SassQueen

Friday B - sweet potato hash, chicken smoked sausage L - leftovers: tandoori chicken, vegetable hash Apple for pre-dinner snack D - salad with chicken, white cheddar, corn/black beans, onion, red peppers, ranch dressing had one slice of cheese pizza with dinner (kids leftover)

Thursday's food log: B - eggs with veggies, potatoes, spark L - salmon and veggies D - taco night: had Mexican rice, black beans, taco meat, guac. Also steamed veggies and pineapple Downside: had soda with lunch (diet, half the glass), few fries, few chips (in the break room; got super hungry at the end of the day before I left for home).

Breakfast: Egg scramble with veggies; roasted potato; Spark Lunch: Salad with beets, walnuts, goat cheese; balsamic vinaigrette. No protein in the salad (except for the cheese), so I made a small snack of leftovers from a lunch that was brought to the office yesterday - fajita steak (maybe 1-2oz), black beans, corn, pico, guac, onions. Dinner: leftovers - likely tandoori chicken with veggies (brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, apple, onion) Water - so far 72oz Still haven't taken before photos - will plan to do that either today or tomorrow.

Today's food log Breakfast: sweet potato hash with 2 fried eggs, Spark Snack: handful of cashews Lunch: out with friends - salad bar, cobb salad with balsamic vinaigrette Dinner: pot roast, potatoes/carrots Water - 80oz Two DDPs

Hello all! I'm getting started back on this fitness journey. I did well a few years ago, made a lot of good changes, but I have backslid more than a little, and would like to get back on track. My goals for now are to complete the mindset module and get back into good nutrition. This will be rather free-form at first - I'll clean it up later. Today I took measurements (I'll get pictures after the kids are in bed) and started prepping food for the week. In the past I have strictly counted calories, but I am soooooo over that, so I'm going to go paleo-ish and see where that takes me, adjusting as needed. Today's food log Breakfast - Protein shake (made with 2% milk), low cal energy drink Lunch - leftovers (chicken with cashew spinach sauce - homemade, pork tenderloin about 3-4oz, and 2 mandarin oranges) Dinner - making tandoori chicken, roasted veggies (brussel sprouts, red potatoes, apple, onion hash), 2% milk I've had probably 125oz of water so far, and will have more with dinner. One of my big goals is to stop snacking. I want to adjust the amount I eat at meals so that I don't get hungry and snack. With calorie counting, I was always trying to eat these super small meals so that I could eat a giant dinner - pretty disordered eating. Another goal is to eliminate soda. I'm heading to bed soon, and so far zero! I had been off sugary soda for ages, but would regularly drink 5-6 cans of diet per day. It's a habit I'd like to break.

Day 23, Dynamix So, this is "transition week", going from block 1 to block 2. Yesterday was Isometrix, which was a (surprise) isometric workout, where you basically get into all these yoga poses, only you hold each one for 45 seconds rather than 5-10. It didn't seem like it was going to be hard, but it was surprisingly tough. Today's routine was the optional one they have you do on your rest day. It's mostly range of motion and stretching, some more difficult than others. I could see myself incorporating this into my evenings, on the days I work out in the morning. As an aside, I'm starting to have some knee pain that is concerning me a bit. It's right over my patellas, the right more than the left. It's the kind of pain I was having back before I lost 50 pounds, when it would bother me going up and down stairs. My sister is a physical therapist, and she is going to show me how to tape my knee before working out to see if they (the patellas) will track better; she's also going to give me additional quad exercises to do. She said the squats and lunges are good for general strength, but they don't provide a lot of lateral strengthening. All in all, things are going pretty well, as long as these knees leave me alone.

Day 18, The Challenge Set my numbers today to 30 band pull-ups (reisistance band looped over the pull-up bar) and 5 standard push-ups. That's right, I went to regular push-ups. I figured I really won't know if I am getting any better at them if I don't do them. I took it slow and only had to quit early one time.

Hey RW, thanks. It is a lot of bodyweight training, with a little bit of dumbbell work and yoga thrown in. Mostly body weights though. As an aside, am I considered Level 1 now, or after this challenge? This is all so fun!

Tea and coffee are equally gross to me, but that is a great suggestion otherwise. I've gone off caffeine before and did well without it; it's just one of those mind-over-matter things. Plus, think of all the money I'll save. A soda in a restaurant is like $2-3! That's a good thought re: the scale. I really haven't been focusing on the numbers as much anymore, now that I've lost so much, so I really need a goal that will a) keep me in a calorie deficit while not focusing on the scale number as much. I'd go by inches, but I don't really know what a reasonable goal would be. Body fat percentage? I have a BF scale, but they are so inaccurate, and I hardly ever use that setting on it. I'd say log every day, but I already do that, and so I'd feel as though I'm cheating if I pick something I've already been doing for several months. I'll sleep on this and come up with something in the morning.

SassQueen here! This is my first challenge, and I’m excited to get involved in this awesome community to try to take my fitness to the next level. Main Quest: Be at a healthy weight. I’m a 37 year old mother of 3 (Almost-5 years, 3.5 years, and 21 months) working full-time in the health care field, married for 8 years to a wonderful artistic/architect-type. I started getting serious about weight loss about a year ago, and have lost 50ish pounds so far. I am looking to lose another 35-40 pounds to get to what is considered a “healthy†weight by BMI standards. More importantly, I want to feel better. I already feel better – my knees don’t hurt anymore, I have more energy and stamina. I’ve never been “athletic†per se, and the possibility that I could be is rather intoxicating. I’d like my kids to have better habits growing up than I did (a lot of reading and game playing without any physical exertion to balance it out), and I want to be a better role model for my patients. To that end, here are my goals: Goal 1: Finish p90X3 w/o missing any workouts (+2STR, +1DEX, +1CON) I’m currently in my 3rd week of block one (see my daily battle log) and things are going pretty well. I’m doing the “classic†routine, which is a good balance of cardio and strength. A = miss zero workouts (bonus +1STR, +1CON) B = miss 1 workout per block (no adjustment) C = miss 2+ workouts per block (penalty -1STR, -1CON) Goal 2: Get at least 120g of protein per day (+1STR, +1CON)*changed I'll continue to count calories (since it's been working well for me so far), but as I'm focusing more on function instead of the scale number, I'd like to pay closer attention to what is going in my system. I need to make sure I get enough protein to maintain my muscle mass as I burn fat, so that's the macro I'll focus on. A = average 120g protein per day, 5-6 weeks (+1STR) B = average 120g protein per day, 4 weeks (no adjustment) C = average less than 120g protein per day, any 3 weeks or more (-1 CON) Goal 3: Cut out diet soda (+1WIS) I don’t think this has any actual bearing on my weight, but darn it, I’d like to get off the nasty stuff. I don’t drink coffee, and so this is my only source of caffeine. I currently have 1 to 3 (or more L) per day. A = no sodas after Aug 5 (bonus +1 WIS) B = no more than 1 per day by Aug 19 (no adjustment) C = no change (-1 WIS) P.S. This will not include the occasional diet soda mixed in my bourbon J Life Quest: write down at least one good thing about my kids each day (+2CHA, +1WIS) My kids are young, and closely grouped (#1/#2 are 17 mos apart, and #2/#3 are 21 mos apart). I love them, but recently we have been going through some difficult phases (all 3 of them at the same time, it seems). The other day my eldest did something that just cracked me up, and I wrote it down so I would remember it. Afterwards I thought, I really need to keep track of this stuff, so I can look back on it when we are having a rough day. So I’ve been putting it in my phone for now, but I plan to get an old-fashioned journal and keep it old school. A = at least 5 days per week (bonus +1WIS) B = at least 3 days per week (no adjustment) C = less than 3 days per week more than 2 weeks (- 1CHA) So there you have it. Wish me luck!

Me too! Me too! I started a daily battle log a couple of weeks ago, but this will be my first challenge!

Day 17, Yoga Man, I'm really starting to like yoga. I can see myself throwing this into the mix well after the 90 days are up. I just feel more energized and ready to start my day. I was a bit tighter today then I remember being the prior two weeks, and I wasn't as good on the balance poses (tree, warrior 2, etc) as I was last week - not sure why, maybe I'm tired? In any case, this is a good mid-week workout.

Day 16, Agility X This is the one with a lot of jumps-and-holds, which is hard b/c my floor mat slips on the hardwood floor. I think it is affecting my jumps, b/c I am afraid I will overbalance and fall. Planning on heading to the hardware store @ lunch to look for some solutions - any thoughts?

Day 15, Total Synergistics There's still a couple of moves I can't do well (or at all), but I'm definitely improved. It looks as though this routine takes a back seat after this week (it's back again in Block 3, the 3rd "month"), but I'll likely use it in the future for just a regular workout. It probably leaves me the sweatiest of all the ones I've done so far, and sweat is good, right?

Day 12 (yesterday) was CVX, today (Day 13) was Warrior. These weekend workouts are frequently done while the youngest naps (because I refuse to get up at 5 on a weekend day to work out before they wake up), which means one or both of the older, non-napping Sasslets are either "helping" me or "exercising" with me. While I appreciate the sentiment, it is not, in fact, easier to do push-ups with a 39 pound 3 y/o on your back.