Phase 1 Results

I can’t believe we are finished with Phase 1 of P90X. I have already seen incredible changes in my body and we are only 4 weeks in (27 days instead of 28 since we skipped one rest day the first week)!  

My Results are Based on:

1)      Completing every workout in the plan (6 workouts/week)

2)       Running two days per week, starting Week 2 (about 10-12 miles/week)

3)      Consuming 1,800-2,000 calories/day (The P90X needs calculator told me to eat 2,300 calories per day but I believe those calculators are better for men)

4)      One large cheat meal on Valentine’s Day

About one week into P90X I already saw results. I felt tighter and stronger and I already weighed two or three pounds less! At the end of the second week I was already down six pounds. And now, four weeks in, I’m down EIGHT pounds! I can’t believe it! As an avid “cardio-junkie” and runner, I had kind of resolved that my starting weight was about what my body should be at and wasn’t expecting big weight loss.

Measurement & Weight Loss Results (Day 27):

Weight Loss:  8 lbs (!!!)

Waist:  -1.75 inches!

Hips:  Same

Chest (below armpits): -1.25 inches

Thighs & Biceps: Same

My waist is definitely the area that I was most thrilled to see such great results!  As for my arms and legs, I feel that I have lost fat on them but I’ve also gained muscle which is why there wasn’t a change in the measurements. My pants are fitting much looser and overall I just look more toned and fit!

Running Improvement

Today is President’s Day and I am lucky to have it off. I met up with Asia and Jeremy at 9 a.m. and we ran up Torrey Pines hill, which is the most daunting segment of the La Jolla Half Marathon that we’ll be running on April 17.

Here’s a link to the course map: http://www.lajollahalfmarathon.com/Assets/_assets/pdf/Course+Map.pdf

This hill begins just before mile 6 and the steep portion lasts a little longer than 1 mile. As you can see on the course elevation portion of the map, we will be running up 420 feet between miles 6 and 7 – basically people go to Torrey Pines to HIKE this hill, not run it.

I ran the first half mile up this hill during a 7 mile training run with VAVI in November. We started up the hill at mile 3 of our run and I actually walked for a bit once we were about ¾ of the way up. This time we started at the bottom of the hill but we ran straight up it without stopping. We clocked a 11 min/mile pace for the first steep mile, but by mile 2 we were slightly under 10 min/mile. At the bottom of the hill we were down to a 9:30 average pace (we ran down the hill at about 8 min/mile) and at the bottom I continued on another mile and finished the five miles in 46:36, a 9:19 pace.

Until now, I haven’t been thinking that I could beat my PR at the Carlsbad half at the La Jolla Half since Carlsbad is the flattest course in San Diego and La Jolla is the hilliest. However, this run made me feel a little more confident that I may be able to do it! P90X is making me stronger!

Nutrition Plan-Phase 2

We are more than happy to say goodbye to carb-light and protein-heavy phase 1 of the nutrition plan. This means instead of eggs for breakfast and salad for lunch EVERY DAY, we can switch off between oatmeal and a sandwich for lunch. As turkey sandwiches and oatmeal were both a major part of my pre-P90X diet, I am more than thrilled to incorporate them again.

Phase 2, or “Energy Booster”, allows me one less protein (now 4 servings) yet one more carbohydrate. I still get 2 dairy servings, 1 fat serving and only 1 fruit serving. Throughout Phase 1, sometimes I had two pieces of fruit, especially on days that I ran and I’ll continue this into Phase 2.  Overall, it doesn’t sound that much different and that carbohydrate serving is going to make a huge difference to us when it comes to variety of foods we can eat.

Cheat Meals

Yes, we did have a cheat meal during Phase 1. On Valentine’s Day, I had a small (100 calorie) cupcake & two pieces of chocolate at work but stuck to my salad and other healthy snacks. However, for dinner, Mike treated me to a delicious meal at the bay-side restaurant Tom Ham’s Lighthouse. We indulged in the three course prix fixe menu. The bread may have been the highlight of the meal for me because we haven’t had white bread in a month. We ate two servings of bread with plenty of butter (they were pretty significant sized sourdough loaves – about 4 thick slices per loaf) before the meal even started! I was tempted to get a steak and potatoes, which wasn’t on the prix fixe, but decided to go with the pomegranate & goat cheese starter salad and the prawn and squash risotto main dish because I felt it wasn’t as heavy.  The biggest indulgence was the triple-dessert sampler. We each had our own small crème brulee, strawberry and fudge smothered brownie, and a small scoop of cherry graham cracker ice-cream. It was delicious! Food has possibly never tasted so good. Whatever I couldn’t finish, Mike polished off. Every piece of food that hit our table was consumed!

So yes, after all that food (probably 2 days worth of calories!), I still saw great results. I think that you have to incorporate some “cheat meals” to stay sane. Although I generally feel satisfied on the P90X nutrition plan, there are days that I really just want a piece of pizza or one of the cookies someone brought into work. Although I usually resist, I do plan to “cheat” on occasion. 

Onward…

So far I’ve really enjoyed P90X. I’m seeing positive changes and I’m doing some unique workouts that keep me interested. Each week I see big changes in my strength and I can’t wait to see what comes next. Bring it!