So, here we go!!

Well, here are two firsts for me... 1)trying an at-home workout, 2) blogging about ANYTHING.

If you are reading this, you know that my husband and I started the "Insanity" workout last night, Jan 2, 2012. So, to make this blog more interesting (or, at least, in an attempt to), I'll tell you how this all came about. About six months ago, I saw the infomercial for "Insanity," and thought to myself, "hm...I would DIE!" I did like that it looked kinda like an intense practice session for an actual sport, which made it feel a little more like "home" to me. (For those of you who don't know, I was an athlete ALL of my life until I graduated college in 2007.) This was around the time of my birthday, so my husband offered to buy it for me for my birthday. Upon much consideration (probably more that I should have given), I decided I would join the Y instead. I joined the Y for the summer and loved feeling sore and feeling like I was getting back in a little better shape. Then...the summer ended and working full-time and being a wife and mother left little time to go to the gym, so I let my membership expire (not to mention it is PRICEY).
Fast forward about 6 months: I was laying bed with my husband about a month before Christmas, feeling absolutely disgusted with myself. I hated the way that my belly felt when I layed down certain ways, let alone to let my husband touch it while we snuggled. He, of course, would never say anything, but he didn't sign up for this. He didn't sign up for a jiggly belly and mondo thighs (and not mondo from muscle like they used to be). He just tells me that he can't really tell that I've gained weight, and, ya know, every other thing that a husband feels that he should say. I'm not saying that I think I should be in "college shape" by any means, but this is getting ridiculous. So I told him that maybe we should get a Wii or Xbox Kinnect so I could do some exercise games. We talked it over and over and came up with no real answer.
Christmas morning comes, and my husband has been saying how excited he is about one of my gifts, that I will "have no clue about!! You're going to be so surprised!!" He hands me my last gift (we always save the best for last), and I open it, not sure what to expect from the shipping box that I unwrapped. When I saw the word "insanity," I shreeked with excitement! I was even more excited that he was going to do it with me!! So, we planned to start it the day after the New Year (the Insanity calendar starts on a Monday).
Well, last night was that Monday. With the Insanity program, you start with a "fit test" so you can "track your progress"...I believe it is more so to show you how out of shape you are, and it definitely did that! The fit-test consists of 8 exercises that you do for a minute a piece to see how many you can do. You retake the same fit-test every 2 weeks to show how much you are progressing, so I can't really go anywhere but up! :) We did the fit-test and DIED! It was soo tough, but it was good to feel winded and worn out. Today, my legs feel pretty sore and I can tell a bit in my core, but the second day is always the worst for me, personally. Once my little guy goes to bed tonight, we do "Plyometric Cardio Circut" and I am sure I won't be able to get out of bed in the morning, which will be great for the first day back with students!!

Side-note about the eating plan that comes along with it: I'm supposed to eat 5 times a day, including protein bars and shakes. I do not plan to follow the eating plan completely (meaning, using his recipies), but I will try to stick to it for the most part. Today I had a real serving size of Special K pecan and cinnamon cereal, a protein shake, a grilled chicken salad (probably a bigger serving that Shaun T. would suggest) with buffalo sauce and a little FF Ranch as dressing, pretzels and cantelope for snack, and "healthy" ziti for supper. My biggest issue is portion sizes. I generally cook pretty healthily, but I eat way more than one serving size (as most people do). That's what I plan on focusing more on.

Thank you for following this blog! Please feel free to comment with any encouraging words, questions, or anything else. I don't plan on posting every day, but I hope to do it pretty regularly!