Yaaawn..
January 27th, 2009 by Missy
Sosleepy. Honestly, I’ve been sleepy for like two weeks now. Dan and I started P90X on January 10th and I’ve been tired since then. The problem, I think, is more staying up too late than the working out. It feels like we have no time anymore. By the time we workout, cool down, eat dinner.. the day is almost over! We generally stay up fairly late anyway, but we’ve been staying up later lately (yes, I know saying later lately sounds stupid) and I’m.. so.. sleepy!
I should just take a nap, but once again it just feels like a waste of day. Not that I am really doing anything at the moment (aside from posting this blog and staring at my monitor), so I’m not sure what the opposition to napping is, exactly. I do have things that I could be doing..
I have a dress that I want to sew for Anya, but I need to go to JoAnn’s to get a zipper and some ribbon or edging. I could be painting some Warhammer figures, but I’ve decided that I’m only going to paint when Dan is home (I don’t want to keep hobby swapping.. so daytime is for sewing and Dantime is for painting).
Speaking of painting — I’m in the mood to paint some Sisters of Battle models. I stripped down my old ones (well, Dan did actually.. he says I am too delicate to touch paint thinner ^_-) and they’re just kind of.. staring.. at me right now. I have absolutely no idea how I want to paint them. Everyone and their mother paints red / black / white for SoBs and I don’t really feel like going with any of the color schemes in the book. I’d kind of like to do red and gold, but gold power armor (and gold tanks QQ) would just be AHHHH. I could paint red power armor (and, thusly, tanks) but then where does the gold fit in? I don’t want to give them cloth of gold habits or anything. I suppose they could have red armor, white habits and gold accents (gold inferno pistol? LOL).
Sigh.. hopefully something will come to me when I break out the paints. Maybe I’ll just paint them pink -.- And use a fluffy bunny as their Order symbol. Ordo Lepus or something.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I don’t know. I’ve been tired since I started it also, though I’ve also been staying up later (primarily because I find it really nauseating to work out right after I eat, but I tend to eat soon after I get home from work, so I’m working out ’til 10 or later).
Too delicate to touch paint thinner? Uhhh… ok. That’s a bit odd.
What about black and gold, or black and silver? The red armor, white habits, gold accents doesn’t honestly sound that awful, as long as it was burnished gold with chestnut wash or something. What about tin bitz? That gets no love from anybody (I don’t think it’d look great with red, though).
January 30th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Why not work out as soon as you get home from work, and then eat? That is what we’ve been doing.
So how has it been going for you, anyway? Are you seeing any strength gains? How is the diet part going for you?
As far as Sisters — I think I’ve pretty much decided on gold armor and black habits. I’m going to give NMM another go and see what happens there. If I can’t get it down all right, then I’ll probably just use different colors. I don’t want an army of metallic gold paint o.o
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:11 pm
The problem tends to be that I don’t get home until 4:30/5ish, and Heather sometimes seems to be unable to eat by herself during the day, so she’s starving when I get home. Not that I eat a hell of a lot during the day (cottage cheese before I go, generally nuts/salad+meat/tuna/something at work), but I’m not ravenous.
Strength gains? It’s hard to say at this point (other than pushups/pullups, which I can do more of, but I’m not sure that P90X is any more effective than regular working out would have been), but cardio (plyo) is a hell of a lot easier than it was.
The diet is harder. I think I probably go out to eat more than you guys do anyway, which is generally fine in moderation, but Heather has trouble eating clean. She then thinks I have an “eating disorder” if I abstain from eating the chocolate+orange cake (which was half ganache), or if I don’t polish off whatever’s left on the pizza (be it 1 slice or 3).
It’s generally ok, though. Total weight change is, ah, zero pounds (and over 3 weeks, I’d think that would have changed). My body fat composition may have changed, but being too cheap to buy a $100 scale, I’m not sure on that.
I think this is going to be a longer process for me, since I doubt if I’m going to be able to convince Heather that going skiing next weekend (12PM Friday-dinner time Sunday) and very likely eating out every meal (plus not really working out, unless you count skiing, which I don’t in MN) is going to make a difference unless I eat things she thinks are odd (and not eat everything on my plate at every meal).
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Yeah, the diet part must be tough when you guys go out so much. We never go out, and we don’t have any obligations to go out (such as your Sunday night group). Not to mention, since we’re both doing it.. well.. it is a lot easier to get the nutrition down since neither of us will unintentionally (or otherwise) sabotage the other.
I don’t necessarily think that P90X is more effective than regular ol’ working out might be, but I find it more.. motivating? I like the structure and being told what to do and I like doing it in the living room. It is also the first exercise video I’ve ever tried that didn’t seem completely cheesy and stupid.
I haven’t lost any weight, by the way. Absolutely nothing. I have lost an inch off of my waist, though. Have you done any measurements? BTW, you should pick up a pair of calipers or something if you want to check your body fat.. they’re less than $10.
Honestly, I think that this is going to be a long process for me, too. I don’t think that I will look how I want to look after 90 days. We can keep on doing it together! ^____^
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:41 pm
We don’t go out that much most weeks, and going out one night a week is livable. It’s more that even if we’re eating at home, the things she wants to eat aren’t stellar (lasagna with 4 layers of non-whole grain noodles and 2lb of sausage? Good, but healthy it ain’t).
She’s doing it with me, at least sometimes. The mantra that physique is 80% what you eat and 20% what you do hasn’t sunk in. I kind of suspect that differences in results will get written off as medication rather than what I eat.
P90X feels like wrestling practice in a shorter timescale, I guess. The exercises don’t go on long enough to get boring, there’s variety, and it’s easy to keep the motivation to do it for an hour a day. The not feeling cheesy and stupid (-cough- kenpo -cough-) helps immensely.
I haven’t done any measurements at the moment. I’ve got tape (which I generally prefer to calipers) that I’ll end up using a week from now (after the first 4 weeks). No idea if there will be a difference, though. It’s hard to say, given that I already have a hard time finding pants that aren’t loose, so I don’t see a noticeable difference in clothing fit.
I don’t think I’ll look how I want to after 90 days either :/ Keep doing it is the likely option, possibly with HIIT thrown in.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I hate Kenpo -.- every time we do Kenpo I want to punch Tony Horton through the screen and show him how you are actually supposed to punch so that you don’t break your pinky and ring fingers.
Also, the girl on the Kenpo video… her face looks like it is melting off of her skull, and once she starts sweating she honestly nearly induces vomiting.
How much of it is Heather doing with you, anyway? Maybe if she starts to see some marginal results she’ll “click” with eating clean. I mean, you can eat clean and still eat seriously tasty food (as I’m sure you already know)…
Speaking of, here is a really tasty Turkey Meatloaf recipe for you
Makes 6 servings.
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/8-inch dices
3/4 lb cremini mushrooms, trimmed and very finely chopped in a food processor
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ketchup
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices wheat bread)
1/3 cup skim milk
1 whole large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 1/4 lb lean ground turkey
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cook onion and garlic in oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened, about 2 minutes.
Add carrot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and they are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, parsley, and 3 tablespoons ketchup, then transfer vegetables to a large bowl and cool.
Stir together bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes.
Stir in egg and egg white, then add to vegetables.
Add turkey and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to vegetable mixture and mix well with your hands. (Mixture will be very moist.)
Form into a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf in a lightly oiled 13- by 9- by 2-inch metal baking pan and brush meatloaf evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup.
Bake in middle of oven until thermometer inserted into meatloaf registers 170°F, 50 to 55 minutes.
Let meatloaf stand 5 minutes before serving
Add turkey and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to vegetable mixture and mix well with your hands. (Mixture will be very moist.)
Form into a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf in a lightly oiled 13- by 9- by 2-inch metal baking pan and brush meatloaf evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup.
Bake in middle of oven until thermometer inserted into meatloaf registers 170°F, 50 to 55 minutes.
Let meatloaf stand 5 minutes before serving.
Each servings is approximately:
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 247 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 232
Calories from Fat 80
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8.8g
Saturated Fat 2.6g
Cholesterol 103mg
Sodium 699mg
Total Carbohydrates 14.8g
Dietary Fiber 2.0g
Sugars 7.1g
Protein 24.1g
Vitamin A 43% • Vitamin C 16%
Calcium 6% • Iron 6%
Nutrition Grade B
February 5th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
The girl on the kenpo video doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the girl on the Chest/Back video, and I find freakish dancer dude a little disturbing.
I don’t think the results will “click” with her, no. Beyond her inability to just push through it (she has not done Chest & Back because she has class on Tuesday nights, and isn’t willing to do it alone, plus her finding Yoga too boring to tolerate), she truly believes that it’s just “not possible” for some people to lose weight. Her mother, for example, has been “dieting” for years, but never actually exercising.
I can’t figure out what her “diet” consists of, but I am aware of the fact that she’s unwilling to buckle down and eat limited portions of relatively boring, healthy food (poultry, fish, leafy/fibrous vegetables). She prefers to make caramel rolls instead.
Heather watches this and figures that attempts at “healthy” are good enough. Beyond going out (which I do, and I don’t always get the healthy thing on the menu), I do my damnedest to eat things which are good for me at home. I felt like shit yesterday, so I took a nap. When I woke up, Heather had gotten dinner for herself. I mean, Jimmy John’s is relatively healthy, as is Chipotle (depending on what she ordered).
It was Papa John’s. Canadian Bacon + Hot Peppers. Their website doesn’t have exacting nutritional information (neither Canadian bacon nor hot peppers are present), but even plain cheese has 290 calories per slice, 38 carbs, 730mg of sodium, etc.
Her response was that it had “whole wheat” crust, as if it’s somehow redeeming. As near as I can tell from their website, that saves 20mg of sodium, 1g of carbs, and it probably adds a tiny bit of protein (and bumps the glycemic index down a negligible amount). She ate half of it (4 slices).
Yes, there’s something to indulging sometimes, and I’m sure I will this weekend (given that we’ll be out of town the whole time), but “whole wheat” crust does not magically turn a large pizza into a healthy dinner. YMMV.
Hence, I don’t think she’ll see much of an effect. Plus, she’s irritated when I opt to make/eat something comparatively healthy if it’s not what she’s “craving” (and she’s “craving” something different almost every day).