INSANITY Week One

Four years ago Jim handed me a book entitled "The Body For Life". That book changed my life. The idea was to eat a perfect diet 6 days a week. One day a week you could consume anything your heart desired. Nice idea. Problem was that I always felt miserable after the cheat day. I gave up the cheat day. I eat well 90% of the time and rarely eat out. I will not eat fast food. And have been told,at times, I am difficult to deal with, meaning what I will let my family eat and the groceries that I buy tend to be a source of friction around my house. I refuse to purchase/bring home chips,chocolate,processed crap,enriched noodles and bread, you get the idea. Its pure hell here. I will provide a buffet of fruit,veges,chicken,and turkey breast. Its not so bad. I like to cook and am not afraid to try new things,besides, who turns down a home cooked meal theses days?
The next idea in the book was to workout 6 days a week. No problem here. Except, I only wanted to ride my bike,run or attend bootcamp. I was not excited to do the strength training {lifting weights}. So, I didnt. I did get excellent results, and still follow this plan. That was until...

After some research, Jim and I decided that "INSANITY" was a better fit than "P90X". We took our fit test on Monday. Reality sets in. There were 8 exercises to perform and count for one minute. Even with the minute in between it kicked our asses. We were sweating and literally gasping for air. I realized at that moment that just because I can ride forever I can not hop like a frog for a minute and put up a good number. We each recorded our starting point and made a commitment to follow through with this TOGETHER. Its great to have a partner.

The plan gave us scientific equation so we could find out how many calories we should be ingesting. I do not count calories, I burn them. Well, that has changed. All week I measured,weighed, and micro managed every bite that went in my mouth. It takes more time and causes more dishes, but, I am glad I did it. I really dont know how many calories I ate before. After this week I realize I was taking in too many.I was never hungry and had calories left at the end of each day. I have weighed the same amount for 3 years. Except this week. I lost 2 pounds. There may be something to this calorie counting thing after all.

The workout videos were tough. I am already pleased with what I see in the mirror. I am not doing this to lose weight, fit into a bikini, or a size 2 dress. I am doing this to help me be a better athlete, a better mountain biker. There is a difference in just being an athlete and being an amazing athlete. Why , at 41, do I want to be amazing?? Good question.. For another blog though...

Its unfortunate that Jim will be OOT for this next week. We will be doing separate dvds and counting calories alone. Whats awesome is that he gets to ride in MOAB over the weekend. Yeah, its not fair. Well, I did get to go to Ark. last month. Jim knows that the only way he could have more fun is if I was going. Maybe next time.