Well, I am supposed to be nearing the end of week 4 of P90x. Weeks 1-3 went by well and I mostly enjoyed the routines. I did the 'strength' days at the gym - push ups, pull ups, barbell work, etc - and 'cardio' days at home - plyometrics, kick boxing. And, honestly, I skipped the yoga. And this week - week 4 - has been 'recovery week' which is mostly yoga and ab work. And because of a heavy travel week, I have neglected to do all of the required workouts. And I feel it - I feel lethargic, lazy, and grumpy.
Considering how I feel now and the fact that I skipped some of the workouts, I am considering starting over on Monday with day 1 again. I really think I benefited from the workouts I did - but I didn't completely follow the program.
Now - the slow carb diet. As some may know, this is a diet found in the book, The Four Hour Body, which is similar to a "low" carb diet but with some key differences. With "low" carb, you can eat all of the butter, grease, fat, etc you want. And cannot eat high carb veggies like corn. With SLOW carb, you are pretty much limited to lean meats, ANY vegetable, and beans. Any kind of bean - black beans, white beans, navy beans, pinto beans, lentels, anything. No fruit, nothing white (including cheese). And eggs are okay. Fairly easy to do. And best of all, once per week you are allowed a "cheat" day where you can eat anything you want. The intent is to spike the calories and throw your metabolism a curve ball so it doesn't get into a rut and get used to what you are doing.
When I have maintained this diet for extended periods, I have had great success. But I have also been susceptible to 'cheating' while traveling for my job. It's easy to stay on course when I can set your routines at home and everything is predictable. But when I travel, things get off course and I find myself making excuses to 'have just 1 beer' or 'eat that 1 meal I shouldn't' or whatever. Then before I realize it, it is time for me to return to Birmingham and I have had several meals I shouldn't have had and I have blown the week.
All that being said, after 4 weeks of being on P90x and Slow Carb, I am going to have to punt and reset. I have lost some weight, but not nearly what I should have lost by now. And I know I have not put forth my best effort. The difference this time is that I am aware of this, am facing it head on, and dealing with it now rather than at the end of the year when I would realize I was nowhere close to acheving my end of year goals. In the past, I would have done just that - ignore for as long as possible and postpone any changes until it was too late. Not this time!!
I know that planning is essential to my success with the diet. When I have had the most success, I have planned my meals for the week on Sunday, had plenty of "ready to eat" soup on hand (thanks to my lovely and talented wife who generously will make whenever I ask), and have been diligent about making my breakfasts the night before. And I know I will just have to suck it up with the yoga for the exercise. I also am going to throw in some bike rides on weekends because - well - I like them and they are good for my sanity. I think by trying so hard to ONLY do P90x, I kept myself from doing the things I really loved - like riding my bike.
And with that - I shall close with the hope that my next post will be about results rather than punts.
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