Putting it all out there

Okay, I've been working on transparency. It's hard for me. Well, probably as hard as it is for anyone else. Most people don't want to put their weaknesses "out there" and then shout for people to come look. However, I know I'm inspired by those incredible people, especially women, who are able to put what the world thinks to the side and just go for their dreams, and follow whatever path God leads them down.

Fred and I have started P90X. It's official. We have the DVDs, nutritional guides, fitness guide, equipment, and we've been working out for THREE days. It really is a BIG accomplishment for us. :-) These are intense 1- 1.5 hour workouts. I'm not in good shape. Neither is Fred. And, although we're physically active, we haven't been consistent about daily exercise for a long time. In fact, I haven't worked out regularly since I was in college. And Fred never has. Three days of intense exercise feels gooooood-- it's that good burn that tells you that you're really workin'!

I already feel like I could climb a mountain or beat up a bad guy if he tried to take my purse. I'm feelin' tough. Oh, yeah. (insert manly grunt here) Now, if only I could lift my purse without groaning over my poor aching muscles. You see? Yes, I'm a wimp. I'm working hard, but now I groan with every step. I'm groaning with a smile, though. :-) .... (see? heh heh)

In case you are asking, in your head, why we would do this, I'll go ahead and tell you. First, we want to look good. I won't glaze over the obvious. We want to be in good shape, at our peak physical condition. God gave us bodies to use, and we want to treat ours with the same appreciation and respect as the other things He has given us. If I work hard to use my mind, manage my home, and nurture my children, shouldn't I also take care of my body?

Second, we're doing this together. We've never attempted anything like this together before. If you know Fred at all, you're either open-mouth with shock right now, or you're whooping in the air!! My honey is committing to exercise, train hard, eat right for 90 days. And, even more important, he wants this to be a lifestyle change for him. He really wants to do things he's never been able to do before. He wants to look great. He wants to improve his health. Therefore, he is giving up all doughnuts, sodas (except for the occasional diet one,) candy bars, fried foods. Do you see?? His whole LIFE must change. YAAAAAAAYYY!!! This could save him from an impending heart attack. Really.

Today he ate MY foods with me. Those of you who know me well know that I don't always eat so swell either, so I'm going to kick it up a notch and really seriously eat well now. This isn't a diet, don't get me wrong. It's about health. We're not restricting ourselves, or cutting down calories. In fact, the Phase 1 calls for more calories, although I don't plan to actually start measuring anything.

Okay, I said he ate good food. Wanta know what he had for dinner??? A spinach egg-white frittata! And he loved it!! And for dessert he had a protein strawberry fat-free yogurt smoothie. (I even stuck spinach in there and he was none the wiser.) I'm excited!!

So, if you've made it this far, I'm back to square one. Transparency. We created a site, P90X Journal, to keep a record of our progress. At first I wasn't going to "put it out there" for everyone to see. Why? Because it has our "before" pictures and our measurements (and don't go tripping over yourself to click and see now! heh heh,) and because some people might not understand why we are doing it. And because I'm a wimp and you may hear me go between victory-calls and whimpering much of the time. So there you have it. If you think you can handle all that, and you want to watch and hopefully get inspired, then click on over. We can use all the encouragement we can get! The more the merrier. Please tell me if you decide to jump on the P90X bandwagon. :-)

Thanks, my dear friends!!