Aah, the fated day 60 I have to take my progress picture. Unfortunately, I won't have the time until this coming Saturday, so stay tuned! I doubt there's much change from my day 30 picture.
Finished Yoga this morning and I was quite happy that I finally able to hold Half Moon pose a little longer, even though my other hand still touched the floor as an extra support (not barely touching the floor as Tony's gangs did) but at least I started to get a hang on it. Still no luck on Crane. Still have to work on my Chaturanga push up.
Breakfast was great. This time I mixed in 3 scoops of soy protein powder with a glass of plain soymilk. This time the chalky powder tasted stronger but I still finished it. I brought lots of food and snacks today.
Daytime food list:
2 slices of homemade whole wheat banana bread (not quick bread)
2 medium bananas
2 apples (sliced)
2 oranges (peeled)
1 cup low fat plain yogurt mixed with 3 scoops of soy protein powder (I might mix a bit too much, too chalky powder taste)
some left over whole wheat crackers - maybe eaten with the yogurt
White rice w/ braised soy sauce fish, boiled vegetables and tofu
1 soy protein bar (SoyJoy)
1 Kashi® GoLean® Protein & Fiber bar
Whew that's a lot of food! Let's see if I can finish them before getting off from work.
Of course I always remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 3: Day 59 - Shoulders & Arms, Abs
For some reason my adjustable dumbbells felt heavier than their actual weight. When I did arm curls with 5lbs adjustable dumbbells, I struggled more than my regular 8lbs dumbbells. That's so WEIRD! On the workout sheet, it gets more weird. How the hell I could bump more reps with 8lbs dumbbells than 5 lbs??
I think I almost bonked after Shoulders & Arms that I struggled doing the Abs. Not to mention I had to struggle to complete 50 reps Mason's Twist.
After the workout, I tried Genisoy Soy Protein Shake Chocolate flavor I got yesterday mixed with Silk Almond milk.
I could taste a hint of chalky taste of the powder but it wasn't too bad at all. In fact, I'm glad I got the chocolate flavor. I was going to get the unflavored one, but I am happy I made the right choice.
Also, I bought 5 different brands of protein bars because they were on sale ($1 for each) and the bummer thing is I FORGOT to bring any of them to work today! Darn it!
A bit about my daily life, I wish I can go back to my vacation. Yesterday, I was called into 2 meetings and by the end I was dumped with these 2 big projects. One is due next Friday, but my real deadline will be this Friday. A micro site in 5 days? They must be out of their mind. The other one is a contest page. Either way, NONE of these projects were thought through! The meeting felt like a waste of time. The requesters didn't even have a solid idea how they want it to be. For the micro site, he didn't even at least have a draft/outline on how the content should be.
Sorry for my work drama, I just need to vent off a bit.
Yoga X tomorrow, I really need it!
I think I almost bonked after Shoulders & Arms that I struggled doing the Abs. Not to mention I had to struggle to complete 50 reps Mason's Twist.
After the workout, I tried Genisoy Soy Protein Shake Chocolate flavor I got yesterday mixed with Silk Almond milk.
I could taste a hint of chalky taste of the powder but it wasn't too bad at all. In fact, I'm glad I got the chocolate flavor. I was going to get the unflavored one, but I am happy I made the right choice.
Also, I bought 5 different brands of protein bars because they were on sale ($1 for each) and the bummer thing is I FORGOT to bring any of them to work today! Darn it!
A bit about my daily life, I wish I can go back to my vacation. Yesterday, I was called into 2 meetings and by the end I was dumped with these 2 big projects. One is due next Friday, but my real deadline will be this Friday. A micro site in 5 days? They must be out of their mind. The other one is a contest page. Either way, NONE of these projects were thought through! The meeting felt like a waste of time. The requesters didn't even have a solid idea how they want it to be. For the micro site, he didn't even at least have a draft/outline on how the content should be.
Sorry for my work drama, I just need to vent off a bit.
Yoga X tomorrow, I really need it!
Monday, March 29, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 3: Day 58 - A Semi-Quiet Cardio X
Just as the title, I had to jump a little quieter this morning so I won't disturb my uncle who's sleeping at the other side of the living room. In fact, Tony always encourages us to land softly on our ball feet, right?
Despite that, I was still drenched in sweat, so it was all good.
This week, I am back to my regular weekday routine again (wake up at 4:30 am and finish workout before 6:30 am then shower and go to work- same old stuff).
Last night I had a get together with my other relatives and had a potluck dinner. Everything was homemade, most of the dished were vegetarians. Only our dishes had meat in it. It was pretty tiring yesterday, even though we had 3 people preparing the dish, still it took us the whole day to cook everything, including our own lunch.
But anyway, everything was good and everyone was happy. :D
Back to work now, same old job, same old work politic craps, same clueless people, same paycheck..but what the heck, it pays all my bills..haha.
Despite that, I was still drenched in sweat, so it was all good.
This week, I am back to my regular weekday routine again (wake up at 4:30 am and finish workout before 6:30 am then shower and go to work- same old stuff).
Last night I had a get together with my other relatives and had a potluck dinner. Everything was homemade, most of the dished were vegetarians. Only our dishes had meat in it. It was pretty tiring yesterday, even though we had 3 people preparing the dish, still it took us the whole day to cook everything, including our own lunch.
But anyway, everything was good and everyone was happy. :D
Back to work now, same old job, same old work politic craps, same clueless people, same paycheck..but what the heck, it pays all my bills..haha.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 3: Day 57 - Chest & Back, Abs
Burn burn burn! I felt my arms burned and shaky after the workout. My abs burned doing the Abs Ripper X. Chest & Back is totally new workout for me so I had to watch it a bit before I started. Actually I recognized most some of the moves from the other workouts with the exception of Diamond push up, lawnmowers, dive bomber push up, and decline push-ups to name a few.
Dive bomber push-ups is an interesting one. It looks like you're doing a combination of upward dog and downward dog moves with feet and arms wider than your shoulders and hips.
Overall, I sort of enjoyed Chest & Back, but too bad I forgot my workout sheet so I didn't record any of my reps *bummer*. Speaking of which, I can hardly believe that I actually *start* to be able to do push ups......*fingers crossed*.
Abs was ok..I might underestimate it before that it became too easy for me. I still felt the burn when doing it and I still couldn't do the full 25 reps for Oblique V ups (max I could do was 15 with a bit slower pace than Tony).
And what's better than having Kashi® GoLean® Protein and Fiber bar? Yumm!! I might wanna get more of it!
It's Phase 3 now and I wanna bring it!
Dive bomber push-ups is an interesting one. It looks like you're doing a combination of upward dog and downward dog moves with feet and arms wider than your shoulders and hips.
Overall, I sort of enjoyed Chest & Back, but too bad I forgot my workout sheet so I didn't record any of my reps *bummer*. Speaking of which, I can hardly believe that I actually *start* to be able to do push ups......*fingers crossed*.
Abs was ok..I might underestimate it before that it became too easy for me. I still felt the burn when doing it and I still couldn't do the full 25 reps for Oblique V ups (max I could do was 15 with a bit slower pace than Tony).
And what's better than having Kashi® GoLean® Protein and Fiber bar? Yumm!! I might wanna get more of it!
It's Phase 3 now and I wanna bring it!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 56 - Rest or X Stretch
I can't do much today since I'll have to go to a wedding tonight and there are other bunch of stuff need to be taken care of. So today will be my Rest day from P90X.
Anyway I'll continue my food recap from yesterday, so here we go:
Lunch:
Nappa cabbage soup with shiitake mushroom and nappa cabbage
Boiled soy sauce egg
Left over mapo tofu from last night
Beef patties (homemade from scratch - yes I bought a meat cut and ground it myself with my butcher knife. A total man power ..haha)
I also made my whole wheat bread. Despite I forgot to add wheat gluten flour, it still turned out ok:
Afternoon snack:
1/2 Kashi® GoLean® Chewy Protein & Fiber bar
Late afternoon snack:
1 Kashi® GoLean® Crunchy Protein & Fiber bar
Dinner:
I went to the rehearsal dinner at a Chinese restaurant. It was that typical 10 dishes banquet, so here we go:
It was quite a lot of food so I only took small bites of everything. The last one was the dessert (mung bean soup), but it was so sweet I only took a sip and that was it. The tofu dish actually wasn't part of the banquet menu. It was part of the vegetarian dish for the vegetarians. I didn't take a picture of the fried rice, which was the last main dish since I didn't have it.
Anyway I'll continue my food recap from yesterday, so here we go:
Lunch:
Nappa cabbage soup with shiitake mushroom and nappa cabbage
Boiled soy sauce egg
Left over mapo tofu from last night
Beef patties (homemade from scratch - yes I bought a meat cut and ground it myself with my butcher knife. A total man power ..haha)
I also made my whole wheat bread. Despite I forgot to add wheat gluten flour, it still turned out ok:
Afternoon snack:
1/2 Kashi® GoLean® Chewy Protein & Fiber bar
Late afternoon snack:
1 Kashi® GoLean® Crunchy Protein & Fiber bar
Dinner:
I went to the rehearsal dinner at a Chinese restaurant. It was that typical 10 dishes banquet, so here we go:
Friday, March 26, 2010
Small meals here and there and it's not as simple as I thought
Breakfast:
A glass of almond milk with cocoa powder & flaxseed meal
2 slices of whole wheat toast w/ PB
1 slice of layered cake that my mom made
1/2 Kashi® GoLean® Protein & Fiber bar (Chocolate Almond Toffee) - didn't have it - I was stuffed
A glass of almond milk with cocoa powder & flaxseed meal
2 slices of whole wheat toast w/ PB
1 slice of layered cake that my mom made
1/2 Kashi® GoLean® Protein & Fiber bar (Chocolate Almond Toffee) - didn't have it - I was stuffed
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 55 - Yoga X
I can't believe Phase 2 Recovery week is almost over, which means my 1 week vacation is almost over too. Next week I'll be back to getting up at 4:30 am and do morning workouts before going to work. Hopefully I still can manage, given that I've been getting up not quite early this week (around 7 am or so).
Not much to say about Yoga X, but seems like my stiff knees weren't that affected by those moving asana poses. Broke some light sweat, so it was all good.
Not much to say about Yoga X, but seems like my stiff knees weren't that affected by those moving asana poses. Broke some light sweat, so it was all good.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Food of the day
Finally I found sometime to post my food of the day.
Lunch:
Boiled broccoli and bok choy with a bit of sesame oil and oyster sauce, stir fry cabbage in oyster sauce, mixed vegetable soup (same one from last night dinner), left over dim sum stuff from my brother, left over soy sauce hard boiled egg, steamed fish and I also had a bit of white rice.
Afternoon snack:
Carr's water crackers (5 pieces), 4 Tbsp low fat plain yogurt, golden raisins, dried apricots, 4 slices of cheddar cheese. Yum. Also I nibbled on 1/2 Kashi® GoLean® Chewy protein & fiber bar (not pictured)
Dinner:
Nothing can beat mapo tofu, boiled bok choy, 1 piece of whole wheat pita bread, an orange, and some bits of dried apricots and golden raisins (not pictured)...yum yum!
Lunch:
Boiled broccoli and bok choy with a bit of sesame oil and oyster sauce, stir fry cabbage in oyster sauce, mixed vegetable soup (same one from last night dinner), left over dim sum stuff from my brother, left over soy sauce hard boiled egg, steamed fish and I also had a bit of white rice.
Afternoon snack:
Dinner:
Nothing can beat mapo tofu, boiled bok choy, 1 piece of whole wheat pita bread, an orange, and some bits of dried apricots and golden raisins (not pictured)...yum yum!
An inspiring article
It's never too late to exercise, as said in this article from Steve Edwards's blog.
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 54 - Cardio X
Now I'm back at track! Finished Cardio X this morning, drenched in sweat as usual. Plyo sequence still kicked my ass that I could feel my heartbeat in my chest, but I didn't gasp for air to breathe. So I guess I'm still in my heart rate zone?
Anyway, I tried not to do too much Squat Xpress too fast to reduce the stress on my knees. They've been bothering me lately, but not too bad. I refuse to get injured when I'm getting closer to the end of the program.
I keep telling myself not to expect too much at the end of this program cause not everyone built the same. Even though I didn't really follow P90X diet to the T, I know I eat healthy stuff and stay away from junk food. Majority of my diet are homemade Asian cuisines, so it should be fine as long I keep the portion under control and I have a balanced meal of fiber/protein/carb.
Speaking of which, after the workout I tried Kashi® GoLean® Caramel Peanut Roll! protein & Fiber bar and it was AWESOME! It tastes better than the chewy one and to top it off it wasn't sweet at all!! The chewy bar is a bit too sweet on my taste buds but this one is the winner! I will definetly shop another different flavor for the Roll one. And of course I didn't forget to get my usual recovery drink.
Anyway, I tried not to do too much Squat Xpress too fast to reduce the stress on my knees. They've been bothering me lately, but not too bad. I refuse to get injured when I'm getting closer to the end of the program.
I keep telling myself not to expect too much at the end of this program cause not everyone built the same. Even though I didn't really follow P90X diet to the T, I know I eat healthy stuff and stay away from junk food. Majority of my diet are homemade Asian cuisines, so it should be fine as long I keep the portion under control and I have a balanced meal of fiber/protein/carb.
Speaking of which, after the workout I tried Kashi® GoLean® Caramel Peanut Roll! protein & Fiber bar and it was AWESOME! It tastes better than the chewy one and to top it off it wasn't sweet at all!! The chewy bar is a bit too sweet on my taste buds but this one is the winner! I will definetly shop another different flavor for the Roll one. And of course I didn't forget to get my usual recovery drink.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 53 - X Stretch & Kenpo X (make up)
I finally managed to catch up with my workout this week. Since I took a week off from work, I didn't get up that early to do my workout. I had to drop off my parents and my uncle to the tour shuttle pick up this morning and came back and did Kenpo X. My parents will be on the tour to San Francisco and Yosemite for 3 days and 2 nights, so I can use my desktop computer for a bit.
I finished Kenpo around 9:30 am and took a shower and had a pretty late breakfast, like around 10 am. As usual, I had my almond milk with cocoa powder and flaxseed meal, 2 slices of whole wheat bread with PB and a bit pieces of naan bread.
Now onto the food part! Finally I can upload my food pictures again.
After late breakfast, K and I went to Walmart to shop some stuff for my parents to bring home and our household stuffs. After that we just walked around in the mall and did window shopping. It was a nice feel to walk at the mall during weekday. It wasn't that crowded and you could find parking very easily!
Since we had our breakfast quite late, we had lunch around 2:30 pm at Subway.
I ordered 6" turkey sandwich with 9 oat wheat bun with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, a bit of mustard, salt and pepper.
K also ordered mostly similar stuff as I had, except he had ham slices, some mayo and no salt, pepper and cucumbers.
After lunch, we went back to Walmart because I forgot to check out what brand of soy protein drinks that they carry. Unfortunately, I couldn't really find much option except for that EAS brand and it was pretty expensive compared to the regular whey protein drinks. In the end I ended up getting Kashi Go Lean® protein bars.
I bought 2 individual bars, but I stated to nibble the other one before I got a chance to take the picture. Couldn't help it, I was still a bit hungry even after I had that Subway sandwich. Did my stomach start to expand? :p
We got home and decided to catch up on 2 LOST episodes that we missed for the past 2 weeks. While watching, I was snacking on the 1/2 apple that my mom couldn't finish yesterday, and finishing up Kashi Go Lean bar that I ate earlier on the way home.
After we finished watching LOST, it was already around 7 pm, and we decided to heat up some left over stuff as our dinner. K had some bread and toasted 1 naan bread and a bowl of soup.
I had a bowl of mixed vegetable soup (nappa cabbage, lots of carrots, tomatoes, ginger and some fishcake), topped with fried onions that my mom made.
Seeing K enjoying his naan bread I couldn't help to nibble on it too. I had at least 1/2 of it.
What's the best to have after a dinner? Fruits!! Yup, that's my dessert. I don't have sweet tooth nor I like sweets, so fruits are the best bet for me. I had 2 oranges and they were so awesomely juicy and super sweet!! That surely filled me up. I didn't take the picture of the orange since I'm pretty sure you know how it looks like..haha.
I didn't have a chance to clean up the kitchen last night, so I made sometime to clean it up before doing X Stretch. It was awesome and for some reason I almost fell asleep when doing the stretch. It just felt so good, especially my left back shoulder has been feeling a little stiff lately. Those head rolls were such a relieve. I might want to do more of it. Additionally, my right shin also feels hurt lately. However, those haven't bother my performance yet but doesn't mean I should ignore it.
Speaking of which, I finally got my free soy protein coupon from Genisoy!
They're so awesome! I emailed them, asking if they could give me free sample for their soy protein drink since I read a lot of good things about it. They replied back since they don't have free samples, they willing to send me a coupon for 1 free soy protein shake. Woohoo!! I can't wait to try it! I am not a big fan of whey protein so I want to give this soy protein a try. Gotta have this protein drink if I want to build some lean muscle, right?
Anyway, it's a long post. And tomorrow I'll be doing Cardio X. After that, maybe I could give that Kashi Go Lean® protein bar a try.
I finished Kenpo around 9:30 am and took a shower and had a pretty late breakfast, like around 10 am. As usual, I had my almond milk with cocoa powder and flaxseed meal, 2 slices of whole wheat bread with PB and a bit pieces of naan bread.
Now onto the food part! Finally I can upload my food pictures again.
After late breakfast, K and I went to Walmart to shop some stuff for my parents to bring home and our household stuffs. After that we just walked around in the mall and did window shopping. It was a nice feel to walk at the mall during weekday. It wasn't that crowded and you could find parking very easily!
Since we had our breakfast quite late, we had lunch around 2:30 pm at Subway.
I ordered 6" turkey sandwich with 9 oat wheat bun with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, a bit of mustard, salt and pepper.
K also ordered mostly similar stuff as I had, except he had ham slices, some mayo and no salt, pepper and cucumbers.
After lunch, we went back to Walmart because I forgot to check out what brand of soy protein drinks that they carry. Unfortunately, I couldn't really find much option except for that EAS brand and it was pretty expensive compared to the regular whey protein drinks. In the end I ended up getting Kashi Go Lean® protein bars.
I bought 2 individual bars, but I stated to nibble the other one before I got a chance to take the picture. Couldn't help it, I was still a bit hungry even after I had that Subway sandwich. Did my stomach start to expand? :p
We got home and decided to catch up on 2 LOST episodes that we missed for the past 2 weeks. While watching, I was snacking on the 1/2 apple that my mom couldn't finish yesterday, and finishing up Kashi Go Lean bar that I ate earlier on the way home.
After we finished watching LOST, it was already around 7 pm, and we decided to heat up some left over stuff as our dinner. K had some bread and toasted 1 naan bread and a bowl of soup.
I had a bowl of mixed vegetable soup (nappa cabbage, lots of carrots, tomatoes, ginger and some fishcake), topped with fried onions that my mom made.
Seeing K enjoying his naan bread I couldn't help to nibble on it too. I had at least 1/2 of it.
What's the best to have after a dinner? Fruits!! Yup, that's my dessert. I don't have sweet tooth nor I like sweets, so fruits are the best bet for me. I had 2 oranges and they were so awesomely juicy and super sweet!! That surely filled me up. I didn't take the picture of the orange since I'm pretty sure you know how it looks like..haha.
I didn't have a chance to clean up the kitchen last night, so I made sometime to clean it up before doing X Stretch. It was awesome and for some reason I almost fell asleep when doing the stretch. It just felt so good, especially my left back shoulder has been feeling a little stiff lately. Those head rolls were such a relieve. I might want to do more of it. Additionally, my right shin also feels hurt lately. However, those haven't bother my performance yet but doesn't mean I should ignore it.
Speaking of which, I finally got my free soy protein coupon from Genisoy!
They're so awesome! I emailed them, asking if they could give me free sample for their soy protein drink since I read a lot of good things about it. They replied back since they don't have free samples, they willing to send me a coupon for 1 free soy protein shake. Woohoo!! I can't wait to try it! I am not a big fan of whey protein so I want to give this soy protein a try. Gotta have this protein drink if I want to build some lean muscle, right?
Anyway, it's a long post. And tomorrow I'll be doing Cardio X. After that, maybe I could give that Kashi Go Lean® protein bar a try.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 52 - Core Synergistics (make up)
I decided to make up my Core Syn from yesterday than today. Originally, today was supposedly Kenpo X but I figured I'll do that one on the X stretch day, which is tomorrow!!
I'd like to thank olderguy for giving me the link to the free software editing, http://www.pixlr.com/editor/. It's totally FREE and NO NEED to install any software and it has the similar characteristics as Photoshop.
That means I can start uploading my pictures again..yay! Stay tuned!!
I'd like to thank olderguy for giving me the link to the free software editing, http://www.pixlr.com/editor/. It's totally FREE and NO NEED to install any software and it has the similar characteristics as Photoshop.
That means I can start uploading my pictures again..yay! Stay tuned!!
Monday, March 22, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 51 - Core Synergistics
I'd say I have to skip this one today and make it up on the day I'm doing X Stretch.
Today I went to Big Santa Anita Canyon to take my parents for a hike. Even though we went to the easiest hike, we didn't get to the waterfall since my mom couldn't handle the hike. I was thinking I could substitute Core Syn with this hike if it gave me enough workout, but apparently not. We spent about 2 hours there, but only walked on the paved roads before heading to a Chinese restaurant for a dim sum.
After we got back, it was already around 4pm and almost time to start dinner. I decided to skip Core Syn and make it up on Thursday, where I'll be doing X Stretch. In some ways it'll be good since my parents will be away to San Francisco trip so I'll have more time to squeeze in the workout.
Lately, my knees have been feeling very tight and stiff, especially after I stand up for a long time. Hopefully it's not something serious. :( I hate it if I have to skip more workouts. Good thing is, this week is my recovery week, so the workouts are "less intense".
Anyway, I apologize for not uploading any pictures lately since my parents are staying in my office room, I can't use my desktop computer and this laptop doesn't have the graphic program that allows me to resize the pictures.
Today I went to Big Santa Anita Canyon to take my parents for a hike. Even though we went to the easiest hike, we didn't get to the waterfall since my mom couldn't handle the hike. I was thinking I could substitute Core Syn with this hike if it gave me enough workout, but apparently not. We spent about 2 hours there, but only walked on the paved roads before heading to a Chinese restaurant for a dim sum.
After we got back, it was already around 4pm and almost time to start dinner. I decided to skip Core Syn and make it up on Thursday, where I'll be doing X Stretch. In some ways it'll be good since my parents will be away to San Francisco trip so I'll have more time to squeeze in the workout.
Lately, my knees have been feeling very tight and stiff, especially after I stand up for a long time. Hopefully it's not something serious. :( I hate it if I have to skip more workouts. Good thing is, this week is my recovery week, so the workouts are "less intense".
Anyway, I apologize for not uploading any pictures lately since my parents are staying in my office room, I can't use my desktop computer and this laptop doesn't have the graphic program that allows me to resize the pictures.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 50 - Yoga X
I started up Yoga late today because I went to bed super late last night after coming back from the City Lights Cruises with my parents. Regardless, I still managed to complete the whole workout with the usual exceptions of Crane, Wheel and Half Moon poses.
Not much to report for today. I would load the pictures that I took last night on the boat when I get a chance. My laptop doesn't have the graphic software that I usually use to resize the pictures before uploading them to the blog.
Not much to report for today. I would load the pictures that I took last night on the boat when I get a chance. My laptop doesn't have the graphic software that I usually use to resize the pictures before uploading them to the blog.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 49 - Rest or X Stretch
Definitely my rest day for today. I got to sleep in until 7 am *yea I know, for some late risers, 7 am is NOT considered to be sleep in time for weekends*. But hey, I usually get up at 4:30 am every day.
I will be taking my parents to the City Lights Cruise tonight at Newport Beach. Basically, you are boarding on a yacht and cruising along the coastline, and watching the city lights from there. They provide an appetizer buffet and 2 drinks which you paid in advance. If you want additional drinks, you need to pay in cash only. No credit cards accepted on the boat. The admission price for each adult is around $80, but since I got these deals from my workplace, I got to pay only $40 for 8 tickets (that's $5 for each $40 prepaid ticket value!!) The only thing is I have to pay additional $36 for the boarding fee and 2 prepaid drinks. So if I don't have the prepaid tickets, I'd end up spending up to $400 for 5 people. With these prepaid tickets, I only spent about $180 for the boarding fee and the 2 drinks (for 5 people) and 5 prepaid tickets (which are $20!!), so grand total $200. It's still a good deal for me.
Hopefully they'll enjoy it. From the pictures that I saw on their website, seems like the cruise is more like a nightclub where they play different type of dance music from meringue to reggae & swing.
I will be taking my parents to the City Lights Cruise tonight at Newport Beach. Basically, you are boarding on a yacht and cruising along the coastline, and watching the city lights from there. They provide an appetizer buffet and 2 drinks which you paid in advance. If you want additional drinks, you need to pay in cash only. No credit cards accepted on the boat. The admission price for each adult is around $80, but since I got these deals from my workplace, I got to pay only $40 for 8 tickets (that's $5 for each $40 prepaid ticket value!!) The only thing is I have to pay additional $36 for the boarding fee and 2 prepaid drinks. So if I don't have the prepaid tickets, I'd end up spending up to $400 for 5 people. With these prepaid tickets, I only spent about $180 for the boarding fee and the 2 drinks (for 5 people) and 5 prepaid tickets (which are $20!!), so grand total $200. It's still a good deal for me.
Hopefully they'll enjoy it. From the pictures that I saw on their website, seems like the cruise is more like a nightclub where they play different type of dance music from meringue to reggae & swing.
Friday, March 19, 2010
One Hundred Push Ups
I am always a big sucker at any arm strength workouts and push up is no exception either. When I do push up, I tend to use my body to lift up instead of focusing on using my arms to lift myself up. Not good.
So while I was looking through Fitbomb's blog roll, I stumbled on Project Exercise blog and found this One Hundred Push Ups site.
I am interested to do the fit test and see which category I'll fall into (most likely Rank 1). This is something that I might add to my routine as well to develop my push up technique.
So while I was looking through Fitbomb's blog roll, I stumbled on Project Exercise blog and found this One Hundred Push Ups site.
I am interested to do the fit test and see which category I'll fall into (most likely Rank 1). This is something that I might add to my routine as well to develop my push up technique.
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 48 - Kenpo X
I feel I wasn't as intense doing Kenpo X today compare to last week, probably due to my lack of sleep. Some of my relatives came by to visit last night so I had to postpone my usual clean up until they left. Regardless, I still drenched so no complain here. I found it become more challenging to raise up my heart rate, especially at the beginning of Kenpo, when we were doing the punch series. My heart rate didn't go up until I reached to the kick series. I was starving after I finished the workout so I gulped down my usual "recovery drink" and ate 1 medium banana. Those bananas are getting riper so I better finish them off before they go bad.
Here's my day food for today
Tomorrow is rest day and I'll get to sleep in a bit. And another exciting thing is I will be off from work for the whole next week so I can spend more time with my family and to top it off next week is P90X Phase 2 Recovery Week, so no resistance workouts *yay*. I don't have a particular plan with my parents yet but for sure I will bring them to Big Santa Anita Canyon, the hiking place that I used to go when the weather gets warmer. Another plan will be going to museums and parks.
EDITED @ 8:53PM
That Chinese pastry puff was not that good so I only ate 1/2 of it and tossed the rest. I didn't bother to eat the other one so I gave it to my brother after I got home. I only ate 1 banana, which was getting really ripe and couldn't eat the other one. Finished the oranges & the blueberry in the afternoon then munched on the carrot sticks after I got home, dipped into the hummus before dinner. I guess I brought a little too much food for my daytime meal..hehe.
Btw, my parents went to my relative's place this whole day so I had a regular dinner with my brother and my hubby.
Lightly fried tofu with oyster sauce & onions, mixed vegetable soup (bok choy, carrots, tomatoes and fish cakes) and left over soy sauce chicken & eggs.
Here's my day food for today
- 2 slices of whole wheat bread with peanut butter
- 2 chinese pastry puffs
- 2 medium bananas
- 3 sticks of carrots -cut into matchstick size
- left over hummus - I gotta make more later
- Boiled chinese broccoli, some steamed fish meat, steamed chicken meatball and some white rice (all in that rectangular container, sorry can't really see much)
- 2 peeled oranges & 6 oz. blueberries
Tomorrow is rest day and I'll get to sleep in a bit. And another exciting thing is I will be off from work for the whole next week so I can spend more time with my family and to top it off next week is P90X Phase 2 Recovery Week, so no resistance workouts *yay*. I don't have a particular plan with my parents yet but for sure I will bring them to Big Santa Anita Canyon, the hiking place that I used to go when the weather gets warmer. Another plan will be going to museums and parks.
EDITED @ 8:53PM
That Chinese pastry puff was not that good so I only ate 1/2 of it and tossed the rest. I didn't bother to eat the other one so I gave it to my brother after I got home. I only ate 1 banana, which was getting really ripe and couldn't eat the other one. Finished the oranges & the blueberry in the afternoon then munched on the carrot sticks after I got home, dipped into the hummus before dinner. I guess I brought a little too much food for my daytime meal..hehe.
Btw, my parents went to my relative's place this whole day so I had a regular dinner with my brother and my hubby.
Lightly fried tofu with oyster sauce & onions, mixed vegetable soup (bok choy, carrots, tomatoes and fish cakes) and left over soy sauce chicken & eggs.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 47 - Legs & Back, Abs
Legs & Back was great, despite I didn't get enough sleep last night (went to bed around 10:30 pm and got up around 11:30 pm because of some noises). Single leg wall squat was tough, but I managed to stay at least 5 seconds. Regular wall squat was ok, I was able to stay as long as Tony and his gangs.
Lately, I've been feeling sleepy during noon time, not sure if I didn't get enough sleep or I didn't have enough food intake. After the workout, I had the usual "recovery drink/meal" (not pictured) - 1 glass of almond milk with 1 tsp cocoa powder and 2 tsp of flaxseed meal and 1 medium banana.
Speaking of food, I decided to bring more small meals for me to eat throughout my day. So here they are:
All fit nicely in my little lunch bag :)
Lately, I've been feeling sleepy during noon time, not sure if I didn't get enough sleep or I didn't have enough food intake. After the workout, I had the usual "recovery drink/meal" (not pictured) - 1 glass of almond milk with 1 tsp cocoa powder and 2 tsp of flaxseed meal and 1 medium banana.
Speaking of food, I decided to bring more small meals for me to eat throughout my day. So here they are:
- 2 slices of whole wheat bread (I made this last night, turned out great! Even parents love it!) with peanut butter
- 1 chinese pineapple cake (small cube box)
- 2 medium bananas
- Baked sweet potato slices, boiled broccoli, chicken meats, couple slices of potatoes
- 1 chinese pastry -not sure what exactly it is
- 2 peeled oranges & 8 oz. blueberries
All fit nicely in my little lunch bag :)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 46 - Yoga X
The weather starts to warm up since a couple days ago. I started to break some light sweat prior the Vinyasa sequence. By the time I reached Warrior 3, I was dripping in sweat already.
If you've been following my blog (sometimes I wonder if anyone reads my blog haha), my parents are currently staying at my place for 3 weeks. They've been seeing my food intake and said that I don't consume enough carbohydrate. It's true that I don't eat much white rice, as I keep hearing bad impressions about it. However, I'm confident enough that I eat enough food throughout the day. I don't eat a big meal at one time, but spread out my meal by snacking healthy stuff like fruits and some crackers. Not sure how I explain this to them. Just because they don't see me eat a big meal, they assume I don't eat enough. Don't get me wrong, they are happy to see me exercise and it's a good thing that I am healthy but getting too skinny. From their observation, my workout looks very intense, thus they keep telling me to eat more.
I try not to argue too much with them, especially I haven't seen them for 3 years. But I do want to give a better picture on what I eat throughout the day. I might start documenting my food intake again. It's been pretty busy days for me that I don't have time to take every single picture of my food.
Enough for my rants. Tomorrow is Legs & Back, and Abs. I might be wrong with ARX. Today I feel something on my upper abs, perhaps from ARX yesterday. I did it with my shoes on. It did the trick!
EDITED (MARCH 17, 2010)
Here's my daytime food:
After workout : the usual "recovery drink/meal"
Breakfast:
2 bananas (I only had 1 for breakfast and took home the other one & 1 whole wheat french roll -not pictured)
Lunch
White rice, boiled broccoli, 1/2 piece of salmon steak - boy this kept me full for almost the whole afternoon.
Afternoon snack:
I didn't find a chance to take picture of my dinner. Kinda awkward to do it in front of my parents.
If you've been following my blog (sometimes I wonder if anyone reads my blog haha), my parents are currently staying at my place for 3 weeks. They've been seeing my food intake and said that I don't consume enough carbohydrate. It's true that I don't eat much white rice, as I keep hearing bad impressions about it. However, I'm confident enough that I eat enough food throughout the day. I don't eat a big meal at one time, but spread out my meal by snacking healthy stuff like fruits and some crackers. Not sure how I explain this to them. Just because they don't see me eat a big meal, they assume I don't eat enough. Don't get me wrong, they are happy to see me exercise and it's a good thing that I am healthy but getting too skinny. From their observation, my workout looks very intense, thus they keep telling me to eat more.
I try not to argue too much with them, especially I haven't seen them for 3 years. But I do want to give a better picture on what I eat throughout the day. I might start documenting my food intake again. It's been pretty busy days for me that I don't have time to take every single picture of my food.
Enough for my rants. Tomorrow is Legs & Back, and Abs. I might be wrong with ARX. Today I feel something on my upper abs, perhaps from ARX yesterday. I did it with my shoes on. It did the trick!
EDITED (MARCH 17, 2010)
Here's my daytime food:
After workout : the usual "recovery drink/meal"
Breakfast:
2 bananas (I only had 1 for breakfast and took home the other one & 1 whole wheat french roll -not pictured)
Lunch
Afternoon snack:
I didn't find a chance to take picture of my dinner. Kinda awkward to do it in front of my parents.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 45 - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps & Abs
For those who live in Southern California, I'm sure you all felt the 4.4 earthquake this morning around 4 am (unless you are a super duper heavy sleeper).
The earthquake lasted around 15 seconds, felt pretty strong. Nothing damaged at my house, thank goodness. After the earthquake stopped, I decided to get up and get ready to do my P90X. Usually, I woke up around 4:30 am and started around 5 am. But it doesn't hurt to start earlier. That way I'll have an ample of time to shower, had a little bite then drive to work without any rush.
CST felt great, but I was still a big sucker for the push ups. I tried to switch the band to the blue one (medium) but it was a big mistake. I could barely lift it up and my form was all messed up, so I switched back to the red one (light). I couldn't do Scarecrow, because I had this sharp pain on my left arm whenever I lifted it up. My right arm was ok. Abs felt great. I kept my shoes on but I still followed the usual sequence. I wasn't quite in shape to mix up the sequence today. My right side abs was a bit sore from doing superman-banana on Sunday (Core) and Monday (Cardio X).
Breakfast was great. I was super hungry that I chowed down 1 banana and 1 pineapple shortbread cake and a cup of almond milk with flaxseed meal and cocoa powder. I brought lots of stuff for my daytime meal - lunch (rice with salmon cooked in lemon juice, stir fry asparagus, 1 banana, 1 apple, 1 roll of wheat french bread, a container of 2 oranges (peeled) and a handful of blueberries).
The earthquake lasted around 15 seconds, felt pretty strong. Nothing damaged at my house, thank goodness. After the earthquake stopped, I decided to get up and get ready to do my P90X. Usually, I woke up around 4:30 am and started around 5 am. But it doesn't hurt to start earlier. That way I'll have an ample of time to shower, had a little bite then drive to work without any rush.
CST felt great, but I was still a big sucker for the push ups. I tried to switch the band to the blue one (medium) but it was a big mistake. I could barely lift it up and my form was all messed up, so I switched back to the red one (light). I couldn't do Scarecrow, because I had this sharp pain on my left arm whenever I lifted it up. My right arm was ok. Abs felt great. I kept my shoes on but I still followed the usual sequence. I wasn't quite in shape to mix up the sequence today. My right side abs was a bit sore from doing superman-banana on Sunday (Core) and Monday (Cardio X).
Breakfast was great. I was super hungry that I chowed down 1 banana and 1 pineapple shortbread cake and a cup of almond milk with flaxseed meal and cocoa powder. I brought lots of stuff for my daytime meal - lunch (rice with salmon cooked in lemon juice, stir fry asparagus, 1 banana, 1 apple, 1 roll of wheat french bread, a container of 2 oranges (peeled) and a handful of blueberries).
Monday, March 15, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 44 - Cardio X Crunch
I had to cut down some of Cardio X sequence this morning because I got up super late!!! The funny thing was I didn't even hear my cell phone alarm went off (did a check and the alarm was ON). Apparently my insomnia last night came back again and I remembered tossing around until 1:30 am.
So I did Cardio Crunch, meaning I skipped the Yoga part for the heck of it but focusing on my forms for the rest of the workout. I just hate it to take off/on shoes before/after yoga. I tried to do yoga with shoes on but it wasn't working. My shoes are a bit too bulky for those vinyasa poses. I also skipped the Dreya Roll because of my current condition, I can't do any inverted movement. Either way, I still got good sweat.
Breakfast wasn't that great. I had the almond milk mixed with cocoa powder and some flaxseed meal. And I brought some sweet bread and 2 pieces of Chinese pineapple cake.
Lunch will be good. I got a balanced meal of protein and veggies and just a bit of white rice. Grabbed 2 apples and 1 pack of blueberry, might spread it as part of my afternoon snacks.
So I did Cardio Crunch, meaning I skipped the Yoga part for the heck of it but focusing on my forms for the rest of the workout. I just hate it to take off/on shoes before/after yoga. I tried to do yoga with shoes on but it wasn't working. My shoes are a bit too bulky for those vinyasa poses. I also skipped the Dreya Roll because of my current condition, I can't do any inverted movement. Either way, I still got good sweat.
Breakfast wasn't that great. I had the almond milk mixed with cocoa powder and some flaxseed meal. And I brought some sweet bread and 2 pieces of Chinese pineapple cake.
Lunch will be good. I got a balanced meal of protein and veggies and just a bit of white rice. Grabbed 2 apples and 1 pack of blueberry, might spread it as part of my afternoon snacks.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 43 - Core Synergistics
The time change doesn't seem to affect me that much. I still got up around 6 am (old time) which is 7 am new time. Core Syn felt very good today. I even managed to do the bonus round, even though I was still a sucker at Plank to Chaturanga Iso.
I cooked a bunch of stuff yesterday and I might post them later today or whenever I got a chance.
I cooked a bunch of stuff yesterday and I might post them later today or whenever I got a chance.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 42 - Rest
Not exactly taking a rest since I have tons of chores to do before my parents arrive tonight. Shopped some groceries this morning, paid the bills, will do house cleaning shortly, prepare a room for them and will be busy cooking later.
Busy busy day. No X Stretch for today.
Tomorrow is Spring Forward. Gosh, I'll lose an hour. But on the bright side, I can go home when it's still bright!
Busy busy day. No X Stretch for today.
Tomorrow is Spring Forward. Gosh, I'll lose an hour. But on the bright side, I can go home when it's still bright!
Friday, March 12, 2010
It's weekend again!
I got home a bit late because I stopped by VONS to get more almond milk. Dang, those things are good but so damn pricey! My brother was kind enough to bring home some Korean food for dinner so I didn't have to cook anything after I got home.
He got the spicy squid, spicy beef and those come with 2 side dishes kimchi and radish. The food was good but quite spicy and salty if you didn't have any rice. I took a bit of white rice just to dilute the spiciness. Afterwards, I nibbled some more wheat crackers dipped into the hummus.
He got the spicy squid, spicy beef and those come with 2 side dishes kimchi and radish. The food was good but quite spicy and salty if you didn't have any rice. I took a bit of white rice just to dilute the spiciness. Afterwards, I nibbled some more wheat crackers dipped into the hummus.
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 41 - Kenpo X
I woke up around 4:11 am, about 20 minutes before my cell phone alarm went off. It seems like my body knows that today is one of my favorite workout. I stayed in bed about 10 more minutes before got up and got ready. After drinking some water and put away the dry dishes into the cabinets, I started Kenpo X.
I had to go a bit faster than Tony and the gangs to raise up my heart rate. It felt really good. I was amazed that I managed to do jumping jack and X jump even towards the end. Before I always ran out of energy after the third part of Kenpo.
Tomorrow is the rest day and also house cleaning day. My parents are coming from our home country and will be staying at my place for 3 weeks. In some ways it's good to see them again, since I haven't seen them for 3 years. On the other way, I hope it doesn't mess up with my P90X schedule. I just don't like if my routine got disrupted once I got on the groove. But hey, parents will be here that means more decent meals for me to enjoy and also more cleanings to be done.
I had to go a bit faster than Tony and the gangs to raise up my heart rate. It felt really good. I was amazed that I managed to do jumping jack and X jump even towards the end. Before I always ran out of energy after the third part of Kenpo.
Tomorrow is the rest day and also house cleaning day. My parents are coming from our home country and will be staying at my place for 3 weeks. In some ways it's good to see them again, since I haven't seen them for 3 years. On the other way, I hope it doesn't mess up with my P90X schedule. I just don't like if my routine got disrupted once I got on the groove. But hey, parents will be here that means more decent meals for me to enjoy and also more cleanings to be done.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Crazy of the egg whites
I don't think I get enough protein in my meal lately because of my laziness to cut the defrosted whole chicken, which has been sitting in my fridge since a couple days ago. So I decided to whip up some egg white omelet as part of my lunch tomorrow. I used 4 egg whites, a bit of garlic powder, dried parsley and about 2 tsp of flaxseed meal to add more fibers. I also pan fried 4 frozen Korean dumplings. There was a bit of boiled cabbages left from the dinner so I shuffled those in as well. To make it more colorful, I sauteed frozen veggies with some onions. And I also added the last batch of saute chopped potatoes that I made last night. Lastly, topped everything with organic ketchup, VOILA!
In addition, I will also have a banana afterward and 2 oranges as my afternoon snack. I can't wait to enjoy this lunch tomorrow!!
As for breakfast, it'll be the same thing as I had today.
Tomorrow dinner will be definitely better than these past 2 days. After dinner, I managed to take out that whole chicken, cut it in half and marinated with these seasonings: salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, turmeric, and black pepper, and I will bake it tomorrow.
Doesn't the color combination look lovely?
Anyway, gotta go to bed. Otherwise I won't be able to have enough energy to do some punches and kicking! Kenpo X, here I come!!!!
In addition, I will also have a banana afterward and 2 oranges as my afternoon snack. I can't wait to enjoy this lunch tomorrow!!
As for breakfast, it'll be the same thing as I had today.
Tomorrow dinner will be definitely better than these past 2 days. After dinner, I managed to take out that whole chicken, cut it in half and marinated with these seasonings: salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, turmeric, and black pepper, and I will bake it tomorrow.
Doesn't the color combination look lovely?
Anyway, gotta go to bed. Otherwise I won't be able to have enough energy to do some punches and kicking! Kenpo X, here I come!!!!
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 40 - Legs & Back, Abs
I started to get a hang on Legs & Back, and I could even do single leg squat even though I didn't hold it as long as Tony and his gangs. I switched my band to a blue one to get more resistance.
After L&B, I experimented to mix up the Abs sequence instead following the usual order. Boy I could feel it more, especially I decided to keep my shoes on. All these times, I always do Abs bare feet. So the shoes are a nice addition to get more resistance. However, I didn't complete the whole 25 rep on some of the moves.
Breakfast is the usual almond milk with cocoa powder and a banana. I added a teaspoon of flaxseed meal to the almond milk and it was pretty good. I might consider adding more to get that rich fiber into my diet.
After L&B, I experimented to mix up the Abs sequence instead following the usual order. Boy I could feel it more, especially I decided to keep my shoes on. All these times, I always do Abs bare feet. So the shoes are a nice addition to get more resistance. However, I didn't complete the whole 25 rep on some of the moves.
Breakfast is the usual almond milk with cocoa powder and a banana. I added a teaspoon of flaxseed meal to the almond milk and it was pretty good. I might consider adding more to get that rich fiber into my diet.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
All about food
I finally made my own hummus today and it was SOO GOOD!! So good that I almost couldn't control myself to snack on the wheat crackers dipped into the hummus..YUM YUM. I know I am not supposed to eat too much carbohydrate during dinner time, but cracker is one of my weakness. I love anything that's crunchy, from the healthy apples to the worst potato chips..haha.
So I'm bringing these tomorrow as my snack. Maybe I should bring more hummus.
For dinner I made another soup with the last batch of the chicken stock that I made on Sunday. I put in the last 2 tomatoes, some cabbages and some Korean frozen dumplings. It was good. Also I sauteed some potatoes and baked the last batch of potato balls that I made on Sunday.
Tomorrow lunch I just bring the wonton soup and a banana.
So I'm bringing these tomorrow as my snack. Maybe I should bring more hummus.
For dinner I made another soup with the last batch of the chicken stock that I made on Sunday. I put in the last 2 tomatoes, some cabbages and some Korean frozen dumplings. It was good. Also I sauteed some potatoes and baked the last batch of potato balls that I made on Sunday.
Tomorrow lunch I just bring the wonton soup and a banana.
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 39 - Yoga
It was great as usual, still broke some sweat despite the chilly morning in LA. However, still couldn't hold Half Moon poses, crane and side torso twist.
I tried to drink almond milk without the cocoa powder, and it was OK. It has a little nutty taste, a slight almond smell and a bit sweet for my taste buds. I am not into sweet stuff so my standard of sweetness might considered to be bland for most people. But it was still good, pair up with a banana. I also brought 2 slices of whole wheat toast with PB to work. Tomorrow I might want to mix in the cocoa powder again in the almond milk. The bitterness of cocoa powder dilutes the sweetness of the almond milk.
As for lunch, I decided to bring the left over asparagus-tomato soup from last night and some left over asparagus mushroom chicken and a bit of rice. I might not be able to finish the rice.
For dinner, not sure for now.
Last night, I finally made my first egg white omelet (using 4 eggs) and ate it with the organic ketchup. It was good. And I also had a couple bowls of asparagus-tomato soup. So yummy!
I tried to drink almond milk without the cocoa powder, and it was OK. It has a little nutty taste, a slight almond smell and a bit sweet for my taste buds. I am not into sweet stuff so my standard of sweetness might considered to be bland for most people. But it was still good, pair up with a banana. I also brought 2 slices of whole wheat toast with PB to work. Tomorrow I might want to mix in the cocoa powder again in the almond milk. The bitterness of cocoa powder dilutes the sweetness of the almond milk.
As for lunch, I decided to bring the left over asparagus-tomato soup from last night and some left over asparagus mushroom chicken and a bit of rice. I might not be able to finish the rice.
For dinner, not sure for now.
Last night, I finally made my first egg white omelet (using 4 eggs) and ate it with the organic ketchup. It was good. And I also had a couple bowls of asparagus-tomato soup. So yummy!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Day 30+ picture
Ok I'm not too comfortable to have my picture seen on the web, so I decided not to include my face. Here's my day 30+ pic. I don't have the exact Day 1 picture, so I just used the one that I took last year, prior to P90X routine.
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 38 - Chest, Shoulders, Tri & Abs
I got my glasses nose pad fixed so now I could see the CST workout more clearly. Besides last week I got up super late that I just had to rush through the CST.
I am still suck at my push ups even though I did them on my knees. Still couldn't do the single arm push up- could barely bent my arms.
As for the triceps reps, seems like I didn't push enough on my left arms cause I didn't feel that burn and muscle twitching as on my right arm. Red band was still my choice to do this workout even though on certain ones, I might be able to switch to the blue one. But since my bands only come with a pair of handle, it's quite a hassle to keep pausing the video and switching the handles to different bands.
Abs was fine, at least I didn't feel as wasted as before. For some reason, I might need to increase my intensity since I don't feel hurt anymore doing it. Don't get me wrong, I still felt the burn on my abs when doing the moves.
As my recovery drink, I had a glass of plain almond milk mixed with 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder. It's my first time trying the almond milk, and surprisingly, it was so good! I also had 1 banana in addition.
As for my breakfast at work, I brought my 2 slices homemade whole wheat toast, with peanut butter.
Lunch:
A bit of white rice, chicken asparagus with mushroom sauce, spinach-tomato soup in homemade chicken broth
Snack:
2 oranges
Dinner:
Not sure yet. Might be just some quick stuff like pot sticker and vegetables.
I am still suck at my push ups even though I did them on my knees. Still couldn't do the single arm push up- could barely bent my arms.
As for the triceps reps, seems like I didn't push enough on my left arms cause I didn't feel that burn and muscle twitching as on my right arm. Red band was still my choice to do this workout even though on certain ones, I might be able to switch to the blue one. But since my bands only come with a pair of handle, it's quite a hassle to keep pausing the video and switching the handles to different bands.
Abs was fine, at least I didn't feel as wasted as before. For some reason, I might need to increase my intensity since I don't feel hurt anymore doing it. Don't get me wrong, I still felt the burn on my abs when doing the moves.
As my recovery drink, I had a glass of plain almond milk mixed with 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder. It's my first time trying the almond milk, and surprisingly, it was so good! I also had 1 banana in addition.
As for my breakfast at work, I brought my 2 slices homemade whole wheat toast, with peanut butter.
Lunch:
A bit of white rice, chicken asparagus with mushroom sauce, spinach-tomato soup in homemade chicken broth
Snack:
2 oranges
Dinner:
Not sure yet. Might be just some quick stuff like pot sticker and vegetables.
Monday, March 8, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 37 - Cardio X
I just noticed that my left ankle feels hurt when I try to point my toes. When did I sprained it, I'm not even sure either. When I did the Plyo part in Cardio X, I didn't feel hurt on either of my feet either. Anyway, it wasn't that bad.
As usual, Cardio X always makes me drenched in sweat all over. I even had to wipe off the sweat from my face to prevent it went into my eyes. Usually after did the first Plyo sequence, I always felt that I almost crashed and my performance got sloppy. This morning, I felt great, even though still did kinda sloppy Jump Shot for the 2nd sequence.
As my recovery meal/drink I had the usual stuff: a glass of plain soy milk mixed with 1 tsp cocoa powder & 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 medium banana.
For the breakfast at work, I brought a piece of wheat bun with nuts. It looks quite big, maybe I should just cut it in half, not finishing the whole thing. But who knows.
For lunch I just had a bunch of left over from yesterday's lunch.
I plan to make a vegetable soup with chicken stock that I made by boiling chicken bones last night and saute chicken with mushroom sauce. Yum!
As usual, Cardio X always makes me drenched in sweat all over. I even had to wipe off the sweat from my face to prevent it went into my eyes. Usually after did the first Plyo sequence, I always felt that I almost crashed and my performance got sloppy. This morning, I felt great, even though still did kinda sloppy Jump Shot for the 2nd sequence.
As my recovery meal/drink I had the usual stuff: a glass of plain soy milk mixed with 1 tsp cocoa powder & 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 medium banana.
For the breakfast at work, I brought a piece of wheat bun with nuts. It looks quite big, maybe I should just cut it in half, not finishing the whole thing. But who knows.
For lunch I just had a bunch of left over from yesterday's lunch.
I plan to make a vegetable soup with chicken stock that I made by boiling chicken bones last night and saute chicken with mushroom sauce. Yum!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 36 - Core Synergistics
I didn't get a good night sleep last night because I tried to sleep on the living room futon to train myself when my parents are here next week. It didn't work. I guess I still need to sleep on my own bed and in my own room.
Anyway, I still managed to do Core Syn, even though I am aware that I wasn't at my top performance. I even skipped the bonus round.
I am pretty happy with my new gym mat that I got from Amazon. It doesn't have a nice grip as my yoga mat, but for cushion, it's good enough. I could do banana roll and superman-banana without putting too much pressure on my hip bones.
Since I got up quite late today (around 8:30 am) I had my breakfast around 10:00 am. Maybe it should be considered as a brunch.
Here's what I had for breakfast:
2-3 slices whole wheat roll, 2 small pieces of ham & cheese sandwich, 2-3 cups of green tea.
Lunch:
- Grilled salmon with lemon zest sauce
- Stir fry spinach
Snack:
1 glass of fresh orange juice
Dinner:
Chicken pizza with naan bread as its crust. (I only have 2 small slices)
Toppings: Tomato sauce, tomato slices, sautee garlic chicken, mushrooms, green onions and herbs.
I don't have mozzarella cheese on hand so it's a no-cheese pizza.
Anyway, I still managed to do Core Syn, even though I am aware that I wasn't at my top performance. I even skipped the bonus round.
I am pretty happy with my new gym mat that I got from Amazon. It doesn't have a nice grip as my yoga mat, but for cushion, it's good enough. I could do banana roll and superman-banana without putting too much pressure on my hip bones.
Since I got up quite late today (around 8:30 am) I had my breakfast around 10:00 am. Maybe it should be considered as a brunch.
Here's what I had for breakfast:
2-3 slices whole wheat roll, 2 small pieces of ham & cheese sandwich, 2-3 cups of green tea.
Lunch:
- Grilled salmon with lemon zest sauce
- Stir fry spinach
Snack:
1 glass of fresh orange juice
Dinner:
Chicken pizza with naan bread as its crust. (I only have 2 small slices)
Toppings: Tomato sauce, tomato slices, sautee garlic chicken, mushrooms, green onions and herbs.
I don't have mozzarella cheese on hand so it's a no-cheese pizza.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 35 - Rest or X Stretch
Call me a dork, workout freak, early riser whatever, but today I got up at 5:45 am and did X Stretch. That wasn't quite my plan actually. I didn't expect to be awake maybe sometime around 5 am (it was still dark and I didn't really check out the time). Ok, I thought I just went back to sleep but I COULDN'T! To top it off K was snoring so loudly. In the end I decided to hell with the sleep, I wasn't feeling tired or sleepy anymore so I just got up and did X Stretch.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Today's meal plan
Breakfast:
1 cup plain soy milk with 1 tsp cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 ham & cheese sandwich - I know I'm bad but after that Kenpo, I was starving!!
2 slices of whole wheat bread with peanut butter spread
Lunch:
- White rice with lentils
- Chicken breast in lemon sauce
- Salad with mango chutney in lemon juice
- 1 big apple (might want to save this for my afternoon snack later)
Dinner:
TBA (my guess is probably similar to my lunch minus the rice)
1 cup plain soy milk with 1 tsp cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 ham & cheese sandwich - I know I'm bad but after that Kenpo, I was starving!!
2 slices of whole wheat bread with peanut butter spread
Lunch:
- White rice with lentils
- Chicken breast in lemon sauce
- Salad with mango chutney in lemon juice
- 1 big apple (might want to save this for my afternoon snack later)
Dinner:
TBA (my guess is probably similar to my lunch minus the rice)
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 34 - Kenpo X
Did Kenpo this morning. Boy, how I just hate seeing Westley Wesley Idol to be in the Kenpo video workout. His form was so flabby compared to Vanessa and Tony the former marine. I don't want to brag but I think my form is much BETTER THAN him! K mentioned that maybe Westley Idol gave big donation of making this Kenpo X video so Tony just had to give him a spot to be in the video. Thus Westley Wesley thinking he's one of the monetary contributor, didn't think he should work too hard.
Anyway, enough rant about that. I still like Kenpo even though I can feel that it doesn't work me out that much compare to the other P90X cardio workouts. I still need to work on my kicks though (especially the back kick). This morning I didn't wear proper workout pants so some of my kick movements were wobbly.
Anyway, enough rant about that. I still like Kenpo even though I can feel that it doesn't work me out that much compare to the other P90X cardio workouts. I still need to work on my kicks though (especially the back kick). This morning I didn't wear proper workout pants so some of my kick movements were wobbly.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Dinner
I was so hungry when I got home. Good thing A already cooked most of the stuff, just need to wait for the baked chicken to be done.
Tonight's menu:
- Baked half chicken
- Steamed broccoli (leftover from last night dinner)
- Vegetable soup (leftover)
- Salad with mango chutney in lemon juice
YUMMY!
Tonight's menu:
- Baked half chicken
- Steamed broccoli (leftover from last night dinner)
- Vegetable soup (leftover)
- Salad with mango chutney in lemon juice
YUMMY!
Peanut butter frenzy
Creamy, crunchy and even a bit quirky, these peanut butters from the store are jelly's best friends.Complete article here.
I love peanut butter, but I am also awared of what kind of ingredients they put in there. The more weird names in the ingredients, the more you should stay away from it. I like Skippy Natural Super Chunk Peanut Butter.
The ingredient is simple: Roasted peanuts, salt, sugar and palm oil.
For $1.50 per jar at Food 4 Less, I can't complain much. It's a better deal than those Organic peanut butter that can cost $3-$5 for just 16 oz jar.
How clean is your new underwear?
Victoria’s Secret, Gap, Macy's, Bloomingdales, and Nordstom resell used underwear—and there's video evidence!
More here
Now where should we shop our underwear? GROSS!
More here
Now where should we shop our underwear? GROSS!
Food food!!
Breakfast:
1 cup plain soy milk with 1 tsp cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp sugar
2 slices whole wheat bread with Peanut butter - gotta watch out for the portion..still didn't do it :( can't help it. I like it too much LOL...especially the super chunky one.
2-3 wheat crackers
dried apricots
Lunch:
White rice mixed with lentils and mixed frozen vegetables
Steamed broccoli
Vegetable soup (tomatoes, bok choy, tofu)
1 large apple
Afternoon snack:
Mixed dried fruits (apricots, cranberries, raisins) and maybe some wheat crackers
Dinner:
some chicken - haven't decided yet
veggies
1 cup plain soy milk with 1 tsp cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp sugar
2 slices whole wheat bread with Peanut butter - gotta watch out for the portion..still didn't do it :( can't help it. I like it too much LOL...especially the super chunky one.
2-3 wheat crackers
dried apricots
Lunch:
White rice mixed with lentils and mixed frozen vegetables
Steamed broccoli
Vegetable soup (tomatoes, bok choy, tofu)
1 large apple
Afternoon snack:
Mixed dried fruits (apricots, cranberries, raisins) and maybe some wheat crackers
Dinner:
some chicken - haven't decided yet
veggies
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 33 - Legs & Back, Abs
I think I started to get a hang on Legs & Back, but still stumbled a lot when doing the balanced lunge and the 3 direction lunges when you have to do the kick after coming out from the lunge (dunno the exact name, sorry). The resistance band is pretty useful as a substitute from the pull ups. However, maybe I didn't pick the right band or I did it wrong...no way I can do 20 reps while Sophia girl could only do 15 reps max.
I don't have any high chin bar on the ceiling, so I just wrapped the band around the handrails of the stairs.
Abs was good...I could at least complete most of the reps without problem.
I don't have any high chin bar on the ceiling, so I just wrapped the band around the handrails of the stairs.
Abs was good...I could at least complete most of the reps without problem.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Today's food / last night dinner
Breakfast:
1 cup plain soy milk mixed with 1 tsp cocoa powder & 1/2 tsp sugar
Man I am addicted to this!! can't beat that. Better than those chocolate milk mix packages - those are full of sugar crap.
1 large banana - my last banana stash, gotta get more
2 slices of homemade whole wheat bread with peanut butter - I have weakness with peanut butter, especially if eaten on a nice toasted bread..yummy! But I gotta watch the portion
Before lunch snack:
Mixed dried fruits (raisins, cranberries, apricots) & 3 pieces of wheat crackers - all fit in this 1.25 cups Snapware® container
But I didn't finish the whole thing.
Lunch:
White rice
1 1/2 steamed chicken meatball - last ones
2 pot stickers
steamed broccoli - dunno how much
But everything fits in this small pyrex container.
Dinner:
TBA
Last night dinner:
Steamed broccoli with 2 pieces of steamed chicken meatballs, left over vegetable soup from the night before.
1 cup plain soy milk mixed with 1 tsp cocoa powder & 1/2 tsp sugar
Man I am addicted to this!! can't beat that. Better than those chocolate milk mix packages - those are full of sugar crap.
1 large banana - my last banana stash, gotta get more
2 slices of homemade whole wheat bread with peanut butter - I have weakness with peanut butter, especially if eaten on a nice toasted bread..yummy! But I gotta watch the portion
Before lunch snack:
Mixed dried fruits (raisins, cranberries, apricots) & 3 pieces of wheat crackers - all fit in this 1.25 cups Snapware® container
But I didn't finish the whole thing.
Lunch:
White rice
1 1/2 steamed chicken meatball - last ones
2 pot stickers
steamed broccoli - dunno how much
But everything fits in this small pyrex container.
Dinner:
TBA
Last night dinner:
Steamed broccoli with 2 pieces of steamed chicken meatballs, left over vegetable soup from the night before.
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 32 - Yoga X
I felt good doing Yoga this morning and I actually sweat A LOT as if I've been doing cardio for an hour. I could feel my sweat dripping down from my forehead to my cheek and even dripped some on the wood floor. Sounds kinda gross, but it's actually good to sweat a lot. Sweat releases toxins from the body.
K complemented me for most of my Yoga poses, saying that I looked pretty close to Tony's minions. But I still can't do Half moon poses, crane and Torso. This will be my ultimate goal.
K complemented me for most of my Yoga poses, saying that I looked pretty close to Tony's minions. But I still can't do Half moon poses, crane and Torso. This will be my ultimate goal.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Ab Ripper X
Just finished the entire Ab Ripper X workout. Broke some sweat, makes me feel good. I tell myself not to get up too late ever.
Today's menu / last night dinner
I made a whole wheat bread last night but didn't get a chance to slice it today for my Peanut butter whole wheat toast - as you know I started up the workout quite late.
So I just grabbed one of the Asian bakery bread bun (white bread w/ filling - gotta reduce this intake).
As for my recovery drink, didn't quite have one but more like recovery meal
1 cup soy milk with 1/2 tsp cocoa powder & 1/2 tsp sugar
1 large banana
Breakfast (at work):
1 white bread bun w/ sliver of almonds and peanut filling
1 cup green tea
Lunch
2 steamed chicken meat balls
white rice- about 1/2 cup maybe
some vegetables from soup
1 big apple
Afternoon snack:
1 large banana
Last night dinner:
2-3 bowls of vegetable soup (bok choy, tomatoes in homemade chicken broth)
2 steamed chicken meat balls
2 oranges
So I just grabbed one of the Asian bakery bread bun (white bread w/ filling - gotta reduce this intake).
As for my recovery drink, didn't quite have one but more like recovery meal
1 cup soy milk with 1/2 tsp cocoa powder & 1/2 tsp sugar
1 large banana
Breakfast (at work):
1 white bread bun w/ sliver of almonds and peanut filling
1 cup green tea
Lunch
2 steamed chicken meat balls
white rice- about 1/2 cup maybe
some vegetables from soup
1 big apple
Afternoon snack:
1 large banana
Last night dinner:
2-3 bowls of vegetable soup (bok choy, tomatoes in homemade chicken broth)
2 steamed chicken meat balls
2 oranges
P90X Lean Phase 2: Day 31 - Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Abs
I woke up EXTREMELY LATE today as I slept through my cell phone alarm. I remember I woke up a couple of times last night. The first one maybe sometime before midnight because I was "choking" over my breath, the second time was around 1:40 am and the third time was when my cell phone alarm went off - should have got up.
Chest, Shoulders and Triceps was tough for me as a lot of push up moves. Even though I did them on my knees, it was still a killer. Finally, I could make a good use of my bands. However, majority of my time was just watching the video on how to do the moves. By the time I figured it out, they already moved on to another move. I didn't have the luxury to pause the video to finish my rep so I just moved along.
My right arm was twitching a bit after all those workout. To top it off, both my arms are still a bit sore from push ups in Core Syn. How fun is that.
As the time crunch, I didn't finish Abs until the end. I might want to do the whole abs again tonight after I got back from work, right before dinner.
Chest, Shoulders and Triceps was tough for me as a lot of push up moves. Even though I did them on my knees, it was still a killer. Finally, I could make a good use of my bands. However, majority of my time was just watching the video on how to do the moves. By the time I figured it out, they already moved on to another move. I didn't have the luxury to pause the video to finish my rep so I just moved along.
My right arm was twitching a bit after all those workout. To top it off, both my arms are still a bit sore from push ups in Core Syn. How fun is that.
As the time crunch, I didn't finish Abs until the end. I might want to do the whole abs again tonight after I got back from work, right before dinner.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Before lunch snack
I felt like nibbling something so I reached to my snack box (1.25 cup capacity), which consists of: Cherrios, 2-3 wheat crackers, 4 pieces of dried apricots.
I finished the crackers and the apricots.
I finished the crackers and the apricots.
About yesterday (Sunday Feb 28, 2010)
I was so tired from cleaning the house for the entire day. Felt like I didn't even sit down until dinner time, which was around 7:15 pm.
After I finished Core around 9 am, I showered, had some breakfast then did the first load of laundry (washing the bed sheets & blankets).
I ate lunch around noon then took out the first batch of laundry, did the second batch and started the house cleaning (from wiping the furniture and windows, bottom to upper floors), on and off with the laundry ( had to run the comforter in the dryer twice, made the bed etc). By the time I was done, it was about 4:30 pm which was the time for me to start the dinner.
I decided to make Skinless Chicken Dumplings, which simply mean I made the dumpling filling without the skin. I cut up the whole chicken, skinned it, removed the bones and minced the meat with my butcher knife - what an arm workouts. I made a chicken soup stock from the bones.
I mixed the minced chicken meat with minced shiitake mushrooms, minced dried shrimps, chopped green onions, minced garlic, and chopped cabbages. For the seasoning, I used soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, cooking wine, sugar, brown sugar, and 1 egg. After everything mixed evenly, I shaped into a ball, made only about 6 as my plate can accommodate. I steamed the meatballs roughly around 25 minutes. It turned out pretty good.
After I finished Core around 9 am, I showered, had some breakfast then did the first load of laundry (washing the bed sheets & blankets).
I ate lunch around noon then took out the first batch of laundry, did the second batch and started the house cleaning (from wiping the furniture and windows, bottom to upper floors), on and off with the laundry ( had to run the comforter in the dryer twice, made the bed etc). By the time I was done, it was about 4:30 pm which was the time for me to start the dinner.
I decided to make Skinless Chicken Dumplings, which simply mean I made the dumpling filling without the skin. I cut up the whole chicken, skinned it, removed the bones and minced the meat with my butcher knife - what an arm workouts. I made a chicken soup stock from the bones.
I mixed the minced chicken meat with minced shiitake mushrooms, minced dried shrimps, chopped green onions, minced garlic, and chopped cabbages. For the seasoning, I used soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, cooking wine, sugar, brown sugar, and 1 egg. After everything mixed evenly, I shaped into a ball, made only about 6 as my plate can accommodate. I steamed the meatballs roughly around 25 minutes. It turned out pretty good.
P90X Lean Phase 1: Day 30 - Cardio X
I almost crashed when doing the Jump Shots, man those are energy killers. After a couple of jumps, I started to gasp for my breath and slowed down my movements. Apparently, K seems like to stick around with me doing P90X boot camp, even though he didn't start out exactly from Day 1.
Either way, I'm kinda glad that I have a workout buddy.
Now on to the food part.
Breakfast:
1 cup of plain soy milk with 1/2 tsp cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp sugar
1 large banana
1 red bean bread
1 cup of green tea
Lunch:
White rice
Stir fry dried anchovies with tomatoes - not my favorite lunch food
1 big apple
Afternoon snack:
2 oranges
Dinner:
TBA
Either way, I'm kinda glad that I have a workout buddy.
Now on to the food part.
Breakfast:
1 cup of plain soy milk with 1/2 tsp cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp sugar
1 large banana
1 red bean bread
1 cup of green tea
Lunch:
White rice
Stir fry dried anchovies with tomatoes - not my favorite lunch food
1 big apple
Afternoon snack:
2 oranges
Dinner:
TBA
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