Missing my 26+2

Well, after a two week hiatus, I finally found my way back to the Bikram room last night. It was pretty rough, and I felt nauseous for most of the class.

Somehow, it is now 8 am and I am already back from my daily 26+2. As in, I got up at 5:30 this morning to get my daily sweat on.

Over the last two weeks, I've really put my practice on the back burner because I was doing other fitness activities. What a poor choice.

Yoga is something special. It combines mind and body, and helps you achieve complete health. Even after just two classes, I've realized how much I've missed my "me" time. I think it's important to have time alone with your thoughts and yourself, and yoga gives you that opportunity.

Anyways, I am definitely looking forward to being more diligent about my practice, and I kind of like waking up early and getting my sweat on in the morning. It got my day going this morning, and I am now enjoying some delicious four ingredient pancakes (2 egg whites + mashed banana + cinnamon + vanilla) and blogging for you fine people -- all before work!

Good morning!

How to navigate a menu without nutrition facts

You thought I forgot about my real food challenge, didn't you?

In the last couple of weeks, I've eaten from a restaurant more than several times. I've ordered everything from salads to burgers to french toast.

And I haven't looked at the nutrition facts.

Guess what? I still fit into my clothes. My arms are getting leaner. And I feel great.

As this experiment continues, I'll post photos, measurements, progress. My point is: you CAN eat out and still reach your goals, WITHOUT meticulously counting every calorie you put in your body.

It's all about thinking before you eat: about how the food is going to make you feel, about what you're craving, about what you can do without.

Here's a couple of easy modifications I've used on more than one occasion:

• Substitute steamed vegetables for French fries
• Ask for your protein to be cooked without added butter or oil (a lot of restaurants add oil or butter before grilling)
• When ordering a burger, order without the bun. If you're like me and don't love cheese, leave it off.
• Ask for your salad dressing on the side. Dip your fork in it before getting a bite of salad - I find I actually taste the dressing more this way, and I use a lot less.
• Just say no to the bread basket. Most places will gladly not bring it out, if requested.
• If they have sauteed vegetables on the menu, they can likely do them steamed instead or with light oil.

Healthy eating isn't about cutting entire food groups out of your diet or sacrificing the things you love - it's about learning to choose these things in moderation. For example, if I'm eating dinner out, I will ALWAYS skip French fries and cheese on my burger and eat some dessert. For you, it might be the complete opposite.

Good luck navigating the menu. As always, I try to track some of my eats on Instagram, so you can see what I'm nomming on :)

Happy weekend!

Taking on p90x

Over the last two weeks, I've really started kicking my butt back into gear. It's kind of amazing how that happens when you look at a calendar and realize that (surprise, surprise), Miss Virginia keeps getting closer! In fact, we're under the five month mark.

Luckily, I have a very supportive boyfriend (who will remain blog-anonymous for now :) ) who has decided to tackle p90x with me.

I actually got p90x for Christmas during my junior year of college. The first time I tried it, I lasted a grand total of four weeks before falling off the wagon. However, in those four weeks, I saw some pretty amazing results.

Kind of amazing what happens when you work out hard six times a week, combining cardio and weight training, huh? And then add in good nutrition?

Anyways, we're nine days in, and are on our second week of the first cycle of workouts. Highs of the week have included: Doing assisted pull-ups instead of using bands for the second time through shoulders and chest, Kenpo, and post-workout meals (gonna start featuring some of these on here). Lows were today's Plyo session (turns out Plyo on tired legs is not as fun) and Yoga X (turns out I'm not as flexible as I want to be).

I will say that p90x is way better when you do it with someone else. Plus, doing it with someone else certainly helps with accountability as well.

I'm also logging my workouts on Fitocracy now. You should join and follow me!

Anyone done the whole 90 days of p90x? Did you follow the nutrition plan as well? What were your results?