Keeping it real.

I'm about to tell you a story that is Too Much Information. But, we like to keep it real around here at The Final Fifty, so consider yourselves fairly warned. 

I think I told you guys that I was road tripping this weekend to photograph a wedding in Colorado. It was 13 hours in the car yesterday. We did stop off for a little hike that involved circumventing three rattle snakes. I was less than impressed. I am determined not to fall behind in my running or workout programs while travelling so this morning I got up early and went for a run. Yesterday we were playing trivia in the car. One of the questions was to define homeostasis. It is a biological state of equilibrium. I'm my world and in laymans terms, it is pooping daily. Needless to say, travel can disrupt my homeostasis. I was about halfway through my run this morning when I was presented with a definite problem. I was going to return to a state of biological equilibrium whether I wanted to or not. I was fortunate in the fact that at that very moment a ditch and a tree presented itself. All I can say is don't judge me. I would like to think that each of you would make the same choice if you were faced with pooping your pants or shamefully dropping a deuce in a ditch. My deepest apologies to the state of Colorado. As it turns out you can't outrun biology. Happy Saturday!!!

4 Week Measurements

Hey-o! As promised, I measured up on Sunday (the end of 4 weeks on P90X~Mass). Here are the stats:

Weight        233.0 (down 4.5 pounds)
Waist           43.0 inches (down 1.5 inches)
Hips             50 inches (same)
Chest           44 (same)
Right Arm   16.5 (same)
Left Arm     16.0 (down 0.5 inch)
Right Thigh 28.0 (down 1.5 inches)
Left Thigh   28.5 (down 0.5 inch)
Body Fat %  30% (same)

These are not STUNNING results. Having said that, I am not unhappy with them. First of all, it is important to remember that I started this program after finishing a different program. I did not start it from ground zero. You always see more drastic results at the very beginning. I also just came off of a less than stellar week in the eating department. I ate clean, but I ate too much. Secondly, I lost my FitBit. While I might think that I am stepping the same, I was not really tracking it. GOOD NEWS!!! My FitBit was found and returned yesterday. But I forgot to put it on this morning. Tomorrow, I am back on the FitBit track. Look out all my FitBit friends... I'm stepping again! Lastly, everything either went down or stayed the same. Nothing went up. I do feel like my arms and legs are getting more toned, so if that means that I am replacing fat with muscle, I'll take it. I skipped yesterday, which means I am going to have to double up this week some time, but I had company from out of town, I partied too hard Sunday night, and it was a holiday (how's that for a bunch of worthless excuses). But I plan on finishing this program in the allotted time and I am excited to see what the new workouts are for this month.

My running app is not allowing hardly any walking time. As in there are two walking stints that last 45 seconds each for the entire run. I now lap my starting point which means that I am covering more distance in the same amount of time. I am scooting right along. I feel like I could run a 5K with relative ease right now. How's that for a big deal? 6 weeks ago I couldn't run longer than a minute and a half without walking. BOOM. Here is a weird fun fact for you... When I run I can spit like a guy. If I was standing still I'm lucky if I don't drool on myself. Not that I spit a lot or anything. I had a little bit of a head cold last week, not enough to stop me, just enough to annoy me. But I get a little phlegm when I run still. Gotta get rid of it somehow. So, I spit, but I can spit a long, long ways!

At the end of this week I am travelling to Colorado to shoot a wedding. We will see how I do sticking to my workouts on the road. Wish me luck. I'll do my best.

In other news, I have a puppy sleeping in my lap. I bought him in the parking lot of a KFC (no, I didn't eat there). He is a dorkie (dachshund x yorkie = dorkie). His name is Slack. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I super duper love him. Happy Tuesday!! Drink your water!!

Gut Check

Lately I have been doing a lot of little re-posts to keep things going on the page but I haven't really checked in for a while. There has been A LOT going on and I just haven't had a chance to sit down and organize my thoughts on all of it. 

Let's start with why I decided it was important to do so this morning. Friday before last I weighed in. Just to see where I was at. I decided I was going to do measurements once a month on this new program (so, end of this week), but I was curious about my weight. I had dropped 3 pounds in the first 10 days or so of the new P90X3. Thumbs up. Not a shocking number of pounds, but it was at least going in the right direction. This morning I decided to do the same thing, but for different reasons. I have been STARVING for the last week and a half since that weigh-in. Like I could eat anything and everything in sight and not even blink an eye. I have been trying to make healthy choices, but I definitely feel my portion size creeping up to more than what it should be. My water intake has not been nearly as much as it was (shame on me) and I also feel pretty tired (insert sluggish). So, this morning, I was up a pound. Not down, not the same, UP! I haven't missed any P90X3 workouts, but I did miss my last run of the week last Friday due to torrential downpours. In this past two weeks I have had several birthday parties that I have attended which means that I have had little pieces of cake because who doesn't deserve a piece of cake sometimes, right??? With my metabolism the answer there is WRONG, not right. There have also been some chorizos eaten, even without the bun, not a stellar choice for me. For those of you that don't live in Marsing, Idaho and don't know what a chorizo is, it is a spicy hot dog on steroids. I had company come from out of town which of course meant taking them to my favorite places to eat out and cooking a feast or two at home for them. So, all of this has added up to an extra pound. A pound that I had gone and now have to get rid of again. 

So, why? Why the naughty eating when tempted? Why the not making up for the lost run over the weekend? Why the diminished water intake? Why the extra pound???? WHY????

First off (brace yourselves, gentlemen), I started my period. I don't know about the rest of you girls, but this hormonal up swing just about kills me in the dieting and restraint department. The week before it I have terrible insomnia. Like I might sporadically get 3 hours of sleep in a night no matter what I do. I end up reading a lot of books in the middle of the night. This makes me tired. Which in turn makes me hungry. Insert first deposit of extra calories. During my period the hunger factor gets cranked up by 1,000% and I want to eat EVERYTHING. I could clean out the cupboards even if they only had mustard and pickles in them. I don't even know, taste, or care what I am eating. And, now in an attempt to catch up, all I want to do is sleep. I have to make myself workout during this week. My motivation is zero. I do it anyways, but it is more of a going through the motions kind of thing. I can justify just about anything during this part of the month for me. 

Second, the stress level around my outfit is getting pretty high. Going through cancer treatments and the whole process of cancer with someone is not really all that fun or for the faint at heart. Top it off with the fact that my family is not the best bunch of communicators on the planet and you have a tailor made recipe for bottled up feelings and anger. Fits have been thrown. Fights have been had. Emotions are running a little high. This of course leads to some emotional eating because that's how you deal with feelings in my family, you stuff food on top of them until they suffocate and quit trying to surface. 

Lastly, I lost my FitBit. My little accountability friend has jumped ship somewhere. I miss him terribly. I can think that I am making my steps all I want to, but who is to know, I don't have my little buddy reporting in to me. After payday this week I plan on ordering a new one. But it has been over a week now without him, a bad week to boot (see reason #1), and I didn't realize what a darn good motivator he was. 

There have been some ups and some downs. Plateaus and small weight gains are a part of any weight loss journey. The important thing right now is that I realize it, get it in check, and get that scale going in the opposite direction. Oh, and that I drink my water. Have a great week all!! I'm gonna give it hell. 

New program... New goals.

Happy Friday!

I have two days left in my new program this week. Today and tomorrow. Sore was what I wanted and sore was what I got. While I was actively doing the workouts, I didn't think they were all that hard. Had I not already been through T25, I'm sure that I would have thought they were torturous. So far they are not super cardio based, so I am glad that I am running too. Yesterdays workout was interesting. It was nothing but pull-up/chin-ups and push ups. That's it for 30 minutes. On the bar, on the floor, on the bar, on the floor, on the bar, on the floor... You get the idea. Wednesday I was so sore that my run was difficult. Remember how I was fast of foot Monday and flying on cloud nine? Wednesday not so much. Today I fall somewhere in between.

Starting a new program always brings out new holes in my fitness. #1, as you can probably guess from yesterdays pictures, is that I cannot do an unassisted pull-up. Not even one. I can't even hang my own body weight all that long. I have to be realistic about this. I'm watching people on a video do pull-ups that are probably have no more than 10% body fat. I am trying to haul my own body weight and an extra 77 pounds up and down. #2 I am still doing push-ups on my knees. Again, I use the extra weight as an excuse. #3 My slacking in yoga has led to a decline in my flexibility. The great thing about this program is that they put yoga in at least once a week. I got up this morning and did a mini yoga routine and I felt better afterwards. Felt ready to go. This might need to be a regular thing. So, with the holes that currently exist, I have a new set of fitness goals:

1. By the end of this program (90 days) I would like to be doing unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups. I don't know how many, but from where I stand right now, I think if I can even do one unassisted pull-up, that will be kinda a big deal.

**You may have noticed that I get a little obsessed with fitness people. Natalie Jill is my new obsession. She is A-Mazing. Her blog posts are short, sweet, helpful, and to the point. She came out with a new app this week a that has her fitness routines on it. I think I will find it very handy when I am on the road (go get it!). Anyways, she has a blog post about doing pull-ups for women.... Here is the link:

http://www.nataliejillfitness.com/how-to-do-a-pull-up-women/

2.The other side of my pull-up stand has an ab leg lift deal-a-ma-bopper. I have no idea what the real name for it is, but you can visualize. Since I got it set-up yesterday I stop and do 10 leg lift ab thingys whenever I walk by it. That is how many I can do before I shamefully slide to the floor. I would like to be doing 20 by the end of this month (short-term goal).

3. I would really like to be doing real push-ups. I feel like I am getting stronger so I feel like this should be a reasonable goal. I used to do all kinds of variations of real push-ups. I am trying to be realistic and take into account my weight. I don't want to set a goal that I can't achieve. I also don't want to attempt something I shouldn't and end up with bad form and a potential injury. So, my goal is to be doing real push-ups by the time I weigh 200 pounds or less. I don't know if those two things will coincide by the end of this program or not, but I hope so!

4. I would like to get back on the yoga wagon. More than the hit and miss that I have been getting done the past few weeks. I would like to go back to three times a week. I don't know that I will make hot yoga three times a week, but I have plenty of yoga tools at my disposal at home as well. It is just a matter of making it a priority.

5. I would like to run at least 2 5K's this year. I haven't decided which two, but I want to find some good local ones that I can do. Who knows... If things keep progressing maybe a 10K is even in my future.

I have lots of goals regarding my weight, fitness, health, etc. right now, but I believe the above set of goals is the most important ones for me to work. They are more important than fighting the scale, they are more important than fitting in the next jeans. AND, if I accomplish these goals, those other things will most likely fall into line.

I have had a fat feeling week. You know what I mean? I highly doubt that I am fatter, but I just have felt that way. I'm sure some of it from starting the new workout program. You start something new and you feel more hungry. You notice new inadequacies that make you feel fat. It has been a stressful week on a personal level and that makes me want to do emotional eating. I'm not doing that, but it makes me want to and just that makes me feel fat. Almost as bad as if I just went ahead and stuffed my face. Being sore makes me feel heavy too. It makes my legs feel like heavy concrete pillars. I'm sure by the end of next week I will be feeling much better. I have a lot on my plate mentally with it being the end of my term at school, all the talking and meeting with doctors for gram, and helping out at my former employer's place. Mental weight may be some of the heaviness that I have been feeling this week.

Have a great weekend all... I am sleeping in tomorrow come hell or high water. I am also hiking sometime this weekend come rain or come shine. Drink your water. ;)

Stranger things have happened...

Stranger things have happened... Just not to me lately.

Running was interesting today.

For starters I had a lot of gas in the tank. Last week, I REALLY struggled on my running days. My feet were like concrete blocks, my joints ached, it was windy as all get out, I struggled to keep my lungs full of air, and I wanted to whine. But, I just plowed on through and decided to see what this week would be like. When I took off today, I felt like I could run forever. I was light of foot. I didn't even really break a sweat until the last 15 minutes. I felt great. I was instantly surprised. The sprints were easier, the longer distances didn't bother me in the least, I didn't run out of air one time. Either there really is something to the interval training or there was something wrong with me last week. Either way, I was kinda bummed out when my run was over today. Weird.

My runs and walks have turned into treasure hunts. So far I have collected a cotter pin that now resides on my key chain, a neon yellow golf ball, and today, a nice rope halter (no lead). All sorts of weird.

The Beginning

Beginnings are scary. Beginnings are new. Beginnings are a lot of unknowns. Beginnings are good. Today I find myself at a beginning. I am starting P90X3 tomorrow. Today I weighed, measured, took pictures, and performed the Fit Test. I am nervous that this thing is gonna really kick my hiney. I am excited that this thing might really kick my hiney. It has been awhile since T25 has really made me sore. And, like it or not, soreness means progress. I am planning to continue my running program and am going to start looking for a race that I want to do. We'll start with a 5k and go from there. If I can make it to yoga, I'm going to. I truly believe that the benefits of the yoga are endless. I also believe that because it is an hour drive from house, it is logistically hard for me to get to. So, that is my plan for now. I may also go hike today 'casue I love it and the sun is shining.

In keeping with the honest nature of this blog I am going to share my measurements with you. This is a big deal. I can't think of very many women that will willingly tell you what they weigh and how many inches their thighs are. But, I want to understand two things from this, 1)It doesn't matter. What I weigh doesn't matter. I like myself right now. I like how hard I have worked to get to this point. These measurements are starting points. Jumping off places. Some of them will surprise you, some of them surprised me. I don't feel the least bit bad about any of them. I do maybe wish I hadn't pigged-out on take-out Chinese food last night, but hey, I was hungry. 2)Don't be afraid to measure yourself. It is a good thing to know where you are at. It can point out the areas that you want to improve. It can point out the areas that you are perfectly happy with. If you want to feel better about yourself, compare your measurements to mine. I don't mind. The only thing that I ask is that you look at them from a healthy place, as a place to build goals, not even remotely a place to knock yourself down.

Here goes nothin...

Measurements:
Weight 237.6 pounds. Height 5 feet 6 inches.
Waist 44.5 inches. Hips 50.0 inches. Chest 44.0 inches. (These three measurements confirm my theories that A)I am flat chested, and, B)I am shaped like a square.)
Right arm 16.5 inches. Left arm 16.5 inches.
Right thigh 29.5 inches. Left thigh 29.0 inches.
Body fat 30.0%. (Yes, I am a freak and have a body fat caliper. A mean little pinchy thing device.)
Shirt size: XXL or XL depending on the brand. Jeans size:16 or 34 depending on the brand.

Fit Test:
Resting heart rate 70 beats per minute.
Pull-ups 1.
Vertical leap 9 inches. (Measure with my arm extended above me, make a vertical jump and measure the difference between the two.)
Push-ups (on knees) 31. (Max out)
Toe Touch +2 inches. (Finger reach beyond heels when sitting with legs flat on the floor.)
Wall squat 2 minutes. (Max out)
Bicep curls 36 reps at 10 pounds. (Max out)
In and Out abs 14 reps. (Max out)
Heart Rate Maximizer 130 beats per minute. (Jumping jacks at max for 90 seconds)
1 minute post 90 beats per minute.
2 minutes post 80 beats per minute.
3 minutes post 74 beats per minute.
4 minutes post 74 beats per minute

Pictures:
I was kind and spared you the "swimwear attire" that they asked for. I don't swim, thus I don't have swimwear. I also have no intentions of posting half naked pictures of me on the internet. You get the idea of what I currently look like.

90 days from now you will see another post similar to this one. Here's hoping that it looks and reads a little differently. I can already tell you that there is one cool feature to P90X3... It has an app! Who doesn't love an app! I downloaded the fit test on app and it guided me through it. I recorded all my stats in it. I can use it to do my workouts on the road because they are all there on the app and I can use it to buy additional workouts if I want to. All sorts of cool! Getting off on the right foot (or the left, whichever floats your boat)!!! Happy Sunday all, drink your water.

Failure

Here's the skinny... Ha! Get it? Skinny... I'm not skinny, but I've got the skinny. Sorry, corny fat kid joke.

I was supposed to start P90X3 this week. Know what? I didn't. I took the week off. I ended up taking the break because there was a lot going on this week. I had my friend's memorial service. I had several big assignments due at school. I have an event that I go to every year, twice a year, where I sell handmade items, thus I had to get some items done to sell. Gram had a doctor's appointment one day and a liver biopsy on another day. Those are all just excuses in reality, but that's the short and the long of why I took the week off. I actually think in the long run it might be better that I did. Weight training can be like that, sometimes you have to let your muscles regroup a little so that they will train better when you get back after it. I did NOT, however, quit running. I still got that done this week, and I made my step goal everyday. I am noticing my ankle these days, it is talking to me (old injury). I warm up out of it so I am not going to worry about it. One of my old bosses (a horse veterinarian) used to ask if you were hurt or injured? You can play hurt, you can't play injured. I just hurt a little. So, long story short, I was not inactive, I just didn't "train" per se.

This upcoming program promises to be intense. Tony's programs usually are. This one is different because it doesn't have all the long breaks within it. It is condensed down into 30 minute workouts. I like that. That's part of why I love T25 so much. It fits my schedule. This program came with a big ole book too. It obviously deals with how to train your muscles and how to eat for training. I am taking this week to get it read so that I get the absolute most that I can out of the program. One of the things that resonated with me last night when I was reading was the subject of failure.

I am not a failure type of person. I HATE to fail. It kills me to do something half-way (wasn't that good of me to not use the colorful word to finish that half-@$$), I hate to not be the best at something. Failure is not really an option once I decide to do something. Unless we are talking about keeping weight off, I have yet to really WIN that battle. But, the P90X3 book took a different approach to failure. They were applying it specifically to weight training, but I am wondering if it could pertain to other areas of a person's life. They want you to fail in P90X3. They want you to barely be able to do the last rep of each set. Or, they want you to fail to do the last rep of each set. They want you to push to the point of failure. That is the only way that you can progress.

I thought about that while I was running today. My running app has added sprints to my running program. I have to max out when I sprint. Two things happen when I sprint. 1) I run out of air by the end of it. I get to thinking I'm not going to make it much farther. 2) When I go back to jogging, the jogging is way easier. I want you to know that I am loving the running, but I am not in love with the running. Does that make sense? I struggle through portions of my run. I think I'm not going to make it. But I keep going anyways. It is interesting that the sprints make me think that I am going to fail and make my life easier all at the same time. I was reading that you can actually get more air in your lungs by doing interval training like that than you can by going long distances at a constant pace. I am starting to think that statement is pretty true.

What if we applied this to other things? What if we just weren't afraid of failing because we knew that if we did it would make us stronger. How far could we go? What could we do? I have limitations set up in my own mind. Points in life that if I reach them I think I might fail, what if I took those points away? My friend that passed away was never afraid of failure. I saw her fail plenty of times, it never one time phased her. Food for thought.

P.S. This program requires before pictures, measurements, and a fit test. Mentally prepare yourselves because I am going to throw some numbers at you next week. If we are gonna be honest we gotta be honest all the way, right? For those of you that know me you won't believe my numbers, I am A LOT heavier than I look, so just be prepared for that. But if I don't measure, we won't know what I can get done in 90 days. Let's do this thing!