Final PCP Blog

I've taken a couple days off, well not completely, I did go to yoga during the first couple of post-day90 days.  But today I was back to eating the PCP breakfast and did one of the maintenance plan workouts.  Even in those two days off, I found that my mood and energy levels started to slip, so I'm continuing on with a level of PCP that I can maintain and keep progressing in, because I'm not truly done!  I hope to be one of those "check out me now" one year later folks, as it's hard to change a 12+ year old body blueprint.

PCP experience was a great adventure.  It definitely challenged my present and subconscious self (i.e. the cookie dreams).  It helped get my eating, taste buds and pH levels back on track.  It boosted my stunted metabolism.  It gave me unknown level of self confidence in my appearance.  It regulated and shortened my female reproduction cycle, making it tolerable and predictable.  It made me have to buy a new favorite pair of jeans.  But overall, it taught me to become self-aware.  That truly my body is greatly effected by what I put into it.  And such as Ian marked his body with "know thyself", I fall into the same lines of self awareness.

I hope I can continue this new found life style.  I know that my mind is in a better place when there is "less of me" around.

The new me

The old me

 Credits/Attributions:

Grace - thank you for inspiring me to join up and give PCP a go.  You've helped me more than you know.
Patrick - thanks for your guidance and timely answers to my various inquiries.  I will miss your daily emails, but hope to stay in touch and will be sending a one year later picture!
Chen - the mysterious Chen - I guess I owe you thanks for the diet.  Would've been nice to hear from you with some words of wisdom...but I guess that's the role that Patrick plays.

Team Cookie Monster
Sara - thank you for all the great recipes and fun-filled blogs throughout the program.  You were inspiring to read about as you juggled the multiple jobs that you have.
Ian and Susan - thank you for sharing your lives with us.  It's awesome that you got to do it together even there was a short stint where Ian was in Japan.  You both persevered and finished PCP.
Nicole - I hope PCP workouts became tolerable and possibly enjoyable as you finished.  It's a definite mood elevator!
Jack - Thanks for being a constant blogger.  It was nice to hear about the millions of other activities you balanced on top of PCP.
Brian - thank you for all your enjoyable blogs and motivation.  Even though you often thought you had nothing to blog about, my favorite quote is, "I have reasons for not blogging, but they aren't worth blogging about."
Erin and Alex - Sorry the full PCP challenge didn't work out for you this time around, but I enjoyed the time when you were both involved.

Be well and live long Team cookie Monster, Team Orange Crush, past PCPers and future PCPers!

Day 89: Happy

Just finished Day 89 Super Set workout and that was intense.  I took the advice of Patrick and just took it one exercise at a time.  Although a strange sadness came over me though as I got to super sets 4 and 5, I just felt sad that this was all ending - meaning the daily interaction of Patrick, the purpose and must-do workouts in the gym and the weighing out of all food.  As I finished my last plank to failure, and collapsed with exhaustion, I found myself thinking about how nice it feels to be in such good shape.  That I can see my hip bones (norm!) and now am beginning to see some changes in my waist line.  I've always felt comfortable in my own skin but now my outer shell is bringing another level of confidence in myself, which I never knew existed.

This past weekend I made it through a work Christmas party, the super set workouts and a twilight volleyball tournament.  On Friday night, my work Christmas party was pretty much a success PCP food wise, I ate all the raw veggies at the appetizer table and then continued with the veggie brigade - devouring two salads and some steamed veggies.  I passed up the filet and dessert table. When I came home I ate my protein portion and was very satisfied.  The only slip up I had was a glass of red wine.  Try as I may, my guard was down and I could just smell the red wine coming from my co-workers glass as we talked and I really wanted a glass.  So I debated a bit and then said JFD to the glass of wine.  And what was even more wonderful was that the one glass lasted me for the entire evening.  I didn't over do it, I had one glass and felt very happy.  My work Christmas party is always a nice event and it's good to socialize and catch up with co-workers out of work.

Saturday, started off with a bang as I dragged my friend Adam with me to go clothes shopping and buy some door buster sale items.  I got a sweet new pair of pants and a lovely scarf.  After that we went to the gym and I pounded out the Day 88 super set workout.  It was nice to have a friend push me on the ab exercises, I needed it especially for planks.  Then it was time to grocery shop and cook.  After that I had a personal volleyball training session to run.  Then it was time to go play in a twilight volleyball tournament.  26 highly competitive teams played from 6PM-4AM.  And my team ended up winning it all!  So exciting!!  So much fun!!  So happy am I.  I thought I would be tremendously sore, but I was OK.  Sleeping does wonders :)

Well Sunday happened and I got my 8 hours of sleep in but that meant I got up at 2PM.  Oh the repercussions of playing in a twilight tournament.  So I ate my PCP breakfast and then dinner as that's all I had time for and then it was time for bed again. 

All in all a good weekend.  Last blog to follow...

Day 87: Guilty as charged!

After reading Patrick's email of how the gym has all these TVs that distract you from focusing on your actual workout, well I am guilty for doing that.  I love American football and since I need to mix in different options in place of jump roping, I catch up on the football updates in the 30-45 minutes of fat-burning cardio I do.  During the exercise portion of the workouts, I am distracted very little, just focusing on the pain and getting through the exercises.  Man, that was a lot of reps today, but it's a really good sense of accomplishment especially if it's done before my work day.

Prior to PCP, I was also one of those gym bunnies who would workout soooo hard at the gym and then feel like I could have an extra slice of pizza for dinner because I worked so hard in the gym that day.  Oh how my thought patterns have shifted!

Day 85: I'm a machine

I went to the gym today and I made it through all the reps and sets.  I definitely am feeling it after, my body feels so heavy.  Good thing I have a 9-5 sit down at a desk kind of job!

I know I will keep up with the daily jump rope and/or other alternatives that burn the fat, but I'm a bit worried when PCP ends what about the exercises?  I guess I'm just used to following what the daily exercises are and I suppose I can work some sort of routine out.  Maybe even just repeating the past workout series would suffice.

I feel pretty good every day.  The hunger pangs have become ancient history and this new way of eating is easy to do.  Yep I said it!  Here's a story for ya, the other day I was at Subway getting a oven-roasted chicken breast sub on whole wheat and the dude at check out slipped a sugar cookie in my bag.  While I didn't notice at the time, I discovered it upon reaching for my sub.  I had two reactions - 1. awe, how nice he gave me a cookie!!  2. enabler!!!  I did not ask for a cookie!  Nonetheless, I threw it out cause I was emotionally torn on what to do.  Ugh!  I should have given it to a co-worker or something.  But I couldn't think straight and I threw it out!  I didn't want the temptation especially when I'm so close to the end of the PCP commitment.  I'm sad I don't heavily crave cookies anymore.  But at the same time, I am happier when there is "less" of me around.

Finally, this made me laugh! 'Cause now I think we are all on the right track to enjoying a piece of fruit over a cookie!!  Go Team Cookie Monster!

Day 84: Bring it!

Because of my volleyball tournament on Saturday, my workouts got shifted and I had to do the jumps and the full exercises today.  But I felt very good afterwards.  I felt very fit.  I can feel my abs when I sit-down now, engaging them when I please.  It's a neat feeling.

Day 81 & 82: Good Weekend

Good news is I played in a volleyball tournament all day Saturday and my team ended up going undefeated and won!  Bad news is after the tourney, I had no energy left to do the PCP exercises. 

This morning I woke up refreshed, went to the gym, knocked out the workout and it went really well.  I felt strong throughout the Day 81 workout.  For some reason the V-sits were a bit tougher than normal though, as I struggled to keep form on the last 5 reps of sets 3-5.

So it's only Sunday and I feel like I've got a whole day of no set plans and can finally have a day to do whatever I want.

Have a good day Team Cookie monster teammates!

Day 80: In the Zone

Today's workout was extremely tough.  One cool thing was, I really felt like I was in a zen state during jump rope, I found myself even when I tripped up, my body was still jumping to the rhythm.  The time went by fast and the sweat was pouring.  After maxing out on the pull-ups, lawn mowers and pull-downs, elevated tricep dips were a fail.  I started off elevated and then half way thru each set, they became bent knee tricep dips.  Man, are my triceps tired today!  I had a ton of leg energy today though, so the air bike abs were much more enjoyable than previous attempts.  Although, I have learned, planks or air bike are much easier when you have a buddy doing them with you.  Something about trying to outlast your partner, a competitive spirit arises and helps me maximize those ab exercises.  I didn't have that today, but I had a buddy over the Thanksgiving holiday, so I can say I miss my ab buddy!

A new season of volleyball coaching has started for me.  I'm the head coach for a local 12 year old and under team for the junior club season.  We had our first practice last night and boy, was it energizing.  Those players are so full of energy it's ridiculous and attempting to focus that energy is a challenge.  I look forward to seeing how much each player progresses as the season goes on.  At this age level, the improvements are always noticeable.

I am going to try to work in 8 minute abs everyday until the end.  Let's knock it out Team Cookie Monster!!

Also, I finally got a chance to connect my camera sooo new (and old) pics are posted - sorry for the delay!

Day 79: An understanding

This morning I felt rushed, as if I didn't have enough time to prep my food for the day, get my workout in and then get to work on time.  The workout was just there for me today, I just went on auto-pilot to get through the majority.  I did run out of time and I will need to finish the sit-up series sometime throughout the day - most likely tonight after practice.

I've also had a late start to my eating for the day, not a big deal but now I'm set to have lunch around 3:30 or 4.  Ugh, it's just one of those days.

I had a chat with Patrick yesterday about me not being exactly happy with where my body is physically at.  It was definitely helpful as he made some valid points to help me understand how my body's blueprint works.  Anyhoo, the PCP is a jump start to get my body onto a new blueprint.  I am confident that with continuing to use the habits learned, I will reach my fitness goals within the year and be able to maintain.  So my body and mind have reached an understanding.  It's nice to have peace between the two.

Day 78: Spent!

Today's workout was no joke.  From start to finish, it was tough.

i.am.exhausted.

Going to try my best to hit the grammage today for food!

Day 77: Back to Reality

Traveling specifically for Thanksgiving was definitely tough to have perfect PCP dayzz. I managed to get in all workouts, but where I struggled was with the diet. I had my final indulgence early because it was Thanksgiving. I did notice some things that differed from previous Thanksgivings.

PCP influenced Thanksgiving

• I only ate 2 home-baked rolls, while my normal amount is 7
• I loaded up on the steamed green beans - they took over 1/2 of my plate!
• I portioned out the turkey I ate, avoiding the skin
• The sweet potato casserole was too sweet for me!  I felt they ruined the poor vegetable with all that brown sugar and butter.
• I did eat the stuffing, cause it was still sooooo goood.
• No gravy or mashed potatoes for me
• A very small spoonful of cranberries was all I needed to make that lovely Thanksgiving smorgasbord bite
• Still had to have a slice of my momma's raspberry pie.  Still soo good.
• I went for an hour long walk after all the eating, when normally I would sit in front of the TV and as I dozed into an uncomfortable food coma.

So although I made some good choices, I also made some indulgences, so I felt I needed to count Thanksgiving as an indulgence.

What I found hard was being out of my kitchen and controlled environment while on holiday.  I found ways to make it work and followed the exercise 100% but I never got the diet 100% right.  There were many reasons for it, but I think the top two reasons for me was environment and not wanting people to watch me prep food.

Well now I'm back home and spent last night preparing my food and getting back on track, so here's to finishing the PCP strong!

Day 69: On holiday

I'm visiting my family for the Thanksgiving holiday. It feels good to be home. So far the workouts have gone well. Yesterday I ran with the family dog and her pulled me most of the way! The food has been a bit tough, but today I will try to have a better PCP day.

Day 65: Interruptions!

Ugh!  Seemed like the gym is getting a lot busier lately and more people are flocking.  This morning I was interrupted twice in plank position.  I mean who does that?  Who accidentally just walks right into a person doing a plank...oh I'll tell you who, someone engaged in their hi-tech phone and nothing else, that's who!!  WTF~!

To say the least, going to failure on the last set, makes the next exercise even more exhausting.

Day 64: New Diet, New mind

Yayyyyy!!  20g more carb in the morning and 20g more carbs at lunch.  This is going to be a good food week.  Oh how I missed feeling full and satisfied for what seemed to be many, many weeks.

Plus, I have my first after work-out snack.  Yaaaayyyy!!!

Other than that, davincis were killer and legs well, lunges, pistol squats and jump that was a beautiful feeling.  I think something is wrong with me.

I <3 PCP today.

Day 63: A good day

Hello everyone!

While this week of workouts was very draining at the gym, I did the exercises and kept reminding myself of why I was doing this.  So it was rewarding to just be able to go for a run today and although it was cold and wet outside, it felt like one of my better runs.

I'm really enjoying the improved stretching I'm experiencing after every workout.  I am able to go deeper into my stretches than I ever have.

...a moment of weakness :-(

I did have a fail yesterday though in the diet... and I caved and had a Hershey's chocolate bar.  I know it wasn't what I should have chosen, I had other alternatives - fresh fruit, even more whole grains would have been better for me, but in a moment of weakness, I chose poorly.  I'd like to say it made me feel sick, but it actually made me feel better, settled my stomach and I gained the motivation to do my daily workout.  I did extra cardio just because I felt bad about my choice.  But all in all, had a pretty good workout, just feeling a bit weaker on the pull-ups than earlier in the week.

Please stay strong Team Cookie Monster!  Don't let my slip-up influence you to do the same.  Because I'm back from my moment of weakness, ready to attack the PCP again.  Looking forward to the new diets and a fresh start for this last phase of PCP.

Day 58-59: These are the days...

Feeling kind of ill today.  Stomach is queasy, got a lump in my throat and things just feel a bit off.  Veteran's day work provided lunch.  The company actually had food I could eat, so I ate - steamed veggies, rice and chicken.  Guess what I brought for lunch will be eaten tomorrow.  After work, I laid on the couch and worked through feeling nauseous and just not feeling good.  I managed to eat a salad for dinner and after about an hour, I started to feel better.  I roasted some varieties of squash to have for PCP days to come and then went to bed.

The workouts are going well, but they are tough.  I routinely do them in the morning now to get them out of the way.  The amount of sets and reps are definitely exhausting.  Yesterday's focus was biceps and today's focus was triceps.  I really am not digging the elevated tricep dips, by sets 4 and 5, they are really tough to push out.  On a bright note, the alternative to buying new resistance bands...I found a nice machine at the gym that provides an array of different resistances and is fully customizable to the exercise.  So since I'm already paying for the gym membership, and they have this, there's no reason to replace the two I've broken so far.   And if I travel, I've got one band for that ;-) 

I'm looking forward to seeing the results of performing these increased sets and reps.  Yesterday, I had progress in the planks...I was able to hold the first set for the full 60 seconds!  Whoo-whoo!  Set 2 was 30 seconds-5 second break - 20 seconds - 5 second break - 10 seconds.  Set 3, 20 seconds - 5 second break - 20 seconds - 5 second break - 20 seconds.  Then Set 4...oh set 4 - really I remember starting in plank position but at 20 seconds, I was in some sort of trance and I checked out my form and my knees where on the ground!  I have no idea when they went down, cause it still felt like I was working my abs and keeping everything tight!  So weird.  Anyhow, I re-did the set and held for 30 seconds - 5 second break and then 30 seconds.

I'll be playing in another volleyball tournament tomorrow.  Let's hope I do a bit better this weekend as I wasn't to happy with my performance last weekend.  Definitely looking forward to the weekend, it's been a long week. 

Day 55: Lethargic

Food wise things are a bit of a struggle.  Cutting the fruit and carb grammage is causing some pain.  Vegetables are good but I just feel like I need to intake more food, especially with the great increase of sets and reps in the exercises.  I roasted some asparagus last night and it was really good, but I think I used too much olive oil because I felt kind of nauseous this morning.

I went for a nice run yesterday morning, it was brisk out but it was so nice to get back out in the open, fresh air.  Saturday's volleyball tournament went pretty well body wise. I was no where near as sore as last weekend, which is progress, but I was not happy with my play.  We went 6-2 for the day, so still a winning day, just personally, I was knocking some dust off my game.  On a bright note, everyone on my team commented on the way I looked and it was so very nice.  My teammates were all very interested in what I was doing so anytime we weren't playing volleyball, we were talking about food!

I had my indulgence on Saturday night as well.  My roommate, her boyfriend and myself went out to my favorite local Italian restaurant.  It was very good, shared an appetizer of calamari and ordered my favorite main dish, the lasagna bolognese.  Oh and also one glass of pinot noir.  I really enjoyed that meal.  The only thing I noticed was that the calamari batter was a lot more saltier than I remember, but that didn't stop me from eating it, because it was so nice to have added salt, taste it and really enjoy the dish.  Then the lasagna came and it was perfect.  The trio of meat they use, spices, sauce and cheese, they just work together and taste sooo good.  I was really happy to know that my new palate didn't crush this dish.  I will get to enjoy this on future occasions.  I did feel uuber full when I left the restaurant but I was emotionally happy full.  But I woke up the next morning and was ready to go, had the energy for my run and strength in the gym.  It was a good workout day!  No adverse stomach effects, yay!

So with that, I'm back to the PCP diet and it's a bit tough.  I think I signed up for the wrong project.  I should have done the wellness project, because I've achieved my primary goal, which was to establish new habits to eat better and learn to prepare and cook for one person.  Also my secondary goal of establishing a daily habit of working out has been met as well.  I like the slight shift in shape of my body and I have regained my motivation in the gym.  I know how very important eating clean and right is.  And when combining the nutrition plan with a regular exercise routine, well results are fast! 

I will keep going with PCP and see it through to the end.




 

Day 52: Still Trudgin'

Although I did write a day 51 post, I found it was to whiny to post.  So alas, I am still in the valley and truly rounding up the caboose of emotions for team cookie monster.  I think waiting for the weekend for my indulgence might be paying it's toll - emotionally, but it's Friday and I really want to wait one more day so that I can have my indulgence Saturday evening.  With another volleyball tournament scheduled for Saturday, I know that having my indulgence then will be worth the wait.

My new diet is once again tough.  Carbs were cut again.  BUT I still got the AMAYW for veggies at lunchtime!  The stomach churns of hunger have left, just like Patrick said they would, but now I just feel munchy in the evening.  Maybe it's because the workouts are a ton tougher this week and truly exhausting.  Adding 1-2 more sets per exercise is killer!  And it was nice to feel tiredness in my arms.  But I broke another band and that's frustrating 'cause all I got left is one.  It's unfortunate these bands don't last longer, but after reading some of the reviews of the set of bands I bought, seems like they weren't praised for their longevity or quality.  Oh well, new bands soon, until then, I'll use the gym bands :)

I do have a question, does dried fruit have the same effect as fresh fruit?  I had some dried fruit yesterday instead of fresh fruit for one of my fruit snacks and well, let's just say I found an enhanced and immediate digestive effect!  I just was totally not in the mood to cut up any fresh fruit I had in the house, weigh out what I was allowed and then bag the rest of the fresh fruit for another time.  So opted for ease of just weighing out the dried fruit and being done with it.  It was a bit tough to eat because although it had a natural subtle sweet flavor, I sure missed the added sugar and preservatives of the previous dried fruit I would eat before PCP.  This dried fruit was purely just that, ingredients: papaya or mango.  Nothing else.

Day 49: Halloween is Over

...And thank goodness for that.  All that candy, all those treats, that was tough!  But I stayed true to da PCP diet.  Let's see it's been a while since I blogged last so here's what's been going on.

Sock monkeys!

The 2 amigos

I hosted a reverse coed 4's volleyball tournament this past Saturday and it was awesome.  Players came with a coed partner and then got paired with other coed teams to form random teams of 4.  King and Queen style of round robin play, best record wins.  One of the requirements was that teams dress-up and play volleyball in costume the entire tournament.  I had prizes for 1st, 2nd, best costume male, best costume female, candy count prizes and a razzie award for the worst costume!  Here's a few pics from the tournament.

Super Hero Dixie Cyclone and Racer X!!

What's radical is that I haven't played ball since the early summer, took some time off because I needed a break and focused on coaching.  But man did it feel good to get back on the court.  And what was even more awesome, was that I felt pretty fast on the court.  Food wise, I stuck to the PCP diet and felt fine most of the day.  After the tournament though, I did need to intake a bit more fruit because it was an extra long day of being active but overall, didn't feel too hungry during, just after.

To be successful in this type of tournament, teams must be able to adapt and play with anyone.  Find a way to get along and the most adaptable and complimentary team wins.  And guess what, my partner and I ended up winning the whole thing!  My main priority was just to have fun, but it was extremely awesome when the final results came in and my partner and I ended up on top.  YAY - Usagi Tsukino aka Sailor Moon and John McEnroe!!

As far as working out on that Saturday, Patrick said to at least do the jumps.  But after the tournament, it would not have been wise for me to do so, my body was completely exhausted from the day.  So I did not do any PCP workout.  Sorry Patrick.  I did stretch though.

Sunday and Monday were painful sore days.  My quads and calves were equally sore from all the max jumping, I was always in the front row block jumping at Saturday's tournament.  My shoulders and abs were sore from pressing and squeezing every time I would block.  The PCP workouts are tough, but there's nothing like a day of volleyball to create great fatigue and soreness in my muscles to last a couple days.  But nothing on my body felt injured, just sore because I hadn't used those muscles that intensely in so long.  This is huge because my right knee was giving me some issues last time I played ball, and it didn't hurt!!  So yet another reason I wanted to join PCP, to see if that would help the knee.  I did do the PCP workouts on Sunday and Monday.  Kung fu situps were impossible for me so I used the roman chair at the gym and it worked out better.  60second planks were a failure, I could barely hold for 30seconds in row after the second set.  That was really no fun, no fun at all.

So now it's Tuesday and I'm happy for just a cardio day.  I kind of like my nutrition plan right now, so I really hope it doesn't change much.  It already seems I'm on the lowest end for carb intake that I can be and keep sane.

On a random positive note, I roasted broccoli for the first time last night and that was such a nice change from steaming it.  Can't wait to eat the rest of it later tonight for my veggie snack.

Day 44: Tired

WARNING: Yo- this blog is whiny.  But I need to vent and blog it out.

I'm tired for many reasons.  Why oh why did I get up again this morning to do the 5:45AM spin class at the gym?  I know why, so I could get some physical motivation.  That class has a few uniquely energetic individuals in there and I tend to soak up their positive energy vibes to get me through a tough work day.  PCP is fine and all but for me, there's nothing like actual, in-person group workouts. 

I'm tired because spending the middle of the week to get my food prepped just sucks.  Even though my dinner's are still easy, I got to prep, cut, dice, cook for a couple hours and that's tough to do when you're an individual like me and cooking is just not fun.  I'm just trying to say I feel ya on the food prep, Ian.  I did turn on music last night, which helped but sometimes I wish I could do an easier, less time consuming option.

I'm tired because I'm sick of feeling sick to my stomach every time I get hungry.  Yes, the feeling still goes away when I eat, but when I get hungry it's just cycles of uncomfortable, churning of the stomach.  I don't like this.  No I don't like this one bit.  Another 8 days of this stuuupid feeling, blech.

I'm tired of passing up all treats that get presented to me.  Halloween is going to be another tough, emotional time.  Today there were free treats in the break room and there was one lonely brownie, able and willing to be in my stomach - "GET IN MY BELLY!" but my arm didn't reach for it.  My hand didn't pick it up.  And thus the stomach and taste buds didn't get a treat.  What stopped me?  My commitment to PCP, team cookie monster and thinking there's gotta be a reason for progress on holding planks.  Wouldn't want that one tiny brownie to hinder my performance in the gym.  But actually, what stopped me, was that as I laid down to relax yesterday, I saw my hip bone protruding more than usual, and my stomach just lie flat.  Wow!  Look at you.  Hello hip bone!  I shall name you Norm and you and I will become great friends.

I'm tired today mostly because my body is tired.  Sore from the push-ups and chest dips from yesterday.  Sore from the pull-ups done in today's workout.  Knees are achy from the numerous bends they did yesterday and today.  Whaaaaa-Whaaaa-Whaaaaa.

Day 42: The Greater Good

Bad night of sleep or just enough sleep?  I don't know.  Went to bed at 10:30PM and woke at 5AM.  Try as I may, I just couldn't go back to sleep.  So what did I do?  Yep, you guessed it, I attended the 5:45AM-way-too-early-for-fish spin class at my gym.  Figured if I can't sleep anymore, might as well do some cardio.  I felt a bit out of place as the class was buzzing with energy as most had a red bull in one drink holder, water in the other.  Holy moly - uncontrollable energy.  It was quite an experience.

The bad food cravings are starting to come back.  I tried ignoring them but they are surfacing again.  Last night was a particularly bad craving for anything sweet and chocolaty, but I had just my serving of vegetables and forced myself to sleep.  I can feel today is going to be another tough day.  This fruit dinner is killing me emotionally and it's really tough to be in social eating situations in the evening.  I don't like it one bit.  Also, I dislike feeling hungry.  Again a temporary state, but it is tough.  Hunger pangs, hunger pangs go away.  Hunger pangs, hunger pangs come again some other day!  Yep, just made that up.  Although I don't really want them to come again another day.  So I should probably change that.

The thing is, I am not going to give into these temporary urges because I'm giving this PCP diet all I got.  I've never really controlled my diet before and if these feelings are the worst of what I need to go through in order to get the wellness benefits then so be it.  But if I come to the end of the very restricted dinners without much improvement, I will then know I gave it my best effort.  And then I learn more about my body such as this is what happens when I eat this way and this is what happens when I eat that way.  So if that means I gotta call it a night at 8PM every night while on these fruit dinners, then so be it.  What's the opposite of a vampire or a nocturnal being?  Day walker?  Like Blade - the vampire slaying day walker - although he also stayed awake at night to do his job...hmmm...Suggestions???      

Day 41: The Queasy Stomach

So it's Day 41 and I'm hungry, queasy, unsettled, anxious, and just feeling a bit off.  I did talk to Patrick about it and it seems that this type of feeling I'm experiencing is normal when the stomach is shrinking.  The feeling does go away after I eat but man, oh man, as soon as my body burns through the food I intake, that feeling returns.  And it sucks, so much!!!  Luckily this is supposed to go away in about 10 days.  10 days...so that means for me...15-20 days since my body is a fighter and it inherited my dad's stubbornness.  Blech!  Blech!  Blech!

Other news in the land of fish, I got complimented on my style of coaching this past weekend, which ultimately landed me a new player to give personal volleyball training sessions to.  YAY!  The conversation went like this,

Player's Mom: "You are so good at getting the kids attention and running these all skills volleyball clinics.  And you enforce discipline.  Are you a mom?"
Me: "Thank you!  But no, I'm not a mom."
Player's Mom: "Are you a teacher?"
Me: "No, I'm not a teacher.  Just been coaching for about 15 years and love to give back to the sport that's been so good to me."
Player's Mom: "Well you are really great at coaching and teaching the skills of volleyball.  Do you do personal training sessions?"
Me: "Of course!"

I don't know why, but being asked if I was a mom or if I was a teacher seemed like a huge compliment to me.  Maybe it's time for a career change.  I have always enjoyed coaching volleyball.  It's just nice when people can see that passion and express appreciation for it.

Day 38: Thankful for Friday

I woke up this morning and I actually felt like I wanted to do my workout.  After so many days of trudging to do the workout, this was the first day in a long time I actually wanted to do it.  I'm still battling with my right calf so sticking to the bike for now.  Spending more time stretching is definitely helping.  Anyhow, today's workout was pretty killer on the triceps.  The elevated triceps finally got me on the 3rd and 4th set, the last three reps I had to go to the ground to finish.  Then the skiiers just made the triceps burn even more!  I though planks were going to be manageable, but alas they were just slightly better executed than the last time.  First 2 sets, solid hold, last two sets, 5 second breaks after 20 seconds and then I finished the remaining 20 seconds in plank position.  Someday, I will be able to do all 4 sets for the 40 seconds solid.  Someday.

Food was better last night.  Not as hungry.  And again, today's breakfast was AMAZING!  I truly look forward to that meal everyday.  The one torturous thing was, I did have dreams about cookies last night.    Here's a good picture that would reflect me thinking about cookies... Oh cookie dream, why did you decide to come back and torture me?  Good thing it's Friday and I'm having a pretty good day.





The next section is just me venting about volleyball so if you want to skip it, I understand.

My college volleyball season is coming to a close soon and tonight is our "Dig Pink" match.  A match in which we raise funds for breast cancer research and the whole crowd and gymnasium are draped in pink.  We play against a very decent team tonight and it would be nice to just take a set from them.  College matches are played best of 5 sets.  We've lost the past 6 matches in 3 straight sets, every one of them, so we are very hungry for just one win.  Please just let us win one set, just one. Although we keep improving, so do the other teams and thus, it leaves us coaches trying out various methods and styles of coaching to find a way to win, even if it's just one set.  It's odd to coach a team that is not phased one way or the other upon the outcome of competition.  Basically we've got a team full of people that just like to be on a team and playing volleyball is second.  How do you coach someone to be competitive when physical fitness penalties do not motivate them?  How do you coach someone that gives only 50% effort and could careless if they get playing time or not?  I suppose these are all rhetorical questions, me just venting frustrations.  This is just so different than I'm used to, but I do cherish these types of challenges, because it just makes me a stronger coach in the end, so long as I can learn from it.

Day 37: Revenge of the Hunger Pangs

Dinner last night was tough.  An apple, an egg white and 150mL milk.  Then 160g veggie snack.

By 10PM I was hungry.
By 12AM I woke up feeling empty.
By 4AM I woke up with hunger pangs.
By dawn, I was ravishingly hungry.

Why did I wake up so much?  Well I drank a lot of water to forget about being hungry.  And well, the side effect of that is I wake up often to use the toilet.  Sometimes I wish it was OK to pee the bed.

And so I ate.  And breakfast is now my favorite meal.

Day 36: Whoa! Leg Pistol Failure

I don't know if it was my leeriness toward my calf but I could only do leg pistols with assistance.  It was kind of sad, I started standing like Patrick's picture, bent my knees and as soon as one leg was lifted in front, I felt super wobbly-bobbly.  I needed assistance on the descent and ascent just to preform the bare minimum of 3 reps per leg for 3 sets.  So good news, a new activity that my body doesn't really know how to do yet.  Awesome (yes, there is sarcasm in that).  Most of the other exercises were not fun either, but I JFD'd.  The planks were a fail today - held the first two sets fine and then the last two sets, I failed to hold for 40 seconds in a row.  My body gave up around 20 sec in final two sets.  I took like a 4 second break and held the remaining 20 seconds for both sets.  I guess the only cool, kind of "cookie monster-esque" thing that did happen was I broke a band while doing the shoulder press.  YEAH!  RRRROOOAAARR!  But then that monstrous feeling soon was overtaken by the money conscience side of me and I was like, "Ah crap, now I got to go buy a new band.  Hrrmmmppff!" 

The diet is getting easier, it's easy when things taste good.  Thanks to all who post recipes.  I was successful in making Sara's homemade applesauce recipe and now have a tough load of applesauce at the ready.  I think last night was the first night I found my emotional state was not too bad.  For 6 nights solid, I've felt like screaming cause I haven't been able to eat what I think is a normal dinner.  It didn't matter that what I was eating did fill me, I was not emotionally satisfied.  So on day 7 of eating a fruit dinner, I finally found it tolerable, mentally.  This week the diet is lessened a bit more...we'll see how it goes.

I'm happy with the changes my body is undergoing.  I took my weekly photos today and I'm very happy with loss of "love" in my back.  Pretty neat to see and feel those changes.  I fit into a pair of shorts that were so tight at the beginning of PCP, I didn't feel comfortable wearing them in public.  But today I wore them to the gym and never once felt self-conscience.  Again, another empowering feeling.  I hope things continue on this path, even if my calf says jump roping cannot be an everyday activity for me.  I am sticking with doing the alternatives and the calf is getting better.  But I am looking forward to when I can return to the jumping activities again.

Day 34: Calf is still bummin'

Well alas, the exercises are going along as good as can be.  Chest dips are definitely tough as I can't support my whole body weigh yet, but I found a nice place to do them, between two sofas!  Yesterday, I went back to jump roping as my calf was feeling just fine, no pain.  I was really trying to pay attention to my body and then on jump 1340...TWING...same right calf muscle, strained yet again.  This is very frustrating.  I finished the remaining 10 jumps on my left leg, and continued on with the rest of the exercises without much issue.  The creeps were a little painful on the calf, so I just didn't go as low.  During all other exercises, I felt the good kind of burn one should feel.  So I'm back to caring for my calf.  I guess I came back too soon to the jump rope and it's such a bummer because again, the alternatives take so much longer!  But I do them and still feel winded and legs tired, but I'd rather be jump roping (never thought I'd say that - ha!).

As for the diet, it's going well.  I'm sticking to it but right now, I'm finding that I have too many veggies in my house and I can't eat them all before they spoil.  Alas, no AMAYW for me this week of anything!  I'm going to try a freeze them.

This past weekend I went apple picking and picked some of the most amazing apples.  I plan to make Sara's apple sauce recipe tonight.

Day 30: Check It Out!

Why is it that for the past 10 years, hip-hop artists have been obsessed with reviving old 80's tunes and taking the original synthesized beats in the background, and then they just rap and sing on top of it?   Sometimes it just creates a mockery of such a great, solid 80's tune and/or they just increase the bpm's to a level where they are placed on a collaboration of tracks of which gym bunnies should work out to.  Either way, why am I obsessed with this song today? 

Day 29: Spent!

The workout today kicked my booty.  During the last two sets of planks, I failed to hold the plank for 30 seconds in a row.  That was one tough, tough exercise.  I dislike not being able to jump rope either because the alternatives seem to take so much longer.  Ah well, it's all for the better of my calf and I can come back to the jump rope stronger than ever.

My first dinner of an apple, banana, 200mL milk and one egg white.  Very, very surprising that I feel pretty satisfied, considering when I got done from volleyball practice I wanted to eat a small horse.  Anyhow, I spent some time in the kitchen making some kale chips.  Geez, that was labor intensive (especially cause I don't have a salad spinner) and man, they came out great but they made me miss salt.  They would be so great with just a little sea salt.  Only in my dreams for now.  So will I make them again, probably, but maybe on a lazy Saturday/Sunday.

Time to dream about salt...

Day 27: Little cautious

Yesterday (the day after the warrior race) I felt really great jumping rope.  I was on a roll, going on 400 in a row and then shortly after that, I felt a sharp pain develop on the outside of my right calf muscle.  Man, why does it have to happen when I'm feeling so good!  And there's never any real warning sign, but I know this injury, I strained my calf muscle.  I'm very familiar with this injury as in recent years it's come back every 5 months or so.  I know what I need to do in order to get better, but I'm just bummed I can't do the jump rope for a while.  I was making such good progress.  Guess I'll be on the bike and elliptical instead of jumping rope.  The rest of the exercises are fine (well except anything involving jumping).

Today's workout was pretty tough, the push-ups and V-sits were the worst as I needed to go to my knees in the last 2 sets of push-ups and well the V-sits, they lost correct form, just didn't have the strength in my core.  I  need to work on those.  Frustration.

Day 25-Part2: Lions and Tigers and Beers, Oh my!

Well not really beers, but I did have one beer to count towards my indulgence.  One light beer after I finished the warrior race.  I did read what Patrick said about beer and its potential effects on the body and I decided it would be worth potentially feeling really bad, so I had a beer.  Plus, I had just got done running the warrior dash and well fell victim to their motto, "warrior, sweat and beer!"  So I had one light beer and I didn't feel bad, it actually tasted so great and I really enjoyed every sip.  Hours later, I still felt fine and the day after that, and the next day after that, just fine, so I guess this time, one beer did not effect me adversely.

But we were allowed 200-400 calories for the indulgence and I had only used 100...so I knew that I either wanted Chic-fil-A waffle fries or a DQ vanilla ice cream cone dipped in chocolate.  So we left the warrior dash in search of a Dairy Queen because 1. I felt like I wanted a true indulgence and 2. I still had the calorie allotment.  With still a good amount of daylight left, we found a DQ and I got a small cone with vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate.  Oh soooo good.  So very good.  And I felt just fine after that as well.  I felt complete, satisfied that I got to indulge and I stayed within the calorie allotment!  Whoo-hoo.  Little did I know, I had set myself up for failure.

When we finally got home from the day's events, it was just a bit before dinner time.  I was already to get started on creating my PCP supper, but then I sat down and somehow, there were goldfish crackers nearby.  I did not have the PCP discipline and I indulged once more.  I now went over the indulgence caloric allotment, for no good reason at all other than I felt munchy.  I mean true that I had exerted myself more physically than I had in a long while, but that's not a good reason to eat it.  While they did taste good, they didn't taste great.  I wish I had stopped at the ice cream, but I didn't and now time to learn from it.

When eating non-PCP approved stuff, it's hard for me to actually feel full and I start to feel munchy and my brain was like, "dude, eat more stuff."  Unfortunately, I didn't eat the right stuff.  I didn't truly over do it, but I did have more indulgence calories than allotted.  Guess I wasn't ready for the freedom - so it's back on the PCP diet for me.  Cookie Monster 1, Fish 0.  Until the next indulgence "challenge"...

Day 25-Part1: Warrior Dash!

This past Saturday was the big race day - the Warrior Dash!  I convinced one of my friends (Jen) to do it with me and we dressed up as "Old Gregg" from the Mighty Boosh comedy show.  The warrior dash was 3.15 grueling mile course with 13 obstacles intermixed.  I had been training for the past month to get my running stamina up-to-par in addition to the PCP workouts.

Things I did right:
1. I wore a costume - the warrior dash is all about having fun and wearing a costume makes it even more fun.
2. I ran the entire thing - never once did we walk.
3. I wore a costume that was disposable and a bathing suit under it all.  At the end of the race, the thought did occur to me that I would only end up keeping my bathing suit and how very right I was about that!

Jen & Fish BEFORE the Warrior Dash

Things I learned:
1. Next year, train off road.  The entire course was off-road/cornfield/forest and we were jumping over logs while avoiding many roots and stumps.
2. Try to incorporate obstacles in the training.  I had the stomach burning sensation when I finished the hills of terror.
3. I now know what all over dirty feels like...and I LIKE IT!!
4. I have a new respect for any contestants on American Gladiators, Wipe Out, Amazing Race, Survivor, etc...It was quite eye opening to find out what my capabilities actually are.  So now when I'm sitting at home on my sofa and see those contestants competing, I will no longer say, "Oh I could do that better than that."  I will now say, "Oh man, I feel your pain!"

Jen & Fish AFTER in Usain Bolt pose

Day 24: Plankity-Plank-Plank

Dear Planks,

  My name is fish.  It was nice to meet you this morning.  One thing though...please become easier in the future.


Best Regards,

Fish

Day 22: Hard core

Today started off with a misreading. I accidentally did 25 leg-ups instead of sit-ups. I thought it was alot but just told myself to suck it up and jfd! I checked my phone after and I was like whoops. Those were supposed to be situps...oh well, hard core!

The food went well today, although instead of saying eat as much veggies as you like I would prefer to eat as much carbs as you like :) I know, not going to happen.

Things are becoming easier. It's nice to feel in control again. Now if I could just get my volleyball team giving it 100% effort on the court, all would be right in my world.

Day 21: Feeling stronger

Yesterday was a tough day as my stomach was giving me some pains that just continued throughout the day.  I believe I put a little too much fresh garlic in one of fish dishes for flavor and thus I had a bit of trouble digesting what I ate.  I need some time to play around with some different recipes for my protein, hopefully this weekend will allow me to do so. 

Last night, the volleyball team had an away match and we always stop for dinner after the match.  I've been good about bringing my own PCP meal and eating it, it was just extremely hard when they decided to go to a pizzeria place for dinner.  Freshly made, hand-tossed creations of buttery goodness. Yes, I miss that, but I just kept thinking about how heavy I would feel if I ate non-PCP approved stuff.  I resisted.  For 60 minutes I resisted!  There were even fresh baked cookies there and I resisted!!  Yay - go team cookie monster.  The will-power is strong within me.  Every time I do resist temptations, I get rewarded in will-power, which feels pretty awesome. 

So with strong will power, I like to imagine a ladder.  A ladder that with every rung achieved upward, I'm getting that much closer to my goal.  Anyhow, I'm feeling much better today and oddly optimistic which is not my style, but today is a good day.  With only jump ropes to do, my mind and body are happy just to do that.

The Muppet Show - Trudge Trudge/Streaka Streaka

I wanted to share this with everyone. One of my favorite Muppet Show skits. When you just need to trudge through the workout!

Day 19: Trudge, Trudge, Trudge

Wow!  A lot of blogs have been posted since I last logged on.  Gooooo Team Cookie Monster!

I'm still enjoying the daily workouts.  Push-ups are getting better and I'm continually feeling a burn while working withe the resistance bands.  I have found that I need extra motivation on the jump ropes so I put my head down, trudge forward and JFD.  I'm feeling some aches in my knees and ankles from the jumping rope, but nothing too bad.  Each day is different though.  Sometimes I can go 300 with no trip-ups while other days, I will mess up every 50.  On a good note, the endurance is getting better and I only need one break nowadays when doing 800-900 jumps.  Ah well, I'm just gonna push through the exercises and knock 'em out.

Like Patrick said, I have received a few compliments from friends, saying I look slimmer.  I can justify it because my favorite jeans are not as tight in the waist.  That is pretty awesome.

The weekend flew by.  Saturday I had lunch out with a old friend.  Stayed pretty spot on to the PCP diet, grilled chicken over fresh greens, no salad dressing and some wheat bread.  Sunday I ran volleyball clinics for 12-18 year olds and had my college practice as well.  I am not ready for work tomorrow, well more like I do not want to go to work tomorrow.  But guess I'll treat it like my workouts, put my head down and trudge to work!

G'night team cookie monster.  I have a feeling my dreams will be of cookie-intoxication, but as long as the cookies stay in my dreams, I'm safe for now...

Day 16: Feeling the Burn

I woke up hungry this morning.  Lowering my carb intake is noticeable.  Plus I had another cookie obsessed dream last night.  This time I resembled cookie monster.  Don't worry team Blue, I'm still on the right track, sticking with the PCP diet and exercise 100%.  It is getting easier to not have the urges throughout the day when I'm awake but guess the urge has to come out somewhere, and that's in my dreams.

This mornings workout was definitely challenging.  I took Patrick's email to heart and made sure I was doing each exercise correctly.  Even pushed for a few more reps in each exercise, well except push-ups.  Those were killer.  It definitely sends a burning sensation to the muscles with only 20 sec breaks.  Guess I just need to trudge through those and hopefully I'll get better at them with time.

Day 13: Uuubber prepared

So I took the advice from Patrick (somewhat) and had a friend cut my bulk load of vegetables.  We rotated in shifts, steaming various types of veggies - from carrots to mushrooms to sweet potatoes.  Then I placed them all in a large tupperware bin and said, "Wow! I can't believe I'm going to eat all these veggies - EEK!"  I packed my food for the next two days and now I feel uubber prepared, and I got back some of my "me time" back.

Last night was a rough sleep.  I had a dream filled with anxiety.  It involved me baking cookies, followed by torment over if I should eat the cookies and then in the end, I gave in and ate the cookies.  I woke up thinking I actually cheated on my PCP and truly ate cookies.  But I didn't, not a cookie in my house, not a cookie was baked, no lingering smell of freshly baked goodies.  This is ridiculous!

I'm sticking to the diet, I am full but I am not happy with what I'm eating.  My tastebuds miss the fat and the awesomeness of chocolate.  It's such a paradox being full but not being content.  I'll keep trudging through this diet though.  It's hard to see any pleasure in the food I eat, and for now, I view it as fuel.  It's not like I'm not trying either, I'm trying out different fresh herbs and seasonings but when it comes down to it, it's missing the fat and the salt.

OK enough about food.  The jump rope is getting tougher.  I find I'm messing up more and more.  Maybe just the counting is driving me bonkers, I'd really rather go for time.  The exercises are going pretty well, I think I finally got the standing ovation right, but for the rowing it's tough finding the right space in my apartment to get enough resistance.  I've noticed that there is not as much pain in my knee joints as of late, and I'm encouraged by that.   

Day 10: Fear and Loathing in the big F

Today's my mom's birthday and I just spent some time talking to her on the phone.  I thought I would be able to surprise her this weekend by making the 9 hour drive but unfortunately, work will not allow me to do so.  I'm closing a contract and thought I'd be further along in my final report but alas I am not.  So now is not the ideal time for me to take a trip.  Bummerz.

I'm not going to lie, I've been having serious doubts about this diet.  It just feels so easy to cheat, like I may just forget I'm on the PCP diet.  I now know I am a moody eater.  I find myself daydreaming about getting my mood enhancer food fix and it's almost feels like I messed up the diet just by thinking about it!  I feel like I may sleep walk and eat my roommate's food!  I have revised my daily schedule, taking the time to cook, workout and do everything else I need to do throughout the day.

Starting this new diet mid-week was a bit challenging.  In the past three days, I've spent over 7 hours cooking/prepping, guess that's not a lot, but for me, it's a lot.  My old diet consisted of me eating at inconsistent times and portion size was overlooked.  It was a lifestyle where I had 7 hours to do something else other than cook.  I miss those 7 hours of which I might have done nothing but they were 7 free hours of my choice.  I understood PCP is a lifestyle change but I didn't really know how much until now.

It is interesting to be full on good, clean food but I've discovered that there's a voice in my head saying, "Hey that's nice, but I'd like some chocolate soon."  And so far I have chosen to ignore the voice, but the longer I wait to appease it the louder it gets.  But I keep carrying on with the prepared food and snacks and eventually the voice subsides and it appears to give up for the day.  I like to imagine it going off into a corner a pout.  I am full, satisfied but I never really knew this crazy food voice in side me until now.  Probably because it always won in the past.  I guess it's an adjustment period, but right now I feel so emotionally unsettled with food. 

In conclusion, what I'm saying is that it's day 3 and I'm having a tough time.  I'm having a hard time believing in the achievement of my goal of awesome muscle tone and feeling good about my body.  I'm having a tough time thinking that if I work hard at this diet thing, I will see changes in my body.  I understand I should look forward to all these new foods I can try and the good habits I'll develop, but I am missing a few of my old food friends.  Having restrictions has made me more aware of the daily temptations around me.  The only positive thing I can think of  is that I'm not alone.  So if I cheat, I let down not only myself but my team too.  It is a good motivator to know that others are going thru this with me and Team Blue is on my side.

GO TEAM BLUE!!

Day 8: Grape Ape!

I think it was an 80's Saturday morning cartoon which used the phrase, "Grape Ape!  Grape Ape!"  And oddly enough, I believe it was called the Grape Ape show.  Anyhoo, I found myself pulling from the roots of my childhood and using this phrase as I prepped for today's meals.  It was "crazy" weighing out food portions.  Grape Ape!  I really had no idea what 140g of vegetables looked like.  Grape Ape!  Breakfast was a whole grain flat bread with 1 sliced hard boiled egg and steamed sweet potatoes tucked inside.  Subbed yogurt for the milk today.  After breakfast, I felt delightfully full.  Grape Ape!  What's remarkable is that I don't feel weighed down or lethargic.  I know, I know it's my first official PCP breakfast but honestly, I feel like I ate good, fresh food with no butter/oil/salt/extra fat effecting the meal.  Grape Ape!  Got my snacks and lunch prepared to get me through the day, but I'm going to have to go shopping tonight because I've got nothing for dinner.  It's tough adjusting to this new routine of prepping/cooking my meals.  I like challenges though.

Today should go by quickly, lots of reports to do and one meeting in the afternoon.  Practice after work.  The volleyball team played their first conference match last night and lost miserably.  Practice should be pretty intense today, with coaches fueled by the lack of effort we saw last night on the court.  The players better come ready to practice tonight!  Then it's off to do the Day 8 workout.  I'm ready for the floor (Hot Chip fan indeed)!

Day 5: Beautiful Dayzzz

The past few days have been busy and productive.  The workouts are coming along easily.  Although, the push-ups are getting harder.  I've gone out and obtained the necessary the equipment for the future PCP.  It's been great weather this weekend and I've made time to do my workout in the morning, so I can enjoy the day.  I went golfing yesterday, shot pretty well.  Food has been tough though.  I've been hungry for the past two nights, so I drink water and then have to use the restroom throughout the night.

Also, I've signed up for the warrior dash, a 3.14 mile muddy, obstacle run to occur in mid-October.  So I got something to look forward to. 

Day 2: Good Times

My volleyball team lost last night, but in retrospect, I've never seen them play better!  They showed a lot of heart and we'll play them again, so REMATCH!  This staying positive thing isn't so hard after all.

OK, onto PCP, the day went by pretty fast.  Breakfast wasn't as sad even though I ate just the other half of yesterday's breakfast.  No temptations at work, well OK, I wish I could've had my full cup of joe, but I stuck with the half-sies.  Overall no hunger pangs today, but I do need to drink more water.  I need to just set a timer at work so I take breaks to go get water.  That is tomorrow's goal!

I usually like working out in the morning, but I'm finding working out in the evening is better for me with my fall schedule.  The workout was nice and easy, like I said in yesterday's post, it's just nice to get in the gym again with a set plan.  I am jealous of those that do choose to do the workout at first wake, it is such a nice accomplished feeling to experience throughout the day.  Maybe I'll switch it later, but for now the evening workouts are feeling alright.

On another note, it is so weird, I'm watching Grey's Anatomy and it's the episode where a shooter is terrorizing the hospital and yet, in real life today, a shooter put a Baltimore Hospital in a lock down situation.

Day 1: Sabotage

  When I decided that PCP was the right thing for me, I had been preparing myself mentally for a ninety day "detox" for a couple of weeks prior to its start.  So as the last night of "old ways" commenced, I had pizza.  Ooeey-gooey, cheesy goodness.  I ate till I had my full and felt bloated.  I started to get worried about self-sabotage for tomorrow- Day 1 of PCP, so I went for a 30 minute walk to help me feel better.  When I returned, I read the week one email and found that I could eat mostly the same, just halving everything.  Well that's no bueno, I dislike the way I eat, often going past hunger pangs and then eating too large of a quantity, sporadically.  I do this most often 'cause I just don't think about eating during the day, especially when I'm busy thus sending my body in starvation mode.  Ah well, I do plan on keeping it in check though and am ready to give PCP my all.

  Day 1: I was still awake at 12:22am and thought to myself I'm 22 minutes into my first day of PCP, not so bad.  Haha! I really didn't even start - although technically I was correct in my statement.  I did eventually get to bed.  Woke up surprising feeling OK body wise.  Breakfast was sad, halving my yogurt and toast, well it left me experiencing the hunger pangs just early in my day.  Had a couple of meetings as well and my stomach did more talking than I did. 

  The workout was nice and chill.  I like jump roping, I'm just excited to have a set program again.  I worked in 30 minutes of cardio.  So I embrace this easier time, I'm excited and eager for change.  But I'll be patient. 

  Well time to go coach a volleyball match.  I hope we win.  I always sleep easier when we win.  Who me?  What? Competitive? Nah...well yes, just a little.

Alright!

Ellen is going to ROCK IT!