Day 30

I have a feeling I am not getting enough rest. Now that we've been doing our workouts in the evenings (around 9 pm) and then I have to take a shower after that and dry my hair...it's usually 11 before I get in bed and at least midnight (sometimes ONE!!!) before I finally put down my book/turn off the TV and fall asleep. Then it's up at about 6:20 to fix Matt's breakfast and lunch and do my work (for the dr. office). Anyway, this morning after I had finished all that, I went and laid back down beside Brooklyn (who was still asleep) and thought I'd take a little nap. HA! I slept until 10 AM! (it was probably around 8 when I laid down) I could NOT believe I slept that long and that sound. Even when I woke up at 10, I felt like I could have fallen right back asleep! Anyway, my goal for this next week is to get to sleep earlier. No later than 11:30. That's my goal for now. Then the next week maybe I'll make it 11 and eventually, I would love to be getting to sleep around 10--but we'll see. That IS my only ME time of the whole day.

Anyhow, my eating today was all screwed up since I didn't even have my first meal until 10:30 a.m.!
Here's the menu:
Breakfast:
Matt: Kashi Go Lean oatmeal, skim milk, banana
Me: Eggwhite scramble with FF cheddar cheese, 2 turkey bacon, skim milk and 1 of my blueberry muffins.

Lunch/Dinner (4:30 pm) : Chick fil a chicken sandwich & fruit cup.

Snack (7 pm): Blueberry muffin

Snack (10:30 p.m.-after Yoga X): 1 slice light whole wheat toast with 100% natural strawberry preserves.

If there was any ever doubt...

whether or not this program works....you should just take a look at my hot hubby! He has gone from 200 pounds to 186 in a little over a month!! FOURTEEN POUNDS! This is purely from P90X---doing the work outs and eating what it says in the nutritional guide. His pants are practically falling off of him now (woohoo!!) and I can see the muscles beginning to bulge in his back, chest and shoulders!
I know the only part we can see is the superficial part...the exterior...but just IMAGINE what he is doing for his body on the inside!! He is adding YEARS to his life! And...hey, he's pretty easy on the eyes too! I feel like I am becoming more attracted to him with every passing day. Not just because of how he is looking, but I can see a man who is full of dedication and perserverance. A man who loves and cares enough about his family to take good care of himself and be the leader that we need him to be. What's more sexy than that? This is a man, who after a long day of doing hard physical labor out in the hot sun all day, comes home---lights the grill and cooks our supper, helps me with the dishes (usually) and then goes against everything his body wants...and puts on his work out clothes to do his daily work out.
No wonder I married him!
I know this is getting mushy---and I really wasn't intending to do that...but I don't say it enough---I LOVE THIS MAN! and I am SO LUCKY to be his wife!
We really are proof that love GROWS. Yes, we were "in love" way back in the beginning, but NOTHING in those early years compares to what we have now. We are ONE FLESH. We can't stand to be without each other for 1 day. How many couples can say that after 10+ yrs. of marriage? I know a few (go KC!) but for the most part, I think this kind of love and relationship is rare these days. I am so proud to be a living example of what God meant for marriage to be!

Fast-Track Blueberry Muffin

Here is the muffin recipe I made last night. These aren't the sweetest muffins in the world...but they are yummy and healthy and suprisingly even my kids ate them!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. wheat flour
3/4 c. flax seed meal
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 apples, shredded
3/4 c. skim milk
1 egg
2 egg whites
1tsp. vanilla
1 c. blueberries
non-stick muffin tin
(I also put walnuts and raisens in about half of mine)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients together (except fruit).
Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and beat for 30 seconds, add apples.
Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir and fold in blueberries.
Spray muffin tin with Pam so muffins won't stick. Fill each muffin tin cup 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. (15 servings)

Nutritional Info:
Serving size : 1 muffin
Cal: 140
Fat total: 2.5 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Carbs: 28 g
Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 4 g

Day 29

Hey, what a coincidence! We are on day 29 on the 29th! Cool! (ha ha)
Anyhow, it's been a busy day...but good. I got up this morning and went to the gym for my "normal" class. But today it was anything BUT normal. I swear...this teacher of mine...she is Tony Horton's perfect match! P90X had NOTHIN on the work out I did with her today! GEEPERS! It was TOUGH! 3 rounds of interval training consisting of 2 minutes of cardio, 2 minutes of plyometrics, 2 minutes of core...then repeat. Then onto round 2 and so on. After all that, we did about 15 minutes of weights and abs. Whew!
Just now, Matt and I finished doing our P90X workout which was Back & Biceps w/ ARX. Let me just say...we felt the BURN! Yeeow!!
Eating today was good at home...but for lunch we had Micky-D's!! (We had 3 free sandwich coupons and it was cheap happy meal day--so our whole meal (all 4 of us) cost $5.26!!)
Here's what we ate:
Breakfast: Protien bar & Banana (on the way to the gym)

Snack: 1/2 Peak Performance meal replacement bar

Lunch: Fish o' filet sandwhich from McDonalds MINUS the bun and tartar sauce--we ate ONLY the fish. We also halved 1 chicken sandwhich (no mayo and only half the bun) and each had a fruit & Yogurt Parfait.

Snack: Small bowl of sliced peaches, 1 stalk celery with natural peanut butter

Dinner: Grilled Salmon, stir fry veggies

Dessert/Snack: 2 Blueberry muffins from Thin Kitchens Recipe book. (made with wheat flour, wheat germ, flax seed, shredded apples, blueberries, egg whites....Very healthy).

Weigh-Day (mid week)

Well, Since Monday was Memorial Day...we forgot to do our weigh in. We decided to weigh this morning instead and see where we are.
Matt weighed 190!!! Which means he's lost a total of 10 pounds now!
I weighed 139!!! HALLELUJAH!!! That means I am down by 8 pounds....but the fact that my first two numbers are a 13_ makes me super-dooper excited. It's been a long, long time since I've been under 140. I am only 9 pounds from my goal weight now....which is weird. Kind of bittersweet. I am starting to think that 9 pounds isn't going to be enough. I still have a loooooooong way to go before my body is in the kind of shape I am expecting after this program...and I'm not sure 9 pounds is going to make that kind of difference. Anyway, no biggie---I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and see where that takes me! It's not all about the number on the scale...that much I KNOW. It's WAY more important to look and feel great than to have a 115 on the scale. (I think anyway! 115 sure would be awesome! :o)

Day 28

I had a very good and productive day today. I got up, got my computer work done, got the house cleaned, PUSH mowed the front and back yards, swam for a bit in the pool, cooked dinner, did the dishes and THEN did my Plyometrics DVD. Whew! I am exhausted now...but it feels so good to feel like I've really accomplished something! I also ate good today! YAY!
Breakfast:
Kashi Go Lean Honey Almond Flax oatmeal, skim milk

Snack: Protien bar & Banana

Lunch:
Me: Southbeach Living Ham & Swiss sandwich on whole wheat.
Matt: Turkey & swiss sandwich on 2 slices light whole wheat, apple slices with natural peanut butter.

Dinner: Veggie spagetti sauce (squash, zucchini, bell pepper, onion, tomato & ground turkey in an all natural, sugar-free spagetti sauce) over whole wheat Ronzoni noodles (3/4 c.) with big salad, sliced carrots and sliced peaches.
Dessert/Snack: 1/2 protien bar

Probably had too many carbs today...but totally needed the extra energy. I've been going, going, going like the Energizer bunny since I woke up at 5:45 this morning!

Day 27

I'm BACK! Hooray! I am SO glad to be back on track with my P90X journey. For a second there...it felt like I was slipping away bit by bit. Yikes!
So today was our first time to do Shoulders, Chest & Triceps (with ARX, of course.) It was a great work out. A lot of push ups---and after eating a big dinner...not the best idea, but still I think we got a great upper body work out. Not really looking forward to Plyometrics tomorrow...but oh well...no pain, no gain-right?
Eating was a little sketchy today...seeing as how I haven't really studied the Phase 2 nutrition plan and I haven't been to the grocery store in over a week--we had to just make do. Here's what we ate today:

Breakfast: 2 slices of light whole wheat bread (45 cal. each), 2 egg whites, FF cheddar cheese, spray butter, 2 slices Turkey Bacon--made into a sandwhich.

I skipped snacks today--like a DUMMY (I was just so busy that I forgot and by the time I realized I was hungry..it was lunch or dinner and too late to eat a snack)
Matt took apple slices, golden raisens and almonds mixed in a baggie and a protein bar.

Lunch:
Matt: 2 turkey sausages (like smoked sausage) with a cabbage salad
Me: 1 baked tilapia filet (4 oz) and a cabbage salad with 1/4 c. apple slices, 10 small mandarin orange slices, golden raisens, broccoli, slivered almonds and Toasted Sesame Dressing.

Dinner: Southbeach Diet Frozen Supreme Pizza on Wheat crust(240 cal. 24 g. protien), Green salad

*Skip*

Okay...since today was Memorial Day and we were out on our new boat from sun-up till sun-down....we are not counting today as an actual "day". We ate fairly good until dinner when we had grilled burgers and fries with my mom and dad. We tried to do decent even then by only having mustard (no mayo) and we halfed a bun---meaning we ate an open-faced burger. We ate about 1/4 as many fries as we normally would have...but still...that was NOT on our diet!
Anyway, tomorrow will be back in the saddle. I believe we will be doing Shoulders, Arms & Triceps along with ARX tomorrow. (plus Tuesday is my normal gym day when I do my cardio/core class). It'll be a good jumpstart to Phase 2.
I feel like I've really let myself (and probably you guys) down these past few days...but now all I can do is look back and learn. It's too late to un-do all those meals. I'm paying the price for them...I feel bloated as a puffer-tick and I have about 4 zits and I NEVER get zits. Probably only had a handful in my entire life...and now I have 4 at one time!! My body is probably screaming at me for eating like this after 20-something days of eating only natural, healthy food.
Well, I am excited and ready for tomorrow to get here --with the exception of the million things I have to do--like mountains of laundry, bills to pay, work for the dr. office to catch up on, dishes in the sink, a dirty house to clean, groceries to buy...AND I'm gonna have the kids home with me 24/7 now that school is out. Whew! That stresses me out just reading it all. Maybe I should see how I could distribute all that between this whole week instead of trying to fit it all into tomorrow.
Okay...it's off to bed..to watch a few minutes of American Gladiator before I drift off. Goodnight!

Mr.Jones and Me

Here we are looking all happy and in-love. You'd never know that we just stuffed our faces with a big peice of birthday cake, huh?

Ya...bad, bad! At least tomorrow is Day 1 of Phase 2! Time to get on-the-ball again!

Day 25 & 26

Attention Readers: We interrupt this "journey" for a short intermission. Please stay tuned and things will return to normal shortly.
HA!
Okay, so my first day of our "vacation" went O.K. Not great...but not horrible. Then yesterday (Day 25-Friday) I got up (at the hotel) in the morning and went to the fitness room. I did a 20 minute jog on the treadmill, 20 boy push ups and 15 staggered one-leg push ups. Then I did tricep dips and then I hit the pool for a swim and some leg strengthening work. We ate the complimentary continental breakfast which was a challenge. I had 1 slice of whole wheat toast with real butter and an egg on it, a bowl of instant oatmeal and a small (6 oz. ) orange juice.
For snack that day I had a banana and protein bar. For lunch we went to Subway and I ordered a Turkey Breast Sub on Wheat with all veggies (except jalapenos) and dressing on the side, which I used very sparingly. I drank water and didn't have any chips. Later that evening, I had another protien bar and banana. I also did Ab Ripper X at about 4 pm..just for fun! For dinner (at like 8:30 pm!) we had a homemade taco salad...no chips though. Just lettuce, salsa, cheese, taco meat and beans and fruit for dessert (honey dew melon, cantalope, watermelon and strawberries). I think that day went pretty decent.
Now onto today..Saturday, Day 26. Not So Good. First of all, I ended up sleeping all night on my MIL's couch. I woke up feeling HORRIBLE. My whole body was aching and I wasn't sure if it was from sleeping on the couch...or if I actually didn't feel good. As the day wore on, I realized I was feeling crappier and crappier. I had NO energy whatsoever. We all walked down the street a couple of blocks to a garage sale and it was about all I could do to get there and back! I had such good intentions too. I got up first thing this morning and put on my work out clothes and totally intended to go running or try to do my CardioX video. It became apparent that I was not up to par when I took a shower and the water hitting my skin actually hurt. Shaving felt like I was scraping my skin off. My neck was beginning to ache and it hurt to swallow. ICK. Then we went to Wal-Mart to pick up some sunscreen and I had to make a mad-dash to the bathroom where I wasn't sure if I was gonna barf or what. I'll spare you the details...but I think I lost a few pounds in the Wal-Mart bathroom.
On top of all that, we've done BAD with our eating today. I've given it a sincere earnest effort...but this is what we had:
Breakfast: Oatmeal.
Lunch: Ham, potato salad, homemade mac-n-cheese, garlic bread, fruit salad, rum cake.
Dinner: Fried catfish, fresh pineapple, baked fries, baked beans, mud pie.
Whew! I can't believe I ate all that. I did try to eat a LOT of the healthier things and VERY little of the un-healthy things...but still..I'm sure I messed up BIG TIME today.
Tomorrow is not looking good either. We are supposed to be having lunch with Matt's mamaw tomorrow after church and then to the park for a birthday party.
Oh well...at least one thing is for sure...come Monday...or maybe Tuesday---it will be back to normal and back on track. Until then...I promise to give it my best.

Day 24

How can being "good" feel so bad?
Today I skipped town with my mama, my g-ma and my daughter. We went to my nephew's hs graduation 3 hours away. I got up, ate my "good" breakfast (Kashi Go Lean oatmeal & protein smoothie) and went to the gym for a HARD hour-long core work out. (after that I had my protien bar for snack). Then the "trouble" began. We went to Olive Garden for lunch. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find anything to eat...but thankfully (i guess!-the food was awful) they had a couple of light options on their menu. I ended up ordering the Apricot Citrus Chicken. It was a SMALL chicken breast with citrus-apricot sauce over it with steamed broccoli and asparagus. It was actually very little food. I made up for it by eating a big bowl of salad. I didn't have any breadsticks and no pasta and no cheese. I did eat my mint and I don't care if that was bad or not because I was feeling really deprived and that little tiny mint at least made me feel a teensy bit better.
Anyhow, tonight, after the graduation ceremony at 9 pm we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for the graduation party. My brother ordered chips and salsa and queso for the whole group so they put a bowl of it in front of each one of us. I didn't touch it. Not even a taste. YAY! Then, while everyone else was eating wings and BBQ ribs and chicken tenders and french fries, I ordered a honey BBQ chicken salad. It was just salad greens with marinated chicken on top and cilantro. The dressing was on the side and I didn't even use it. I think I did really good. Then they brought out the cake! AUGH!! It looked SO good...but I resisted even a taste and just stuck a stick of sugarless gum in my mouth. I thought I was going to start drooling on the table watching everyone else shovel that light fluffy cake surrounded in rich sweet icing into their mouths...but I knew if I took even one taste...I'd just want it that much more...so NONE for me. This day was a TRUE test of my willpower seeing as how Olive Garden is one of my favorite restaurants (I usually get zuppa tuscana soup) and chips and queso and cake are some of my biggest weaknesses. But I conquered it tonight! I do admit to taking a couple of bites of a cookie the hotel we are staying at gave Brooklyn this afternoon. It wasn't good though...so I easily put it down and walked away.
I brought my P90X videos with me in case I can find a place and a DVD player to do them. If not, our hotel does have a small fitness room with a treadmill, bike and weight bench...so I might go hang out in there in the morning for a bit and try to do a little something. Today was supposed to be Stretch X. I think tomorrow is supposed to be yoga...but if I get a chance, I'll probably just do the cardio instead.
Anyway, so far, so good as far as having internet access. I will keep posting as long as I can get a connection. Wish me luck. I have 3 more days of this torture (the food part). Being with my family is WONDERFUL though and totally worth it. Plus, I am proving to myself (and anyone else paying attention) that I CAN and WILL do this thing. I am IN IT for REAL...this ain't no game.

Day 23

Geepers Creepers...! It's 10:00 pm exactly and I just finished Kenpo X. By myself. Couldn't get Matt to get off his derrierre and do it with me. I tried. I called him names like "fatty" and "slacker" and that is apparently not motivating! I don't know of a single thing I could say to that man to sway his decision about anything. When he makes up his mind...you might as well forget it cuz he ain't listenin' anymore.
Anyhow, it was a good workout tonight. I added weights (3 pounders) to all the blocks and vertical punches and that really helped me feel it a lot more. I'm thinking about buying those weighted arm bands to wear while I work out...maybe that will help me slim down in my arms more...!!?? Anybody have those or ever use them?
Hey...Candyland....how was day 1??? I can't wait to hear what you thought about it. Guess I could go check your blog and see what you wrote, huh?!?! :o)
Okay, anyway, eating today was decent:

Breakfast:
Me: Kashi Go Lean Honey Almond Flax oatmeal and skim milk
Matt: Egg white scramble wtih FF mozerella cheese, 2 turkey bacon, strawberres and skim milk

Snack: Protien bar

Lunch:
Matt: Leftovers from last nights dinner
Me: Chick-Fil-A Chargrilled chicken salad with 1/2 packet of ranch dressing (160 cal)

Snack: Fresh pineapple, 6 Kashi whole grain crackers, 3 peices of dried papaya.

Dinner: Baked tilapia with steamed broccoli and cauliflower, 1/2 chocolate peanutbutter protien smoothie.

I think today was the first time that I looked in the mirror and actually thought, Wow! I look thinner. Everybody else has been saying it...but I haven't really been able to see a difference. But today I wore my hair back in a slick ponytail and I could really see it in my face. I have such a round face anyway...that usually when it's pulled all back..I look like a little bowling ball head...but today...not so. I looked more like a big easter egg head---ha ha...more oval and not so roundy. Anyway, that is encouraging. I am fixing to see my family who I haven't seen since Christmas tomorrow and it'd be nice if they noticed a change.

Speaking of fixing to be with my family...I may or may not be able to post for the next few days. I am taking my laptop with me...but I have no idea if I'll have internet access or not. Wish me luck with my eating. It's going to be challenging to say the LEAST. I'm just gonna "do my best and forget the rest!"

Day 22

I would call today a success. I had a few "cheats" I guess you could say...but I don't think I messed up really. I got LOTS of working out done today...so I think I more than made up for it.
Matt and I just finished our P90X workout for today...which was Core Synergestics. This was our first time for this DVD and we really liked it. I mean..it was TOUGH...but it was good. Lots of push ups and squats and Abs/core...which is exactly where both of us need the most work.
This morning I went to the gym for my regular 45 minute weight-training/core class and then I did 15 minutes on the elliptical machine. The core video was an hour long...so I got in a good, full 2 hours of work outs today. (besides everything I do around the house all day long!)
We also ate pretty good today...with the excetion that I KNOW we ate too many carbs for Phase 1, which we are still on for another couple of days. At least they were good, healthy carbs.

Breakfast:
Kashi Go Lean Honey Almond Oatmeal with a chocolate peanut butter protien smoothie. YUM!!
(I need to put that recipe on here because that was SO good and such a treat!!)

Snack: A few of Grant's fries from Arby's (who can resist their curly fries?) and 2 bites of chicken.

Lunch:
Me:Left over brown rice with veggies from last nights dinner with a stack of turkey, swiss cheese, tomato and cucumber rolled up...don't know what you'd call that. (maybe-gross, because it was), 1 oz. dried fruit
Matt:Whole wheat tortilla wrap: turkey, swiss cheese, dijon mustard, tomato, napa cabbage and cucumber.

Snack: Protien bar

Dinner: Grilled Tequila Lime Turkey Tenderloin, homemade corn tortilla chips (8 chips total for each of us) over a salad of napa cabbage, salsa, FF cheddar cheese, black beans, cilantro and bell pepper.

***To make your own healthier tortilla chips, buy 6 inch corn tortillas. Use a pizza cutter to cut them into 4 triangles. Lay them out on a cookie sheet in single layer and spray lightly with Pam. Sprinkle with salt. Bake until cripsy at 350 degrees. YUM! 12 chips counts as 1 serving of carb.

Snack/Dessert (before our hour-long workout) : 2 stalks of celery with natural peanut butter, 4 mini rice cakes.

Day 21

Okay first of all, I guess I should make a clarification. When I posted my last post "weigh day" I said that I had gained a pound. But....actually last Monday I was at 141....the same as this Monday. It was on Saturday that I weighed and the scale said 140. So technically, I don't know if I gained or not or what to make of that...but I didn't lose..so I'm still bummed. But anyway,
today was a productive day. I got the whole house cleaned (including our upstairs playroom) and I did laundry all day (washed all the sheets and towels and clothes--uck)
Since we didn't get up early to work out before work...we had to do it tonight after dinner. Thankfully, we had sort of a light dinner..so we weren't too full to do our Cardio dvd. It was supposed to be Yoga, but Matt HATES doing the Yoga dvd and I don't care for it either..so we substituted the cardio one. It actually as 10 minutes of yoga at the beginning of it...so we did get some yoga in. Anyhow, after my not-so-happy weigh-in this morning, I was determined to eat "clean" today and not have ANY cheats. I did well.
Here's what we had today:

Breakfast:
Matt: Eggwhite scramble with FF mozerrella cheese, 3 turkey bacon, skim milk, fresh pineapple.
Me: Kashi Go Lean Honey Almond Flax oatmeal.

Snack:
Matt: Soy nuts
Me: String cheese

Lunch:
Matt: Tuna salad with Kashi whole wheat 7-grain crackers, apples and strawberries.
Me: Salad with left over grilled chicken. We didn't have any lettuce, so I just used fresh broccoli, mandarin oranges, slivered almonds, golden raisens, chopped celery and Toasted Asian Sesame Dressing that I am ADDICTED to!

Snack: Protien bar

Dinner: Baked Tilapia with brown rice and veggies; sliced apricot and strawberry each

Snack: Matt had a recovery drink just now after our work out...but I'm good. Nothing for me.

Weigh Day

Hooray! Matt was down to 194 this morning. So he's down a total of 6 pounds from when we started.
That was the good news.
Now for the totally-irritating-frustrating bad news...
I weighed 141 this morning. UP a pound. Grrrrr....
Any other time in life...I wouldn't think that was a very big deal....but right now, when I am eating SO healthy and carefully and working out DAILY...it just seems like at the VERY minimum, I would just stay where I am...but not GAIN! I had my heart totally set on FINALLY being below the 140's today and I just knew I was going to see 139 this morning. But, no.
On top of that...this is our "recovery" week where we don't do any weight lifting and only do core/strengthening exercises and lots of yoga and stretching. I feel like after that weigh in...I am ready to work DOUBLE hard this week so I can see a real improvement next Monday. Plus...add in the fact that we will be staying at my MIL's house this weekend (Thur.-Sun.) and won't be able to do our work outs OR eat our own food...it's just a scary combination.
Anyway, I guess I'll just "do my best and forget the rest" right? That's what Tony would say...and really, what other option is there?

Day 20

Oh goodness..I am SOOOO tired right now...so this may be a little loopy. I went to bed after 1 am last night--and then got up at 6:30 this morning to get ready for early service at church. I had totally planned on getting a nap in this afternoon...but I never found the time. Just like I never found the time to do our "stretch" DVD today. Oh well. At least since I was so busy, hopefully I burned some calories!
Breakfast: Protien bar & banana
Lunch: Grilled top sirloin with steamed broccoli and salad, 5 whole grain crackers, fruit popsicle.
Snack: pineapple
Dinner: Left overs from lunch...(grilled steak over top of napa cabbage salad with golden raisenes, dried cranberries, slivered almonds and oranges. YUM.
Dessert: 1/2 protein bar
Snack: Ham from my mom and dad's house.
Okay..I am falling asleep while I type this. Gotta go for tonight.
Tomorrow starts our Recovery Week and is also our 3rd weigh in!!

recipes!

Here is the recipe for the Triple Berry Pancakes and the Island Pork Tenderloin Salad. They are both SOO good and SOO healthy!

Triple Berry Pancakes (4 servings)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/8 c. canola oil
1 c. skim milk
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 c. wheat germ
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. whole-wheat flour
strawberries, bananas, blueberries (or you can use raspberries or peaches)

1. In a medium bowl,mix eggs with oil and milk.
2. Stir in baking soda, wheat germ, salt and flour. Mix until blended.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Pour or scoop batter onto the griddle.
4. After the batter has cooked a little, add berries.
5. When you see the batter bubble throughout the panckaes, flip them once.
6. Cook until golden brown. After removing pancakes, add a few fresh berries on top.
(we ate these with Mrs. Butterworths Sugar-Free Syurp...except for Grant who hates syrup..he had powdered sugar on top)

Per Serving:
Calories 208
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 8g
Fat total: 16g
Carbohydrates: 23g


Island Pork Tenderloin
lean pork tenderloin
1/2 tsp salt
14 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tbsp. garlic, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and cinnamon. Then coat pork with the spice rub.
3. Heat oil in skillet over moderately high heat and brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes.
4. Stir together brown sugar and garlic and pat onto top of tenderloin. Place pork in a pan and cook in oven for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.

Island Pork Tenderloin Salad
1 orange
1 cup fresh spinach
1/2 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into strips
1/8 c. golden raisens
1 cup Napa Cabbage
6 oz. Island Pork Tenderloin
Dressing--We used Kraft Asian Sesame Dressing

1. While tenderloin is roasting in the oven, peel and cut oranges crosswise into 1/4 in. thick slices and set aside.
2. Toss spinach, cabbage, bell pepper and raisens in a large bowl.
3. Mound salad mixture on a large plate. Arrange pork and orange slices on top and drizzle with dressing.
(I also added a small sprinkling of slivered almonds on top!)

Per Serving:
Calories: 556
Total fat: 13g
Protien:39g
Carbohydrate:51g
Cholesterol:111 mg
Sodium: 781 mg

****See picture in post on Day 17.

Day 19

Ahhhh...Saturday. Gotta love it! Opened my eyes for the first time at 8:38 this morning! (that is SOOO much better than anytime during the 4 o'clock hour!)
I made a super-dooper-yummy breakfast this morning. Triple Berry Pancakes! DELISH!
I will post recipe for ya this time...cuz it's worth trying!
After breakfast, it was time for some Kenpo X, then it wa off to the shower and onto our church picnic. We did really good at the picnic with our eating since we brought our own food. After all that fun, we ran by Sams to stock up on fish and veggies and then came home and got the pool cover off and added in all the chemicals. Hopefully by next weekend or so, it'll be ready to swim in again! I feel like I really "fell off the wagon" tonight with my eating though. After dinner, I went to my mom's house to play games with her and my aunt and my grandma. I really, really tried to do good..I ate a bowl of peaches first off. But then I caved in and ate 3 chocolate (almond bark really) covered strawberries, 5 chocolate chips and 1 tiny bite of a snickers bar!!!! AUGH! What can I say? It's been NINETEEN days without chocolate....and I thought I was going to salivate all over the table if I didn't have some. But then one thing led to another and the next thing I knew I was thinking "who gives a rip" and stuffing my face. Thankfully, it was all gone before I could do too much damage!! Even though I know I "messed up" tonight...I really think it was time for a bit of a "break". I mean, if I NEVER indulge EVER...I will feel too cheated.
Anyhow, here's what we had to eat today:
Breakfast: Triple Berry Pancakes with sugar free syrup
Lunch: Burger (no bread or cheese--just mustard), fresh veggies (cucumber, carrots, peppers) and fresh fruit (strawberries, pineapple)
Snack: String cheese, 1/2 of a protien bar
Dinner: Grilled chicken kabobs and grilled veggie/fruit kabobs
Dessert/snack: well, you read it up above.

Shame, shame on me!! I'll do an extra work out tomorrow and make up for it. Maybe...

Just a little eye-candy for ya!

ha ha ha ...I'm totally just jokin'---but really...my biceps are growing..and my under-arm flab is shrinking! Hallelujah!!!

Legs are looking better....Hubby's biceps are GROWING!

Day 18

Wow! I can't believe we are already on Day 18. It really seems like we just started this a few days ago!
Today went Great! I have had an OVERabundance of energy today. It's like everything yesterday was missing...I got back today. Weird!
We got up at 4:45 am to do Legs & Back this morning but saved ARX for tonight (which we just got done doing). This evening, we had planned to take the kids out somewhere...maybe a movie or a rodeo or bowling..but instead we ended up staying home and playing baseball and tag and doing cartwheels all over. I can't believe it...but I can still do a pretty decent cartwheel! It's only been--oh...probably 15 years since I've done any! Anyhow, after all that fun, Matt turned on the radio in his truck and we boogy-ied like no-ones business! I'm talking---we were GETTIN' DOWN! Brooklyn has some GREAT dance moves and I was pretty much just trying to copy her! She has definitely got the rhythm in this family! We probably danced hard and strong for a good 30-45 minutes. I was pooped when that was over...well for a few minutes and then I was ready to go again. I'm telling ya, I don't know what's gotten into me today. Maybe it's the Diet Cranberry Limeade I got at Sonic this afternoon? Maybe there was a shot of something *stronger* in there!? I know I might as well have been drunk tonight because I danced my booty off and I'm sure the neighbors thought I was NUTSO! I was laughing so hard I almost fell on the ground several times. Plus, it didn't help that I was picking the kids up and spinning around with them in circles until neither of us could walk anymore. All I know is that is the most fun and the most I have laughed in a looooong time. If only there were more of those kinds of nights.
Anyhow, we also did pretty good on our eating too. This was our menu for today:

Breakfast:
Whole wheat english muffin, egg white, FF cheese, turkey sausage with recovery drink (1 scoop)

Snack: 1/2 of a Peak Performance Protien bar, water

Lunch: Left overs from last nights dinner. YUMMMO!

Snack: Other half of the protien bar, Diet Cranberry Limeade from Sonic. YUMMMO!

Dinner: Egg-white omlet (bell pepper, onion, tomato, cheese) with 3 turkey bacon, 2 slices of light whole wheat toast with water.

Snack/dessert: After we finished dinner, I was totally NOT satisfied, so I ate 1 cup of Kashi honey almond flax cereal with a banana and skim milk. After that I was good to go.
Drank LOTS of water today.

Day 17

So...as I mentioned before, we did our work out (Cardio X) this morning before work (at 5 am). We decided to hold off on ARX and do it tonight. Then at 9:45 am I went to a core/cardio class at my gym and worked EXTRA hard there. After that it was home to do a million other things before I cooked dinner, gave the kids a bath, put them to bed and then did ARX. (ab ripper x). By myself. Couldn't talk (or shame) Matt into it for anything. That's okay, I like having a one-up on him anyway. Let him be a slacker...we'll see who has the six pack come summer!! ha ha ha
Since I was feeling SO extremely zonked today, I did up my calories some and I did start feeling a bit better. I just pretty much ate every couple of hours and drank lots of water. I also decided to drink the P90X recovery drink today (despite the extra calories) to see if that might help my energy level.
Here's what we had today:

Breakfast:
What's new? egg-white scrambles with FF mozerralla cheese, turkey bacon, strawberries and recovery drink.
(yes Kate...definitely getting tired of it...but that's about all we can have for b-fast during this phase 1---only a week and a half left till we get to move onto phase 2 eating! YAY!)

Snack: Protien bar, banana, water

Lunch:
Matt: Left over teriyaki chicken/sprouts
Me: Protein smoothie and 1 slice light whole wheat toast with 100% fruit natural preserves.
(I admit, I did take a bite of Grant's happymeal hamburger before I tossed it into the trash...and I ate about 5 fries. I swear the kid only gets the dumb meals for the DUMB toy. He hardly eats any of the food! Grrr!)

Snack:
Matt: pistachios and dried fruit
Me: Stalk of celery with natural peanut butter

Supper:
Island Pork Tenderloin Salad
I will post recipe just as soon as I have some extra time! It's SOOOOO good!!

Blehck!

I have no idea what kind of word that is...except it somehow describes how I feel right now. Blehck!
We've been waiting until the evening hours to do our workouts here lately, but we both agreed it's better for the kids (and our dinner time) if we just get up early in the AM and do it. So, out of bed we went at 4:45 am this morning. That was tough enough...but not nearly as tough as doing jumping jacks seconds after being torn from my comfy bed in the "middle of the night". Plus, the minute I put my hair in the ponytail this morning, I could feel my temples throbbing. What's with the headache these days? I have no idea...maybe because my hair is getting longer thus making it heavier?? idunno? Anyhow, it was a miserable 43 minutes and afterwards Matt felt GREAT and actually went over and (get this!) out of his OWN free will..did 10 chin ups on the chin-up bar! Wowsers! Not me..I took my hair out of the pony and dropped onto the couch for about 15 minutes where I snoozed on and off and got my heart rate back down into the "human" range. Now, here I am, an hour and a half later and I still feel CUH-RAP-EEE! I thought exercise was supposed to make you feel good...energized...!!?? And I guess it usually does...but not today. I feel used up..worn out..ready to go back to bed and sleep for 8 hours and then maybe I could wake up and start the day. Of course, that's only in my dreams. In real life the kids are about to get up. I have to go down to my parents house and feed their horses, take B. to school, then its off to the gym for me and G. for tanning and my Core class. Then to Wally World to stock up on some more tasteless, good-4-me food and then running around town dropping off all the orders that came in yesterday for a house-party I had last month. Then finally I get to come home, take a shower and sit at my computer for a good 2-3 solid hours while I do my "real" work. Then it'll be time to pick B. up from school again, cook dinner and work out again. Man, the "FUN" never ends around here...
Okay, sorry..somebody slap me, I seriously need an attitude adjustment. Blehck!!

Day 16

Ahhh..back on track finally!
We waited until after Matt got home from work to do our work out today. It was shoulders and arms. Boy, I sure could tell the difference this time since I was using my new 10 lb. dumbells and not just my little ole 5 pounders! I could hardly do the straight-arm raises to the front or side! It felt good to feel the "burn" though. Anyhow, we didn't do the Ab Ripper tonight because it was going on 7 pm when we got done with the first video and the kids were WAY past ready for dinner (and so were we) so we are going to get up in the morning and do it along with tomorrow's work out.
We ate pretty good today. Here's what we had:
Breakfast:
Matt-eggwhite scramble with FF mozerella cheese, 3 turkey bacon, fresh pineapple.
Me-1 cup Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal with skim milk and banana.

Snack:
Matt-30 pistachios
Me-Light String cheese

Lunch:
Matt-2 slices light whole wheat bread with Dijon mustard and left over turkey filet, baby carrots, apple with 2 tbs. natural peanut butter.
Me-Left over Turkey filet mignon, fresh pineapple

Snack: Protien bar & banana

Dinner: Teryaki chicken with green onions, pineapple and bean sprouts, green salad with Asian Toasted Seseme dressing. YUM!! Mandarin oranges.
Dessert:
Matt-Apple & Banana slices with natural peanut butter
Me-1 slice light whole wheat toast with 100% natural fruit preserves

We probably ate too many carbs today...!!??? but oh well, we're REALLY trying and I have the hardest time figuring out what's too many. It says we get 1 serving of carb a day...but what does that mean? How many grams are we allowed? I have no idea. I figure the least we can possibly manage...the better. But then, I JUST found out that fruit has carbs!!!??? What? I thought carbs was potato, bread and pasta...but fruit?? Great! Just Great!

chit-chat

I just got to thinking that I haven't really journaled much on here about what's going on in our heads regarding this whole P90X thing..and so while I have a second, I thought I'd be honest and share. We're love/hating it.
I'm loving the results...I mean, gosh I've lost 6 pounds. What's not to love about that. Matt on the other hand...well, it's like this. He started at 200, got down to 197, weighed midweek last week and was at 193 (was totally excited) then weighed yesterday and the scale said 197 again. Needless to say..he's pretty disappointed. I just can't understand it either. All I know is that we need to be looking at more than JUST the numbers on the scale. All these changes in our eating and exercise HAS to show up eventually on his body. Although it feels like we've been doing this FOREVER...it's really only been 2 1/2 weeks..which isn't that long. I mean, I'd say we have to give it at LEAST a full month or maybe even 2 before we can expect real obvious changes.
As for hating it...we are getting WAY sick of the food. Meat and lettuce--that's all it seems we eat anymore. Every. Single. Meal. ICK!
It wasn't that bad for the first about 10 days...but lately it's like I almost feel nauseated when I sit down and look at that stuff on my plate AGAIN. The hardest part, by far, is figuring out what to send in Matt's lunch. He doesn't have a way to heat anything up...so everything I send has to be eaten cold. The nutrition guide lists soup for lunch almost every day...but I am not making him eat cold soup...so that's pretty much out. We do have a thermos and we've done that before...but he doesn't like eating hot soup on a hot day anyway...so soup is just not working for his lunch.
I keep reminding myself (and him) that we only have to do this phase 1 eating plan for another week and a half..and then we can move onto phase 2. That's good and bad. Good because we will get to add some more foods into our diet...but bad because it scares me that I'll quit losing weight. Phase 2 is a lot more like what I was USED to eating before...and I can't quit losing weight yet. I still have at LEAST another 10 pounds to go. (so does Matt for that matter). Anyway, our plan is to follow the nutrition guide to the T as much as we possibly can for this first "round" meaning for our first 90 days. Several people have asked me what happens after this 90 day thing. Well....we will probably take a short break and then start it all over...or else order the P90X+ version and start it. This is not a DIET. This is not a TRIAL. This is LIFE.
Nothing drives me more crazy right now than to hear people say "I just hope you don't gain it all back when this is over." Looky here people, don't worry about me. I'm a big girl who is learning more and more EVERY day about how to eat for life...how to LIVE healthy. Be happy for me and support me. You might even want to take a few tips...!?! Just please, please be supportive. This is hard enough already as it is.
Lastly, Candyland (you can check out her P90X journey at http://my-candyland.blogspot.com/) asked me how tall I am. I am 5' 4". According to the "charts" I should weigh about 118-130. At 147, I was obese. At 141, I am overweight. If I can reach my goal of 130, I will be at the top of normal. If I can surpass my goal and get to 125...I will finally be normal-normal. Whatever the HECK that means!! ha ha

--SKIP--

Okay, so as far I'm concerned, today didn't happen! ha ha...but really, we are going to "skip" it as part of our 90 day count and let tomorrow be day 16. Today was Grant's birthday and even though we did good with our eating all day (except for the peice of birthday cake we both caved in and had) we also missed our work out. I don't know if it was from eating the cake or what but we were both at an all time energy low yesterday. It was all I could do to not fall alseep driving home from the party...let alone do an hour of plyometrics. I had good intentions, really, I did...but as the night wore on, I only got more tired and less energized. So..oh well, today won't count. Tomorrow's a new day and if I can get my butt in gear, maybe I'll do the plyometrics dvd AND the ones for tomorrow. We'll see. For now, goodnight!

Day 15

Breakfast: Egg-white scramble with FF mozerrella cheese, 3 turkey bacon.

Lunch: Left over baked cod and sweet potato bites, SF pudding cup.

Snack: Protien bar and banana.

Pre-dinner "cheat"...I ate 3 bites of some Cheerios Trail Mix stuff I made up for the kids. I shouldn't take little bites of stuff like this becuase it just makes me want it more...but I did...so I'm puttin' it on here.

Dinner: Turkey filet mignon, roasted zucchini & squash, carrots, salad.
Dessert: Fresh pineapple slice & strawberries

We waited about an hour after we ate dinner to do our work out. It was Chest & Back and Ab Ripper. I think that will be the last time we try to work out AFTER we eat. We were both nauseous throughout the whole work out. Matt felt too sick to even attempt the Ab Ripper video so I did it by myself but there were several times I wondered if I was going to have to jump up and run to the bathroom. It felt like my dinner was sitting in my throat. Yuk. Anyway, we completed our work outs--and that's what matters. Matt will weigh tomorrow morning and I'll post his new current weight.

Weigh Day

Matt forgot to weigh this morning before he left...so I'll post his new weight later tonight when he gets home.
For now...here's where I am. 141---which is another 2 pounds...which is 6 total in the past 2 weeks. YAY! (ps. I know you guys aren't looking this closely...but you know how critical we are of ourselves...I just wanted to "disclaim" that my toes aren't really that scrunched up all the time..I was just bending over to take the pic! ha ha)

Day 14

Happy Mother's Day!
This morning was a bit rush-rush to get out the door and to church on time...so I just grabbed a protien bar, banana and a bottle of water and ate on the way. After church, my dad grilled pork chops and chicken breast. Mom made broccoli/cauliflower, baked potatoes and macaroni salad. I brought a big green salad. We did pretty good. Neither of us ate any potato...but we did have a SMALL spoon of macaroni salad each. We mostly just filled up on chicken and veggies and salad. (I did eat a 120 calorie Slim-Fast snack bar for dessert). After that we came home and worked on some projects around the house. Then tonight I made us some veggie burgers (Morning Star brand) and some protien smoothie's for dinner. We were really surprised at how good the burgers were! Even the kids both ate one! wow!
After that, Matt hung a new ceiling fan in my office (which is right above me right now---feels WONDERFUL) and while he did that, I did the P90X Cardio dvd. That was my first time to do that one and it felt great! I think that may be my favorite dvd so far. I like how it's a variation of all the others...with about 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of kenpo, 10 minutes of plyometrics and then 10 minutes of core. I think I might try to add that in on the days we do weights so that I get cardio every day and not just every other day. I believe if I do that...I will be doing P90X DOUBLES version instead of the CLASSIC version which is what we are doing now. There is also a LEAN version where I think you cut out the weight lifting or something. Anyway, I figure the more workouts I can get myself to do...the better and the faster I will be "ripped" and in shape for swimsuit season! (which is JUST around the corner!!) The public pools open in 2 weeks!! AUGH!
I cant believe we are about to start our 3rd week of this! It seems like just yesterday we were starting it!
Well, tomorrow is weigh-in day! I am a little nervous about it this time. I feel like I've done not-so-good this weekend. It's not that I've done BAD...but I just haven't been nearly as strict as I am during the week. I feel like I might have gained a pound or two...!?!?! I guess tomorrow will tell.
I know I posted a little differently today. I actually forgot all about breaking it up into breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner paragraphs until just now...so oh well. Back to the "normal" way tomorrow I guess!
Hope you all had a good Mother's Day. My hubby and kids did SO good this year. They got me some CUTE Nike Camo work out capris, some Skechers tennis shoes for chillaxin in and some 10 lb. dumbbells which I desperately needed for the weight training. Hooray!!




I will leave you with a pic of me and my kiddos from this morning before church.

Day 13

Saturday....ahhhh. I decided since it was the weekend and we have eggs almost every single morning, I'd do something different and make the "Healthy Pancakes" recipe from my Thin Kitchen cookbook (that came with the P90X system). It called for eggs, canola oil, skim milk, wheat germ, whole wheat flour and baking soda. I ate mine with Mrs. Butterworth's Sugar Free syrup. Matt had his with honey. They weren't great...but they were okay and it was nice to have something different for a change. After breakfast (and washing all the dishes) I decided to shampoo the carpet. (ick!) Then we did our workout for today--Kenpo. I was SO NOT into it today...but I gave it my best effort anyway and by the time it was over we were soaked in sweat and EXhausted!! Then it was time to cook lunch and take a shower. We decided to load up and do a little shopping this evening with the family. While we were out, we got hungry and decided to go to Chili's since we had 2 free kids meal coupons for there. We both ordered what we thought would be "permissable" on our meal plan. When we got home, we looked up the numbers. I wouldn't say we did great....but I don't think we completely messed up. Definitely nothing like what we would have normally eaten!! The bacon cheeseburger (what Matt would normally order) has 1080 calories and that's WITHOUT fries!!
Anyhow, here's what we ate today:

Breakfast: Healthy pancakes

Lunch: Baked cod, fresh green beans, salad

Dinner:
Me: Grilled chicken quesidilla salad with citrus balsalmic dressing. (I didn't eat the quesidillas though)
Matt: Grilled salmon, fresh veggies, black beans.

Late night snack:
Me: 30 cal. 100% fruit tangerine popsicle
Matt: Apple with peanut butter

Day 12

Today was productive. After I got my "real" work done for the dr. office, I paid bills and got my checkbook all straightened up and then I got changed for my workouts. Today was Legs & Back and Ab Ripper. It was a great work out despit the HEAT! We haven't turned the A/C on yet...so it was nearly 80 degrees in our house yesterday! Needless to say, I was dripping wet when I got done. After that I got showered and ready for my girls night out. (scrapbooking from 6-midnight). I was nervous about being able to resist all the yummy bad-for-me snack foods and candy..but I did good and I am very proud of myself for being strong.
Here's the lowdown on our eating yesterday:
Breakfast: Kashi Almond Flax cereal 1 cup with skim milk
Snack: String cheese
Lunch: Spinache & Asiago Chicken sausage link with 1 slice light whole wheat bread and mustard.
Recovery Drink (after my work out)
Dinner: Salad with light Ranch, 1 breast of Teriyaki chicken & pineapple, dried fruit.
Snack (around 10 pm): Tootsie roll pop...this was my only "splurge" of the night. Yay!
Snack when I got home around 1:00 am....2 stalks of celery with 2 tbsp. peanut butter

I was SOOOO hungry when I got home last night...so I ate the celery. I don't know if that was "bad" or not...but I didn't care, I thought I was starving! ha ha

Day 11

Matt had to work all night last night and didn't get home until 7 am this morning (yes, he worked for 24 hours straight!!!) Needless to say, he didn't get to do his P90x work out yesterday. So this morning when he got home, he went to bed and I went to the gym. I did 20 min. on the elliptical, jogged half a mile and then did some weight. I did 17 chin-ups using the machine that assists by lightening your weight. It was tough....but it felt good to pull myself all the way up that many times. At home we have a chin up bar, but I have to put one foot on a chair to help me up. Anyway, after that, I did a 45 minute core/cardio class. Later in the day when Matt had woke up, we attempted to do our Yoga video for today. We lasted about 40 minutes and then we both decided to "be done." The whole dvd is actually a hour and 32 minutes long...which seems like FOREVER when you have a hundred other things to be doing. I think I know why Yoga isn't working for me Kandy....2 reasons. #1-I'm doing it at home which means the kids are hollering at me every 2 seconds and running into me and that makes it IMPOSSIBLE to focus and #2--I always try to do it in the middle of the day--usually around dinner time--when I have a million other things I need to be doing and it just ends up feeling like a HUGE waste of time--all that breathing and stretching and holding and I can't clear my head---I just keep thinking of all the other things I could be doing. Anyway, I think I could actually like it if I did it somewhere besides home.
Anyway, while I cleaned house this evening, Matt played catch up and did the Shoulders & Arms DVD from yesterday. His arms are really getting big fast. Course, we only have a couple of weights to choose from right now...and pretty much they are either too light (5 lbs) or too heavy (25 lbs) for a lot of the exercises. He always uses the big ones....so he's bulking up fast.
Our diet has been a mess today...but here's what we did:

Breakfast:
Matt ate out for breakfast (bacon, egg and cheese sandwich and OJ)
I had the "usual"--eggwhite scramble with FF mozerrela cheese, 2 slices turkey bacon and OJ.

Snack: Protien bar & Banana

Lunch at 3 pm: Spinach & Asiago Chicken sausage on 1 slice light whole wheat bread with mustard. Then protien bar and banana.

Dinner/evening snack: 2 oz. dried fruit, baby carrots and pepper slices in light Ranch, 1 corn tortilla wrap with chicken & organic salsa, 2 mini-rice cakes.

I have no idea if we ate badly or not today. It was such a mess. I know neither Matt or I ever did feel very satisfied. All evening long we were looking for something to eat. We did do a lot of (healthy) snacking but we didn't actually eat "dinner" so I don't think we messed up too much..!!?
Anyhow, now it's 11 pm and I am SOOO tired. Goodnight!

Day 10

Well, this stinks. Matt is working late again tonight...so no work out for him again. Nothing is stopping me though. I just finished Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper X. I also did 15 (measly) minutes on the elliptical this morning and burned 200 calories there. I planned to at least 30-45 minutes on it...but man, I was just too pooped. As Tony Horton (the host of P90X says) "Give it your best and forget the rest" and that is what I did. Anyhow, diet has been royally screwed up today as I ended up running all over town looking for Mother's Day gifts. It just dawned on me this afternoon that Mother's Day is THIS Sunday...and I hadn't bought (or mailed out) anything yet. In my rush out the door, I just grabbed a protien bar and a bottle of water. That was good for a bit...but 3 hours later, I was hungry again.
Anyway...Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast: eggwhite scramble with FF mozerella cheese, 2 turkey bacon, bowl of fresh fruit, skim milk.
(Matt had the same)

Snack at lunchtime: Protien bar

Lunch at snacktime: Chick-fil-a Chargrilled Chicken salad with NO croutons. I lightly dabbed my fork into Ranch dressing every so often but I didn't put any dressing on the salad. Hooray! I did eat ONE of Grant's waffle fries. It was SOOOOOOOOOOO good! Of course, as usual, Grant decided he didn't want his fries...so I QUICKLY grabbed them up and threw them in the trash before the evil me came out and overtook the good me! ha ha

Dinner: Went to my moms. She had made spagetti w/ italian sausage meatballs and salad. I ate a bowl of salad (only lettuce and tomato) with spagetti sauce over it. Weird sounding, I know....but it was REALLY good. Kind of like a taco salad---except I guess you'd call it a spagetti salad...?? Anyway, I have NO idea if that was ok for my "diet" or not...but I figured I didn't eat any pasta or bread so it couldn't be tooooo bad, right???

So...now it's 7:58 pm. I rented 2 movies today from RedBox. Alvin and the Chipmunks for the kids...and P.S. I Love You for me. I am fixin to put the kids in bed with their movie and then curl up on the couch and watch mine. I want something sweet SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad. Like...I can feel my mouth watering just thinking about something chocolate! I think I might eat one of my sugar-free fat-free chocolate puddings. I'm sure that's not got anything nutritional in it...but hey...I am a girl. Girls NEED chocolate. Period. (especially when they're on their period! ha ha)

Tomorrow is a big day. Yoga (yuk---my least favorite) plus I will go to the gym for my regular classes. (core/cardio) If I can drop 4 pounds this week like I did last week I will be in the 13_'s which would be a DREAM COME TRUE! I don't really expect it though. I know it will come in time. Anyway, just fantasizing...
Okay..I'm off to waste a couple of hours on the couch...just me and my puddin cup...and my blanket. Ahhhhh........I feel guilty already!

Day 9

So...today was our first unsuccesful day. Well, let me re-phrase that...Matt's first unsuccesful day. I worked out enough for both of us! ha ha
We had planned to do our work out after work today since it was Plyometrics and that is super-tough to do at 4:45 am...BUT...he ended up having to work late tonight and didn't get home until close to 7. Then by the time we finished dinner, he was zonked on the recliner. I woke him up to see if he was going to do it and he said no. Thankfully, since I knew there was a possibility of him having to work late today, did it earlier in the day. I also went to the gym today for my "normal" work out which was a 45 minute class of core/weight-lifting. So in all, I worked out hard and furious for about 2 hours today. Pfhew! I am bummed that Matt is missing his work out today...but he's not worried about it, so I'm gonna try not to either. I think (for me anyway) that once I miss one...it's like the beginning of the end for me. As long as I have a running streak going..I won't miss, but if I do..then it's all over. Hopefully it won't be that way for him. He's got a whole different kind of determination and willpower than I do. In those ways (mentally) we are completely different. I need someone to breath down my back and kick me in the butt and tell me what to do and when. But not him. He'll either do it--or he won't and nothing you say is gonna change it--and it'll probably just tick him off if you don't just shut up about it already! ha ha ha (woops--got off track there I think!)
Anyway, here's what we ate today:
Breakfast:
Matt-Protien shake
Me-Kashi Go Lean Natural Vanilla oatmeal & water

Lunch:
Matt-4 corn tortilla roll ups with left over top sirloin steak, avacado, salsa & FF cheddar cheese, apple with 2 tbsp. peanut butter
Me-4 oz. top sirloin steak, raw veggies with light ranch, grapes & strawberries.

Snacks:
Matt-Pistaccios, protien bar
Me-Protien bar

Dinner:
Stir-fry veggies with sliced up top sirloin steak (the last of it-Hallelujah!!)
Bowl of mixed fresh fruit

Snack: 7 mini rice cakes (me)

Day 8

We decided to just wait until after work today to do our work out. It's hard to wake up at 4:45 am and do an hour and fifteen minutes of hard work out and then still have to face the day (with arms that will barely move).
We ate pretty good today, although I wish we hadn't had our "dessert". That's another one of those bad habits I have..always thinking we have to have something sweet after every meal, especially dinner.
So, here was our menu today:

Breakfast:
(one last time! ha ha) Eggwhite scramble with turkey sausage and a sprinkle of FF cheese, fresh strawberries, skim milk

Lunch:
Matt - Grilled chicken salad
Me - Left overs from yesterdays Beef & Broccoli stir-fry

Snack: String cheese, dried fruit, protien bar

Dinner: Grilled turkey burger, zucchini fries, fresh veggies with light ranch.
Dessert: Sugar-Free jello with fruit & light cool whip

Matt stopped by GNC today on the way home from work and picked us up some Ultra Mega Gold vitamins. He's been taking them for a while, but I never take vitamins, so I am excited to start and hopefully feel a little more energetic.
Also, we decided to order the "Recovery Drink Formula" that goes along with the P90X system. It is supposed to help with muscle soreness and re-building. That should be here in the next day or two and I'm excited to try that also.
Today's work out was Chest & Back and the Ab Ripper X video and my arms are so sore I could barely lift them to get stuff off the top shelf in my pantry tonight! I'm sure that by tomorrow or Wednesday, I'll REALLY be feeling it. I've never been so sore in my lats!
So tomorrow I am planning on going to my regular classes at the gym (Core, weights, and cardio) and then we will do our P90X dvd when Matt gets home from work tomorrow night. It's Plyometrics again....ick! Hopefully this time I will be more up for it since it will be later in the day. We'll see. Later gator!!

Weigh Day

Matt = 197 (3 pounds lost)
Me = 143 (4 pounds lost)

We are both disappointed though. I know that's crazy so let me explain why. Last week, I think it was Thursday, we both couldn't wait any longer and we got on the scale and "snuck" a weigh-in in just to see if we were making progress. Our #'s that day were 195 and 142. We were ELATED! So, we were thinking that "Gosh, come Monday our #'s will be REALLY good" So, when we got on today for our "official" weigh day and our #'s had gone back up some...well, we couldn't help but be a little disappointed, even though together, we are 7 pounds lighter...which is nothing but an accomplishment, I believe.

Hooray! 7 days down...just 83 to go!

Day 7

Today was a little messed up. Since it was Sunday and we had decided to go to early service, cooking time for breakfast was limited. Then after church, it took a while to get our lunch ready (Matt had to fire up the charcoal grill) so it was a little later than normal when we ate. Then dinner was really messed up because we had to work in the children's department at church tonight from 5:30 pm till 8:30 pm...and by the time we got home around 9, we thought we were starving!!
We did take an hour this afternoon to do our Stretch X video. I didn't realize you could spend an entire hour STRETCHING...but you definitely can. I am sore in almost every muscle I have...but my lats are the Worst! This stretching session was just what I needed, I think. Plus, it was a nice break from all the jumping and lifting and sweating.
Here is what we ate today:

Breakfast
Egg-white scramble with turkey sausage & sprinkle of FF cheddar cheese.
1 slice light whole wheat toast
orange slice
skim milk

Snacks: Protien bar (late morning), Protien shake (late afternoon)

Lunch: Beef & Broccolie Stir-Fry (Grilled top sirloin steak over sauteed red onion, garlic and fresh broccoli and 1/2 brown rice)
1 pumpkin cookie

Dinner: Corn tortilla roll-ups (grilled chicken breast, avacado, salsa and sprinkle of FF cheddar cheese)
1 pumpkin cookie, 4 small peices of dried fruit

Day 6

Ahhhh...Saturday! We slept in today for the first time on a Saturday in ages. I usually NEVER miss kickboxing and Zumba at the gym on Saturday mornings. But now since we are doing our P90X, I am staying home on Saturdays so we can do our work outs together. It felt SO good to wake up when my body was ready! Once we got up, I made breakfast, then we worked on bills and the checkbook for a little bit while our food digested. Then it was onto our work out. Today's DVD was "Kenpo". It was a lot like kickboxing--just without gloves and the bag. I LOVED it. Matt didn't think he liked it at first, but by the end of it (58 minutes) I think he was liking it better. Throwing punches into the air (instead of into a bag) is a little awkward when you're not used to it. Plus, it's important not to hyperextend your joints and that's an easy mistake to make when there's nothing stopping your punch or kick. Anyway, it was a great day, very relaxing and un-busy. I only left the house once all day and that was to make a quick run to our little country store to get a couple of groceries I needed to make some pumpkin cookies--our "reward" for being so good all week. It was a recipe straight from the Thin Kitchen website (P90X chef guy). Anyhow, I came home and made them and they were so gross. None of us liked them. I am probably going to eat like 1 a day until they go bad just because they are chock-full of healthy stuff...but they are definitely not what I would have considered a "reward" or dessert before this whole nutrition change thing.
Here is our menu for today:
Breakfast:
Omlet: Turkey sausage, chives, bell pepper, onion, tomato, sprinkle of FF cheddar cheese.
1 slice light whole-wheat toast with spray butter
2 slices of Turkey bacon
1 orange slice.
(See picture below)

Lunch: Corn-tortilla roll ups (left-over grilled turkey tenderloin, slice of avacado, salsa & sprinkle of FF cheddar cheese rolled up in a toasted corn tortilla)

Snack: Dried fruit

Dinner: Baked sole, stir-fry veggies, cucumber salad

Dessert: Pumpkin cookies

I ate 4 of those yucky cookies and I was SO bummed with myself about it the rest of the night. I kept thinking "WHY did you do that?" It's not that they are SO bad or anything...but FOUR? That's reverting back to my old ways. One cookie---maybe 2--should have been plenty.
Oh well, I'm glad I recognize it when my old habits start creeping back up on me and I won't let it happen again. I've come to far to turn back now!
I am so ready for tomorrow morning's weigh in!

Belly Button---Barf!

Okay, here's a pic of my belly button. This is why I was asking you all what you think about yours. Mine was great until kids. Now (and especially since I've lost weight) it is somewhere in there hiding behind all that saggy, loose skin. I hate it...but what can I do about it? (short of getting a tummy tuck)

Ps. You might have to blow up the picture to really see what I'm talking about. Does anyone else's BB look like this?
Does it totally disgust you?

Healthy Eating

I made a quick grocery shopping trip yesterday to get a few things. Ha! I ended up with $72 of almost ALL produce! Here is a picture of everything I bought!


Also, here is a picture of our Saturday morning breakfast. I copied a recipe (and picture) from my nutrition guide and I was so proud that it ended up turning out just as pretty as the picture...so, of course, I had to show you. It was also VERY yummy.


***Any time you're intersted in any of the recipes I'm using...just comment and let me know and I'l post 'em!

Day 5

Well, being prepared is good...but sometimes you just can't help circumstances. We were all set to get up early and get our work-out done, but then Matt got called out to work at like 4:30 am so we couldn't do it. That also messed up our breakfast/lunch preparation routine. In the end, it turned out fine though. We ended up doing our work-out after he got home from work tonight and then having a late dinner.
Here was our meal plan for today:
Breakfast:
Matt-whole grain english muffin, turkey sausage, cheese, egg white.
Me-egg white scramble with FF mozerralla cheese, 2 turkey bacon, 6 oz. skim milk

Snacks: Protien bar, string cheese, dried fruit

Lunch:
Baked chicken breast over 1/2 brown rice, salad

Dinner:
Grilled Tequila-Lime Turkey Tenderloin, sauteed squash, zucchini, onion and peppers and home-made coleslaw from the P90X nutrition guide. (only 39 cal. per serving!)

I think we'd both really love to have some dessert right now...but oh well. We're working WAY too hard to give it all up for a moment of "pleasure".

Speaking of working hard, I think I pulled something in my leg today. Today's work out was "Back & Legs and Ab Ripper". After about 20 minutes of squats and lunges, I got this really uncomfortable pain in my left inner thigh and it still hasn't gone away. It feels like a charlie horse that got stuck. Even right now, as I lay in my bed all comfy, it is hurting. Weird! Hopefully by morning it will be better. Tomorrow our work out video is called "Kenpo" I think it's something similar to kick boxing...which is right up my alley. It'll totally stink though if I can't do it because of my leg.

Okay, we'll I'm off to get some rest now. Goodnight!

Day 4

Tip of the day: PLAN YOUR MEALS!

This has been our worst day so far. We decided not to try to do our workout before work today because I had a lot of work to do and a busy, busy day ahead so we thought we'd just do it when Matt got home from work. On top of that, I didn't plan anything for our meals today, so I just had to "wing it"--which wasn't completely succesful, probably.
Since I had to be at Brooklyn's school all day volunteering, I ate really weird.

For Breakfast:
I had a quick bowl of Kashi Go Lean oatmeal.
Matt had a whole grain english muffin, turkey sausage, egg white & slice of cheese with 8 oz. orange juice.

For mid morning snack I had a protien bar and banana.
Matt had 2 oz. of dried fruit.

For lunch....I had nothing. Just didn't have time to eat and there was nothing healthy at the school.
Matt had 2 slices of whole wheat light bread, turkey, avacado, tomoato, lettuce and mustard sandwich, carrot sticks & pepper slices and fresh strawberries.

For afternoon snack I made myself a 1/2 a protien shake.
Matt had string cheese.

For dinner:
Baked cod over 1/2 c. brown whole-grain rice
Fresh, whole green beans
Same salad as last night

For late night snack: (not really in the "plan" but we were both 'starving')
Matt had 3 crackers with cheese, 1/2 an apple, 20 grapes and a sprinkle of walnuts.
I had 2 crackers with cheese, a few bites of his apple and 5 mini-rice cakes.

Oh..and the work out. Uh...no. We tried, really we did. It was Yoga today. 1 hour and 32 minutes of Yoga to be exact. It was miserable. I'm sure a HUGE part of why we hated it was because we were trying to squeeze it in between the time Matt got home for work and then eating dinner and then going to Grant's preschool graduation tonight. Plus we both needed to take a shower. The guy on the tape kept saying, "relax. Don't think about what you need to do after this, just think about this moment." Ya, right! He must not understand women's brains. No way on earth could I get my head to shut down when I had so much to do and not nearly enough time to do it in. Besides that, almost the whole time we were doing it that FRUSTRATING puppy of ours was biting at my hands. Grrrr...
Plus, how much plank and upward and downward dog can one person do. I think I probably was in warrior pose or downward dog for 90% of it. Blah. I need more variety than that. I actually ended up stopping the tape after 47 minutes because I HAD to cook dinner and get showered or I was gonna miss Grant's graduation. I HATE it that I didn't finish the work out...but somedays you just gotta do what you can do and that's just all you can do, ya know?
Anyway, I'm not counting yoga totally out yet...I'm hoping that next time I'll be in a completely different frame of mind and then maybe I will actually enjoy it. I was definitely working up a sweat today and my arms and legs were trembling by the time I got to 47 minutes...so it must work a little anyway!
Okay, now I must go and get back to my "real" work. Goodnight!