Here's the typical meal plan Kate requested. I try to do the five meals a day of about 300 calories each, but it seems I always go over a little and also use my homemade recovery drink, so I end up around 1,600 total calories. I am starting to wonder if that's too high, because unlike my first round, I'm now working a desk job full-time and am fairly sedentary outside Insanity. I am trying to vary my daily calories a little so my body doesn't get used to a certain amount, so some days I go a little lower and some days I eat more of a maintenance level (1,800+) and have a glass of red wine or some dark chocolate.
I'm on my final week of the first month, and the scale hasn't budged since week 2 although my pants are looser. I'm going to drop my calories down during the recovery week (but more on that later, as I have a pretty weird plan for month 2). Here are two example days; note that I usually do 400 calories for dinner (number four) and 200 for number five, and I adjust the ingredient amounts to equal the target calorie amount.
FIRST: Recovery drink, Ezekiel cereal with 1/2 cup skim milk and blueberries, coffee with milk. (7:30 am)
SECOND: Tuna salad with light cheese, lettuce, and tomato on a whole wheat sandwich thin, mandarin orange (10:30 am)
THIRD: Muscle Milk Light blended with a banana and a spoonful of wheat germ (2 pm)
FOURTH: Chipotle black bean, sweet potato, spinach, and sunflower seed burrito with light cheese and salsa on a whole wheat tortilla, small garden salad (5 pm)
FIFTH: Small bowl of oatmeal with a scoop of peanut butter (sweetened with Truvia). (7:30 pm)
Another day:
FIRST: Muscle Milk Light blended with 1 cup of mixed frozen fruit, coffee with skim milk, recovery drink.
SECOND: Amy's frozen meal with cheese enchilada, black beans, and rice/vegetables.
THIRD: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on light bread with low-sugar jam, baby carrots
FOURTH: One cup whole wheat pasta with homemade meat sauce and parmesan, cucumber slices
FIFTH: Almonds or scoop of almond butter, apple
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Insanity Revisited: Day 16
After telling myself I would never, ever do Insanity again... I'm doing it again. I've kept the wall calendar up since April and after the holidays, decided I'd give at least month 1 a go again. Unfortunately, I'm starting out a bit higher weight-wise than I did last time, the product of beginning a full-time desk job and being extra merry over the holidays. The plus side of that is I got so tired of junk food I couldn't wait to eliminate it, and it hasn't been hard at all.
When I began Insanity last year, I was at 118.5 pounds. At the end of month 1, I was at about 115 and at the end of month 2, I finished at 116-117.
This time, I started at 122.5 pounds. On day 16, I'm at 120. I won't post a daily journal this time, just occasional updates. For now, here are some observations from my second round as I begin the third week:
1. NUTRITION: I'm following the nutrition guide much closer this time. I'm eating five 300-calorie meals per day, every three hours, plus a little extra and my homemade recovery formula, to make about 1,600 calories total. Even though I have a lot less time this round than I did the first time, it's been easy because I keep ready-made things around at all times that I can make add up to 300. I've become a big fan of Muscle Milk Light blended with fruit. I wish I'd followed the plan more closely the first time, as this time my energy has been much more stable and my cravings have seemingly subsided. I've eliminated by nighttime snacking urge just by eating these mini-meals (and therefore more calories) early in the day. Through force of habit and continual resistance, I've been able to avoid the cookies and crap at work, and it's to the point I barely notice it anymore.
2. RESULTS: Like in the first round, I've noticed immediate improvements in my skin and my overall outlook. I noticed muscular changes by the end of week one, especially in my shoulders, upper chest, and stomach. I was really tired and cranky that first week but I adjusted quickly, and now I feel great. I get up in the morning at 5:30 to work out before work, and to my surprise, I really love it. There's no way I'd have the energy to do it in the evening.
3. CHANGES THIS ROUND, BESIDES FOOD: In my first round of Insanity, I went a full month with no knee problems. This time, I felt twinginess in my second week. I've already started wearing my knee wraps again. This is one reason I don't plan to do month 2 (at least not as it's written and not without a lengthy break between). At the end of the month, I plan to do a full week of only yoga and rest, and then re-evaluate. I may do some sort of hybrid for month 2, as I do enjoy some of those workouts. I also can't get up any earlier for the longer workouts, as I already feel my sleep is suffering somewhat. And finally, while month 1 was magical for me last time, month 2 was a continual struggle and an exercise in misery and overtraining. While I wanted to finish to prove I could do it (and I did), I have no desire to repeat that experience. I also gained weight in month 2 last time, and while I'm sure it was pure muscle, I'm not looking for that this time. (One thing I'm keeping my eye on is the new Insanity: The Asylum that's due out in March. That might be a good followup for me.)
I'm skipping the fit tests for now, and I've jumped right in with the workouts on those days and adding Cardio Abs to Pure Cardio before the schedule indicates it. I've already done Insanity once, and even after 9 months, I haven't lost much of my fitness level even going back to only practicing yoga. These don't feel any harder than they did before (but they feel very, very hard... although last time I hated Pure Cardio and this time I really like it, and it's Cardio Power and Resistance that I think is the killer.) Finally, on recovery day, I'm going to yoga class or doing Max Recovery, which I like a lot more than Cardio Recovery. I'm going to give myself the option on the sixth day of each week to do the workout as written or to go to yoga if I feel like I've overdone it -- but so far, that hasn't been necessary.
So that's it, folks. More musings and recipes coming your way, and it's great for me to look back at my own experiences each day to gauge my progress, so I'm glad I've kept this blog up. I hope something here helps you as well.
When I began Insanity last year, I was at 118.5 pounds. At the end of month 1, I was at about 115 and at the end of month 2, I finished at 116-117.
This time, I started at 122.5 pounds. On day 16, I'm at 120. I won't post a daily journal this time, just occasional updates. For now, here are some observations from my second round as I begin the third week:
1. NUTRITION: I'm following the nutrition guide much closer this time. I'm eating five 300-calorie meals per day, every three hours, plus a little extra and my homemade recovery formula, to make about 1,600 calories total. Even though I have a lot less time this round than I did the first time, it's been easy because I keep ready-made things around at all times that I can make add up to 300. I've become a big fan of Muscle Milk Light blended with fruit. I wish I'd followed the plan more closely the first time, as this time my energy has been much more stable and my cravings have seemingly subsided. I've eliminated by nighttime snacking urge just by eating these mini-meals (and therefore more calories) early in the day. Through force of habit and continual resistance, I've been able to avoid the cookies and crap at work, and it's to the point I barely notice it anymore.
2. RESULTS: Like in the first round, I've noticed immediate improvements in my skin and my overall outlook. I noticed muscular changes by the end of week one, especially in my shoulders, upper chest, and stomach. I was really tired and cranky that first week but I adjusted quickly, and now I feel great. I get up in the morning at 5:30 to work out before work, and to my surprise, I really love it. There's no way I'd have the energy to do it in the evening.
3. CHANGES THIS ROUND, BESIDES FOOD: In my first round of Insanity, I went a full month with no knee problems. This time, I felt twinginess in my second week. I've already started wearing my knee wraps again. This is one reason I don't plan to do month 2 (at least not as it's written and not without a lengthy break between). At the end of the month, I plan to do a full week of only yoga and rest, and then re-evaluate. I may do some sort of hybrid for month 2, as I do enjoy some of those workouts. I also can't get up any earlier for the longer workouts, as I already feel my sleep is suffering somewhat. And finally, while month 1 was magical for me last time, month 2 was a continual struggle and an exercise in misery and overtraining. While I wanted to finish to prove I could do it (and I did), I have no desire to repeat that experience. I also gained weight in month 2 last time, and while I'm sure it was pure muscle, I'm not looking for that this time. (One thing I'm keeping my eye on is the new Insanity: The Asylum that's due out in March. That might be a good followup for me.)
I'm skipping the fit tests for now, and I've jumped right in with the workouts on those days and adding Cardio Abs to Pure Cardio before the schedule indicates it. I've already done Insanity once, and even after 9 months, I haven't lost much of my fitness level even going back to only practicing yoga. These don't feel any harder than they did before (but they feel very, very hard... although last time I hated Pure Cardio and this time I really like it, and it's Cardio Power and Resistance that I think is the killer.) Finally, on recovery day, I'm going to yoga class or doing Max Recovery, which I like a lot more than Cardio Recovery. I'm going to give myself the option on the sixth day of each week to do the workout as written or to go to yoga if I feel like I've overdone it -- but so far, that hasn't been necessary.
So that's it, folks. More musings and recipes coming your way, and it's great for me to look back at my own experiences each day to gauge my progress, so I'm glad I've kept this blog up. I hope something here helps you as well.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Day 63: JOURNEY'S END: Final Results
As I was not home yesterday because of the holiday, I decided to finish on day 63 anyway, and did both my final workout (Max Cardio Conditioning) and the fit test today. A perfectly insane ending. So I started today as I started day 1, with a bowl of pumpkin oatmeal, and went right into the fit test. Oh, and before we get into the final photos, just in case you're thinking this is all well-polished and lip-glossed bliss, here's me at right after the final workout. The REAL Insanity. 
I lay on the floor and sobbed after the final fit test this morning. I'm not sure why, whether it was happiness, sadness, relief, or a culmination of all of the health stuff that's happened to me since last fall. This felt like such an enormous physical and mental accomplishment after such a serious illness that I think the fruition of it all was just overwhelming. I was nervous about taking this today after the holiday and all of the eating yesterday. I thought I'd be scrambling to match my day 33 numbers (note that I skipped the fourth fit test), but I killed it -- not only that, but I beat the participants on most of the exercises! Take that, Tonya. You have been served.
I lay on the floor and sobbed after the final fit test this morning. I'm not sure why, whether it was happiness, sadness, relief, or a culmination of all of the health stuff that's happened to me since last fall. This felt like such an enormous physical and mental accomplishment after such a serious illness that I think the fruition of it all was just overwhelming. I was nervous about taking this today after the holiday and all of the eating yesterday. I thought I'd be scrambling to match my day 33 numbers (note that I skipped the fourth fit test), but I killed it -- not only that, but I beat the participants on most of the exercises! Take that, Tonya. You have been served.
| Exercise | Day 1 | Day 16 | Day 33 | Day 63 | Change (Since Day 33) | TOTAL CHANGE |
| Switch Kicks | 116 | 121 | 122 | 150 | 23% | 29.3% |
| Power Jacks | 48 | 53 | 56 | 67 | 19.6% | 39.6% |
| Power Knees | 91 | 105 | 110 | 116 | 5.5% | 27.5% |
| Power Jumps | 27 | 33 | 34 | 40 | 17.7% | 48.1% |
| Globe Jumps | 7 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 18.2% | 85.7% |
| Suicide Jumps | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 5.6% | 11.8% |
| Pushup Jacks | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 14.3% | 60% |
| Plank oblique | 75 | 74 | 89 | 102 | 14.6% | 36% |
Note that this is an average of 14.8% improvement over my prior fit test during the recovery week, and an improvement of 42.25% overall!
I took a short break before taking on the final Max Cardio Conditioning, but even so, my legs just did not want to lift during those switch kicks. But it flew by and I nailed it, knowing I could collapse in torpor for days on end afterward if I so chose.
Here are the final photos (click to enlarge). I didn't weigh or measure today because I have a food hangover from yesterday, but I will try to do so in another day or two. I can tell you that I've check
ed on and off over the last week and my measurements have not really changed since Day 30. Not only that, but I've apparently gained about 2 pounds back. I assumed I'd just sabotaged myself with eating over the last month, something many of you know I've struggled with. However, my photos surpri
sed me because I am clearly a lot more muscular than I was on Day 30. I wondered if it could be attributed to the lighting change or something, but I don't think so. See what you guys think, and what exactly happened here. I would think my measurements would have gone down with building muscle, even if the scale went up. It's kind of a mystery. Until I saw these photos, I figured my results were better at 30 days. I think I was wrong.
ed on and off over the last week and my measurements have not really changed since Day 30. Not only that, but I've apparently gained about 2 pounds back. I assumed I'd just sabotaged myself with eating over the last month, something many of you know I've struggled with. However, my photos surpri
sed me because I am clearly a lot more muscular than I was on Day 30. I wondered if it could be attributed to the lighting change or something, but I don't think so. See what you guys think, and what exactly happened here. I would think my measurements would have gone down with building muscle, even if the scale went up. It's kind of a mystery. Until I saw these photos, I figured my results were better at 30 days. I think I was wrong.Over the next couple of days I'll post more of my final impressions and results. For now, I need a couple of days to recuperate and then yoga, here I come (back)!
To those of you who are in the middle of this -- KEEP GOING. The end is worth it. You have two choices about where you'll be at the end of 60 days.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Day 61: THE LAST MAX INTERVAL PLYO
This one just flew by, and I'm sorry to see it over. I'm sure I'll return to this one again sometime. I'm feeling better today, because I've been sleeping better. I think a combination of that and the end in sight have given me a second wind. I actually did a few extra balance pushups at the end because it seems like he doesn't do enough for you to get into a groove. I also think I did more of the exercises than I've done before, although not a big change.
Core Cardio and Balance was just what I needed yesterday; my joints felt better today. I wonder if this one was put in as the final recovery day not to make things harder, but actually to make them easier. Had I done Max Recovery yesterday, today my arms and legs would probably be a lot more fatigued. Maybe CC&B is there to help you through the final few days of cardio.
Unfortunately, the Easter candy has come out and yesterday I was entranced by a big chocolate rabbit. But you know, I've been struggling for the last 60 days and right now I am not going to worry about candy. Candy comes and goes.
I will post pictures tomorrow. I kinda cheated in taking them a day early, but it's when I had time (and knew I wanted to get them in before the holiday food rush). I will say this... they are not what I expected. My final Insanity results are a little baffling, so I'll be interested to see what you all think.
Core Cardio and Balance was just what I needed yesterday; my joints felt better today. I wonder if this one was put in as the final recovery day not to make things harder, but actually to make them easier. Had I done Max Recovery yesterday, today my arms and legs would probably be a lot more fatigued. Maybe CC&B is there to help you through the final few days of cardio.
Unfortunately, the Easter candy has come out and yesterday I was entranced by a big chocolate rabbit. But you know, I've been struggling for the last 60 days and right now I am not going to worry about candy. Candy comes and goes.
I will post pictures tomorrow. I kinda cheated in taking them a day early, but it's when I had time (and knew I wanted to get them in before the holiday food rush). I will say this... they are not what I expected. My final Insanity results are a little baffling, so I'll be interested to see what you all think.
Friday, April 02, 2010
Day 60: CORE CARDIO AND BALANCE
No matter how you slice it, I've done 60 days! I know I'm not totally done, but it still feels like I've crested the mountain.
When I woke up this morning, my knees were popping and I am having some pain in my left hip. I felt so creaky I decided to either take today off or do Cardio Recovery, but after being up and around for a couple of hours, I felt fine and went ahead with today's scheduled workout. Despite the impact, this one really is easier than Max Recovery, too. Two more workouts to go and I'm trying to figure out how to work around Easter, which will be a busy day. I may have to delay finishing by a day and end on Tuesday, which would be day 64.
It's spring now even in Alaska, and I really want to be out hiking and riding my bike!
When I woke up this morning, my knees were popping and I am having some pain in my left hip. I felt so creaky I decided to either take today off or do Cardio Recovery, but after being up and around for a couple of hours, I felt fine and went ahead with today's scheduled workout. Despite the impact, this one really is easier than Max Recovery, too. Two more workouts to go and I'm trying to figure out how to work around Easter, which will be a busy day. I may have to delay finishing by a day and end on Tuesday, which would be day 64.
It's spring now even in Alaska, and I really want to be out hiking and riding my bike!
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Day 59: MAX INTERVAL CIRCUIT
Dear Max Interval Circuit,
I've been dreading this day for a week now. Before our meeting one hour ago, I had to sit down on the couch and tell myself that no matter what misery was to come, in exactly one hour you'd be gone -- forever, if I wanted. But your final visit was exactly how I would have wanted it to be. We parted ways more than amicably, and dare I say you've taught me a thing or two in the past month. Whereas 29 days ago I collapsed at the mere thought of a full minute of high knee twists, did two repetitions to your every four, and couldn't complete a round of plank punches to save my life, today I did nearly everything.
One hour ago the thought of quitting even passed through my head, though briefly. I thought, what kind of person quits on day 59?! I needed to find something to give me the final push to finish this, and today I found it, so thanks.
I've been dreading this day for a week now. Before our meeting one hour ago, I had to sit down on the couch and tell myself that no matter what misery was to come, in exactly one hour you'd be gone -- forever, if I wanted. But your final visit was exactly how I would have wanted it to be. We parted ways more than amicably, and dare I say you've taught me a thing or two in the past month. Whereas 29 days ago I collapsed at the mere thought of a full minute of high knee twists, did two repetitions to your every four, and couldn't complete a round of plank punches to save my life, today I did nearly everything.
One hour ago the thought of quitting even passed through my head, though briefly. I thought, what kind of person quits on day 59?! I needed to find something to give me the final push to finish this, and today I found it, so thanks.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Day 58: MAX CARDIO CONDITIONING & CARDIO ABS
I actually had a good workout today and am warming to Max Cardio Conditioning. Cardio Abs was fun as always and I actually got all the way through the double leg lifts for the first time. I had a hard time getting going, though. As I've mentioned ad nauseum for the past week or so, my motivation is really dwindling. I'm having a hard time focusing on the workouts (I think Jenn nailed it -- the "novelty" is gone, and without that bad-ass awe about them, they just are daunting). But that wouldn't stop me; I've never had a problem getting myself to work out. The real problem is... My body is really in need of a break. That's the main thing. If I were going by my own signals right now, I'd take a good three days off in a row and nap every afternoon. But I have to push through just a few more days. My knees are cranky and while my upper-body strength feels like it's still improving, my legs just feel tired.
All of the above makes me wonder if it's just a normal physical response to 60 days of this sort of intensity without more than one day off at a time or if I've been doing something wrong.
I'm nervous about Max Interval Circuit tomorrow. Out of all the Insanity workouts, that's the one that just strikes fear in my heart. I just have it once more... I can do it. I'm also scheduled to finish up (minus the fit test) on Sunday, which is Easter. My mom has a big brunch planned that day and I don't know how all that's going to pan out. I would love for that day to be my first day of "freedom" so I can enjoy the big meal, but I don't want to tackle my final workout and then the fit test and measurements right after that. Suggestions, anyone?
I just received Hungry Girl's brand new cookbook in the mail, and I am so excited. You all know how much I love Hungry Girl, and this time she's put out a cookbook with more fresh food and less processed stuff -- it even has a crockpot section and a whole chapter on things to do with broccoli-slaw, which I love. I'm off to dig in.
All of the above makes me wonder if it's just a normal physical response to 60 days of this sort of intensity without more than one day off at a time or if I've been doing something wrong.
I'm nervous about Max Interval Circuit tomorrow. Out of all the Insanity workouts, that's the one that just strikes fear in my heart. I just have it once more... I can do it. I'm also scheduled to finish up (minus the fit test) on Sunday, which is Easter. My mom has a big brunch planned that day and I don't know how all that's going to pan out. I would love for that day to be my first day of "freedom" so I can enjoy the big meal, but I don't want to tackle my final workout and then the fit test and measurements right after that. Suggestions, anyone?
I just received Hungry Girl's brand new cookbook in the mail, and I am so excited. You all know how much I love Hungry Girl, and this time she's put out a cookbook with more fresh food and less processed stuff -- it even has a crockpot section and a whole chapter on things to do with broccoli-slaw, which I love. I'm off to dig in.
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