Hi Fortune Freaks…
Ok, I know that a New Years Resolution can be considered a cliche thing, however I’m really trying one. As I was putting together my kids doll house for Santa this Christmas, a T.V. infomercial came on for BeachBody’s p90x system. I’ve seen it a few other times and watched it only because I didn’t feel like getting up to find the remote to change the T.V. I am about 20 pounds overweight for my height and age. I don’t really like that too much, but with work, kids, etc… exercise on a regular basis seems to be priority 700 or so.
SO any way… I watch the infomercial and decided that I really would like to feel better all around, and have more energy when I get off from work. I thought that I would give it a shot. My wife and I split the system and started it this Monday. Basically it is a 90 day fitness challenge 6 or 7 days a week, full nutrition guide. It has everything from pullups and pushups, to yoga, to jumping around like crazy (plyometrics).
So 3 days into it, my wife and I are really sore, but in a good way. Waking up at 5:30 is pretty difficult for me. Please post some encouraging words to help me along, and to keep me motivated to stay with it. I am planning on posting pix as I go a long. My before pix were pretty embarrassing to me, so Ill post them with my 1st months pix in hopes there was a change… Never mind, If my wife can handle it, then I can. (don’t laugh at the pose, its one of the mandatory poses)
My Starting picture
2 Week Update
OK, I just finished week 2. I don’t feel super sore or tired anymore. I actually feel like I have a little more energy. The diet is pretty tough, I’ve definately had some cheats… I couldn’t resist Ice cream one night… Alright two ice cream cones. And tonight (I have designated Sunday as a “cheat day”), I had Deep Fried Macaroni and Cheese. Don’t laugh, Its pretty awesome!. Here is week 2 pix. I feel like you can see a little difference in my face. Which is good. The shadow on the wall kinda messes up the pic a little.
1 month pic
Alright, finished the 1st month. I will say I love and hate yoga. I love it because I feel great at the end of it. I’m relaxed, calm, and just feel good. The bad news is it’s an hour and a half long! I have to wake up super early to be able to do it before everyone is up. This last week was my “recovery” week so I did Yoga twice. On Sunday I woke up late so I couldn’t work out until like 8:30 am, so imagine… Trying to get into that relaxed state with slow methodical movements… and bam, 2 little kids come running around the corner chasing each other, 1 screaming because the other one stole her dolly. I have a time crunch of an hour and 15 minutes before I have to get ready for church, but the video lasts close to 1 hour and 4o minutes with all the streching and everything. So I kinda have to self edit the video with the parts I can’t do yet. Santa Clause 3 is blaring in the living room, Christmas is over, but for some reason it’s still on TIVO. I’m not sure thats exactly how it happened, but needless to say, Sunday’s Yoga session wasn’t the best.
Well, on to my pic. I can definitely tell a difference in my face, although I felt like I would see more of a difference. I started out at 236 pounds, and weighed on Saturday 222. So 14 pounds lighter is definitely a good step in the right direction. I feel a lot better, with more energy. My pic makes me look like I have less muscles than when I started, but I guess those other muscles were fat? At least that is what Ill tell myself.
43 day pic
Ok almost halfway. On Friday I weighed 219.6 which is almost 17 pounds less. So that is encouraging. I definately feel like I have more energy. It is a lot easier to wake up at 5:30-6:00 now than it was. I wake up and am ready to excercise. I should have taken my pics on Friday, cause this last junk food day was a killer… I ate a lot of bad stuff… Like an a huge bag of lemon, lime, and caramel & cheese popcorn. The caramel and cheese is called Chicago Mix. Really good! So, I was a little heavier this Monday than I was on Friday. So I will try and control myself better this next cheat day.
Here is my pic… still no 6 pack… closer to the 12 pack still (beer belly). That pic to me shows the least amount of change. But I can tell a little. And is it just me or do I have a really big head?
2 Month pic
Here is my 2 month pic. I weighed 215 this morning, that is 21 pounds less than (or is it then) when I started. I think it had to do with working out back to back pretty much. With the time change, I didn’t wake up early enough to do chest and back on Monday morning. So I ended up doing it Monday night, then I woke up the next morning and did plyometrics (jump training). I burned a little over 1400 calories from exercise in less than 24 hours.
It was tough, but I am glad I did it. I am adding the old pic next to the new one for comparison, also a couple of other views.
Before: | After (2 mo.): |
Before: | After (2 mo.): | Before: | After (2 mo.): |
Here is my 2 1/2 month photos. I did substitute running for yoga and kenpo karate last week. I got a little sick of yoga and kenpo. I did make sure to use my monitor to burn the same amount of calories. Each exercise is designed to burn around 600 calories. Today I was able to burn 700 in Kenpo, but its my junk food day… I ate a bunch of nachos and hot wings. I have noticed that since eating honey in lieu of sugar, I don’t crave sugar really. On my “cheat day” I feel horrible also eating junk food. I am a lot more tired on junk food day. I weighed 217 yesterday which is 19 pounds less than when I started. I definitely feel like I am losing fat and gaining muscle.
| Before: | After (2.5 mo.): |
| Before: | After (2.5 mo.): | Before: | After (2.5 mo.): |
OK I’m Finished! Summing up my P90x…
I feel way better, I’ve lost around 20 pounds. It was pretty hard to stick with it, but managed to do it. My junk food day was Saturday, but managed to stretch it into Friday night and Sunday. I highly recommend p90x to everyone. I learned that Tony horton is a high energy, amp’d up, crazy dude! He managed to motivate me on a DVD. I am going to start again, because I feel like I want to continue the program. What I like most is… there is no guesswork about what your doing next… the entire workout is laid out for you everyday. So for people like me that need someone to encourage and tell them when to do something, Its Great!
| Before: | After: |
| Before: | After: | Before: | After: |
7 comments
You did it. Wow what an accomplishment and being so focused. You look awesome and I am proud of you with your determination and sticking to a program. Now, I need to do something instead of talking about it. But I think what you learned the most is the healthy cooking plus healthy eating equals great results.
Where did the love handles go?! ;-) congrats!!
you are definitely more cut – keep it up!
Really cool. We’re tracking your progress! You’ve motivated us to get healthier too.
I am proud of you. Anyone who gets up at 5:30am to watch a video of the exercise has to really have discipline. It must be the Marine in you. Keep doing it because you will be motivating and inspiring others plus you have seen results. Congratulations on your first 30 days of the fit challenge.