Almond Butter & Sunflower Seed Butter

Daniel and I tried two new foods this week- almond butter and sunflower seed butter.  I thought they were both yummy:)  In the photo below you can see Daniel photo bombing the condiments.

We have used the almond butter in smoothies, with apples, with yogurt and fruit, and with cottage cheese and some fruit.  All of these were delicious!  The sunflower seed butter is great with apples and on bread for a faux PBJ sandwich.

T25

Daniel and I love T25!  It's 25 minutes of a high intensity workout without any breaks.  You are working so hard on the workout that you don't have a chance to watch the clock.  The time goes by so fast!

It is so nice to work really hard for a shorter amount of time and then move on to the rest of your day.  It is easier for me to get up and do it knowing I would only get 25 minutes more sleep if I were to stay in bed.  Shaun T. brings energy and fun to the wee morning hours:)

P90X

I finished P90X!  After 90 days of working hard, I feel better than ever.  While I didn't have the dramatic weight loss I wanted, I saw some great changes and am excited about what I accomplished.

The Numbers:
Lost 10 pounds                        Chest= lost 1.5 inches
Waist= lost 3 inches!!!             Hips= lost 5 inches!!!!!              
Thighs= lost 1 inch on each
Arms= lost 2 inches (1.5 on R arm and .5 on left arm- go figure:)
Went down a clothing size!

I feel like I gained a lot of muscle too:)

Here are my before and after photos.  I included my before photo from back in the fall so that you can see the transformation over the last 9 months too.  Since I began my journey with Beachbody last November I have lost 40 pounds and gone down 2 clothing sizes.  I'm planning to lose another 10 to 20 lbs. before my year mark and go down another clothing size too:)

(November 2012, end of April 2013, and end of July 2013)

 

 

P90X is the most physically challenging thing I have ever tackled.  I feel like I should earn a medal for doing it:)  I'm grateful that Daniel did it with me.  It was fun to share the experience with him and it helped me to actually do it.  If he hadn't done it with me, I probably would have quit because it was HARD, but in a good way!

Accomplishments:

• Sit Ups!!!!-  I began P90X not able to do a complete sit up in Ab Ripper X.  I spent 5 weeks of Ab Ripper X just getting my upper back off the floor and trying each time to get the rest up too.  In my 5th week I came up all the way and was shocked!  I thought I would never be able to do it, but from that day on I could do it and everytime I did I felt empowered to take on the world and conquer my challenges.
• Push Ups!!!!- I finally reached a point 8 weeks in where I was able to do all of the push ups without going to my knees!
• Pushing Play!!!- As challenging as it was,  stuck with it and continued to push play:)

Tony Hortonisms from P90X:

• You can do anything for 30 seconds!
• Do your best and forget the rest.
• I hate it, but I love it!
• It hurts, but in a good way.
• I'm working hard, so I know you are.
• This is the mother of all workouts.
• We don't do spray on here.  This is actual DNA removal.
• Tip of the day- Breath!  Don't stop breathin'.  You stop, you die.
• Sword-Hammer
• Grab a sister, brother, or uncle to lean on.  That's a short uncle!
• Stir your pot of soup.  What's in your pot?  
• Do NOT say you "can't"!  You can say, "I don't want to."  You can say, "I'm not willing to put forth the effort" or "I currently struggle with".  But DO NOT say you CAN'T!
• That's the face of a girl that's working hard! (We never see her face on camera!)
• Water break... but don't be going down the hall and getting a Crispy Cream!
• Rome wasn't built in a day and your body wasn't either.
• Happiness is this right here.
• In Plyometrics, he tells Eric to put his hands in the air to do the Mary Katherine's and Eric responds he'll do his best.  Tony replies "he said he'll do his best... THAT'S ALWAYS ENOUGH".
• Don't smash your face.
• This isn't Ab Ripper 100 or 200, this is Ab Ripper 339!
• Steering wheels don't move unless you got some kind of clown car.
• Like a pterodactyl backing out of trouble.  Cawww!  Cawww! Cawww!
• This is P90X people! 

I will always remember:

• Pam the Blam is calm and dedicated.  She takes the workouts in stride and lets Tony adjust her form in mid workout without any complaining.  I would complain.  I want to be like Pam.

• Katie, perky, too happy Katie.  Not being a morning person, Katie was WAY too happy and cheery for me first thing in the morning.  The more she smiled and cheerily said "Bring on the Pain", the more I wanted to punch her.

• Eric is a slacker who owns a boat, he's from Belgium.  Whenever he didn't think the camera was on him, he brought it down a notch and whenever he thought the camera was on him he picked it up and went extreme.  Slacker!

• Erik Stolhanske was my inspiration.  He was in the Plyometrics workout- the hardest P90X workout (in my opinion).  Erik has one leg and he is jumping up and down doing this intensely hard workout and pushing me to go a little further and work a little harder. 

• Tony, the man himself, Horton is awesome!  I really did LOVE P90X.  So much so that I want to do it again later this fall/winter.  Tony made working out fun and helped me feel like my best was good enough.

I hated, but loved:

• Plyometrics = Loved:  Lots of jumping and definately working hard, but it was my favorite workout for P90X:)
• Stretch X = Loved:  I miss it!  It was amazing how good my body felt after stretching for 45 minutes on Saturday mornings.  I think I will continue to do it with every other program I do because it is the best!
• Fifer Scissors = Hated:  Whoever came up with these should die! (an homage to Galaxy Quest:)  I did work over time to straighten out my legs more and got better and better, but these were a challenge.
• Superman, Banana = Hated:  Not sure why, but these were not fun for me.  It's not easy to be Superman:)
• Corn cob pull ups = Hated:  I currently struggle with these.  

Thank you P90X for helping me feel like I can take on the world!

My Story

My new imagined life began back in November of 2012.  I did not have a habit of exercising.  I was eating junk.  I was overweight and did not like how I looked nor how I felt in my clothes.  My friend Rachel had been doing a Beachbody exercise program and now was a Beachbody coach.  She kept asking me if I was interested in joining a Facebook support group or challenge group for Turbo Fire.  I declined several times until one day in the fall of 2012 she asked if I was interested in trying her BBL (aka Brazil Butt Lift) challenge group.  Amazingly, I said, "Yes".

When I went to purchase the program, I learned that Turbo Fire was on sale.  This was a program that Rachel had been doing and loving.  I wanted to do this program and since it was on sale, I bought it too!  I ended up doing a hybrid of BBL and Turbo Fire from November through January and then Turbo Fire through mid April.

I knew that Rachel would hold me accountable for what I said I was going to do.  I knew that my friends and family were watching me to see how I did.  I knew that this time I had to succeed!

I have NEVER been a morning person.  My first year in college I had an 8am class and it was way too early for me.  So I read the book on my own and showed up for test days and managed to get a B in the class without showing up much.  I tell you this to illustrate how much I hate mornings.  Daniel had learned early in our married life that I was incapable of speech for the first hour I was awake.  I had tried many times over the years to get up early and workout before the day began and only succeed a few days before giving in to sleep instead.  When preparing to start BBL/Turbo Fire, I knew that I needed to get up and workout first thing or it wouldn't happen.  I also knew this was going to be a huge challenge for me.

To encourage myself to get up before the sun and do something I wasn't too excited about I came up with an incentive.  Here is my deep, dark secret that only Daniel knew until now... I would watch television while I worked out.  As most of you know I have a love/hate relationship with television.  I love it so much that I hate that I love it:)  Also, I am capable of multi-tasking while watching TV.   So I would make it split screen on my laptop with the volume off and closed captioning on for the workout.  The TV show would be partially obscured by the workout, but I could hear it.  This is how I exercised for several months, but it worked for me.  

I established a habit of working out in the mornings before doing anything else.  I was supported by others in my challenge group.  I was supported by friends and family as I posted my workouts on Facebook and talked about my experiences on my blog.  I started using an app called My Fitness Pal to track what I was eating, how much I was eating, and that I was exercising.  

With all of this in place, I lost 35 pounds from November 2012 to April 2013.  I had slip ups- not eating the right thing or skipping a workout, but overall I kept at it and the consistency paid off!

After Turbo Fire, I was ready to try something a little more intensive- P90X!  This workout Daniel and I decided we would do together.  We were both nervous about this since in the past we preferred to exercise alone, away from others.  What do you know?!  We discovered that it can be fun to work out with someone else.  Having a partner makes it easier to get up and do the workout because someone else is counting on you.  Partners provide someone to talk about the workout with.  For example, "That was a tough move" or "I loved that workout".

After 90 days of working hard, I felt better than ever.  While I didn't have the dramatic weight loss I wanted, I saw some great changes and am excited about what I accomplished.

The Numbers from P90X:
Lost 10 pounds                        Chest= lost 1.5 inches
Waist= lost 3 inches!!!             Hips= lost 5 inches!!!!!              
Thighs= lost 1 inch on each
Arms= lost 2 inches (1.5 on R arm and .5 on left arm- go figure:)
Went down a clothing size!

I gained a lot of muscle too:)

Here are my before and after photos.  I included my before photo from back in the fall so that you can see the transformation over the 9 month period.

(November 2012, end of April 2013, and end of July 2013)

 

 

P90X is the most physically challenging thing I have ever tackled.  I feel like I should earn a medal for doing it:)  I'm grateful that Daniel did it with me.  It was fun to share the experience with him and it helped me to actually do it.  If he hadn't done it with me, I probably would have quit because it was HARD, but in a good way!

Next up for me was T25.  Daniel and I spent Fall 2013 doing this program and it is wonderful!  It's 25 minutes of a high intensity workout without any breaks.  You are working so hard on the workout that you don't have a chance to watch the clock.  The time goes by so fast!

I'm three weeks into P90X3 and loving it!  I love that it is only 30 minutes and I love the variety and how I feel after.  My body craves those happy endorphins I get from exercise.

I highly recommend the Shakeology drinks too!  I drink it everyday and love how it curbs cravings, fills me up for hours, and gives my body lots of nutrients to keep it healthy.  My favorites are the Vegan Chocolate and the Vegan Tropical Strawberry- YUMMY!

I am doing things I never even imagined.  A year ago, I would have laughed in your face if you told me that I would ask for a heart monitor for Christmas.  I was so excited that we had to workout on Christmas Day:)  I am finding that I have the confidence to challenge myself in other areas of my life and learn new things!

I have learned that one is better than none.  If I can't do one then trying to do one is better than nothing.  I spent 6 weeks trying to do a certain sit up in P90X and one day after weeks of not being able to do it, it all came together and I did it!  I was surprised, excited, and felt like I could take on the world.  The same thing happened with push ups.  I was unable to do any regular push ups for a long time, but eventually I made it through an entire workout with all of my push ups off the knees!  I was flying:)   

I still have 50 plus pounds to lose, but I know that I will get there.  I'm grateful to my friend Rachel for holding me accountable.  Her Facebook support group was instrumental in keeping me going.  With the support of friends and family and digging deep within and not taking no for answer to myself I am living beyond a life I ever imagined!  I know that I can do anything:)!