Step 2: P90X and 1/2 Marathon Training

HGC is complete!  It has officially been a month of doing the HGC diet.  I was warned before I began that it wouldn't be easy, and they were not lying.  30 days of extreme dieting (500 calories per day,) no alcohol, and a daily shot are very trying.  However it was worth it.  I feel good about where I am with my weight as I start my hard core training over the next 3 months.  Here is how I ended up after month 1:

Starting Stats

Weight:  146.2

Waist:  37

Hips:  42

Forearm:  8

Thigh:  21

Bicep:  11

Chest:  37

Stats after 30 Days

Weight:  132.6  (Down 13.6)

Waist:  32 (Down 5 inches)

Hips:  37.5  (Down 4.5 inches)

Forearm:  7  (Down 1 inch)

Thigh:  19.75  (Down 1.25 inches)

Bicep:  10  (Down 1 inch)

Chest:  35  (Down 2 inches)

Most importantly though I went from a size 6 to a size 4!  Whoo Hoo!

I am nervous about my increase in calorie counts but hopefully I remember to maintain the portions I have over the past month.  It seems that portion control is the most important when it comes to meals.  My goal is to eat 5 small meals throughout the day and keep a balanced diet.  I will be allowing myself one cheat day a week for alcohol and bad foods otherwise I will not stick with this.

Here are the before pictures as I start P90X.  I can already see a small difference from where I was a month ago, but it is time to TONE.

136 lbs

Step 1: HGC

So there I was, facing reality.  My excuses of 'Italy, New Home, Busy at Work, Holidays' added up to an overweight out of shape woman.  I pulled out the measuring tape, grabbed a scale and took down my starting weight.  Here are the stats:

January 2, 2012:

Weight:  146.2

Waist:  37

Hips:  42

Forearm:  8

Thigh:  21

Bicep:  11

Chest:  37

Now the part I really hate.... the dreaded before picture.  I hate looking at this thing.  All I keep thinking is 'wait until you see the 90 day picture... it will all be worth it.'  I hope...

146.2 lbs.

New Year, New Body

As I get closer and closer to that dreaded 30, I have committed to achieving the goals I set out in my '30 before 30' challenge.  The biggest one (most time consuming) was to get in the best shape of my life.  It is no secret that the older you become, the harder it is to maintain a healthy weight and stay in shape.  Even more challenging once I start breeding the next generation of Bariles in the world.  So I bit the bullet and buckled down.

It shouldn't be that hard right?  Stop eating as much crap and go for a run every once and a while right?  Not for me.  My passion for food has lead me to where I needed to take extreme measures to see real results.  It was going to be a 3 part process.  Step one, HGC diet to shed the excess fat I gained during the holidays.  I'm not looking to get back to my normal weight here, I'm looking to see an extreme difference in my body and I didn't think I should start my challenge with the extra 10 lbs. I consistently gain every December.

Step 2, after dropping the extra weight, start training for a half marathon.  I signed up for the Iron Girl 1/2 Marathon in Clearwater which just so happens to fall on my birthday.  Even more motivation to push me through the next 4 months.

Step 3, P90X.  While training for the half marathon, I am going to be upping my strength training at the same time to hopefully give me the power to push further.

Now, the trick here is that I can't do this alone.  I need an army.  So I started recruiting.  I set up a 3 month weight loss challenge at my office to get all my co-workers on my healthy train.  This prevents extra goodies in our break room and less temptation with happy hours and long lunches.  I then recruited my husband.  Logan is one of those people you hate - he eats fast food 5 times a week and hasn't gained a lb since high school.  However, his lifestyle of crappy food, a lot of alcohol and inactivity has lead him to back pain and consistent heart burn.  He finally hit his breaking point where I could convince him to join me on my quest without much resistance.  This is probably the first time in the almost 10 years I have been around him that I am seeing him lift weights on a regular basis.

The beginning of any diet is pure torture.  Not the change in diet, that was honestly welcomed after my 3 month bender.  But rather, the reality check.  How much damage have I really done?  How bad of shape am I in?  So I took a big swallow, and stepped on my scale.  Eh, this is going to be a lonnnngggg process.