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!