I like being fit. I used to be fit. I had a six pack, I could do pull ups, military-style push ups, and then I had babies. Well, I want to get fit again. I want Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 arms. I don't want to be scary like Madonna is now, I just want strength, some good muscle tone, and to be able to knock out a few dozen pull ups. I have some friends that have done P90X and it's astounding, if you really do it. This isn't a program you can half-ass, this is not for couch potatoes (although it would certainly help) this is a hard core program that promises massive changes in 90 days. You have to eat the foods they tell you, push yourself when they tell you, and the guy on the cover is 50 and he does a pull up, HANGS UP THERE, and goes side to side. Dude. I wanna be that 50 year old. ;D Check out this girl doing pull ups!!

Anyway, there are some great bits of info that come with the booklets that I thought y'all could benefit from, for those of you who are into healthy living, fitness, etc.

Okay, number one is the body fat target chart. I like that they're REASONABLE here. When I tried working out with a trainer last summer and he made me feel like shit for having 22% body fat and wanted me down to 15? Eff you, dude, I like having boobs. I also have no dreams of being an "elite athlete." I'm no Flo-jo, and don't want to be THAT cut. I like being a lady. so here's the chart:

****** Fit Range / Athlete Range / Elite Athlete Range
MALES 14 - 17% / 10 - 13% / 4 - 9%
FEMALES 21 - 24% / 16 - 20% / 12 - 15%


Next is your resting metabolic rate (RMR). This is the number of calories you need to breathe, pump blood, blink, etc. The bare amount to stay alive and barely function. :)

YOUR BODY WEIGHT x 10 = RMR (remember when I told you this? This is how much you can eat and NOT CHANGE.)

Calculate your daily activity burn, how many calories are needed for daily movement in exercise. (This is a ballpark estimate depending on the KIND of exercise, life you lead.)

YOUR RMR x 20% = DAILY ACTIVITY BURN

The calories required for your exercise needs, and in the P90X program, they figure 600 calories a day. You have to eat for this program to work. (I love how that sounds.)

YOUR RMR + DAILY ACTIVITY BURN + 600 = ENERGY AMOUNT

In the program, they want you to take that number and figure out where in the program you should start, which one of the three levels. They're also big proponents of improving your metabolic rates (turnonmyheels knows all about this - *cries for booze avoidance*) by interval eating. This means grazing throughout the day to keep your pistons fired. You HAVE to have breakfast. No questions asked. You're also supposed to have a healthy snack three hours before bedtime, and if you don't, you should consume a SMALL protein shake before you go to bed to help digest those leftover carbs.

Normally I hate this kind of regimented lifestyle. I mean, it's like we're trying to recreate Sparta. (I. AIN'T. SPARTAAAAAA!) but I want to get hard core, I'm gonna have to be hard core. SIGH.

And no more junk food in my house. We don't have a lot, but we do have crackers and other "boxed" foods like that. Here's their list of no nos:

Anything high in saturated and trans fats, sodium, and sugar.
cookies, pastries, candy, processed meats (waah, I love salami) chips, soda, high sodium frozen foods, canned soups. If you think it's junk food, it probably is.

They say that the number one problem with people attempting a diet plan and it not working is because they underestimate portion size. I have a scale, and that's something I've been working on as it is, so this will be a good reminder of how to properly portion out stuff. Other problems include: skipping meals, eating off schedule, over emphasizing certain food groups (I'm looking at you, Atkins diet of awfulness) not planning food choices ahead, skimping on fruits and veggies.

HYDRATION SCHEDULE:
6 - 8 12 oz. glasses of water every day. (And WATER water, not Vitamin water, carbonated water, etc.)

12 oz. water 2 hours before exercise
8 - 12 oz. water 15 - 30 minutes before exercise
4 - 8 oz. water every 15 minutes DURING exercise.

(I foresee lots of potty breaks - I'm a camel when I work out...)

Another thing I think is cool about this workout is that they have a meal plan for Vegans/Vegetarians, too.

Okay. I'm going in. I've had my water, I've had some fruit and oats, and it's time to put Disc 1 in the DVD and laugh at how little I'm able to do. :D I did the yoga disc a few weeks ago (my husband bought this program a few months ago. It's been collecting dust in the closet ever since. Harrumph.) and it absolutely kicked my butt. YOGA. I know, I know, you yoga aficionados out there know it can be tough, but I'm talking TOUGH. There was nothing Om about this workout, it was meant to make you sweat and moan in agony. \o/

If I say this stuff publicly, I'm more inclined to stick with it and not be a wiener. LET'S DO THIS. If you don't hear from me in a few days, that's because I had a heart attack and died. I'd like to be cremated and everyone to have a rip roaring party in my honor, thx. Maybe play "Think of Laura" and have a karaoke jam, or something. ;)