taubele

Hi everyone!

I was in high-stress mode all weekend (I blame residual stress from work) and beating myself up over a temporary gain. I was getting so close to seeing 190 again after hitting the 180s that I was bummed, but you guys on the thread reminded me that it was no big deal and to not stress about it. I was taking out stress on my body, and that's never good. Thanks for the level-headedness, I needed to hear it!

Got on the scale this morning to see a very similar number to what I saw at the beginning of the week last week, so the end result of the temporary water/sodium gain is to be back where I was at the beginning of last week (actually -.3 lbs., so I guess I'll take it!). No harm done in the end, and this week I'm going to really focus on better food choices. Being low-cal is the ultimate goal, but it's no use being low-cal if the calories I consume are BAD calories.

This week I'm tweaking my goals only a little - mostly upping my water and adding goals about takeout food - but other than that, what I had been doing was working, and I do think last week was a fluke, so I'm sticking with it.

Weekly Goals

Food, Exercise and Lifestyle Goals:
1) Achieve a 7,000 calorie deficit by the end of the week
2) Do not take off two days in a row from exercising.
3) Achieve a 30% protein average for the week
4) Carbs at or below 50% average for the week
5) Protein powder after every workout in a smoothie
6) At least 104 oz. water daily
7) Report here each and every day
8) Eat out/take out no more than twice for lunch and once for dinner

Other Life Stuff:
1) When stressed, don't take it out on myself, or anything that does not have to do directly with the source of the stress. Deal with it directly, even if I don't want to.
2) Make an effort on my appearance every day
3) Work on my embroidery for at least five hours
4) Don't worry, be happy!
5) Try two new recipes for dinner

Mike: Good to see you back! Looks like you're ready to kick some butt.

Crimpet: Good luck on your new job! It's always nerve-wracking to start, but you'll do just fine! Sending good vibes your way!

Cybervox: Nine days in a row is always awful, and frustrating. Hopefully you can find even ten minutes a day for some down/relax/YOU time, and it can keep you sane!

Mern: Holidays are tough. It makes me almost glad I didn't celebrate much this year, since my family is 1,000 miles away. I hope it was tasty though!

Cassie: Holidays holidays! We're all into chocolate recovery, I guess.

Good luck to all this week!

~Terri

01gt4.6

okay... this will keep me accountable.
YouTube - April 25, 2011 P90X New Beginning Update

The audio has been blocked in Germany, I'm disputing it and it should be up in all countries soon.

Mern

Mike, I watched your video. My reaction to it is "BRAVO!!!!" for your huge success in weight loss and fitness to date and for your committment to maintaining a healtful weight and fit body.

Also, as a mother, stepmother, and grandmother of 7 adults I APPLAUD you for your willingness to sacrifice that gym membership, as helpful as it was for you to get where you are now in fitness, in order to meet more pressing/important/necessary obligations. It takes a lot of maturity, wisdom and courage to do that--and you've got them all.

We know you can do this. Big hug to ya!

Mern

Crimpet, best wishes. We're behind you all the way.

Cassie, so sorry your weekend sucked foodwise, too. Yep, back to basics. I just made myself do 1/2 hour of that Richard Simmons tape. DH was on the computer in the same room and let out a huge sigh and went outside until I was done huffin' and puffin' to the oldies. I'm pretty sure I got on his nerves and that was the reason for his sigh. LOL But when I was done, I felt good that it's Monday and I can start over. I'm not even going to look at my scale until next Monday.

ZoeDuc, welcome! I love your non-fitness #4--so many people make their lives unhappy because they don't take time to smell the roses.

Cybervox, welcome! Wishing you an easier week than you anticipate. Just curious--are you English or an American living in England? If not native, how'd you get to where you are living?

Almeeker, I hope you don't have to do those 50 extra pushups for going over your calories. Did I ask you before and you answered and I forgot? Wondering why you limit your grains. I do, too, except for flaxmeal which is zero net carb because of the fiber--but my grain limitation is because it helps me keep my carbs down.

Terri, I'm so glad you quit stressing over the temporary gain. It's not worth it! As I told Cassie, I'm not even going to look at my scale until next Monday due to blowing Sunday so badly. I totally agree about the calories we consume need to be GOOD calories. I found last week when I had a day I was OK on calories, but didn't get many veggies in, evening hours were full of hunger and cravings which is unusual for me. Had I eaten those veggies I think I'd have made it through the evening OK.

jjeand, best wishes with DD and on the cigs. I used to be a heavy smoker and quit--hardest thing I've ever done in my life. You can do it. I'm rooting for you. My daughter is grown and we're now really good buddies, but one time when she was in high school I came soooo close to stopping the car and making her walk the last three miles home. I was so angry I thought my head would explode. From the time she was two until the time she graduated from college (and a little beyond that, even) I kept telling myself I was going to "keep parenting her until I got her right." And I finally did. LOL Your day of freedom will come and you'll look back and smile at your accomplishment of rearing her into a lovely, responsible adult. Hang in there! Big hug to ya!

01gt4.6

Mern,

thanks a lot for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed the video, it's a shame that I've slipped up and let my BF climb so high, but I did enjoy being able to eat what ever I wanted. Thanks again.

Mern

Mike, you look great to me, but not being a body builder I have no idea what percentage of body fat you need to maintain. What percentage are you aiming for?

I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of excercise you had to do to get ripped like that. Pains me to sweat to the oldies with Richard Simmons!

But I do understand that it must be really hard to maintain that muscle mass and weight at the same time.

I'm really rooting for ya!

01gt4.6

Mern,

I don't know how low I actually got, but according to my measurements I got down to 10.5%, I'd like to get there at minimum... but single digits would be better. Right now with me over 14% I'll have to work hard at it. The older I get, the harder it is. But it hasn't been that bad. If I would keep my diet in check I would have been there by know. I guess I enjoy my cheat days a little too much.

quinnesec

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Glad to see so many back after the holiday weekend, ready to dig in. Surprisingly, I did really well this weekend. Since I was the chef, I substituted the traditional Easter ham and all the trimmings with whole rotisserie chickens out on my grill. (Which turned out awesome, by the way. ) Had a few malted milk balls and a little fudge, but hey, it was Easter.

Today, I definitely worked off any extra calories, and then some, by doing a huge spring cleaning at my mom's place. Beautiful, warm, breezy weather made for the perfect day to get the job done. But, I am tired.

So, on to this weeks goals:

Food and Fitness:

* Eat clean and stay close to 1400 calories.
* Lots of water.
* 3-4 fruits and veggies a day.
* Limit breads and cereals.

Personal Goals:

* Must finish beading prom dress for Saturday!!!
* Take a break from spring cleaning this week.
* Learn to relax! Tell myself it's ok to sit quietly and read or do nothing at all. I don't have to be "accomplishing something" all of the time. Stop feeling guilty about taking time off.
* Present a positive attitude to others.

almeeker

The bikes were a surprise and we did go for a bike ride on Easter down at the park, which was fun until the youngest started whining. I did not get the big squealing scream that I was hoping for. My oldest said "Oh, bikes, I need a bike". DH wasn't feeling well, he overdid it on Saturday between the gym and shelf building and by the time we were hiding eggs and such he was a poop. I really wanted to do something clever like tie a string to the bike, meander through the house and maybe around the yard and then tie the other end to their Easter basket or some such. But DH just wanted to line the bikes up in the dining room and go to bed. Why I let him win that one is anybody's guess, but I did. On Easter morning again DH wasn't feeling well and was a grouchy and between his grumbling and the on going temper tantrum from middle DD, it sort of ruined it for me (I adore holidays and don't always understand DH's bah-humbug approach). But today the bikes were all the girls could talk about, in fact the youngest bugged me all morning to take her biking, but of course it was raining. I'm feeling good about the bike idea, I think it will be a winner in the long run. And just in time too, gas was $4.17/gal on my way home tonight!!! YIKES!

almeeker

If I stay away from grains it helps me reduce my binging tendency. When I carb crash I want to eat and eat a lot. I find when I keep it grain-free I don't have cravings or binges really. I need to be grain-free as often as possible this week to make up for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I really don't know how many jelly beans I ate, but I'm certain it was an amount that could be most easily measured in pounds, not tablespoons or cups.

Last week I went over calories more often than not. I've done the necessary 50 push-ups for all but 1 of those days, and I'll catch that up tomorrow morning. I gave myself Sunday off of the budget because it was a holiday.