Yoga day. THANK THE LORD!!!! The stretching really did my body good tonight. These last few days at school have been doozies. I love my babies, but they have been CRAZY wild this week. Even the ones that I never have to worry about have just been messes this week. I think it's something in the air. I've certainly been on edge myself. Not to mention that I saw a mouse in my classroom last week, that we have yet to be able to locate since. Until today, that is. I will spare the details and just leave it at he bacame a strange smell coming out of one of the heaters in the classroom. YUCK!!!! Anyhoo, enough of that. My point is.....I was very thankful for my hour and a half tonight of just stretching, balancing, and relaxing. It really did help me to just clear my mind and focus on ......Nothing....which was a beautiful thing.
Legs and Back come tomorrow...another killer. Pray for me. I've got my first meeting with my second professor for the semester tomorrow after school. After meeting the first one last weekend, I just can't wait to see what this one has in store for us. Let's see just how many papers I can write in two months' time. As of now, with the one class, I have 10 article summaries, an interview, 2 power point presentations, and an 8 page term paper. Ughhhhh! Ok...gonna stop now. I'm getting myself all worked up again. All I can say is...LET IT SNOW!!!!
Food intake:
(I did much better today, I think. I added some fruits and such to bring in some more variety in my food groups and to up my calorie intake.)
Breakfast- Special K cereal
Snack- banana
Lunch- can of Progresso light Chicken and Dumpling soup (180 calories)
Snack- Mixed Berry light yogurt and a bottle of cranberry juice
Dinner- 6 inch Subway turkey and black forest ham sub. YUMMY!!!!!
If my calculations are correct, I took in approximately 1,100 calories today...which is more where I think I should be. Much better than 800, right?
79 days to go!! Out of the eighties! Yeah!!!

Day 10

You guys getting tired of reading these yet? If so, I'm gonna keep doing it anyway! :o) It's really helping me to stay in check by making this blog a part of my committment.
I felt completely drained when I got up this morning, so I have made an executive decision. I am going to try and fit a few more calories into my diet each day. My mom suggested trying to squeeze in more fruits, or even an extra carb or starch. These will all be good energy sources and will bring my daily calorie intake up a little bit.
Today's workout was Shoulders and Arms. I upped my weights a little bit, so I definitely feel like I got more out of this particular workout this time around. GOOD STUFF!!! Also, it's every other day, so I had to throw the Ab Ripper X in after the Shoulder and Arms workout. I did MUCH better this time. I love that I am improving with each go around. I can really feel myself getting stronger. "I hate it....but I love it!" However, I have recently noticed a very sharp stabbing pain in my lower, left side of my pelvis.....only when I am in certain positions....For example, when in the push-up position on Monday, it was KILLER! I am not sure what it is, and it seems to be getting better, but if anyone has any ideas of what it might be, please share. I am definitely looking forward to Yoga tomorrow. Maybe it's just a tight muscle that needs to be loosened. If so, Yoga will definitely do the trick.
Food intake:
Breakfast- turkey bacon on toast, 1/2 cup of 2% milk
Lunch- 1 can of Progresso light Pot Roast soup
Snack- 1 package of animal crackers
Dinner- 1 salmon patty, salad, and a small portion of roasted chicken. (I was kinda scrounging the leftovers.) haha
10 days down, 80 to go!!!

Day 9

I'm gona have to keep this short tonight. CRAZY day at school...even crazier day at home. However, thanks to some amazing friends, we now have our indoor plumbing back. lol
I was back on Plyometrics tonight...jump training. Whew!! As Tony Horton says...it is definitely the mother of all X workouts. I tell you what...nonstop for 54 minutes. VERY intense cardio and leg workout. I'm gonna have some banging legs by the end of the 90 days. :o)
Food intake:
I couted up my calories the last few days, and I actually don't think I am eating a healthy amount. (Not enough) So, I'm going to have to think of good ways to improve that this week. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Breakfast- Special K vanilla almond cereal
Lunch- Progresso Light Vegetable soup
Snack- 100 calorie pack buttered popcorn
Dinner- 1 Salmon patty, a GORGEOUS salad, and a little bit of roasted chicken. I was REALLY hungry this evening, and I had the calories to spare, so I did splurge a little. I will admit it.
81 Days to go!!!!!

Day 8

Day 8 folks! I actually made it through my first week. Now, as far as the workouts go, I will be following the same sequence of videos for the next 2 weeks. After that, the calendar changes a bit.
I just took my second swing at the Chest and Back workout. I'm now able to do more push-ups than ever before. It's really encouraging to know that each time I do these workouts, I do a little better....even if it is only by 1 or 2 more push-ups. Anyhoo....still practicing the pull-ups/ chin-ups. that's gonna take a while I'm afraid. Using a chair to assist for now, but I know, before it's all said and done, I will meet that goal as well. :o)
Well, it's been really hard to not weigh myself throughout this week, but I am going to try and only do it every Monday morning. This is humiliating to post my weight at this point, but I want to really be able to see my changes over time, so here we go. My starting weight, last Monday morning, January 18th, was 167 lbs. This morning, when I weighed, I was down to 160.5! YEAH!!! 6 1/2 pounds this week! Considering the fact that I know I've put on a little muscle this week, I'd say that's not so bad for the first week. The people on the video said that after the first month is when you really start to see some results. I can't wait!!! Anyway....good day! No crying at the scale!
Food intake:
Breakfast- a fat free 100 calorie lemon cream pie yogurt, 1 cup 1% milk (I LOVE milk!)
Snack- Special K 90 calorie snack bar
Lunch- Turkey sanwich on whole wheat, 1 slice of cheese, and another yogurt
Snack- 100 calorie pack, snack mix
Dinner- 1 can of Progresso Light chicken noodle soup, 140 calories
(By the way......I turned down a beautiful piece of pumpkin bread with an icing drizzle on it that was homemade by one of the other teacher's at school. It was hard, but I stuck to my guns! Man, it really smelled great! lol)
LOTS of water

Day 7

Well, today's workout was a treat. I had a choice of either taking a rest or doing the video called XStretch. Since I don't want to get out of the habit, I went for the video. It was nice. It had a lot of the same moves as the Yoga video. It was still a workout, and it is intended to, over time, make you more limber and flexible. Some of the moves were a little uncomfortable, but it's pretty amazing how by the end of the video even, your muscles are so relaxed and stretched out that your body is able to do things that it's never been able to before.
I will be weighing myself in for the first time tomorrow and will HOPEFULLY be posting a decent weight loss. I am trying not to get my hopes up, but surely it's something. This is the best I've treated my body in a long time....food AND exercise wise. Looking forward to updating everyone tomorrow. Don't forget to come back tomorrow and check in on my progress. Headed for my Sunday night TV now. Everyone have a great night.
Food intake:
Breakfast- 1/2 whole wheat bagel w/ fat free cream cheese, 2 slices of turkey bacon
Lunch- Grilled chicken wrap w/ lettuce and fat free ranch dressing
Dinner- 1/2 boneless/ skinless chicken breast, 1/3 cup of rice, and steamed broccoli and carrots
83 days to go!!!

Day 6

Hello again!
Today was day 6 of my long journey, and i have to say that I LOVED my workout today!!! We did Kempo X, which is a type of karate / kickboxing type thingy. I am sweating insanely, but I this was my favorite workout so far, by a long shot! It was fast, busy, rhythmic, and before I knew it, the entire hour was done. This was a major cardio workout that left me just feeling awesome. I really feel myself getting in shape already, and it's only the first week. I can't wait to see how I look/ feel in another week or two.
Monday morning will be my official weigh-in. I'm a little nervous about seeing if there's any change, because I know that I've gained some muscle, and I know that muscle weighs more than fat. However, I still hope to see a few lower numbers on my scale. I will be sure to blog my results.
By the way, I do finally have my "Before" picture. I am simply trying to gather the courage to post it. I really do want to share my progress over time, so I will do....just not tonight. haha
For those of you who read my last blog, I FINALLY figured out where all of this water has been hiding in my yard from the leak. Aparently, it has found the trench that holds the sewer line and, since it runs right beside the main water line to the house, the water has decided to follow down that trench and go wherever that goes. Anyhoo, one of the wonderful, beautiful, amazing women that I teach with has an experienced husband in that department. They have offered to help us out this coming week, saving us a lot of money. Holly....Thanks so much!!! Anyway, my point in telling this is that I feel a little bit of peace...not near the stress that I felt yesterday. Thank the Lord!
Food intake:
Breakfast- 2 scrambled egg whites and 3 slices of turkey bacon
Lunch- Turkey sandwich on whole wheat w/ 1 slice of cheese and mustard
Dinner- I saved up some calories during the day by eliminating inbetween meal snacks, so I indulged in 1 serving of whole wheat pasta and 1/2 cup of Ragu sauce ...I thought I was going toregret this choice, but it actually added up to 350 calories anyway! Yeah!
Tomorrow, I think I'm going to have to switch up lunch. I don't want to get sick of turkey sandwiches. :o)
84 days to go!!!!!

Day 5

Hello again!
Today was day #5. I've made it almost through my first week, with no faulter. Today's workout was Back and Legs. I tell you what....If I finish this with nothing els, I am definitely going to have some killer muscular legs. haha Anyhoo, along with that workout, it was time, yet again, for the Ab Ripper X. TORTURE!!! Each time I do it, I do a lot better than the last, but I am anxiously awaiting being able to completely keep up with them with as many reps as they do. That will be the last of the Ab Ripper that I will see until Monday. I am even more exhausted today than on normal days. Yesterday we were told by the meter man that we have a water leak somewhere, so I, being the cheep skate that I am, have spent about an hour over the last 24 hours getting down and personal with our crawl space. I wanted to know, at least, that my house's undercarriage wasn't flooding. Military crawling the square footage of a hard and rocky crawl space is quite a workout in itself. Anyway, we finally, with the help of a retired plumber neighbor, decided that it must be the main line from the meter to the house. Now, I'm left with 1 perplexing question....Where in the world has the 50,000 gallons of water that has leaked gone to??!!! There is absolutely no sign of the water anywhere, but the meter is just a spinnin'. I had to swallow my pride and call a plumber. They have spray painted my yard and my flower bed and have plans to dig up and replace the whole pipe. Yeah....$600!!!! Go figure. Luckily, the electric company is "supposed" to adjust our bill. We will jump that hurdle when we get there. On top of all of the water drama, I started my grad classes for the semester again tonight. I now have 2 months to find and read 10 articles on a certain subject, write a 2 page paper on each of them, do an interview with another teacher, create a presentation on that, Write an 8 page research paper on that topic, and again create a presentation on that. Hmmmm. I wonder if I can pay an expert $600 to add some more time to each day. Needless to say, I am feeling a little bit wiped out today, very soor, and ready for bed. However, I stuck to my program. Didn't get done until 10:30, lost some precious sleep time, but sacrifice is what it's all about, right? I WILL not get discouraged. I have some pretty big goals set, but I know that with God and the support of my wonderful hubby, I will reach each one. Ok....I will stop whining now and go nurse my bruised and scraped knees that my new friend, crawlspace gave me.
Food intake:
Breakfast- I was bad....skipped breakfast from feeling stressed and rushed. I know I should NEVER do that!
Lunch- Turkey sandwhich with mustard and a slice of cheese, 1 fat free yogurt
Dinner- An ENTIRE can of spaghettios, because I was STARVING. Luckily, the entire can was only 350 calories.
No sodas again today.....just TONS of water. Yes, I have earned frequent flyer miles from the bathroom over the last couple days. :o)
See you tomorrow!
85 days to go!!!!

Day 4

Hello again! I can't believe I've actually come back to blog every day so far. I mean, that is my intention, but I am also known as the Queen of Procrastination. Anyhoo, just finished my workout for the night. I had to do Yoga X. Now, first of all, anyone who thinks that Yoga is just a bunch of silly stretching is waaaaay wrong. Isweat just as much during this workout as I have the others. It was an hour and a half long, and let me tell you, I LOVE me some yoga! By half way through the workout, I truly was more flexible. now, I will have to keep doing this regularly to maintain and improve that flexibility and balance, but we all know that I am going to continue regularly, right?
Great day today! I made it through another day of work without any caffine. I did feel a little sluggish, but overall, good. I think as I continue my program, my energy will increase. Now I just need to work on my number of hours of sleep. I don't get nearly enough. Anyhoo, not much amazing stuff to talk about today, other than the fact that I have made it another day! :o)
Food intake:
Breakfast- 3/4 cup of vanilla almond special k cereal w/ 1/2 cup 2% milk
Snack- Special K 90 calorie snack bar
Lunch- Turkey sandwich on wheat bread w/ no crust, mustard, and 1 slice of cheese, 1 Nonfat yogurt
Snack- 100 calorie snack mix pack
Dinner- 1 grilled Tillapia fillet with steamed mix vegetables. YUMMY!!!!

Come back tomorrow!!! 86 days to go!

Day 3

Ok. So today was day # 3. I actually felt much better this morning than I thought I would. My legs were still sore, just in different spots. Today I had the luxury of working out my arms and shoulders. I came to one conclusion...I NEED HEAVIER WEIGHTS! I am so proud to say that. I just want to make sure that if I go through this whole program, I actually do my very, VERY best. I want to put my all into this, just to see what I'm really made of. Anyhoo, today almost seemed like a treat compared to the jumping and kicking for over an hour straight that I had to do yesterday. That was until I looked at my workout calendar and reminded myself that it was Ab Ripper X day again.....every other day in addition to your daily workout. MAN OH MAN!!! I've got to say...for a 16 minute workout, the Ab Ripper is quite a beast. However, it will definitely take a beast to rip my abs. haha. However, I did notice that, even though I didn't get as many reps in as the pros on the video did, I was able to do more than I was the first night. Am I already getting stronger? Ah...too soon to tell. I will be checking my weight at the end of each week, which will be Monday mornings. I am going to keep track of any weight loss and change in my measurements. I don't want to do it any more often than every week, caus eI don't want to get discouraged over teensy amounts of progress. Right now, I need to focus on how I feel....and I feel GREAT!!!
Not that anyone cares, but I am trying to keep a daily note of my food intake.
Today:
Breakfast- 3/4 cup of vanilla almond Special K cereal with 1/2 cup 2% milk. YUMMY!!!
Snack- 90 calorie snack bar by Special K
Lunch- 1 salmon fillet, 1/2 cup parmesean pasta....no butter, 1 fat free 100 calorie yogurt cup
Snack- 1 mini bag popcorn (100 calorie)
Dinner- (I decided to have breakfast for dinner) 2 scrambled egg whites and 3 35calorie slices of turkey bacon.
NO SODAS TODAY!!!! I just drank a ton of water...and guess what? I didn't even get my anticipated caffine withdrawl headache!
87 Days to Go!!!!!

Day 2

This morning, I woke up, and I could hardly move! My poor kindergarteners were worried about me all day, because every time I tried to sit down, I made A LOT of noise. haha You should have seen my trying to bend down and tie shoes! The workout yesterday was for chest and back, with the additional ab workout. However, I feel it in every inch of my body! I guess I know now, just how out of shape I've really been. For some reason, I was looking forward to tonight's workout all day today. I kept thinking to myself that if I work through the pain, my muscles will loosen up and stretch back out. It worked!
Today's video was called Polyometrics. It is a cardio workout, based on kicking and jumping. Tony Horton calls it the "Mother of all X Workouts." Needless to say, I was pretty nervous about it. I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my life! Every muscle in my legs were getting worked to the limit. I did have to modify a couple of the moves, but I didn't stop! There were several points throughout the workout that I didn't think I could keep going. However, he breaks each exercise up into 30 second slots....goes through 4 back-to-back exercises, then repeats the series. There were, I think, 5 blocks of 4 different exercises. Well, I kept pushing and pushing myself and I made it until the very end!
As far as food today, I did really good as well. I had a Special K bar for breakfast, chicken breast, 1 cup of brown rice, and some broccoli and carrots for lunch, and for dinner, I had a salmon fillet with a beautiful salad. Most importantly....only 1 diet coke today! For anyone who knows me, this is a huge thing. I am really trying to kick my coke addiction...lol. I drank water, water, WATER!
How am I feeling? I feel flipping fantasctic! I can not express how amazing I feel after completing tonight's workout, and not having quit even once. I feel really motivated and extremely proud of myself. My husband is so supportive. Hopefully with all of this, our whole family will benefit. We will become more healthy, by eating better, and by making sure that we take part in physical activity every day. I am more motivated now than ever, but I know, at times, it will be difficult, so please remember to leave comments of encouragement. They are greatly appreciated. Until tomorrow......God bless, and have a great night!
88 days to go!!!!

Day 1

So, today was my very first day of the 90 day program. I knew ahead of time that I was going to need some resistance bands and a doorway pull-up bar. I knew from the start that this was bad news becuase I've never....not even in my best physical condition, been able to do even 1 pull-up. However, I pushed aside my fear, knowing that the program does not expect you to be able to do everything that they do in the first week. They say that the key is to simply stick to it, don't give up, do absolutely as much as you can, and be sure to push play on the dvd player every day. Tony Horton is the guy that created this system. He's quite entertaining to work out with. He's very passionate about it, and he's very encouraging. His enthusiasm is a bit annoying at times, but he's good.
The first part of the workout was a 60 minute chest and back workout. Now I am not looking to get ripped and become some kind of body builder, but I definitely want to firm up....everywhere. I mean, I have had 2 children, and as I said before, I've let myself go. During this workout, there were SEVERAL kinds of push-ups, pull-ups, and free weight work that focused on back and chest muscles. The folks on the video helped with ways to modify/ simplify some of the moves, until we get more used to and better able to do it. For example, you were allowed/ encouraged to steady yourself on a chair to assist diring the pull-ups. I did all right with some of the push-ups, but I have a long way to go. I was able to do between 5 and 10 of each kind, and that was it. They said to state a goal of how many of each set you were going to do, and then do everything in your power to meet that goal. If you can surpass it, go for it.
The second part of the workout, which I will have to do every other day, is called Ab Ripper X. WOW! It is only 16 minutes long, but it's 16 minutes of complete torture. During the workout, Tony Horton said...."I hate ab ripper! I hate it, but I love it!." lol I thought this was hilarious. I was not able to keep up with all of the ab exercises that they did....extremely quick and very advanced, but I did as he said...if you need a break, take one. Just don't stop moving. It will get easier, but continue to push me. At this point, I can't imagine it ever getting easier, but it is way to soon to tell or to try and doubt the program.
So, how am I feeling? LIKE RUBBER!!! I am sure that when I wake up in the morning, I will not be able to move, but I WILL NOT GIVE UP. Tomorrow, I have to focus on different muscles and work out along with another dvd. I'm too tired to check and see what it's called right now, but I will let you know tomorrow. I will keep you posted! :o) I feel like Tony Horton. "I hate it, but I love it!" I hate it because I am sore and tired, but I already love the feeling that I have from putting myself on the right road. I already feel like I'm doing something.
My BEFORE pictures are coming soon. I will post my pic once a week so that we can all see the changes. this will be extremely humiliating for me, but I think it will also help me. Yeah me! 89 days to go! :o)

Introduction to.....Me!

Before officially starting this blog, you have to get to know me a little before even beginning to understand my upcoming journey or the reasons behind it. First off, I am approaching 30. I am a kindergarten teacher, but first and foremost a wife and mother. My husband and I have been married for going on 8 years. My two sons, Noah and Jonas, will be 6 and 2 this spring. My husband and I were friends in high school, but didn't start dating until immediately after I had graduated. I know for a fact that I couldn't possibly be more in love with anyone than I am with him. He is truly my soulmate. My family is MY WORLD!!!!! with my job taking a close second place. This all sounds lovely and grand until, one day, I had completely forgotten who I was before I became "Woman," "Mommy," and "Mrs. Erin." Who am I? Now, please don't get me wrong. I LOVE my life, and I wouldn't change it for the world. However, there are some aspects of it that I have simply decided to enhance. Number 1 being to treat myself the way I should be treated. I have not been doing this. I haven't been taking care of myself. I've let my looks go. I'm no longer the fit athlete that I used to be. Also, because of this, I always feel tired and drained of energy. I remember a famous and horribly annoying quote, that is very unfortunately relevant to my current self. "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired." Now, a very important part of my character is the part that is described as stubborn and competitive. I know that it is only because of these qualities that I WILL succeed in my plan to become fit and healthy.
I have read a lot about P90X, and it is an extremely difficult, intense workout program that guarantees results if you stick to it. This will, if all goes as planned, become a part of my lifestyle, and not just something I am trying out for a while. I know that I can stick to anything for 90 days, but making permanent changes in my life, as far as exercise and the food choices I make, is the part that is really going to challenge me.
So, here's the thing. I am going to blog about my initial 90 days in the P90X program. I will document my food intake, the exercises and times that were required for the day, and most importantly, how I am feeling along the way. I have reached a point in my life where I realize that until I am happy with myself, I will never be the best mother, wife, teacher, or person in general that I can and want to be. Here's what I need from anyone who actually reads this blog. ENCOURAGEMENT!!! I do not give up or give in easily...just ask my husband. However, as in any workout/ diet program, you don't see results right away. I never, at any point in this journey, want to feel discouraged or like I am just wasting my time. My time is precious, and I don't have a lot of it to spare, and this program is going to take up approximately 90 minutes of every day for the next 3 months. Any words of encouragement or positive comments are definitely welcomed and appreciated.
Come back soon and check up on my progress. My plan is to blog DAILY about my experiences. I think that writing this all down and sharing my feelings about all of this is going to benefit me and keep me motivated. I hope, when all is said and done, that I've motivated someone else in someway.