You won't believe what I did this morning!

Good new! Nothing else blew up this week. That was quite a relief.  Today I'm tired. The 4:30am alarm clock was really a pain this morning. But, I pushed myself and got up out of bed. I did the P90X Chest and back. I added it up. Today I did 170 push ups. Not counting the pullups or other stuff. Not counting the 50 or so I did on my knees. Did you catch that number?

ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY!

I didn't realize the total until I sat down and added them up.
Regular push ups: 60
Military push ups: 30
Wide arm push ups: 40
Diamond push ups: 20
Decline push ups: 20

Of course these were done in 2 sets over an hour period, but still....that's pretty awesome. My wrists were hurting a bit this morning after all that. Since my goal is to be able to do even more (around 50 of each type) I went ahead and bought push up bars. I found one on clearance at Target. It's supposed to help. We'll see.

My diet has been really good. I'm eating great. Tuesday I finished with just over 1,000 calories. Yesterday,  I had right at 1,000. For dinner I had salmon, half a sweet potato, green beans, asparagus and a wonderful spinach salad.  It had fresh spinach, orange slices, Parmesan cheese (lightly sprinkled), and a yummy orange vinaigrette. SOOOO good!

I still haven't weighed as I'm waiting on the new scale. Should be here tonight. I'm anxious to weigh, but not too much. New scale and all that could have some variability. But at least I can start keeping track again of my weight. Kind of nice not to weigh every day though. Maybe I'll hide it and go back to only weighing weekly.

Today is the beginning of week 3, round 3 of the P90X. After this week, there is a week of "recovery" which is a lot of cardio, yoga and stretching. Then you are supposed to weigh and measure, take pictures. I'm just proud of myself for sticking with it so far, 4:30am wake up call and all.  There's no TKD class this week and I miss it. It will be back after the holiday.

I'm looking forward to my 4 day weekend. I have a lot to do at home as I continue to focus on the operation "Get that Crap Outta Here." I got the kids involved last weekend and the girls had a great time talking about things that might help kids who don't have enough. Now with the news of the hurricaine they'll have more motivation to help others. Win, win. House clean and people helped and it's tax deductible.

Speaking of the holiday.....we have plans to have some guests over on Monday for the obligatory BBQ. I will be cooking healthy stuff. There will be veggies ---- baked beans and potato salad do NOT qualify my friends. The kids have already requested that we do the fresh pineapple on the grill for dessert which is fine with me because it is AWESOME. Plus I've got some white peaches which may also be tasty. There will be no hot dogs, no pizza order ins, no fries. No apple pies, no ice cream. But there will be fun and friends and good food. There will also be exercise as I have a schedule to keep with the workouts AND the 26minute challenge which I'm committed to.

Plus college football starts this week. I'm ready to go. This fall will be a big challenge with son in the marching band and high school games on Fridays and OU games on Saturdays and NFL on Sundays and pretty soon when the heck am I working out? Well......I'll tell you. It's called.......I have a TV in my exercise room. And I will prioritize. Juggling should be my hobby. I'm an expert. There are no excuses. I can work a full time job, have a home, husband, 3 kids, hobbies AND exercise. So can you. Are you?

I still can't believe I did 170 push ups!

BOOM! FIRE! And WOW!

What a day! Wow!

I didn't sleep too well last night. Not sure why, but I think part of it was because my muscles were sore from my workout and I forgot to take something before bed. Anyway, I was none too happy when the alarm went off at 4:45am. Nonetheless, I dragged my tired and sore body out of bed, grabbed water, a towel and threw on my work out clothes.  

Today was Kenpo X workout for P90X. This workout is a blast, lots of fun. It's a kickboxing/martial arts type workout so just my thing. It's super hard, but not that much different than my TKD classes. A bit of jumping as there are jumping jacks and X jumps at each "rest break". These are optional, but I've tried to do them as much as I can tolerate them. I definitely felt this in my arms today and legs as I tried to pick up the intensity-height of kicks, etc. 

After the workout, I showered and we were off for the morning shuffle. Got the kids to school. Ran by Wal-Mart to pick up the SIX 1.5 inch notebooks son needs. I'd like to know who is supplying the wheel barrow for him to carry his 2 large horns, band duffle, and backpack with 6 binders and textbooks back and forth! Geez! How do they expect these kids to do all that? 

But I digress.....

After Wal-Mart I head to work and I see this just as I'm about to turn into my office

And I'm thinking.."That's looks like it's near my office."

Holy cow it is right by my office. My building is on the other side of the trees! So I'm on the phone with my husband and I say, "Oh gosh, there's a huge fire right by my office. I'll call you back." He's like, "Uh....Ok...Uh..." click.

I pull up and all my employees are rushing out of the building. There are big pops. We have no power. We hear this HUGE whooshing sound like a jet engine. Turns out there was a crew working on a nearby gas main line and it broke and exploded. It took out all the power in the area, including the hospital for several hours. We were lucky and got ours back pretty quickly. There were multiple fire trucks and helicopters circling all morning. We canceled morning patients because the fire officials told us they weren't sure at first if we would need to evacuate. Luckily we didn't. The crew that ruptured the line were all safe and only 4 of them were treated for minor injuries. I can't believe no one was hurt. Thank goodness! It was capped off by noon and it was business as usual, but before that it was total chaos.
Here's a view from my desk

At lunch I took my huge van load of donation to the homeless shelter. Felt good to get my van back again. I got back to the office in time to work on entering all the band activities into my calendar and I ordered a new scale. I looked at several, but my husband and I agreed on a pretty basic one. I also got calipers to measure body fat.

Food yesterday was great with just under 900 calories. Not really sure why it was lower, but I wasn't too hungry and I was busy, so not many snacks. Today I'm at around 500 cals before dinner. Not sure what that will be yet. I have been a little more hungry today, but maybe that's just nerves? I've had almost 100oz of water so far.

So that was my excitement, hopefully for a long time. Could of been very bad if other fires or explosions had been triggered. Thank the Lord for fire fighters and quick response and that no one was really hurt! Except my printer....I think it got fried by the power surge. But, it was really on hospice anyway. I've had it forever. Time for a new laser printer for the office I guess. We'll see. Tech Dude is supposed to check it out later tonight.

After I leave work, I have a Band parent meeting, the first of TWO this week. This high school thing is really getting on my nerves already. Sigh.....

OH and before I forget. My friend Alan over at Pounds Off Playoff has issued a challenge to exercise 26 minutes everyday for the next 81 days. A friend of his family is running to honor servicemen who have died in Afghanistan. He'll be running from International Falls, Minnesota to Galveston, Texas at an unbelievable clip of a marathon a day, every day, for 81 days! HOLY SUPER WOW! Alan has challenged his friend's and family to exercise a mere 26 minutes EVERY DAY in a show of support for his friend's efforts. I'm totally in. You can read more about it here. AND HERE!

This started like 5 days ago, but better late to post than never, right? I started the challenge ON TIME though. It's really good motivation to keep me accountable with my commitment lately to P90X and my workouts.

Busy Weekend! I won a raffle and School...sniff sniff.

What a busy and active and  crazy weekend I had!  Friday, I did my P90X yoga. Can I just say how hard that yoga is? I had no idea yoga could be so difficult. After that it was errands including oil change, Sam's, groceries. Then house work. Friday night Hubbie and I finally got to see Batman. It was really good.

Saturday morning we got up early and took my son to his Freshman orientation. Sigh. Yes, my friends, today he started High School and I am not dealing all that great with it. Can't believe my baby is in 9th grade!  After that, my husband and I went to a behind the scenes Mavericks tour. Those of you who know me know that I love my sports a LOT. This was a lot of fun. We even got to meet Donnie Nelson, the GM. I won a jacket in the raffle like the players wear to warm up. It is HUGE, but that's OK. Lots of fun. Here is me on the practice court.

After that we came home and I spent some time organizing and cleaning. I'm really trying to de-clutter. I have a whole load of stuff to drop off to donate tomorrow to the homeless shelter in town.  My husband wanted tacos so we had that for lunch on the way home. I had grilled chicken and 2 small corn tortillas.  It was tasty and I enjoyed the spicy sauce. For dinner we were tired and I was not too hungry. I had a wheat wrap turkey sandwich with carrots and hummus on the side. I walked and walked that day, nearly 5 miles!  I ended up with 1400 calories that day.  I didn't get my P90X done because I overslept. I was mad at myself, but at least I got the walking.

Yesterday, I spent the whole day working at home and in the garage. From 9am to 5 when I cooked dinner I was on my feet and lifting boxes and moving furniture and whatnot. I had not planned P90X yesterday. It was supposed to be my rest day. I was supposed to do legs, but my legs were sore. I did the housework I had to get done for peace of mind and decided to use the garage as my workout. I woke up sore today so I suppose it did some good.  I was busy and had a big breakfast, but didn't stop for lunch. I cooked grilled honey mustard chicken, sauce on the side homemade and low fat, green beans, baked sweet potatoes and salad last night for dinner. Calories yesterday were 1300

This morning was first day of school and usual chaos and fun. I didn't work out this morning. I should have since I was lying awake thinking of all the crap I needed to get done. Anyway, the kids got to school and I got to work. I look forward to hearing all about their days tonight. I did my P90X Legs and back at lunch and I increased my band weight for the "pull ups" so my arms are sore already this afternoon. That's the point though isn't it?  I've had 90ounces of water already and just had my yogurt for snack. I'm at a little over 500 calories so far today. I still have abs to do when I get home. I didn't have time at lunch. I also have some work to do since today was so busy.

I haven't weighed in like 2 weeks because the scale is still broken and yes, hubby tried, but couldn't fix the dang thing. Now I have to get a new one. I'm trying to decide on what kind to get. Suggestions? It's really weird not to weigh, but maybe it means I must be strict with my diet and exercise until I know for sure what the scale is doing. I am pushing myself in my diet and workouts. I expect good things when I do weigh, very soon I hope.

That's it for now. Hope your Monday has been good. I'm just too busy to be profound today, ha ha!  Take care!

Doing my best.

This morning the alarm went off at 4:45 am. I crawled out of bed at just before 5am. Got on my workout gear, popped in the P90X chest and arms and went to work. I finished that and then on to the AbRipper X. When it says "ripper" it means it. Ugh. Luckily it was better today and I got through more reps. I still can't do them all like the model-types on the DVD, but I did more than the last time and that's good enough for me. 486 Calories later and I was sweaty and my arms were tired.

I drove the boy to band, got the girls breakfast and then settled in to read my blogs and finish work from last night. Apparently a blogger that reads my blog, that I read also and do respect was very unhappy that I let my kids have skinny cow ice cream and posted all about it. I was pretty upset. I mean this is one of the reasons I am careful about what I blog. My first instinct was to just quit blogging. To be honest I don't have a lot of time and I don't need this extra stress. I take my kids and their nutrition very seriously.  I stewed about this all day long. I'm kinda embarrassed to admit how much it bothered me. Then I thought, I blog for me, right?  That's what I've always said. It's nice to look back and see where I've been and progress and see when I haven't been doing what I should be doing better. So I read it again.

I get it. But let me say, there are way worse things I could feed my kids. I do not fool myself into thinking this is healthy. I know it is junk and so do my kids. My kids know that even the skinny cow are treats and not to be had daily or even weekly. I get the idea that there are better choices but the whole point  I was making in the post was that my kids did make a better choice. Of course I didn't make my own yogurt, it was store bought so I suppose it has some bad stuff in there also. Anyway, it is best to stick with "real food" but we all know there will be occasional treats.  My kids eat a very healthy diet for the most part. Is it perfect? NO. But I do my very best to see they get fresh fruits and veggies and healthy grains. I've had people criticize me for giving them pork, which we had for dinner last night, AND even 1% milk. Each of us has to make our own choices. They don't get soda, except VERY rarely. They don't get juice all day. We don't do fruit roll ups or fruit chews or snacks. I hate those. With kids, it is a constant battle to do the right thing. I try.  I'm pretty sure no one is perfect. No one.

I will point out that I did not say I had either the skinny cow OR the extra yogurt because I didn't.  I'm restricting calories and monitoring my intake. I need to lose weight. They do not.  I agree that when you're dieting you don't need snacks or fake food. Very rarely I like a Skinny Cow. It doesn't give me diarrhea. I personally don't like the 150 calories for one of them. I'd rather have fruit most of the time. Now no matter what your opinion is of me or my diet, it's your opinion. Obviously this blogger knows about losing weight. I think she's great. She's lost weight and kept it off. I can learn from her. But everyone is allowed their opinion. Someone who is going through training to help others get in shape needs to get used to people not always agreeing with her. As mad as it might make you, you can't just yell at someone and expect them to respond or change their opinion. And you especially can't expect them to respond to that and then expect them to want to improve themselves. Not everyone is motivated that way.  I've learned that after 13 years of medical practice.

 I've also learned that what some people call obvious science and solid truth isn't always right.  Even scientists have differing opinions concerning the best kinds of diets and supplements and approaches to nutrition. Remember that you're right to want to know what's in your food. But at least Skinny Cow has to tell us exactly what's in there and then make sure what it says is actually in there.  Supplements like vitamins and protein powders and all that stuff we add to our food and diet are not regulated by the FDA. Just because they say it's "all natural" doesn't mean it is. They can put what they want on the label and what's in the jar may not be what it says.

I guess I'm saying we need to pay attention to what we put in our body. I agree that "fake foods" like diet ice creams and sugar free cookies and bars and whatnot are not the healthiest of choices. We shouldn't fool ourselves into believing they are healthy.  I totally agree that it's best to eat real food and healthy stuff. I'm glad that's exactly what my kids got last night for their snack.

Week 2 of P90X

Here I am cruising into week 2 of the P90X. I have to say that this second week is harder so far. That is likely because I am sore and also I'm trying to increase my reps and weight to push myself harder this week.  Yesterday I had trouble with the push ups which usually don't bother me, but I have a strain in my lower ab muscles and it was just really hard to get them done. I did my best. Today I did the plyometrics which is a super lot of jumping and squats and lunges. I got through it fine, but I can't do the one leg hopping so I just do one leg squats instead.

Anyway, the week is great with food and I'm expecting a nice loss. Problem is my scale broken. Husband says he can fix it, but hasn't had time. I keep trying to convince him to get a new one, but he's not on board with that yet.  I weigh at the office, but of course it's different and I have my clothes on so the numbers don't correlate. I did weigh myself prior to starting the P90X and take measurements so I am expecting good things. I can tell a difference in my arms already.

The program is a huge time commitment especially on top of my taekwondo classes, but it's worth it. Just to see the look on people's faces when I say I'm doing it is kinda cool. Do I look like the people on the video? Of course not. I can't jump as high. I can't do all the reps. But I can do a lot of it. I did about 100 push ups yesterday. ME. And later that night I did 20 more at TKD class. I worked out 2 hours and 15min yesterday and an hour today.

Yesterday I had 1300 calories. For dinner we had a yummy black rice with sweet potato and a salad. So good!  Today I've had under a 1,000 calories and I'm not hungry. For dinner I had pork tenderloin, very lean and green beans. Lots and lots of water.

Tomorrow I'm getting up at 4:30 to get in my workout before work. I have a meeting at lunch. Unfortunately I won't get to do TKD tomorrow unless something changes with my schedule, but as usual I'm taking my gear just in case. Be prepared my friends. Always be ready to get in a workout if you're able. I carry my TKD gear and a gym bag just in case.

School starts on Monday and tonight the girls met their teachers-first and third grade. Son has his Freshman camp thing on Saturday, but we're trying to figure out how to do that AND the neato thing that was offered to me today. A friend called and said they have passes for a behind the scenes tour of the Mavericks Saturday morning. Anyone reading this blog for any amount of time knows what a sports freak I am. I love my Mavs so this would be too cool. BUT, I've got to juggle the kids and schedule around. What else is new? We'll see what can be worked out.

Also this weekend Boy Scout popcorn sales start. Ugh. Why does this seem to come around earlier every year? Sigh.....Oh well. At least now you can donate it to the military instead of getting it in your house. I don't need all that crap here. Even though the kettle corn is fab. The light microwave is not too bad calorie wise, but when I eat that much carb, I just crave more.  That's just how I'm made I guess. I bought some last year. Only the kids eat it and it's rare. Still some in there likely.

Speaking of kids......win on the nutrition front tonight. Instead of asking for ice cream (skinny cow or low fat, no sugar is all we have) after dinner, kids asked for their new favorite snack-yogurt with banana and granola. So proud that they are starting to pick real food, healthy choices. See kids WILL pick good stuff if it's offered. They do not NEED cookies and brownies or cupcakes. Most nights they don't get after dinner treats anyway, but we ate early and how do you say no to fruit and yogurt?

Anyway, things are busy, but cruising along. Hope all is well with you.

Lots of Sweating.....Busy.....What's your WHY?

It's been a while since I posted. My life has been insane. I am really struggling with juggling. Hee hee. That's funny. It rhymes. So tired......

In the past 2 weeks I have been swamped at work. My son started his summer band. My kids have done TKD camps and are working on tests. My daughter had a birthday. My mom had a birthday. We had a work BBQ gathering. I had a house full of family and my BFF and her kids for a week.  I've been doing a lot of swimming laps because getting to the gym has been impossible. I pulled a muscle in my neck doing back stroke which resulted in 4-5 days of not working out. I took the kids to the dentist. I took my son back to school shopping.  I've been trying to get my house organized, albeit slowly. I swear it's like a sinking ship I'm constantly trying to bail out. Sigh.

Anyhoo...I'm still here and I'm still making effort. I'm working out and eating right. I'm not perfect but I am tracking everything, so that's an improvement to be sure.

This week I started P90X. Let me tell you it is hard. Really hard. I was really worried, but overall it has been doable so far. I have to modify a few moves, but I can do most of it. Thank you Taekwondo! The chest and back workout was mainly pullups and pushups. I love push ups, but I had no idea there were so many different kinds. So far the hardest was the decline push ups. I just can only do 5 at a time of those. That will improve as my abs and back get stronger. Instead of the 25, I did 2 sets of 5 and then did regular push ups.  I can't use a pull up bar in my house as I have wide doors and the ceilings are tall. Plus, I can't do more than one anyway. But, instead I'm using bands and it is still really great.

Even the killer plyometrics workout from today wasn't too bad. I have heard horror stories. One of my drug reps told me that he had trouble with the warm up! And he's way younger than me and in way better shape. I was nervous that I'd be standing there and having to just modify everything, but I didn't. There is a TON of jumping in that. I wish I could jump higher, but as I lose weight that will improve. Knee ups and the rock star jump were the worst. Also, I can't really hop on one foot, too hard on my knee, but instead I did a modified move.  I'm just proud that I made it through the first two days without falling out.

The ab workout is KILLER. That's the one I had the most trouble with so far. That is 16min of pure hell if you ask me. I cannot do many of those at a time. Considering the people on the video do at most 25-30 of each one, I was pretty pleased I could do 8-10 of each thing. Clearly I need that the most.Can't wait until I can get through the whole thing.

Me after day 2 P90X. note the HUGE sweat stain and glassy eyed stair. It's a beast, but how COOL is it that I'm doing this thing? Pretty dang cool if you ask me, especially for someone that never, EVER worked out 2 years ago.

And now here's how my week has gone so far........

So let's see. Yesterday I got up, got the boy to band, girls ready for camp, swam a few laps. Went to work. Came home at lunch and did P90X chest/back. Went back to work. Came home, did the P90X abs. Then had a teleconference until 8:30pm. Got the coffee maker set up, food packed for today, kids to bed. Did work I had left to do. Went to sleep. I ate 1120 calories and I went to bed full and happy.

This morning I got up and took son to band, swam a few laps, got the girls ready for camp. Showered and got ready for work. Left a bit early and took the van to get tires rotated. Went to work. Worked. Went home and did P90X plyometrics. Burned 475 calories. Showered because I was DRIPPING. Back to work. Worked. Changed for TKD, drove to TKD. Did an hour of TKD and burned 420 calories. Came home. Showered because I was DRIPPING AGAIN. Ate dinner with the family. Spent 2 hours reviewing TKD with the kids as they get prepared for their next belt test. Got girls to bed and now I'm here finally making myself take a few minutes to post. Today I had  1119 calories and I'm full. I had snacks and I'm trying to keep my protein up. I drank 148 oz of water today. I feel really good. I have a bit of a headache, but that's due to the storm. Yep, there's thunder here. And rain.  Yippee.

I'm sorry I haven't posted more. I want to. I do. I think about all of you. I read your blogs. I get in my head that I need to have time to think of something inspiring to say. I get in my mind that I'm too busy to post. I get in my mind that if I can't do a "good" post I shouldn't bother. But, I know that when I'm posting, I'm focused and that's really my goal. I still have my moments with food and my issues. I wish I could wish them away, but I can't. I keep working on it. I will get past my hang ups and baggage about food. I have to.

Nothing like having a few people put in your path that remind you of the problems you have. I have had several patients complain to me lately that they can't lose weight. Most of them do not like the advice I give them. I've heard a LOT of my own thoughts thrown at me the last 2 weeks and some that I just get sick of hearing. It's really struck home. I'm so tired of hearing people tell me why they CAN'T do it. What they really are saying is that they WON'T.

"I try and don't lose so what's the point".
"I enjoy food. I don't drink or smoke. Shouldn't I have something I enjoy?"
"I'm too busy to eat right and plan meals"
"When I get home I'm just too tired to work out"
"I don't LIKE healthy foods"
"I just CAN'T give up my carbs."
"I work out at least 20 minutes 3-4 times a week and I STILL don't lose anything"
"No matter what I do my belly is still flabby."

Of course when I counter with ways they can do better on diet or exercise, they don't want to hear it. When I tell them there's no easy way, they get mad. I try to tell them I understand. I go through the same thing. I try to let them know it's doable. I try to tell them that they CAN do it if the WANT to do it. Each of us has to find our own WHY.

So my WHY is my kids, my family, my health, my future, my future grand kids and great-grands and traveling and trips and hiking and running with the kids and playing and being able to do those damn knee up jumps and getting my black belt and feeling good and healthy and fit and powerful. I want to LIVE. Really live my life. That's my why.

What's your why?