Christy: Week 2

Whew, so glad that first week is over.  Felt a little like the first week of college when I was nervous about making a good impression, always having my ID with me to access stuff on campus, and prove to myself I can handle this "new lifestyle."   I was nervous about fulfilling my goals, needing to stay on par with my calorie counting, and embrace working out in some shape or form despite having a sinus infection.

I started last week off with a dry throat that quickly turned into a sore throat and a diagnosis on Wednesday of a sinus infection. Despite having breathing issues and dealing with the coldest weather we've had this winter, I managed to meet my goals on going to the gym and I actually ended up learning a lot about myself and what I'm capable of over coming.
Because I didn't feel well, I decided that I would have one day of ONLY lifting weights and lay off the cardio.  This gave me time to actually focus on some muscle groups I've neglected in my "normal" routine of 30 minutes cardio and 30 minutes strength training (squats, sit ups, and occasional hand weights). And I sure needed to work those muscles as evidence of being sore in the days that followed.  I am going to include now, one workout/week dedicated only to weightlifting.

The other thing I learned (and got me thinking in general) occurred during my cardio routine.  I usually run (really its more like a jog) for 2 miles at 5.2 with a 1.0 incline.  Again because I was sick I wanted to "go easy" on myself so I kept the same pace but ratcheted the incline down to .5.  I could not believe the difference this made with the level of "comfort" in running. I ended up running an extra half mile AND burned more calories than I normally do!  In addition, while the first 15 minutes were harder than usual (due to dry scratchy throat & runny nose), after that time it was like my sinuses cleared up and I actually felt good! It was completely opposite of what I was expecting to happen...and it happened all 4 times I did cardio this week!  I am SO glad I didn't let this current bout of illness slow me down and it has given me more confidence of what I can push myself to do once I'm feeling 100%.

On another note, I would be remorse if I didn't say that the single one behavioral change that I engaged in this week that I believe played a significant part in me being able to handle working out & being sick is the fact that I went to bed EVERY night this week (except Saturday) at 9pm. Yup you read it right! 9pm. The first night I went to bed that early, I woke up at 4:30am. My body was like "you had 7 + hours of sleep, you're good!"...but after that my body accepted what was happening. It needed the rest!  Do not underestimate the power of sleep!

This first week I worked out 5 days for an hour each burning on average 400 calories.  I want to do the same in week 2.  Last week I incorporated a new exercise where I would be in a 90 degree squat position and jump up, landing back into squat position. I did 3 reps of 8 of these...and oh boy, they are tough to get through! I'll be doing more of those but also plan to incorporate lunges. By the way, most of my exercises focus ONLY on my problem areas (i.e. stomach, thighs, & butt).

I am going to maintain the goal of not drinking my calories.  This week I had a glass of wine & a beer. Those were my only drinkable calories (other than my Special K protein drink). My diet in general is about portion control, not eating sweets, and not eating after dinner. I want to maintain that for now.

The one regret I had this week felt a little out of my control. My kids spontaneously decided that Wednesday was "kids day" and they wanted to bake a cake. I just couldn't resist giving into them and so we baked.and.frosted.a.cake (I'll spare you the delicious details). I had three pieces & finally gave a chunk of it to some friends because I just couldn't have it in the house anymore!  My birthday is next month and the same scenario will occur unless I tell them otherwise. Ugh, so hard to stop myself since good cake only comes around a few times a year!

But despite it being an unusual week...I am happy to report that I lost 2 lbs! I now weigh 158.  I would like this week to be similar to last week before I do any major tweaking. It is working for me in this moment. Losing weight feels very purposeful and fulfilling in a whole new way.