P90X Results – Round 2, Phase 1

I can’t believe I’ve already started Phase 2 of my 2^nd
round of P90X! These last four weeks of Phase 1 flew by and I must admit,
things are definitely different this time. Here are the key changes in my 2^nd
P90X round compared to the first:

1.  P90X and Triathlon and Half Marathon Training. During my first round of P90X, I
   blended P90X with marathon training. During the first phase, however, I only
   ran about 1-2 times a week and the most mileage I put in was 8 miles. However,
   during Phase 1 of P90X this time, I am consistently doing three double days a
   week: 5 P90X workouts plus a bike, long run (8-12 miles), speedwork run, and 1-2
   swims. I am competing in my first sprint triathlon on July 24 and my third half
   marathon of the year in August. My focus is mostly the triathlon, with the only
   real training for the half marathon being my weekly long run.
2. Blending Phase 1 and Phase 2 Diets. Most weekdays I’ll eat eggs and cottage cheese
   for breakfast and salad for lunch, but on weekends (with long runs and other
   activities involved) and occasional weekdays, I’ll end up following more of a
   Phase 2 regime – more fruit and an extra carb.
3. Not as Strict on the Nutrition Plan. Going along with my “blended” plan, I’ve also
   been less strict. With weddings, graduation parties, out of town guests, and holidays
   (4^th of July), I’ve allowed myself many more cheat meals than I did
   during Phase 1 the first time. If you remember, I only cheated one time during
   the entire Phase 1. Although so far in my second round I haven’t had a slice of
   pizza, an ounce of fried food or any other large, greasy meals (ok except for
   at the wedding and 4^th of July), I’ve been a bit more lax on the
   dessert side (I can’t resist!). However, I have been good about resisting treats at work, including
   cake pops and cookies several times. I also have been logging my calories every
   day (except some weekend days) and have stayed between 1,800-2,200 (more
   calories on double days).
4. Coffee.
   Oops. Mike and I gave up coffee cold turkey in round 1. We literally didn’t
   have it for 90 days, with the exception of a half cup before the La Jolla half
   marathon, which was in Week 12. This round, however, I’ve probably had coffee
   on average three times a week. I include the creamer in my calorie tracker.
5. Shakeology Cleanse. I kicked off my 2^nd round of P90X with the Shakeology
   Cleanse.

Phase 1 Results:

Unfortunately I didn’t do any measurements (or even the fit
test) before starting this phase. I plan to compare my final measurements from
the first round to my final measurements of round 2, although admittedly there
were some changes between the time I finished Round 1 and started Round 2 (there
was about a month and a half in between where I was full scale marathon
training and tapering and I gained a few pounds from overindulging).

As explained in my Shakeology cleanse post, I weighed in
very heavy on Day 1 of Round 2. I actually weighed a little over 6 lbs more
than on my final day of P90X Round 1 (yikes!). However, I lost 5.8 lbs in three
days on the cleanse. I only gained one pound back from the cleanse the day
after I finished it (surely from the fact that I ate more real food). However,
since then, I haven’t lost any more, and in fact the scale is showing me 1-2 lb
weight gain (albeit a net 3-4 lb loss from that first day). This hasn’t been
encouraging to me in the slightest, and I know my sporadic faulty nutrition is
part. However, I also know that I have become significantly stronger in the
last 4 weeks, and I do believe that a large part of the gain is muscle mass. I can tell
a significant difference in my shoulders and arms and I am also able to lift
more and do more push-ups (30 now!) than I was able to at the end of Round 1.
My stomach is back to being toned and flat and I can easily complete Ab Ripper
with all the advanced moves again. Although the scale says I’m a couple pounds
above my previous weight, I definitely don’t think that it’s fat.

Learning to Ignore the Scale

That being said, I can’t help but be a little disappointed that
I haven’t lost more. I have been working very hard and I was hoping to see a
bigger move in the scale. My ultimate goal is to lean out more in order to
improve my running and triathlon race times, as I’ve read several times that
the leaner the racer, the faster the time. However, I need to remind myself
that the scale is just one measurement of success.

Robyn, a blogger I follow, wrote
a really interesting blog post a few weeks ago about body image and included a link to an article about Lolo
Jones, an Olympic hurdler who is 5’9” (my height) and weighs in at 160 lbs.
Click here to see a sexy semi-nude picture of this “heavy” girl. Knowing that I weigh significantly less than this woman and she is super lean
looking encouraged me to stop looking to the scale for results. Obviously after
the marathon when I slowed down my workouts and ate whatever I wanted, my
weight was telling me that I needed to make some changes, but when I’m consistently
working out and eating right as I am now and the scale isn’t moving, I need to
remind myself that it doesn’t matter. Easier said than done!

Phase 2 Challenges

Phase 2 definitely poses some challenges of its own. I plan
to continue my Phase 1/Phase 2 hybrid meal plan but I have two very non-P90X
friendly vacations rapidly approaching: a weekend in Vegas (i.e. major
drinking, no exercising,  little sleep and
a steak dinner and who knows what else) and 5 days in an all inclusive resort
in the Dominican Republic (i.e. lots of drinking and eating). Luckily our Phase
2 rest week falls during the Dominican vacation and the Vegas trip is only 2
days long. As for rest week workouts, I plan to utilize the resort gym for a
few runs (the half marathon is just two weeks after we come back) and hopefully
get in a couple beach yoga sessions. In the end, I’m not going to kill myself
if it doesn’t work out. I deserve a vacation – from work and from working out
and careful eating. My goal is to exercise moderation. Hopefully being in a
bathing suit 24/7 will be enough motivation to avoid a second round at the
buffet!