Sunday Weigh In: 215.8
As I sit here to write this, I don't want to. I'm feeling very introverted this weekend. I'm feeling pessimistic towards weight loss. Sometimes I just don't understand and sometimes I just don't want to care anymore. The good thing is though, that I do care and I care a lot. In the past I would have given up by now, but since I am older and more understanding of the phrase "We are what we eat", I will not give up. I will continue to learn what foods are best for me, what food provide the best energy, the best nutrition. I am certainly learning how much courage, strength, and endurance I do have. I am respecting my body and my mind, trying new things both in foods and exercise. I am most proud of myself for no negative talk towards my body and allowing myself those special treats once in a while like wine, chocolate, and pizzasta at Aunt Pat's on Friday night (trust me, you don't even want to know how many calories are in that!).
I'm not obsessive, however I do need to be stern with myself or I would give in to the excuses (oh this little bag of chips isn't bad, it's too cold to go to the gym, I had a busy day, etc etc etc). It's getting so much easier with establishing this routine and eating well. My body actually craves the exercise and veggies and protein. I've been craving salt lately, maybe because of all the sweating and the large amounts of water and tea I am drinking.
As you can see, I am down three pounds since last week, that means I am down 12 pounds total from my very first weigh in. I am celebrating by getting a new pair of exercise shoes. I absolutely love my New Balance, however they are a year old and have almost no tread and no cushioning left. I am hoping Kohl's has an affordable pair in stock this weekend. I have a 15% off coupon. I think this should help with my knees, which are amazingly better since last week by the way. I read that knee pain can also be caused by tight hamstrings. So I stretched a lot last week and did a massage on my legs a couple times last week with coconut oil and arnica. I also only ran one day and the rest of the days I did eliptical and arc trainer. This leads me to my reflection on last week.
Monday and Wednesday were great. I did the eliptical 45 minutes both of those days, along with my stretching, free weights for arms, and some crunches. I did not row however, didn't have enough time. I headed Stacy's advice (see comment below post) and have decided to eliminate lunges all together. My body weight is too heavy at this point to put all of that stress on my joints. I love the eliptical and will also try it backwards, which should switch it up a bit. Tuesday was so hilarious. Like I said, I wanted to rent some different videos from the library. I ended up renting Kundalini Yoga with Gurmuhk. Check out this video (however this little example does not do Kundalini Yoga justice!!):
Kundalini Yoga is NOT like the regular Hatha or Vinyasa yoga I usually do. Those two types are focused more on breath, poses, deep stretching, whereas Kundalini yoga is faster paced, no poses, and your heart rate is increased almost immediately. I felt like I got an amazing work out and it was awesome to try a new type of yoga. I was definitley looking for more of a challenge and that was it! What was so funny is that Dan got up with me and tried it out. He never gets up to do yoga, so I am not sure what sparked him to try this out. With some of the embarrasing motions and breathing exercises, we about die laughing after the video was over. He was sore for three days if that says anything.
After Kundalini yoga last Tuesday I headed to the gym and did the arc trainer for 45 minutes. Thursday was a wash. I went to the doctor in the morning for a physical so I didn't get a work out in. Hubby and I walked the dog after work, that was it. Friday I did 30 minutes on the eliptical and then wanted to try out running again after my knee issues last week. It went well, I did a walk / run interval for 20 minutes. I was nervous, but my knees actually felt fine. I also got in some crunches and free weights. Saturday was super awesome. Dan and I went up to Brainard Lake and did a three hour 3.5 mile round trip snowshoe hike. It was beautiful and took a lot of effort, which burned a lot of calories I presume. Plus, my dog Jorge doesn't like to be in the snow that much, he is too small and has minimal fur to keep him warm. In that case he gets cold and we put him in my Pearl Izumi backpack with a blanket and then I hike him. He weighs about 15 pounds, so that's a good reminder of my weight loss. I lose 12 pounds, but then hike him around weighing 15 punds in my backpack. Great workout too!
Overall, a good week.
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3 comments:
That yoga looks really interesting. I may have to try it. I like the "idea" of yoga but I get restless with it because it is so slow. I may have more success with this one!
One thing I hear you talking about is getting frustrated with the details of the weight loss. I think you might be trying to "micromanage" the process too much. You are getting bogged down in the details. And it frustrates you when it doesn't go as exactly as you plan (like why did I only loose "x" this week and "y" last week). Why are you trying to loose the weight? Ask yourself that question. Then that should be your goal. Not a number on the scale. For me it is just basic - I want to be healthy and live long with no disability. Then I ask how do I do it. 1. Eat certain things and not others (or at least in moderation). I don't always get it perfect - where did the last bit of chocolate chips go that were in the bag in the fridge?! For dinner I had a healthy quiche with a spinach salad and strawberries for dessert. I also didn't stuff myself which I would have normally done when I eat something I like. 2. Increase my activity. I have general goals that I think about, like I want to be able to keep up with everyone else and not be tired. I want to not have back pain. I want to someday be able to be a Pilates instructor. 3. When difficult times come up I want to be in a place in my spirit where I can handle it.
So I try to practice things daily that will help me achieve those things. I exercise, I meal plan and try new foods and recipes often to improve my habits, I research self help and spirit stuff and listen to a lot of it on my ipod while I work/drive. I practice things that get me to the goals but I don't get particularly bogged down in the details. I dont think about improving my diet with counting calories and fat grams, I just practice finding out new healthy foods and recipes that I like and eat them more often that the bad stuff.
And I am glad your knees are doing better. Yeah, lunges and squats are really bad for knees!
Exercising can be very hard on our bodies as we get older. Try and set goals each day and stay with them. Dont worry about how much weight you are losing. Stay focused on your exercise routine and your meal plan. Your energy level is going to improve over time and you will find out that the weight will come off. You have to adapt a new lifestye. Many days your not going to be motivated but you need to push thru these low points. You are also going to develop certain aches and pains due to your training. Luckily there are numerous natural remedies for these aches and pains. One of them being YOGA. However you might need some natural supplements as well. For some additional info you can check out www.copingwithpaintoday.com
Thanks for the comments Stacy and JRichie. I just wanted to say that if it seems like I am getting caught up in the details or that I am micromanaging my weight loss, trust me, I am not that way and I am far from it. It may only seem to be that way since I blog about two or three times a week about my reflection and my plan, which results in a long post. I think it it healthy and essential that I lay out my exercise and my dinner plan weekly to stay focused and keep reference.
I have never ever kept track of progress and therefore I would always get off track. I am pretty positive about all of this, as you may see from my posts. My reasons for weight loss are not to be model thin or fashionable. As stated in many posts not only on here, but also on my Swimming in this Sea of Life, I want to lose weight to have children so I am not more at risk than 'normal' for gestational diabetes and preclampsia. Other reasons are to be healthy, to keep with others (just like you said Stacy =), to have more energy. I've done a lot of soul searching in my journey of weight loss and have experience a lot of ups and downs and this time around, I have learned excellent tools over the years to engage my knowledge and make a difference in my health. I am proud of my accomplishments thus far.
Thanks for the support,
Sirena
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