P90x3 Week Two Meal Plan and Week One Results

I both love and hate starting new workouts. I love the excitement of something new and mixing it up. I love the potential for killer results. I even love how sore I am after starting something new or different from what I was doing. But I also hate starting new workouts. I hate not knowing what each DVD means (especially when they are called things like The Warrior -- what does that even mean except it is a workout for warriors. Maybe I should borrow my daughter's makeshift sword?) I hate not knowing what equipment I will need when. I hate not knowing all the moves and spending the extra time watching what they are doing, sometimes waiting for the modification and then skipping back to try and get the most out of my time doing the workout.

So during week one of P90X3 I followed the classic schedule which is designed to have the traditional balance of
cardio and resistance with muscle confusion. I am crazy sore and feel great but I also feel a little bit lacking in the cardio department (mark that down because this girl hates cardio!) So for week two I am going to switch it up and follow the lean schedule. Now the lean schedule isn't better for weight loss. It is just designed to have a bit more cardio so your results are a more toned look. Both lean and classic can work equally well for weight loss but with lean you target functionality, mobility and cardiovascular fitness instead of muscle hypertrophy (growth of muscle cells.) So after looking into both options further, I am opting to switch to the lean schedule.


Even though I am switching to the lean schedule I am scheduling a doubles day and keeping The Challenge in the rotation. I LOVE it. It is so hard. Essentially for 30 minutes you alternate pull ups and push ups. Since I suck at push ups, I feel this is a personal mountain I need to climb. I want to be an awesome push up doer (and to be able to do them ALL on my toes. But looking at the fact that last year at this time I could barely do five on my knees, I have come a long way! Yay for non-scale victories!)

CVX was another awesome workout (it might be my favorite) that I am so happy to see included in the lean schedule. It cardio with weights. That had me dripping sweat and feeling like I was going to die (in the best way possible!)

And I lost three pounds this week. Whoo hoo!  Even with messing up my meal plan big time due to schedule changes, weather problems, unexpected meetups with friends we haven't seen in forever and all that stuff we like to call life happening. This is a double edged sword for me because I have trouble keeping my eyes from wandering over to the whole "well what would my results be like if I did what I was supposed to do?"

So my big week two goal? Follow my meal plan.

I am also going to be running a new challenge group starting on January 20th. If you would like to join me in a New Year New You challenge or would like more info please fill out the application here. 

Why this P90x dropout is going to give Tony Horton another chance....

Confession time -- I am a P90x dropout.

I started it. Suffered through Ab Ripper X. Almost always skipped Yoga X. (I mean 90 minutes of yoga. Seriously? For someone who hates yoga this is just torture.)

I got through about a month of P90x and then had some gall bladder attacks which lead to surgery and then it was the holidays and I honestly couldn't pick it up again. My kiddo was quickly out growing her naps and I was lucky if they were 45 minutes long. Nap time was no longer enough time to get through a P90x workout so it wasn't happening.

And if I am being totally honest, Tony Horton kind of drives me crazy. I don't think he is that funny, especially when I am struggling through an entire hour of every type of push up imaginable. Let's just get this done with minimal cheesy one liners.

So why I have I committed to spending the first 3 months of the new year with Tony Horton?

Because despite the irritations I have with his bad jokes, the man puts together a good workout. P90x is a killer workout but I am not going back to P90x...I am giving P90x3 a try. Why? Because it's 30 minutes. Less time wasted with chatting. I did always say that if we eliminated all the chatting and "wasted" time in P90x it could be a 30 minute workout....so glad they heard me!

One of P90x's successes was using muscle confusion to get results. This introduced variety to the workouts and prevented plateauing. P90X3 takes a hint from that success and from studies showing the most dramatic body transformations happen within the first 30 minutes of exercise. Enter muscle acceleration, a Tony Horton-approved highly-structured schedule with an incredibly high level of intensity and an unprecedented variety of moves. The gurus behind P90X3 combined exercises and added some twists to maximize your time and keep every muscle challenged for a full 30 minutes.

The base kit includes 16 workouts (and not one of them is 90 minutes of yoga! Yay!) These workouts include:

• MMX – Think Mixed Martial Arts
• Warrior Workouts (I was able to preview this at our retreat. My abs were sore for 2 days!)
• CVX- Cardio Vascular Extreme
• Ab Ripper X3
• Pilates
• Yoga (30 minutes I can handle.)
• Agility X
• Try-ometrics (think plyometrics!)
• Isometrics- alternating lower body and upper body movements.

I am also super excited about starting a P90x3 exclusive test group! (Because I am so not trying to do this alone this time.) I will walk you through every single step of the program using the nutrition guide, the workouts and the 24/7 support of me as your coach in a private closed group.  I will teach you how to meal plan, prep, and set yourself up for success.  This group will begin on January 6, 2014 and will run for 90 days.  Just in time for your new years resolution.  Start the new year in the very best shape of your life. (And who doesn't want results like these....even a fraction of these results would qualify as awesome in my book!) If you want to join my test group please fill out the application here. 

How to Order P90x3

P90X3 is now available for order! If you would like to get your hands on a copy before they sell out, here are some options. One quick note: The best deal in December is the P90X3 Challenge Pack. It is discounted by $90 and includes a ton of free gifts and FREE shipping and handling.

P90X3 Challenge Pack – (On Sale for $180 December 2013 Only)
16 Workouts Above Plus: Bonus Accelerate Your P90X3 Results DVD, Bonus One on One Leg DVD, P90X3 Hat, and 30 Day Supply of Shakeology, Team Beachbody VIP Membership
Order Here
Includes Free Shipping and Handling 

P90X3 Base Kit – $119.85
All the 16 P90X3 Workouts Included in the above post.
Order Here 

P90X3 Ultimate- $329.55
Base Kit & Deluxe Kit Plus: P90X3 Chin-Up Bar, P90X3 Chin-Up Max, 30 Day Supply of Results & Recovery, Premium Beachbody Jump Mat
Order Here 

P90X3 Deluxe – $239.70
Base Kit Workouts, Plus: 3 Elite Extreme Workouts, Elite Block Calendar, 30 Day Supply of E&E, 3 B-Line Resistance Bands
Order Here

If you have any questions always feel free to shoot me a message or email me at saractodd@gmail.com. 

The Difference a Year Can Make (and yes this means I am putting my fat pic out there for the world to see)

This is one of those things I have been dreading since I started down the path to wellness. As part of my ownership of where I was and how far I have come, I feel that making my journey public has held me accountable to where I am going and not giving up. So I guess that means I have to share the terrible awful picture that made me get off my ass and do something (although I would rather burn it and delete off of hard drives than actually put it on the internet for the masses to see.) So here it goes....

I guess I could have blamed it on baby weight (and that was part of the problem) but I had always lived a super busy, crazy, never home, living out of my car kind of life. I worked non-stop, often at least two jobs or I was working and going to school full time. I didn't eat. And when I did it was take out, from the food court at the mall (I worked retail management for almost 7 years) or from the pretzel stand outside of our store. But I was always on my feet, so I didn't suffer from the ill effects of the way I was eating until later on. It wasn't until I was in a super stressful, crazy work situation that I started to gain weight. (Don't get me wrong, my weight has fluctuated my whole life, up and down like crazy, but in my 20's living a go-go-go-go life and consuming more calories in alcohol than actual food, I was hanging steady at a size 6/8 and wasn't thrilled but wasn't unhappy enough to change my lifestyle either.) I gained about 20 pounds and I couldn't get it to go away. I was working out like crazy with no results. So I quit. I figured why bust my ass when it isn't getting any smaller anyway.

A few years later I left my job to go back and get my masters (again another going to school full time with a full time internship--just my kind of crazy.) I got married and was still hanging onto the 20 pounds or so I gained a few years back and just couldn't get rid of. But at this point, I was too worried about going out and drinking microbrews and going to wine tastings than really focusing on what was going on. I also couldn't find a job with my new fancy masters degree, so I was nannying. Sitting on the floor (or couch) at someone else's house, playing with their kids and all that awesome kid junk food laying around (stuff my mom would never buy me growing up, ever.) And then I got pregnant. So add on the 38 pounds I gained with that and we arrive at that dreaded picture (I still don't want to acknowledge.)

That picture was taken on the Fourth of July 2012 which we spent in the Pacific Northwest. I had a dear friend of mine come out for the weekend so we were doing all sorts of fun touristy things (including taking lots of pictures). She sent me all the pictures she took of our time there a month or two later and I remember the gauntlet of feelings I had when I saw that picture. Disbelief, embarrassment, shame and then finally deciding I had to do something, anything. How had I gotten so out of control?

So I dusted off a copy of P90x that belonged to my hubby and stuck it out for about 3 weeks. I started
having pains in my abdomen that were terrible. I thought it was from the exercise and we had spent a weekend cleaning out my grandfather's house, so I was convinced I pulled something. The pain became spasms and then turned into full out attacks that were paralyzing and extremely painful. I went to the doctor and he immediately said it was my gall bladder. I was put on a no fat diet. I was pretty much eating oatmeal for every meal and the attacks just kept getting worse until at one point I had to call an ambulance. I was scheduled for surgery the next day. Through that whole mess I actually ended up losing about 12 pounds and went down a jean size. By the time all of this happened, it was November and cue the holidays. My weight loss (and smaller jean size) were short lived. By January, I was almost back to where I was in July.

Once the holidays were over, I knew I had to do something. I purchased a groupon for a morning bootcamp. 5 days a week at 5:30 in the morning. I thought maybe in doing something drastic, it would finally make a difference. I felt like no matter what I tried, or did, it didn't work. I spent a whole month busting my butt in this class. I was glad to see that I could hang (all that working out with Jillian Michaels paid off even if it wasn't consistent) but I didn't lose any weight. Not a pound. Not a half a pound.  Unfortunately, I hadn't learned about the other ways to measure progress (measurements, calipers, old jeans that didn't used to fit.) So I was angry, frustrated and quite frankly desperate.

Desperate enough that I logged on and ordered Insanity. I thought doing bootcamp workouts were going to be crazy and intense enough to finally work, so I my next logical thought was that if Insanity is supposed to be one of the hardest programs out there something HAS to happen. And it didn't.

I went for 3 weeks. I loved the intensity. I loved the fact that all I wanted to do was lay on the floor and not move when it was over. I loved that feeling of giving it all until I had nothing left to give. So if that was what I was doing, why was nothing happening?

So I emailed someone I used to work with who I knew was coaching. I signed up for a free account with her, joined a challenge group, added Shakeology and discovered clean eating. That in combination with the second half of Insanity resulted in a loss of 9 lbs, 9.5 inches overall including 2 inches off my waist. I was thrilled. (You can read more about my experience with Insanity here.) After Insanity I moved onto TurboFire and continued to see great results (a 5 pound weight loss in the first month!)


While I am no where near where I want to be, I thought it was important to reflect on how far I have come. I tend to just keep looking at where I want to go next, the next goal, the next program, the next size down and never look back. In doing this and consciously looking back, I have been able to see exactly what I have accomplished. Over the last few months, I have plateaued, switched programs due to an injury, adjusted to life back in Pittsburgh and the additional responsibilities I have here. But I have kept going, I keep pushing play, I keep cleaning up my eating and am finding new ways to motivate myself and others. I am running my own challenge groups now that allow people to pick goals, stick with them and stay motivated. They were a key piece in the puzzle for me and I am so glad to be able to possibly do this for someone else (and keep myself motivated at the same time).

If you are interested in joining me in a challenge group please send me a message or an email to scyobe@gmail.com I have new groups starting each month and I would love to continue on the journey with you! (To read about my October challenges click here.)

How Most of my Adult Life has Revolved Around Denim (and the August Skinny Jeans Challenge!)

August, dreaded by kids (and sometimes teachers) typically means the end of summer. Saying goodbye to days at the pool and trading them in for hoodies and sweaters. For years August meant something more to me than having to kick cheerleading practice into high  gear (and wearing yoga pants every day,) it meant BTS was upon us. I worked retail for a large part of my "past life" and Back to School was second to only one thing, Holiday. And BTS revolved around one thing - jeans. Wearing, selling, folding and knowing every last detail about every type of denim in the store, down to the stitching and why it is special. So when I saw pictures of the BTS meeting at my old stomping grounds, I was full of conflicted emotion ranging from the "Awww...I remember doing that!" *tear* to "Oh thank the Good Lord I came to my senses and am done with that!" *sigh*

The idea of buying new jeans (or trying on old jeans) can be super scary and I know I have a love hate relationship with most of the denim in my closet (for more than one reason- I am still haunted by thoughts of folding a never ending denim wall to perfection.) I actually have stacks of jeans organized by size in my closet, threatening to topple onto an unsuspecting victim if they were ever to enter my closet unwarned. (They also act as a booby trap to snooping babysitters who will never be able to get the pile back in order the way my crazy brain had it organized.)

Since a good part of my life has revolved around jeans -- either folding, selling, restocking, wanting or not wanting to wear them, I figured this was a great time of year to do a skinny jean challenge. (Or a drop a jean size challenge because John would love for me to actually use the jeans that are taking up valuable real estate in our tiny circa 1950's closet instead of just saving them "because they will fit one day I swear and then when I'm skinny I won't have to rush out and buy new jeans. So really I am saving you money!")

I also have a lovely pair of jeans I call the Mecca Jeans. Jeans I bought when I was skinny (but thought I was fat) and were my very favorite in the whole store but they were a size down. I have never once worn these jeans (and I bought them in 2002 - pathetic.) But every woman has something hanging in her closet she refuses to get rid because one day it will happen. Yeah. I have jeans for that. (And lots of other occasions too. I have a problem. If I took a pic of my t-shirt drawer it would be even more embarrassing.) So the question remains. What am I going to do about the 25 or so pairs of jeans I have that do not fit? Run a rocking drop a jean size and skinny jean challenge group that's what (and maybe get a step closer to the Mecca Jeans and get rid of some in the process.) Plus jeggings didn't exist when I worked retail so if I can pick up a size down pair of those during all the BTS sales that would rock. Yay shopping!

So here is how it would work: 

For 60 days I would put you in a closed Facebook group with others trying to achieve the same goal (including me! yay!) We will break our goals down into 30 day and 60 day goals. We will talk about clean eating, meal preparation, meal planning and everything you need to get set up for success. We will measure progress by not just using the scale but by measurements and photos (I know. Super scary but when you think you aren't making any progress it is amazing to see what you actually done in the photos. Believe me. I've been there!) We will do this on Day 1, Day 30 and Day 60.

We will post daily in the group and rate our day on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best and 1 being the worst. We will rate our diet and our exercise (basically how hard you brought it!) and whether or not we had our Shakeology.

We will commit to trying out Shakeology for 60 days. I know once I did it, I fell in love with the energy I had and how great I felt from getting all the nutrients I need. (*Side note* my nails look awesome. Better than when I was on prenatal vitamins. It is my current obsession since I have struggled with weak and peeling nails forever! One of the perks I didn't know I was going to get.) So Shakeology is going to fuel your body (key word fuel) with the vitamins and nutrients you need throughout the day. And there is a 30 day guarantee on Shakeology so if it isn't working for you, we'll talk (and you get your money back.) --For more on my experience Shakeology read this.

We will eat clean. (For more info on what that means read this.) But basically just strive to eat real, whole food. No chemicals and no processed food. I will provide you with recipe ideas, meal planning and all the tools that have worked so far for me on this journey.

We will also commit to working out 5-6 days a week. I don't care if you run, walk or lift. Just get that body moving! If you already workout regularly think about stepping up your game. Adding some weight training to your cardio. If you don't have an exercise regimen we can talk about options. If you are interested in trying a Beachbody program, we can talk about that too and get you set up with something that totally works for you. There are so many options outside of P90x and Insanity (which I feel gets all the love) so if hard core intensity isn't for you, we can totally find something that is. I am currently doing TurboFire and am in LOVE with it. It really gives my inner cheerleader some much needed attention. I have found success with the at home programs from BeachBody because they are a killer workout and they all come with a schedule. So I can wake up, get my toddler some breakfast and toss in a movie, look at the schedule, pop in a DVD and press play. I don't have to worry about getting her ready to go to the gym with me or what series of exercises I am going to do that day. I know me and I need that schedule. I get really freaked out if I am going to miss a day and "mess up" the schedule or the order. But whatever works for you, we will make it happen.

Plus I will give you daily motivation, tips and tricks and share all the research I have accrued over the last few months.

So the challenge starts with pre-season August 5th and the official kick off date of August 12th. Dust off all those old jeans because we are getting back in them (even if it is to decide that we hate them and want new ones!)

For more info shoot me a message, send me an email to sctodd@yahoo.com or leave a comment below.

To sign up for a FREE Beachbody account click here. You will find message boards, articles and other motivational tools for you to use. (The goal tracker is my favorite!)