Reflection on Week 5 of 52

Sunday Weigh In: 218.6
Bust: 48"
Belly: 43"

Despite eating more calories than normal on Friday and Saturday, I actually lost 3.6 pounds last week. I lost one inch from my belly since two weeks ago. I had a good week in exercise last week. I put in more cardio as planned, I even put in a little more, going beyond 30 minutes to an hour of cardio on Tuesday night and then 45 minutes of cardio on Thursday and 40 minutes on Friday. I think this really upped my metabolism. Saturday my sister Hil and I went on an hour and half hike on Marshall Mesa (against the 40 mile per hour winds which were killer, but fun!). I was going to take Saturday off from exercise, but instead I am taking today off. I think we'll take Jorge out for a little walk, but I seriously need a day to recover. My right knee was hurting a little yesterday, it felt swollen and tender inside. Last night I put it up and rubbed arnica on it. I buy it as an ointment and it works magically! This morning my knee feels way better. I will also stretch today, I really would like to do one of my favorite yoga tapes to get a deep stretch, but I know that I shouldn't push it.

It is important to keep your body guessing. Not staying with an exact routine everyday or your body will get used to it. For example, if you run every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday for 30 minutes and do the same free weight arm exercises right afterwards, your body will get used to the routine and think it's just going through the motions. You need to spice it up a bit, like interval running with walking, cross training on bikes or ellipticals, and changing up the time of day you exercise. I usually workout in the mornings, but this week, I did cardio on Tuesday night and Friday night. I also went for a hike Saturday since it was so nice out and decided not to stay inside on machines.

My question is though "Should I increase times at this point? Or should I increase energy output?" I like the times I am doing, 30 minutes to 45 minutes on average for cardio is great for me. It's not too lengthy, since let's face, we all have other things to do than stay in the gym all morning. I'm thinking I might up the energy output, by running on the treadmill at 5.2 and walking at 3.7. I want to keep pushing it, but not over doing it resulting in an injury.

Eating last week went well, I did allow myself a few special things; Boulder Potato Chips (one snack bag, hey they're all natural, so I decided it was ok), Friday night we ate out at Tibet Restaurant for our 11 year anniversary. So delicious! I really stayed away from chocolate this week, I think I had one Andes Mint. I had about four glasses of wine over a five day period and a vodka tonic Thursday night. Saturday we had mimosas since my sister and boyfriend stayed the night and we celebrated her getting a job.

Ok, so I splurged this week, but it doesn't bother me. I didn't eat in excess and I enjoyed myself. It's about me being mindful about what I am eating, making good choices, cutting portion sizes and also being happy. If you regret and hate everything you put in your mouth, your body will psychosomatically react to not letting it go, to keeping it all inside. I am happy to make these important changes in my life and look forward to the wonderful changes in my routine. One thing people on 'diets' do not understand is that your body absolutely needs food and from all food groups. By cutting out a certain food group, let's say carbs, your body will react yes and you may lose a lot of weight (but gain it all back plus more later when they bring it back into their lives, trust me I did it about 7 years ago!). What about the nutrients you get from grains? the excellent fiber needed to keep digestion regular? You are also cutting out a vital energy source your body uses to do all of the exercise. Balancing your food groups is a better decision to make and eating better options such as whole grains instead of bleached white flour is also good.