Set Backs

Monday's weigh in was up, way up: 296.6. I can't quit figure out what's going on yet. I'm incredibly frustrated though. Maybe I do need to be more careful with consumption. Hmmm. Of course, J being the "wise" one, reminded me that muscle weighs more than fat, and that with the weight training that I might be putting on some muscle. I guess I'll keep that in mind.

I am taking a lactose intolerance test this morning, which means just some skim milk for breakfast and then nothing for 3 - 5 hours, including my usual morning coffee. So far all I feel is sleepy. I would like to know what is causing all these digestive issues - I won't go into details - I just know that things are not normal. I'd like to feel good again.

I also ran into a wall yesterday on my walk due to shin pain. So now I'm trying to figure out why and fix it. It could be from my shoes, my orthos, walking on concrete, not enough stretching, or overdoing it. Hmmm, where do I begin? I'm starting with a rest day on cardio. I'll likely still do upper weights tonight, cause hey, that's not going to hurt my shins.

Sweating is Good

I went for my lunch walk, but today I did hills. By the time I got back here, I was breathing hard and my face was flush. That is when I know that I'm pushing it enough, when there is that effort exerted that feels difficult at the time, but feels great once I'm done.

I am really excited about where I'm going on this path. Even though I've only lost 6% of the total, I feel stronger and more energized. The exercise is becoming a habit, and its even something that I'm looking forward to now. I'm sure that there will be days that I'm not so keen, but for now, I'm going to relish this enthusiasm.

Hurray - It's Working!

Mondays are my official weigh-in day, even if I do peek once or twice in between. Today's weight: 293.8!

So I'm down 6.2 pounds since I began a few weeks ago. I have to admit that I am somewhat surprised that this is working, especially since I haven't really changed my eating: I'm still having chocolate on a regular basis. I actually feel like I'm eating more than usual, because I'm listening to my body and eating when it says, "Hey you, I'm hungry." And when I'm not hungry, I don't force myself to eat.

I'm loving the workouts. In fact, today my calves are REALLY sore because I did lower weights yesterday. It feels so good to move! I know that there are other people like me, who used to be fit, but sort of lost it over the years. We got used to being lazy and sedentary and enjoyed it. Before, the thought of having to exercise would make me grimace. Now, I'm pleasantly surprised by how good it feels to lift weights, to push myself in my cardiovascular activities, and lets not forget stretching (which is still a growth area for me).

So it really feels like a new day has begun, so to speak. The old, lazier me is being displaced by the new energetic, more active me. Goodbye old me, hello new me!

Muscles are Good

I didn't work out yesterday, since I had this awful headache all day. I left work early, came home to bed and did nothing. So today I felt a little sluggish, but I got back on track by taking the dogs for a walk and then later on, I did biceps, triceps and shoulders. I am starting to feel stronger, noticing that it feels pretty good to remember my muscles. Nice.

Will I Ever Learn?!

I am a very, VERY, slow learner. Yesterday, I went out for lunch with two work friends and we went to Earl's. I had good intentions going in, because I knew that I was also going out for supper to the Keg. Knowing that the Keg would mean a fairly big meal, I HAD intended to eat a reasonable lunch, maybe a salad. When we got there, we all decided to have appetizers for lunch: calamari, chicken fingers and fries and spinach dip with pita. I thought, "Hmmm, this will be fine. I'll just a bit of everything and not overdo it." That was ok, I felt pretty good after the appies.

Then we decided to have dessert, at which point my little spidey sense said, "Um, maybe we shouldn't, or maybe just share one with the three of us." Instead, we ordered three desserts, and instead of recognizing that having the equivalent of one giant dessert, made up mostly of ice cream, was a very bad idea - I dove right in and ate a bunch of ice cream. On the plus side, I did have fun at lunch, but my body was very unhappy with me about an hour later.

The moral of this story is that I cannot eat tons of dairy. I've known this for years, that's why I buy Lactaid instead of regular milk. And yet I still manage to do this to myself every once in a while, and every time I swear that I won't do it again.

Lesson: Just because I have given myself permission to eat whatever I want, does not mean that I SHOULD eat whatever I want. I.e. copious amounts of dairy.

To make matters worse, I had too much food at supper and felt ill for the rest of the evening. I didn't want to be rude by not finishing what was on my plate, since we were being 'treated' by our friend's parents. When will I learn?

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Challenges Ahead

Well, it looks like I will be taking two courses in May and June, which means that I will be in class four nights a week from 5 - 8 p.m. This somewhat throws a wrench into my current workout plan, but I think that I can modify it to keep the resistance training and the cardio through the 7 week period. This is just another challenge that I can meet.

I'm pretty excited that I'm almost finally done my degree. This is a goal that I set a few years ago, and it will be officially done by the end of this June. This feels really good. It also means that I will be able to focus more on my fitness and health goals, once I have one less goal on my plate. Granted, as my husband says, "You'll fill up your time just as much with other stuff when you're done school." He is consistenty right about these types of things - as I'm already planning to decorate and paint the house, do some leisure reading, and maybe start writing my novel, in addition to getting into the best shape of my life.

I tend to be happier when I'm busier, even though I consistently deny this and try to have too much down time.

Image source: FreeFoto.com

It's all about the balance, between working hard, playing hard and resting.

Down a Bit More

Well I'm at 295.8, which is about a pound from last week. BUT, I took measurements last night and I'm down a few inches from September 2008. So I'm not as discouraged about the weight thing, if the inches keep coming off. I lost 2 inches off my chest, 1 inch off my waist, and 1.5 inches off my hips. In fact, when I compared my measurements with ones from when I weighed 281, I am actually smaller not, even though I weight 14 pounds more. Of course, that's not to say that I'm not going to lose weight, but I am going to be a bit less obsessed with the scale. I am content indeed!

I dug out a fitness cookbook, but I'm not sure if it's going to fly. J and I are approaching this as modifying activity the most, and eating sensibly, not 100% clean all the time. I'd like to make sure that I have the activity down before I start messing with food. Although I am trying to eat smart, and eat enough of the good stuff so that I don't crave as much of the less good stuff.