Week four, days three, four, five.....

Ok so I guess I haven't been good about updating this week! Here's a recap:

Day three: I had another training session with my PT, and we did more stuff on the machines this time. I told her she thoroughly kicked my ass last time, and she said that most people are really sore after the first time, but their bodies adapt pretty quickly and they don't have as much soreness after that. (She was right, and I'm only a little sore now!) I am going to see her again next Wednesday and hopefully make it a weekly thing...she is really great and wants to make sure I see results and is good about keeping me on track and giving me ideas about how to get the results I want :) After my training session I did a half hour of cardio on the treadmill! My nutrition for the day was really good as well, so an A in both areas for Wednesday!!

Day four: THANKSGIVING!! I am not counting this day, eating wise (duh). As far as food went, I did eat what I wanted but smallish portions and no seconds and I didn't feel too stuffed at all! In the morning I went to a special yoga class they offered at the gym and it was awesome, it was kind of a Tai Chi-inspired class with lots of deep bends and stuff, and then some meditation time at the end. After that I tried to do some cardio but my ankle was giving me a hard time so I pretty much walked/ran for a mile. All in all, not too shabby! I'm gonna give my workout an A- for the day.

Day five: Today I did some pilates, my upper body weights, and also some stuff that I had been doing with my trainer to focus on my thighs/butt (all while watching High School Musical 3, which is a surprisingly good workout background). A!! It was a really good workout! Eating wise I did pretty well too, I did eat a little bit of a sandwich at work later in the night because they had provided food for us as it was a busy Black Friday at Big Bowl! I only ate half of a half of a sandwich though. The rest of the day I did really well. So, A-.

So, with my work schedule sort of evening out of late, I have decided to revamp my workout plan a little. Instead of having it set in stone to do running/cardio MWF and weights/pilates T TH S, I am just going to try to do cardio three times a week minimum, weights three times a week, and yoga/pilates three times a week and have some freedom as to when I schedule workouts. That way I can double up on days I have more free time and do weights/cardio or cardio/pilates at the same time. Since Sundays and Mondays are too busy with my work schedule to reliably get any workouts in, and I seem to have lots more time Tuesday-Thursday, I think this works better. And it's good to do multiple things at once anyway. This will also allow a day off if I need some rest or if I have soreness or pain in any area....I have to remember that the time off to heal is just as important as the working out!! This may mean I have to stop the grading because I don't really have an "assignment" some days now for working out...but that's ok since I seem to keep pretty motivated anyway. We'll see.

Week four, day two....getting back on track!

Today I felt almost back to normal in my legs. I was feeling kind of itchy to get back to the gym since I've been slacking the past few days, so after doing my pilates and weights stuff I actually went to see if I could do some cardio....And I ended up running over 2 miles! I still have a little soreness around my knees but it didn't hurt too bad....if it did I would have stopped. So that's a definite A for the day in that area! It felt really good to get back to my workouts!! I have another session with my trainer tomorrow morning, I am a little afraid this time, ha ha! Maybe we can concentrate on abs or something to give my legs a break!
As for eating, I was also really good today, so an A there as well. :) I made my first smoothie of my very own today (Eben usually makes them for me) and it turned out pretty darn good even though I kinda made it up as I went along! I've gotta be REAL good tomorrow too because I'm gonna eat what I want on Thanksgiving :) Well, within reason of course. I'm gonna stick to small portions otherwise my insides will probably feel awful! Just gotta keep my eyes on the prize.

Week Four, day one....Busy busy Monday!

So today I didn't get a workout in but I still can't really walk so that's to be expected. I'm going to hit the gym tomorrow and hopefully get back on track for the rest of the week! I am feeling a lot better today and can walk without too much pain but I'm still not in any shape to be running or doing anything strenuous. So I'm gonna give myself a C for the day in that area.

Eating wise I did just ok today. I went to see New Moon with a bunch of folks this afternoon and had lunch at our movie-lunch spot, but ate very healthy considering I was eating out (Mediterranean grilled chicken breast with balsamic and sauteed tomatoes and steamed broccoli on the side)....but I did cave and have some popcorn at the movie!! I wasn't very hungry for the rest of the day but I forced myself to snack on some carrots and nuts later in the day before my evening shift. I ate a couple of bites of an extra Pad Thai and it felt so heavy in my stomach I almost felt sick for a minute! I guess that's what happens when you don't eat any carbs for a week! Then for dinner I ate the other half of my Mediterranean chicken breast, yum yum! So I think that's a B for the day :) Tomorrow is a new day and I will be getting back on track after a crazy weekend of nonstop work and sore muscles!!

Extra, extra.....I got my third letter today!! As of last Wednesday he still hadn't received any mail from anyone yet. That makes me sad :( But just think, after this week is over, our period of separation will be almost 1/3 over! That makes me feel a little better.

Week Three results!!!

I can't believe it's been three weeks already!! So my goal for the end of week three was 144 lbs. I weighed myself first thing this morning (every Monday morning is like Christmas Day now, ha ha) and....I reached my goal!! On the scale I am a little under 144, so approx. 143.5. YAY!! Which I'm glad of because I didn't really get to do all my workouts later in the week on account of my uber sore legs. They STILL hurt today :( Hopefully tomorrow I can get back to the gym and at least do some walking or elliptical with my weights/pilates. Today is going to have to be another rest day. As much as it kills me, I know I need it and in the meantime I'll just concentrate on eating well and make it up later in the week.
I did some calculations, and the six pounds I have lost so far is 4% of my original weight! And I'm about 1/3 of the way to my goal weight already!! I have a feeling that once I get under 140 it's going to come off slower though and take a little more work. But I'm glad I have a trainer to help me, even if she does kick my butt and temporarily disable me.

Here are my grade averages for the week:
Exercise: B
Eating: B+

Week Three days six and seven....I think I just hit a wall! WOOF.

Day Six....today I woke up and literally could not put weight on my legs. My thigh muscles were SO SORE my knees were shaking when I walked. My trainer really did a number on me apparently! I sucked it up, took some painkillers, and went to work my lunch shift at the restaurant. Being Saturday afternoon, it was crazy busy which might have been a good thing because I didn't even have a chance to think about how much it hurt to walk/stand. I have spilled a tray maybe once in my entire serving career, and I spilled TWICE today because I just had no control over any of my muscles. (thankfully not on anyone or by my tables and I didn't break anything, and I actually ended up containing most of the spills so I only had to remake like one of the drinks on the tray. But embarrassing nonetheless)

My trainer told me it would be a good idea to take today off for working out....yeah, couldn't have worked out even had I wanted to or had time to today!! So I'm just not going to count this day in my workout plan...I have a feeling my plan is going to modify a little in the coming weeks anyway. I hope my next training session is not going to put me out of commission like this!!

After work I made a nice healthy dinner and got ready to go see Fiddler on the Roof that my parents directed, with Eben's mom. It was a wonderful show!! Afterward we went and got some dessert and I had a beer, so I cheated a little there...but overall I was good at remembering to eat good stuff during the day and during my shift so I'm gonna give myself a B+ for the day for eating. I'm pretty firmly in the "don't deprive yourself" camp when it comes to dieting...everything in moderation. So then when I do decide to have some carbs, my body remembers how to process them and doesn't go nuts. I have heard that people who follow high protein/low carb diets do lose weight pretty rapidly and healthily, but the minute they "fall off the wagon" and introduce carbs/fats back into their diets they gain weight right away. I'm hoping that if I just moderate these things that won't happen, and I won't be tempted to "fall off the wagon" since I'm not depriving myself in the first place.

Day Seven....luckily this is a rest day!! And boy do I need it. I decided to skip church this morning because I am just exhausted, and still really sore, and have to go to work a long shift this afternoon/evening. So I slept in til' almost noon and am just hanging out until work! It's nice. I've been so busy lately I feel like even my down time has been "scheduled" so it's nice to just hang out and let my body and mind get some rest. Hopefully tomorrow I will not be so sore and can do some sort of workout. Although it is Monday and that means I have a busy day, and am planning to go see the new Twilight movie between my two shifts!!

By the way, I am in love with Pandora. It's an online radio station that creates a personalized station from the music you say you like and selects other similar music based on a bazillion qualities it measures in songs. You can create multiple stations based on your mood, too, which is great for me because my music tastes are kind of all over the map. Right now I'm listening to a station I created by entering a few indie/folk groups and some old jazz/blues singers I like. It's awesome that it's played some of my favorite obscure songs already and also some cool songs I've never heard by similar artists! Also you can rate the songs as they play, and if you click that you like a certain song it picks the following songs with this new information in mind. Pretty cool technology. Check it out! It's free!!

Week three, day five.....I got my butt kicked today.....

....and it felt GOOD!! Ha ha!

I had my second personal training session today and we got into exercise stuff. And she schooled me! It was starting to feel pretty hard and toward the end of our session I felt all weak and shaky...but pushed on and even did my cardio afterward. I did the stair mill...which is straight from the devil. It's like an escalator sort of thing with steps on a loop so it is more like actual stair climbing than a stair master. I have never seen such a contraption, it looked sort of old-school but she recommended it in particular to tone up my butt/thighs so I tried it....and lasted all of 3 minutes. YIKES. By this time I was feeling pretty done for but I did a solid ten more minutes on the eliptical. Then went off to work my busy Friday night shift at the restaurant! Boy are my legs sore :( So that's a definite A for the day! She recommended I take the day after training off or to do light walking/yoga but let my muscles recover. So that's what I'm planning on doing tomorrow...maybe some yoga after work in the afternoon.

Eating wise I'm also doing very well....sticking to the new guidelines. I have found it's a lot easier for me to do this if I kind of plan out what times and what in general I am going to eat for the next day the night before...that way I know if I have to prep lunch and dinner together according to how my work/workouts/etc are arranged in my day, or how many snacks to bring to get through a long shift at work. And if I plan certain times to eat during my shift I am much more likely to find a minute to sneak a snack in than if I don't conciously make that decision before hand. So I think this planning a day ahead thing will make this a lot easier to work with my weird, ever changing schedule. Again, an A for the day!

Week Three, day four....I'm soarin', flyin'...

Day Four....sorry for the High School Musical reference there :) but really, after my meeting with the trainer I am feeling really good about my plan!
Today I went to pilates at the gym and it was awesome! 45 minutes, pretty hard in places, but there were plenty of older ladies doing it pretty damn well so that was inspiring in an odd way, even if sometimes I wasn't as good at plank position as the 70 year old across from me. It just shows me that if I keep going like this I could someday be that awesome to be 70 and in good health and making twenty-somethings feel slightly inferior. Then I came home and made a tasty lunch (made dinner ahead of time too so I could eat it right when I got home from teaching this evening) and then did my weights. Sooo....I'm gonna be generous and give myself an A in both areas today! WOOHOO!! Tomorrow I'm meeting with my trainer to do some actual exercising stuff. She will most likely kick my butt. I'm gonna plan to get to the gym early to do my running/cardio. And then later work a long busy weekend shift at the restaurant. But it's money in my pocket to spend in CA in a few months!!!

Speaking of...got my second letter today from Eben! He is kinda bored at boot camp. This does not surprise me. I just hope it gets more interesting for him or else it's gonna be a really long ten weeks (I get to see him ten weeks from today!!!). He is, as always, wonderfully sweet and touching in his letters. I love him so much. If I get two letters a week this isn't gonna be so bad....and I'm sending him letters basically every other day so he should have something to look forward to at the end of the day at least.