Back in the Saddle

AFter taking time off for the Holidays, I'm back in working out mode again.  We have a trip planned to St. Barths in February and I must get back into swimsuit shape by then ... so back to working out I go.

I started my P90X where I left off ... with Shoulders and Back.  I was pleased that I hadn't lost any of the progress I'd made before taking a break and was able to keep up with the workouts quite nicely.  I've decided that in order to reach my goal I'm going to have to add an aerobic workout each day ... either walking. biking or running (which I dislike very much). 

The most difficult part of working out for me is starting.  Once I'm 5 minutes into it I'm so happy to be there, but those first 5 mins are hard.  I can always find 100 other things to do, some of which I'm sure are just delay tactics.  As well, it's funny how quickly a day can slip by and the next thing I know it's late afternoon/evening and time to get dinner going.

To get myself going, I'm starting each day with a To Do list, and putting working out at the top.  I'm a "mark it off the list" kind of person so I'm hoping this helps.  The one thing I've found is that once I've showered and gotten into my day it's hard to dress down for working out ... so I'm trying to start each day with my workout.

Today is yoga, something I love, so that's an easy one to get into.  It's the more difficult workouts, like the Kenpo, that I struggle the most with.  I hate not being able to do something correctly and the kick boxing portion of this workout are a struggle for me.  I did find boxing on my Wii fit, and an entire kick boxing training ... where you practice the punches ... that I'm going to try to see if it helps.

I'm adding to my program tracking my food on livestrong.com.  I got a MyTouch phone for Christmas and was happy to find the Livestrong app so I can track my eating right on my phone instead of having to get to my computer and recap what I ate.  My goal for each day is a Net of 1,050 calories.  I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but that's Net ... so if I workout and burn 350 calories, need to eat that many more.  That keeps me on a 750 calorie a day deficit, which is what is needed to reach my goal. 

What I like about livestrong.com is that it has 1,000s of foods pre-loaded so I haven't found anything I've had to enter myself.  As well, they tell you when a food's content has been verified vs. entered by someone else.  It's amazing how different the values can be!  Even something as simple as an egg!  People enter all sorts of values for things ... who are they fooling?  So I stick to the "verified" values whenever possible.

I will admit I'm not one to weigh and measure everything, but after being on a weight management program for 2 years where I had to weigh and measure everything, I've developed a pretty good eye for appropriate portions.  A good trick for is to do actual serving size weights and measures for two weeks ... just to see how much more we Americans consume!  For example, the FDA recommendation for beef is 3-4 oz.  Have you ever tried going to a restaurant and getting a 3-4 oz. serving of steak?  It's impossible.  I know people want to feel like they're getting something for their money, but here's a novel concept ... serve less, charge less.  Some day I'm going to open a restaurant that serves food in the FDA recommended portions just so people can see how much their overeating!

So I'm off do to Yoga and will probably throw the Ab Ripper workout into the end for good measure.  I'm not sure what my aerobic for the day will be, it's cold and rainy outside today so I will probably find myself riding our stationary bike.

I hope you have a great day ... Cheri

P.S.  Just finished Yoga and didn't add in the Ab Ripper.  Forgot the thing was an hour and a half long!  And it includes an ab section.  I swear I can sweat as much doing the yoga as the Plyometrics!  Only 2 moves I can't do ... but I'm getting better!