P90X+ Upper Body Plus

Holy Cow! I've done this workout before but it has been a while and it showed. Liberal use of the Pause button.

So far so good with the no grains New Year's resolution. I did allow myself a bit of peppermint bark yesterday (left over from Christmas, gotta get it out of the house) but otherwise eating has been very primal.

Scale weight: 180.6, a three pound drop from Friday's weigh-in. Didn't do any exercise this weekend.

Off to find Kombucha today. Want to give that a try. Otherwise just sticking with primal eating, supplements (fish oil, multivitamin, CoQ10, Milk Thistle, and North American Ginseng), and Apple Cider Vinegar in water.

2010 - New Year, New Fitness Goals

January 1, 2010. OK, I didn't actually finish the year in a strong and primal fashion. Too many goodies and not enough workouts. The month of December began with a trip to Peru, followed closely by a trip to Japan and southeast Asia. My eating habits in Japan were actually pretty good, I stuck mainly to Japanese dishes and, with the exception of the white rice, the food there is very healthy. Peru and southeast Asia were a different story. Still I managed to do some workouts even if it was just push ups and pull ups in my hotel room.

So January 2010 is a Primal reboot. I started the day with a good workout (see below). I'm also doing some intermittent fasting (IF) from 8 pm New Year's eve until Noon today. Then the plan is low carb to no carb eating. For the first two weeks of January my plan is to only consume carbohydrates in the form of vegetables and perhaps a little fruit. I want to limit my carb intake to 50 grams or less per day.

Basically I gained 5.5 lbs during December, going from 178 to 183.6. I'm sure some of that is retained water and it will quickly be shed. I'm not one to fuss too much over a number on a scale but I'll be happy if I can get down to 172 lbs by the end of February.

Here are the workout statistics:

Ab Ripper X (from the P90X program) - 350 total reps from 11 exercises

Push ups

Standard - 50

Decline - 30

Alt. Hand - 20

Stack legs - 15

Military - 15

Clap - 10

Dive Bomb - 10

Total: 150

Pull ups

Chin ups - 12

Pull ups - 08

Close grip - 06

Corn Cob - 04

Alt grip - lft - 05

Alt grip - rgt -05

Total: 50

Kettlebell Swings

Two handed - 40

Left handed - 20

Right handed - 20

Alt. hands - 20

Total: 100

Total reps: 650

Time: 1 hour

I definitely felt the effect of these exercises. I expect to get stronger once I get back to regular workouts and get the junk cleaned out of my system.

Tomorrow I plan to do some Tabata sprints (weather permitting).

Happy New Year!

Shakelogy for Weight Loss = FAIL

I weighed in this morning at 182.6 lbs. I started the experiment at 182 lbs. Now .6 lbs might be considered a rounding error but when it comes to weight loss Shakeology didn't seem to do anything. 

Oh well, at least it tastes good. I prefer the chocolate flavor to the Greenberry flavor though. As for all the added vitamins and nutrients, I'll just have to take their word for it. 

Shakeology Experiment Coming to a Close

Tomorrow will mark the end of my one month experiment with Shakeology. I don't think the weight loss is going to be that significant. When I weighed myself on Sunday I was 181.8. At the start of the program I was 182.2. So .4 lbs. A rounding error.

I only had one day that I didn't have the shake for either breakfast or lunch. So the weight loss aspect was a bust for me. Perhaps someone who is significantly overweight will benefit from Shakeology, but I can't say it will do the job for someone looking to lose those last five pounds.

During the month my blender gave up the ghost so I bought a Magic Bullet. I love it! It lets you blend just about anything quickly and easily. One thing I noticed is that if you let it go too long your smoothie becomes more like a Frosty.

I'll announce the weigh-in results on Thursday, April 30th.

Shakeology - Still Going

OK so I disappeared for a while. I went to a practice round at the Masters and then had some travel for work. I've still been conducting my Shakeology experiment though. I plan to have a weigh in Sunday morning April 19th.

My eating and drinking during my trip to the Masters was less than stellar. I did have a Shakeology shake for breakfast each day. I don't like it very well when it is mixed only with water. It definitely tastes better when mixed with milk or almond milk and a few ice cubes are thrown in. I've tried adding bananas and strawberries and even blueberries. That only slighty affects the taste.

I also decided to take a week off from working out. I got lots of walking in at Augusta but otherwise I did no exercise. In many ways it was good. Some niggling pains and injuries had a chance to heal. I'm not sure if seven (plus) days without exercise is a good idea but I think I will take three or four day breaks every few months. This is in addition to the rest day I have every week.

My eating this week has been a lot better though I did succumb to pizza and a glass of wine Friday night. Otherwise I haven't had any alcohol since Saturday April 11th. I did resume working out on Monday April 13th with an upper body massacre. 12 sets of push ups and 12 sets of pull ups. 20 push ups each set and 10 pull ups each set. I did a wide variety of push ups and pull ups. I was very sore for a few days after that.

I did IntervalX on Tuesday and the Road Warrior One on One workout on Wednesday. Fountain of Youth yoga on Thursday. These workouts are great and very easy to do in your hotel room. I did P90X Legs & Back today along with Ab Ripper X. Will I ever stop hating that workout? (I do love the results it provides though).

Let's hope the weigh in goes well tomorrow.

Shakeology Experiment - Before Photos

Shakeology Experiment - Day 4

Day four of the Shakeology experiment. The goal is to lose those last seven pounds in 30 days by replacing one meal with a Shakeology replacement shake. I'll list each day the supplements I take, my workouts and the food I eat and beverages I drink.

Thursday April 2nd 2009

Supplements:
1 Equate Complete Multivitamin
2 Rexall fish oil softgels (2400 mg)
1 Origin CO Q-10 softgel (100 mg)
1 Nature Made Vitamin E softgel (400 I.U.)
1 Spring Valley High Potency B-Complex vitamin tablet
2 tsps Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with 1 teaspoon of raw and unfiltered honey and 8 ounces of water. (Twice a day)

Workouts:
P90X YogaX

Food:
Two eggs, 3 slices of ham, ¼ cup of prunes, 2 slices of Ezekiel bread 8:00 am
1 small banana 12:00 pm
Shakeology Greenberry Shake with 1 cup of almond milk 12:00 pm
Mixed nuts and dried cranberries 3:30 pm
Crockpot Orange Chicken with sweet potatoes 6:30 pm

Beverages:
Hot chai tea with stevia 8:00 am
500 ml bottled water during workout
Hot chai tea with stevia 3:30 pm
500 ml bottled water 7:30 pm

Notes:
YogaX with sore arms today. Fun!

The UPS truck didn’t arrive in time for me to have a chocolate Shakeology shake for lunch. It did arrive around 5 pm so I think I'll try it for breakfast tomorrow.

I finally found some recipes on the Beachbody website.

I plan to weigh myself tomorrow morning. Time to see if a week of Shakeology meals has had any effect.