First 90 Days Gone...

I suppose I should update you guys on the fact that I hit my 90 day mark for P90X, and I've already started my second round. I hit the mark while my husband and I were out in Marienville, PA for a little celebration of our anniversary. We got a cabin out there, and it was really nice to get away even though the weather was cool and very rainy. We still got a lot of indoor time though, which is not bad at all.

Anyway, I got some progress pictures while we were out there, and I'm happy that I finally got the right lighting so you can actually see my definition for once. More motivation to keep pressing on (or pressing play, I should say):





Don't be afraid to try it if you're considering it. If you have questions, feel free to ask me.

Two Years

I've never been great with words, but I certainly know how to talk someone's head off. Maybe what I'm saying isn't the most intelligent thing, the most inspriring, or contain fancy words, but what it does have is sincerity. When I say I love you, I mean it and don't just say it to say it or because it's what I'm supposed to do.

I've spent the past two years being married to you, the past four and a half knowing you, and the nineteen and a half years before that living without you. These past six years have more than made up for the time I've had to live without you, but if I had to spend a day without you, I'd be even more hollow than I was before. You've been more to me than any husband could be for a wife. When you tell me you love me, I think of the time I first saw you when you came to pick me up for our date to the day you looked in my eyes at the altar and said, "I do."
To avoid being verbose, I simply want to say that I love you and happy anniversary.

Day 75

Thanks for all the great comments you guys have been leaving. I'm starting to get a little more attention the past few weeks, and people are noticing and asking questions about the program. I sort of like being the walking advertisement because I really endorse P90X. In fact, I'm getting a personalized plate for my car so I can advertise on my way to work or wherever I go. Sounds kind of cheesy, but I don't care. I feel a lot better than I did before I started, and I look better too.

In fact, we just had a Wellness Day at work on Wednesday, and we took a fitness test during that. The women were supposed to do modified push-ups and the men just regular ones, but I hate doing push-ups on my knees, so I asked if I could do the other instead. After consulting with another Hamot employee, they said it was alright, but my numbers wouldn't come back very accurately. I didn't care. I was competing against my boss (who won anyway). I managed to crank out 28 military-style push-ups in 30 seconds (my boss did 38 wide push-ups). I was hoping to get to 35, but I should have had my hands wider, and I might have.

We also had our BMI and body fat percentage measured. I had around 8.7% body fat, which is awesome (target range for women is 20-32%; men is 12-24%, but lower is better). My BMI, I believe, was around 19, which is just above underweight (18.5 and under is too low). I imagine I was a little lower last year when I was still struggling with my eating disorder, but who knows. I was really satisfied with my numbers, overall.

Yesterday, I just completed day 75 (of 90), so it was a picture day. My husband took a picture the day before while I was doing Yoga X, and it seems to be getting some attention, so it makes me feel like I've made progress:



Here are some regular shots from yesterday. I'm even more flustered than last time because this was Core Synergistics. Forgot to flex my stomach for the first one:







And an ab shot from today since I didn't get any decent ones yesterday:



So there they are. I managed to find one other person in Erie that's doing this program, and it was by accident Monday night. If anyone else is or if you want to join in, I'm starting my second round (classic this time) on May 5th. Just let me know.

Sixty Days and Counting

I'm so happy I've been sticking with this program. If I look a little flustered, it's because I had just finished doing an hour and a half of Yoga X about 5 minutes before these pictures were taken:

Front shot


Back shot


Obligatory ab shot

Incriminating Evidence

She's white, but her cheeks are smeared in guilt.
Word to the wise: Make sure to thoroughly rinse out your spaghetti sauce pans before you put them in the sink.

Walk For Autism

I was thinking about doing this walk out at Presque Isle this April with my husband, and I saw an ad for it on TV. I was almost positive they said there would be information on YourErie.com, but I can't find anything anywhere. I'm either looking in the wrong places or they never updated their site to include it. I'd like to sign up, but it's kind of hard if I can't find any info. All I've been able to find is archived from 2005, which helps about zero. Anyone have any information on this? Dennis?¹

In other news, I suppose I should update you all on our trip down to Cape Canaveral, Florida for the shuttle launch. I'm not sure what to say about it other than that it was amazing. You just had to be there to see it. What was even cooler was that it was a night launch, so the whole sky just lit up like the high-noon sun rose all in a matter of two seconds. The whole ground shook, and it sounded like we were standing in the middle of a thunderstorm--only without the rain. You can catch the video here [If you just hold your mouse over the Snapshot, you can view it without clicking out to YouTube.]. I feel privileged to have seen one of the last shuttle launches.

Afterwards (the next day, of course), we got to tour around Kennedy Space Center for the entire day, which was really neat. I got to see my first IMAX movie...and it was 3D! I have to say I felt like an idiot every time I flinched when there was debris flying at the screen. My brain can't grasp the fact that it's not really flying into my face. I'm a rookie 3D movie viewer, apparently.
We were also able to go visit the ocean on Cocoa Beach, which was just beautiful. I'd never been to the ocean, so it was a nice addition to the trip. Even though I didn't swim in it, I at least stuck my hand in to feel it, which was enough for me. I grabbed some sea shells as souvenirs before leaving.

As beautiful as Florida is, I wouldn't want to live there. I'm still a die-hard Tennessee fan. Thankfully, we got to spend a little time there even though our trip was cut short by a day because of the two feet of snow we got in Erie the day we were supposed to leave. It was supposed to be a little early anniversary trip for me and my husband since we weren't going to be getting down there this year. I was disappointed that we couldn't keep our original chalet (we had this for our honeymoon) that first weekend since we couldn't make it there for Saturday night, but I'm glad we at least spent a little time down there and visited Ripley's Aquarium as we do every year.

Being back in Erie has given me a cabin fever that no amount of cowbell can cure. I just wonder when it's going to be warm again so I can be out running and/or riding my bike. Summer, come soon! If it doesn't rain and is in the 50's on Saturday, I may bust out the cycle and get some outdoor exercise in. I hope, I hope...

¹Nevermind. I answered my own question by accident. I hope to see some of you participate. It's $15, and the link for the form can be found here, and it needs to be in by April 1st. The walk is April 26th at 11:00am, starting at Beach One.

I'm Taking the Dive

Hey, there, folks, and a happy Good Thursday to all of you. Ok, there's no such thing, but it's going to have to suffice for tonight for the sake of my blog. I'm a day too early to say Good Friday. Anyway, I spent--you know--a week out in Tennessee (a sort of faux, early wedding anniversary get-away) and Florida (for the space shuttle launch) last week, and I haven't yet blogged about it. Well, you're going to have to wait another day. I don't really have the time or motivation to go ahead and do that tonight, but I will tomorrow since I have a nice, long, 4-day weekend for Easter [Work for Catholics...you get lots of holidays off.].

Instead, I'd like to talk more about my P90X progress. I've found a couple people (not many) that have shown some interest in my journey, and I feel like entertaining that right now. First, I'd like to say I get a kick out of all the people I encounter that laugh when I turn down candy/donuts/popcorn/etc. and say I'm on a diet: "You don't need to be on a diet, skinny bones! Now eat some sugar!" Yes, I'm thin and have--at times--been quite a bit underweight, but that doesn't mean I can't be on a diet. Many people automatically associate the word "diet" with "LOSE WEIGHT!!" How about a diet that's meant to keep you healthy and in shape? It exists, you know. Isn't that essentially what a diet is supposed to do anyway?

I can't say I don't cheat on occasion (nothing over-the-top though) because I do. I try to slim it down to once a month because if there's one thing I've learned from my very fitness-conscious husband, cheating isn't all bad. In fact, you should do it every so often (in moderation, of course). That doesn't mean I grab a double whopper from Burger King or a dozen Krispy Kremes; just things in the not-so-good-for-you-but-acceptable-in-moderation category.
So do those of you who laugh and/or scoff at my dieting understand now? I'm not trying to lose weight. In fact, I haven't really lost weight at all since I've been doing this program. Well, I dropped some fat weight and replaced it with muscle weight. Really, I'm hanging in the same range; perhaps a little higher.

With that said, let's move on to my progress. I just hit my halfway point of my first round of P90X on Wednesday, and I took some pictures. Now I think I just may be brave enough to show the world my 45-day progress--all in the name of exercise. Unfortunately, I didn't really get any good comparative pictures from the first day, so I grabbed a day 3 photo to throw next to yesterday's. I've been taking pictures mainly of my abs because that's the area I want to see the most progress [Join the club, right?]. My arms and shoulders are generally at the level I want them because I used to work them all the time at the gym; perhaps too much (they don't call me Trizilla for nothing). My goal is to get Dreya Weber abs by next summer (or at least something comparable). Now I know some of you think that's a fleeting motivation, but that's not the entire reason I'm doing this program. I do it because it makes me feel good and gives me more energy. It's all interconnected with my goal. Naysayers, wise up. Anyway, check it out below (unfortunately, the camera seems to wash out the definition):


Constructive criticism is welcome. Creepy and/or sexist comments are not.