Rough Week...

.....and I stupidly got on the scale this morning.  I may just throw it out the window!!!!!  It upsets me too much when it tells me these lies.

So this week was a bit rough for me.  First of all, James was sick from Saturday-Thursday with some terrible GI bug.  He was so nauseous that even the smell of cooking food would make him sick.  This poses a problem when the other person in the house actually wants to eat.  Problem #2: I had to work both Tuesday and Thursday evenings until late so I was on a weird schedule and was really tired.  (I realize these are only excuses, but I'm listing them anyway.)  I worked out on Monday and Tuesday, but that was it for this week (I'm about to go to the gym and get back on the horse!), so naturally my mood has been terrible!  I also had a cheat meal this week--I'd been having terrible cravings for carbs all week, so I planned out that on Thursday I would allow myself to have a cheat meal.  I had small portions and didn't feel gross or guilty afterward (this was also pre-approved by James as not cheating on Atkins, so I don't lose--he participated as well).


Gym To-Do:

• bicep curls 12 reps x3 sets
• triceps on machine  12 reps x 3 sets
• lat pull-downs 12 reps x3 sets
• cross body pull downs 12 reps x3 sets
• Three-way shoulders: bent over dumbbell rows, bent over dumbbell flies, straight arm dumbbell raises to front.  12 reps of each x 3 super-sets
• Squats: 12 reps x 3 sets
• Lunges with dumbbells 12 reps x 3sets
• Calf Raises with dumbbells 15 each side x 3 sets
• Weighted side step-ups, 15 each side x3 sets
• Dead lift 12 reps x3
• Push-ups in between dead lift sets
• 30 second planks x3
• Roman twist abs with weight disc
• incline crunches with weight
• back extensions with weight

I think I am going to sit down later and re-motivate myself.  I feel guilty about this past week, but then I stop and thing that maybe a "rest week" is a good thing every now and then.  p90x and Insanity both have a rest week about 4-5 weeks in, so maybe this is what I needed.  

I was just going to comment, but it got long.... and then it turned into a whole new topic.

I agree. So many gimmicks out there!  I feel like most of it is just about money with most of these diets too, which is frustrating to me.  I really felt like that on WW and feel like  that if I ever visit the Atkins site (they promote a lot of fake food type stuff which just looks yuck!)...

But then I feel like some of the diets are just so "hippy-ish" and are concerned with so many "toxins" harming our bodies...well, I'm pretty sure every time I pump gas I inhale "toxins" or every time I use Listerine, I'm absorbing "toxins"....where do you draw the line??  I can't use paper products because they ruin the planet, but I can't use plastic either because they'll give me cancer or autism or something.

Why can't we just eat what we want??  I know why I can't, because I would binge on things like cake or pop-tarts.  I've been having a rough past couple of days where I literally daydream about things to go home and pig out on that are not Atkins-friendly.  These mostly involve ice cream and french fries.  Not because I feel deprived by any means, but because I'm tired and emotional, and just feel drained.  Why do I want a cupcake to fix that???  Is it because growing up, baked goods meant love and comfort??  I'm feeling like things aren't fair right now.  (i.e. why some people could eat poptarts and cupcakes for every meal with no consequences) For the record, I have not given in to these urges!
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Who's Invited: You Are!
What: Manda's Pity-Party
When: This very night!

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end. scene.

I love this blog post.  Now she does talk about Atkins so just ignore that part but the rest of it is exactly how I feel. So many differing opinions. Which to believe? Which is right for me? I feel like she could be our friend!

Reminders

Here is a quote that I am trying to repeat to myself daily:

"You yourself, deserve your love and affection as much as anybody in the universe"

I have been struggling with this for the past week (and really all my life, let's be honest) and at certain times it's been really rough.

I feel like I see myself as one thing and then when I go out into the real world and that image doesn't seem to be affirmed in others then I start doubting who I am. Then I found another quote on Pinterest that says..."How Others see you is not important. How you see yourself is everything." Something else I need to repeat to myself. If I would keep positively reassuring myself instead of letting negative thoughts creep in I Think life would feel a lot different.

Just daily reminders that we are worthy and we can be whoever we want to be.

Goals for the Week

1. Take lunch every day
2. Workout a minimum of 5 days this week.  
3. 12-15g of net carbs from veggies every day!!

1 Month!!!

Yay for us!!! I feel the exact same way about the scale. I can feel changes in my body (even to the point that I'm starting to see definition on my stomach which has never happened) so I feel like the scale shouldn't matter at all. I also agree about exercising as a hobby. I love it! I love taking new classes and having something to look forward to at the end of the workday. If I'm having a horrible day and am super cranky it all changes after I work out. It's like a miracle drug but it's good for you at the same time mentally and physically.

I tried body pump yesterday and loved it! I think I will be doing that every Saturday. It's a full hour of strength training to different music tracks. They worked everything. We did squats with a bar on our shoulders so you can change the weight. We did lunges with the bar, dead lifts, shoulders, biceps and triceps work and then ended with some abs. It was challenging but really good and I'm definitely feeling it today.

I had such a busy weekend that I really haven't had time to do any real planning for this week, which is why this post is coming so late in the day. I went to Sarah's party last night and then to Stacy's birthday after that and didn't get in until 4am. I had to get up and get ready to go meet Steph in Guthrie at 11:30 so I bascially came back after that and crashed until I had to start some laundry and go to the grocery store.

Here is this week's menu:

Breakfast: Oatmeal & skinny chai

Lunch: turkey wrap, greek yogurt dip w/veggies

Snack: greek yogurt

Dinner: Snobby joes w/cauliflower or sweet potatoes

Activity for this week:
Monday: Kickboxing
Tuesday: Zumba
Wednesday: Zumba or kickboxing
Thursday:Zumba
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Body pump and maybe ellliptical afterward
Sunday: Rest

Measurements:
Weight: 156 (up a little but that's ok)
Arms: 12"/12" (my mom and dad asked to feel my biceps yesterday at the cowgirl game. they were impressed which made me feel good, haha)
Bust: 33.5" (down .5")
Waist: 28.5" (same)
Hips:34.5" (down 1.5". I think last weeks measurement may have been a fluke)
Thighs: 24"/24" (same)
Calves: 15"/15" (same)

Goals for the next week:
1. WATER 64 OZ A DAY!!!
2. Stick to workout schedule
3. Bed by 10:30

One Month Down!!

Good Morning!!

We are now one month into the New Year, my friend, and I'd say we are doing splendidly!

I think this past week was really good for me, as I've come to several conclusions:

1. The scale is SO dumb.  I think that we are so conditioned to rely on it to tell us we are progressing that we lose sight of how we're really doing.  Last week the scale was up (as it was again this morning), and I felt like I had done crappy because of it.  This week, I resisted the urge to step on it countless times, and secretly hoped it would magically be a really, really low number this morning since I hadn't looked all week.  NOPE. The funny thing is, I don't really care what it said this week.  Last night, I noticed just how firm my thighs/quads are getting, and I was super proud!  I thought back on all of the hard work I did this week in the gym and knew that I had really given it a lot of effort this week.  So from now on, I will be weighing in weekly, but I'm not really focused on this number anymore.  Who care's what it says??  I know that I am doing everything right and I just have to be consistent in my healthy ways.  It's more about becoming fit and healthy than having a number that is acceptable to society.  It's not like weight watchers, where if you gain 4 pounds in water weight from working out, you are shamed into thinking you must have gone over your points and gained 4 whole pounds from calories.  So that being said, Screw You Scale, I'm doing a fabulous job.
2. I realized that I really like going to gym.  I think I enjoy having a "hobby," since I really haven't had many hobbies since starting medical school.  It feels good to have something normal again that I can just "go do" if I'm bored.  I really hate it that my life consists mostly of school and then coming home to watch TV and then going to bed.  I enjoy watching recorded shows, but I really do not like channel surfing or wasting hours on the internet--it puts me in a terrible and frustrated mood (and I just realized this recently....).  I feel better (mood-wise) if I am doing something constructive, and I think that is why I love going to the gym--because it prevents me from coming home-eating-sitting on the couch all night-& going to bed. I really don't like being sedentary.  I get bored with it pretty quickly and then my sour mood starts! So here's to having an actual hobby!

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I actually worked really hard to meet my goals this week and am proud that I accomplished these things.  They mean more than that number on the scale any day.

I feel good about my progress this week, even if the numbers aren't much different!
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I'll update with some goals for the week later!