Day 90

Workout @ Patrick's studio.
I didn't know about Day 90 workout menu. I didn't receive the email before I leave home so I know nothing about it.
Ah  how far I came in 90 days ! How much strength I gain !!!
Looking back the first week, I was so out of breath by jumping just 300 or so. I got sore muscles from only 4 sets of squats.
I would like to thank my friend Yukiko for recommending this program to me in May.
If I didn't start in June, I wasn't here now.

Patrick took some pictures of me in old pants, new dress and Patrick and me.

What I see in these two pictures is not only the difference in abs and arms, but also the confidence in the posture and in my face.

I always wanted do this pose looking at every one's photos.

My old pants are too big now.

I love my new dress I bought in NYC !!

Still hard to believe we came to Day 90.

I love steamed veggies, fruits and yogurt so much. I really love PCP food. I don't know if I can adjust my appetite in the real world.

I need some time to write the final post. I am still confused.
I had chicken curry at my favorite restaurant for lunch. I used to like this curry so much but it was not as good as it used be. It was salty and I couldn't finish it.
I went home and steamed veggies. I was sooooo happy to have veggies ready for my meals !!

For dinner I went out to the beach to celebrate the last day for the beach house this summer.
They had BBQ and Sangria. There was some pasta salad but no veggies. I was so sad. To me the meal is incomplete without veggies.
I had beer. Because that's I missed so much.
I spent this hot summer without beer, I really don't need it.



Live music was good, jumbe drumming, dancing, lots of friends, lots of fun. My friends celebrated me for finishing the program so I was very happy. I can't live without friends and music, that's for sure.


I will write something later, but I really want to thank Patrick for his patience, support and encouragement. "You're underestimating your ability." stays in my mind forever.
Whenever I think that I can't do this, I will remember your word.
Thank you Patrick !!

Thank you Team Sexaaay!
Thank you all the PCPers !!

I will be back when I put my thought together...

Day 89

Did yoga @ beach this morning.
And went Stand up paddling with my friend Kossie.
The sea was a bit choppy and we had head wind. I had to paddle hard, didn't have easiness to chat while paddling. Stand up paddling requires all the muscles. I am so glad that I've been working hard.
We paddled to the island, put our paddle board on the island, we jumped in the water, went snorkeling.
Water was perfect. Not cold, not too warm. And I felt something stung my arm, ah, jelly fish !!!
I saw 2 of them swim away.

Kossie caught an abal*ne and an oct*pus. He is a kind of guy who won't starve without money.  Paddling back was fast.
Sashimi was sooooo goooood. It was hot, I was thirsty and I had BEER !!!

I took nap and did my workout in the evening.
Davinci and forward shoulder raise were hard, I became failure every set.
And somewhat today's plank was harder than yesterday.


PCP is powerful.
When I felt that I don't have social life because of food we can eat, I could have quit the program.
When I really did not want to spend 1 hour for workout, I could have quit the program.
But I didn't.
Because I really want to finish 90 day program with my team mate.

I used to wear size S or  size 2 pants when my weight was 6 kg less than now. I tried those pants today. Mysteriously they fit me !!
Why?
I weigh more but I am almost slim as 3 years ago ?

What I was doing 3 years ago was just running 20~25 km on week end. Ran the race twice a year. Exhausted and I drank beer, ate whatever I like.
I never really liked running. Trail running was hard. I knew it's not something I want to keep doing.

PCP is different. This is life long thing. This is what I will do until the day I die. Eat healthy, exercise everyday, sleep well.

Day88

I checked the fitness studio near my house. This place is only for women. I think the target customer is house wives.
The lady at the studio explained that what they are doing is called circuit training. There were about 10 machines and between machines are maybe 90cm x 90cm board for cardiovascular exercises. Machines are not the kind of heavy duty ones at the gym. They are oil pressure machine so that they are safe.
40 seconds at each board and machine and one round is about 12 minutes. Stretching and 2 round will be about 30 minutes and that's enough for women to lose weight and gain muscles.
That was the explanation I got.
Well 40 seconds....... doing 9 minutes jumping and plank to failure, I don't think this place is good enough for me. To become a member you pay Y10,000 and Y62,00 per month. I think it is not worth the money.

I came home I did my workout.
I like the super sets. I did 3 sets of pull down and standing ovation without rest. Those are kind of easy exercises for me.
I challenged (partial)1 leg plank !

I saw The Bourne Supremacy on DVD, I didn't get to see to the end in the airplane coming back from NY so I wanted to finish it. I love the scene of car chasing.

Yoga tomorrow morning then Stand up paddle with friend.
Weekend !!!!!

Day 87

Thank you everyone who kicked my ass and gave me warm messages for my posts.

I've been teaching at International School for 25 years.
Every year is different.
Today a boy cried in my Gr.6 class. I took him to the principal's office after class.
I wish to be able to teach Japanese without interruption, but there are always other things to deal with especially with younger kids.
So much to be done this week and the next Tuesday is Back to School Night.


I did my workout. As my body gets warm up I found myself not coughing. Interesting.
Today's shoulder exercises were hard. Especially the combination of davinci and forward shoulder raise was hard.

Woooo 3 more days!!

Day 86

Sore throat is gone but I was coughing all day today.

I did Day 86 workout. Full version.
I wanted to get rid of my cough by sweating.
It worked. I feel much better.

V-sit & Plank super set was a killer !!
Actually I was surprised that I can do planks better than V-sits.

4 more days, really?

I've been thinking a lot of things. Jenny's post made me think about why I am here. Why I chose to do PCP?   But I will write about it some other time.

Good night.

Day 85 Kick my ass, please !

Last night I did the jumping.
But I did only half of the workout, mostly 3 sets in stead of 5 or 6. I am still sick.
I don't want to do less sets. I wish I could push myself to the limit this week. But at the same time I can't get sick now. I don't want to take sick day off from school in the beginning of the school year.
When I have a cold I tend to develop bronchites.
Teaching job requires a lot of talking in a loud voice. When you teach Gr.6 beginner, you have to talk.
Take my energy away. If you're not in a good shape, kids won't listen to you. So I can't to come to school being tired.

I have lost 1 kg just over the couple of days. Did I loose my muscle?

I will do my Day 86 workout full version tonight. Kick my ass, please !!

Day 84

I tried to jump but after 100 or so, I gave up with sore knee.
Yes in addition to my sore throat, I have a sore knee.
So I am going to bed at 8:11 p.m.

If I can get up early and feel better, I will jump tomorrow morning.

I don't want to skip jumping. I really don't want to.
But I feel so weak today. I am getting sick.
The only thing I can do now is to sleep.
So good night baby!

Day 83 sore throat

Yoga this morning @ beach.
Nice breeze.



Workout went well.

Using air conditioner all day long.  I sweat so much when doing workout even in an air conditioned room.

Took shower, ate my lunch, read everyone's post, took nap.

I woke up with sore throat.

No, no, no, not now.

School has just started.
I can't have a cold.

I'm going to bed now.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Day 82 part 2

Today's jumping went very well.
It is probably because I had enough sleep.
Workout was also good.
Longer plank x 4 went well, too.

SLEEP makes a huge difference.

Day 82 My fridge

Look at Milk carton, cottage cheese (next to cherry tomatoes ), yogurt  ( behind a bell pepper ) are so small in Japan !!

Day 81

Friday !!
First week is done.
I taught 3 double ( 90 min ) classes today. I'm exhausted.

I took a nap before workout.

Again I kept saying "I want to quit."during the workout.
Yes Tara, it's lake Mantra. I have to say it to get me going.
I was angry that Jumping takes 21 min without rest time and the workout altogether takes 1 hour.
I want to sleep, sleep, sleep.

I wanted to take my dog for a walk, have a beer and a pizza at the beach in stead of workout.
Go to bed before 9:00 p.m.
But now it is already 10:54 now.
I have to take my dog for a walk when it's still cool that is before 6:00 am.

All I want is 10 hour sleep.

Food is ok.
But I can't eat all my carbs.
I had extra fruits.

Day80

I overslept this morning. I have to wake up at 5:00 but I woke up at 5:40.


This morning I met my tutor group. Gr.9 students, freshmen at High School.
A lot to cover in 1 hour 40 minutes.
Hand out schedules, permission slips, go over school rules, regulations, expectations, etc.
I kept talking non stop.
Then after the recess we had Secondary School assembly. The auditorium is 5 minute walk from the main building. We have to go through the park. It is a nice park but it wasn't a pleasant walk because of the heat.
By lunch time I used all my energy for today.

I did my grocery shopping on my way home, when I got home I started steaming veggies.

I was not enthusiastic about workout today.
I kept saying "I want to quit!" "I want to quit!" "I want to quit!"
I finished workout at 7:35, took shower, took my dog for a walk.  I felt a pain in my shoulder. All those shoulder exercises hurt my right shoulder.
Dinner was at 9:00, it's late. I want to eat earlier. But I wanted finish the workout before I eat.

I am so glad I did most of PCP during my holiday. I don't think I could do the whole program when I have school everyday. I can manage 10 more days.
I admire everyone doing this program while working full time or raising kid(s).

OK, it's friday tomorrow.

Day 79

At the staff meeting there were free beer, wine, soft drinks.
And

So much food at 3:30 p.m.
I had some veggies and a kabob. I couldn't eat all the bread for my lunch and I wasn't really hungry. I don't know why I had a kabob. Free food is dangerous. I can resist cakes and cookies now.

I was tired from last night so that I took nap after I got home.
It was real challenge for me to do today's workout. I was really tired. But I did.

Students will be back tomorrow. I will meet my HR students tomorrow.
I'd better go to bed.

Day 78 Birthday & Indulgence

I was in my classroom preparing for classes, bunch of people, former students, my colleagues came in singing "Happy Birthday".

And one of my favorite students who just graduated this June gave me this card. I was sooooo happy.

Getting old is not so bad and actually I feel so young!!

Workout today was a hardcore as Patrick said. It was extremely hot today and jumping for 7 minutes was almost suicide to me. The 1st set went well but the 2nd and the 3rd set was disaster. I tripped so many times and was out of breath. Did the Day 83 workout because I don't have a pull up bar at home.

After the jump was bang, bang, bang as usual no break or what so ever. I was sweating throughout the workout. It felt almost unreal and felt dizzy that I couldn't count right. When finished the last set of bicycle, I was soooooo happy!!!

Thank you Patrick for great workout. I saw you sweating today!! It really was hot.

I bought ice coffee and cherry pie at Starbucks. I had after workout egg white and yogurt.

Then I ate cherry pie that I really wanted to eat for my last indulgence. It was good with ice coffee.

I went home, took shower then I had my real indulgence at  the beach house "Matsu (means pine tree in Japanese)" with my friends.

I had

Beer, white wine and strawberry cocktail 

We shared

Pumpkin gratin, marinated tuna with veggies, egg plant paste with bread, zucchini and anchovy pizza.

The waitress sang "Happy Birthday" each time she served dishes. And my friend, photographer  bought  me a glass of strawberry cocktail with a chocolate covered strawberry.

Was the best indulgence ever !!!

I had a real good time with friends. 

Day77 Back To Work !

All these food were on the table at staff meeting this morning.
Of course I didn't have any of them. But I used to eat them without any hesitation. They are so tiny, easy to eat without feeling guilty.
No wonder I gained weight. Free food right there at work !

I packed my morning snack and lunch this morning.
I had boiled egg white and fruits at 10:00 a.m. and I was hungry at 11:00 a.m. already.
Ah school makes me hungry !!!
I couldn't wait any longer so I had lunch at 11:30 a.m.
It was so nice to be able to eat lunch with someone. I ate most of my meals alone this summer.

Some of alumni came to visit and chat with us. That's nice. They are still sweet and cute.
Several students who just graduated this June are at school working. One student is taking a gap year and some of them are going to University in New Zealand or Australia so the school year won't start until January.

I enjoyed summer vacation but when I see my students, I am reminded how much I enjoy being with them. I really love my students. I am so lucky to have wonderful kids.


Jumping for 7 minutes went OK. Not easy though.
I am going to have a birthday workout @ Yokohama studio tomorrow!!!!

Day 76

My friend who is a sea kayaker and a member of the Trail Running Club had an accident a year ago.
He is an experienced kayaker but that day the swell from the typhoon hit his kayak when he approached the shore.
He's on a wheelchair now. Took him for 8 months to go back to work.
He's in a good spirit at least he appears so in his blog.

We ran together, ran the races, went kayaking and paddled a kayak marathon.
He likes to cock something delicious with his dutch oven.
He loves his family.
Everyone likes him and respects him.
When we heard about his accident, we all couldn't believe it.
Why him??

He emailed me to invite me to the party to celebrate one year.

So decided to go.

It requires some courage. Thinking about meeting some people would ignore me made me sick.
I had an upset stomach.

After I did my workout and I felt better.


Update:

I came home.
Glad my friend  looked well.
Talked to several people to catch up. That was nice.
Still the same people did not talk to me, they even didn't looked at my way.
Tough.
I pulled all my courage to show up and I couldn't break the ice.
It's a huge iceberg.
All I could do is turn around and leave so that I won't crush and sink.


I am sorry this post is very unpleasant, gloomy one.
This is the first time I felt this gloomy since PCP started.

Back to work tomorrow.

Day75

Today's workout menu looked exactly like Day 72 but ......

90 second plank ......  what ?   5 sets ?!!!
When you look carefully, more reps, sometimes it says "failure" or more sets.
15 more days means that it gets harder, I suppose.
But the plank will stay 90 seconds, right?

Food-wise, I'm eating a lot. I feel like I am eating all the time.
And I don't have any cravings.
How much food can be 1000 kcal ?
I wanted to have dinner at Italian restaurant near my house for my birthday but it is closed... : (
I am very sure that I am going to have a piece of cherry tart.



I visited my friends' house on my way home from the walk.
Pikkorik always stays with this family when I'm away and she loves them.
I brought some beer.
They gave me a birthday present since they will be away next week.

and
I had BEER.....
just one beer. I didn't eat the crackers they offered.

then I went home and ate my dinner at home.

Day 74

Forward shoulder raise and shoulder fly were so hard. Chicken wing was OK.
My shoulders are sore.
I tried  "keep a little space between the back of the knee and your calf to make the Creep a real killer."
After 2 steps, I gave up. Well I shouldn't give up but I was afraid that I will not be able to walk normally afterwards.

It is OBON week in Japan. Many people take summer vacation this time of the year. It is crowded everywhere.
I went to my favorite bakery to buy my favorite bread and then I did my grocery shopping.
Other than that I just stayed home, doing my workout, reading book, reading everyone's post and I took nap. The beach is also crowded when I walked my dog in the morning and in the evening.
Some live music was going on at several beach houses. I used to enjoy the music there but not this year.
Since I don't drink this summer I kind of lost interest. I'd rather stay home quietly.
It is not just PCP diet, maybe I am tired of socializing... it worries me a bit. Because I feel like I am isolated from people and people might forget about me and when I want to be with people, there might not anyone out there who wants to be with me.
Am I going to spend  lonely old days ????

But I really enjoy being by myself now.
I like being home with my dog.
Prepare my meal, weigh them, eat them, do my workout, write my post, read everyone's post...
Summer holiday is almost over.
Back to School, back to work on Monday.

Day 73

Day 72 workout today with Patrick.

Patrick told me not to put arms all the way back when doing the standing ovation, since when the arms were in the back there weren't any tension to them.
So it's harder to do them in smaller arch.
And Patrick decided  my band is not strong enough for me, so he let me use his band.
OMG !! It was extremely hard !!!
I felt like that my whole body will be pulled back !!
And if I lean forward so that I won't be pulled back,
he says "Don't lean."
So I really had to stand firm.
My arms were shaking and I found it difficult to lift my arm to take the band off from the sliding door.

Leg up was done differently.
Patrick brought a bench and every other set, lay down on the bench and lower the legs all the way down.
This was hard. By the end of the 3rd time I did this bench leg up, my abs gave up and I could not pull the legs all the way up.

After that killer leg up was of course the demonic 90 seconds plunk!!
Actually I don't dislike plunk but it was a torture today.
I just couldn't believe why my body is trying so hard when I am suffering so much.
Am I enjoying the pain????
When it gets to the 4th set finally, Patrick was standing on his head and says "If your are bored, you should try this." then he did one arm plunk, one leg plunk and so on. That made me laugh when poor my abs trying so hard to keep my body straight !!!
However I felt the 4th set shorter than other sets thanking to Patrick's entertainment.

Jumping was the last today because the Kung-Fu Body people are coming at the end of my session.
I was already pretty tired from the workout so the 1st 6 minutes was tiring.
When I finished my 1st set, we introduced each other.
Sean said that PCP was the best thing in his life.  It was my honor to meet PCP graduates and present KFBers.
I just realized that the other lady was Jessica, I didn't get to talk to her... oh no!  I was worn out  ... not intended to be rude.

Did the 3rd 6 min. jumps with everyone.
Everyone else is jumping ultra fast, double, etc.... I felt like a freshman among the seniors in HS.

When I was ready to leave, every one was kicking so high in the air.

Wow.... KFB is a hardcore and looking cool !

Next Yokohama session is on 17th, my birthday.
PCP workout w/Patrick  is the birthday present that I give to myself !

17 more days to go !

Day 72

According to Patrick's email we use calories just getting an apple, chewing apple and digesting apple.

"Total calorie expenditure to eat a 80 calorie apple is 90 calories! "  


Well, last night I was preparing my dinner, today's breakfast and lunch in the kitchen. Boiling eggs, grilling salmon, cutting veggies, steaming veggies, weighing veggies and putting them in containers.
My kitchen was hot with all that boiling, steaming and grilling and I was so busy doing 3 things at the same time. I think to prepare PCP meals, we use so much calories!!


I ate half of my lunch at the reception after the workshop when they gave us our certificates. And I ate the other half in the train. I sat in a Green Car. It costs extra money but worth the money. You have a small table and reclining seat. It is 1 hour trip from Shinagawa to Zushi. I finished my lunch, read a book and slept for 20 minutes.


I did Day 73 workout today because I am doing the Day 72 with Patrick tomorrow.
5 sets x failure of Triceps extension and 60 seconds bicycle were hard. My arms were shaking and my thighs were burning. Jumping and workout took 57 minutes today. 


OK, I can't keep my eyes open, I have to sleep now, Good night.

Day 71

Today was the second day of the workshop in Tokyo.
Interesting lectures about my favorite authors, Banana Yoshimoto and Haruki  Murakami.
Intellectually stimulating. Nice change from relaxing summer holiday. Good to have preliminary drill before school starts.

I brought more veggies for lunch as I was hungry yesterday. But couldn't finish bread. I had those 2 slices bread and half of apple ( it's extra food ) in a green car from Shinagawa to Zushi (my station).



Did my workout at 8:00 pm before dinner. Jumping went well. Workout done in 57 minutes.

I just finished my dinner. It's late.

I read everyone's posts but didn't have energy to write comments.

When I am tired, I can't write English. I can't think in English, even in Japanese. My brain just can't work anymore.
NEMUI !!!!!

One more day in Tokyo.

Day 70 Workshop in Tokyo

I am so sleepy so this is going to be very short post.
I went to Temple University in Tokyo to attend the International Baccalaureate Language Teachers' workshop.
I hate sitting down and listening to the lecture for long time. Makes me very tired. And my colleague who was supposed to attend the workshop with me didn't come. She's sick home when I called her.
Morning session was good. Some discussions and presentations made me awake and focused.
They served lunch. But I ate my lunch I brought with me. Good. There were cup cakes and brownies but of course I ignored them.
In the afternoon was hard. Just listening to the lecture, and it is probably not really helpful information for my teaching. This made me think that I shouldn't make my students feel this way.
As soon as the lecture finished at 4:30, I left.

I got home 7:00, walked my dog, did jumping.
Jumping 6 minutes was a little harder than 5 minutes but I managed 3 sets.

Took shower, ate dinner.
I'm going to bed.
I have to go to Tokyo tomorrow, too.

Day 69

When I was walking the beach with my dog, my friend saw me from "Umigoya" bar and came to talk to me.
He's a member of the trail running club I used to run with. We ran our first trail race 2007 and that was 15 km. He continued to run intensively and gradually he became interested in Ultra marathon races.
He told me that he is going to run the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc this summer.
It is an outrageously challenging race. Below is the paragraph from Wikipedia.

The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (also referred to as UTMB) is a mountain ultramarathon. It takes place once a year in the Alps, across France, Italy and Switzerland. The distance is approximately 166 km, with a total elevation gain of around 9,400 m. The race is run in one leg. Some believe that it is the most difficult foot race in Europe.

While the best trailers complete the loop in slightly more than 20 hours, most runners take 30 to 45 hours to reach the finish line. There is no prize money awarded. 

My friend's challenge inspired me to work hard. I did today's workout in 55 minutes. Good work !

I'm going to attend 3 day workshop in Tokyo from tomorrow. I have to get up early. 

Good night !

Day 68 Ocean Day !

Yoga @ beach at 7:00 am.
Then breakfast @ beach house "Umigoya"
After breakfast I went stand up paddling with my beach friend, Kossie.
He sells wet suit, windsurf board, stand up board, etc.
I got to know him @ "Umigoya" last summer.
He does all kinds of ocean sports and is good at them.
Stand up board is large so pretty stable and you can also surf.
We paddle to the island. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the island.
I felt my legs, abs, shoulders, arms, all my muscles were working hard.
Thanks to PCP workout, I paddled without any difficulties.
When we get to the island, we put our boards on the island and went swimming.
I saw a spoon next to the paddle, so I asked Kossie
"Why do you have a spoon ?"
"Just in case. If I'm lucky"

Water was clear and warm.
It was so nice to swim there. So refreshing. No jelly fish.
No one was there !!!
I just float for a while.
Kossie was diving  under water searching for something.
And he got  an aba*one !!!!
Big one !
It did not fit in his pocket.
But I had a Patagonia hat that has a secret pocket inside !!
Paddling back was quicker.
And we had "aba*one" sashimi @ beach house "Umigoya" with some friends.
I bought Kossie a beer for catching abal*ne for us,  I had sparkling water.
It would have been nice to have a beer with sashimi but I have a strong will power now.


I did my workout after a nap.
Jumping is much better.
5 minutes is not desperately long any more.
I did the push ups with my knees down.
Plank was a killer.
This is the hardest one. Really hard !!! Insanely hard!!!!!
Towards the end of 90 seconds, I kept telling me that
"Oh my God, I can't do this, I can't do this."
When finished, I couldn't move for a while.

It was a good day.

Day 67

Walked my dog first thing in the morning.
Did the workout before breakfast.
Jumping 5 minutes is not as painful as it used to be.
Squats are fine but pistol squats are the killer. I'm having difficulty with pulling my leg straight.
Shoulder's exercises are fine. V-sit, side crunch are better than plank, so I'm not complaining.
It took me 57 minutes to finish today's workout. Not bad.

I felt like eating whole morning.
Boiled egg white and yogurt after workout, breakfast, morning snack.  A lot of food.

It was very hot during the day.
I walked to the post office and the supermarket to buy eggs.
The heat on the road is like you can cook eggs on a manhole.

I took a nap, I slept through the alarm clock, it was 7:00 pm when I woke up.
I bet I was tired.
Went to the beach to walk my dog, saw some friends at the beach bar and we talked about fish you can catch now. He said he goes fishing in his kayak and catch tuna !!!  Mmmm I have a kayak, should I go fishing to catch my lunch and dinner protein?? That would be nice.

I'm sleepy again. I should go to bed. I am planning to do Yoga tomorrow morning at the beach.
Then Stand Up Paddling with my beach friend.

Day 66 Great workout !

Workout in Yokohama today.
Patrick, Kazue san and I did the workout together.
First of all, Patrick said "Aim for 50 minutes"
"Ah, it took 1 hour 8 minutes yesterday and I wasn't moving slow... I think."
Well if Patrick says 50 minutes, it has to be 50 minutes.
The floor of the studio is much better than my house for jumping.
3 adults jumping together is something. Patrick is jumping ultra fast, double, moving left to right, Kazue san is skipping and I am the most boring jumper because if I try something different I trip.
Between 5 minutes jump was like 30 seconds or something. That's not really enough to catch my breath but I did.
After jumping, it was bang, bang, bang ! Going very quickly one after another.
At home I am still doing incline pull-up however at the studio I challenge proper pull-up. The thing is I can't pull myself up without help.
Elevated triceps dip was very very hard. To do this 6 sets was very challenging. Towards the end of 5th and 6th set, I felt the muscle failure.
I can't do Kung-fu sit up properly. Kazue san's legs touched the bar! All I could do was to pull my legs up to my waist high. Of course Patrick was doing just like a orangutan !!
Bicycle was a torture ! I barely keep the feet up from the floor.
When finished 5th set, it was 48 minutes !!

It was very intense but great workout.
Thank you, Patrick and Kazue san.

I bought a tall ice coffee @ Starbucks and had my after workout boiled egg white, yogurt and my lunch in my car.
I had an appointment at beauty salon to have my pedicure done.

In the evening at the beach.
It's hot during the day and it gets cooler in the evening. The sky was beautiful.
It is very unusual to be able to see Mt. Fuji so often in summer.
We are not getting Typhoons this year, I am not complaining but it is wired.

24 more days, I want to loose weight ( fat ) !!!!!!

Day 65 Tokyo

Workout in the morning before breakfast.
It took me 1 hour 8 minutes today.
Patrick's email said that we should aim for muscle failure.
But at the end of last set of "standing ovation""curl""outside curl", I did not feel "muscle failure" so I tried more. I couldn't feel the failure even after 50.
I'm doing wrong or I should buy a new band?
90 seconds "plank" was very very hard. Towards the end of the 4th set, I was trembling, sweating, feeling pain, so close to crash.

I went to Tokyo. It took 1 hour 40 minutes from my place to Omotesando where I met my friend.
It's been 16 years or more since the last time I saw her.
We first met at the driving school. We were both taking the course for  400 cc motorcycle.  She was still undergraduate back then and I was teaching at American School In Japan.  After we got our licenses, we went on motorcycle touring together. She graduated, became an architect.

We just talked and talked, a lot of things ( good and bad ) had happened to our life, so much to catch up.
She's married, has one kid, still rides motorcycle. I sold mine this spring.  Maybe I will ride again.


Lunch was at Vegetarian cafe. Brown rice and a lot of veggies, miso soup, a bit salty for me. I missed protein for lunch.
By the time I got on the but to go home, I was starving and I had to have a bite of bread that I bought at the bakery in Tokyo...... well I know no carbs for afternoon snack but I was desperate. As soon as I got home I ate my chicken in the fridge.

For dinner I had tuna sashimi with avocado and lots of steamed veggies, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper with yogurt. ( Yogurt suppose to be evening snack but I really like my veggies with yogurt )

My diet was not perfect but I hope it's OK.

Day 64 Morning Dip

At 6:30, Sunny morning, I walked in the shade @ beach with my dog, Pikkorik.
Dog friends were there at the hill. Elli, Black labrador  and Lila, Golden retriever.
Both of them are good friend of Pikkorik, Yellow labrador. They are much younger than Pikkorik, so they are playful. Pikkorik ( she's 12 years old ) does not play so much any more.
But when surrounded by younger dogs, she seems to get a little more energetic.
She went in to the sea and swam a little bit. She likes to be in the water when it's hot to cool down.
But swimming is maybe for the first time in these past 2 years.
Of course the other two also went in to the water and Lila rolled over on the sand !!
It was soo nice to see  Pikkorik in good spirit.

Swimming means that I need to shampoo her !
And after shampoo, she sheds so that I need to vacuum clean.
Thanks God that I am on summer vacation. I have time to do all these.
Both shampooing and vacuum cleaning give me a lower back pain. So I was extra careful about my posture.


I did Day 64 workout before lunch.
5 minutes jump is OK. Much better than the first time I jumped 4 min.
But todays strength exercises were very hard.
Especially legs. The combination of lunge, Pistol squat and floor jump is really challenging.
It took more than 1 hour today. The most challenging menu for me. I am exhausted.

I am happy with new dinner menu.  I am looking forward to protein, AMAYW veggies, fruit for evening snack.
I've been eating a lot of avocado and cottage cheese. I love all kinds of cheese but I gave them up. So cottage cheese is the only one I am enjoying now. And I have half of avocado for breakfast and lunch everyday. But since lunch veggie is AMAYW, I tend to have more avocado. Avocado has vitamin C, E, B6 and Potaccium. But high in calorie, 50 kcal for 30g. Soooo I have to limit the amount.
Only 26 more days to go. I should stick with the diet and workout menu to get the most out of the program.

 Go Team SEXAAAAY!!

Day 63

Jumping day !
5 minutes was not as bad as I thought it would be. Actually I am surprise that it went fast.

I went grocery shopping and bought so much food. I brought 2 bags for my shopping. One of them is a large size cooler bag and the other is an eco bag. Both of them are full with fruits, veggies, milk, yogurt and were quite heavy. But as I wrote the other day, my shopping is very quick. Saving a lot of time.

I ate out almost every night last summer and spent at least 1000 yen for food and 600 yen for beer, sometimes I had more than one beer. This summer I'm not spending money for eating out.  PCP is saving me a lot of money.

Last night I was on my way home from evening walk, I saw my friend and he gave me some vegetables he just got from the field. They were very fresh and shining.


Some of my friend from High School are growing vegetables. They go to the field and take care of them.
They are in Kobe ( which is near Osaka/Kyoto), so I can't help them. It would be nice to grow your own vegetables.

I look around my house and I see so much stuff that I don't need/use. I really want to get rid of them like I want to get rid of fat from my body.
I want to live simple life.

I learned that I can live without beer and desert.
I don't have any craving.
But I need more sleep and I want more fruits.

I'm wondering if I am using to much cottage cheese lately.
I love cottage cheese and avocado on my bread.
How much is the limit ?

Day 62

Went to yoga class @beach this morning.

Yoga teacher took me and yoga class mate to her friends house with a gorgeous view. We saw a lot of Kilim. Some of them are over 100 years old. I enjoyed beautiful colors, such a detailed patterns, it would be nice to hang one on the wall or put on the floor. I liked the one but the price was little high.
We also went to the gallery. There was a back yard like a little forest and there was a table facing the forest. The owner served us some watermelon. I couldn't believe that such a place existed where just 1 minutes away from the main road.
At around 2 o'clock I became very hungry. I didn't want to eat out so I drove home.
I just wanted to eat my food !

I did my workout after a nap.
I aimed less than 1 hour again and did it. 57 minutes.
4 min. x 4 set jump is not as hard as before.
But it will be 5 minutes tomorrow !!!!!

I just finished the movie " A Knight's Tale".
Heath Ledger is so charming.  It makes me so sad that he does not exist in this world any more.

Day 61

My weight 2 years ago was minus 7 kg from my weight now.
I wrote that I was running back then and I've lost 10 kg over 1 year or so.
My friends still remember me back then, so even I've lost about 5 kg, still more to go.
I had been quite active all my life.
I was into sea kayaking for 8 years. I went paddling every weekend and did some long distance touring and crossing the sea like from Honshu to Hokkaido, it took 10 hours for me.
When I was running, I ran at least 15 km every weekend, and sometimes I ran during lunch break.
I used to take a workout class once a week. I did 6 men Out Rigger Canoeing, stand up paddling almost every weekend until last year.

I was afraid to run into the people whom I used to run together because my x-boyfriend is one of them. I kept the distance from the Outdoor Fitness Club that I was a member for 2 years, and I quit.
Ever since I stopped running, I became sort of an indoor person.
I've never been like that before.
To end 10 years of relationship was harder than I expected. To cover up what's missing I found joy in eating sweets. OMG! How many cheese cakes, carrot cakes, brownies, cup cakes, cookies went in to my stomach and I ignored that my jeans are no longer fit me....


I gained 12 kg.
I hated how I look and I hated feeling heavy.
But I did not do anything for 1 and half year.

My colleague's boy friend finished PCP this spring and she talked to me about it several times during lunch break. I searched PCP in internet and I saw some of faces I know in COMPLETED.
Former colleague and my student's father !! Wow!! As I see the pictures of those people I know changed from week to week, I got so excited.

I thought "This is it".
If I don't do it now, it's not  gonna happen.

So here I am on Day 61 and I am very happy and proud of myself !


Today I tried to put my old jeans on.
It fit me!
A bit tight so still have to work on my belly but I can wear them !!!
Great progress!

And I did my workout less than 1 hour.

Day 60

I tried very hard to finish jumps and workout in 1 hour !!!!
1st set of jumping is always hard but after that is easier each set.
I set timer between different workout for 30 sec. And I managed to finish in 1 hour.
So I feel very good about it.

I went to Starbucks in Kamakura.
This is my favorite. High ceiling, large glass doors, nice furniture, nice garden with swimming pool. I had an ice coffee and read my book.
Then I went to Patagonia Kamakura store. I didn't find anything good. So I went to supermarket and I bought milk, eggs, salmon, chicken, fruits and veggies.
It used to be time consuming but now it's so simple because I know what I need and how I cook them.
I like it very much. I'll probably stick with PCP lunch even after PCP.

I watched "Meet Joe Black" on cable TV. I wasn't going to watch it till the end but I did.
Brad Pitt is so young and cute in this movie. I like him a lot. I enjoyed it.
Ah it's late, very late!!!
Got to go to bed. I have a yoga class tomorrow morning !

Day 59

When I woke up, it was raining outside. It's been a while since last time we had rain.

I was stiff, and had a pain in my lower back again. Also I had a pain in the butt from V-sit.

I felt tired, lazy and unmotivated this morning.
I was going to do my workout but instead I read everyone's posts.
When I read Tara's post, I felt exactly the same.

In the afternoon, I still don't feel like doing the workout. I was extremely sleepy.
So I took a nap.

I was just sooooo tired. I drag myself to take my dog for a walk at 6:30 pm.

I did my jump and workout with Queen.

Doing Double Katana after Elevated triceps dip and Ski jump was hard. I could not pull my arms all the way up after 10 reps.
I am not good at Kung-fu sit ups. Sit ups were OK.

I'm done.

Day 58

So I played Queen's "Jazz" while jumping and doing my workout.

"Play aggressive music with a beat to get you into the groove." worked!

Especially "Mustapha"'s rhythm is perfect for jumping.
First set sucked so I did the extra set.

While I was sweating ( even in air conditioned room ), my dog was relaxing,

She makes me smile.

In the evening, I went to the beach to see the fire works. I ordered sparkling water but they gave me a tonic water which I sipped and was  sweet so I threw it away. I could order sparkling water at any restaurant in NYC, but here in Japan, it is not so popular, I guess. 

The beach was crowded, kids were running around and adults were drinking and talking in a loud voice. 

I went home as soon as the fire works was finished to have may evening snack.

 I put Tandoori Curry powder in yogurt to eat with my veggies. It was good. 

Ingredients: Dry ginger, garlic powder, cinnamon, cassia cloves, black pepper, red chilles, nutmeg, mace

Day 57

Tuesday... workout in Yokohama with Patrick.
I was nervous again because of my lower back pain.

But you know what?

I did everything in 1 hour.
I did the 4 min. x 4 jumps OK some trips but I continued jumping.

Did the Day 58 menu instead of Day 57.
Did the 3 kinds of CURL.
As I was doing the curl, I was sweating so much that yoga mat got wet ( Patrick never sweats! )
I like biceps and standing ovation.
I love to have muscles in my arms, shoulders and back.
Would be nice to look good in bare shoulder dress.

Last week,  I was so sure that  my heart rate is going over 180 or maybe 200 when jumping for 3 min.  straight. So I decided to wear a chest band and a watch which I bought to monitor heart rate when training for a trail running race 3 years ago.

 

It was 160 at the max !!

It is said that max heart rate should be 220 - your age,
for me it's around 170.  But when I was running, it went over 180 and that's not good for fat burning.
If you want to burn fat I should go max. around 160.

http://exercise.about.com/cs/cardioworkouts/l/aa022601a.htm



Anyway what I really wanted to say is  jumping is very good for fat burning !!!

Day 56

This morning I tried to jump for 4 minutes but I tripped many many times.
It was very frustrating.


Lower back pain is still bothering me.
Bending over is tricky.
I have to be careful.

I read Elena's post then I read Kung-Fu Body's blogs and I started reading Patrick's PCP blog.
I found that Patrick's birthday was last Friday.
Happy Birthday (delayed), Patrick !
I have not read all of the post but they are very interesting and a lot to learn from. Thank God I am in summer holiday. I have plenty of time to read !

I was already hungry at 5:00 pm so  I had my dinner.
After I walked my dog I was tempted to have a glass of iced cafe latte at the beach but I went home for evening snack.


I was still hungry after I had my evening snack.
I ate extra veggies and blueberries.
I have never been hungry after evening snack, and today was only jumping day, I don't know why....

Day 55 This morning I woke up with this feeling

This morning I woke up with this feeling

I did not now how to deal with 

And so I just decided to myself

I'd hide it to myself 

And never talk about it 

And did not go and shout it

when I have this pain in the back

I think I've a pain in the back

I think I've a pain in the back

I think I've a pain in the back

So what am I so afraid of 

I'm afraid so that I'm not sure of

A pain there is no cure for 

I think I've a  pain in the back

Isn't that what life is made of ?


Though it worries me to say


That I have felt this way before...

This is the song ( I change the words a bit ) from the program I was crazy about when I think I was in Junior High.

Anyway...


I'm not really sure what the causes of this lower back pain I have.

Maybe it is because I slept on futon last night. 

My bed is on the 2nd floor that the air conditioner is not working. 


So I decided to sleep in the 1st floor.

I did not want to admit that I have this pain 


so that I did my jumps and workout.

I tripped several times.  

I had a pain while jumping


But I ignored them.


Workout was OK.


I did less reps for incline pull up.




AND

I went to Yoga class. 


Because I wanted have breakfast with my friends !!


I brought my veggies, boiled egg and whole wheat bread.


During yoga class,

Some poses gave me sharp pain 


But I ignored them.

I hope the pain goes away.

Day 54

I woke up at 4:30 am and did my jump and workout at 5:00 am.
Took shower, ate boiled egg white and yogurt ( with a tiny bit of honey ).
Then I took my dog to the beach for Yoga class.
After the class is breakfast served by the beach house.
I gave my fried egg, ham and two pieces of french bread away and ate steamed veggies, boiled egg and two pieces of whole wheat bread I brought with me.
I know the owner of the the beach house and I pay for breakfast ( which is only 500 yen) so it's OK.
I just want to have a breakfast with my friends at the beach. It is so nice to have breakfast at ocean front.
And the conversation is very relaxed and interesting. I really like this time.
Yoga teacher is my friend and her husband, her son, and all the other people who know each other are there sharing the morning time.

No one was complaining jellyfish so they weren't in the sea this morning. I should have brought my bathing suit.


There is an old air conditioner in the dining room which was already in the house when I moved in.
I've never used it but it is unbearably hot and humid, I thought I should give it a try.

It worked perfectly !
So happy !


When I took my dog to the Vet., It was still muggy and sticky.


I am going to get up at 4:30 again tomorrow so I should go to bed now.

Day 53 The hottest summer ever!

My air conditioner is out of order.

I tried to call the customer center many times the day before yesterday and did not get through. The heat waves are in Japan.
Never had this hot summer since I came to live here.
Every summer I use air conditioner maybe less than 10 times.

So I bought a new fan.
I ordered it through internet and it came the next day.
It is amazing !

I put ice packs in Japanese cotton towel called "TENUGUI" and wrap my neck around.
I put it around my dog's neck, too.
Poor my dog, it is too hot for her.

Also put a large ice pack in towel on the floor to make my feet cool.


Jumping and workout has to be early in the morning.
Otherwise I'll faint. It is dangerously hot.
The first 3 min. set was hard. I thought it is because of the beer I had for indulgence last night.
I can do without beer this summer.
And I don't need cakes.
I realized I am happy with the PCP diet.
What's gonna happen when we finished 90 days ?
I may not wish to go back to the normal diet.
What's gonna happen if we stop jumping and working out after 90 days ?
Will I miss jumping?



I went for a walk before 6:00 am this morning.
It was already hot.
My dog went in the sea to cool herself.
She and I used to swim together every morning. A lot of fun.
But she is 12 years old now so she does not want to go swimming anymore, just a dip.

As soon as I went in the water, I felt something on my leg.

Jellyfish!

I hate jellyfish! I always get stung by them and get red, itchy and nasty!!!
They are in the sea already.
It means I can't go swimming this summer.....
Even I swim with my wet suit on, they find my wrist or ankle to sting.
They are nasty.

Day 52 oh my god my age and indulgence

I am soon to be 53...


I had my indulgence today.

BEER AT THE BEACH!!

And I had marinated tuna, edamame and ratatouille.


It was good. Marinated tuna was with some onion and olives, edamame was not salty, raratouille was delicious. Good choice.


After I finished beer, I ordered sparkling water. Didn't want another glass of beer.


Then to the other beach house to have desert.


Iced cafe latte and a lemon tart. 


I shared a lemon tart with my friend.




It was too sweet. 




A lot of sugar in the lemon cream.




There were people from the sports club I used to go to.


It's a small town. 


People hang out at the beach day and night during the summer.


The reason I don't feel well is because of the lemon tart or ......


I should get up early tomorrow to burn what I ate today.

Day 51 Boiling hot !

My lunch today. I love my veggies with cottage cheese and chicken. 

My air conditioner is not working.

I took the filters out to clean it. First vacuum cleaned them but did not clean completely so I washed them. And I put them back but it did not work.

I was sweating throughout the day today.  Usually I don't need to use air conditioner because of the breeze from the sea but this year is different. Rainy season is over earlier than usual and it is like mid summer weather already.

Luckily I did my workout in the early morning. I did the 3 min. x 5 sets jumps OK. Once I know I can do it, it is no longer so painful. It's all mental. 

I went to the beach house called "Blue Moon" tonight with my friend. I had a tomato and veggie tacos.

I told them not to put any sauce nor salt on my tomato. But it came with mustard. Never had tomato with mustard.   

Day 50 Attitude towards workout

I was nervous this morning.
Every Tuesday I go to Patrick's studio.
I was in NYC last Tuesday so it's been 2 weeks since last time I did workout with Patrick.
Jumping 3 minutes 5 sets was making me nervous.
Because I could jump for 3 minutes only 1 set. I had no confidence to do all 5 sets.

When I told Patrick that I can't jump for 3 min. x 5, he asked me what I mean by "I can't" and I answered that I go out of breath or I might faint. What he told me was "You are underestimating your ability".
Really?
Don't I know my ability?
I am the one who should know what I can do and cannot do.
I am the one who feels my heart rate is going over 180 or maybe 200 !!

However...

Patrick was right.

I jumped all 5 sets. I tripped only twice.
I learned the effective way to catch my breath and not to exaggerate my pain after each set.

Workout is making me strong and helping me lose fat.
But my attitude was something like I am suffering,  I can't do this any harder, do I have to do this much ?

With Patrick I finished jumping and workout in 1 hour.

I wasn't pushing myself enough.
I was making excuses to myself.

I am comfortable with food but I was not confident that I could keep up with the workout menu which is getting harder and harder.

Maybe it is not just workout, I may have this attitude not to push myself hard enough and avoid the pain.


It was a good workout.
I had my egg white and yogurt in my car then went home for shower & lunch.

Day 49

Early in the morning when it is still cool,  I took my dog for a walk.
By the time I got to the beach dog friends were there and everyone was talking about the Italian restaurant that opened in June. It is very close to my house and I've been there twice already. Everyone who has been there agreed that it is a very nice restaurant. It is an old house renovated into a restaurant and it has a small garden. Very nice atmosphere.
Maybe on my birthday in mid August or after PCP.

Where I live is 90 minutes away from Tokyo but it is famous for Royal family's vacation house and many other wealthy people's second houses. So people here are quite wealthy and picky about food/fashion etc. and if the restaurant is not good the rumor spread very quickly.
Don't get me wrong, I am not a wealthy one who owns house here. I am just a teacher and renting an old house but it is only 2 minutes away from the beach and I love it.

I spend about 1 hour walking my dog mainly socializing with dog friends. I like meeting other dogs and the owners.

It was 7:00 am when I get back and I did laundry then started 3 min. x 5 jumps.
3 minutes was very challenging to me. I get out of breath very easily and my calf became tired.
After jumps I did the Day 45 workout. The day I came back from NYC.

I hate the combination of floor jump and lunge. They worn me out.
I can manage curl/one arm curl, katana, plank and side crunch. I sort of enjoy plank. I really hate lunge.
I will do more rep/set of squats if I am allowed to do that. I hate lunge!!!!!
It took me more than 1 hour to finish everything.
I stepped on my scale and I was very disappointed that I gained 400g since last time. What !?
Why do I gain 400g ? Is it the white bread/fried egg I had on Sat. and Sun. morning ?
I was sad.

I finally got to eat my breakfast at 9:30.
Steamed vegetable, mini tomatoes, bell pepper, avocado with cottage cheese, whole wheat bread, boiled egg + egg white & coffee. I am happy : )

It is 11:23 am and already very hot. It's the last day of 3 day weekend in Japan so I expect the beach is very busy. It should be nice in the evening after tourists are gone.
My favorite female singer will be singing at the beach house tonight so I am planning to go.

Pictures tonight. Another beautiful sky and the live music at the beach house. I had a bottle of sparkling water. And I had my evening snack veggie and yogurt after I came home.

Day 48

Yoga at the beach in the morning is great.
Then they serve breakfast at the beach house.
Breakfast used to be good..... actually it's not bad at all but I don't enjoy it anymore.
I'd like to prepare my own breakfast.
My stomach was kind of upset for a while.

I had proper lunch. Vegetables, grilled salmon, whole wheat bread.

I did my workout in the night.
It was hard. 2 minutes x 8 jumps was hard. Workout was hard.

I had my egg white, apple, yogurt, veggies.

Prepare food, eat properly push myself to do the workout.

Day 47

This is my beach in the evening. When the sun goes down it gets cool at the beach. I sit down and enjoy the view.

This morning I went to a Yoga class at the beach. Every summer I enjoy Yoga class and breakfast at the beach house "UMIGOYA"

Breakfast today was sunny side up, sausage, salad, bread and coffee. I gave my sausages away.

Unfortunately the bread was white one... I always have whole wheat bread... but it is a little too much to expect whole wheat bread.

I get very tired at around 2:00 pm I was so tired that I had to take a nap. 

zzzzzzzzz

It was 5:00 pm when I woke up.

I was still tired. 

I don't know why but I was still tired.

I did not feel like doing my jumps and workout right away.

So I went to walk my dog.

and

I did my jumps and workout.

I fell asleep as I write this post. I have to go to bed.