The Finish!

My final blog is finally here... wasnt really sure what to say... other than it was a journey that I will not forget and certainly a journey that is not over.  I set out on this journey thinking I was going to school to learn about nutrition and to learn about exercise.... I learned about these things and I learned more.  The friendships that are formulated through this process will be life long... the struggles we travelled together- the pick me ups, the falures, the successes.... when one of us was down- everyone was there to pick that one up and carry them through to the next day when the day refreshed.  Everyone of us had our struggles- not one more difficult than the other- they were unique to us and for these struggles we are stronger.

You learn about mental strength, mind over matter, commitment, execution, hard work, team work, work until failure and then get back to it and do it again.  The internal strength rediscovered in ourselves is invaluable...  we walked the walk...  we made the commit... we travelled the path... and we executed.

My journey had it's share of rough patches and I was not able to exercise shortly after the halfway point.   Later, I did not travel the journey on the nutrition standpoint as well.  The effects of following the plan that Patrick has shared with us brings, health, happiness, energy, confidence, definition, weight loss....  I can speak from first hand that when you dont have the exercise and especially when you dont have the diet...in a very short period of time-   lathargy kicks in, lack of motivation, depression, weight gain.. it really kicks you in the A$$.  The natural high is gone and it is not what I want to have missing in my life anymore.  I gained a couple pounds during this period of time and then I took it off plus a couple more by just doing the diet.

This journey and experience is a life long change and although I did not reach my peak performance within these 3 months - I will reach very shortly.  Thank you all for this experience and I cant wait for the reunion  :)

I hope you enjoy my photo shoot  :)

Dottie

  

The photos below are outside and inside Fenway Park on Monday April 18th...  celebrating my 36th bday  :)

Love yourself

Day 75, 15 days to go

okay- thought that I was on the rise and was able to blast out the rest of this project with everyone...  well- I feel like I got kicked in the stomach...  but really it is in the back.
Couldnt do the work out last night because pain in back and arm was excruciating.  I woke up through the night with lower back pain... real sharp.... and got up this morning not being able to stand up straight.

I went to the doctors this morning, an orthopediac this time instead of calling my chiropractor.  They said I have tendinitis in my arm and in my lower back.... I have a degeneritive disc ... doctor circled it down below.

He said I have very good reason to be complaining about lower back pain.  He has put me on an anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxer, and pain killers and prescribed me 4 weeks of physical therapy 2 times a week.  Says also I have the curve in my back... not sure why but maybe related to the disc.. maybe not- also the other top to bottom view shows my spine is not straight- curves out- but he didnt give me a copy of that xray.  I want to have an MRI done to take closer look- but he said no.... go have physical therapy, no volleyball and no working out unless PT says so and if I do- I need to listen to my body.

BAD NEWS ... BAD NEWS... BAD NEWS!!!!

So I am going to complete this program with my team.... but I am going to be able to do nutrition only and I will walk for an hour a day so it will be like getting the jumping rope in but non impact.

I had to cancel out of my volleyball league that started tonight, the rest of my Thursday night league, and cancel the volleyball tournament that I was suppose to play in this Saturday.

THIS SUCKS!  I AM VERY DEPRESSED....  I can never seem to get past the injuries I have and buoild strength to overcome them...

So my job for the rest of the project is to be there for all of you- support you- push you and see you all to the finish.... and I will have to do it all again when I am cleared to start again.

I pretty much have missed at least 3-4 weeks total or so of this program...  just wait until I am healthy....  :)

Day 74, 16 days to go...

Everyone thanks for your support and boost.  Missing all the workouts and fun have really had an impact.  Interested read from Patrick yesterday- as what he is talking about is exactly is what has been happening to me...  I have been in slump and not on natural crack....  but never had the issue when working out on the program... felt real good and happy to be back on track at it again.

Jump ropes did not go so well- arm starting hurting so I am going to have to do the running or walking instead until my arm fully heals... stinks because jumping takes so much less time.

I committed to blogging every day so I am going to do this but lots going on that I cant spend time on it.  It is end of the quarter... lots of work to do, presentation to prepare, expenses to submit, found out my uncle passed away so I have his services Thursday and Friday which are over an hour away so will stay with my parents....

16 more days to the finish line and then back to maybe day 45 is where I want to repeat from....

Day 73, 17 Days to go

Ok, I am back on the workout saddle... been on the injured reserved list for almost 2 weeks.  Chiro told me to cut out the workouts.... my back was busted up, my knee was having issues, my wrist flexor in my right arm was inflammed.  I have been getting treatment on all these areas, icing, advil, and resting....  I have mentally felt like crap because I want to be part of the action... but doing diet only doesnt feel being part of the action at all.

Well- good news is that I am cleared to tear it up again so going to crush it over the next 17 days to finish out the program with everyone.  I am down 17 pounds from the start... so not too bad since I have been battling these injuries but have been solving problems that have kept me up and down for over 10 years--- so I am thankful for uncovering causes and finding solutions.

I am committed to blogging and maximizing the final stretch of this program and then going back and starting where I first had to miss due to injury and redo this and complete it from start to finish-- I dont want to miss you ....

Looking at everyone pics is amazing-- unbelieveable transformations!  I love it!  :)  Going to post pics tonight... but not really difference as muscle has not been toned-- but what are you doing to do

Day 61, 29 more to go.....

First day since Patrick's email about morning jumps that I have not gotten up and started my day with jumping rope....  I woke up to find out a good friend of mine has been admitted to a Hospice Center in Michigan.  He is losing his battle to brain tumors that refuse to stop growing.  He does not have much time left.  I tried making it into an 8am yoga classes so I could relax myself.. but I was 5mins late so door was locked.  Don't have a lot of focus today - just a real heavy heart.  I need to find the energy to want to lose myself in my workout..
Just another day in the real world... but happy that I have PCP to focus on my health and hopefully prevent future illnesses in my future.
Thank you Patrick and everyone for travelling this journey with me.  I am happy I dont have to jump it alone

Day 60, 30 more to go...

Thanks everyone for comments on Friday night.  Don't worry- I did not drink on Friday night or since...  I have been very strict on my liquid intake and have not had anything except for water, milk, and recently I have been having coffee.  I did meet up with one of my girlfriends and it is easy not drinking with my friends.  They know I am not drinking for this PCP project and my allergy experiment.  It has been such a relief because do stay active and enjoy going out with my friends.  It is also nice to know that I am always a Designated Driver so I know everyone will be safe at the end of the night- 100% alcohol free.

I too as everyone else has been coming out of this crazy slump.  Last week I didnt do any yoga or my raquetball.... just PCP and volleyball league.  I felt very tired last week and over the weekend and even the weekend before.

Over the weekend I played in 2 volleyball tournaments.  I played one co-ed tournament... our end results were 10-2 for the day and we had battled it out in the Finals and won.  It was a great day for me not because of the win... but I played my position as a setter on the mens net and then I was able to be the hitter on the womens net.  I had an exceptional day hitting.  I had lots of power, I felt like I was jumping higher than I have in the past, and I got quite a few compliments on my game.  People were impressed with my strength of the day.  Sunday I played with my women's team...  I thought I would be tired and sore from playing the day before... the day was 9-6:30pm.... and had to play again at 9am on Sunday.  Well, back to setting all day and chasing after good and bad passes.  I do lots of short sprints throughout the day and jumping- but my blocking skills are not strong at all as I do not have very strong vertical from standing position.  We had a great day together...  we excelled in areas where we struggled in the past- our attitudes were great- they usually are but we had tons more laughs this day than usual.  We ended up losing in the finals in the 3rd game so finished this day with a record of 14-2.  I was so exhausted when I got home I went straight to bed and missed dinner and snack.

Yesterday I made it back to yoga afterwork and today I feel good about it...  I have been feeling really overwhelmed and I have been feeling really tired.  I am not able to pinpoint the why and the how of it... just trying to find that spark again.  I have lots going on around me and I dont feel like I have much control of it.  I have been learning to not worry about it much and to control only when I can control--- but outside people are interrupting that I cant make them stop and am not able to remove myself from the situation.  Tough position to be in... and I have found help in yoga a couple weeks ago... so I am trying to make it a priority to get to it this week so I can release this pressure and stress that I am forced with so each day can start new and fresh.  It is impacting me negatively and I have fallen to it in the past... but really fighting to beat it this round.

I also feel some hope in trying to unite with some of my family...  my sister cut all ties from my family about 8 years ago and has detached her children from us since then as well.  At the time, I had a 2 yo niece, 3 yo nephew and 6 yo nephew..... now they are 10, 11, and 14.  I have never known the reason for the separation but not seeing these kids has killed me over and over the years.  I ran into some of my brother-in-law's family over the weekend and we chatted.  I have connected with them yesterday on FB and am hoping to make a connection to my oldest nephew through them- they have been disconnected from my sister's family too for the last 3 years.  I learned that my nephew told their family that all family photoalbums that included pics of my family and bro-in-laws family- with the exception of only pictures of my sister, brother-in-law, and the kids... have been taken out and burned.  Something is really messed up with my sister mentally along with other information I know--  it upsets me and saddens me that she is so sick inside.  I just hold on to the hope that someday my family can be re-united with her kids.

Day 56, 34 more to go....

Thank goodness I am on this PCP program....  if I was not- I would be drinking lots of alcohol right now

Need to leave work now and go do my workouts-- my new way of surviving a really bad day

Day 55, 35 more to go...

Sorry I have become a non-blogger.  been putting my head down to get through life  :)  This is a tougher time at work as it is approaching quarter end- I am in sales... and quotas are needing to be met and hoaning on what needs to get done to meet those numbers are taking my free time. 
Not up to too much on what everyone has been doing this past week... saw some quick stuff but saw I am hitting some of what some others were...  like Heather- I had some slices of pizza this weekened...  it was not a pretty site and I didnt feel well after that... had a crazing for something- dont know what it was or how to end it- but I explored... first time in 50 something days... also tried 2 hersey kisses-  that didnt do it.... tried some nutella on bagel thin-- that didnt either and before I spun out of control even further...  I took a nap for a couple of hours because I needed to shut all of that down and I also felt sick.  Also after going out with friends later- I came home to a bowl of Fruit Loops- which was a box I bought in December or early... never opened because I am not cereal eater-- had for nephew when visits......  and forgot to give to my parents a couple of weeks ago when I gave them all my non PCP friendly and my allergy free foods.

Well,  weighed myself Monday morning and not to my surprise- I gained 3 pounds.  Not a surprise but not sure how I was going to recover or how long it would take me to recover from that....  felt ashamed and embarassed-- not to others or the team- but to myself....  but rather than beat myself up....  carry on and get back on the saddle.

Last week I did 4 days of bikram yoga, workouts, 1 volleyball tournament, 2 volleyball leagues and one night of raquetball and good diet eating with the exception of the weekend- what I shared above. 

This week I have been eating PCP friendly foods and such but have missed a couple of snacks because of leaving cooler, which was packed and ready to go- at home at the door  :( or falling asleep for the night unexpectedly before evening dinner.

Monday at the chiropractor... we made some additional progress.... found out when I am doing my ab workouts... I am rotating my pelvis forward and then trying to do activity-- not good... not sure why-- but theory is tight hip flexors... among other tight muscles and ligaments surrounding my abs, upper legs and backs.  tested some of it and there was some improvement when he massaged deep into them-- my arm flexes caused me to spank him in the butt- accidently because of pain or sensitivity- YIKES and OOPS... now I am one of those people that he will talk and laugh about.  He wants to me to some massages to break all this stuff up.... and he wants me to cut out a bunch of the ab stuff.... and do elementary stuff that he asked me to do... ball bridges- balancing on it, lifting single legs, closing eyes... sitting on inflated disc for balance and core strength...  says need to learn coordination and control of these areas and what PCP needs me to do is too advanced for me at this time- with the exception of some of it-- Planks and such.  SO I have yet to do the Unitard video- and I am saddened by this... my rippling abs are going to wait.  :(

Anyways- yesterday when I weighed myself... I was surprised to find that I had dropped them 3 pounds I gained over the weekend and dropped another .5 pounds or so....  and this morning when I did it again.... lost another .6 pounds.  I guess I threw my body into some deep shock over the weekend and it is working overdrive to burn it all off.  So to date I have lost 14 pounds.... but that is not as important as the toning that I am starting to see and the redesigning of my body...  I am not recognizing myself without closes  :) and when I have my hands rest on my hips/waste... feels good.

Had my first massage this morning at 7:30am and boy was it not a relaxing experience.... definitely worked on breaking stuff up... and then followed up at 8:30am with regular Chiro visit....  have more appointments next week... massage therapist says we have lots to do and it definitely needs attention that I must not ignore any further...  good news is that because financially I cant afford these visits- they are going to drop the $70/visit down to $40/visit if I commit to making myself better... they want to help me.....    Well- I made this committment to do PCP because I was making committment to FINALLY take care of me and put me first-- so I am going to bite this financial burden and build this debt to continue with my charter.  So laser focused on the next couple weeks at work to hit my numbers so I can make money to pay this medical bills - ugh!

I have blogged a bit today and need to put head down again.... 

Keep up the good work everyone  :)

Day 47, 43 more to go....

Just posted new pics cuz I got a replacement camera :) ....  thought I would take multiple views since we are little over halfway point and that is what all the cool kids are doing!

Day 41, 49 more to go...

not much to blog aboout today....  I have been jumping rope the last three days before eating or drinking anything in the morning.... I have not done any strength training yet as my back has not felt up to it to date.  Part of it is fear of doing something that is going to set me back to square one- which was the forearm raises using my light bands.    Last night I played raquetball for 40 mins and felt no pain.  After raquetball I had volleyball league which I played and havent played since last Thursday night. 
Everything seemed to go well but towards the end of the night my back started hurting.... so I took it easy towards the end of the night.  Also halfway through the night my body was exhausted and tired... not my muscles at all- but I didnt have any energy- no pep and I couldnt stop yawning.  I dont know if I used up all my fuel for the day.... the only thing from my day that I didnt eat yet was the dinner snack of veggies.

Patrick- any input? 

This morning I woke up this morning with some pain in back but did the jump rope... once I got over 300 jumps things started to feel better... I am going to definitely start the strength training tonight and see how it goes...  I have the chiropractor in the morning so hopefully he can continue to help improve my condition.

Pretty down that I have missed so many days and now I am afraid of not being able to move around again when I do try it again tonight...  wish me luck!  No pain No gain!

Day 39, 51 more days to go...

Hi Everyone... it is great to see all the progress and great successes that everyone has been having.  I on the other hand have been having a rough couple weeks.  The stress of my brother and running around to help the family... trying to maintain my very busy volleyball league schedule and getting my workouts in late late late nights have been wearing on me.  The big kicker for me this week was Thursday night at vball - my lower back started hurting again- didnt do anything specific to tweak it but certainly felt some pain....  played through it and then rested for a little bit that night while watching friends band play down the street from league.  I got home and started my workout at 1:30am.  I thought about skipping because of my back but wanted to muscle through it... well- that was not a good idea...  I felt it real bad in my shoulder workout and then couldnt do the second ab exercises... tears came to my eyes with pain and I called it a night.  When I woke up in the morning- I could not stand up straight at all.    Called chiropractor for emergency visit... took my in right away... got treated and felt better but during treated... he witnessed me not being able to stand again- and tears pouring down my face...  feel so helpless when this happens and it is very frustrating.  I got extra treatment and was able to walk out of the office standing up and off to work I went.  He told me not to do my workouts for the day and I had to come back tomorrow for another treatment.  Needless to say I was not very happy-- I feel every time I workout and make progress-- some injury from the past sets me back again.

I went back on Saturday morning for treatment... had another tough day-- back hurts when I sit too long and it hurts when I stand to long- cant seem to get comfortable.  I sacrum is locked on my lower left side and it triggers the chronic pain I have in my lower right side...  this is from a car accident that I had over 10 years ago ... maybe in 22 years ago when I got hit by a car while riding my bicycle... not too sure-- too many times I have been victim of being stuck by a car.  I brought in the new workouts that Patrick sent to us on Friday and the chiro said no workouts until he sees me again on Monday.  Injuries SUCK!

Been keeping up with my diet - although I have missed some fruit snacks during the day... and I missed dinner and snack on Friday night because I fell asleep before 8pm.  I have not cut out carbs because of missed workouts because I have been hoping to be able to workout if the back felt better- even though Dr. said no.  I went back yesterday for another treatment... was sore when I walked in and felt good when I came out... best I have felt since Thursday night.  He said to come back on Wednesday and we will see how I am feeling.  I had some soreness yesterday afternoon and was thinking about trying to workout- but I opted to wait to see how I felt today. 

I woke up this morning and I felt good.  I jumped out of bed and grabbed my jump rope and started jumping-- going to do this in the morning from now on since Patrick's email said to do so.  My have been flat with my weight for 3 weeks-- not gaining or losing... and I think partly because I have been doing my workouts often times after midnight- and the metabolism shuts down so I am not getting the benefit of these workouts.  My back felt pretty good after the jumps and I felt happy that I was able to do them.  I struggled through the first 5oo jumps... messing up quite a bit and it was frustrating... but I stuck with it and eventually got my rhythm and bang out the last 900 with less hassle.  Consulted with Patrick as far as wear to pick up with the work outs... and he said start with regular schedule...  no going to lie-- quite nervous to try pistol squats based on what everyone is saying about them and afraid that my left knee wont be able to handle them--- but going to do the best that I can and hope for the best...  if I suck and break- hopefully the chiro will put me back together tomorrow morning.

I am excited to get through tonight.  I have playoffs for one of my volleyball leagues and then I am not signing up for next session.  I need to reduce the evening activites that I have that are keeping me up and out late at night.  I am burning out trying to get everything done and I cant do it all when I leave my house at 8am and dont come home until after 11pm.  I am going to replace my vball with some Bikram yoga.  I have done it a few times in November and December- but tweaked my back in one of the exercises so that put me out for a couple of weeks.  I really enjoy it and want to take advantage of it again.  This time I know what exercise not to do that will cause pain again.

I really love this PCP experience....  I just need to bounce back and come out strong tonight.  I will be better at blogging but I dont like to be a debbie downer and that is what I have been feeling like lately.  I have been trying to muscle through this and stay focus-- but excited I feel good and should be operating full throttle again starting today.  I still have not gotten a new camera yet so I dont have updated photos... I will work to get that done this week sometime.

Day 31, 59 more to go...

Blogging has gotten away from me because of some chaos going on in my life but I have not aloud the rest of the PCP to get away from me.  I have been sticking with the workouts and diet as planned.  I think they have helped to keep me balanced in the things that happened since my last blog.  Without going into a lot of detail - one of the things that happened was my brother ended up having to have emergency surgery to remove is gall bladder and another one the next day to have gall stones removed.  We were told it was the result of eating too much red meat and fried food.  They found some other things inside of him that were rotting and they removed that stuff as well.  It really made me think to myself how grateful I am to have found this program and that I am learning so much about food and nutritrion.  I am fueling my body all day long rather than eating once may twice a day if I am lucky... and I am making sure that I am eating all the right things we are suppose to be eating- carbs, proteins, veggies and fruit.  I used to love putting salt on food to add flavor- but I have not done that once.  The only thing that I miss the most out of this program is that I am only allow 6oz of milk a day.  I love milk and having so little makes it not fun.


I am not going to detail the day by day as I have been out for so long. 

I will share that I dont mind the fruit dinners...  I have not been hungry before them or even after them.... not sure why but I havent been eating dinner until late...

I am still not able to do full pull-up and I struggle with doing full sets of the incline pull ups.  I also wish I had a mirror to look at or a board tied to my back so that I know I am staying straight.

Chest dips- horrible.... I cant do a full one where I bring my body to point where my body is 90 degree angle-- not sure how I am going to get through these with success....  instead I went down as far as I could where I was able to push myself back up... but couldnt even reach the minimum doing them that way.... very frustrating.

Davinci and Forward Shoulder Raises kill me as well.... I cant seem to get through all the sets with full form- reaching peak of extensions.

Will say I like the new leg exercises....  I have strong legs so these have been fun to do-- needless to say I have dead legs after them... but they feel real good to do them

Planks... I also like this as well... I have had to do them before... last week was easier than this week.... my body is starting to shake towards the end and I remind myself not to clench my fists or interlock them.

I havent been counting my jump ropes as I tend to mess up the more that I count so I jump a minute for every hundred jumps I am suppose to do and if I think I have messed up a few too many times, I add a couple more minutes to my jumps.  I have been singling jumping for a while and I'ss switch it up to running in place or kicking my feet out in front of my in alternating way.  They are not really exciting to do so rather than listen to music while doing the jumps I have been watching tv instead.

Carb diet has been pretty boring for me....  gluten free bread in morning and brown rice pasta for lunch and past dinners before this week....  not sure if there are other carbs that would be good to do ....  I bought some rice to cook but I am trying to get through the rest of the cook pasta that I made at the beginning of last week. 

Protein other than the eggs has primarily been chicken... havent had much seafood in a while and only had red meat once and the pains in my stomach were too painful for me to want to try again any time soon.

I finally returned my defective digital camera this weekend and they didnt have any others that I was interested in so I did not get a chance to take a new photo this weekend.  As soon as I get a new one- I will take a new picture.

I was able to play volleyball for 3 hours over the weekend and even though I am not seeing much change to my body, my volleyball game is more powerful and I am using more proper form and less lazy techniques.... this will provide great value in a couple more months to me in May.  Can't wait

Day 25, 65 more to go

wow, crazy to think that we are almost a third of the way through the program... sorta sad - I know that it is crazy but I am definitely enjoying the journey.  I have lots to update on since it has been a while... the laziness has to end... visable... transparent ....


Day 21  many lessons and questions
I got up at 4am and made my breakfast in the hotel room, packed my snacks for the plane and off to the airport at 4:45am... wow was I shocked that I woke up got ready, ate breakfast so early and out the door in time.  I had a lay over in Philly and had a PCP educational moment that I dont really know the answer to.... well... since on this program- all I have had to eat is chicken or fish- no red meat... well in the airport, I decided to try the infamouss steak sandwich with mushrooms.... needless to say- I wont be trying that again on this program... I got unbelievable stomach pains- sharp ones while on the plane and fel miserable on the way home to Boston- physically and emotional.  When I got home- I had some edamame and a spicy tuna roll for dinner...  house was not PCP ready since I was away for 5 days and I forgot to stop at store before I got home.  So I had a craving this night and I have not had a single craving since starting the program.  When I was at the work function the evening before=- they had all sorts of junk... fried chicken tenders, friend chicken parm, pizza, cookies, ice cream, beer wine and all other sorts of stufff.  Well for some reason- I couldnt get the idea of fresh choc chip cookies out of my head....  well at home- before PCP started- I had some cookie dough in fridge that I baked up to make room in there... well I had 2 small cookies....  and like my experience with the steak...  I had very sharp pains in my stomach...  not sure if it is because I have been gluten free since PCP started or because I have been having healthy food only....  all I know is that when I had them... cookies and steak.... I WAS MISERABLE and have no desire to try or experience them again.  I ended up falling asleep unexpectedly mid texting a friend at 7:45pm in my jeans and top.... therefore missing my workout...  DAY 21 was a day of many lessons

Day 22  back on track and happy as a bumble bee
Didnt get out of bed until 12:35pm on Saturday.  For breakfast, I had my final egg and some frozen gluten bread and some milk...  raced off to the grocery store to stock up on the new goodies.  I bought mangos and kiwi for the first time so those will be tested in the tummy in the coming days.  I bought several different bags of rice mixtures that were gluten free... one bag was all black rice... nervous to try them but you never know if you are going to like them until you try them.  I felt much happier being home and controlling my full PCP diet than travelling and relying on restaurants to do what you want them to.  They did not alway exclude butter or oils so that left some missed need items... lucky I had back ups in my hotel room fridge.  Got home from the grocery store and had to race to put them away - I managed to make time to make "lunch" for myself before leaving to a double surprise 40th bday party for high school classmates sisters.  I was surrounded by alcohol and cakes and cookies and finger sandwichs and such--- nothing was remotely appealing to me- especially after my experience the day before.  I drank water all night and thought I would get a lot of slack from my hometown friends that I hang out with all the time--- not a peep.  I told one of them weeks ago what I was dong and she happen to share that with another so we chatted a little bit about it.... two of my friends have had the gastroblasmia (??) surgery....  one had about 2 years ago and the other had it about 5 months ago.  Crazy idea to me- but they are happy but I cant imagine going through that experience and having a smaller stomach and all these limitations to life.  UGH!  Anyways, I survived the night and drove a drunk friend home, and had to stop at Dominos Pizza at 12:30am so she could get a small cheese pizza before going to bed to help sober up....  amazing how things change physically and mentally after only a short period of time and new experience.  I actually went home, had some chicken and veggies and then proceeded to complete my workout for the day ... then passed out from exhaustion feeling good and proud and happy to be home doing all the right things while others are not aware of these great new experiences I have been having.

Day 23  double date
Got up early this morning lots to do and not much time to do it.  Ate breakfast, clean the house, do laundry, unpack and finalize plans for the day.  I had two first dates set up for the day and not sure how I was going to pull it off.  First date was suppose to start at 1pm in Providence, RI... about an hour from home.  I had to text my date and ask for an extra 30 minutes because I wanted to finish my workout before meeting him.... he said go for it.. not trouble at all.  I have been chatting with for close to a month now and we have had several chats that included that I had just finished working out or needed to work out or talks about my new eating plan to exclude allergy foods of gluten, peanuts, soy and corn.... as well as potatoes because I dont them.  We went to this adult arcade and had a blast and then went off to the Cheesecake Factory for unplanned lunch-- the date continued beyond games because we were having a good time.  Cheesecake Factory for those that dont know-- are known for their BIZZILION types of cheesecake....  well- I was able to order a grilled chicken with veggies and brown rice.... waiter was very accomodating and my date was very interested when food came out that it was to my satisfaction and I was happy with it.  next came to dessert time... waiter asks and I said no... after we had already had a dialogue about it....  I shared that cheesecake probably had gluten in it (it was my way out) and my date didnt think so....  well he asked the waiter and the waiter said yes in the crust- date asked if crust could be removed... no, no and then I was off the hook  :)
So from date #1 I went off and raced to date #2 which was an hour north from where I was.... my plans for to watch Superbowl at new bar/bowling alley and have dinner.  Similar experience with dates knowing my workouts and diet and concern for foods I could have.  Date #2 asked the waitstaff before I got there if they would cook to order because of allergies and they said they would absolutely be accomodating.  Brownie points.  I ended up ordering salmon, spinach and grilled asparagus.... while he had BBQ chicken tenders as an appetizer and pizza for his meal in addition to drinking several bottles of beers.   Felt good once again to not stress about foods at the restaurant and with the company I was in...

Day 24
Pretty uneventful... back to the grind of grab and go with my portioned out meals.... got home from work ... chatted on phone and then did double workout since I was behind on workout.    I couldnt finished the leg ups because my back was in excruciating pain and the planks were not done either...  I will make them up the next workout.  Lunges - I feel the burn in my legs for sure...  Forearm raises - can get the first set above my head... after that my success dive bombs pretty quickly  Pull Ups- fat change.. only 1/4 of one so inclines are still my enemy too under my dining room table... cant wait to pull on a bar instead of the table....  I like the new exercises too.  The above the head one- band burns my skin literally with the movement so next time- tshirt ....

Day 25
Good food again.... short message bcuz I need to be on Boston in 30mins for volleyball... and then I will get home at 11pm to start my workout for today...  wish me luck.


PS. Indulgence....  not interested in it at all .... I tried and failed on Friday-- YUCK!

Day 20, 70 more to go....

It's technically a new day for me here in Toronto.... feeling blah and cant get motivated to sleep....
was fooling around on http://www.youtube.com/ and chatting with a friend back home online. 

remembered a pick me up song I use to listen to on the way into work when I used to work for Oracle Corporation back in early 2000s.  What a hell job that was- and 3 years of it.... no matter how far I exceeded my quota and how much money I earned management- it was never enough and I got beat up every day over and over.  I got in a severe car accident a month before year end and called into boss to say I might be late or not going into work next day bcuz was in car accident and just got back from hospital...  boss called first thing in morning and said- can your accounts afford you to be out of the office?  I had only 2 more deals that I was forecasting to close from Walt Disney World and they already commited dates I would get PO.  I was 142% of my annual number- President's Club locked in....  result of accident was TMJ, post concussional syndrome, bulges in my back and only one day off to recover for the next 2 months before I went on short term disability..... 
it hurt to keep my eyes open, i stuttered, i couldnt answer and process 2 simple questions if you asked me at once and much much more....  life sucked then...  very dark days

I found this song to pump me up to get me through the day.... I remember I would blast it in my car just before getting to the office to get me through the day-- and some days I would repeat it when I knew it was going to be a super tough day

Our mind is a powerful thing and a beautiful thing--- let it be strong and keep you strong through this journey on PCP...  dont give in to temptation and dont give in to what others do or want you to believe....  keep fighting the fight and we will all come out on top.....  we are making great progress and the best is yet to come and it will not come easy-- find your motivation - find your strength - look in the mirror and see it all inside of you

I am ready to tackle the new day when I wake up... refresh my strength.... refresh my attitude

Day 19, 71 more to go....

Not really feeling like blogging.... so not going to be very exciting one folks

Day 18
Travelled to Toronto from Boston.. thought I was avoiding the storms but ended up finding some here.   It definitely is tough to try and feel comfortable on the PCP in a new city to me and not sure what the portions are for the week-- only cuz I didnt get to do prep due to travel schedule.  Made breakfast this morning at 4:45am before jumping in car for the airport and packed a couple of apples for snack.  Didnt get lunch until after 2pm when I finally made it to Toronto- some delays during the connecting flight.  Was able to get my workout done in my room without too much trouble...  took a couple rooms to get the right one but high ceiling in the end made it great.

So Toronto has the underground system....  I took my backpack and went on a walk....  and found some good stuff... which alleviated some of the stress that I was feeling about being here...  take a look to see what I was able to add to what I already had with me when I got back to my room

So I found a little grocery store where I bought a "food" for breakfasts... snacks and lunches... figuring that I would buy some dinner or at least the protein portion of dinner and eat from the food I bought to fill any gaps.  I also found a store across the way that sold a egg poacher- which is microwaveable.... perfect for my hotel room with microwave- so I was set up for success.  Good night and off to bed early I went for at least 8 hours of sleep.

Day 19
Got up early this morning and did my jump ropes... ran around to get ready to meet co-worker for day and then made my breakfast....  poached egg, wheat bread- not good because of allergy- but not sure what else to eat that is gluten free (first time eating wheat since we started which doesnt make me happy) and then some peppers.  Packed food for snack lunch and snack
Went out to lunch with co-worker and one of our partners.  Had a salmon sandwich with side salad.... dont think I had enough veggies and had on pita- bread product again- bad!
Got back to hotel, had a snack and took a power nap- exhausted.  When I got up worked out and then went and go dinner from lobby restaurant.  Salmon again...  brought it back to room-- weighed my portion and trashed the rest.  Veggies looked very soggy and with butter- not what i ordered... but didnt have energy to go back down... instead i opened up fridge and had veggies I had and a piece of bread for my carbs.
Time to call it a night.

And information shared by Patrick in latest emails-- no obvious changes here....  except for skin-- things have popped up and status quo with everything else.

I feel like I may be failing at this thing when it comes to water intake....  not much of a drinker of anything during the day-- trying to be better but not thirsty much so I dont think about it.

Day 17, 73 more to go

Hello Everyone- sorry for the delay in blogging.... busy pretty busy and I dont have computer at home, left work one at work so it is tougher to go online with my blackberry to do this stuff than it was with my droid-- which will be still lost under and additional 2 feet of snow this week.  I am currently trying to keep my head on at the moment but have I posted update weekly photos

Day 14
I finished up the week last week with the jump ropes..... I did a couple hundred more on Friday because I wanted to fill in the gap of the jumps I missed earlier in the week.    Friday night I actually had a quiet night and rested at home-- allowing for the new muscle growth to do their thing.

Day 15
Got the new PCP diet honestly havent had the chance to compare amounts from one week to another yet, since I converted mine to grams and had my excel cheet on my work computer in the office.  Weekend eating for me was a little chaotic because my pre measured or cooked food or available food was either gone or low.  I was not prepared for this and it really through me off mentally because I was on the go so much.  I have been pretty routine about the eating things.... and Saturday morning followed my routine and after breakfast realized that it was new diet and I had followed old diet... havent looked at the difference but it was too late to make any changes to the morning.  Lunch time I followed new diet info.... but forgot to eat my lunch snack because I forgot to take it with me.  Did the first workout... not to shabby... push ups are definitely getting easier- maybe not easier... I am able to do much more than I initially... cant believe how quickly it is all coming along.  Knee felt better in workouts- chiropractor did adjustments on my knee and I didnt have the krackling on Friday... and has slight on Saturday  :)   New band workouts...  definitely a struggle but I like the rest of people on here are not getting tired with rowing.  I have moved my body far away stretching the band... I am sitting straight- using arms only- and dont feel it in my back.  I have a friend that is a trainer so I am going to do some of these things with him so he can watch form and help correct anything that I may be doing wrong.

Dinner time I was at friends house.... they ordered a pizza and I ordered a salad with grilled chicken added.  I didnt eat the croutons so I missed my carb intake.  When I got home I had my snack and chilled for the night- was completely exhausted and fell asleep by 11am.

Day 16
Sunday was tornado in the morning.  Up at 6:45am to get ready and be at volleyball tournament at 9am over an hour away.  Never addressed the shortage of food yesterday which again created havoc in the morning.  had to cook an egg for 2nd day in row rather than having hard boiled easy to grab... had milk.  Used up the rest of the cooked chicken, brown rice pasta.  Both portions were not enough.  So I grabbed some canned tuna to help out with the protein knowing I would need it.  I threw some grape tomatoes and raw green beans in the with chicken and pasta.  I grabbed 3 apples too for snacks.  Oh and I grabbed raw green beans for the road.... but realized later that I didnt grab enough- I took 50g instead of 110g because I looked at my carb # instead of veggies-  ugh!  So clearly I didnt not have enough food for the day and my body totally knew it.  For the first time in this program..... my stomach was growling and I was beating on it.  I played 5 matches (10 games) in my tournament.  It was in a facility that sold packed rice krispy treats, granola bars and other snack bar good--- definitely not anything that I could eat.  I stuck to what I had and was looking forward to eating when I got home.  Well after tournament- team went out to chain restaurant here... Pizzeria Uno's for drinks and food.  I ordered water with lemon and I grilled salmon (no butter, no oil) steamed broccoli and brown rice.  Dont think there were enough veggies... a little bit too much rice and maybe too much salmon... but I was hungry and ate all of veg, all of salmon and 3/4 of rice.  Stopped at grocery story on way home- terrible selection... no gluton free pasta in this place so bought egg noodle... and some chicken, mushrooms, and something else I cant think of. 

I am learning for me, what I need to be successful with this program is to continue to make time to cook and to prep food for my active schedule.  I dont have another person to help me do this so I need to be really disciplined about making the time to have food on hand.  I went from a full stocked fridge to scraping to find things that I could put together to make my portions whole.  This will hurt me and I know it.... and dont want this to happen.

Day 17
I am leaving for Toronto Canada for work Tuesday morning til Friday afternoon and I am nervous on how I am going to accomplish this but know that I will be fine.  I like structure and control of I do.... and not having that on the road will be flustering.  I dont have a handle on the portions I am suppose to be eating because I couldnt do all the prep and measuring I did last week knowing I will not be around this week.  I think I am going to pack my scale with me and see if I can do some shopping at a local grocery store while I am there and just eat more raw foods rather than restaurant foods.

Breakfast and lunch went well today-- scrambled around this morning trying to pull it all together and rush out the door for work-- lots to get done before I am out.  Looking forward to working out when I get home.  I definitely prefer the jump roped over the options that Patrick sent out last night...  would rather suffer with 10 mins then over 30-60mins of cardio.  I have been trying not jumping feet together so I can do more isolated work on my left leg... I feel as though I am favoring my right currently even though I am trying to not.... and I have been trying to be mindful of it in the other exercises to...  I really want to have balanced legs and not know which leg has been damaged and which has not.  73 more days to go and lots more work to do

Day 13, 77 more to go.....

I really enjoy seeing the number of days left decrease  :)  the end is in sight for sure.

So on Day 11, I did survive the Celtics game entertaining prospects for business.  I actually received a lot of peer pressure from co-sales people from companies that my company works very closely with... even had the prospects giving me some pressure too because the other sales people said they would get me to drink before end of night.  The evening when from 5:15pm to 1:30am and I stayed strong and true to the program.  I drank water all night and at the game in the suite- I nibbled on some carrots and celery that was being served with fried buffalo chicken wings and fried chicken tenders.  They also served pizza, nachos and cheese, cheese and crackers too.  Dont get me wrong- I was tempted to eat the pizza for sure- my favorite food along with salad and oreos.... so that is why I am surviving on PCP okay- cuz I love salad  :). 
I kept telling myself- I have my food in the car...don't blow the hard work- dont like your peers down- and most importantly dont let yourself down.  It was such a refreshing to know I didnt fall to convenience eating - I just needed to wait a couple more hours for the stuff I had.  I didnt end up eating until 1:30am when I got home.  The other thing going through my mind was I need to get workout done- how am I going to get it done-  end all be all is that I didnt get it in... I was so exhausted from my day- I didnt have it in my to try and force out a workout that I knew I wouldnt perform at with proper form and energy.

(I also have to give thanks to Scott for all is emails through the night giving me support to stay strong to PCP)

                                                 Kissing the Celtics World Champion Trophy


Day 12- GUILT
I felt so guilty not getting my workout in....  I felt like I betrayed myself and felt like I was cheating myself.  I dont do well with not following through with what I commit to do.  I know that this will not happen again because it weighed on me all day.  What do I do now....  do I skip to next day.... do I fall day behind..... do I double up...  so I ask Patrick what to do.... do I keep quiet.... do I go public...  it was awful.    Well- here it is... I missed my work out on Day 11.  Cant change it- just learn from it and move on.  So had chiropractor at 8am again....  looked for my phone again-- no luck and as we speak - it is buried under another 16 inches of snow... it is gone until spring.  Great day with the eating food except left my veggies for breakfast in the car in morning so was lunch time when I realized it.  Volleyball league was at night- 7-10:30pm... was expecting cancellation because of the big snow storm so didnt pack dinner....  guess what?  volleyball was not cancelled.... was so hungry after and mid way through league and energy levels dropped but nothing I could do...  didnt have any food with me.  Went to the local bar after with team for usual $5 burger and beers-  I was going to order something else of course... but kitchen closed early in bar because of storm....  we left and went to another.... understaffed because of storm.... we left and went to couple other places....  I needed food and didnt want to wait til home because I still needed to do my workout.  Ended up at breakfast place.  Got poached egg, english muffin... came with homefries...  those were untouched because I hate potatoes... forgot to ask for veggies and didnt have night fruit.  On drive home was blizzardous.. no visability but got home at 12:45am...  battled with idea of workout-- but didnt want to miss 2 workouts- debated it but friend texted me "work out time?"  .... and because I couldnt lie I said "yup" and started jumping rope at 12:53am on Day 11's workout...and then I did lunges... then decided to do the squats from Day 12....  then did the pull up inclines from Day 12 and then rowing from Day 11 and then continued going down the list doing both workouts from Day 11 and Day 12 to catch up.  Didnt want it hanging over my head that I missed a workout or I slacked or I didnt do what I commited to do.  I was so dead at the end of the night.... finished at 2:08am... but I did it and I could go to bed just 700 jump ropes behind.

Day 13 unscathed
When I woke up at 7am this morning I thought I would wake up this morning not being able to move and lifeless- NOT TRUE AT ALL.  Granted I wasnt perky because I am never perky in the morning- but I was not hurting at all after a double work out.  Felt real good about that.  Worked from home today because of the 15 inches of snow that fell from 1am and beyond.... so had head in work all day today causing me to eat meals much later because forgetting about time and I have been upstairs away from kitchen all day.  
Had first gluten free labeled item today- rice pasta.... was pretty good- didnt taste bad at all  :)   I need to figure out what carbs I can be eating- need to spend more time trying to figure this stuff out....  had egg noodles for every meal for carbs until today having rice pasta.  Potatoes are definite no- YUCK. and definitely have wheat allergy- possible full gluten allergy--- suggestion welcomed

Thoughts un upcoming exercise.... 
lunges-- they kill me... my legs burn and I struggle to make the last couple of the final sets... weak quads from the 6 surgeries on my left knee- never fully rehab after the last 2 surgeries 3 years ago. 

rowing- seem too easy- have 10lb band so think I need to get stronger one

ovations- definitely a workout.. try to stay straight and contract should blades when I do these to keep from rolling forward- feel the burn

tricep dips- noticed today in picture i should be bent knee rather than straight knee so have been doing them wrong- must be why I dont feel the burn... just have felt weak

forward should raise- very weak and get tired here-- used a lighter band here that I have.. and still tough... struggle to get my arms to raise up to shoulder height very mind above-- need to go to store and buy another easier band-- guessing I am not getting full value it not going full range.

leg ups- struggle with this because of back- all life have struggled because back pops when I bring near to floor and raise... not sure I am getting the most out of this-- legs get tired... but dont feel in my abs at all.

So with all this said.... I am off to do somewhere between 700-1400 jump ropes rest of work out.... rope delta to 1400 will be done tomorrow on easy.

Day 11, 79 more to go....

Challenges and set ups are trying to interfere but I will not let them win.

Day 10
Woke up with my back killing me....  I have a bad back and some how I triggered it through either sledding, working out or sleep the day before - or maybe combination of the above.  I sit in a cube all day on the phones so it doesnt help when I stand up- cant stand up straight until muscles get all warmed up.  I was really bummed because I didnt want this to impact my PCP.  I struggled through the day real bad... some moments almost in tears because the shooting pains can be crippling.... I just kept getting up throughout day to try and keep it warm.  Was suppose to try raquetball with a co-worker after work- but luckily she forgot her raquet at home  :)  so I was not disappointed.  Strange thing happened-  chiropractor office called at the end of work day to check in and see how I have been feeling and if I was needing any appointments soon---  funny thing- I DO!!!   They couldnt take me that evening but I made an appointment for 8am the next morning. 
So I figured I would go home and workout and see what happened.  And any damage I did- he could fix it when I woke up.  SoI went straight home and started working out.  It was not a pleasure by any means- I favored my left leg on my jump ropes....inclines hurt for sure, push ups had stabs of pain.... band work was good but boy do I have a lot of muscle to build there-- da vinci's are brutal.  Sit ups were painful too but boy did I feel good that I powered through it and didnt let it get the best of me  :)  What a great feeling.... so I rewarded myself with my PCP dinner after and then my PCP snack just before bed....  asleep before 11:30pm to get up at 7:00am.... 

Day 11
Woke up with the back feeling pretty good.  Get ready for work, packed food for entire day- breakfast- lunch- dinner.... was easy because I have everything already measured out and in containers for my grab and go life  :).  Off to the chiropractor I go.  So snowing again today.... well got to the top of the ramp and slipped taking the corner to the office...  good news- I didnt fall and hurt back more... bad news- I flung my cell phone into the unknown abyss of snow plowed piles....  didnt see where it went... not sights of point of entry... and ringer is off--- and no phone insurance-- UGH!  UGH! UGH!  Doctor tried helping locate it no success....  appointment went well-- all cracked and feeling good....  couldnt find phone after appointment either...  BAD DAY....  crazy traffic on way to work because of accidents in the snow storm- not mine  :)

Ate my packed breakfast when I stopped at home to pick up old phone and ate lunch in the office.  Tonight will be interesting because I am going to the Celtics game tonight for a work function.  Going to meet at the bar before game to give tickets to guests and then off to a suite full of food and drinks.  Should not be a problem for me-- as I had stopped drinking over a week before because I want to see how much impact alcohol has on my allergy side effects--- who is going to argue with me when I say I have Gluten allergy  :)  I have my dinner packed and with me too... so just have to figure out when I am going to eat it...   tough part is that I am probably not going to get home until after 11pm and I have to do my workout then   :(   but I get to wake up tomorrow morning and see the Chiropractor and hope to find my phone  :)

Day 9, 81 more days to go... picking up some speed

Hi Everyone,
Sorry I have been out of touch for the weekend...

Day 7....  500 jumpropes
another snowstorm on Friday so had my head down in work and then was busy with friends Friday night..... seemed like an easy day having only to jump rope... well- it was probably my worst day of jumping-- keep tripping and heart was racing...  I tend to believe it is because I had a real bad day eating since starting...  I had been eating salads and strangely enough not factory food....  well in the morning- I didnt eat at all...  then at lunch I had a healthy choice frozen meal. and same for dinner....  looked in fridge and saw that I had an old tub of cookie dough... and decided to bake the rest of what was in there.....  I am definitely not a dessert eater- but I did on Friday- I ate 3 cookies-  UGH!!!  and the only reason did it was I didnt want to waste it....  even though Patrick shared with us that more people are overweight...  I figured my last taste of bad sugar for 3 months....  so I am believing my bad choices in eating had a great impact on my workout- lesson learned.

Day 8.... first day of PCP diet and fresh workout
got out of bed late, about 10:30am- didnt go to bed until after 3am....  didnt have breakfast carbs or morning veggies in the house since I didnt go shopping the day before because of the storm....  so I had 2- 4oz yogurts which was my milk allotment for breakfast.....  so I skipped the carbs, veggies and protein--- NOT GOOD.  but I didnt want to have anything that I wasnt suppose to out of convenience.  So off to the grocery store I went..... got all kinds of good stuff-- tons of veggies and fruits and chicken and fresh tuna and more.  For the first time- I have made my first gluten free purchases....  bought gluten free bread, rice pasta, and brown rice pasta.....  I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy 17 years ago- never really did anything about it.... just been suffering with tight chest, bloching, hives and itchiness at various times.  I also have an allergy to soy, peanuts and corn--  doesnt make healthy eating easy for me without penalty.  I did some reading up on foods to avoid when you have a wheat allergy on Friday afternoon... need to figure out how to eat carbs but avoid my allergies.  Through my reading I found out that gluten free is for those with wheat, rye, and barley allergy--- I think this is me... must since I really hive up when I drink red wines and beer too....  so I took the plunge and decided if I am going to do this- I am going to do what is most healthy for me-- time to stop suffering.  I didnt eat so much when I got home since it was between lunch and dinner when I got back from the store....cant remember what I had....  but off to the workout--
600 jumps.... push ups, did 8-7-7-7... improving there....  squats- knee still the same- no pain but sounds not good....   cell phone rings- friend is at my house-  so I had to do the rest of the workout with her here...  felt weird- but muscled through the band work-- wow!!!! and crutches-- AHHHH - all done!    So friend is aware of the program-- I actually told her about it the night I found out about it from former PCPer Andy and current PCPer Scott--  she crashed at work hotel that night with me... told her what I learned and that I was going to do it..... so we together made my first official PCP meal....  pulled out and used for the first time my 3 tier steamer machine that my parents bought me for Christmas in 2009....  we were going to make veggies.... tuna.... and brown rice....--  took us a while to figure it all out... but then opted to steam shrimp instead of the tuna since I am not a good cook and really didnt know what I was doing and it was after 9:30 pm when we finally got the thing all assembled and cooking....  well-- result... food was not good- rice didnt really cook- had to switch it to stove top--- veggies were not cooked enough and the shrimp worked out....  oh well-  next time I try a new machine-- I start much earlier and after PCP is over   :)

Day 9.... full day at it
got up this morning.... my friend, Jen, went off to have breakfast with her friend.... which left me to try my first PCP breakfast in my kitchen--  well- it didnt taste so good....  I am going to make something tasty one of these times (I hope) --- I think I should have spent more time in the kitchen with my mom when I was living at home rather running out the door to play sports.  After breakfast, I tore into my fridge....  started measuring and prepping foods for the week....  cooked my carbs up, cooked up breast of chicken, separated my fruits outs, measured out my milks portions for a few days- putting everything into tupperware containers for my grab and go life....  oh yeah- ate some blackberries for snack during it all....  took me a while to do all of this....and had fun doing it--  was sending text messages to fellow PCPer of my various portions...  made it interesting.  you get the idea..  realized it was 1pm and needed to eat lunch- as I did- friend came back to my kitchen full of food, containers, aromas of this amazing chef , NOT!  We chit chatted as I finished up cutting, cooking, measuring, packaging, and when it was all over- off she went.... and off I went to go sledding with my friend Heather and her 2 sons.  On my way over- made sure I grabbed my snack of grapes with me--- ready to go and ate them in the jeep on the way over to the house-  what a good time- sledding down a steep hill- hitting jumps, falling off sled, losing control and hitting fresh powder and then climbing back up the hill... then sled down again... and back up again---  felt real good because I didnt feel tired at all with my several pounds of clothes on and the multiple hikes up this steep hill-- felt real good because friend and her sons were tuckered out and I was ready to go on for much longer.    When I got home- cooked dinner.... tuna, broccoli and left over brown rice--- I couldnt finish it... I was sooo full and stuffed.... I tried forcing it down even with breaks- but couldnt do it.....  I dont think I have eaten so much food in one day as I have today....  and I still have dinner snack to go and my work out....  not sure how I am going to get it done-  makes me ill thinking about eating more food... and hoping that I dont get ill when I do my workout later....   I think I am going to have to get up early tomorrow to get my day 10 workout done before heading off to work tomorrow--- dont want to feel like this tomorrow night

This is definitely an interesting experience so far....  having the good, the bads, the not tasty but yet through it all.... still filled with fire to do this- to be successful....  was hoping that through this process I would learn to love the flavor of food- but because I am still the one preparing it- I dont think that is going to change here....   ;)   I seriously need to find a male chef and make him my boyfriend/fiance/husband ASAP!!!

Took my weekly photo yesterday too- that will be posted by end of day tomorrow

Wish me luck- I have less than 2.5 hours to get my workout in before midnight-  good night all!

Day 6, 84 more to go....

Can you believe it, less than 8 hours later I did my next work out?  What a great feeling.  I wanted to tackle this workout because I have lots of my plate for today and I didnt want it lingering over my head all day.  So I jumped out of bed this morning, put Pandora on my phone for some background music today- strange enough- I found another song to add to my collection...  funny how they show up and it was the 2nd song that played under the Rihanna channel...    here is the song for today

My fire is definitely lit and I am working real hard at keeping it burning... making it a point to do these workout and fuel my body.  This adventure is not going to be a breeze but I think the toughest part is keeping the focus on yourself because if you are not taken care of- then you cant take care of anyone else.

So here I am at work.... so gotta run and then off to volleyball league tonight

500 jump ropes tomorrow?!?!  not sure how I am going to keep track of how many I do...  hmmmm

Have a great day everyone!

Day 5, 85 more to go...

I did it... just finished my 5th workout just a little bit ago....  wasnt feeling well today so didnt start my workout until 11:45pm tonight and finished after midnight.  As the night dragged on, I really was not looking forward to having to workout and then going to sleep after....  where would I get the energy to work out at almost midnight- well I am excited that I found it somewhere and I felt stronger as well as excited the deeper I got into it.  Crazy I know... granted it wasnt smooth sailing...  tripped up a couple times on the jumping rope part-- started in socks and after first set switched into sneakers  :)    during the squats- both knees sounded like rice krispy cereal rather just the left bad knee....  push ups I was able to do 8-8-5-5-5....  was very exciting that I was able to do 2 sets of 8 in a row... some day I will be able to get them all done-- hopefully....  sit ups- my least favorite and not sure how my success and results will be here... my core is sooo weak and the area that I would love to improve the most... time will tell...

heard another song on the radio today that had me thinking....   F'ing Perfect by Pink

You are perfect and I am sure of it--  now go to the mirror and repeat it every morning and every evening!!!!

Keep fighting the fight everyone  :)

Day 4.... 86 More to Go

Got up this morning and got my workout done right away....  I didnt want to have to think about it all day because I have volleyball league from 7-10pm.  I am NOT a morning person by any means so I was impressed with myself that I got up and got it done.  I thought to myself if I got it done in the morning.... I literally didnt have to think about doing it for 24 more hours.

So on my way into work.... I heard a song on the radio that I liked and had heard before...  sang the chorus to it but also started thinking how much it related to this project....  you can make your own assessment....

It's Time for Change Everyone!!!!  And one thing is for sure... you are NOT ALONE on this journey!!!  Keep up all the work and keep laying down the strong foundation- keep your minds strong and our matters will fall off.  :)

Day 3, 87 more to go...

I am not much in the mood for blogging today.  Tough day at the office in a couple ways... but it motivated me to get out of the office by 5:30pm go home and let off some steam through my workout.  I definitely was not in the mood to work out when I have moments like these but knew I would feel much better after it was all said and done....  so as soon as I got in the house, I put down my things and went immediately to my designated workout place that I have created.  I ripped right through my workout today.. jump roping went much faster because rather than hopping in between each jump, I just went straight through-- boy does it go by much faster... but maybe worse in the sense because I was double jumping so maybe getting more of a workout that way....  who knows.  Squats went pretty easily and knee is still rice krispies but oh well.  Push ups.. some day I will conquer them all at once but I did 4 sets of 5.  Sit ups went smoothly... until the last 3 of the final set-- thought my abs were going to burst....  happy that I felt pieces of my workout today.
I had soreness today ... but I know tomorrow will feel worse than tomorrow but as they say- no pain no gain.

Day 2 - 88 More Days to go....

What a day.... I am completely exhausted and about to head to bed.  I will say that I am proud of myself for muscling through my workout tonight.  I had a volleyball tournament today which started at 9am and finished about 5:30pm today....  my team won the whole thing.... after 13 games.  I have not played with my team in a tournament since the end of November.  It was so great to be back on the court with them again.  Needless to say, my legs were completely exhausted and was not looking forward to going home to do my workout.  On the drive home a messaged a couple friends to see what they were doing for the Pats vs. Jets game - since the game was already underway- and a nice excuse to delay my workout....  excellent, plans were made and I was on my way... but then I kept thinking about my workout and the longer that I put it off after my long day playing- the harder it would be to get motivated to do it or execute.  :(  I messaged my friends and apologized but I was going straight home instead!!!  ugh... but I did it and resisted the temptation to hang out and have a couple drinks while watching the game. 
Remember I said jump roping was a piece of cake last night.... not as easy today... tripped a few times but I did every jump and did a couple extra after the couple trips... wanted to ensure I got them all in.  My legs started shaking in the middle of the second set of lunges... I was going to do the least that we were asked to do- but when doing them- I pushed out the 10 each because I really want to get the most out of this and I am guessing these will be the easier of all workouts so "enjoy" them while I can.  Pushups were not as painful as I thought they would be... I actually did them a little different.  I did 4 sets of 5 reps starting out didnt the minimum but added the extra set to make up for the less reps... I am too competitive with myself and I am not a liar so didnt want to cheat myself or my support system.  The legs lifts were a breeze during the 1 set and had no back popping like I usually do when I try these activity... but sure enough- not knowing what changed the back popping started and continued through the 2nd and 3rd set....  I do have bulging discs in my lower back but I am hoping this will be less and less of an issue as I build my core and the strength in my lower back.
So... I was sooooo happy and proud that as much as I wanted to skip my workout tonight because I certainly got one today running around the volleyball court - it is time for me to sign out and fall asleep because I am exhausted....  cant wait to be sore all over tomorrow ...            NOT!!!

Good night everyone....  sad that the Pats lost tonight

Day 1 Photo

Day 1... Only 89 more to go!

Hello Everyone! 

I finally made it to this blogging spot and figured out how to post...  I will be very lucky if posting will the most challenging part of these 90 days  :)  I know, wishful thinking.  I am looking forward to this adventure, committment, change, and \ friendships... miles and miles apart and some not so far apart.
I am pretty lucky in this journey as I have two co-workers participating in this project with me.  Having this support system and energy not to give up and to be able provide the support to them is very exciting for me.  I look forward to seeing all of our results.

Blogging is brand new to me, so I will start off this with a little about me.  I live in Massachusetts, United States and have lived here my entire life.  I am 35 years of age and am not married, nor do I have children.  I have participated in sports since I was 6 years old and continue to play sports today.  I am actively playing volleyball at least 3 times a week and using this project to really improve my performance to be ready for the National tournament at the end of May.  I am only 5'4" so I would love to working increasing my vertical to help with blocking and spiking skills..... but I am a setter so being short is not so terrible.  I also participate in broomball leagues, softball leagues and kickball leagues throughout the year.  I will share more about me over the next 89 days ....  and I look forward to learning more about all of you.

Soooo.... today was the first day of the project.  The diet is to eat half of what you would normally eat....  that is pretty easy for me as I dont eat too much anyway.  My schedule causes me to skip lots of meals because I dont take the time to plan my meals and pack for the day to travel with me.  I am looking forward to this project so I can learn more about nutrition and being more structured and disciplined about eating.  I have a hard time eating when I dont feel hungry but I am sure that will change with all the exercises that we have in addition to my normal activities.  So today I will share what I ate and look forward to the changes in the future.  I had a Healthy Choice- Chicken Carbonara Dinner, glass of milk and Starbucks Mocha Frappachino.....  I know it is not enough to feed my body but I am looking forward to the future changes.

The first workout is complete and I am happy that I have taken the first step to this new beginning.  The jump roping was pretty easy for me.  The squats were successful as well, but I get concerned when I do them only because my left knee sounds like Rice Krispy cereal when you poor milk in it....  I have had 6 knee surgeries on my left knee over the years....  there is no pain with them- just fear because of the sound- but I am working to overcome that my completing what I am asked to do.  The push ups were tough at the end.  I went for 8 reps in each set... and I certainly struggled in my final set and I had a similar experience with the sit ups....  but I look forward to crushing these reps and sets in the future.

I have blogged more than I thought I would... thank you for sharing this journey with me and I cant wait for tomorrow's experience!!!!

Up and Away!

Dottie's getting REAL!