Week One In The Books

Last Sunday, Cam and I began a three-month fitness challenge, and today brings us to the end of Week 1!  
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(You can see the intro to this challenge and my initial impression of the program in THE FITNESS PROJECT section of this blog.)

Though the past week has moved quickly (staying fit, eating well, and keeping track of everything is time consuming), I've learned a lot more in the past seven days than I have in quite some time. However, I'll try to keep this relatively brief, since I'm still at the very beginning of this endeavour and I don't want to get too far ahead of myself!

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CHALLENGES

Surprisingly, my biggest challenge this past week has been keeping up with logging all of the nutritional information within my current diet, as well as all activity (workouts and yoga) and my impressions of what each day brings. I've always been a pretty avid writer, so I didn't anticipate this part of the experience being so difficult for me. (I've still managed to get it all down, but generally much later than I'd like to be.)

My muscles are also pretty sore right now, but I figure my body is just adapting to the new routines. Because everything feels much tighter than usual, my yoga practice is suddenly difficult for me in new ways. But, this experience has actually offered me greater clarity and insight into both my teaching and my personal practice. On that topic, I have to say: I really did not enjoy the Yoga X video, so I think we'll do something else on those days (maybe Bikram 26&2, Ashtanga, or some other yoga sequence...)

The diet has been surprisingly rewarding (I thought I would struggle the hardest with this part!) but Cam and I both have just started getting junk food cravings today (wine and chocolate for me), so we'll have to strengthen our nutrition resolve even more if we're going to make it through the next 11 weeks with a totally "clean" diet! 

Also, Bowie hates spending an hour (or more sometimes) away from us while we work out; he cries at the top of the stairs, begging us to come back in and cuddle him instead. So far, we have managed to resist his charms (and he has survived). 

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TRIUMPHS

Generally speaking, I've enjoyed the workouts more than I thought I would. Though I can't yet do a proper pull-up, I love working on them with my giant elastic band; it's incredibly empowering to be able to carry your own weight like that, even with the extra bit of support. The exercises are usually pretty challenging and dynamic, and I feel like I'm using my body in a lot of new ways. I can already feel that I'm improving my full-body strength and muscle control, and that was my main intention with taking on this fitness and diet challenge.  

I didn't realize that I was actually drinking a lot of water before I started this program; I think I've increased my water intake just slightly and I'm always getting over 10 cups a day. (I still drink black coffee in the mornings, and I don't really anticipate stopping that.)

Overall, my energy levels and mood have improved this past week. I feel like this is something I should have started sooner, though that's a wasteful regret to carry. It's just a good reminder to me that it's never too late to begin something new, and that I'm up for bigger challenges than I often give myself credit for. 

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THE DETAILS

• workouts: P90X ~ 60-90 minutes per day, 6 days per week, in our home gym
• diet: vegan, with the exception of 1-2 eggs per week; 1,400 - 1,800 calories daily (depending on how I feel - it's reasonably flexible); no alcohol or refined sugar; approximately 65 - 85 grams of protein per day; around 100 ounces/12 cups of water and 3-5 cups of black coffee per day. 
• check-in: down 2 pounds (from 112.0 to 110.0 in week one); feeling stronger already!

I'll be checking in on the blog every so often with full updates at the ends of each phase, but you can follow my wellness journey on Instagram to see how things are going day by day. I really do appreciate the interest and encouragement of my online community so much - thank you guys for your support! I'm feeling really grateful at the end of week one, and so excited to see what's next.

If you have any questions that I haven't already covered here or in the other blogs on my personal fitness project, please feel free to message me or comment below.