I have absolutely zero energy at the moment. I caught myself playing Bubble Witch Saga when I could be blogging, showering, or going to bed, so I thought I should get started on that.
I've just discovered that I haven't been getting good sleep and that made it very difficult for me to remember WHY I cared to eat well in the first place, let alone actually CHOOSE eating well over something that would be more like self-medicating for someone who was so exhausted.
Anyway, I do have a temporary solution. I'm making bedtime a priority and taking Benadryl so that my allergies don't mess with my breathing and that I'll get more restful sleep. I'm probably being a big baby, but whatever. Literally. I will do WHATEVER it takes, even if it means being called a big baby.
There's something about this fitness goal that tells me it is just the beginning of the other goals in life I want. Fitness isn't just about how great you look in clothes. When you take good care of yourself, you perform at your optimum. I'm ready to make changes in my life that STICK. That way, the eating well and exercising daily will just be second nature when I'm tackling the next big thing in my life. Which I have no idea what that is, but I'm open to it. :)
Anyway, here's how the past 5 days went. They weren't perfect, but I rediscovered some tricks of the trade I forgot:
1. Food Journal.
Keeping a food journal is quite possibly the most effective tool for eating well. I literally found that I would strike the memory of eating something off my plan out of my brain almost as soon as it happened. Keeping a food journal really helps my accountability.
2. Surrender. Surrender to the fact that YES right now a Diet Pepsi would taste phenomenal. And it would help me feel less tired. Or that piece of chocolate sounds great. Or, everyone else is celebrating with Rita's. Or pizza. Or we're having a party with off-my-plan food for one reason or another. Surrender all those wants. Know that you are going to feel the craving, you're going to WANT WANT WANT. Acknowledge the want and make a decision. I used to be a slave to those cravings...I suppose sometimes I still am. But I have a tool and that tool is to RECOGNIZE the feeling, and SURRENDER it.
Anyway, for the past 5 days, I haven't necessarily eaten ON TIME, but I have eaten well. I also think that today was the only day I actually ate four meals. The other days I only got three...I don't really remember.
I DID work out EVERY SINGLE DAY, though! I am so proud of myself! Wed I did Amy's class...I'm not sure I pushed myself to the absolute limit though. We do this 8 minute circuit of 20 side touches, 10 pushups with elbow lift, 20 mountain climbers, 10 vertical jumps. I have been kind of pooping out on the pushups, and taking breaks in between...
Also makes me think I should be taking my iron supplement daily again, oops!
But this one time Amy stood by me and talked me through it, and I was TOTALLY capable. I must just have self-defeating thoughts running through my head. It's just so hard to believe that I can DO all ten pushups when I feel the way I feel. But I absolutely want to get to that place mentally that athletes train from. They feel the physical discomfort (out of breath, feeling the burn) and they DO IT ANYWAY. I guess I've just got to keep trying.
Anyway, Amy did this GENIUS thing which will probably mean that I'll have perfect attendance for this class...she made these cards to compare how many circuits we complete in 8 minutes from week to week. I can't STAND the idea of having a gap in those weeks, and it totally motivates my elephant to go to her class.
That doesn't just mean PLAN to go. It means that I also don't let anything else trump it or get in the way. Usually, the only reason I miss Amy's class is if I don't feel physically up to it. Which usually means I don't feel MENTALLY up to it. Which usually means I ate something I shouldn't have when I shouldn't have eaten it and now I am uncomfortably full of food that is not good for me, and I don't want to embarass myself in the class.
BUT EATING IT WAS A CHOICE I MADE. Probably because I didn't feel like I could do her class. So I made sure I didn't have to.
There have been times that I've worked instead, but I've made Wednesday nights off limits for any job.
So, my last 5 days I have pretty much eaten clean, and I have worked out. Thursday I simply did the 8 minute circuit while on a break at work. I just wanted to make sure I did SOMETHING. Friday I ended up doing pops on the treadmill, squats and pushups. Totally didn't intend to do that, but it was a great workout! Saturday I did pops on an arc trainer (I worked harder than I anticipated!), and then pullups and calf-raises.
Today, I was beat. I filled in at Green Bowl, I got crappy sleep last night, and I went to the gym without a plan for what I should accomplish. I kept running thoughts through my head:
"What am I trying to get out of working out today?"
~Setting an expectation that at the end of the workday I work out?
~Making working out a daily habit?
~Burning a few calories? Not really, this lazy workout that I'm doing isn't as effective as pops or weightlifting...
~Stress relief!? Great. Necessary. Is 10 minutes enough?
"Well I'm not doing anything too crazy today. I did pops yesterday and the day before and I'm doing Amy's class on Monday, so today should be an easy day, right?"
~I suppose. I am really tired. Maybe today is just a day we get to the gym to keep up with the habit.
I ended up quitting after 15 minutes on the arc trainer. But whatever. This is the best 5 day streak I've had in easily 3 months. So, I'm keeping up with it. Tomorrow, I will get up at 7am and go for a run on the golf course, and then I'll have breakfast at 8am and be to work by 9am. I'll eat 4 meals and then do Amy's class and MAYBE get a 5th meal in.
I'm excited for tomorrow.
Here's my food journal.
9:30am eggs, oatmeal, banana, coffee
11am coffee
12:30pm chicken, veggies, flattop grill-fried, brown rice
3:30pm chicken, veggies, flattop grill-fried, brown rice
7pm shrimp fried in coconut oil, raw broccoli, 1 string cheese and almonds...almonds eaten mindlessly. I've GOT to get around that. Probably need to bag them in serving sizes. Not have a container sitting around.
Also...I've been thinking that...I could spend HOURS blogging...and sometimes I do. I wonder if it might be more efficient to start vlogging. Not to mention a whole lot more fun. I'm thinking I can even write down my food journal or my workout and hold it up for the camera...I am not sure about it yet, but I kind of just want to try it and find out.
Alright. Good night!
I've just discovered that I haven't been getting good sleep and that made it very difficult for me to remember WHY I cared to eat well in the first place, let alone actually CHOOSE eating well over something that would be more like self-medicating for someone who was so exhausted.
Anyway, I do have a temporary solution. I'm making bedtime a priority and taking Benadryl so that my allergies don't mess with my breathing and that I'll get more restful sleep. I'm probably being a big baby, but whatever. Literally. I will do WHATEVER it takes, even if it means being called a big baby.
There's something about this fitness goal that tells me it is just the beginning of the other goals in life I want. Fitness isn't just about how great you look in clothes. When you take good care of yourself, you perform at your optimum. I'm ready to make changes in my life that STICK. That way, the eating well and exercising daily will just be second nature when I'm tackling the next big thing in my life. Which I have no idea what that is, but I'm open to it. :)
Anyway, here's how the past 5 days went. They weren't perfect, but I rediscovered some tricks of the trade I forgot:
1. Food Journal.
Keeping a food journal is quite possibly the most effective tool for eating well. I literally found that I would strike the memory of eating something off my plan out of my brain almost as soon as it happened. Keeping a food journal really helps my accountability.
2. Surrender. Surrender to the fact that YES right now a Diet Pepsi would taste phenomenal. And it would help me feel less tired. Or that piece of chocolate sounds great. Or, everyone else is celebrating with Rita's. Or pizza. Or we're having a party with off-my-plan food for one reason or another. Surrender all those wants. Know that you are going to feel the craving, you're going to WANT WANT WANT. Acknowledge the want and make a decision. I used to be a slave to those cravings...I suppose sometimes I still am. But I have a tool and that tool is to RECOGNIZE the feeling, and SURRENDER it.
Anyway, for the past 5 days, I haven't necessarily eaten ON TIME, but I have eaten well. I also think that today was the only day I actually ate four meals. The other days I only got three...I don't really remember.
I DID work out EVERY SINGLE DAY, though! I am so proud of myself! Wed I did Amy's class...I'm not sure I pushed myself to the absolute limit though. We do this 8 minute circuit of 20 side touches, 10 pushups with elbow lift, 20 mountain climbers, 10 vertical jumps. I have been kind of pooping out on the pushups, and taking breaks in between...
Also makes me think I should be taking my iron supplement daily again, oops!
But this one time Amy stood by me and talked me through it, and I was TOTALLY capable. I must just have self-defeating thoughts running through my head. It's just so hard to believe that I can DO all ten pushups when I feel the way I feel. But I absolutely want to get to that place mentally that athletes train from. They feel the physical discomfort (out of breath, feeling the burn) and they DO IT ANYWAY. I guess I've just got to keep trying.
Anyway, Amy did this GENIUS thing which will probably mean that I'll have perfect attendance for this class...she made these cards to compare how many circuits we complete in 8 minutes from week to week. I can't STAND the idea of having a gap in those weeks, and it totally motivates my elephant to go to her class.
That doesn't just mean PLAN to go. It means that I also don't let anything else trump it or get in the way. Usually, the only reason I miss Amy's class is if I don't feel physically up to it. Which usually means I don't feel MENTALLY up to it. Which usually means I ate something I shouldn't have when I shouldn't have eaten it and now I am uncomfortably full of food that is not good for me, and I don't want to embarass myself in the class.
BUT EATING IT WAS A CHOICE I MADE. Probably because I didn't feel like I could do her class. So I made sure I didn't have to.
There have been times that I've worked instead, but I've made Wednesday nights off limits for any job.
So, my last 5 days I have pretty much eaten clean, and I have worked out. Thursday I simply did the 8 minute circuit while on a break at work. I just wanted to make sure I did SOMETHING. Friday I ended up doing pops on the treadmill, squats and pushups. Totally didn't intend to do that, but it was a great workout! Saturday I did pops on an arc trainer (I worked harder than I anticipated!), and then pullups and calf-raises.
Today, I was beat. I filled in at Green Bowl, I got crappy sleep last night, and I went to the gym without a plan for what I should accomplish. I kept running thoughts through my head:
"What am I trying to get out of working out today?"
~Setting an expectation that at the end of the workday I work out?
~Making working out a daily habit?
~Burning a few calories? Not really, this lazy workout that I'm doing isn't as effective as pops or weightlifting...
~Stress relief!? Great. Necessary. Is 10 minutes enough?
"Well I'm not doing anything too crazy today. I did pops yesterday and the day before and I'm doing Amy's class on Monday, so today should be an easy day, right?"
~I suppose. I am really tired. Maybe today is just a day we get to the gym to keep up with the habit.
I ended up quitting after 15 minutes on the arc trainer. But whatever. This is the best 5 day streak I've had in easily 3 months. So, I'm keeping up with it. Tomorrow, I will get up at 7am and go for a run on the golf course, and then I'll have breakfast at 8am and be to work by 9am. I'll eat 4 meals and then do Amy's class and MAYBE get a 5th meal in.
I'm excited for tomorrow.
Here's my food journal.
9:30am eggs, oatmeal, banana, coffee
11am coffee
12:30pm chicken, veggies, flattop grill-fried, brown rice
3:30pm chicken, veggies, flattop grill-fried, brown rice
7pm shrimp fried in coconut oil, raw broccoli, 1 string cheese and almonds...almonds eaten mindlessly. I've GOT to get around that. Probably need to bag them in serving sizes. Not have a container sitting around.
Also...I've been thinking that...I could spend HOURS blogging...and sometimes I do. I wonder if it might be more efficient to start vlogging. Not to mention a whole lot more fun. I'm thinking I can even write down my food journal or my workout and hold it up for the camera...I am not sure about it yet, but I kind of just want to try it and find out.
Alright. Good night!
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