1) The driver side mirror on my old 93 Honda Civic sedan is broken. Sometime Saturday when the car was parked in front of the office, someone either hit it and broke the adjustment mechanism inside so it no longer holds its position properly, or 12 years of relentless Florida sun and heat finally rusted/dry-rotted the innards. I have a folded up vinyl luggage tag wedged under the bottom edge of the mirror right now to keep it facing up and out enough to get by, but by default I now only get a spectacular view of the asphalt about 1 foot away from my car door. Grrr… I just looked up mirrors for my car on eBay, and it’s possible that a replacement would cost nearly as much as my car is worth!

Just kidding. Still $40 is quite a chunk of change for a bit of glass and plastic.

2) A serving of Chinese beef noodles will actually work as a regular meal under 50/30/20 macros.

Maggie’s Homemade Beef Noodles Stats (with 1 c. spinach and 2 oz. Weichuan wheat noodles)

332 calories
37 g carb
2.6 g fiber
28.1 g protein
5.8 g fat
2.0 g sat fat

Recipe will be posted when I get around to it. :tongue:

3) P90X Phase 2 Shoulders/Chest/Triceps is MUCH better than the Shoulders/Arms workout from Phase I. I just ran through it today, and I hit muscle failure in at two exercises. Woo! LOVE slow push-ups!

4) Either my butt is smaller than I thought, or swimsuit manufacturers are significantly increasing the size of their tops and bottoms while slapping vanity sizing numbers on them to make middle class American females feel better about their rapidly expanding backsides, because I had to get a size small in everything at Target this weekend when I stopped by to check out some of the surprisingly cute sale swimwear.

I couldn’t even find a single Isaac Mizrahi suit that fit properly–the fabric was just cut so large that everything was sagging on me, and I am NOT a teeny weeny girl. I laugh when I read customer reviews on the Isaac Mizrahi line on the Target web site claiming that the clothes fit true to size. True to size if you think 37-29-38.5 is a size 4 or 6! True to size if you are deluded about how much weight you’ve gained since you were 16 years old! IM’s stuff at Target runs as large as the gear you’d buy at Gap or Old Navy. Muumuu-esque HUGE. Such a pity, because I do like the cut and construction of his clothes. I’m just not wide or ample enough in the bust, beltline or booty to wear them now.

I did give the misses’ Mossimo and juniors Xhilaration suits a try, and did a bit better. Small tops and bottoms worked with those brands, thank goodness. There are a ton of swimwear separates now on the clearance racks for $7.49 or under, so if you live near a Target, you might want to hustle out there for a look-see. If you get lucky, you might find a top and bottom of the correct size amongst the mismatched remainders of small tops and extra large bottoms. I snagged a great sky/aqua bikini bottom (on sale) that will work with the bandeau V-halter I got last year and haven’t been able to wear because the old size 10 Newport News bottoms I had now sags like a loaded baby diaper on me.

5) Newport News also has some swimwear on sale, but unless you get their ShapeFX line, most of their tops aren’t padded to prevent the aggravation of nipping out from cold water or a stray breeze. Their sizes also run kind of large, so buyer beware! For the best deals, go to their clearance page and use the Deal Finder to locate either “one-piece” or “two-piece” apparel in your size and price range.

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5/22/05 P&P Challenge Report

Consecutive Perfect Days = 22 :prop:
Total Perfect Days = 22/62

– 1615 calories eaten / -78 deficit
– 46.6% carb, 31.0% protein, 23.7% fat
– No unauthorized meals
– All supplements taken
– 16 cups water
– All planned workouts performed

Weekly Weigh-In: 135.8 lbs on 5/21/05 (Start weight on 5/1/05: 135.4)

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Nutrition: 1600-1700 calorie mid zig zag day

1: Cran raisin bar
2: 3×1 spinach omelette, 1/3 c. (dry) oatmeal, 1 T. raisins
3: Chocolate caramel banana yogurt shake
4: Turkey sloppy Joe, 3/4 c. fiesta mixed vegetables
5: Beef noodle soup with 2 oz. noodles and 1 c. spinach
6: 3 oz. tuna, 1 c. strawberries, 2 c. spinach

Total: 1637 calories, 43.3% carb, 33.6% protein, 22.5% fat

Daily Supplements: multivitamin with iron, calcium 500 + D, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Water: 16 cups minimum

===========
Workout:
8:00 AM P90X Shoulders/chest/triceps/abs

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The Awful Truth:
1. Only got 6 hours of sleep last night.

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Did more dishes.
2. Returned sports bras to Target.
3. Finally replaced lightbulb in living room floor lamp. Have lived in darkness for 5 months now. 😳

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Short-term Goals:
1. Create P90X HanDbase module.
2. Work on Oasis 18 prints.
3. Cook more rice and roast chicken.
4. Pick up 20lb bag of Nutro Max cat food for the boys.
5. Finish Handbase tutorials 4, 5, and 6.

I was lazy about taking starting measurements this time around, so the left column of measurements are from the middle of week 2 of this P90X cycle, and about four days into the P&P Challenge. I’ve lost approximately 2 2/3 inches in the past 2.5 weeks, which is not too shabby considering how much I’ve been eating. My scale weight is a bit high today, most likely due to the water weight fluctuation, but oh well. 🙂 As of this morning, my body fat reading on the Omron is down 0.2% to 18.1%.

The revised plan goes into effect for Phase 2 of the program tomorrow.

Fun week 4 pics are posted to http://maggiewang.com/photos/p90x-1

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5/20/05 P&P Challenge Report

Consecutive Perfect Days = 20 :prop:
Total Perfect Days = 20/62

– 1651 calories eaten / -426 deficit
– 48.2% carb, 31.1% protein, 23.3% fat
– No unauthorized meals
– All supplements taken
– 16 cups water
– All planned workouts performed

Weekly Weigh-In: 135.8 lbs on 5/21/05 (Start weight on 5/1/05: 135.4)

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Nutrition: 1800-2000 calorie low zig zag day

1: 1/2 Strawberry pineapple banana shake, 8 oz. fat free lemon chiffon yogurt
2: 3×1 omelette, 1 ear corn, 1 T. raisins
3: Beef noodle soup with 2 oz. noodles, 1 c. spinach, 1 c. Breyer’s Cal Smart Neopolitan ice cream (Cheat meal!!!)
4: Cran raisin bar
5: Turkey sloppy Joe on 1/2 WW bagel, 2/3 c. mixed veggies
6: Beef noodle soup with 2 oz. noodles and 1 c. spinach

Total: 1942 calories, 51.2% carb, 30.3% protein, 18.8% fat

Daily Supplements: multivitamin with iron, calcium 500 + D, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Water: 16 cups minimum

===========
Workout:
8:00 PM Cardio – LISS treadmill walk (4.0 mph/10% incline/20 minutes)
8:20 PM Cardio – LISS recumbent bike (levels 2-3/20 minutes)
8:40 PM P90X Core Synergistics (60 minutes)

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The Awful Truth:
1. Nothing. 🙂

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Brownie Points:
1. Took updated photos and measurements.
2. Made 6 servings of beef noodle soup.
3. Made batch of cran raisin bars.
4. Defrosted chicken.

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Short-term Goals:
1. Create P90X HanDbase module.
2. Work on Oasis 18 prints.
3. Move Christmas present pressure cooker out of car trunk.
4. Return extra sports bras to Target for refund.
5. Pick up 20lb bag of Nutro Max cat food for the boys.

I caved in and picked up Diet Power on Monday out of curiosity and have been dutifully logging my meals and workouts daily into both DP and my usual DEA Palm program like the good little fitness guinea pig I am. I have also been wearing the Omron heart rate monitor that came with the Healthy Living Kit (Warning to any women thinking about getting the kit who wear a bra band size of 34 or smaller–the strap on the heart rate monitor is really big. I have it adjusted as small as it will go and I still depend on my sports bra to keep the thing on.) to make sure I’m in my proper range when doing cardio.

Tomorrow is official 4 week pics and stats day. I jumped the gun a bit and checked today on a few measurements. I am up in scale weight to 136.0, but down in measurements in several spots by 1/4″. Alas, some of it is from my arm, but to be fair, I do carry some excess flab there at the moment, so this was expected. The Omron continues to read between 18.1-18.3% in the mornings, and the Tanita’s morning readings are a bit lower on average than they have been for a while, so I’m confident that the body fat is dropping, albeit at a slow rate.

I seem to be exercising more than Diet Power’s baseline profile settings bargained for, however. I am eating around 1700 calories for five days out of seven and 2000 calories for the two remaining days of the week, and yet my deficits will run up to 900 calories some days and give me a huge calorie bank balance. I’m going to ignore that feature for now and just let the program do it’s thing to figure out my metabolic rate. I’m going to stick with the BFFM intake guidelines for my intake instead of eating the DP allotment for now. So far I have a 1308 calorie overage in my bank, but I expect some of that to go away when I take my second free meal on Saturday. 🙂

My revised training and nutrition plan for the second phase of P90X (and coincidentally the next 3 weeks of P&P as well) is as follows:

Phase 2 of P90X and P&P Challenge

My average intake per day will still be between 1628 to 1728 calories, which is between the regular and accelerated target calories according to Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, and only slightly below the 1800 recommended by the P90X nutrition guide. I will stick with just two splurge meals a week, but they can now be taken on any day during the week as long as the calories are still tracked and within the specs for that day. I will give preference to my two higher calorie days just because that keeps things tidy.

All other challenge guidelines remain unchanged.

Speaking of splurge meals, though, I am rethinking my usual selection of ice cream for one of my splurges. I love the taste and coolness of ice cream, but damn, that stuff does NOT agree with my personal biochemistry. Yogurt and cottage cheese in limited quantities I can handle, but ice cream must be some kind of lactose bomb the way my gut expands after just one bowl of it. This weekend’s splurge is going to be an enormous bowl of Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup with a pile of super carb-dense non-whole wheat noodles the size of my head.

:eat:

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5/19/05 P&P Challenge Report

Consecutive Perfect Days = 19 :prop:
Total Perfect Days = 19/62

– 1726 calories eaten / -971 deficit
– 51.3% carb, 27.7% protein, 23.4% fat
– No unauthorized meals
– All supplements taken
– 16 cups water
– All planned workouts performed

Weekly Weigh-In: 134.8 lbs on 5/14/05 (Start weight on 5/1/05: 135.4)

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Nutrition: 1600-1700 calorie low zig zag day

1: 3×1 omelette, 1/3 c. (dry) oatmeal, 1 T. raisins
2: 3 oz. tuna, 1/2 c. zucchini and broccoli, 3 c. Romaine lettuce, 1 c. strawberries
3: Mandarin orange banana shake w/1 T. flaxseed oil
4: Turkey chili, 1 c. spinach
5: Strawberry pineapple banana shake
6: Banana oatmeal cottage cheese pancakes

Total: 1642 calories, 42.5% carb, 35.2% protein, 24.4% fat

Daily Supplements: multivitamin with iron, calcium 500 + D, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Water: 16 cups minimum

===========
Workout:
12:00 PM Cardio – LISS treadmill walk (4.0 mph/10% incline/15 minutes)
12:15 PM Cardio – LISS treadmill run (6.0 mph/ 0% incline/ 15 minutes)
12:30 PM Cardio – LISS recumbent bike (levels 2-3/10 minutes)
8:30 PM P90X Yoga X (90 minutes)

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The Awful Truth:
1. Nothing. 🙂

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Got 8 full hours of sleep and am nice and alert today.

===========
Short-term Goals:
1. Create P90X HanDbase module.
2. Finish fairy girl print.
3. Finish Exalted-style character portrait.
4. Defrost chicken and rest of turkey sloppy Joe.
5. Move Christmas present pressure cooker out of car trunk in order to make Beef Noodle Soup.
6. Return extra sports bras to Target for refund.
7. Pick up 20lb bag of Nutro Max cat food for the boys.
8. Buy some greens and beef for splurge meal…also some spaghetti squash.

Krista at Stumptuous.com has written a spiffy article for women on how to work up to full pull-ups.

Just from this one line I knew her experience with pull-ups was legit:

Gawd, my abs were sore for a week after my first attempt at pullups… felt like I’d pulled my ribcage out through my nostrils.

That right there is the absolute, unvarnished truth about starting pull-up training.

Compare it to my own observations regarding the same thing on April 27, one day after my first P90X Chest and Back workout:

Something they don’t tell you about pull-ups is that they work your core and the thin layer of muscles over your lower rib cage as well as your arms, shoulders, chest and back. I woke up this morning with the distinct feeling that someone had gripped the skin and muscles on my shoulders and yanked UP really hard, because everything between my lower abs and traps is going through DOMS now.

Ladies, I highly recommend checking out Krista’s “Mistressing the Pullup” if you have aspirations of pull-up mastery. And be prepared for some major pain in your torso for a good 3-7 days. 😉

Brief Tightwaddery report: I ordered 25 lbs of All the Whey Chocolate blend protein powder for $97.29 shipped ($84.99 plus $12.30 s/h). Yes, I use a lot of chocolate, but this should last me 6 months, and the price is comparable if not cheaper than 25 lbs of Myopro from Vitaglo.com at $20.78 x 5 lbs = $103.90. ATW Blend (not the 20/30 Blend) has better stats than Myopro, too: 108 calories, 22 g protein, 2 g carb, 1 g fat vs. Myopro’s 120 calories, 20 g protein, 4 g carb, and 2 g fat.

If you don’t mind the higher carb count in Myopro, give the ATW 20/30 Blend a try. The stats are nearly identical to Myopro, and the All The Whey representative will often post weekend specials on bulk orders at the nutrition forum at Vizual X-Cellence.

Here’s the current weekly special on bulk orders. Alas, the regular Blend isn’t included, but they do have special prices on the 20/30 blend, unflavored concentrate and the posh whey isolate for those of you who want pure protein without any of that pesky lactose or carb stuff getting in there.

http://www.vizualxcellence.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=5204

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5/17/05 P&P Challenge Report

Consecutive Perfect Days = 17 :prop:
Total Perfect Days = 17/62

– 1738 calories eaten / -394 deficit
– 53.0% carb, 30.2% protein, 19.5% fat
– No unauthorized meals
– All supplements taken
– 16 cups water
– All planned workouts performed

Weekly Weigh-In: 134.8 lbs on 5/14/05 (Start weight on 5/1/05: 135.4)

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Nutrition: 1800-2000 calorie high zig zag day

1: Whey/Dextrose PWO shake
2: 3×1 omelette, 1 c. spinach, 1 ear corn, 1 c. pineapple
3: Key Lime Pie shake with 24 g almonds, 1 bag Orville Redenbacher Smart Pop Kettle Corn (Splurge Meal #1)
4: 1/2 serving turkey chili, 1/2 c. rice, 1 c. mixed country veggies
5: 1/2 serving turkey chili, 1 c. grapes, 1 c. mixed country veggies
6: 3/4 c. 1% cottage cheese, 1 c. grapes and strawberries

Total: 2006 calories, 60.5% carb, 27.2% protein, 18.4% fat

Daily Supplements: multivitamin with iron, calcium 500 + D, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Water: 16 cups minimum

===========
Workout:
8:00 AM P90X Kenpo X
12:00 PM Cardio – LISS treadmill walk at 4.0 mph/10% incline/30 minutes
12:30 PM Yoga (20 minute stretch/cooldown)

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The Awful Truth:
1. Nothing to report, folks!

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Got 7.5 hours of sleep. :shocked:
2. Did the dishes, washed some grapes, and defrosted chili.
3. Did not have a single bite of Chic-Fil-A take out dinner spread at work last night, not even one chicken strip. 😉
4. Placed a bulk order for 25 lbs of All the Whey Chocolate blend protein powder for $97. Yes, I use a lot of chocolate, but this should last me 6 months, and the price is comparable if not cheaper than 25 lbs of Myopro.

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Short-term Goals:
1. Create P90X HanDbase module.
2. Finish fairy girl print.
3. Finish Exalted-style character portrait.
4. Read sushi book.

Straight out of bed in the morning, I get an Omron reading of 18.3% body fat. I’m going to continue to take my skinfold measurements every 2 weeks, but I’ll be using the Omron to check for overall trend in body fat. The Tanita seems to be a lot more tetchy about readings, varying from 24% in the morning to 18% at night, while the Omron is consistently within a range of 18.1-18.6% throughout the day. For now, I’m going to use the Omron based on the consistent reproducibility of its readings.

3% to go! :claplow:

I may tweak my calories down to 1500-1600 at the end of this week depending on my progress at that point. The P&P challenge is only 9 weeks long, so I’d like to get a solid three weeks to try out different calorie levels before July 1 rolls around. 1600-1700 is very comfortable to me–I am not hungry, I can include a healthy amount of fruits, starchy carbs, and proteins instead of just huge amounts of lettuce, and I’m not tempted to cheat. However, if my stats haven’t changed noticeably at the end of the week after four weeks of P90X, I’ll have to do some tweaking. I’m maxed out as far as available work out time, so it will have to be on the diet end.

I now have both the Door Gym and the Jungle Jam set up in my apartment, one on each of my bedroom doorways. I’m doing three pull-ups every time I go through the doors just for kicks and may bump it up to 4 next week. I am considering a set of 20 push-ups, too.

It’s a blessing that I live by myself given all the weird things I find to do. The cats are used to it, but other human beings just wouldn’t get it. :cyclops:

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5/16/05 P&P Challenge Report

Consecutive Perfect Days = 16 :prop:
Total Perfect Days = 16/62

– 1640 calories eaten / -572 deficit
– 51.9% carb, 32.4% protein, 21.3% fat
– No unauthorized meals
– All supplements taken
– 16 cups water
– All planned workouts performed

Weekly Weigh-In: 134.8 lbs on 5/14/05 (Start weight on 5/1/05: 135.4)

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Nutrition: 1600-1700 calorie low zig zag day

1: 3×1 omelette, 1 c. spinach, 1 ear corn, 1 c. pineapple and strawberries
2: Banana oatmeal cottage cheese pancakes (1/2 c. CC, 1/2 c. dry oatmeal, 1 egg white, 1/2 banana)
3: Key Lime Pie shake
4: 1/2 serving turkey chili, 1/2 c. rice, 2/3 c. mixed country veggies
5: 1/2 serving turkey chili, 1 banana, 2/3 c. mixed country veggies
6: 3/4 c. FF cottage cheese, 1 c. pineapple and strawberries

Total: 1699 calories, 49.9% carb, 28.9% protein, 20.4% fat

Daily Supplements: multivitamin with iron, calcium 500 + D, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Water: 16 cups minimum

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Workout:
8:00 AM P90XCore Synergistics
10:30 PM Cardio – LISS treadmill walk at 3.5 mph/10% incline/30 minutes

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The Awful Truth:
1. Nothing to report, folks!

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Only used the yoga block for 2 poses yesterday!
2. Kept the sink clean for the second day in a row.
3. Made CC pancakes.
4. Didn’t order any new swimwear from Newport News. Will wait to go to Target and try on new duds in person. Newport News suits always wind up too big anyhow. :whistle:

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Short-term Goals:
1. Create P90X HanDbase module.
2. Finish fairy girl print.
3. Finish Exalted-style character portrait.
4. Charge up cell phone.
5. Wash grapes.
6. Chop up and wash lettuce for salads.