Sick-o

I should be at school right now but I am sitting upright for the first time in hours writing this and hoping I don't get sick again. Today was my last class and my body decided to get some sort of stomach flu at 1:00 am this morning. After I finally fell asleep somewhere around 4:00, my alarm went off about 6:15 and I tried taking a shower but then I got sick again. I have now eaten three crackers and had some juice. After a bad week of food though, I weighed myself this morning knowing that the loss of water weight would help and I was down a half a pound from last week. This diet of crackers should help though. Maybe I'll have some broth too. Livin' it up I tell ya.

Paid Holidays

I love paid holidays. Especially ones like today that don't require me to spend time with my family and businesses aren't closed (other than places like post office, which I don't frequent). I got a good workout in this morning already. I did a total of 45 minutes of cardio and I did a weight circuit thing that I really should have written down to refer to in the future. I was a little intimidated though using the big weight room because Don is normally with me, and in the evenings there is usually one or more other women in there working out as well.

Here's my update from the past week, since I've been so bad at posting lately...
Thursday night I did an hour of cardio while watching the Office and 30 Rock (this is what I will now refer to as the "Humor" workout. As much as I loved Grey's Anatomy, I really just need a good laugh at this point in life and less drama.
Friday I didn't workout at all because a friend of Don's came over and set up my wireless router so I can now sit anywhere I want in the house to do things like this (or homework, I guess) and not be confined to my desk.
Saturday I had every intention of working out after school, but since I had an emotional breakdown in the middle of the day all I wanted to do when I left there was have a drink and unwind.
By Sunday my legs ached so bad from not doing anything that I forced myself to run 4 miles. For some reason this is easier for me when I have taken a small break but my hamstrings were on fire after the run. Don helped me do a couple weight movements after that to work my chest and back.
You've read today's workout, so I won't summarize that one again. Tomorrow I won't be going to the gym because I have a hair appointment after work and I may be getting together with a friend I haven't seen for years, which is really exciting! I do plan on running again on Wednesday night... along with doing homework, because Don is working, and I hope for another hour of "Humor" on Thursday. Oh and did I mention we have a birthday party tonight and two on Friday? What will I do with desserts staring me in the face like that? I had a 1.2 pound weight loss this past week and I want to keep on the downward trend.

The Skinny....

It's not quite me yet (the skinny) but here's an update. I've been eating well for the past week now with only one real slip up.... Saturday night when I managed to eat almost all of the Beefy Cheeseball at the birthday party. But I did get up the next morning and jog three and a half miles with a hangover, which I see as a real triumph. Recently it has been so hard to run at all and I was able to do that much with a headache and upset stomch...oh and awful dehydration. I did not go to the gym yesterday because I was feeling slightly stressed about school and it was cold, windy, and snowy. But tonight I went after a healthy dinner and jogged another three miles and then did a short weight circuit with Don. I actually felt pretty good! Maybe I was right... The key is better quality and not trying to force myself to have these great workouts during adverse conditions (immediately after work when the gym is really busy). I have been doing a good job not weighing myself. I haven't done it since Saturday and I don't plan on doing it again until then. I'm hoping for a 2lb loss but really anything below the number last week would be great. I'll let you know what happens! Oh and I was watching the Biggest Loser while running (but listening to my music) and boy was Bob mad at someone. I think this helped me push myself while I was running. Maybe he was mad at me for being such a gym loser resently. I'm back Bob!

Friday

Soon I will be on a visit to a new gym. I hope that the price is right because it would be really handy to have a gym so close by. No more excuses to not go! Plus, they have swimming pools, which is something I've been wanting for a really long time. It's been a tough week, but I stuck pretty close to my old eating well habits. More than one piece of fruit a day, healthy lo-cal snacks, and a small treat every day (no mindlessly grazing the M&M bowl). Even though I haven't had the greatest workouts this week, I hope that the food changes will be enough to show a small change on the scale this week. I decided Saturday mornings will be my official weigh in day. No more weighing myself every morning and being depressed about the slightest fluctuation. When I was on Weight Watchers it was only once a week, and I kept focused on that day so I would see results. Rather than having a good weight day and thinking I can indulge myself in what I want because "I'm finally there" because the next day I won't be because of the total indulgence.

Do you like my new positive spin on things? Let's see how long this lasts! Ha.

Quality? I Don't Know Yet...

Here's a short summary of my workouts this week.... On Monday I went to Combat (and something totally worked my oblique muscles because they are still a little sore), Tuesday I had orientation for school so I did not workout, yesterday I actually got a treadmill (the gym is too busy right now) and attempted to jog three miles. I actually made three miles, but barely. It took almost 33 minutes with one walking break and a couple breaks to take a sip of water and wipe the sweat off my brow. My stomach has been crazy the past few days because I've started incorporating more fiber into my diet. I think it is getting used to it, but slowly! So after I hit three miles, my legs felt achey and my stomach was all tight and yucky feeling. I wanted to walk the rest of the hour but I gave up my treadmill to do a couple weight machines. I just didn't have it in me. There were too many people around and I felt totally exhausted from the run, so I went home. Tonight I plan on going to the gym later (after dinner) and hopefully there will be less people there.

I'm thinking about joining a new gym, one that is closer to home. I want to try and work out in the morning so that I am free in the evening to get things done and not have to take another shower in order to do so. This might be more expensive but I think it would be a good investment for the next year. It would take only 5 minutes to get there, so even if I didn't get up until 5:30, I could still get in an hour workout before coming home and getting ready for work. That is an hour and a half earlier than when I get up now.... Might be challenging. I want to do it though!

I would like to add that I have been in the presence of cake and cookies this week and I have not given in to temptation. I am really committed to losing at least five pounds and keeping them off. These treats just aren't worth it (this is what I tell myself!). I have been so good this week, I hope I can keep it up!

The Countdown is Over....

And now we are already 4 days into the new year. What have I done so far, you ask? Not much. I have been to the gym but I haven't been to Pump since Wednesday now (after my three times last week). I have done weights on my own, both Friday and today with Don. I have decided that I've been going about my workouts all wrong the last few months. I've mainly decided this because I am exhausted all the time and have lost all energy for the gym. I have decided to only have one day a week that I do an hour of cardio. This is what I used to do when I was losing weight. The other days I would either do interval workouts or half cardio, half weights. My schedule just doesn't allow me the time I want to commit to the gym and so I become overwhelmed and quit before I should and then I get mad at myself for not being able to do what I set out to do. My best workouts are when I am able to do them in the morning. When I worked part time, and on most days not until 11 am or 1 pm, I had the time to get a good workout in in the morning. Now it's only after work, when I need to cook dinner or run errands, and two hour workouts just aren't feasible. I also really need to up my muscle mass so that I can burn more calories and lose a couple inches off my belly, so I need to fit in more weight time and two Body Pumps a week just aren't cutting it (along with the cardio time I would also like to put in). My goal is to work out 3-4 nights during the week, on Saturday, if possible with my new schedule, and then a long cardio session every Sunday. I want to try and run a 10k with Karrie in June and I think I could do it if I stop overloading my cardio sessions and stressing/psyching myself out every week. Starting tomorrow I am going to look at my workouts differently and try to focus on the quality of the workout rather than the quantity.