P90X, Week 12, Day 5 (with the before and after pics everyone WANTS to see)

What a day! What a lonnnng day! Had I not laid in bed until 8:10 AM, I probably could've gotten up early and worked out, and then I could've gone to bed at a decent hour. Instead, I rushed to get the kids to school, rushed to get to work (no makeup on-had to apply that in the bathroom once I got there), work a full day there, rush to get back in time to get the kids from school, rush to fix supper, and rush to get the kids to church. My daughter has a speaking part in the upcoming musical, and she had to be there at 5 PM to rehearse for that. Then both of my children go to choir at 5:30 and then AWANA after that. I report to the church nursery at 5:30 and typically work with either the itty bitty babies or the 1 year olds. The 1 year olds are my favorite :) I get my baby fix, and then I get to give em back and go back to my life.

Wow, how'd I get so off track here... ok, so I got home from church around 9 PM, had to help my youngest with his homework, get them both showered and in pajamas, then put them to bed. THEN I finally got to work out. I opted for Plyometrics, which is a lot of jumping around. I gave it my all, except for the air guitar move, because that one has a very LOUD landing, and I didn't want to shake the whole house or make a lot of noise and wake up the kiddos. The workout was 60 minutes long and Tony Horton calls it "The Mother of all P90X workouts". It's actually NOT a part of the Lean Version of P90X, but I tried it a couple of weeks ago and discovered that it targets my butt, thighs, and legs, which is where I neeeed help. I was drenched in sweat afterwards, which is how I gauge a really good workout.

I got another compliment tonight. A friend told me I was looking really good. I love to receive compliments, especially after working so hard. There are days when I get so frustrated and just want to give up... but I have to remind myself of how far I've COME. Here are before and after pictures. No, I don't look perfect right now, but I've definitely made a lot of progress.

WEEK 1: Blue tankini, back view and front view:


Week 12: Hot pink string bikini, back view and front view.
Like I said, NOT perfect... definitely still some problem areas, but I can't let it get me down. I've come a long way :) I still have more work to do, but looking at these pictures does make me feel a little bit better about my little stomach pooch.

P90X, Week 11, Days 6 & 7

First of all, let me just say... Rest in Peace, MCA from the Beastie Boys! How sad :( I grew up with the Beastie Boys, and was really into them in my high school years especially. I got to see them perform live nearly 4 years ago at a Rock the Vote concert, where they played with Sheryl Crow, Jack Johnson, Norah Jones, among others. It was awesome seeing them live. So, though I've outgrown some of their more outrageous lyrics, the MUSIC itself is still awesome. I always loved their instrumental stuff especially. I've moved on to Christian rock music, which glorifies God (can't really say that about the Beastie Boys), but there is still a part of me that totally digs the Beastie Boys. They were the first white boy rappers, c'mon now. And they were a bit punk rock too. I always had the biggest crush on Ad Rock. MCA was the taller, goofy looking one, but he had the best voice. It was low and cool and even.

With that being said, since I have slacked off the past couple of days, I tried to get a lot of exercise in today, which was supposed to be my "Rest and Stretch" day. I came home and went for a run after work. I was only able to run for about 20 minutes while the kids' dinner was cooking. Then I popped in Kenpo X because I wanted to do some cardio, but I wanted it to be FUN. After that, I did Brazil Butt Lift, the bum bum workout, which I find to be very difficult. I notice that I'm getting better with practice; however, I was drenched in sweat after 30 minutes (when it was over). I burned nearly 1100 calories doing all of that. I feel energized now, like I can do even more exercise, but the fam and I are going to wach "How to Train Your Dragon" in 3-D on our new TV! Whoop, whoop! I lost another pound this morning, and I'm down 17 lbs with P90X, for a total of 33 lbs since December. It is hard for me to believe that I let myself get that big. I would still like to lose around 10 more pounds from the butt/thighs/lower abdominal areas, which is why I'm doing Brazil Butt Lift in place of some of my workouts.

I had a meeting at work this morning and Corey did too. We were a little worried about his meeting, because his company has been sending sort of gloomy emails out about how the company is hurting financially. He had to account for all of his sales or lack thereof, and I admit, I was nervous for him. We've been through a layoff before, and it was stressful, even though he was able to find another job quickly. There's the whole process of getting different insurance, waiting on the first payday, and for him- learning a whole new job and fitting into a whole new company. But I prayed about this meeting last night and again this morning, and it turns out that it went very well. In fact, he said it went "Excellent". As did my own meeting. I was told that I am a LEADER due to my ethics, morals, and values. I was taken back by that a little bit, because I have never considered myself a leader, nor have I ever wanted to be one. Not that I wanted to be a follower, either, but a leader? Me?  I have always been extremely shy and soft spoken, but I find myself growing and changing the older I get. I seem to be becoming more outcoming and more comfortable in social situations. It's a good feeling. My point is that, God came through for us once again. Here I thought he'd lose his job, but his meeting went very well, and he is still employed. And I was praised for a job well done. I'm glad it's Friday and I'm gonna go hop in the shower now and spend quality time with the family :) Good night.

P90X, Week 11, Day 4

Hello! It has been a great day! I started my morning with my 60 minute step aerobic class, which is always a lot of fun. It was especially hard today, maybe because it was so warm outside today, and I got really hot really fast. I burned around 600 calories in the class. Then I came home and took the dog for a walk for about 30 minutes, which burned another 100 calories. Tonight was my night to do Yoga X; however, since it is 90 minutes long and I have a lot of paperwork to get done (plus showering 2 children/putting them to bed), I opted for Ab Ripper X, which is 16 minutes long and burns more calories than Yoga X. I will probably try to do Yoga X tomorrow, because my legs are already extremely sore from last night and today, and Yoga really helps. I'm always the 'sorest' on the second day, which will be tomorrow.

I... uh... went shopping again. I know, I KNOW! I went to Marshall's again, and I bought myself some workout clothes. This was following feeling overheated in Step class, mind you. I decided I needed some shorts and tank tops as opposed to t-shirts and workout pants. Problem is, the selection was so good, it was tough to narrow it down. I ended up getting 2 very cute workout tops and 3 black bottoms- one is a pair of running shorts, one is capri-length workout pants, and the other are knee length. I have buyer's remorse, but I only paid around $70 for all of that. I won't mention yesterday's purchases again :/ But that is IT for awhile- or at least until my next payday. It is just so much fun to buy new clothes once you lose weight.

This is a terrible picture, & yes it is sideways...but here is one of my new workout tops, worn with the knee length black pants I also purchased:  As you can see, I'm gonna need em... I still have quite a booty on me!

P90X, Week 11, Day 3 (substituted with Brazil Butt Lift)

I can't believe I survived two back to back Brazil Butt workouts. I had intended to do Ab Ripper X and ONE Brazil Butt workout. Unbeknownst to me, however, the first workout (called "Bum Bum Rapido") is only 10 minutes long. So I decided to do the next workout after that one as well, which was about 30 minutes long. I do not think that these workouts were nearly as difficult as the Bum Bum workout; however, I was covered in sweat head to toe when I finished, and I felt the burn in all the right places.

Exciting news.... my friend just sold me a TV/VCR/DVD combo which my husband REALLY didn't want me to get, because it's one of those big bulky box TV's... but I'm so psyched, because about a month ago I cleaned out my VHS tapes and found a ton of workout tapes that I forgot I even had. I'm going to do some Vintage workouts in the near future. lol. My VCR has been broken for years (thanks, kids) and I still have the entire Buns of Steel set, unopened. I bought the set at Big Lots about 10 years ago for around 50 cents per tape. Even then they were outdated! I was telling another friend of mine about it, and she was jealous, because she used to own Buns of Steel and said it had been taken off the market because people kept falling during one particular move. Then she saw it being used on "The Biggest Loser", which is as we know, a popular modern day weight loss show. I bet it sounds silly that I'm excited over a VCR, huh... Well, in addition to the Buns of Steel, I have some other workout videos like pilates, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, among others.

Other exciting news... I got to go shopping again today. It's payday. I believe I have become a shopaholic. But it's SO FUN to buy smaller sizes and to try on clothes. When I look in the mirror, I still feel fat, but the clothes make me feel better once I put them on. Today I bought a cute orange'ish top and a long white hippie skirt. I can wear it to work and/or church and/or wherever.

Even more exciting news... My husband bought a new TV. It's a new chapter in our lives.. I remember the last time we purchased a family TV; It was right after Dylan was born, and it just kind of 'showed up' in my house. It was a 55 inch, Mitsubishi rear projection HDTV 1080. In other words, it was this humongous rectangular BOX with a speaker. I was NOT happy, because it was an expensive purchase and I was a stay at home mom, which means we had no money. He financed it, which made it even worse. I ended up paying the thing off with my short term disability check from work (I worked up until Dylan was born), and from then on I've referred to it as "MY" TV. Now we're tossing it aside. It's gotten old and none of the inputs work except for the digital cable, which means that you can't play video games or watch movies on it. It's also slow to start up sometimes. It's time :( So, we took our tax refund money and got a new TV. It's exciting, like having a new family member. I haven't had much time to check it out due to the above mentioned workouts, but it's a 3D Plasma Smart TV and it's like 100 inches or something... No, I'm exaggerating, but the thing is huge. I'm not even sure how many inches it is. I just asked my husband- it's 64 inches. He would know! It's like a giant computer... I mean, you can do anything on it. I just hope it lasts longer than the other TV did... Remember the olden days when the TVs lasted 20+ years?
With that being said, we are also getting our home alarm system updated. lol.
So, that's all the news... 2 new TVS... one super cool high tech one, and one super cool dinosaur age one, that I can watch Buns of Steel on. How ironic that seems.

P90X, Week 10, Day 7. JUST TWO MORE WEEKS!

So, today is Rest and Stretch Day! Unfortunately, I didn't really get to do either. I cleared my schedule so that I could work on cleaning my entire house, because my sister in law is coming to visit tomorrow. I'm super excited she's coming (she's never been here overnight), and I want my house to be presentable. As a full time working mama of 2 busy, busy kids, my house looks like a hoarder house about 85% of the time. Not only do I not have time to clean, I absolutely HATE to clean! It's something I really struggle with, and it's the only complaint my husband has about being married to me. I have suggested hiring a maid; I mean, c'mon, I am bringing home quite a lot of bacon, I deserve a break, too. But cleaning ladies are expensive, and my husband doesn't understand my need for one. "This is a very small house", he says, "It should be easy to keep clean". Well, he's right. But it's just not my strength, ya'll. I was trying to think about what my strengths are today, and sadly, I don't have many. lol. I'm good at writing, I'm good at mothering (not perfect, but good), and I'm really good at making money. I do not mean to sound like I'm bragging in any way by saying that; I just have this knack for landing good jobs, making good money, and also saving/investing/etc. Too bad I also really love to shop. I truely wish I had other talents besides making money. Like being clean & organized. Oh yeah~ I'm a GREAT cook, when I have time to actually cook! Lately it's been hard to even find the time to buy groceries TO cook.

Ok, enough complaining. I really went on a tangent there. My point is that I exercised by cleaning. I also did some calisthenics at home; some abs exercises, leg lifts, butt lifts, etc... that I just kind of made up on my own, to target my "problem areas". I only have 2 weeks left, and I don't mean to be negative, but I know I won't be where I want to be by then. I am still trying to decide what I will be doing next. Possibly Insanity, possibly just cranking up the cardio and using kettlebells, and possibly trying to run every morning. The third option makes me cringe, because I hate, hate, hate running with a passion. I just know that I need to tone up my upper thighs and my butt. And I still have my love handles to work on, too. 

I have to say, I have given this P90X program a good try. I wouldn't say I have given it 100%, but possibly 95%. I lost another lb today, so that's 15 lbs total doing P90X, and 32 overall since January. My clothes are all falling off of me, and I'm getting lots of compliments. I really cannot complain about it, you know? So what if I still have a little chub; I've still got a month to work on it before the pool opens, and 3 months to work on it before our family beach vacation. I know I can do this!!!

Before & After Pics... with actual pics this time!

Ok, so this is my very modest version of Before and After pictures, because my swimsuit and underwear pics will not see the light of day! In my Before Pic, it was November, and I was fat and miserable. I wasn't able to button my shirt. In the after picture (taken today), I'm not only able to button the shirt, but it is starting to get baggy on me. Neither picture is the best quality; they were taken with my phone by my 10-year-old daughter. But I hoped that the identical clothing will give you an idea of where I was and where I am now. I still have a ways to go, though!

                      It's a happy day when you can get your favorite shirt buttoned! LOL

P90X, Week 6, Day 3

Holy Smokes! I lost ANOTHER pound this morning! That makes 26! Again, I should clarify that only 9 of that has been from P90X so far. But assuming that I maintain that 9 lb weight loss and keep losing from there, that's not too shabby for a month and a half. Tonight's workout was a killer. It was Chest, shoulders, and triceps. And Ab Ripper X. I did the Ab Ripper X first, because I actually enjoy it (it's only 16 minutes long, which is probably why), and I feel that it is one of the workouts my body most needs. Then I did the Chest, Shoulders, Triceps workout. OUCH is all I will say about it. I kept up pretty well, until they got to the one arm pushups, and I admit I kind of slacked on those. But they were only one type of what seemed like 20 different types of push ups. Have I mentioned I hate push ups? Wow. My arms feel like jello right now, not because of fat, but because they feel so worn out. I WILL be sore tomorrow!