P90X - Day 59 / Seventeen Day Diet Cycle 1, Day 13

P90X Shoulders and Arms
I upped the weight that I use for most exercises by 5lbs today, and I'm happy with the results.   I had been doing 12 reps for most of the exercises, but now I'm dropping down to the 8 to 10 rep range that Tony recommends for building size.

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 13
Breakfast: 6oz of scrambled egg whites, pear, coffee
Snack: Yogurt w/ berries
Lunch: Salad with Tuna, olive oil and red wine vinegar
Snack: Breakstone Live Active Cottage Cheese
Dinner: Chicken Vegetable Soup (from book)
Snack: Yogurt w/ 1 tbsp of Pollander All Fruit

P90X - Day 58 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 12

2nd Day of P90X Doubles Hell.  Note: Day 60 of P90X is fast approaching.  For Day 60 I'll be taking full measurements and doing another "Confessional" video... stay tuned.

P90X Cardio X
I got up at 6am and did the Cardio X... 2nd day in a row... proud of myself!

P90X Plyometrics
I was a bit worried about doing Plyometrics this evening after doing Cardio X this morning, but I killed it... a great plyo workout!

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 12

• Breakfast: Yogurt w/ berries; coffee
• Snack: Apple, green tea
• Lunch: Lettuce Wraps (with Chicken - from the book)
• Snack: Breakstone Live Active cottage cheese.  I usually don't have a snack between lunch and dinner on this diet, but I really needed it today, especially since I was doing Plyometrics tonight.
• Dinner: Turkey Chili (from the book) w/ small side salad w/ fat free dressing
• Snack: Yogurt w/ 1 tbsp of Pollander All Fruit (will eat later tonight before I go to bed)

P90X - Day 57 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 11

Today starts the 4 Weeks of Hell for P90X Doubles.  As mentioned previously, P90X Doubles is the P90X Classic program with additional Cardio X workouts in the morning on certain days for a subset of weeks.  For the next 4 weeks, I'll be doing Cardio X on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings... yikes!  That being said, today's Cardio X was awesome, and I have a great deal of confidence that I am going to pull this off.

P90X Cardio X
As I said, Cardio X was awesome this morning... bring it!

P90X Chest and Back
This routine hasn't been on the schedule since Week 3.  I used to hate this routine, but now I love it.  I started out in week 1 doing about 10 to 12 reps for each of the push up exercises.  I'm now up to about 16 for most (some of the more challenging ones, I'm stlll at about 10 reps).  My goal is that by the end of P90X, I'll be able to do close to 20 reps for each of the push up exercises.  My new band is working out well for the pull ups, but I think I need to buy a stronger band.  Will try and get that this week.

17 Day Diet

• Breakfast: 6oz of scrambled egg whites with onion, tomato and low-fat feta cheese, coffee
• Snack: Yogurt with fresh berries, green tea
• Lunch: Salad with tuna, olive oil and red wine vinegar, green tea
• Dinner: Oven Baked Barbecue Chicken (recipe from 17 Day Diet book... the homemade Barbecue Sauces is awesome!)
• Snack: Yogurt with 1 tbsp of Pollander All Fruit

P90X - Day 56 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 10

Note:  Back-dated post... trying to catch up on my blog entries

P90X Rest Day
I was hoping to do the optional X Stretch today, but was very busy with family obligations that I was unable to get to it before 8pm, and since Doubles start again tomorrow, I decided to just get a good night's sleep instead.

17 Day Diet
I stuck to the diet today (Sunday), but since I'm writing this blog post on Tuesday, I can't for the life of me remember what  had to eat :-)

P90X - Day 55 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 9

P90X Yoga X
2nd Yoga X workout of this rest and recovery week.  It's been a great week, but I'm itching to get back to the more strenuous routines. 

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 9

• Breakfast: 6oz of scrambled egg whites with crumbled low-fat feta cheese; an orange; coffee
• Snack: Kefir Smoothie
• Lunch: Leftover Taco Salad
• Dinner: Turkey burger w/ no bun, steamed green beans
• Snack: 1 cup of yogurt w/ 1 tbsp of Pollander All Fruit

P90X Day 54 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 8

Yesterday marked the end of my first week of the 17 Day Diet.  So I weighed myself first thing this morning, and I've lost 7.4 lbs since starting the diet.  How sweet is that?   I'm down a little over 14 lbs since starting P90X...  well on my way to my goal of losing 20+ lbs during P90X.

P90X Core Synergistics
Love this program.  The Lunge-Kickback-Curl-Press is my favorite!

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 8

• Breakfast: 1 cup of yogurt w/ 1 cup of fresh berries; coffee
• Snack: Apple, green tea
• Lunch: Cold salmon on garden salad w/ olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• Dinner: Taco Salad (no taco shell; recipe is from 17 Day Diet book)

P90X Day 53 - Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 7

Finished up my first week of the 17 Day Diet.  This diet is great!  I have not cheated once, and that is mostly due to the fact that this is a completely sensible diet, and it keeps my appetite at bay. 

P90X X Stretch
Since I only had to do the X Stretch routine today, I waited until the very end of my day.  I finished the program at 10:30pm, and now it is time for bed.

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 7

• Breakfast: 6oz of scrambled egg whites, with mushrooms and tomatoes; coffee
• Snack: 1 cup of yogurt w/ 1 cup of fresh berries, green tea
• Lunch: Super Salad, green tea
• Dinner: Chicken - Vegetable Stir Fry

P90X - Day 52 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 6

I feel great today!  Lot's of energy.  Lot's of motivation.  I am so happy with how well P90X and my new diet are going.

P90X Kenpo X
Not much to say.  Just another great Kenpo X workout.

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 6

• Breakfast: 1 cup of yogurt w/ 1 cup of berries, coffee
• Snack: Apple, green tea
• Lunch: Lettuce Wraps (with Chicken, grapes, scallions, celery)
• Dinner: Eggplant Parmesan (from 17 Day Diet book), green beans
• Snack: 1 cup of yogurt w/ 1 tbsp of Pollander All Fruit

P90X - Day 51 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 5

Several things conspired against me today (long day at work, late meeting caused me to leave work 1 1/2 hours later than usual, a rotten eggplant, etc), but I still managed to stick to my diet, and do my P90X workout today... so all in all, today was a good day.

P90X Core Synergistics
I think this was the third time doing the Core Synergistics workout, and I'm really starting to like it.  I finally have a grasp of how to do all of the exercises (some of them are a bit unusual), and I really got a lot out of tonight's workout.

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 5

• Breakfast: 6oz of scrambled egg whites with tomato and feta cheese; pear; coffee
• Snack: 1 cup of yogurt with sliced peach; coffee
• Lunch: Super Salad
• Dinner: Sesame Fish with broccoli
• Snack: It's already past my bed time, so I won't have a 2nd snack today.

P90X - Day 50 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 4

I'm still chugging along.  Al is well... only 40 days to go!

P90X Yoga X
Today was the first day of the second rest and recovery week.  Great Yoga workout today. 

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 4

• Breakfast: Kefir Smoothie, coffee
• Snack: Apple, green tea
• Lunch: Leftover Chicken Vegetable Soup and small side salad w/ olive oil and red wine vinegar
• Dinner: Roasted Turkey Breast w/ steamed asparagus and steamed carrots
• Snack: 1 cup of yogurt w/ 1 tbsp of Pollander All Fruit

P90X - Day 49 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 3

Both the new diet and P90X continue to go well.  I'm definitely starting to see some results!

P90X X Stretch
I was busy all day today, and seriously thought about skipping the X Stretch, but I'm glad I didn't.  I was a bit sore all day today, and now after stretching I definitely feel better.

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 3

• Breakfast: 6 oz of scrambled egg whites with tomotoes and feta cheese
• Snack: Kefir Smoothie
• Lunch: Chicken Vegetable Soup
• Dinner: Chicken Vegetable Soup
• Snack: 1 cup of yogurt

The new diet is going well.  I slept in late today, and didn't eat breakfast until about 10am.  Then I got busy painting my bedroom, and I didn't have the Kefir Smoothie (which was great, btw) until 12:30pm.  Then back to painting until almost 3pm.  I then started making the Chicken Vegetable Soup, and that was ready to eat at 4pm...  so I didn't eat lunch until 4pm today!  So I scrapped making the dinner that was on today's menu, and instead had another bowl of soup for dinner at 8pm.  So even though my timing got a little thrown off today, I still managed to stick to the diet.

So my first 3 days on the diet have successfully been completed, and I'm definitely commiting to 3 more days.  At this point, I feel pretty good, and feel confident that I'll be able to complete the first 17 day cycle.

P90X - Day 48 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 2

The 17 Day Diet is going well.  Today is Day 2.  I spent a lot of time today planning the meals for the upcoming few days.  I made a grocery list, and my wife went shopping for us. So we're pretty much set through Day 6 of the first cycle.

P90X Kenpo X
Kenpo X continues to be one of my favorite workouts.  Typically I find it to be a fairly easy workout (well, at least compared to the other P90X workouts).  I did struggle with it a little bit today, however.  I definitely had very low energy when I started.  But I stuck with it, and I modified the workout slighthly, in order to get through it.  I did not do the X-Jacks today.  That gave me an extra 15 second rest period 4 times during the workout.  Definitely helped.

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 2

• Breakfast: 1 cup non-fat plain yogurt w/ 1 cup of strawberries and blueberries, coffee
• Snack: Apple and green tea
• Lunch: Super Salad (salad with a wide array of veggies + 2 hard-boiled eggs) with olive oil and red wine vinegar, green tea
• Dinner: Baked Salmon seasoned with lemon juice and dill, steamed broccoli
• Snack: 1 cup non-fat plain yogurt w/ 1 tbsp Pollander All Fruit (optional - I may eat this later tonight if I feel hungry)

P90X - Day 47 / Seventeen Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 1

I'm attempting a new approach to my diet.  I'm going to try implementing the 17 Day Diet.  I've read the book, and it seems like a pretty sensible diet.  I am a little concerned about the low-carb nature of the first "cycle".  I completely understand the reasoning behind the low carbs, but my fear is that I will run out of energy during my P90X workouts.  A few years ago I gave the Atkins Diet a whirl, just to see what it was like.  I was also exercising a lot at the time.  After about a week or so, I just bonked!  I had absolutely no energy.  I was unable to workout, and was unable to continue with the diet (which is probably a good thing... I definitely do not recommend the Atkins Diet).

So for now, I'm commiting to do the 17 Day Diet for 3 days.  If I still feel good after 3 days, then I'll commit to another 3 days, and so on.  If I don't feel like I have enough energy, then I am just going to modify the diet a little... and not give up on it completely.  I'll just add a few complex carbs from Cycle 2 of the 17 Day Diet.  In theory this will slow down my weight loss, but it will be better then giving up on the diet completely.  Well, that's the plan, anyway.

For those that don't know, the 17 Day Diet actually consists of 3 cycles of 17 days. So it actually takes 51 days.  Cycle 1 is the most restrictive, Cycle 2 a little less so, and Cycle 3 even less restrictive.    After Cycle 3, if you haven't yet achieved your weight goal, you go back and repeat Cycle 1 or Cycle 2... your choice.  If during any cycle you achieve your goal, you can skip ahead to Cycle 4, which is the maintenance phase.  Again, it seems pretty sensible.

P90X Cardio X
Doubles continue.  Did the Cardio X at 7am this morning... felt great.

P90X Back and Legs + Ab Ripper X
Today I installed my new exercise band in the "rafters" of my basement, and it made the pull-ups so much better.  I'm very happy with the $10 investment in the new band!

17 Day Diet - Cycle 1, Day 1

• Breakfast: 6 oz of scrambled egg whites, apple, coffee
• Snack: Pear, green tea
• Lunch: Salad greens with tuna, 1 tbsp of olive oil, red wine vinegar, green tea
• Snack: Green tea
• Dinner: Lemon-dill seasoned grilled chicken w/ mushroom and onions on top, side of steamed green beans
• Dessert: 6 oz of fat-free plain yogurt w/ 2 tbsp on Pollander All Fruit

P90X Day 46

I'm now on the downhill side of P90X...

P90X Yoga X
Keeps getting easier.  Really enjoying the yoga workout.

Eat Clean

• Breakfast: 6oz scrambled egg whites, 3 turkey sausage links, Ezekiel english muffin; coffee
• Snack: Apple
• Lunch: Salad with tuna, olive oil and red wine vinegar
• Dinner: Ezekiel english muffin with peanut butter and Pollander All Fruit

  

P90X Day 45

Today marks the halfway point of my P90X journey!  I am very pleased with the progress I'm making, but once again I have to comment that I need to be better about my diet.  I am definitely eating better than before I started P90X, but I think if I ate clean all of the time I would be making even better progress.  I still have 45 more days to go, so I'm not giving up on the diet... and I'm certainly not giving up on P90X!

P90X Cardio X
P90X Doubles is great!  I got up at 6:30am and did my cardio workout.

P90X Back and Biceps + Ab Ripper X
I love this workout.  The biceps exercises are phenomenal!

Eat Clean

• Breakfast: Egg white breakfast burrito, homefries, fruit; coffee
• Snack: Corn muffin
• Lunch: Small salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar
• Dinner: Ezekiel english muffin with peanut butter and Pollander All Fruit; Kashi Autumn Wheat with blackberries and almond milk

  

P90X Day 44

P90X Plyometrics
I was completely wiped out when I got home from work today, and I did not want to workout... but I went down into my basement and I "just pressed play", and I am glad I did.  I had a great workout.  I don't think I've ever sweated more!  I was really dragging during Football Heroes, but I finished the entire routine.

Eat Clean

• Breakfast: Floretine Breakfast Bagel (scrambled egg whites, low-fat cheese, spinach on a whole grain bagel); coffee
• Snack: Mixed fruit salad
• Lunch: Salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar
• Dinner: 3 small slices of Hawaiian Pizza

P90X Day 43

Eat Clean

• Breakfast: 2 bagels with cream cheese, coffee
• Lunch: Salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar
• Snack: Banana, 8 almonds
• Dinner: Salmon, broccoli, 2 glasses of red wine

P90X Chest, Shoulders and Triceps + Ab Ripper X
Today's workout was great.  As with the past two weeks, I opted not to do the Cardio X this morning, as working out on Monday morning's just doesn't work with my schedule.  I always have early morning meetings on Mondays.

Anyway, all is well.  I'm very happy with my progress so far.  And I'm back to posting to my blog on the same day as the workouts.  (The past 4 or 5 posts I had to back-date, as I was unable to keep up with the blog, even though I was keeping up with the P90X).

P90X Day 42

P90X Rest Day
I took the rest day option today, instead of doing the X Stretch.  I travelled home today, and after unpacking, etc. I didn't feel much like doing anything... even the X Stretch.

P90X Day 41

P90X Kenpo X
I did the Kenpo X routine in my hotel room today.  This may be the perfect hotel room workout :-)

P90X Day 40

P90X Cardio X
Doubles is still going well. 

P90X Legs and Back + Ab Ripper X
I'm proud of myself today.  I'm away from home this weekend, and I actually got myself to workout in my hotel room as soon as I checked in.  I brought the P90X DVDs with me, but I had my doubts as to if I was actually going to workout after working and traveling today. 

The Legs and Back routine calls for four different types of pull ups.  I have a band, but no way of attaching it to a doorway or ceiling.  So instead of the four types of pull ups, I did the following:

1. Push ups
2. Bent-over rowing (with band)
3. Push ups
4. Upright row (with band)

I'm sure these substitutions didn't work the same exact muscle groups, but it still allowed me to "bring it" during the entire routine.

Note:  I have subsequently bought a new band with a door adapter, so next time I should be able to do the pull ups.

P90X Day 39

P90X Yoga X
My best yoga workout yet!

P90X Day 38

I'm still doing P90X!  I haven't missed any days recently, but I've been very busy both in my personal life, and at work, and I was away this past weekend, which kept me from keeping the blog up to date.

So I'm going to back date a few blog posts just to keep the sequence in proper order.  These "catch up" posts won't be as detailed, but I'll still put them out there, for posterity's sake.

P90X Cardio X
Got up at 6am and did the Cardio routine.  I'm loving the "doubles".

P90X Back and Bicepts + Ab Ripper X
Back and Biceps is my favorite routine at this time.

P90X Day 37

Eat Clean

• Breakfast: Kashi Autumn Wheat with blackberries and almond milk; coffee
• Snack: 8 cashews, apple, green tea
• Lunch: Leftover turkey chili w/ blue corn sesame chips
• Snack: 8 almonds, 1/2 banana
• Dinner: Salad with avacodo, tempeh, sugar-free low-fat italian dressing

P90X Plyometrics
Plyometrics went great today.  Love that routine!

 

P90X Day 36

Eat Clean

• Breakfast: Florentine Breakfast Bagel (scrambled egg whites, low-fat cheese, spinach on a whole-grain bagel); coffee
• Lunch: Salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar
• Snack: 8 almonds
• Dinner: Salmon, asparagus

P90X Chest, Shoulders and Triceps
Even though I am trying to do the P90X Doubles, I skipped the Cardio X workout this morning.  I was up late last night celebrating the Giants Super Bowl victory!  And I had to go to work early.  And...  I know, I know... nothing but excuses.  Anyway, I think I may skip doing the Cardio X on Mondays.  That would mean for this round, I do the extra Cardio X two times per week (Wed and Fri), and during the next round I'll do the Cardio X three times per week, instead of the prescribed four times.  I think that might work for me. 
 
I did do the Chest, Shoulders and Triceps workout this evening.  It was my first time doing this routine.  There are a lot of push-ups in this routine, and it was pretty challenging, but I really liked it.  Unfortunately, I skipped Ab Ripper X again... that makes two times in a row (this past Friday and today). I need to stop doing that!

 

P90X Day 35

I ate well on Day 35, Sunday Feb 5th, 2012.  I also did the X Stretch routine and I felt great afterwards.

P90X Day 34

I've been keeping up with P90X and my diet, but I have not posted any blogs for the past few days.  So today I am going to catch up, by posting a few short blogs.

On Day 34, Saturday February 4th, I ate pretty well, and I really kicked some butt (pun intended) on Kenpo X.  It was a good day.

P90X Day 33

Eat Clean

• Breakfast: Vegetable fritata omelet w/ side of home fries and rye toast with butter; coffee
• Snack: Assorted fruit salad (cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, grapes)
• Lunch: Apple, 8 cashews, green tea
• Dinner: Salad with tempeh and no-sugar italian dressing

I ate way too big of a breakfast this morning, but I was starving after doing my Cardio X (see below).  I also ate some fruit at around 10:30am primarily because it came as part of the breakfast I bought at work.  Needless to say, I was not very hungry at lunchtime, and had little more than a snack for lunch.

P90X Cardio X
Continuing on with P90X Doubles, I did Cardio X at 6:15 this morning... proud of myself!

P90X Legs and Back + Ab Ripper
Legs and Back went well, but I kind of bonked toward the end.  I was hungry and a bit worn out after doing Cardio X this morning, and a really long week at work.  So I decided to skip Ab Ripper X.  This is the first, and hopefully last time I skip the ab workout.

P90X Day 32

Eat Clean

• Breakfast: Scrambled egg whites, turkey bacon, low-fat cheese on a whole-grain bagel; coffee
• Snack: Mixed fruit (canteloupe, honeydew, grapes)
• Lunch: Salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar
• Snack: Banana
• Dinner: Turkey burger on Ezekiel english muffin with Djon mustard, onion, tomato, and pickle; blue corn and sesame chips; seltzer

P90X Yoga X
Today was my best Yoga X workout yet!  I even did push-ups during the transition from Plank to Downward Dog.  I feel great after this workout.  I've eaten really well the last 2 days, so I think that has something to do with it too.

P90X Day 31

Eat Clean

• Breakfast: Florentine Breakfast Bagel at work cafeteria: scrambled egg whites, spinach, low-fat cheese on a whole-grain bagel; coffee
• Lunch: Salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar
• Snack: 8 almonds
• Dinner: Salmon and broccoli

P90X Doubles
As mentioned in my last posting, I'm going to give P90X Doubles a try.  P90X Doubles adds an extra cardio workout (Cardio X) three or four mornings a week, starting in Week 5. I'm hoping this will help me lose more weight. I should have done a Cardio X workout this past Monday, but I was sick and didn't workout at all on Monday.  Anyway, I got up and did the Cardio X at 6am today, and I felt great!  I usually have a hard time getting my butt out of bed early to workout, but it worked today.  I'm really going to try and stick with it!

P90X Back and Biceps + Ab Ripper X

Today was the first time I've done the Back & Biceps routine, and I really liked it.  My biceps definitely got blasted.  I continue to improve at Ab Ripper X.  Today, I did 20 reps for all but 2 of the moves.  Love it!