P90X, Shakeology, and my niche

I've been plugging away the last few months, same as normal. But the scale edged upward and I couldn't figure out why. I cleaned up my diet, increased my workouts, increased my lifting days, and increased my weights. Last week, I think I figured it out. With all those increases, I never increased my calorie intake. Most days, I was somewhere around a 1000 calorie deficit. If I wasn't tracking, usually my diet was less than healthy. I think my deficit was too big most of the time, so my body was holding onto fat. Then when I had a higher calorie day, my body held onto that too. Not fun. So I've increased my calories and low and behold, the scale has leveled off. Once a certain visitor disappears and I'm not so sore, I think it will start going back down. Oh, I do believe some of it is muscle, since my clothes still mostly fit well. I am more concerned with size and shape than weight at this point.

In case my body has become too accustomed to my beloved TurboFire/Kick/Jam and ChaLEAN Extreme, I also decided to switch up my workouts, in hopes that it'll help burn off the remaining belly fat I have and I'll get the lean, toned look I would so love to have. After toying with the idea forever, I decided I'm doing P90X. So I started it last Monday. I was a little scared, to be honest. Everyone talks about how hard it is and I had it built up in my head as the gold standard of home workouts. But I not only survived week one, I crushed it. I mean, I'm still feeling my way through it, but I pushed hard through it and never once did I think I was going to die. Obviously, I'm in better shape than I've given myself credit for. But it's a change and I am pretty sore, so I believe it's working. Even with all the muscle soreness, the scale is level again. That's a nice thing to see, especially after a slow but steady gain. I have this sense of accomplishment and like I can conquer the world. I faced this scary thing and I conquered it. I love it. :)

I also started drinking Shakeology last week. I was skeptical. But at the same time, I believe that Beachbody fully researches their fitness programs and they have quality products. So even before beginning Shakeology, I believed it was the best shake out there. But there were big claims about it. It helps you lose/maintain your weight, fewer colds, it cuts cravings, it lowers cholesterol, it makes your hair and nails stronger and healthier, it helps with symptoms of IBS, fibromyalgia, and other stomach/digestion issues, etc. But with my frustration with the scale and my curiosity up (especially since I have issues with IBS, bloating, and stomach acid), I decided it was time to try it. I tried the Tropical Strawberry. It's good but tastes like something I can't quite put my finger on. It is a little gritty, but apparently using a blender instead of a shaker cup solves that issue and that's because it's vegan. But overall, it's pretty good. I'm still switching to chocolate next month because I hate cleaning our blender, lol. Here's the thing. Day two we had small group. There was a chocolate peanut butter cake. I had a piece. It was delicious. But I was satisfied and didn't want more. I didn't want a cookie either. It's day eleven now. My period started. Normally by now I've been craving everything under the sun. And I've noticed that if I give into a sweet craving, then I want salty, then sweet again, and it continues. I haven't had any strong cravings this week. None. My favorite Cadbury mini eggs are open on the counter and I haven't had any. No cravings for sweets, salty things, or anything deep-fried. Absolutely remarkable. Now, this might be due in part to my increased calorie intake. But I am amazed. I haven't noticed any other benefits yet but it's only been a week and a half. The scale hasn't really gone down either, but with the combo of my period and a new program and muscle soreness, that's not surprising. So we'll see.

Oh, I should add: I'm drinking it as a snack and a supplement. I'm still eating three meals a day of good, whole, healthy food. I do not think meal replacement shakes are a good idea. In what other country is there an excess of food and a problem with obesity, and people think the solution is not to give up crappy food but to give up solid food in favor of a "nutrition" shake? I mean, really, people. You won't give up McDonald's and pop and candy and junk but you will stop eating solid food altogether? And what happens when you don't have money to buy the shake or you decide you want to take in calories you can actually chew? You regain the weight and usually a little more. Most shakes don't have the nutrition to be worth the money they cost and won't do jack for you in terms of health. Eat healthy, nutritious, whole foods. If you think you could use it, add a nutritious shake as a supplement to fill in the gaps. How will you know if it's actually worthwhile? You'll probably be more satisfied and have fewer cravings. How do you know if the shake is a scam? They recommend drinking their shake more than they recommend eating a whole, balanced diet. If they recommend drinking their shake for two meals a day and only one actual meal? Run. I feel I should mention here that I did try one of the other shakes as a meal replacement several years back. I still had cravings. I plateaued, about 25 lbs over what's considered healthy for my height. I didn't notice any health benefits. The only thing that was noticeably thinner was my wallet. I lost more weight and gained more health eating real food and counting calories than I ever did drinking some shake. Bottom line: if you must, use a shake as a supplement, not as a meal. But check the nutrition label first. If the shake only has nutrients you could easily get in real food, don't waste your money. Buy the food instead.

My class. Sigh. It fizzled and died after Christmas break. I am disappointed. I'm trying my best to look into other options and believe something better is coming or the timing was wrong or something. Probably the most frustrating part is that there is now a competing TK class in town that has a huge following but it's just atrocious. Poor form, no cuing (which means even worse form in the participants), the count was off, etc. It was TK Zumbafied. Not good. And I can guarantee not a person there is a true Turbo lover. They're just groupies of the instructor. So I'm still looking for my niche. I will find it and I will be awesome in it. I feel like I'm in the right area but I just haven't found quite the right spot yet. It's coming, I know it. Honestly, the timing would be better once the kids are in school and I have more time to devote to my pursuits. For the time being, P90X fills my need for a project and feeling like I'm challenged and doing something worth-while.