Got a little sidetracked there.....

Hello folks! Sorry we have been so sparse lately. We were on a 2 week trip to the east coast to visit our families in NYC and Boston. And WHAT A TRIP IT WAS!!!
We tried really hard to plan out our vacation so that our workouts and eating did not get neglected and I would say for the most part we did a damn good job, and both of us made significant progress while we were home which was something neither of us were expecting!!!! I can't write everything that happened while we were there, but I will give you some of the highlights and things we did to prepare!


BE PREPARED:

-We loaded all of the p90x workouts onto our laptops so we could watch them no matter where we were.

-We invested in a good set of exercise bands so we wouldn't need to rely on a gym to workout.

-We scheduled our workouts out on a calendar, so we wouldn't lose track of what we were supposed to be doing.

-We had our families buy the food we have been eating so we wouldn't be forced into eating things we didn't want to, and explained to them beforehand that we were on a fairly strict regimen so they wouldn't be disappointed or surprised.

-We packed jars of our favorite protein powders.

Bands from hell.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED:

-I (dani) forgot my sneakers in Portland....DUH!!! I ended up having to buy new ones, but Giacomo and I both wanted Vibrams anyway so we made the investment, which is awesome, but you can only do some much with them before you're really used to them.

-That said, trying to do full workouts with my new shoes, led to me injuring my hip, kind of seriously, to the point that I was limping while I was just walking.....not good. So for the "rest" week, I literally, just rested, stretched and walked. No jumping around for me.

- Our good exercise bands, turned out to be not so great. I got smacked right in the face with the two heaviest bands (equaling approx 70 lbs) while trying to do wide pulldowns on a door. This led to me crying, thinking I had two black eyes, and icing my face for a half an hour to discover that I had a HUGE welt in an upside down "V" that crossed right across my face and nose....2 days before the wedding. Ohmygod I was so upset....luckily it went away before the wedding but what the hell!!! I felt like Marsha Brady in that football episode....

- Then, for the next workout that required bands, one of them just straight snapped in half.....seriously. So the bands were out from here on in.

-By the time we got to Boston, our second destination, I was drinking caffeine daily, something I havent done in about 6 months. I think that the caffeine made me lose my appetite quite a bit, because I ate like a bird. Seriously, one day I think I ate like 1000 calories and I had to force that down. Overall, I'd prefer this to the opposite, which is just scarfing down food as I see it, and what usually happens when I go home. Giacomo did a beautiful job sticking to his diet. I was very proud of him. :-)

Vibram FiveFinger Sprints!!!

PLEASANT SURPRISES:
-Because I had no car to get around my hometown in Massachusetts (Giacomo had flown back to Portland by then), I had to do a lot of walking to get around, so even though I felt like I was slacking on my exercise because of my injured hip, I still got in my favorite form of exercise--WALKING!

-I went out dancing twice!!! This, I should mention, did not help my hip at all. In fact I am certain that it exacerbated the situation, but it was so fun! And, hey, exercise. WOO!

-I was kind of taken aback by how many people commented on how fit I looked. I wasn't expecting that at all. In fact most people who were commenting on my weight ( I heard the term "skinny bitch" said more than once....gotta love old friends) didn't believe me at all when I told them I weigh 140 lbs. I told them it's because I'm strong as hell. They mostly laughed...It's ok....joke's on them ;-)






Tomorrow Giacomo and I start Phase 3 of p90x, and I am psyched. I am also way excited to take progress photos tomorrow becase I just put on a bathing suit that I haven't been able to wear in 3 years, and I must say, I'm looking damn good ;-) No Giacomo 6 pack yet, but hey, I'm proud of myself!

Dani, Doubles, and Dieting!

Day 0 vs. Day 30
Would you believe there is not a single pound lost between these two photos?!


So I have been neglecting this blog a little bit, and for that I am sorry. The reason is, I got DAMN frustrated about a week and a half ago! 2 1/2 weeks of dieting hard, and training harder, and I hadn't lost a single pound. Not. One. Pound. I didn't think I had set a very lofty goal to lose 12 pounds in 13 weeks, but apparently, my body disagrees. I mean, I am a personal trainer. This is what I do for people! Help them reach their goals. So why was I so stuck with reaching my own?

There were a couple things I believe to be the reason:

1. Diet. Man, I'm just going to say it. That p90x diet sucks. I see what they're doing, and I think it's a valiant attempt at universalizing a basic "cutting" diet so that anyone can figure it out, but I don't think it is a one-size-fits-all kind of deal. The problem for me personally is that this diet has very very very few carbs, but theyre all in one serving, so for one meal of the day, I feel bloated and heavy and uncomfortable, and the rest of the day I am starved. The other thing is that they push so many of their products into the diet (i.e bars, recovery drink, shakeology etc) that don't line up with the food groups they are otherwise telling you to eat....it's kind of confusing. And overall, I found it to be too low of a calorie diet.

2. I've been getting stronger. With few exceptions, you can't get stronger without gaining muscle. So I've been GAINING muscle, which means I must be losing fat in order for the scales to stay the same. To say how much or how little is too hard, but it explains the scale not moving.


Now the scale is not my number one concern, my bodyfat percentage is, so overall, I have moved closer to my goal. Huzzah! But I still have a ways to go, and here's how I am going to do it:

I can't keep doing the p90x diet. Although it is working really well for giacomo, it was making me really uncomfortable, and leaving me with no energy to workout. I know what works for me, I've done this before. So I have changed my diet to roughly a 40/30/30 diet (carbs/fat/protein) and it is at roughly 1600 calories. All of this is divided up into 3 meals and 2 snacks, and every meal has a little carbs, protein, and fat. The fat, overall, is a little bit higher than it is when I'm not dieting, but fat allows me to feel more satiated (think PB&J Smoothie...mmmm) and makes it feel like I'm less hungry in between meals. My last meal of the day is just veggies and protein, and if I'm really hungry later in the evening, I have a piece of fruit. Oh and I'm drinking a ton of water. I record everything I eat religiously into the Sparkpeople App on my iphone, but they also have a website that is even more awesome, but less portable ;-)

The other thing that I am doing differently is that I have decided to do p90x doubles instead of p90x classic. This means that on lifting days, I am doing TWO workouts--lifting and also doing the CardioX workout, which I actually really like. The biggest pain so far has just been the amount of time it takes since cardio is in the am and lifting is in the pm. I feel like I live in sweaty gym clothes on those days, but I can feel my cardiovascular capacity increasing which is a HUGE deal to me! But I am constantly sore ;-)


Giacomo and I are flying to NY next week and we'll be visiting his family in Brooklyn, and then going to Massachusetts to visit my family for a total of 14 days (I think), so traveling and keeping this up is going to be damn tricky. We did buy a good set of fitness bands on ebay, and we're both looking into getting passes to our old gyms, but we likely won't have the best transportation, or the ability to do laundry and will have to rely on the food we are served more than we'd like to, AHHHHH!


So, we have to go into this with a plan! And that we will!

Day 30! Progress Pics and Starting Phase 2!

Well, the initial results are in and I am definitely pleased with them! Aside from the improvements in flexibility, cardiovascular performance and strength.. we both look considerably better. It's about time! All work and no play made Giacomo a dull boy. What good is running a vegan business and outreach channel if you cannot be a decent ambassador for the movement? These pictures were taken this morning on day 30. I have lost about 12 pounds and have gained some solid muscle. Dani looks fantastic as well and ripping through pushup like crazy!! Have to say, it is very impressive. This whole idea was hers and going into it with blind trust has led me to a transformed body in one month.

This makes it way easier to keep going. Next week we are going back east for a wedding and to visit family for about two weeks. There will be minor setbacks without planning and we won't have that happen. We are making arrangements to get passes to the old gyms we used to train at and. We let our rents know not to go crazy with stocking the pantry to feed us. Alas, my family has already fed me a good old fashioned plate of Italian guilt. For those of you who don't know what this is, watch out! Nevertheless, we are on a mission and we will stick as close to the meal plan as possible. Dani's family seemed to understand a bit better but either way we can figure it out. The idea is to fit it into your schedule. Easier said than done but if you don't prioritize, life is busy and you'll always find an excuse.

It does help that the suggested p90x diet introduces a much more balanced diet. The total intake is the same however there are less servings of protein and more of carbohydrates. You need that energy to complete the grueling workouts. Already for day 1 of the next phase in and woke up nice and sore :) This is good for dani who is looking for a change from the same old meals we've ben eating and for the both of us so that we can get through the next phase even stronger.

To touch upon my favorite aspect of this program, stretching, it has helped spark new interests. We are getting into acro yoga together and because I can move better, it is working out quite nicely! I am not on par yet with dani in the yoga department but it is sure nice to be able to share her passions now. Weekend classes and a couple of times together during the week have become quite fun and a really great way to connect. Snowboarding season is over as well :-/ (last run was yesterday) but we will most likely keep varying our activities outside of the program all summer.

And without further ado, some progress shots ;-)


Day 0 vs. Day 30:




Day 0 vs. Day 30:




Day 0 vs. Day 30:



Day 0 vs. Day 30:

by Giacomo - Results, Recap..Rest?

So far so good in the results department. I started around 196lbs and now I am down to 185lbs, which is really exciting. We are only 1/3 through this program and I am also stronger and way more fit overall. The main push for fat loss seems to have leveled out around here for me as I have maintained this weight all week. With another 60ish days to go though I am sure that our ultimate goals will be much closer in sight. One thing I also noticed was that when I do more protein shakes throughout the day as opposed to tofu and seitan (Gardein usually), my weight goes down. It is probably a combination of how quick the food passes through, the salt and also the protein shakes have a bit fewer calories although not by much. It is good to mix up the days for me. Some days more shakes and others more tofu/seitan. I kind of miss not being gluten free but it is a lot easier to follow the program this way because of the demand for more protein.

It will be very exciting to take progress pictures on Sunday as I haven't been on top of blogging this as much as dani has :-/ I still have to say though, I am most gaining the most benefit from the stretching aspect of this program. I haven't ben this flexible in a very long time and it will only be improving. It is improving the day to day, my sleep, working at a computer, walking and of course, training.

So week four is almost to an end and I do feel it was somewhat of a rest week. Not by much though. Core Synergistics was twice this week and that was definitely intense. It was also kind of funny that on 'stretch' day, Tony was asking us to do push ups. I do feel though there was an easing up on the resistance training this week and more of a focus on flexibility with a touch of core and cardio.

I am gradually getting more and more hungry and wanting meals before it is time to eat. It is getting challenging to be militant with exact portions and rather than teeter upon disordered eating, if i need that extra snack, I grab it. If there is an extra serving of condiment desired, I do it. Finally, the main gripe I had with this diet from the get go was the restriction of vegetables to four cups a day for me. If there is one thing you can never have enough of in your diet no matter what, it is veggies. So.. I have been adding an extra cup of veggies here and there. Usually it is salad although sometimes we have some extra in the evening as well.

Day 19

Well folks, the diet has begun to take it's mental toll on us. The good news is that in a week we get to switch it up a little bit, although I think calorically it stays about the same. I was feeling particularly starved a couple of days ago, so I decided to log into fitday.com and punch in all of my numbers to get a good idea of where I was at. This is what I got.



Now it's not even the ratio of protein:carbs:fats that is upsetting. It's the sheer number of calories. If I am 140 pounds, one could assume that my basal metabolic rate is roughly 1400 calories per day. That means that my body requires 1400 calories per day to breathe, blink, sweat, digest, you know, all that boring stuff. So if I'm a pretty active person ANYWAY....AND I'm working out hard for 90 minutes every day.....this diet is probably doing me more harm than good. :-(

When you consistently eat near or below your basal metabolic rate, you send your body into a sort of emergency mode, where it starts slowing down the metabolism in an effort of self preservation. Basically, your body thinks there is a famine and starts hanging on to everything you give it, just in case you never see food again. This is kind of the OPPOSITE of what we're trying to do here.

I know that this is partly my own fault because the diet is so damn boring that I sometimes just skip a snack or something, not because I'm not hungry (believe me, I AM!), but because if I have to look at another piece of tofu, I am going to punch it. yeah, I said it. I'm going to punch the tofu.

So, NOW I am making sure to not skip those snacks, and have even added about 100-150 calories worth of an extra fat serving (i.e Sunflower seed butter, avacado, salad dressing, blah blah). ALSO, since Giacomo and I only get 1 serving of carbs a day, we had both been sort of "saving" them for dinner, since it is the meal that we share with each other consistently and we wanted to have it seem like a real dinner. In practice however, by dinnertime (which is usually about 9:30 at night thanks to giacomo's AWESOME work schedule ::rolls eyes::) I have been completely famished. So I started having my carb serving in about mid afternoon, when people tend to hit a slump, and it has helped out a lot. :-)

Giacomo, super hero that he is, barely has a complaint about the way we have been eating. I honestly do not understand this man. If I put him on a sand and ketchup diet, he'd be happy as a pig in mud and have 9% bodyfat in 5 days. I swear to god....alien. he must be. Of course the fact that he's down about 13 pounds in 20 days probably has something to do with the pep in his step, while I angrily sit at my starting weight counting my food out like a looney. Sheesh.

Here are some photos we snapped in cognito at 24 hour fitness on chest/back day!


Heavy Pants


Wide Pushups


Wide Grip Pullups


Boo Yah! ...I'll get there!



PS, we are very much looking forward to our "rest week", although I've heard it's not really a rest at all! Somehow I am not surprised...

Recapping Week 2!

Dinner at the Vegan P90X house

veggies, roasted potatoes, and gardein "chicken"

Week 2 has come to an end! WooHoo!!!!

I think Giacomo and I would both agree that week 2 was way harder than week 1. We were really pushing it through all of our workouts, and SO looked forward to every single gram of carbohydrates that we ate. Giacomo actually mowed the lawn this morning, and the smell made him think "mmmm wheat grass juice....sugar". hahaha. So that should give you an idea of how we are feeling.

We did every workout, although we switched up our rest day with a cardio day, but we got them all in. And week two of no cheating on the diet. UGH! We're both starting to feel the effects of this "Fat Shredder" phase, which is both good and bad. By this I mean that if either of us goes more than 4 hours without food, we become cranky, confused, sort of angry for no reason, and just overall sucky human beings. The reason this is good (glass half full people!!!) is that it means that our metabolisms are picking up speed. Before we could go 6-8 hours without food (although that didn't often happen), sans side effects, but not anymore! So our metabolisms are definitely revving up, which is cool! But still, when we hit this point, which we are constantly aiming not to, we should be in separate cages and fed through a slot in the door. Seriously.

A snake I found wriggling across the street on our run!!

I put him in the grass

Giacomo has shown great signs of a fired up metabolism, and has already lost about 9 pounds. give or take. The same cannot be said for me, as far as numbers on the scale go, which I find to be a little weird, since I have been dieting hard and working out just as much, with no cheats. I have come to grips with the fact that 140 is where my body likes to be, and I know it will fight me tooth and nail if I try to change that too much, too fast. So I am o.k with slow, steady, long lasting change.

I did notice that my clothes are already fitting me differently, so sweet. But MOREOVER, I am getting stronger again; I can feel it and I can see it. So I figured even if the scale isn't moving, my body composition is changing, so I checked it out, and BOOYA! 19.6% body fat. Which is down from 21 point something to start. I don't really trust body fat measurements a whole lot because there are just SO many variables that go into calculating that, but I know for sure mine has gone down, at least a little, and that is making me happy. :-)

At Laughing Planet where we went for dinner.

Yup, that's a T-Rex eating a corn chip.

No, we didn't do it. We found him like that.

Lean Mean Vegan Machine's Recovery Drink!

Sara over at Lean Mean Vegan Machine posted this video of her recovery drink yesterday! Its really good. I love me some spinach in my smoothies too. And I like that she mixes up her protein sources frequently, making sure to get a good balance of amino acids. Go check out her blog! She rocks!