I've been on the program for a little bit more than three weeks. And the results are amazing! My starting weight was 150 and I'm down to 144 with about 15 lbs left to lose (20 more if i'm pushing it).

Here's my account of the program so far:

Week 1:

I came into this program positive and determined. I bought the food specified, mostly chicken, fish and all the vegetables i could afford. Unfortunately broccolli and cauliflour were off my list since those babies cost shitloads a kilo. The first few days were alright. I had my portion of meat (about a deck of card's worth) and then stuffed myself with steamed vegetables till i was full. My go-to veggy was always baguio beans. They're slightly sweet and the crunch set my oral fixation to rest. I even got myself my own plug-in steamer, so now meals take 30 minutes to prepair and all i have to do is stick them in.

In the middle of week 1, i was starting to crave for the complex carbs. My cravings usually hit me around 7pm onward - after I've had dinner - and after my day's quota of dark chocolate. I felt like a mewing cat, scratching my bundled pillows for sustenance other than the stockade of singkamas i stashed away for emergencies like this. I've found two solutions for these cravings. one, sleep. I got a lot of much needed rest this first week. and two, Draw Something. Irritating people with my twenty minute illustrations is why nobody plays with me anymore.

The cravings eventually went away. All i had to do was hold out till Phase two when i could have some wheat bread again.... or dent that stockade of singkamas

Week 2:

Meat and vegetables continued and i swore i would never peel another singkamas ever again. Tragic accidents always happen when i get my hands on something sharp. and to my pathetic dismay, i cut myself with a very dull and child-proof plastic peeler. Half a nail and bloodloss aside, my tastebuds wouldn't revolt against the bland meat and raw vegetables anymore. I expected all my meals to taste bland and slightly bitter by now, and any flavor added to my food exploded in my mouth in unimaginable ecstasy. My mom snuck in half a teaspoon of rock salt into a batch of chicken one day, torn that her bouncy big girl wasn't so bouncy anymore. And when i took that first bite, i felt a mixture or sheer joy and damning guilt. I know Iwas overdoing it, banning all forms of seasoning from my food, but with some coaxing from my pleading mother i started adding basil, rosemary, oregano, curry, cumin.. everything unaggressive.. into my steamed meals. Steamed basil chicken was my favorite. That and a side of fresh Romaine lettuce in a teaspoon of our Ate Mely's vinegarette. YUM.

There was also a problem of chocolate cravings. I'm a chocoholic, and it was the winning peak of the program's orientation when I was told that i could have a portion of chocolate a day. I held off chocoloate for the first three days of the program - hoping to go cold turkey on the stuff completely - but eventually gave in. HOWEVER in my unrealistic determination, figured out a way to get rid of the chocolate cravings for good. I made my own chocolatey treats!

Here's the thing. I love baking, but since i can't enjoy cakes or cookies anymore than i should, my itching hands turned to melting blocks of chocolate and mixing them with different flavors. So far, I've made mint chocolate, Bailey's bon bons, dark chocolate with orange peel, dark chocolate with almonds and dried organic cranberries, and my favorite, the dark chocolate cayenne truffle. Afer that cooking spree and having to smell chocolate day in and day out, i swore off the stuff. It was a sad day for the Karen who was five lbs heavier just two weeks before, but a stepping stone for go-healthy Karen of today. :D

Week three/phase 2:

A total of six lbs down. I was on my period so six pounds was good enough for me. And the results were very apparent on my waist, my face and my thighs. Cloths hung on me. I had the guts to leave the house in sleeveless blouses. I needed to shop for new shorts and i only have one pair of pants that dont make my look frumpy! The two weeks were well worth it. Not only did it curb my appetite and give me a new, better figure, it pushed my motivation some more. I wasn't ever going to go back up to 150. noway. I know how much it takes to go down five pounds and i dont want to waste that effort. I also know that i could do it, so I'm going to keep on doing it till i reach my target goal :D

However, I think i overindulged on the bread for phase two. Monday's breakfast was a thick slice of bread with a sprinkle of olive oil and a few oregano leaves. HEAVEN, i tell you. But as the days went by, i found that the bread was way too heavy on my system. I'd feel bloated and heavy. Eventually i nixed the bread for lunch and only had a slice or two for breakfast every other day.

Midweek, I didn't seem to be losing any weight. I though I'd hit a plateau so i decided to start working out again.

Week 4:

I went back to my kickboxing regime, worked-out out three times a week, and unfortuneately, gained three lbs of water weight. I was devasted. I wasn't sure if it was really my muscles retaining the water, or that crispy pata i snuck into my dinner last sunday, or the half cup of milk i've been having for breakfast three days in a row. O~O. Water weight's a bitch, especially since I'm determined not to gain the weight back. Hopefully it'll be off by next week's weight in.

Verdict so far:

I miss my sandwiches. Ask anyone and they'll tell you how much I've been pestering them about sandwiches. But I'm happy. Hell yeah I'm happy with the program! Six pounds off and the inches are still falling? You kidding me? 15 lbs to go till my target weight. 20 to get that hott beach body! Yeah! 

Now this is my kind of motivation:

I think i could have been a bit more dedicated to the p90x schedule this week. Somewhere along the line, i snuck in an extra cardio day and skipped yoga day completely. I've read that it's totally okay to miss one day on the program. I can go on to the next day (do doubles maybe - cardio + resitance) and I'd still get the best out of the probram.

So my last workout this week was legs and back. It's all lunges, some pull-ups and the autrocious wall squats. The exercises are simple enough. You get to follow your own pace, peg your own intensity and add on some weights extra if you're Wonder Woman. It certainly did a job on my gluts and inner thighs. For those who have trouble trimming areas under the waist, this is the workout for you. It's a bit harsh on the knees, but it can be modified. Breathing is the key here. The reps are slow, I had some time to replenish those muscles with oxygen!

Last day, yoga day - totally skipped it. I was out of town. but if i had the time, i think this is also an essential workout of the week - especially for the first phase. By day 6, you're sure to be so sore a flight of stairs will look like the trip to Mount Mordor. In my first round of p90x, yoga elimated the sores completely. I know it's 90 minutes long, so I went through the other videos and found yoga's alternative: stretch x. It's not as long as yoga and does the trick to losen those sore muscles, but what you'll be missing - i find - is the strength buildup the yoga poses induce.

I'll see if i can sneak in an alternative yoga class sometime this week to make up for it, in the meantime, i'm up for the start of week 2 today; so this means another round of Chest and Back + ab ripper. 

progress so far: 

I'm definately sore. I pulled an ab muscle - but at least i know they're there. I lost half and inch around my waist this week and i can run five minutes longer. I gained two pounds, but I'm not discouraged at all. I'm building muscle and most probably retaining a lot of water during this tme of the month. Actually, i shouldn't be weighing myself until the end of phase 1, but it's just nice to break things down logically.

Diet: i could do better. I'm still weening off the sweets.     

interesting:

http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/93238654755243906_UdHkyU2I.jpg

p90x Day 2-5

Yes, I'm still okay. Even after plyometrics, i'm still geared up for the next 85 days. Day two, as predicted, was the hardest this week. The 59 minute video killed me at the 35 minute mark, and by forty i changed gears and finished the hour with cardio x (a combination of all the cardio workouts in p90x). I could have done a lot more to prepare myself for Plyo - mental conditioning for example. I suppose my negativity and fear p90x amounted to 70% of my shortcommings. Negativity after all is the badge of the lazy, so from now on it's Plyometrics or it's equivalent with insulin drummed excitement. I could replace the workout with Kenpo X (kickboxing) since I adore the fast paced combat nature of it, or maybe a 45 minute run on really busy days. Nevertheless, day two should be heart pumping cardio, so whether or not i'm up for Plyo, it's my chance to dish out 400 calories and buckets of sweat.

Day three was supposed to be arms and shoulders, but because of my lack of concentration the day before, i re-did cardio day with a long 30 min run, then cooled down with 15 mins on the elyptical. i'd give Plyo one thing though: whenever i felt winded on the treadmill, i'd just tell myself that this was nothing compared to five minutes of Plyo. and voila! my energy's back again! 

Day four, i did arms a shoulders, a combination of weight lifting exercises that targest the bicepts, tricepts, shoulders. i started with my new 6 lbs dumbells i was itching to try out. They were the only ones left at the store, so i got them, thinking i could increase my reps if they were too light. Unfortunately, 20 reps didn't give me the burn I wanted. I should have held out for 8lbs dumbells or 10's, but i solved this predicament by strapping on some old 2lbs weights. It proved for an akward exercise, but it didn't break my form and did the trick. so far, arms and shoulders was the easiest workout of the week.

Day 5, today kenpo x. my FAY-VOH-REET. i love - LOVE - this workout. I guess it's my former taekwondo girl here talking, but the hour goes by without a hitch! Sure, I'm breathing hard halfway through, but the exerises are placed well, alternating with punches then kicks -15-25 reps each. I'm sure to lose at least 450 calories by the end of the video, and after I'm still game for a 10 minute go on the elyptical. workouts are efficient when you're having fun!

Diet:

I was doing well till i walked into my mom's room and zoomed in on the flickering gold foil tucked deep under her pillows. I was home alone, bored and mother didn't try hard enough to hide the sugary treats. When she came home, she found me sitting on her bed with snickers minis wrappers peppered all over her bedsheet. i had 6!

ON a good note though, my appetite's increased. I say good because i take this as a sign of a faster metabolism. Correct me if I'm wrong! Nevertheless, the my portions are smaller, spread out evenly in the day, just so i dont justify my calorie burn with another Snickers-fest.

week one almost done! looking forward to legs and back tomorrow and yoga on sunday!