Days 63 & 64: Relieving the Pressure

Ever since I've been an adult (biologically, not maturity-wise), I've hated going to the doctor. I just couldn't stand those two questions I got asked every time:

1) Are you eating a healthy diet?

2) Do you exercise regularly?

The answer to these two questions, for a number of years, has been an emphatic "no!" In fact, shortly before I started P90x, I went for my first physical in many years and answered both questions "no," and got the requisite head shake from the doctor (which means "why not? Don't you realize how fat you are?").

As I indicated in an earlier post, the results of the physical and the blood test were better than they could have been, but I was far from healthy. In fact my blood pressure was 130/90--pretty high for a 43 year old guy.

I'm proud to say I returned to the doctor today for a follow-up and when she asked the two questions, I was able to answer "yes." Even better, my blood pressure had dropped to 120/64--a number my doctor called "great"--and my weight was down a little more than 20 pounds (it is actually a little bit more than that because last time when I got weighed at the doctor I was wearing the paper robe of shame--this time, I was fully clothed).

This isn't to brag: I still have a looooong way to go to be anything close to a normal weight. But it's progress and keeps me motivated to stay on track for the remaining 26 days and beyond.

Day 62: I Guess I Won't Make it to Day 90

So, apparently the world is going to end on May 21. I saw it on the internet so it must be true. Some prophetic group predicted that on May 21, 2011, that End Times will come.

Is it odd that when I heard this recently, all I could think was that I would be really pissed because that will only be day 76? And that I wondered whether The End would come before or after I finished that days workout (Kenpo X)?

I don't mean to mock the idea of End Times or The Rapture (although I do not believe it will be an "event"). And the fact Miley Cyrus recently did a remake of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" makes me think we are closer to The End than we ever have been (seriously...see the picture and do a Google search).

But this dire prediction is symbolic of something. There are hundreds and thousands of distractions pulling us away from being healthy. I mean, if the world is going to end in two weeks, why work out? But like this distraction most of them are not real and have to be blocked out. I feel pretty confident that I will be around for day 77, 78, 79 and so on. And I feel like you will be too. So, I will not allow myself to be thrown off track.

And if The End does come, at least I will be in pretty good shape.

Day 61: My Best Body Part

As I was doing the P90x Legs & Back routine today it dawned on me that I have one body part that is better than any of the people in the video--yes, even you Tony Horton. It's not my arms, back, chest, eyes, face, hair, teeth, ears, nose.

It's my calves (I didn't want to run a picture of my calves here because I don't want Tony Horton to feel bad or lose confidence).

Seriously, I have very strong calves. The three-way calf raises that we do in this work out are a breeze for me, even with 25 pound dumbbells in my hands. I have no idea why I have good calves. I certainly haven't worked them out any harder in my lifetime than any other body part (meaning, I have barely worked them out at all, save for the past 61 days).

It may have to do with the fact that my calves have been carrying around a lot of tonnage my entire adult life. Who knows?

But I revel in my fine calves. Now, if the rest of my body would just catch up.

Day 60: Beyond my Current Level of Fitness

Before each P90x DVD there are--not surprisingly--a series of warnings. It takes about a full minute for all the warnings to scroll up. Here's the Reader's Digest version:

This is really hard.

Really hard.

We warned you.

It's not our fault.

One of the warnings even says something like "If you feel like you are exercising beyond your current level of fitness...stop exercising immediately." I thought that was the whole friggin' point! On Day 1, my current level of fitness was "Fat, Dorito-jacked Sloth," so something tells me I was beyond my current level of fitness when I opened the box.

Today is day 60 and I haven't really had a Dorito in a couple of months. I'm still pretty tubby, but not as much anymore. And I'm definitely not a sloth. But I still feel like--most of the time--I'm exercising beyond my current level of fitness. Some of the moves are actually getting a little less hard, but I still wouldn't use the "e-word" (easy) for any of it.

Bottom line, if you are going to try P90x, read and heed the warnings. It's hard.

Really hard.

I warned you.

Day 59: Trying to Answer the Bell

Last night, one of my good friends from Georgia was in town for business and we got to hang out, have dinner and drink a few beers. I gave myself some PDaddyX latitude on one condition: I had to answer the bell in the morning. When the alarm went off at 5 a.m., I'd get up and work out, no matter how tired or, uh, impacted I was from my school night out.

I didn't overdo it last night, but I certainly didn't underdo it either. I rolled in around 11:30 a.m. and by midnight, I was ready to sleep. I made sure my Blackberry, which I use as an alarm, was set and by my side so I could answer the bell.

Fairly quickly I fell asleep, but I popped up a couple of times, with the first thing on my mind being "answer the bell!"

I was awakened by my four-year-old with his now regular question: "Daddy, are you going to 'extersize' this morning?" I replied "Yes, big man" and I was about to say "why are you up so early?" when it dawned on me it was light outside. Not a good sign.

Turns out, in my effort to "set" my alarm, I actually turned it off.

Needless to say, all I could think about during work today was that I was going to have to answer the bell tonight, after work, after my son's track meet and after bed time.

I'm pleased to say I did in fact answer the bell tonight--but I'll double check my alarm is set before going to bed tonight.

Gotta extersize.

Day 58: I'm Not Working to Scale

How much weight have you lost?

It's a question I love hearing, but, honestly, I don't have a good answer. I decided about two weeks into P90x that I was going to stop weighing myself regularly. First of all, we don't have a very good scale. But, more importantly, it's easy to get caught up in the numbers and get into a routine where your happiness is tied to how much the scale moved.

Ultimately, this whole PDaddyX thing is about being healthy, pushing myself and being a good role model to my boys. Weight loss is part of that and I've definitely dropped some pounds, but because P90x focuses so heavily on muscle development, chances are I haven't lost as much weight as some might think.

I have stepped on the scale a few times and my guess is that I've lost about 20 pounds, maybe a little more or less. However, there are other signs besides a number that tell me my body is changing and my health is improving:

• Clothes that were once tight on me are now loose around the waist, even baggy in some cases. And some clothes I put in storage because they were too, um, form-fitting are getting back in the rotation.
• I bought a pair of pants the other day that were three sizes smaller than the last pair I purchased (and they were suit pants, which generally run larger).
• I don't get winded taking a walk or climbing stairs.
• I'm generally sleeping better at night and I'm not getting the headaches and backaches I used to get.

To me, these are the real metrics of success, not the number that the scale tells me.

So, please, ask me how much weight I've lost, but don't be surprised when I say "well....I don't really know!"

Day 57: The Cupcake Diet

As I've documented here, last week was a series of speed bumps in the PDaddyX journey. The last bump came on Saturday as we celebrated my son Will's 8th birthday. He had a cupcake cake--individual sugar bombs arranged to look like a cake. I struggled with whether I should have one, until Will looked at me from within his sugar haze and said....

"Daddy, aren't you going to have a piece of a birthday cake?" I told him I would and I did. My concern wasn't whether one cupcake would put all 20-25 pounds I've lost back on. It was the cumulative effect of a stressful week in which I missed two workouts and would now top off with a sugary, sweet (and wonderful) cupcake.

I got that answer this morning when I returned to my routine. I started phase 3 and found that I actually could do MORE pushups, more pulldowns with the bands and was able to push myself harder.

My muscles did get some rest the past several days and I felt lighter and stronger after my recovery week. And clearly the eight weeks of P90x have made me stronger. For instance, in week three, I could do two sets of 10 decline pushups. This morning? 18 in one set and 20 in the second.

So, even after a difficult week, I'm making progress. Either that, or I've discovered that cupcakes are the secret to true fitness. Mmmmmm...cupcakes.

Happy birthday, buddy boy!