Shelly’s Journal

I am entering my 6th week as a P90Xer. And I’m having a blast. It’s fun, fun, fun. Every time I run into someone who finds out for the first time that I’m doing P90X, the burning question they are asking, is – does it work? It’s probably the question I asked the first time I saw the program on the Beach Body web site. I had heard others talk about it, but really never saw the informercial. Then I talked to a few people who were doing it, and knew others who had success. That was the last straw, I had to try it.

I wondered, too. Would it make a difference?

Well, yes, but…..

1) You have to do the diet, too. No matter what workout you’re doing, to gain the maximum benefits, you have to look at your diet. You can’t eat junk food, and expect to shed the fat. Case and point, my own husband, works out every day but is an OOC eater. Ice cream, sugar, who knows what else. He’s got a six pack, but it’s hidden under a layer of fat across his abs. You’ll never get the results without looking at your own diet. P90X comes with a diet. The closer you follow it, the more optimum results you’ll have.

2) I believe that it is impossible not to have success in this program if you do the workouts and change your eating. There is a kicker though, where are you starting from. This program is ideally created for people who have been exercising some and are not just looking to go from 230 lbs. to 120. You can be that heavy and out of shape person, but you’re not going to go from couch potato to beach body in 90 days. It may take several rounds of P90X to get you there.

What I like about P90X so far.

1) I love the variety of workouts. After six weeks, I’m still not routine on any of them, except maybe the Ab one, which is done 3x a week through most of the program. It hits all the major workouts – weights, cardio, yoga, stretching.

2) I love the theory behind it. You need different types of exercise for total body fitness. Before P90X, I would never have take time to do yoga or stretching as a stand along workout.

3) The exercises are challenging, but modifications (and bands) can help you work at your own pace. Even though I have a compliment of dumbells, I prefer to use bands, which work great. Tony Horton also is telling you all the time to work at your level, and not be ashamed of doing less, if that’s all you can do.

4) The Beach Body support community is awesome. Meet other people in the same boat as you. I can’t believe what a huge difference this makes for me. I love the message boards and working out with my buddies. These people understand where you are, what you’re going through and lift you right up.

5) Tony Horton is motivating. He’s goofy. He’s wacky. He tells you to “Bring It.” At the end of the day, you realize he knows his stuff.

6) The exercises are short. Typically you’re only working for 30-60 seconds, which mentally helps me to push through. And if something’s too hard, just take a short break and be ready for what’s next.

7) The weights videos work all muscle groups through the course of the week with a variety of exercises. Some seem goofy and hardly like exercises at all, but I have felt every muscle in my upper and lower body through the last 6 weeks of this workout.

I like that it’s a whole program, and encouraging progression. With so many positive results out there, it’s easier to have an idea what to expect and to push through the 90 days, verses some other videos I’ve done that don’t move you to the next level in a time period.

9) Most of the videos have the option to play the workout without comments or extra banter or music.

What I don’t like.
1) I wish there were a few more cardio options to substitute in. I’m a cardio lover, and I’d like more than 3 cardio workouts.

2) The length is a bit longer that I realized. Yoga – 90 minutes. (I’m adjusting.)

3) Wish there was more of an introduction on how to use the bands in the bonus material. Sometimes I’m confused, especially on pull ups with the bands. Extra instruction would help.

4) It’s hard. The diet is hard, the workouts are hard. If you don’t like to do hard, then this might not be the workout for you.

Overall:
I have seen progress in my 6 weeks. I’ve dropped 5 lbs. and inches on the mid-section of my body. My energy has increased to the point that I’ve given up my morning JAVA, and no longer crave afternoon naps on a daily basis. I’ve seen my strength go up. I can now do push ups off my toes, although not many and I have done one chin up. I have definition in shoulders, arms and abs.

Will I get a six pack? I’m not sure I want one. I do want to be stronger and in better shape, continue with the energy and get control of my daily eating. I’m on my way.

Will P90X Work for You?
It depends. Are you committed to do it as suggested? How committed? That will drive your results. Work hard, eat light and “Bring It.” You’ be glad you did!

Since it’s hot summertime here in Virginia, I thought about taking my boys to a movie this week – just the three of us. I looked online to see what ticket prices were, and honestly I screamed. I couldn’t believe that it would cost over $30 for a matinee, just to get into see the film, not including popcorn and drinks. I’ll admit that the last movie I saw was The Passion of the Christ about a month before Bump was born, but the prices – unbelievable.

Time for Plan B. I may just get one “On Demand” from our cable company, depending on what’s available or better yet, buy one that we can keep forever. We’ll close the blinds, put on the surround sound and snuggle with popcorn and our own drinks. Plus, our doggies get to join us. And I’ll still be on the high side of black compared to the movies.

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I still remember the old movie theater in my hometown, the place where we saw all the Disney classics, and went to the Christmas Show every year with free tickets from our school. (Yes, Christmas Show from our school). I remember seeing E.T., Superman, Star Wars and more in that beautiful old place. And the best part is, it’s still there. It hosts more plays and shows than movies these days, but they are talking about bringing back some films – I think “classic” stuff. How fun would it be to see a movie in that place?

You probably can visualize it if you had an old theater in your hometown – velvet curtains on the side with rope, ornate decorations on the walls and ceiling – even chandeliers. And of course, we always wanted to sit in the balcony.

I later went on to perform as the Wicked Witch of the West on that stage, and then worked stage crew for the play, “Grease.” And discovered the vast intricacies behind the scenes, too. Ah yes, the modern multiplexes can’t hold a candle to the old theaters.

It’s been a few days since I’ve had a cup of coffee. Let me repeat that. It’s been a few days since I’ve had a cup of coffee.

At one time, coffee was the life blood of my morning. I would grip my big “Colorado” cup and stare like a zombie at the computer screen every morning just trying to knock the cobwebs out of my head. I’m not sure that worked. And after that, I found myself on a revolving highway to the bathroom. Oh the pleasantness of it all. And lo and behold, about 1:30, I was screaming for a nap.

I am not saying that coffee is bad for you or condemning anyone who drinks it. But I had definitely gotten into a bad cycle with the caffeine and even coffee. It was empowerment to do nothing but sit. And the last thing I needed to do was to sit. I have felt compelled to sit much during these last two years. What I really needed to do was get up and go. And in the midst of getting up early to make sure I get my workouts in, I dropped the coffee. I found that it was 10 o’clock before I could get to the coffee and honestly, who wants it by then? Especially in the summertime, after you’ve sweated yourself up some. And with all the energy from my workouts, I really didn’t need the caffeine. Enter decaf. Now, I don’t even drink decaf. Maybe when the summer is over and it’s cooler in the evening.

In the meantime, I drink a little iced tea here and there, with minimal caffeine. I occasionally indulge in a diet soda (but that too is slipping away.) I am trying to rediscover ice water with a dash of lemon. Better for my health. Better for me. It wasn’t really the coffee, but just my pattern with the coffee. Now that I’ve broken the pattern, I don’t really need the coffee.

I ask myself, what are the other patterns that I don’t need?

I discovered, by accident, a great snack I love. Now, I am a notorious vegetable hater. Yes, the green smoothies help me get those horrid things into my diet. But now, it’s an even better snack. (Drum roll, please.) Carrot sticks dipped in hummus. TA DA!

I know you are all thinking, what’s inventive about that. Well, here’s the thing. I never dreamed of eating hummus on anything other than pita, cracker, melba, carbo something. I’ve even been eating it by the spoonful. But now, I can officially call it a healthy snack by adding the carrot sticks.

Sigh. When one changes his eating habits, you’re always looking for the carrot (vs. the stick) to help you along. And I finally found it, and discovered that it really was a carrot!!!

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Remember that episode of Gilligan’s Island where they found the radioactive vegetable seeds? Mary Ann ate all the carrots and could see for miles. Gilligan was the strong man after eating spinach, and Mrs. Howell was super fast after eating the sugar beets. I just thought of that when I was writing about the carrots. Hee hee.

By this time of the night, not too much mental focus left. But I never lose my sense of humor.

Love to you all!

Funny how dogs creep into your heart. Even after they are gone, they’re not. You carry them with you much as you do the people of your life. I still often call the dogs, “Casey and Winnie” instead of “Casey and Sparky”. And there’s still a worn spot on the carpet where she like to lay. Casey will sometimes take her post at the top of the stairs almost guiltily. And there’s always a story about the Winnie Girl for us to remember. Somehow Bump thinks he remembers her, but I think he mostly remembers the stories I tell him.

Here’s Winnie in 2005, guarding the watermelon in our first garden.

I’ve posted every day here since I started my exercise program. That’s kind of funny to me. I guess the structure that I’ve invoked in my life has seeped in all around. It’s not just the exercise program, it’s lining up all the other things and getting them together. Not that I’ve got it all right. I just seem to have a higher degree of consistency.

I will admit, working out 6 days a week does give me a good feeling. I get tired at the end of the day, but find the energy to do lots of things. And the eating. The eating is the biggest part. But I never was going to do the eating, just the workouts.

Well, you can’t have your cake. Yes, the eating is it. It’s two parts – eating and exercise. I read this on a message board, copied from some P90X stuff.

You cannot substitute good exercise for a bad diet. A good diet and exercise have to happen at the same time. – Tony Horton, creator of P90X

How many of us, including me, have said, “I exercise so I can eat what I want.” When the truth is, you’re still not doing it “right” if you only do one part of it. You’ll never reach your full potential if you only do half of the equation. I have watched many a dieter lose big time weight only to gain it back because they didn’t exercise. And many an exerciser who plateaued and lost motivation, only to gain it back because they weren’t minding their diet.

I’m not saying to go on a diet, I’m saying watch your diet. Our culture tells us to pig out every day. Eat what you want. Don’t be afraid to have seconds. How about, just eating right?

This is part of my new adventure. I don’t have all of the answers, but I’m well on my way. I’ve found the map. Now I only need to follow it to the treasure.

I am sitting here alone in my house, getting dinner ready for my gang, who should be back momentarily. But except for the panting of dogs and the sizzle of food in the oven, it is silent in this house. I drove to Walmart and back today, alone. I didn’t play the radio. I sat in silence.

When I was young, I always had the background noise. My stereo seemed to always be on, no matter what I was doing, or the TV as background filler. And the car? I never even turned off the noise. At work, I always had a radio playing softly next to me.

Now, it is silence. A beautiful thing.

I hear so much in the silence. I am not distracted from my thoughts or guided down a road by the links that are made from TV shows or songs. It’s me directed.

I’ve said prayers, remembered family and friends, planned activities, analyzed things from my week, reveled in the joy of the silence God has created.

It’s different, too. Because it’s not the dead of night. The sun is shining and filling my heart with warmth and joy, as much as the silence that surrounds me.

I highly recommend it, if you have a chance.

I was surprised to find a package in my mail today that was not homeschool curriculum.

It was a book -The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Zafon also wrote, Shadow of the Wind which I devoured last month and declared it the best book that I’ve read in a while. Zafon just released this one last week. And although I was 7th in line to get it from our library. My dear friend, Donna, dropped it in the mail for me. And now, I get to read and savor it forever. I hope it’s as good as his other book.

Thanks to Donna for thinking of me and feeding my reading obsession.

As the public schools open their doors for the summer, we haven’t felt the push of the neighborhood kids,yet. I’ve seen them, but really not much. Target’s been crazy every time we’ve been there. And now the pools will be open for the official start of summer. Yeah.

I loved summer in the Midwest. In the south,not so much. Hot. Hot. Hot. But the story so far this year has been rain. rain. rain. It’s been more familiar to me in some ways. The rate at which our grass grows, unbelievable. Usually it’s starting to burn out by now, which means less mowing.

The garden is thriving, however, with some 40 tomatoes. I even missed the ripening of our first pepper. Silly me. My basil and mint are crazy, crazy, crazy. I better get going and make some more hummus and pesto. I’ve decided that my tomatoes are going to be gang busters during the 2 weeks I’m gone to Wisconsin. yeah, good planning.

And I am looking at carpeting on Monday. Finally, the nearly 25 year old stuff upstairs (older than 2 of my step children) is going to be trashed and replaced with nice, pile carpeting. No more builders grade. We have been fighting for years to do this. And now. It’s going to happen. Whoooooo.

If only some of the other long term projects got finished around here. Notice I don’t say started. But I have a hunch that a new bathtub will be coming my way this year, yet!

Totally random tonight. Just what I’m thinking about. Just finished my 2nd workout today and now I’m hitting the showers. Whooooo!