"Clear Your Mind"

Day 4
Yoga X

1.75 hours long...of YOGA. I expected difficult balance expectations. I did not expect to spend an hour and forty-five minutes in the most painful and difficult positions imaginable. There were some moves I thoroughly enjoyed, but for the most part I was confused. I could not always tell what the moves were, and I swear Tony switches his "left" and "right" because sometimes he's orientated for him and other times it's for me. Normally this isn't a big deal, you just switch. But with Yoga X,  certain hands have to go by certain feet on a certain side blah blah and I just couldn't make them work in my head. I do not like stressful yoga, especially not almost two hours of exercise anxiety.

Diet
Breakfast

• bowl of Blueberry special K
• one chocolate chip waffle
• water

Lunch

• turkey sandwich on wheat with honey mustard and spinach
• 20 carrots with peanut butter
• water

Dinner

• 2 ground beef tacos (cheese, taco sauce, little bit of sour cream)
• chips & queso
• some divine brownie/oreo/cookie creation of Melissa's. If I had any doubts about the existence of a God, they were appeased last night.

note to self:
On Wednesday, August 24,  I ran 3.25 miles at Ramsey.
On Friday, August 26, I ran 1.25 miles, did Zumba/ab workouts for an hour/then ran 3.25 miles. No p90x this weekend because of Riverview mother/daughter. Hopefully this lasts awhile.

"Namaste!"

"She's a Superstar!"

Day 3
Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

The box of purple weights reads, "10 lb pair." Doesn't that suggest there are two weights inside each 10 pounds apiece? If you, like me, believe that to be the case you are gravely mistaken. In actuality, my TJMaxx purchase contained two 5 lb weights. Unfortunately, this means for the first time I was somewhat disappointed with my P90x work out. My baby weights were not challenging and I couldn't do anything about it. I attempted to do more reps, but I still need to invest in some heavier weights as soon as I procure a steady income. The chair sits were hard. Aside from those, until I purchase new weights this workout will probably be a favorite because for the entire hour I did not contemplate suicide. I also ran 3.25 miles on the Ramsey track today. No ipod. Booyah.

Diet
Breakfast

• bowl of blueberry Special K with handful of blueberries and skim milk
• water

Lunch

• turkey sandwich on wheat with honey mustard, spinach, and provolone
• half an apple with peanut butter

Dinner

• Melissa's infamous breadcrumb chicken
• mashed potatoes
• four green beans
• quarter of an apple with peanut butter

BONUS: Tony & the gang ended this work-out with a cliche hand gesture! The Tee-ball style high-five and hand-raise really got me pumped to, "1, 2, 3, BRING IT!"

"Nobody Said it Was Easy!"

Day 2
I told someone today I did pyrotechnics. This is false. The name of today's work out Plyometrics. I liked it immensely better than Chest & Back. I still did many modified versions of the exercises, but again I was able to finish and that was encouraging.

Diet
Breakfast

• bowl of special k blueberry cereal with handful of blueberries and skim milk
• water

Lunch

• half of willy's small burrito
• half of turkey sandwich with spinach, honey mustard, & provolone
• 10 carrots

Dinner

• lean cuisine chicken alfredo added spinach
• grapes
• strawberry special k bar

Favorite part of tonight's work out: one of the particpants had a prosthetic leg. "If he can do it, you can too!"

"Now go. Stop. Drop. Pause."

August 16th, 2011
I did not do P90x yesterday.I did Zumba at Ramsey with an instructor named Lauren, on whom I have a girl crush. She's amazing. I learned some awesome routines.-too bad I'm Caucasian with awkward hips. Maybe if I'm able to take it all semester, I'll turn into Beyonce. Maybe.

Diet
Breakfast

• bowl of special K fruit & yogurt with skim milk & a handful of blueberries
• water

Lunch

• half a Willy's small chicken burrito w/rice, corn, cheese, lettuce, chipotle ranch
• 5 corn chips

Dinner

• half a frozen pizza
• 10 baby carrots

"Do your best and forget the rest. "

I'm fairly certain cliches are dictated as requirements for contracting work-out videos. Tony Hale did not disappoint. If I'm lucky enough to continue having at least two per video, I'll title and close with these wonderful phrases of insight.

Diet
Breakfast

• bowl of Special K blueberry cereal with handful of actual blueberries & skim milk
• water

Lunch

• turkey sandwich on honey wheat w/spinach and honey mustard
• 1 peanut butter cracker...it was offered to me generously.
• Failure: small piece of chocolate cake. I know, it's day one. Seriously, I get it. I haven't made eye contact in a mirror all day. Baby steps. Baby steps.
• water

Dinner

• half of an individual sized frozen pizza
• 10 baby carrots
• water

Day 1
Ab Ripper X & Chest/Back

I told myself I was going to punch the next person who looked at me with disbelief and disdain after hearing I was attempting p90x. "I don't think you understand...It's really hard!" they all said.

It is really hard.

However, I am not unhappy with my performance. I did not expect to be able to complete the work out flawlessly and I didn't. I had to use modified versions for most of the sets and you'd best believe I took water breaks every time they were offered. However, I did FINISH the work out and I figure every little bit helps. You have to start small-it's almost exciting that I have SO much room for improvement.

I actually enjoyed the ab ripper. I was not able to fully straighten my legs for many of the sets and I fell over a lot. I think this work out is going to be a good monitor of my progress. I'll be able to tell easily when I'm getting stronger and my form gets better.

Chest & Back was killer. I knew this work out would be one of the harder ones for me specifically, as my soccer experience meant my arms were all flab and no fab. I did all push-ups on my knees and used a chair for my pull-ups. Round 1- I did 25 push ups per set and 5 pull-ups per leg. Round 2- I did 30 push ups per set and 5-pull ups per leg. I'm not going to focus too much on the number as ideally, it will firstly decrease when I'm able to do an actual push up or sit up. I'm using 5 lb weights that feel like good starting tools. We'll see if I need to invest in more.

I also jogged 3.25 miles at Ramsey today. My friend Becky and I believe endorphins are like unicorns. They're such a beautiful thought, but they are seemingly nonexistent. I still haven't had anything close to reminiscent of a runner's high, but I do feel running becoming less torturous and little more manageable every day.  Consistency. This is what I need and what I will strive for during this whole process.

I'm worried jogging or Zumba (which starts up tomorrow! :D) in addition to p90x may be too taxing on my body. I may therefore do p90x for longer than 90 days and replace some days with one or both of the aforementioned activities. I'm going to try to listen to my body-although I'm not sure we speak the same language.

Alright, there's Day 1. It was tough, but it was a start. I've committed to "doing my best and forgetting the rest." It's going to be interesting to see how much I hate myself, Tony, Scott, Mike, and the stinkin German girl in the morning. I'm optimistic though! As Tony says, "Rome wasn't built in a day...and neither was your body!"

read her like an open book

cli·ché
n.
1. A trite or overused expression or idea
2. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial

I like cliches.

I think cliches give our language character and a sense of familiarity. They help you remember the lyrics to songs or allow you to finish the sentences of aquaintences you're trying to befriend. They can add mental images that stimulate coversations or make you to feel wise when offering advice to your family. Cliches are fun and obviously impactful as they became cliches in the first place.

I do not like excuses.

Unfortunately, I've begun to feel the excuses that constantly placate my poor eating and exercise habits are becoming cliched. Cliched excuses offer none of the benefits provided by those beloved literary expressions. Between the the two definitions, a line must be drawn.

I do not want to become a cliche.

I don't want to be predictably superficial when I tell myself I'm going to jog in the morning or I can easily walk away from that cookie tonight. This blogging experience is supposed to be a means of holding myself accountable. I realize God and I alone are responsible for my health and appearance; and He had the difficult make-something-out-of-dust-part.

I have decided to monitor my diet (add fruits & veggies, avoid fried foods, and cut out all desserts aside from froyo and specifically identified healty alterntives-ie weight watchers bars or skinny cow pints etc) , take up frequent jogging, and attempt P90x Classic.

My goal is not a size or weight-it's an outfit.

I want to be able to bare my arms confidently in a sleeveless button down and own a pencil skirt. I've wanted a pencil skirt my entire life, This wardrobe piece is the epitome of the ideal female lower form. Unfortunately, my butt and thighs have always prevented the purchase. At the end of 90+ days, I will have my pencil skirt. Also, I want those nude shoes because they're fabulous.

I'm tired of avoiding swim parties and putting off buying clothes because I refuse to take responsibility for my body and my decisions.  I'm ready to do my part.

So here's where I record my journey-the successes and failures.