Day 9 of Eating Plan

What works for me is to have a plan. I know some people hate routines and predictability. My mother can't stand to cook something the same way two times in a row -- too boring for her. But for me, when I have a plan, and don't have to make a decision about something in the midst of it, I do MUCH better.

This works with meal planning. After a busy day, going to the kitchen at 5:30 with nothing planned is the biggest drag. LaRosa's has made many a pizza for this household when I couldn't think of something to cook, or nothing was defrosted, etc.

It also works with daily eating, from the schedule to the actual food. I eat at 6:30, 9:30, 12:30, 3:30, and 6:30, and I know what I am going to eat at each of those times. At this point, my diet each day is identical to the day before. This is not a permanent arrangement, but it is necessary for now.

I worked out with my trainer today and we chatted about my food intake. I have been having trouble getting all the meals in because I haven't been anticipating well enough. It's not enough to plan to eat at 9:30. I need to think about where I'll be right before and after that. Even being at home today, I didn't get this meal in until 10:45.

So, I need to fine-tune the plan. Create a checklist of each item and when I will eat it. To some, that may sound just entirely too anal, but for me, in order to take care of myself, I MUST be deliberate about making it happen. Otherwise, at the pace life happens around here, hours go by and I realize I've missed another meal.

I'm sticking with my plan and seeing results!

Today's workout: 1 hour with personal trainer, focusing on legs and abs, including 15 trips up and down two flights of stairs! 32 minutes of interval training on the treadmill.
Listened to while working out: Talked with trainer. So much on my mind right now didn't need the additional distraction of the music.
Weight: 154.2
Water intake: Met goal of 1.5 gallons.
Feeling stronger today? Not only did I show that I am "hard as nails" (my trainer's words), I also changed my first flat tire on my own, in the snow. So, YES.

Day 7 Shows Results!

As I predicted(!), the need was to persevere. I finally had the chance today to eat all the meals as scheduled and as designed. With the holidays, I wasn't getting up early enough to get started by 6:30. Now that we are back into the swing of our regular schedule, the days start earlier.

Today's cardio: 35 minutes on treadmill doing interval training.
Weight: 155.2
Listened to: Eagles, TobyMac, Annie Lennox, Coldplay, U2, Joe Satriani and Don Henley
Do I feel stronger today: Absolutely!
Goal met for water intake: 1.5 gallons.

Day 6 of my Eating Plan . . .

and as hard as this is, the pounds should be falling off by the hour!

My first trainer told me not to weigh myself every day. Too much fluctuation up and down and can be discouraging. Yes, indeed.

But really I think I'm just impatient. It's hard to remember that I didn't put on this extra weight in a week, and it's not going to come off in a week, either.

One thing that keeps me going when I am struggling is knowing that I am getting stronger, both in my body and in my mental strength, by continuing on with what I have agreed to.

And I know the weight will come off. It's just important to take it one day at a time. One meal at a time, actually.

Today's exercise: 35 minutes on the treadmill, doing interval training part of the time. I chose to fastwalk the last half of the workout because my knees are 47 years old and need to be taken good care of so they will last for many more years. I find that jogging every day is too hard on them.
Today's weight: 157
Listened to while I was on the treadmill: Over the Hedge was playing in the background.
Feelin' stronger today? Yes.

Words That Motivate Me

Recently, I changed trainers owing to an impending schedule change of my trainer, Mark. I trained with Mark for several months and would have been happy to continue on with him, but in a great move for him, he is taking a new job.

Mark has a great attitude and his affirmations always motivated me to work just a little bit harder, and sometimes, a whole lot harder.

My favorite line: "You DO have this in you, Susan."

A little different from, "Come on, you can do it," which implies I need to try harder. He believed that I had the mental and physical strength to reach the goal he had set for me. It means a lot to me to have that kind of encouragement as I reach for new goals. How great to be reminded that I HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!

Welcome to Feelin' Stronger Every Day!

Come along with me as I blog about working out, eating low-carb, utilizing protein supplements, and losing weight. I'm a regular person -- the only amazing thing I have done is given birth to five babies whose combined birth weight exceeded FIFTY pounds. Just like everyone else, I have to figure out how to take care of my body in a very busy lifestyle. Just like everyone else, I have days I am strong and days when I am not quite so strong. And just like everyone else, I want to be healthy, look good, and feel strong. Join me in my journey.

Many people start exercise programs as a result of a New Years' resolution, but not me. I seem to be in a perpetual mode of looking at my life, finding a need for improvement and figuring out a way to take some forward steps. I think having a mindset of constantly learning and improving keeps me young. The other side of the coin is there are a lot of areas in my life that can use improvement!

I first got the inspiration to hire a personal trainer in the spring of 2002. I saw an advertisement in the Cincinnati magazine with before and after pictures of clients of Power3. I definitely looked more like the before pics, so decided I'd try it out. I clicked with my trainer, Aaron, and lost 18 pounds in 6 weeks! At the time, it was fine with me to lose weight that fast, and I really enjoyed being thinner. More about that later.

Today's workout was a full-body workout with my trainer, Jason Michel, at Power3. I highly recommend him.

Today's weight: 157.
Today's water intake goal: 1.5 gallons.
Most recent meal: 1/2 sweet potato, 4 ounces chicken breast, 1 1/2 cups green beans.
(good for post workout meal)
Cardio after workout: 30 minutes interval training on treadmill with 5 minute cooldown.
Listened to during workout: nothing today. I really wanted to focus on the exercise.
Feelin' Stronger Today? definitely.