Meal Planning with Hammer & Chisel

As I mentioned previously I'm now doing a workout program called The Master's Hammer & Chisel with my husband to help me loose the pregnancy weight I gained. Before starting our new workout program (Hammer & Chisel) we had to take a quiz to see what meal plan we would be following. Depending on gender, starting weight, lifestyle, and goal you got a letter that represented your calorie and container options. I got Plan B with 1,500-1,799 calories. This was less calories than I was used to since I was still sticking with the calories I was eating during my pregnancy. The containers/colors shown in the table above relate to certain types of food as explained below.

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After I got this information I went to work researching healthy recipes that could work within these goals. I have to say that it was not easy at all to come up with my Week 1 Meal Plan. I struggled to cut back on my carb/starch and dairy intake. I also struggled finding vegetarian options for most of my meals {I'm about 90% vegetarian since I still eat lunch meat and sometimes seafood}. I typically eat a lot of Mexican food and pasta recipes. However, clearly eating as much spaghetti and enchiladas as I was previously was not working for me in the long run so I came up with my meal plan shown below.

For week 1 I struggled with still feeling hungry and lethargic at times. According to the nutrition book you can add in green and red if you're hungry or purple and blue if you're lacking energy. To prevent myself from being miserable since I didn't plan on starving myself, I added in some veggie snacks to my day when needed. Before I could start my workout after my second snack I ate a second serving of carrots since they have fiber to help me keep me full to power through my workout. I was definitely missing my sugar filled Zone Perfect Protein Bar that I normally eat pre-workout right about now. 

I was loving my usual turkey sandwich (minus the mayo and cheese I usually used). However, the plain greek yogurt was a struggle where I was constantly trying to find mix-ins to improve the taste. For some reason plain greek yogurt tastes like sour cream to me, and it's just not appealing to eat a bowl of it. I threw in some strawberries one day and another day I blended it up with blackberries. Another thing I was struggling with was my new way to drink coffee. Typically I pour in my flavored creamers until my coffee basically looks like milk. Now I'm allowed 1-2 tbsp of Milk plus any extracts or spices I'd like. I blended my coffee with 2 tbsp of Fairlife Fat Free Milk, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract, 1 tsp Coconut Oil, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It was okay at first. I think it'll take time for my body to adjust and learn to like the healthier options, but it'll definitely be worth it in the end to feel better about myself and live longer. 

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P90X3 Workout Pictures with Explanations

Even after having a blog for about a year, I'm still learning what I'm doing. Lately I'm working on being more consistent with my posts as well as trying to post as soon as things happen. However, like everyone I'm not always perfect. I just realized that since I've started P90X3 I have not posted any workout pictures. If you follow me on instagram then you'd see I've been posting them there, but now I'm going to overload my blog with all the pictures and explanations/thoughts on the workouts. So enjoy... :) P.S. This will probably be a very long post...

Here we completed CVX. This video is full of some cardio with weights. During the video you repeat each move twice. The top photo on the left is March and Reach aka Stiff Zombie according to Tony Horton. In this move you extend your arms overhead then lower the weight and kick your leg out straight. Reverse. I could really feel this in my shoulders. The bottom photo on the left is Crescent Chair. In the first round you start in Chair position from yoga with the weight at your chest. Then you step back into a lunge/Crescent with your arms overhead holding the weight. Reverse. In the second round of doing this move you keep your arms up the whole time. During the second round my hamstrings/quads and shoulders were BURNING. Also in the above picture you can see that I got in my new Jump Mat. I use this when I workout down stairs to protect my feet so I'm not working out on hard floors.

Here we completed The Warrior. No equipment is required for this video. All you need is your body weight. As Tony Horton mentions in the video, this workout was designed for the military. The bottom picture on the left shows me performing Abrinome. Lie down with your arms at a 45 degree angle from your sides and legs straight up in the air. As Tony tells you, bring your legs to the right, center, and left. Legs should be at a 45 degree angle from the floor or higher. I felt this move a lot in my lower abdomen. The bottom right picture was from the Burnout. The Burnout was depth charges where you explode up into a jump, then slowly release back down into a squat for a FULL MINUTE. It was HARD!

This was from when we completed Isometrix. Isometrix is an isometric workout wher eyou hold positions for an extended amount of time. This workout helped me to focus on strength and balance. The balance aspect was great because that is something I REALLY struggle with. The right picture is Chair with Leg Extended Forward. This was hard for me to hold while standing on my right leg since the right leg had the injured ankle from the sprain. Ever since spraining my ankle, as well as having foot surgery on that foot in high school, I've never had great balance on my right leg. The bottom picture on the right shows Moon Dog. You need to stand on one leg with the other leg off the ground behind you. Lower until your leg and torso are parallel to the ground..or the best you can do. Reach your arms out to your ears and hold. I was stumbling a lot in this move so I couldn't get my body to stay fully parallel.

Here we completed P90X3 Dynamix. A lot of the moves in this video reminded me of Pilates workouts I've done in the past. Dynamix is a dynamic stretching workout designed to help with flexibility, mobility, and strength. This was definitely a test for me on my flexiblity, espeically while doing Fifer Scissors (see picture on top right). I'm hoping eventually I will be able to get my nose to my knee in that move. The move on the top left was Superman - Side Banana. As Tony calls it out you switch from superman on your stomach with your arms and legs off the ground to Side Banana on your side with hips stacked and your legs/arms lifted so only your hips touch the ground. I was feeling it in my abs on this move for sure.

This was from when we completed Accelerator. During accelerator each move was 1 minute and Tony would have you slow down or speed up. Accelerator is an amazing cardio strength workout. The top picture shows me performing Swimmer's Planks. It was really hard for me in this move to attempt to keep my butt down. My body kept trying to go up into downward dog when I lifted my leg and opposite arm. In this move you alternately lift an opposite arm and leg. While your arm is lifted you perform a forward or backward stroke motion...aka the reason for the name. On the bottom right I am completing Donkey Kicks. These are killers! You start with your hands on the floor and your feet tucked in a crouch position. You then kick both feet into the air as high as you can into a V. Then you lower one foot to the ground and cross the other in front of it, kicking to the side with the same hand as the supporting leg in the air. Then switch sides after your next kick. This move is HARD!! At first it's hard to get the coordination down. Once you do you can work on how high you can kick your legs.

Here we completed Triometrics. In Triometrics each move has 3 levels. Mainly during the workout I noticed that as the levels got higher you went lower/deeper in your squats. The picture on the top shows me in Warrior 3 Squats. You start in Warrior 3 standing on one leg with the other leg extended behind you making your body parallel to the floor. Bend the standing leg into a squat then straighten. For Level 1 you arms are to the side, Level 2 your arms are in airplane, Level 3 they are to the front and reaching. This again as a balance move was really hard for me on my right side. I stumbled a few times and had to get back into position. Overall this was a pretty good workout. By the end our legs were so tired we laid on my BeachBody Jump Mat for a little corpse pose/Shavasana to relax.

Here we completed Incinerator. My arms felt like Jello after this workout. I thought this would be more of a cardio workout, but it seemed to be focused a lot on strength. During my second week I upped my weights where I could and burned over 200 calories, compared to the first week at 150 calories. In the top picture on the left I was completing a regular push up with Tony Horton Power Stands. I've just now recently been able to start doing regular push-ups compared to modified push-ups on my knees. I like using the Tony Horton Power Stands because they help a lot to minimize the pain in my wrists during push ups. The middle picture on the left I'm doing a Pike Press. I used the Tony Horton Power Stands again to help my wrists. In this move you are in a "pike-up" position, which is similar to downward dog, and you are doing shoulder presses. In downward dog bend your elbows to reach your head between your hands and almost touch the floor then push back up. Finally, on the bottom left I am completing an "A" press. Lying on your back extend your arms straight up with palms facing each other at chest level. Bend your arms and bring them down so triceps are on either side of your body. This move is really similar to a chest press.

Let me know if you have any questions about P90X3! I'd be happy to answer questions or give encouragement to anyone thinking about starting a new workout program. Beachbody has MANY great programs that I love!!!

Life Updates

Lately I have been very busy. A little over a month ago I married the man of my dreams. I am officially now a wife to someone. That word still surprises me each time I say it or hear it. The wedding went perfectly. It was very nerve wracking the day of when I woke up to 80% chance of rain all day. Somehow though the weather turned out perfect and there wasn't even a sprinkle during my outdoor ceremony. I felt truly blessed and everything was so beautiful. I had the greatest vendors and such a beautiful site. If you live in Georgia or plan to get married in Georgia and you want a southern wedding with definite class then I recommend you choose Chene Rouge! 

I haven't gotten my offical wedding pictures back, but I was sent the above by a great family friend. I can't wait to see my actual wedding pictures done by Jesse Garrett Photography. 

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Now that we're back from the wedding my husband and I have also decided to make some changes in our lives by starting P90X3 and becoming healthier people.  My husband completed the original P90X after graduating High School and lost 40lbs. I've tried doing the original P90X with him, but I can never stick to it. The original one is less realistic for the modern working person. However, with P90X3 you just have 30 minute workout videos to do rather than 1+ hour long videos done with the regular P90X. The videos are great and with such an amazing workout partner to do them with (aka my handsome husband) we were doing great. However, for me the process has been paused sadly. During Week 2 Day 2 while doing Agility X I sprained my ankle. I am FULLY to blame. With every video Tony Horton stresses the importance of the right shoes. He says that running shoes are not what you want, because it's not what you are doing. However, I chose to ignore that and start P90X3 with my running shoes until my cross training shoes arrived. Then during Agility X while doing grapevine runs around the tape lines I tripped and landed sideways on my ankle. Now it's swollen and causing a lot of pain/discomfort. It has been 4 days and the swelling has gone down, but it still looks bruised. Depending on how it looks tomorrow I may try walking on it. Based on my experience all I recommend for anyone contemplating doing P90X3 is that you get the RIGHT shoes. Order yourself some cross training shoes!!!!!

Here's the ones I got. They are ASICS Women's Rhythmic 2 Cross Training Shoe. I can't wait to test them out once I'm back in perfect working order and back to doing P90X3 with my husband.

<3 Kelly Jean