Day 18 out of 90 (Yoga X)

Workout: I'll preface this and say that today, it was quite a mental workout to even to get me to do Yoga in the first place. In the end, I told myself to do the first 45 mins only and listen to music while doing it. It worked! Even better, while I was doing it, I decided to go through the full 90 mins! It was quite refreshing at the end. With my poor, bad habits in the past of skipping Yoga... I have to combat that urge hard. Afterwards, I really feel great and what's cool is that I am starting to be able to do most of the moves in the series. The one that I am particularly struggling with is half moon, moon, and near the end of the workout. The ab workout from Yoga is also pretty hardcore. Overall, I gotta give it more of an effort to do both the Yoga workout days next week during recovery week. 

Food: Ate pretty well today.  Didn't have much time to eat a full meal as I was on campus all day. Had a protein bar and a bag of cashews (yum), and planning on having a similar meal to yesterday's for dinner. Won't bother posting pics as it will look exactly the same =).

Overall feeling: Feeling great! I also am looking forward to going to Maui and getting ready to be "Beach body" ready! Also, day 30 pics will be coming up pretty soon. wow! time flies. That will be a new page, so I'll post it whenever day 30 rolls around... 

Day 17 out of 90 (Shoulders & Arms)

Workout: Phew. I always hate the half an hour before I start the workout. For some reason, I still dread the workouts as it's a long time commitment to do the p90x routine. I just pushed through hard though. It made me feel good to see I've been making about 20% improvements on certain workouts. My arms are definitely sore but the protein shakes definitely help.

Food: Continued the healthy eating streak. Decided to finish up most of my fresh veggies and went through the asparagus saute. I made a dinner similar to yesterday's salad, but included candied pecans and raisins this time. Yum! Healthy day of eating, woo.

Overall feeling: Ready to do YogaX tomorrow.. Come on.. bring it!

Day 16 out of 90 (Plyo)

Workout: Woo, while this morning's weight results were not to my liking, it certainly showed me that I gotta be firmer with myself eating wise throughout the week. So today's workout, I pushed myself harder, doing doubles where needed and going hard on certain sections like the jump knee tuck and mary katherine lunges. I also did my workout with Yena! which was great :)

Food: Ate really well today. Had my usual double whey protein shakes throughout the day and supplemented that with lots of good veggies. I'm also going to try and be better about incorporating more fruits in my diet. Pic of what I ate for dinner tonight! Homemade chicken spinach and mixed greens salad, with asparagus stirfry in it. Yum!

Overall feeling: A lil dissapointed I failed for the 2nd week in a row for the weight monitoring, but it's ok! there's always next week.


Question to readers: What kind of workout is your favorite that you would fill 2 hours with? (specific p90x workout, or more general is fine)


My response: I would do 45 mins of plyo, then 45 mins of badminton/ping pong and then half an hour of swimming!

Day 15 out of 90 (Chest & Back)

Workout: Woo, time to get back into it. That was an okay week to transition back into the routine. While my arms were certainly feeling wasted by the end of the workout, I was pretty happy as I was improving higher reps on pullups and some pushups. Hopefully for the next week, I can keep it up. Man, it's a constant mental struggle throughout the workout to push yourself to keep "bringing it". At the end of the Chest & Back workout, I was really tempted to stop and skip ab ripper. I am glad that I decided to squelch that thought and push through. Wasn't easy but rewarding as I look back.

Food: Ate well. Finished my first tub of whey protein powder (extreme chocolate). Wow. Can't believe I finished the entire tub! I remember when I first got that earlier today. Thankfully, I prepared ahead of time and got a big bag of muscle milk whey protein (vanilla) that I started hitting. Good stuff :D delicious. I also ate my favorite salad today from Trader Joes! Didn't take any pics but will remember to do so next time.

Overall feeling: Good! Excited to weigh in tomorrow in officially to see if I lost weight.... nervous! Haha.

Day 11 out of 90 (Shoulders & Arms)

Workout: Finished today's workout well. Gotta be honest though, I had a beer or so in me while I was doing this and it was pretty hardcore. Definitely not doing p90x while im buzzed, lol. Finished up Ab Ripper X strong too. like a boss!

Food: Ate well today for the temptations that was presented to me! I went to a Thai restaurant on the ave with friends, and I stayed away from ordering too much and just had a chicken satay appetizer. While the food itself wasn't that good (chicken was pretty rubbery), I'm glad as it mostly protein. Then, I had just a guinness and a vodka sprite. So not too much damage overall for doing happy hour with friends. I also finished up my salad mix that I got from Trader Joe's with some soy stuff. Good times!

Overall feeling: Buzzed!

Day 10 out of 90 (Plyo)

Workout: Got back into it! Brought it today with Plyo hard. I definitely pushed myself harder than normal on some of those moves and real happy about that. Overall, feeling pretty good and should be great to go for tomorrow's workout. Even though it will take me longer to finish, I really need to take those necessary breaks when my body is telling me to stop.


Food: Haha, I know you guys are probably tired of seeing the same foods over and over again but man, I really haven't gotten bored of it... yet. Ate the typical food, ranging from soy meatballs, to salad and some wings. Overall, I think I am really content eating around 1300-1600 calorie range and feeling full, while still pulling around 130g+ of protein. Also, I don't eat a lot of fish, so still trying to be good about eating my omega oil supplements + multivits. Oh and I'm also trying to be good about drinking at least 64 fl oz of water per day.

Overall feeling: Fantastic actually. I like eating healthy. When I eat like crap, I feel like crap.

Day 9 out of 90 (Rest)

Workout: So I woke up today with my calves being completely wrecked and sore. Since I had Plyo on deck today, I decided to take a rest day today to heal up. I think the back to back legs&back and chest&back routine really worked me hard and I am definitely not doing that again. So in any case, I'll be resuming my Plyo workout tomorrow. 

Food: Ate well so far. Will be updating dinner when I have it. I had a baby spring mix salad with soy meatballs and  a vegetable medley mix. I also downed that with a protein shake (for recovery) and my regular daily pills. Yum.

Overall feeling: Let's heal up and bring it tomorrow!

Day 8 out of 90 (Chest & Back)

Workout: Today was Chest & Back and man, never again will I do legs & back and then chest & back, back to back (lol). The reason was that my back was still recovering from the workout yesterday before I pushed through and gave it more pressure. Also, my abs were definitely still recovering. In any case, I still completed my workout like a champ! Even though I was so tempted to stop at many points. Had a blast working out with the cool wind coming in from the window as it was raining outside while I was working out.


Food: Yumm. Started off the day well by having a protein shake and some meatballs and soy wings. I had a pretty busy day today so I didn't eat much besides drinking water till my workout. After my workout, I stopped to get some great groceries from Trader Joes to keep me strong for the rest of the week. For dinner, had one of my favorite salads from Trader Joes (field greens) and again some soy stuff, with a protein shake and a glass of white zinfandel. Eating a healthy dinner with the GF = major win. 

Overall feeling: Kept up the strength on the first day. Bring on tomorrow's plyo workout! I'm ready. I also will be recording my weight/bf. Honestly, I expect to not have lost any weight as I reflect on last week, it really was not a great week in terms of eating. Why? I indulged (without consciously realizing) in eating great japanese food, chez shea, 2x trips to taco stand and 2x to JimmyJohns's. Dangit matt! No indulgence this week! Haha. Gotta be better this week. 

Day 7 out of 90 (Legs & Back)

Workout: So this week, I did 6/7 of the regular scheduled workouts and opted for doing legs & back instead of Kenpo today.  Yesterday, I went up to western to visit my buddy Chris (hey Chris!) and couldn't find the time to squeeze in a workout before I left for it. In any case, it's all good and I'll try to keep on track next week. Today's workout was tough, mentally. I didn't get too much sleep last night and it's slowly all starting to catch up to me. As I've been still recovering from Vegas, the sleep deficit has definitely kept me pretty sluggish overall and I really have to do better this week in sleeping 8+ hours per day. So that's a mini goal for this week. Today's workout was good though, I kept up with my previous reps and didn't get weaker (thankfully) and still had a really nice burn at the end. I am happy with my Ab Ripper performance though. I remember about 10 weeks ago when I first started p90x, man... I struggled hard with ab ripper. I remember being pissed that I couldn't keep up with them at all and blamed it on such an advanced workout routine. I instead swapped it out for an easier 8 minute abs youtube workout and thought that was enough. I am glad that I decided to man up and switch back to ab ripper the following week. Even though I could barely keep up, I found myself getting stronger as each week passes. Now, I can keep up with them without a problem and can do most of the moves in tandem with them! So, pretty happy about that!


Food: Had some good stuff today. Ate with Chris and Travis at the Bayside Cafe, and it was alright to be honest. I had a chicken burger with a side of salad (yay for swapping out fries for a salad.) The chicken itself was decent, but the salad was really drenched in dressing (next time: remember to ask for dressing on the side). Service was also spotty. In any case, drinking my protein shake and eating my vitamins soon! Going to also eat a hambao and soy stuff for dinner.

Overall feeling: Motivated to bring it in this upcoming week. Also, I will be recording my weight/bf normally first thing on Tuesday mornings. (for consistency)

Question to readers: What is your ideal outdoor activity/sport to do during the Seattle summer? (since we're all working oh so hard on getting a nice body for summer =] )

Mine is: Definitely either jetskiing/boating/beach OR going on a half-day hike.  

Day 5 out of 90 (Yoga)

Workout: So today's workout was Yoga. Now I will be honest, I am not a fan of Yoga at all. In my previous 8-9 weeks of doing p90x earlier during my 2nd attempt, I either skipped Yoga, replaced Yoga with running or did only half of the workout. So, this time around, I promised to stick close to the schedule and did the full Yoga workout today. I must say... the first 50 mins were brutal. I had a lot of sweat and just trucked through. The second half was a bit more relaxing and that was really nice to stretch out the muscles. Overall, I really think it's a big mental issue and I was glad at the end to have done it. Let's keep it up again next week!


Food: Had a lot of good stuff today, ranging from salad, veggies, soy meatballs and to protein shakes. Only mistake I really made today was eating a burrito. Really don't think my body liked having all that food at once, lol.


Overall feeling: A lil tired but glad I worked hard today. Woo.

Day 4 out of 90 (Shoulders & Arms)

Workout: Woo buddy. So first off, yeah, I used my skip day already for the week. Come on Matt, BRING IT! Yesterday though, I tried to do the workout and had to stop due to headaches. I rested up and brought it today. It wasn't easy but man, did I feel good at the end. Literally, when I compare the #'s of what I can do now, it amazes me. For instance, when I first started about 3 months ago, week 1: I couldn't do the bonus round that included the side tri rise routine. The following week, I could do it, but only squeezed out 4 of them on the first set and couldn't do any on the second set. Now, I can push myself all the way to the bonus round and can do approx 15 on both sets. Wow. That gives me great motivation to push myself even harder and to persist all the way through.

Food: Today was not a good day for eating, consumption wise. I only had a protein bar during lunch and that was it. I got home and needed to bust out my workout before eating. Anyway, post-workout, I prepared a great meal (or at least I think so :D). I made a salad with broccoli and cauliflower. Usually the dressing can ruin the "goodness" of a salad, so I opted for half a tablespoon of olive oil and salt & pepper. Delicious. I couple that salad with some soy meatballs and a protein shake and I am great to go! Also, you can see in my picture below that I am beginning to make it a daily thing to take these supplements. Triple omega softgels (b/c I don't eat too much fish) and a multi-vit from Trader Joes.

Total "damage" from the meal? :) 519 calories and 54g of protein.



Overall feeling: Superb. Hope I can rest up more tonight and get to 100% by tomorrow to do Yoga. Let's do it!

Day 2 out of 90 (Plyo)

Workout: Workout was tiring today. Halfway through Plyo, I literally felt like I wanted to quit. Thank god Yena was behind me watching me workout! (and blogging, lol). Anyway, definitely need to rest up tonight and get more motivated for tomorrow.

Food: Had a protein bar, protein shake and then dinner arrived. Had a chicken katsu meal at Ginku's, and some ramen, miso soup, and lots of veggies.

Overall feeling: Tired! Need to rest up today. Peaceout.

Day 1 out of 90 (Chest & Back)

Workout: Workout was solid today. I am quite sore and tired from Vegas however I rallied to push through a Chest & Back and Ab Ripper workout today. I did notice that I was a lot more fatigued in my second set than normal. Hopefully this will clear up next week after I get back into the workout rhythm.

Food: For breakfast: I had a Caesar chicken wrap (thank you Yena!), protein shake for lunch snack, and cooked up a nice veggie/soy/egg plate for dinner. I absolutely LOVE the trader joe's chili sauce and started using my second bottle today =) It makes everything taste so good and it's a great way to spice up some bland tasting foods (like cauliflower). In any case, I'm full and happy.

Overall feeling: Excited. I need to keep this good workout feeling going. Spring quarter baby, let's do it!

For both my two readers: How do you feel post-Vegas and now that Spring is almost here? Any new goals before summer?

Quest attempt #2: FAIL

As the title reads: FAIL!

Haha, while that is over dramatic, I am disappointed to classify my second attempt as a fail for finishing all three phases of P90x.

To recap, my first attempt was during the summer of 2010, where I completed around 30~ days, and my second attempt started in early January 2011 (this blog).

Sure, I am disappointed that I wasn't able to complete this entire series. You may be asking "What happened that even you would consider this a fail? Why not just pickup where you left off?".

The simple answer is that I want to do this right. I learned that when I give myself too much slack, my discipline wavers, indulgence takes place and I lose sight of my goal. I "sinned" too much in Sin City (vegas) this past week, and ultimately, eating junk food (5 burgers, pizza, fries, ), not working out for a week, and consuming far too much alcohol... I can't look at the results at the end of the 90 days and attribute it to a successful p90x routine.

Anyhoo, to make this short, I wouldn't classify it as a waste of my time, as I started to wonder "why did I fail again?". And now I re-tell a standout quote from a movie I just recently saw: (Adjustment Bureau)

"But we had a rule in my neighborhood, when you got in a fight, it wasn't whether or not you got knocked down. It's what you do when you get back up."

I am doing P90X AGAIN! Starting today. I will try my hardest at completing my new year's resolution: Finishing all THREE phases of P90X in 2011. What I learned is that I am following the workout schedules, tips, and nutrition plan to a T and as strict as possible. I have to learn not to allow myself to cut corners here and there. I was far too lenient in my 2nd P90x attempt and gave in too many times to temptation.

I will be tracking reps and progress in an excel sheet that will be downloadable on this blog. I will do my best at posting status updates on this blog in a concise fashion. I am tracking what I eat using MyPlate on LiveStrong. I will post 0-30-60-90 day pictures on this blog as well as weekly number tracks of my weight and BF%. Sure, it's a little embarrassing, but you two are two of my most trusted people I know and I need to be help accountable =).

Let's do this, let's get fit by June 26, 2011 (91 day mark).

Thank YOU for your continued support.

Day fifty out of ninety-seven [50/97]

When the going gets tough, where do you go?

I ask this because this past week's needs for my time, was brutal. Between a difficult economics exam, extra-curricular commitments and finalizing my capstone project, I literally had no time on certain days to squeeze in a work out.

You know what though? That's an excuse. I did P90X to begin to get myself out of that mind-frame where I would ignore working out because I was so busy. The frustrating thing was that I know that I did have some time here and there, but didn't  do it because I was so exhausted. I have to get into the habit that I need to do this for myself when that situation comes up again to "Just bring it" and do solid work during the 60-90 min commitment, per day.

So in any case, as part of my "punishment" :) for only doing 3 workouts last week, I will be re-doing week 3 of phase II this week and extend my "quest for ninety" to a quest for ninety-seven days, haha. It's okay to have a little road bump, but I gotta keep it up for the remaining half of the program. Speaking of which, it's day fifty! Which means that I'm officially over half way down with the entire program. Woo!

For dinner today, I'm having lean chicken with vegetables! This is an early dinner(early 5pm ish)

 

 So today, cooked a standard meal that I normally cook. Lean chicken + lots of veggies! as you can see, mostly fresh broccoli and some green beans. I had half right now and saving the other half to eat in the labs in a few hours :)

Anyway that got me thinking, to my two readers, haha.. what are your favorite fruits and vegetables?

For vegetables: Definitely broccoli, or spinach. (weiird, i used to hate these)

For fruit: easily mango, probably because I like how sweet it is. or watermelon.

Day forty out of ninety [40/90]

No post for the last couple days! I apologize. I've been far too busy with informatics capstone and busy with classes that I haven't had the chance to post. Regardless, I've still been able to make time to do my workouts this week. I was able to push myself harder this week compared to last week and increased my reps pretty well.

This is the second week of phase two and all, been feeling pretty good. I've started to get used to working out so frequently and hopefully I can keep it up for the next fifty days. Forty days today marks an upcoming milestone: forty-five. That will officially be the half way mark and about 15 days away from another "performance picture" =). Definitely have to keep it up and make sure to stay on top of my game. Working hard, but only half way there.. here we go! Fifty more!

For today's workout, I definitely pushed myself hard. I did all the routines and even saw myself increase anywhere from 10-20% on a lot of my reps. However, I didn't push myself all the way due to the fact that it was Legs & Back workout today and I will be going snowshoeing for a few hours tomorrow. So tomorrow shall be a substitute for Kenpo, unless I'm feeling super good and decide to do Kenpo on Sunday.

In any case, time for the food! (for you, Yena!). I read a post from someone on a forum on p90x that said that the hardest part about p90x, is the nutrition. I don't remember what he said verbatim, but I'll paraphrase. Essentially, to get effective results, it starts in the kitchen, not in the gym. You definitely won't be losing much or getting results if you're eating wrong and unhealthy. Pretty simple right? But a 90 day commitment is tough to curb the bad eating habits and I believe is the most challenging portion of p90x. After all, the mental commitment for the workout is 1hr-1.5hr per day, but the mental commitment to eating healthy is 24 hours, all day, for 90 days.

In any case, I'll definitely do my best to hold myself accountable to eating right, and forget the rest. For dinner tonight, I kept it simple. I had a vegetable mix from trader joes, and combined that with some broccoli. After it was well seasoned and fried a little, I added two eggs into the mix and made it into a nice stir-fry. I'm not sure how "healthy" this is, but eggs are a great form of protein and I tried to keep everything as healthy as I could be. Next, I had some chicken as well as some soy meatballs. Heated it all up and ate dinner! I also committed to only eating half of it for right now, then eating the other half in a few hours :) trying to eat smaller portions.

One other thing I wanted to ask my readers (which are you two, you know who you are :) ).. 

What motivates YOU to work out?

For me, it's about getting in a healthy lifestyle while I am still young. I've seen far too many people put off getting physically active and reap the repercussions down the road. I've had far too many family members pass away too early and I want to do all that I can to curb bad habits early on. Also, I definitely think by being healthier physically, it'll lend to being sharper in many other aspects of life. 

Day thirty-six out of ninety [36/90]

Woo. Happy Valentine's Day.

Day thirty six. Annihilated! Killer workout. Chest, biceps and triceps are definitely a favorite due to its brutality. About 6 exercises in (out of 24), I could definitely feel my arms getting more sore and the beads of sweat rolling off my forehead.

I am either keeping up with my previous week's progress or doing at least 1-2 reps higher on each exercise. I definitely hope next week to do a solid effort on the one arm pushups. I was able to do more this week compared to how dead my arms were the first time around.

Overall though, I'm happy so far with the p90x progress. While I'm definitely not at my goal yet, it has gotten me to think healthier as well as being physically active for around 6-7 hours consistently a week from 0-1 hour a week in fall quarter. While I'm repairing a lot of the damage done to my body in 2010, I hope to continue this positive flow of energy this year!

Day thirty-four out of ninety [34/90]

Almost wrapping up my first week of phase 2 and man, what a difference.

In terms of the effort that is. I'm starting to move into non-assisted chest moves, without the chair and making some good progress. Definitely hope to improve on them as the weeks progress. Also, I really ... really am not feeling Yoga. Gave it another shot yesterday and was really bored half way through. Sigh.

Today though, I definitely felt the burn in Legs & Back. While this week has had a few harder exercises, I think that I've not been getting enough sleep and my muscles are more so as the days roll by. I am also pushing my self harder earlier on in the workouts and notice that I can last longer. But regardless, my arms and legs definitely still feel sore from previous workouts.

Just gotta keep it up and see how these next few weeks progress. I am optimistic though that my habits are changing pretty well. I do have to recognize that if I am working out 6 days a week, I really need to get 8~ hours of sleep every night in order to heal my muscles up before tearing them in the next few days. Today, my knees felt really weak during the earlier portion of the workout and I was near on the verge of giving up. But just as I was almost thinking of turning the video off around 1/4 in.. I hear Tony saying "Do your best... and forget the rest." That made me think of all the times before in the first few weeks where I almost gave up half way through the workout but just gave it my all and powered through it. After it, I felt great. So I did the same today and definitely don't regret it.

Valentine's day is coming up... hope I don't indulge too much in not healthy foods =)

Day thirty-two out of ninety [32/90]

Wow! How fast time is flying. As I typed out 32.. it hits me that 45 isn't too far away and that is almost half way with the program :)

So anyway to recap what happened this week... I fell sick on Tuesday night after my workout and doing some work on campus for my capstone. Not good. But I took nyquil that night. and took two doses of dayquil throughout the next day, stayed in and skipped classes and took nyquil that following night. I also didn't do p90x (For obvious reasons) and recovered by this morning, thankfully.

So all in all, I decided to "use" my one free day on wednesday and keep my regular routine. So, hopefully this doesn't throw me off all week.

On to the workout, wow what a workout! Today was biceps and back and what a mooother of a workout. My biceps/arms never felt more dead by the end. As I sit here on my comfy couch typing, just raising my hand causes some soreness to appear :) It feels good but it also sets the tone for Phase two.

This ain't Phase One. I really gotta bring it every workout session and continue to improve. It was certainly a strong workout and I hope to do even better next week. I'm going to try not using the chair starting next week as well for most of my pullups, unless necessary. Ab ripper was great too, I'm starting to see myself last longer, which is even better. I am taking less frequent breaks and am able to push myself harder, woo. Just gotta keep it up.

Also, I recently took pics of myself for day 30 mark and compared them to day 0. Wow haha.. while the notices are subtle, they are still there. I am really glad that I am doing this program and whipping myself back into a healthy level of fitness. All last year was devoting to getting me a great job and since that's complete, on to my next goal of 2011: Conquer ninety days of P90X. Looking great and feeling great will hopefully come naturally. I'm excited to push myself for the remaining 60% of the program as I did hear that a lot of the results seem to stem from phase2/3 as phase 1 is the phase that just "settles" you in.

As far as what I'm eating today... I'll be eating a chicken ceasar salad and maybe a snack afterwards around 9pm or so. Pics coming soon!

Day thirty out of ninety [30/90]

You have no idea how happy I am to say this:

Officially, I am 1/3 done with P90X :D

Haha, okay, got that out of the way....

Great workout today. Decided to squeeze Plyometrics in between classes and a long group meeting today.

Breakfast: Had a protein bar on the go along with a bag of pop chips.

Lunch: Had a late lunch after Plyo (since it's recommended) and got a salad from By George. Spinach, Mix Greens, Kidney Beans, Garbanzo beans, olives, chicken, eggs, and some sesame seeds. Also, while salads are regarded as a healthy choice, the one factor that makes them pretty unhealthy is the dressing. I opted to go with a small bit of olive oil and salt&pepper. Good to go!

----------^

All of that content above was written by me on Tuesday, before I fell sick later that night!

On to today's post :)

Day twenty-nine out of ninety [29/30]

...And Phase 1 is complete.

Huge apology for the lack of updates. Honestly, I really didn't like the second half of Recovery Week. I was really bored with Stretch X, and Yoga X. I just haven't gotten into it yet. I'm still giving it a shot but the 90 minutes don't feel that great to me, at least.

In any case, Phase 1 is complete and I'm moving onwards with Phase 2!

Today, I did Chest, Shoulders and Triceps. Man, it's been a while since a non-cardio working like that has kicked my ass so hard. I definitely got beat down hard on certain moves, one in particular being the one handed push up. I may need to pace myself better as I was going stronger on the earlier moves and not saving enough energy near the mid. Regardless, I kept through the entire session and was able to finish it successfully. I can definitely say that I'm looking forward to next week's session as I know what to expect on some of these moves and how to pace myself better. Ab ripper X was also great. I can definitely see some improvements here and there. I could do all 25 reps on certain moves and slowly getting better at ones that knock me out usually. I at least hope by the end of all 3 Phases to keep up the entire time with Ab Ripper X =).

Great workout nonetheless, it gave me hope to "Bring It" always after being a little de-motivated from the Recovery Week. I looked ahead, and the Recovery Week for Phase II is pretty similar. I may end up switching in more cardio activities such as more Core Synergetics or Plyometrics into this Phase's Recovery Week in a few weeks..

Anyway on to food: Today I decided to split up my portions. I've noticed that I would cook a good amount of food, which ends up stuffing me by the end of it. So since I was eating around 530pm, I decided to store half of the cooked food in a glass bowl in the fridge and just have it a few hours later.

Broccoli, Cauliflower & mixed vegetable Stir fry

Seasoned chicken from a frozen chicken breast, fried!

1/2 portion of dinner, eaten hot off the pan!

Saving half for later.

I actually ate the other half about 2 hours ago, and it was delicious. Also, I was feeling full after the first 1/2 portion that I am really glad I saved the other half for later. Spacing them out seemed to be the right call as I didn't feel too overstuffed immediately after dinner. In any case, I'm going to try and do this more often!

Food report: 1400 calories, 183g protein

Day twenty-three out of ninety [23/90]

Onwards to the final week of phase 1!

Can't believe it's already here. Some great work thus far and this week looks really  fun.

I just finished the Core Synergetics workout and it's one of my favorites, definitely.

It has you doing really cool moves that involve the entire body and overall, gave me an excellent sweat throughout the workout.

Yesterday was Yoga and I'm feeling pretty meh about that specific routine. While I definitely do think its valuable for any athelete, some of the moves are still pretty difficult and definitely doesn't have me sweating as some of the other workouts. I'm sure though that it's at least helping with flexibility and balance. I'll keep at it, and im hoping it'll be better eventually.

Tonight, I'm cooking a brocolli + vegetable medley with a chicken breast and soy meatballs

Raw chicken breast that I thawed. Sliced halfway through for easier cooking, and I also plan on cutting it down into smaller pieces after it's done. I make slits in the meat and seasoned it with some garlic powder and Johnny's seasoning!

After that's done, I grill and fry the veggie mix and chicken breast until it's fully cooked and ready. All the cooking probably took about 15-20~ mins.

Ta-dah. All done. Soy meatbals, Veggie mix, and chicken with a bottle of water and protein shake in the back. Yum.

Fresh chicken is always so much tastier. This was a pretty heavy meal but I hadn't eaten much at all so it's all good =)

Day twenty out of ninety [20/90]

Week three complete!

Did Kenpo X today and had a blast. Went back home to bellevue and did a fun workout session in my bedroom. Funny thing was that bubbles was watching while i was working out and was pretty confused, haha.

Anyway, the legs and back workout yesterday was really good. It burned while I was doing it.. as well as feeling it this morning.

I have been eating pretty well so far, keeping most of my diet comprised of protein as well as veggies. Last night, I ate some great Malaysian food, and you can read more about it on my amazing girlfriend's blog post =)

Tomorrow's a break day for me and I will be doing my last week of Phase 1.

I've never been this far in a p90x workout so I'm definitely motivated to hopefully see good results.

I'm also feeling a lot better lately, and I think I can attribute that to all the good food I've been eating as well as all the daily workout sessions.

I had great home cooked food tonight!

-Matt

Day seventeen out of ninety [17/90]

What a great day. Week 3 has been fantastic on me so far. While the first two weeks were brutal, I can definitely say that I'm noticing a change in the third week. For instance, I am able to go harder and longer on the workouts in comparison. Today's workout (Shoulders & Arms), I was wasted by the end when I first did it in Week 1 and didn't do the "bonus" round. This time, I pushed through and still had a lot of energy left in me. Also, it was great because I am able to do a lot of the workouts cleaner and with better form. So far, so good on P90x. Really happy about that.

Yesterday's workout was solid as well. Plyo is a killer cardio exercise and I am really liking it. It was the first day when I reached a "workout zen". Near the middle of the workout, I was just following Tony & his crew on TV and just pushing myself hard without even thinking about how difficult it is or how tired I was. It's quite a rush of a feeling and makes the time melt way.

I've been eating well too. I won't post what I've been eating for dinner as it is the same stuff as my last post. Finished the bag of asparagus risotto (lasted me 3 dinners!), and getting some good sources of protein from the chicken and soy meatballs. I'm excited to end this week because it's recovery week coming up and I've never actually been that far in the P90x workout program before.

I'm definitely pumped to see if there's noticeable changes at the end of Phase 2 =).

Caloric count for yesterday (1/25): 920cal, 98.9g protein
Caloric count for today (1/26): 1614cal, 167g protein

Day fifteen out of ninety [15/90]

Major lack of updates!

Sorry about that, was busy all weekend. I still kept up with my workout routine though, able to get all the workouts in on week 2 besides completing fully the legs & back routine. Went about half way through.

In any case, this week is looking good so far. I found the Chest & Back better on the third week and definitely see improvement in the # of reps I am doing this week versus when I started. So pretty happy so far and I will definitely stick with it. I'm half way done with Phase 1, and still have 2 more full weeks to go.

Bring it!

Anyway, on to some other stuff... I decided to show how I normally cook/prepare my meals as well as show how that ties in to how I keep my food journal.

In order to hold myself accountable to the food that I am eating, I am using DietOrganizer. Pretty great program that I've had for a while and I really like using it as it makes entries very quick. I definitely do think that recording what you eat is critical to combine that with a strong workout routine due to the strong link between them. So as such, I've committed 90 days to recording to the best of my ability, what I eat, as well as trying to cook at home more as it is easier to know what you're putting in your body (versus eating out @ restaurants).

Today, I decided to prepare Asparagus & Chicken Risotto with Soy Meatballs for dinner!

These are all purchased from Trader Joes, very affordable. Altogether, I think all 3 packages together should cost around a total of $8. The great thing is that I only ate like 1/3-1/4 of the chicken, 1/3 of the broccoli and 1/2 of the Asparagus risotto. Who said eating healthy is expensive? =) [when compared to alternatives]

A general rule of thumb is that I measure all the ingredients for dinner so that I can record them into DietOrganizer and get a really clear indication of the calories that I consumed. It does not take me a long time to measure what I eat! With a digital scale like you see in my pictures, it takes seconds as I just pour in the contents, and memorize them to enter them into my program later. Plus, once you do it very often (such as eating 4x Trader Joes meatless buffalo wings, you kinda know that it's 67g).

Ta-dah! Cooking time was about 10ish minutes. Spiced and salted to my liking and it was a delicious meal! I'm really beginning to enjoy cooking at home more often and will explore some funner (but healthy!) dishes in the future.

Total caloric for the day: 1597/171g protein

Day ten out of ninety [10/90]

So this is an irregular post. Usually I will make my post after my workout. Today, I am going to post what I ate for breakfast since it was my first time trying this dish.

Also, you gotta cater your blog to your audience and my audience looooves pictures of food. So, I'll throw these in a little bit more frequently. Not everyday, but there will be food sightings once in a while!

I decided to have some scrambled egg with veggies this morning. It turned out fantastic! I had it with some soy meatballs as well and it definitely filled me up. It was very easy to cook and I actually used egg white mix from Trader Joes rather than a whole egg. The reason for this is that a whole egg can have high amounts of cholesterol and I want simply the protein (the egg whites, not the yolk). In any case, when salted & spiced, the scrambled tasted amazing! I initially had 2 servings (approx 80g) and was still hungry! So I just whipped up another batch in literally 4 mins and had another serving ready to go. Now I am completely full and ready to take on the day, and my Plyo workout when I get back from class.

Here are some pics!

Scramble #1!

Scramble #2!

Now on to the workout. This is week 2 of Plyo and man, it was a solid workout. I felt FANTASTIC afterwards. I'm really liking the whole working out 6 days a week routine. It gave me a lot of energy post-workout. I gave it a full 110% right from the start of the workout and found myself jumping and pushing harder compared to last week.

I also decided while working out that at the end of phase 1, I will review each workout routine as I should have enough experience by then. I will mostly look at the effectiveness as well as personal growth (in terms of increased reps + better form). 

Total caloric count for the day: 1022 calories.

Day eight/nine out of ninety [9/90]

So I decided to group these two days together as I decided to take my 2nd week "rest day" on Monday due to not being able to return home from Victoria till 10pm last night (due to weather delays).

So, I shifted my workout schedule to start on Tuesday this week and completed my Chest & Back workout after classes together.

Great workout! I was able to use the push up stands this time and noticed better form from my pushups. However, I did find that the reps I was able to do last week was better on some workouts. At the end though, my arm gave out and I couldn't finish the last set. Oh well, something to look forward to during next week's workout!

So I'm back on the regular eating routine from my indulgent weekend in Victoria and ready to commit for the remainder of phase 1 (as I won't be travelling). I'm trying to hit around 90-100g of protein per day for strong muscle recovery and as its one of the recommended # range for men around my weight trying to lean out.

I was thinking that there may be a misconception that eating healthy is expensive. Not so much if you have your own kitchen. I am stuffed (at the end of the day) and I believe that I've been eating well throughout the day. Interestingly enough, when I am eating a lot of veggies, I find that I can't get my calorie count up to the 2000's without feeling overstuffed. I'm simply eating till I'm content and we'll see if it helps me lose some fat down the road.

When I was not being cautious about what I ate, I easily ate takeout or foods from local restaurants and easily spend about $15-20 per day. (approx 7.50 - 10 per meal). From a week's worth of groceries from Trader Joes, I can spend about $40 per week and be in great shape.

I usually won't detail out my food schedule in every post as I am planning on showing what I eat per day at the end of the Phase 1 cycle. However, I'll show what I ate tonight! I cooked lots of veggies (250g worth) ranging from broccoli to carrots and a good amount of chicken strips, and soy buffalo wings (+ bbq sauce). Washing that down with a chocolate protein drink is delicious and fantastic. I also will generally drink about 24~floz of water during dinner as well. Spice & pepper it up to satisfaction!

It took me about 15 mins to prepare, not that much time at all and is pretty healthy in my mind.

So that's a lot of food. What's the damage, calories-wise?

596 calories, including the protein shake, which made up about 230 calories for this meal.

Not bad, considering a single BK Whopper is 670 calories ;)

Protein intake for this meal? 

72g. Yeaah, huge amount of great protein, mainly from the lean chicken, protein powder, soy wings and milk.

There we go, that's what I will usually eat for dinners and I'd say it's certainly an affordable way to eat and a much healthier alternative. 

Oh and I'm 10% done with the ENTIRE 90 day program!

And about 30% done with Phase 1. Here we go!

Total caloric intake for the day: 1320 calories, 125g protein

Day seven out of ninety [7/90]

Despite on a vacation in Victoria, I still went through with the P90X routine!

Started the day off strong with a great Kenpo X workout in my hotel room.

Fantastic as I definitely got a strong cardio activity.

While there was very minimal room to do some of the movies, I still had a blast.

Today was definitely a cheat day when it came to eating, haha. Had a wonderful time, but definitely not excessive eating.

It's alright though as I am going back to my regular routine starting tomorrow.

I hope to complete my chest & back workout late at night, so I really do hope I have the energy then.

Day six out of ninety [6/90]

So, today I am off to Victoria B.C.!

I am completely exhausted but I'm struggling hard to find every ounce of energy that I have. For the past few days, I've been getting around 4 hrs of sleep on average. Combine that with the low amount of calories/food that I've been getting, p90x and adjusting to muscle soreness... I really could use extra sleep.

In any case, I am taking my rest day today instead of tomorrow and doing  Kenpo tomorrow. I'm planning on getting some solid sleep as well as rest up for the upcoming vacation that I have.

My food intake also will be a little different here in Victoria, but I'll be using my "cheat" days while I am here and go back to eating lots of veggies/high protein when I'm back in Seattle.

See ya!

Day five out of ninety [5/90]

Today was legs & back, and certainly, the first week is the hardest.

About 1/3 of the way through the workout, I almost decided to stop doing the blog and just relax with p90x completely.

But I stuck through it and realized that it's definitely doable and I'll be getting doubtful thoughts like this, all the time. Especially in the first few weeks of doing p90x.


Regardless, it was a great workout day. Sweat my butt off.

Caloric intake for the day:

Day four out of ninety [4/90]

Phew.

Yoga sure kicked my ass. Barely finished it, with a lot of fumbling around.

Next week, I'll definitely give it a better shot since it was really difficult to do the poses and look up at the TV to see what the heck to do. Oh well, over the course of the entire period, i'll be doing this 13x.. so maybe i'll be better by the 7th time around, haha.

It does help with the muscles feeling better though! So huge kudos to that.

Note: there were a LOT of poses I couldn't do haha.. especially the ones after plough. Man they are flexible..

Feeling pretty good overall but man, it really made me sweat.. almost as bad as Plyo.

Day three out of ninety [3/90]

Day three.

Shoulders & Arms! Started the day off strong by working out after I woke up.

Despite brushing off the grogginess, it felt great to start the day off with a lot of energy.

I'm sore all over but I'm hoping this feeling will subside a little after the first week.

My legs are definitely killing me from yesterday's Plyo workout. That seems to be the one that everyone hates, haha.

Anyway, I got my protein powder in today so I should be able to get my daily protein count in pretty easy now.

Caloric intake for the day: 1155 cal.

It also just occurred to me that I am 10% done with Phase One. Not bad...! Just have to keep it up =)

Matt, signing out-

Day two out of ninety [2/90]

And so begins the second day...!

As I close the end of the day, I have to say that it was quite taxing.

I did the Pylometrics training portion for P90x and man, is that a workout.

I was sweating from the brow at 15 mins into the workout! And it goes until 62 mins :)

My workout comments include: Definitely a great workout, and showed me that my legs can be a LOT stronger. My calves were definitely burning by the end of it.

All in all, a great workout that made me feel like it was worth it in the end.

I also helped a friend move a couch into his place, as well as did some heavy redecorating around the house.

All in all, definitely a great workout day.

My caloric intake for the day: 1183 cal. I also had some "bad" food for today: had some kettle chips. I had to cave though as I was having a pretty bad morning (44 ballard bus.. grr) and needed some "comfort" food before my capstone presentation. 300 calories worth it? Definitely.

Day one out of ninety [1/90]

Well, it's the first day of my quest for ninety.

What do I mean? I plan on going through all ninety days of the P90X workout.

We'll see how it goes! I'll be monitoring my progress on here and seeing the changes I (hope) go through!

Started with the chest & back/ab workout today and man, it's brutal!

The workout was good, and feeling motivated for the upcoming week!

I'm excited though. I finally have some time this quarter to dedicate to getting fit and I can't think of a perfect way to start the year.

Let's hope I make it on my Quest for Ninety.

So one of the harder challenges for this quest is the food/diet. It'll be hard to scale back the amount of food I eat, but also what I eat.

I will be eating a LOT more vegetables as well as more protein. I am going to try my best at eating 3 meals a day, as well as snacks in between. In addition, I will be drinking a lot of water.

My total caloric intake for today: 913 calories (with breakfast, lunch, dinner & two snacks!). Veggies = low calorie food ;)

Will be updating this post later on food/start pics.