Getting Fit

With 3 months left until our Carribbean vacation, Orlando and I are starting to get excited. We're both a bit... let's call it heftier than we would like to be, so we're taking decisive action. On Monday, we started an intensive 3 month training regimen coupled with a plan to change eating habits.

The Exercise Program: P90X - 90 days and it's intense. It's made up of 12 dvds, each with a single workout on it. It comes with a detailed schedule of which disk should be used on each day. Orlando is doing the standard version, I'm doing the lean version, so we're each doing a different workout every day.

Monday, Orlando and I each made it through about 1/2 of our one hour session. On day 2, we were both able to reach the end, though I'll confess, it was not easy, and I couldn't keep up. The program offers a lot of variety in the daily workouts. One day may be arms and shoulders, the next yoga followed by a workout of abs and core. I'm quickly getting the sense that sore muscles are going to be standard for both of us for the next couple months.

We'll each be tracking progress throughout the 90 days, and we've each set a personal goal for what we'd like to accomplish.

The program includes a diet program that is a little complicated but basically seems a lot like the South Beach Diet, which we both know pretty well. So we've opted to use that system instead.

The Diet: South Beach Diet - Myney and I have both done South Beach before with some success. It does require that you not eat any carbs for the first two weeks, then introducing only whole grains (so no potatoes or white bread) in moderation. The first two days have been pretty easy, salads on day 1, pork and rattatouille for dinner last night. We've got a fridge full of meat and cheese and vegetables.

The other big change for us is in what we drink. No more juice, no more sugary sodas, and alcohol is going to be limited to a few specific cheat days. With the demands of the exercise program, water really is the evening beverage of choice so far.

We've agreed that we'll be cheating on the diet a bit over the next three months but we're going to do our best to keep each other honest. Our first cheats will happen this weekend with Annie's birthday party and our first football game.

I'll make periodic progress reports as we inch toward the day we'll head to the beaches of the Carribbean. Now, I've got to get to my arms and shoulders workout.