Day 31

I can't believe it's already the end of March. I know the next month is going to fly by with the end of college, choosing a law school, basically a lot of big life changes. In a way that's good because some of those pesky classes (upper level Hindi???!) will finally be over, but also sad because I'll be leaving a place that's become a home base these past four years. I'm sure I'll write a sentimental, nostalgic blog when graduation finally comes, so sorry for this little preview.

In PCP land, the jumps went much better this morning. The diet is good, except I'm a little hungrier at dinner than I would like. But it's so nice not to have to prepare a big meal for dinner with veggies and protein. I can just grab my apple, banana, two boiled eggs, and be good to go!

I'm leaving school tomorrow to go home for easter break. So more driving, but this time to a destination I know I'll enjoy! I'm excited for the break and looking forward to my indulgence!

Day 30- LOST

Lost: My rhythm.

Last seen: Yesterday morning 8:20 a.m.

Reward: As many egg whites as you desire

So yes, sadly my rhythm seems to have disappeared. I first noticed this tragedy when I attempted to jumprope after the drive back from USC this afternoon. I was exhausted on the drive and semi-dreading the workout, but once I got back to my apartment, I gained a burst of energy and decided to go for it. Now, maybe it's because I always do my workouts in the morning and so the whole sweating-in-the-afternoon thing threw me off, but I could not jumprope to save my life. Seriously, it was absolute misery making it through those 1300 jumps. I sincerely hope it was the combination of my lack of sleep and the different time of jumping, rather than a sad trick of fate and suddenly all my jumping rope "skills" have decided to disappear for the rest of PCP. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

As much as I hated this afternoon workout, I think it was a good lesson. I'll admit, if I didn't have this blog to report to, I probably would've skipped it. The thought did enter my head, "I haven't missed a workout yet, what's one day?" But I thought some more, and decided there was nothing holding me back from doing the workout once I got back to the apartment except my lame excuses, so I should just do it. So I did. And it was a good learning experience. I know there will be days in my life when I will simply not be able to fit in a workout in the morning before I begin my daily activities. So it's important to be flexible with the times of my workouts. But I'm not gonna lie. I really really hope I never have to do another afternoon workout ever again. NOT FUN.

So although I was only gone one night, it did throw my diet off. I ended up sharing a chocolate chip cookie with my host. We were offered the cookie for free and he told me to share it with him, and it would've been awkward to refuse. But I only had about 3 bites. The real challenge came that night. I was staying with one of my friends and after dinner she decided to make brownies. But not just any brownies. Chocolate, peanut butter, M&Ms, cream cheese brownies. Think about that for a minute. Just writing those ingredients down makes my mouth water. So they were baking these morsels of crack in front of me, and the smell was almost overpowering. But I did not have a single one. Not even a taste. I knew I didn't want that to be my indulgence and so I withstood temptation. Of course it doesn't help that my roommates at my apartment have also decided to make delicious nut brownies, but I haven't had any of those either. My will power is strong indeed. I don't want to have to rely on will power though. I hope some day (maybe by the end of PCP??) I will not feel such a strong desire to eat all these delicious baked goods. Some day.

Day 28

Day 28 means almost to Day 30 which means we'll be 1/3 through PCP! Wow!

So, Brian must've put a spell on my jump rope this morning, because I made it to exactly 737 jumps before I messed up. I kid you not, 737! Two more jumps and I would've beat him! But regardless of that little competition :-), I was amazed I went for so long without messing up! Once you find the rhythm it's easy, but once you're out of it, it's pretty difficult.

On the indulgence front, I plan to do mine over Easter Break. I'll be home with friends, so I figure that would be the perfect time. I'm thinking some wine and easter candy. Or just one of those if the calories are too much. In a way, I feel like I shouldn't take an indulgence since I slipped last weekend. But I think part of the indulgence is figuring out the calorie amount, choosing what to indulge in, and being aware of how that choice affects your body. So with that thought, I will take my indulgence with the other PCPrs!

I'm going on another law school visit tomorrow (USC-South Carolina). It's just for one night, so it shouldn't be too much of an interruption. Of course, my diet will be off, but what's new?!

Day 27

Whew! Another visit under my belt. This one wasn't quite so amazing, and I'm glad to be back in my familiar apartment. All this traveling is starting to wear me out. I stuck to the workout while I was gone, and definitely was better about my diet. No sweets for me this time around! Of course, it was impossible to follow the PCP diet perfectly, but I think I did a good of job as possible considering the circumstances.

I do hate that all of these visits interrupt my PCP progress. I know how integral the diet is to success, so I'm hoping this doesn't affect my results too much. I take comfort in knowing that for the last month or so of PCP, I will be at home with no huge travel plans, so no interruptions then!

The exercises are coming along. Jumping rope went splendidly today! YAY!

Day 24

I've been sort of looking forward to doing the plank instead of the seemingly never-ending sit ups this week. Back in my (probably misguided) workout days, planks were the one abs strengthener I always did. I usually did it for a minute, so I figured 30 seconds should be no problem. Boy was I wrong! When I used to do planks, I always clasped my hands together. This time I did it exactly like Patrick in the photo, and I think keeping your hands apart definitely makes it harder. I still made it through all 3 sets without fail, but it was way more difficult then I expected.

Jumping rope today was great. I am amazed how I don't feel the least bit winded when I finish at 1100 jumps, when I could barely catch my breath after only doing 50 or so at the beginning!

I've been looking at all the January PCPr's progress photos and they look amazing! It definitely shows that PCP works and makes me excited for my own results!

I'm leaving for Duke tomorrow. While I enjoy these law school tours, they are very exhausting and time consuming. And taxing on my PCP regimen. I liked Ren's suggestion about holding a drink to keep your hand busy from eating. I'll definitely use that trick this weekend. I still have two more visits to go after this and then it's decision time!!!!

Day 23- 5 OH 5

I made it to 505 jumps before I tripped up today! It's funny though, once I trip up, I keep tripping up. It's hard to get that rhythm back. Still, it was exciting to get up to the 500s! I felt great jumping rope today, not tired at all and my calves barely hurt even at the end. I still seem to have a love/hate relationship with it though. Some days the jumps are a lot easier to get through than others.

The strength exercises are tough, but not much more so than last week. I've been doing push ups and triceps dips with my legs straight from the very beginning, so I didn't have to adjust to that change.

This weekend is going to be another challenge for my PCP. I'm driving to Duke Law on Thursday. This time there's no host student and I'm staying at a hotel with my mom, so it should be a lot easier to stick to my own diet and workout schedule. There are a lot of social events on Friday night though, so I'm not sure how that will go down. I'll have to do my best!

Day 22- A blossoming romance

So me and Orbit are becoming very close. I'd like to think it cares for me as much as I for it, but I know there is no way it can match my devotion. The sweet relief that gum gives, the way it occupies my mouth, barring any bad food from entrance is something that cannot be properly reciprocated. I owe so much to my lovely Orbit and I have a feeling we'll become even closer as the days go on. And my cravings grow stronger...

I'm not going to lie, when Patrick said in his email that this was the last week before things get intense, I kind of got scared. These added exercises are no joke. 5 sets of squats instead of 4? Those floor jumps look killer. And don't even get me started on my trepidation of the V-sits. So in my mind things are already getting more intense. But I'm looking forward to the changes they'll bring to my body. I never thought I'd be able to do 100 sit ups, but today I accomplished just that! It wasn't easy, but I focused on the results I want to achieve and pushed through. I'm curious as to what next week will bring, but right now I'm just focusing on getting through week 4.

As for the new diet, I miss my dinner carbs. So sad to see them leave. I have a feeling they'll be gone for the next 70 days....

Day 20

Wow. I had an absolutely amazing weekend. It actually made me excited about law school (which from what I hear is kind of rare). I am going on a few more law school visits in the next few weeks, but I really really loved UVA. My host was great! I ended up bringing my jump rope and resistance bands and worked out both yesterday morning and this morning. So as far as the workout portion of PCP goes, I'm still right on track.

Now on to the diet portion. I'll admit, I failed.

Failure # 1: Yesterday, I was walking around the activities fair, looking at all the different clubs UVA law offers. One was the Club for Jewish Students. When I went up and started talking to them, and they realized I was Jewish too (my dad is Jewish), they brought out a special box of goodies (separate from the delicious sweets they already had laid out on the table) and joked, "These are for the chosen ones." I could've made up a food allergy or something but I figure if I end up there next year and join that club I'll probably want to eat sweets at some point and so I shouldn't lie. And it would've felt rude to flat out refuse their kind offer, so I just had a taste of the most delicious chocolate cake. But seriously just one mouthful, that's it. Now I know these all sound like excuses for why I ate it, but I felt it was kind of necessary. And I did pass all the other sweets at ALL THE OTHER TABLES. Imagine, rows and rows of tables with sweets laid out with people all wanting you to come over, eat their food, and talk to them about thier club. It was hard, but I even withstood the ice cream sundae stand. And I threw away the oreos that came with my boxed lunch. So I might've had a slip up, but it could've been so much worse.

Failure # 2: Last night I went out to dinner with my host and 2 of her friends. We got sushi (mine had shrimp in it so at least I got some protein yesterday!) It was a blast, and afterwards they all wanted to get gelato. Walking to the gelato place, I thought about what I should do. I knew it went against PCP, but I also knew I was having a great time and didn't want to cause some sort of awkwardness by not getting any gelatto while they all did. So I got a small scoop of chocolate. And it was delicious. As I was eating I started to feel a little guilty, but then I stopped myself. I realized I was eating it, so I should just enjoy it and know that I wouldn't let this happen again.

In retrospect, the gelatto might've been easier to refuse than the "chosen sweets", but I made the decision to completely enjoy my time at UVA within reason. So while I failed on the PCP diet yesterday, I did not go crazy with the chocolate. Although it may sound like I did, trust me. My pre-PCP self would've tried a sweet at EVERY table of the activity fair AND ate an ice cream sundae. And probably would've gotten a meduim gelatto instead of a small. So I still had a PCP state of mind, even if I didn't follow it to a T.

I know my results might not be as good as they could've been this week, but it was time well spent and it was worth it. I was proud of myself for having the discipline to wake up early both days and get my workout in. I still can't imagine not doing my workouts in the morning. It truly is the best way to start the day.

This weekend made me appreciate the timing of my PCP. From observing the law school environment, it seems like it would be essential to have some sort of daily exercise regimine to keep you fit and sane amidst all the chaos of school. So by getting myself fit now, hopefully I'll have the tools to keep it up long after PCP is over.

I've enjoyed reading all the blogs I missed over the past few days. Everyone's progress pics look great!

Day 17- An Adventure

So tomorrow I am flying to UVA to visit their law school for admitted students day weekend. I'm pretty excited about it, but as far as PCP goes, I'm kind of scared. I'll be staying with a student, so I think it might be a little awkward if I start pulling out resistance bands and my jump rope. Therefore, I'm already planning on skipping the exercises for Friday. I'll just be there Thursday, Friday and come back on Saturday. So I can work out Thursday morning before my flight and then Saturday night when I get back. I'll just miss Friday which I plan to make up for on Sunday. The only thing I can't make up is the day of missed jumping rope. I'm interested to see how much one day without it affects my "skills" (yeah right). It might not be perfect, but it'll have to work.

As far as diet goes, there's not really much I can control while I'm there. I'm going to pack some apples and whole wheat bagels, but other than that, I'm at the mercy of my host. And whatever food UVA serves at the various functions of the weekend; which is a whole 'nother matter. I know a lot of it will be buffet style food, which could be the death of me. I'll do my very best to stay away from those pesky sweets that always seem to be calling my name. But I'm sure pretty much everything will be loaded with salt. And I probably won't get my protein because I don't eat any meat but seafood, and I can't really see them serving fish.

I'm just mentally preparing myself now, so that I won't weaken my resolve when I'm there. I know this will be a minor set back in my progress on PCP; I hope it won't throw me off too much.

As far as my jumping rope goes, I was not able to repeat my miraculous feat of yesterday, but I definitely can still see progress. I can usually go for at least 200 jumps at a time without tripping up, even towards the end when I'm worn out. This is a huge improvement from even a few days ago, when my form would always get worse near the end.

I hope everyone has a good weekend (mine's starting a little early this week). Hopefully I can stay in a PCP state of mind while I'm away!

Day 16 THREE HUNDRED AND NINETY SIX!....

...That is how many jumps I made it to before I tripped up. Now this may not seem that impressive to those pro-jumpers, but to me it was amazing, wonderful, fantastic!!!! It was so nice to have that rhythm and just push through the slight burn in the calves. Of course after I tripped up, I tripped up a few more times before I made it to 800. But I think my calves are getting stronger and my rhythm is getting better, all making a much more enjoyable jumping rope experience. I just read Patrick's email about alternatives to our jump rope workout, but at this point the other suggested activities seem much more time consuming than jumping rope. And I like noting my progress each day. There may come a day where I might faint at the thought of one more jump, but I am no where near that point yet. It's a perfect way to start my day. I jump on the porch of my apartment, overlooking the wooded area behind campus. It's relaxing and almost meditating to be outside so early and have nothing to do but jump a pre-determined number of jumps.

Day 15

Today is the first day I've had a really bad chocolate craving. I could practically taste the sweetness and feel the sugar rush that would follow. But the knowledge that at some point there will be an indulgence, that this is not a 90 day chocolate-free zone, makes it easier to say no. I know eventually I'll get a morsel of that chocolate-y goodness of my choosing (brownie? piece of cake? mmmmm-so many possibilities). And seeing the results of all this hard work also makes it easier to say no. I'm so excited to see where I'll end up in 90 days. Honestly at this point of any workout/diet plan, if I'd gotten this far in progress I would be satisfied and quit pushing myself. But now I have the motivation to continue on.

I was going to post a picture of something ridiculously sweet and delicious looking, but I decided that would just be cruel. So here's a pic of something that looks adorable made from healthy food! YUM

Day 14 Freedom ends...

Today's the end of Spring Break, so I drove back up to school today. After I unpacked I went to the grocery store, loaded up on veggies and came back and steamed a bunch. And boiled a lot of noodles. So now I have a pretty good stack of food that should make things easier this week. For dinner I had noodles with veggies and shrimp. Not too bad, the shrimp were delicious!

I'm exhausted today due to some Spring Break fun last night. But I did my 800 jump ropes this morning! They are still a challenge for me, but it's such a sense of accomplishment to be able to do so many at one time! I'm glad the number isn't being upped again tomorrow though. 800 is definitely enough for now. My workouts are going better since my last post. Patrick's tip about sit ups should make a huge difference.

I can't believe it's already day 14! This past week flew by.

A Difficult Day 12

Today was not the best day. Is it bad when I think I've already hit a wall with PCP on only day 12? The jumping rope this morning did not go well at all. I think it had to do with my lack of energy (I didn't sleep well last night) and the fact that I'm still struggling with finding the right rope. My new rope keeps getting twisted no matter what I do, and so I went back to my old rope today. But it's way too light and I wasn't used to it anymore. So towards the end I think I was stopping about every 10 jumps because I kept smacking myself. I bought a new jump rope today and this is it. If I still have trouble I need to just pick one and work with it. I think this newest one is a good mix between the other two so I have high hopes!

The strength exercisers were not my best either. I strongly dislike squats. I get so bored of doing that repetitve motion that gives my legs such a burn. But I still do the max reps on those because they're not actually that difficult, just boring and slightly painful. I still don't have an option for the incline pull ups. I know I need to get moving on that! I'm hoping once I get back to school, the gym will have something I can use. The push ups were ok, I think I'm improving with the bars. I definitely could not do the max reps on those though. I could barely do the minimum! It's hard because just when I'm able to do the max reps on an exercise, they're upped so that it's a never ending struggle! I know that's on purpose though, so you're constantly challenging your muscles. The curl ups and Davincis were ok. My lack of energy made them more difficult than usual. And the sit ups were the biggest challenge of all. First of all, I hate sit ups. Yes, I used the H word. I have the hardest time keeping my feet on the ground. I'm been bracing my feet against my bed stand for support. I don't know if this is cheating or not, but if I don't do that, I really can't do a proper sit up after only a few reps.

Sorry to be such a downer. I'm keeping the blog honest, and I had to share my frustration. But enough with the negative. Now on to the positive. I think that it's ok that I hit a wall today. In fact I think that'll happen a lot throughout these 90 days. The important part is to push through it and continue on. And I can already tell my workouts are paying off! We did side planks in yoga yesterday, and they were so much easier than usual! I know I owe a lot of that to my dreaded sit ups. So that is why I think that I might grow to love all these ab exercisers that I dislike so much right now, or at least appreciate them more. And even though the diet is stressful (figuring out my meals) and time consuming (preparing my meals) at this point, I know it'll get easier as I get better at cooking and become more creative. The past few nights I've gone to bed a little hungry and instead of getting something to eat like I normally would, I just go to sleep. It's not that bad.

And reading all the other PCPr's blogs helps so much! I can always count on Ren's blog for a laugh, and Brian's for support and inspiration! So thanks everyone and please keep writing!

Day 10 sore, sore, sore...

...okay, I'm mainly just sore in my back. When i push my shoulder blades together, there is some quite intense soreness going on in those muscles! All these strength exercises with the resistance band are really working me hard! And using the push up bars is still a lot of extra work, but I'm pushing through (haha)!

I'm trying to find as many recipes as possible, so I won't be struggling for variety in my diet when I go back to school. It's been easier at home, because I have the time (and my mom) to help me figure everything out. But I know as soon as I get back to school, it's going to be a lot more complicated. Knowing this makes me happy I'll be at home for the last month of the program!

Day 10 means we're 1/9 through PCP!

Day 9

Last night I got a stomach virus right as I was about to go to sleep and proceeded to lose just about everything I ate yesterday. It sucks that I consumed all that food only to lose it a few hours later! But I felt fine today and did my workout as usual. The jumping rope went fairly well. My left calf was a little sore so I had to work through that. The strength exercises are getting more intense. I can definitely feel it working the muscles in my back!

I'm still having confusion with the diet. For example tonight I'm having a sweet potato as my vegetable portion for dinner. But it also has a lot of carbs in it. So does it count as carbs also? For tonight I'm going to say it does and eat some cereal to make up for the rest of the carbs.

I was very happy to read Patrick's email today and see that honey can be a treat once in a while that I won't have to feel guilty about! And cottage cheese! But I'm really sad that peanut butter is a no-no for these 90 days. It's one of the staples in my normal diet (PB+Js, yes sometimes I still have the taste buds of a 5 yr old).

I went on a nice long bike ride around the island today and then to another yoga class at that same place I mentioned yesterday. I'm already dreading the end of this vacation!

I Ate a lot on Day 8!....

...I thought it was kind of funny:)

So in all seriousness, day 8 definitely kicked PCP up a notch or two (or ten!) From the second I looked at my alloted diet I knew it would require discipline. Not so much in the sense that I have to discipline myself to eat only these non-processed, non-salted foods, but more so that I have to weigh each portion and figure out enough recipes so that I won't die of boredom. For my carbs for breakfast and dinner I had my all bran cereal (with almond milk). I think that's a pretty pure whole grain. I had salmon for lunch and flounder for dinner as my protein. I was surprised by how much food this all was, but I trust Patrick and this process enough to just go with it.

The exercise portion wasn't too bad today. I actually did the 600 jumps all the way through without feeling breathless or winded afterwards! It felt amazing. I only tripped up a few times, and each time I immediately kept going, instead of pausing. I used the push up bars for the first time today and they made my push ups way more difficult. I guess I just have to get used to them. Before I wasn't having a problem with push ups at all, but I know these will make my form even better. Unfortunately I can't find anything in my house to use for the incline pull ups, so I'm still brainstorming on that one.

Tonight I went to a yoga studio I'd never been to before that practices Jivamukti Yoga. I'd never even heard of it before. At first it seemed a little too new age-y for me, but once I let go, I loved it! It started and ended with singing, but don't let that fool you. It was the most intense class I've ever been too, but it was also the most fun. Because I'd never been before, I didn't know what would come next. This allowed me to really be in the moment of each present pose. And also I was having so much fun the whole time, I wasn't focused on the intensity of the pose. I definitely plan on going there more this week. I'm sad they don't have this back at college!

I hope all my fellow PCPr's had a great day 8!

Day 7

So I just read the email for week 2 and the diet definitely seems feasible. I have a lot of nit-picky questions about it, but I know the answers will come in time!

Today, I had more trouble with the 500 jump ropes than expected. I got a new, better rope, but it actually twists up more easily than my older one did. So I'm not sure which one I should use. I'm going to keep trying with the new one for a few more days and see if it gets any better.

As far as my last day before "PCP proper", I did fairly well. My treat was a Hershey bar. I figured it was the last time I'd get sugar in a while and it was the perfect amount. I count it as a half portion because normally I'd eat more chocolate than that!

All in all, I'd say week 1 went pretty well and I hope I do as well week 2!

Day 5 FREEDOM!

SPRING BREAK 2010!

Par-tay!

Haha, not really. Sadly (or happily, depending on how you look at it) I have never been much of a party-er. I'm more of a "couple of close friends hanging out" kind of girl. And liquor is not my alcohol of choice. That would be wine (do not come between me and my bottle of Smoking Loon Merlot). So instead of doing the typical senior-year-spring-break-week-long-party thing, I'm just going home for the week. I should probably mention I live on a beach, so home for me is where most people vacation to. And believe me, I don't take this for granted. I plan to spend a large portion of this week at the beach walking my dogs (that's a pic of my dog in the field right behind the beach and then the other is a pic I took at the beach). And just hanging out with my family. Lame I know, but the older I get, the more important those things are to me. And I am so ready for a break!

I am afraid of how PCP will go in this environment. At school I have a built in structure to my day, so in a way it's easy to fit PCP in. But now that I'm home, I have my mom who can cook anything and the beach which can sound much better than working out. But I know I can do it. I'm still going to work out first thing in the morning; in fact, it should be easier because I can wake up any time I want now! No alarm clock this week! And as far as food goes, with my family's support, I'm sure it'll be ok.

So here's to day 1 of relaxation!

A Mindful Day 4

There are two things everyone always notices about me. I eat fast and I walk fast. I have yet to make a good friend who does not comment on these characteristics of mine. Reading Patrick’s blog about "Becoming Your Psychology" made me contemplate these aspects of myself. His blog reminded me that the physical change the PCP will bring will only go so far. In order for this transition to last beyond these 90 days, I need to embrace a mental transformation. I don’t want to be that girl who loves food so much she scarfs it down without truly appreciating the taste. Or who walks so fast she misses the beauty that surrounds her.

The idea of a mediation practice is not new to me. The first time I did yoga, during Savasana, I could barely keep myself still; much less keep my thoughts still. I am now at the point where I can keep my body silent, but I still have a hard time calming my mind and letting go. I’m going to try to incorporate the daily meditation Patrick describes in an effort to increase my mindfulness and figure out who I really am. One of the reasons I decided to do the PCP at my age (22) is because I figured if I could learn all these lessons and gain better self-awareness early in life, it would make things much better and perhaps easier later on. I might as well make the most of everything available to me. So I now have another goal to add to the program:

Develop a meaningful meditation practice that I actually enjoy by the end of the 90 days. This will be a BIG challenge for me, but the rewards could be amazing.

I’ll keep you updated on how this pans out. I have a feeling it will be pretty interesting!

On a semi-connected note, I had an epiphany in yoga today. This was the first time I've had a chance to go since I started PCP and I was so ready for a good stretching session. The class was with a different teacher than usual and we spent the entire time connecting our breath with our movement. Now, I know every class does that, but we really focused on it above all else. There were no difficult poses today; it was just all about connecting with the breath. For some reason, that's what it took for me to FINALLY realize what "connect with your breath" actually means. It completely transformed how I see my body's movements and how I plan to approach my yoga practice from now on. And to think, if I hadn't happened to go to that yoga class on this day, I might have missed this amazing lesson.

Day 3

Today started off great. I figured out that this plastic thing I thought was part of my jump rope, actually wasn't. Once I cut it off, my skills greatly improved. I did 2 sets straight to 60 without messing up, and I didn't mess up too many times on the others! And I've already noticed I get less winded. I'm actually looking forward to jumping rope tomorrow and seeing if I can do even better! One positive side effect of working out first thing, is I down at least 2 glasses of water before I've even had breakfast. I've always been a big water drinker (that and milk) because I don't like soft drinks (weird I know, something about the carbonation) or coffee. But I've noticed these past few days that I've been drinking even more water than usual.

As far as the strength portion went, I had a lot of energy for some reason and did the maximum reps on each set. My core has been a little sore all day, but in a good way. I know that's my weakest area and one of the major reasons I joined PCP was to strengthen it. I know that'll really help my yoga practice. Oh, and in between my sets of push ups I went into child's pose and it felt great! I did the wheel after my last core rep as an energy boost, but that energy quickly dwindled. At around 2 PM, I could definitely tell I was crashing. I think it's just my body getting used to waking up so early every day. It has definitely made me hungrier than I was on day 1 and 2 though!

I had a really hard time halving my portions today. For lunch, at my university's dining hall I tried to just serve myself half the amount I usually would, but I'm not sure if it really was half. For my favorite DH meal~ honey nut cheerios with cut up banana, I may have cheated a little. I put only half the banana in the cereal, but I could not stop eating those cheerios! Now normally I think I would have gone back for another bowl, so maybe that was me halving it by not getting a second helping. I swear, those honey nut cheerios must be laced with crack they are soooo good. And the DH doesn't always have them, so I had to take advantage of the situation!

All in all a great day 3 for exercise and an ok day 3 for diet!

Day 2

It's snowing. In South Carolina. In March. There is a blizzard going on outside my window right now that while, mesmerizing to watch, causes me to have extreme hermit-like tendencies. Aka I am skipping that afternoon yoga class I'd been planning on attending all day. Luckily I got my PCP workout out of the way this morning, BEFORE the flurries started. I've been jump roping first thing these past 2 days and I think I'll continue to do that. I know if I put it off, I'll end up dreading it all day. Hopefully I can maintain this momentum to get it over with when I wake up.

With this snow, there is little that could get me to venture out right now. Except maybe the promise of the other half of the DELICIOUS veggie sub I had to throw away at lunch. I only get a 6 inch to begin with, so eating half isn't very filling. Maybe it's because I knew I couldn't finish it, but that sub has never tasted better. I was so tempted to just eat the whole thing, but this blog is keeping me honest and I forced myself to throw half in the trash.

2 midterms down, 1 paper and midterm to go!

Day 1

Week one of PCP happens to coincide with midterm week (aka the week from hell) at my university. Not the best timing, but it did give me incentive to wake up early and get my workout out of the way, so I could study the rest of the day. Now, normally I'm a fairly coordinated person, but when it comes to jumprope, I have two left feet. In India, me and my friends would jumprope sometimes for exercise, and they always laughed at how loud my feet would stomp when they hit the ground. While today I kept tried to keep the impact to mainly the balls of my feet, I still kept getting the rope wrapped around me. Also, for now I have to hop twice in between each turn; I'm not yet quick enough to be able to jump once on each turn. I can see how it is great cardio though. While this set wore me out perhaps more than intended, I look forward to improving my jumprope skills as the PCP continues!

As far as the diet goes, this was also more of a challenge than expected. It's 6:14 PM right now and I'm going to wait awhile longer to have dinner in hopes that I won't go to bed hungry on my half-portion!

Since this is Day 1 of the program, I figured it would be a good idea to lay out some goals of mine for the program. By the end of the 90 day period, I will:

-be able to do a headstand in yoga class

-have a better grip on my addiction to chocolate

-be able to jumprope without feeling extremely clumsy (and winded after only a few sets!)

-have a greater appreciation for what my body is capable of doing

I'm sure I'll develop some more goals as the weeks continue, but these are the major ones.

I look forward to reading how my fellow PCPr's are handling the first day!