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Creating the Will to Fight
I finished P90 by the start of the holidays of 2012. I got great results! I still had a ways to go but it was a significant win and a significant step for me. Enthusiastically and excitedly, I started on P90 Masters. I got sick with the first week of that program. The second week went worse. I had to stop to give myself time to recover from illness. During recovery, and throughout the entire holidays, I became so busy that I didn’t know if I were coming or going. After the holidays, I became sick and so did my family. We took turns getting sick and getting secondary infections. When finally, all the trips to the emergency room or to urgent care for one family member or another had settled down, I started to feel better. However, I was left dealing with overly stressful and overly dramatic family members to contend with.
After the holiday ordeal and the after-holiday family plague, I felt very defeated and I just didn’t have it in me to fight to eat right and to struggle to workout. I was back to square one. Well, a little less than square since I was struggling just to build up the will to fight. For a while there, had to work on just making it through the day and getting by with life. Then I needed to find some kind of joy where I could. I knew my life was off track. I knew it but I didn’t have the strength to pick up the train and turn it around and place it on the correct track.
First thing I needed was my warrior spirit and my joy. I started going back to my kempo lessons. Not as much as I should but as much as I could. I went many time times when I didn’t feel like it. Doing this was a struggle, and I still missed some classes, but going to these classes despite not wanting to, helped me to start regaining control. The classes themselves started reintroducing small bits of happiness into my life, and I was getting into a better state of mind. My warrior spirit sparked.
The next step was to start eating correctly. I started this week on a variation of the 6 Day Fat Burning Express diet that came with the bonus workout in the P90 package. On the first day, I did great until that evening when I found out someone eat all my nuts for my evening snack. I was very hungry, after and hour of not being able to take it anymore, I broke down and I eat some chocolate covered peanuts because that’s all I had. At first I thought the day was a waste but when I did some calculations, I realized that even though I was not in the targeted calorie range, the calorie range I was in that day was a lot smaller than what it had been previously. The day hadn’t been perfect, but it still was a good day, and Tuesday would be a new day to get things even better.
Starting Monday, March 25th, 2013, would be the day I start P90 masters. I didn’t feel up to it, but I would do it anyway. I gave myself be terrible at it if I had too just so long as I did it.This is how you create the will to fight. Stubbornly make small steps in a correct direction while allowing each positive action to be built upon and while weeding out and learning from the not so positive actions.
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Power 90 In – Home Boot Camp (Review and Results)
October 22st 2012
This program is great; it helped loose weight, gain strength, and endurance workout habits all without too huge of a daily time commitment. It also helped me perpare and get in shape for a kempo tournemnet.
Completed 90 days of the workout routine
Completed 77 days of my Jenny Craig & Shakeology meal plan
Completed 12 days of planned “cheat days”
I had one unplanned cheat day.
Saturday Morning weight w/clothes
Starting Weight: 212.2
Week 1: 210.8
Week 2: 208.2
Week 3: 207.2
Week 4: 207.2
Week 5: 203
Week 6: 202.2
Week 7: 201.8
Week 8: 200.6
Week 9: 197.8
Week 10: 197.2
Week 11: 196.8
Week 12: 194.6
Week 13: 192.8
Total Weight Lost: 19.4lbs
Inches Lost
Chest: 4
Waist: 4
Hips: 4
Each Thigh: 2
Each Arm: 2
Total Inches Lost: 16
Plan Difficulty Level (1-10)
Duration: 10
Time: 6
Workout: 6
Meal Plan: 5
Total Average Difficulty: 6.75
My Epic Wins:
- P90 helped me to train for a Martial Arts Tournament in which I placed in 3 out of 4 events
- I know that I can workout 6 out 7 days a week because I never missed a P90 workout!
- The Program made me feel accomplished; like I can take on P90 Masters!
- I lost 19.4 lbs in 13 weeks while gaining strength and endurance!!
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Power 90: Day 90: Results
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Power 90: Day 89: Sculpt 3-4 (Ankle Glitch)
October 19th 2012
I got up on time, which was exciting! Then I took a few steps and my enthusiasm dropped, because suddenly, and for no good reason, I had a sharp pain in my ankle! Day 89 and my ankle wants to act up. Of course I had skipped my IT-Band stretch for almost always and I had skipped my supine hamstring stretch the night before, that might have had something to do with it.
I had skipped the supine hamstring because I was tired and I figured that since the next morning was going to be sculpt and not sweat that I could skip it.
Good thing it was a sculpt morning, I could do the workout with a minimal amount of modification. No lunges, squats, or calf raises and all push-ups from the knees. Since I’m typically great with leg work I thought I wouldn’t be missing anything, but I hardly sweated, and I only got half of that worked-out feeling. My ankle did start feeling well enough to walk on it again about halfway through the routine. So I did try to do lunges but nope, it made a bit of pain in my ankle and my foot tingle so I backed off. However, I got my workout in!
Modification:
- All push-ups from the knees
- No lunges, squats, calf-raises, or dips
I had Shakeology, the Vegan chocolate flavor, mixed with coconut water, a banana, PB2, soymilk, and water. I didn’t feel like doing lunch and snack prep but I got it done.
The day was just another typical Friday workday except that I stayed a little late to finish making up missed hours at work. The bright part of the day was having lunch with my friend and my mother at Panera Bread. My favorite meal of the day was lunch, half Turkey & Avocado BLT on Sourdough with a half Harvest Salad. A FiberOne Oats & Chocolate Chewy Bar was my favorite snack of the day.
I worked late and got home latter that evening. I went to bed anxious for the next day. It’s always tough for me when I get to the end of a goal. It’s like getting to the end of an engrossing book. You know it’s coming, and you even want to get get there but there is something sad about it being done. The edge the sadness was dulled a bit by the excitement of starting Power 90 Masters and that My Power Journey is much greater and longer than just Power 90.
Wins:
- I didn’t let an ankle glitch stop me
- I had a pleasant lunch outing with friends and family
Food Log:
1969 Estimated Calories Burned – 1576 Estimated Calories Consumed = 393
Keep in mind the brand names of some food items may not be the same exact match. Sometimes I have to choose the closest match to the item I eat.
Team Beachbody group “Power 90 Buds and Buddies”
http://www.teambeachbody.com/get-fit/supergym/workoutgroup/detail?group=206557757
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Power 90: Day 88: Sweat 3-4 (Not a Bad Day)
October 18th 2012
I got up a tad late but I spent a lot of time responding to a blog post. So, I started the workout 30 minutes late, which is bad to do on a day I have a Sweat workout. The workout went well enough, couldn’t complain. I kept up, I moved, and I sweated a lot. My lungs weren’t feeling the greatest. My asthma was bothering due to the new guy smelling like smoke the day before.
Modification:
- Added 20 reps of each ab move for a total of 30 reps of each
- Replaced full body crunches with full body accordions hands under the small of my back
- Placed my hands under the small of my back for in-outs
I had Shakeology, the Vegan chocolate flavor, mixed with coconut water, a banana, PB2, soymilk, and water. The morning prep work went smoothly enough and I got to work.
My energy and mood were mellow most of the day. I worked went well; I stayed late to make up some time. My favorite meal of the day was dinner, Chicken Pasta Parmesan with a side of Broccoli. A fresh cut apple and some string cheese was my favorite snack of the day.
That evening, I worked online, watched a bit of TV and went to bed almost on time.
Wins:
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I didn’t have a bad day
Food Log:
2220 Estimated Calories Burned – 1448 Estimated Calories Consumed = 772
Keep in mind the brand names of some food items may not be the same exact match. Sometimes I have to choose the closest match to the item I eat.
Team Beachbody group “Power 90 Buds and Buddies”
http://www.teambeachbody.com/get-fit/supergym/workoutgroup/detail?group=206557757
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Power 90: Day 87: Sculpt 3-4 (Some Days are a Struggle)
October 17th 2012
I struggled with getting out of bed, then I struggled with starting the workout, then I struggled with the workout.
Modification:
- Two sets decline push-ups, one from the knees & one from the toes
- Did the first set of push-up using my new toe/knee combo
- I did the Wide-Tri-Die Push-ups and the Max Push-ups from my knees
- Did dips from a wide table stool, my legs straight
- Used weights with squats and lunges
- During calf-raises I hold weights in both hands; I don’t need a chair for support
I had Shakeology, the Vegan chocolate flavor, mixed with coconut water, a banana, PB2, soymilk, and water, which I struggled with making. I struggled with the will to do the lunch and snack prep work and with I getting to work.
Third day without coffee, I did have tea. My energy was moderate. When I first got into work, I felt bombarded with a lot of sudden, extra tasks but they weren’t too difficult at all Also, I wound up training the new guy. He was a cool, interesting older military man who used to work in IT. Like a lot of people, he’d been out of full time work for a while. He had interesting stories to tell about how he and his wife did apple picking for a little while but weren’t fast enough at it.
I worked late and got home latter that evening. I forgot to check to see if I had a kempo lesson or not until well after the typical time. So I went to bed feeling a little disappointed it but, judging by how tired I was, it was probably for the best.
Wins:
- I learned a little about apple picking
- I was able to make up some missed hours.
Food Log:
2166 Estimated Calories Burned – 1391 Estimated Calories Consumed = 775
Keep in mind the brand names of some food items may not be the same exact match. Sometimes I have to choose the closest match to the item I eat.
Team Beachbody group “Power 90 Buds and Buddies”
http://www.teambeachbody.com/get-fit/supergym/workoutgroup/detail?group=206557757
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Power 90: Day 86: Sweat 3-4 (Not Every Day Can Be Great)
October 16th 2012
That morning, I had the normal not wanting to get up feeling. I got up anyway and got in to do the workout. The workout went well enough. I felt as if I struggled just a touch more with everything but I manged to keep up with my normal pace.
Modification:
- Added 20 reps of each ab move for a total of 30 reps of each
- Replaced full body crunches with full body accordions hands under the small of my back
- Placed my hands under the small of my back for in-outs
I had Shakeology, the Vegan chocolate flavor, mixed with coconut water, a banana, PB2, soymilk, and water. The morning prep work went smoothly enough and I got to work.
My energy and mood were mellow most of the day. I worked mostly on a special project at work which kept me pretty busy. My favorite meal of the day was dinner, Chicken Carbonara with a side of Brussels Sprouts. Strawberry Greek yogurt and some fresh strawberries was my favorite snack of the day.
That evening, I did a little bit of work at home, which kept me from my Kempo University group lesson. Then I did some blogging and went to bed almost on time.
Wins:
- I got closer to finishing up an extra project at work
Food Log:
2251 Estimated Calories Burned – 1518 Estimated Calories Consumed = 733
Keep in mind the brand names of some food items may not be the same exact match. Sometimes I have to choose the closest match to the item I eat.
Team Beachbody group “Power 90 Buds and Buddies”
http://www.teambeachbody.com/get-fit/supergym/workoutgroup/detail?group=206557757
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Power 90: Day 85: Sculpt 3-4 (Apparently my Sleeping was 70%)
October 15th 2012
That morning I got up early. I check on an application for a special project at work and did a bit of testing from home. So, I started my workout late, but got I it done.
Modification:
- Two sets decline push-ups, one from the knees & one from the toes
- Did the first set of push-up using my new toe/knee combo
- I did the Wide-Tri-Die Push-ups and the Max Push-ups from my knees
- Did dips from a wide table stool, my legs straight
- Used weights with squats and lunges
- During calf-raises I hold weights in both hands; I don’t need a chair for support
I had the Vegan chocolate flavor of Shakeology, mixed with a banana, coconut water, PB2, and soymilk, and water. Since I was working half the day at home, I didn’t need to do a meal and snack prep. So I went straight to work for a few hour.
After getting some testing work done. I felt like I needed to stay home and rest. I’d been a bit overwhelmed with too much going one. So, I started putting together and posting some of the blog stuff I’d written.
My energy was low but my mood was good. About 3pm I fell asleep, then I forced myself to wake up about 5pm. It was very difficult and left me shaking for a few minutes after I got up.
In the evening I was okay, and I enjoyed a great kempo lesson. It took me an hour to go through all of my forms. I did a few of them more than once because I was a bit rusty at them and my brain kept getting in the way. It felt good just to go through my forms and get my body moving.
Later that night when I plugged in my BodyMedia, it had a note next to sleeping that suggested that I should take a warm bath so that I would relax before sleeping. This got me to wonder why it said that. I looked I expanded, and I looked at the part that reports on sleeping and sleeping efficiency. For the last few nights my sleeping efficiency was in the low around 70%. Apparently I was waking up even more times a night then I’d realized.
Wins:
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I got my parents on a better road to health
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I had a very productive, enjoyable day
Food Log:
2662 Estimated Calories Burned – 1568 Estimated Calories Consumed = 1094
Keep in mind the brand names of some food items may not be the same exact match. Sometimes I have to choose the closest match to the item I eat.
Team Beachbody group “Power 90 Buds and Buddies”
http://www.teambeachbody.com/get-fit/supergym/workoutgroup/detail?group=206557757
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Power 90: Day 84: Rest (Don’t eat the Barklava)
October 14th 2012
I had an uneventful, unproductive day at the gallery. Plus, I didn’t walk due to the weather. To top that off, I wasn’t prepared with my daily lunch and snacks. I went to a new place for lunch without researching the calories first. I didn’t realize just how many calories where in a tiny piece of barklava. Not only that, barklava tastes like dry, bland pastry with a layer of crushed nuts and a bunch of sticky, overly sweet syrup on it. Next time I have something that small with that many calories it better taste wonderful.
Wins
- I discovered barklava isn’t for me.
Food Log:
1957 Estimated Calories Burned – 2131 Estimated Calories Consumed = +181
Keep in mind the brand names of some food items may not be the same exact match. Sometimes I have to choose the closest match to the item I eat.
Team Beachbody group “Power 90 Buds and Buddies”
http://www.teambeachbody.com/get-fit/supergym/workoutgroup/detail?group=206557757
