Disney Rules

So, I'm scared to death of what Disney will do to my fitness/weight loss goals. I like to think I have the strength to insist on working out and eating healthy, but who knows what will actually go down. It's especially hard when I have to unknowns in the form of the twins. How hard will it be to get them back to the hotel in the afternoon for rest time? That's when I plan on doing my workouts, so it's crucial we can pull this off. First order of business is to be completely packed before the kids get out of preschool on Tuesday. This way I get to bed early and wake up at 4 am to workout before our flight (we must leave by 7!). I feel like pulling this off will set the tone for the whole trip. Next I've set up some eating rules to hopefully get me through this week:

1) One desert during the trip - my grandmother's birthday cake!
2) One pancake breakfast - otherwise sticking to eggs, oatmeal or Shakeology
3) No fried foods
4) No bread, with the possible exception of one burger, but only one. No biscuits, no toast, no other bread!
5) Pack healthy snacks and eat them unless presented with an even healthier option (fruit?)
6) No candy
7) Write down everything I eat. I never remember to do this at home, but I have a new plan. If it's not handy to write it down, I'm taking a picture with my phone. Of every single thing that goes into my mouth. (Dammit)
8) Carry water with me at all times and drink at least 64 oz a day, more if I workout (which I will).

I don't remember too many Disney World specifics since I haven't been there in forever, but I do have vague memories of sweet shoppe type establishments. Must not be tempted...

So, that's what I've got so far. Any other tips? I know there will be a lot of walking, so I'm hoping that makes up for the inevitable added calories that eating out every meal will bestow upon me.

I'll let you know how this goes and how successful I am at following my own rules. Wish me luck!

My side workout

So, I've been doing good sticking to my P90X/Turbo Fire hybrid program. I did have one sick day last week causing me to miss my Wednesday workout. I tried to do it on Thursday and got through about 25 minutes. Then I decided to go ahead and push through the program doing my Thursday workout on Friday, my Friday workout on Saturday, and counting Wednesday as my rest day instead of Saturday. So, basically I haven't had a rest day since last Wednesday, when I was sick! I'm ready for tomorrow!!

Add to all that the fact that I've been seeing another workout on the side. In addition to my Beachbody workouts, I've been spending 2 days a week with the lovely treadmill. Let's be clear. I suck at running. I just can't do it, never could. My biggest problem is my knees. I get this sharp pain that shoots through my knee and almost makes me fall over. I went to a doctor and he basically told me that my joints were too flexible to keep the knee cap in place. He said that I should never run marathons (if you say so doc), but that if I strengthened my legs I could get to the point where a few miles would be okay.

Given my running suckness and knee issues, and the fact that I'm already doing a pretty serious workout program, I'm taking the running very slowly and lightly. Again, only 2 days a week and more of a run/walk interval program. I started with walking 3 min, running 3 min for a mile. Did I mention that I also run slowly?? Then I moved up to doing the 3/3 interval for half and hour, then walking till I hit 3 miles. Now I'm walking 2 min, running 4 minutes for 30 minutes, then walking till I hit 3 miles. There's a lot less walking at the end now! I'm not quite sure what the next interval will be, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

So, what about my knee? I've been doing a lot of reading about running techniques. The most helpful was that you should run toe-heel, not heel-toe. This creates a lot less impact on your knees. And a helpful salesman at Luke's Locker suggested focusing on keep my body centered, as opposed to leaning forward. So far, it's been going very well! You know, for a slow runner who can't run more than 4 minutes at a time. :-)

Side note, I'm thinking of doing a Shakeology giveaway. Would anyone be interested?

image from here

catching up

Today is Week 2, Day 3 of my P90X/Turbo Fire hybrid. I'm still struggling with my diet, but given that today is a work day, I'm hoping to get it back in gear. Worst case scenario is me eating great the 3 days a week my kids are at preschool, and doing my best the other 4 days. I need to get better than that, but it's a start.

I tried to behave in Bryan on Saturday, but pretty much failed miserably. My kids devoured their cupcakes, which meant no leftovers. I swear, they normally don't eat them all! So yes, I had a whole cupcake. And two small cookies from my grandmother's cookie jar. I resisted them most of the day, but broke down in the end. There was also pizza for dinner, one cheese slice and one meat lovers slice. I probably should have stuck to the cheese, but at least the meat filled me up so there was no third piece. Silver lining?? I also have seriously slacked on my food diary, but I'm fixing that today. I am not good about writing stuff down when the kids are home with. It just gets a little crazy!

I also have not been drinking enough water. Tsk! Tsk! This is a huge deal for me since a lack of water will trigger a Meniere's attack. I loathe my Meniere's disease. Perhaps on a later date I'll write more about it, but I'll just say that's it's cost me most of my hearing (left ear gone, right ear with a hearing aide) and all of my sanity! (Okay, a little exaggeration there). Basically, an episode will cause me to be dizzy for up to days at a time. Not dizzy spells, but straight dizzy to where I can't look at a computer screen, watch TV, read a book, or even drive. I basically just sleep or try to play with my kids if they're home and awake. Oh, and the dizziness often causes motion sickness, and in extreme circumstance, vomiting. So yeah, Meniere's can kiss my tush.

But I digress, let's review my workouts! :) Sunday was tricky. Shawn was out of town and I lift weights on our back patio, so I opted to wait till the evening to do P90X rather than being out of ear shot from the kids in the morning. I did take the kids to the Y (yay for Sunday childcare) while I spent 40 minutes on the treadmill. I did my usual 3 min run/3 min walk, then a 10 min walk. I did increase my speed a little and did 3 miles total. After the kids went to bed, I started week 2 of my hybrid with a return to Chest & Back. I struggle with this one because I don't have the strength to do some of the push ups, specifically the diamond push up and the dive bombers. I sort of do my best.

Monday was Turbo Fire 45EZ. Still taking more breaks than I would like, but less than last week. Improvement, right? Unfortunately, the weather turned yucky and drizzly in the afternoon, so no long walks with the kids.

This morning I got back to P90X with Shoulders and Arms. I even upped my weights on some of these! Yay me! Confession: I haven't done Ab Ripper X yet. I've been having trouble waking up in the morning, so I didn't have time. My plan is to do it right before lunch, after I take the dog for a quick walk. Aiming for at least 2 dog walks today, maybe one a little longer than usual.

So, what am I eating today?

Post workout - Results & Recovery formula (~1/2 scoop)
Breakfast - Shakeology, fiber, 2 TB PB2, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 C ice, 1/2 C skim milk, 1/2 water
AM snack - coffee w/sugar free creamer, Cran Bran vitatop
Lunch (planned) - leftover deer chili-like meal, 1/2 avocado
PM snack (planned) - greek yogurt
Dinner (planned) - spaghetti squash w/deer meat pasta sauce

What are you eating??

image from here