Stepping it up a notch

This week, I decided to step it up a notch.  And it was a BAD idea.  More on that later.  Yesterday's weigh-in was no major surprise.  I'd had a few unexpectedly good weeks, and when you combine last week's completely hosed routine (thanks to the chaos caused by the snow) with my complete lack of control with food over the weekend, it adds up to two pounds gained.  I'm not all that upset, because the amount of enjoyment I got out of those weekend food fests was worth it.  I know I should feel very guilty over it, but I just can't.  The food made me entirely too happy.

So this week, I'm motivated to get those two pounds back off, and then one more.  I know it can be done - I've had weeks where I've gone down by 3 pounds before.  They're just rare.  I'm not shooting for any more than 3 though, because Friday is my birthday (turning 39 for the first time) and there will be ice cream involved, and probably a nice meal out if we can get around the v-day crowds.

But so far, my motivation has backfired.  I thought it was time that I introduced something new in the activity component of this journey.  So I dusted off a cardio video I got from The Biggest Loser a long time ago.  I'd done it once before, and now I remember quite clearly why it was only once.  I did this video at 9pm last night, and I woke up sore this morning.  And usually, doesn't the sore take 24 hours to really rear its ugly head?  And isn't it WORSE on the second day?  Based on the way I feel now, I might actually be completely immobile tomorrow!    I'm sure there was cardio in that video somewhere, because my heart rate was definitely up and I certainly had a good sweat going.  But in hindsight, I should have stopped when I saw that very first lunge.

I guess I could look on the bright side.  This sore will serve as a reminder of what I'm trying to accomplish.  I won't attempt anything that muscle intense any more this week because I have no desire to cross the line from sore to injured.  But maybe I should aspire to eventually being able to get through that 20 minute video without killing myself.  That seems like a good goal, and it's slightly more interesting than my treadmill time.

Oh, the pain

The past two weeks seem to be nothing but one pain after another.  Ug.  I was so stoked about the relatively big numbers I was enjoying the first couple of weeks after getting my treadmill, that I upped the intensity to try to do better.  Enter the first round of pain.  I'm not entirely sure why it is, but my whole right leg started getting achy.  I pushed through it when trying to do the workouts, but dealing with a painful hip and lower back was something I couldn't do while trying to sleep.  Finding a comfortable sleep position with a hip that twinges with every movement was just not fun.

On top of it all, even with the dialed up the workouts, the weight loss didn't increase. Hmmmm..... There's got to be a whole lot more to the whole equation.  Maybe it was the lack of sleep.  Maybe I went off menu more than I realized.  Hard to say, but clearly there are lots of stars that have to align to make the weight losing thing work.  And they did not align when I was hurting.  Two weeks ago, the weigh-in showed a loss of some percentage of a pound.  And I truly thought I'd done better. 

So after that small percentage of a pound, I figured I'd go back to a more manageable intensity on the workouts, and go back to the choosing my own foods from the JC list, and not counting calories so strictly (by the way, two weeks ago I tried to do one of their planned menus again - with less than stellar results).  I was doing great for the first few days, until I came down with strep throat.  Strep is painful, painful stuff.  Not only could I not swallow without intense pain, my neck muscles hurt, and because of a few bouts of intense fever shivers, my entire back hurt.  So there was no kind of activity for four days.  And these four days followed directly on the heels of two big dinners out, where I didn't even attempt to make good choices.  I got my favorites, and enjoyed every single bite.  But I guess the fact that I was living off of soup and tea for the next few days made the difference last week, because at my weigh-in, I was down by 3lbs again.

Now, there's no way I'd wish for a continuation of a sickness that makes swallowing so painful.  Good for weight loss, I suppose, but not a fun way to live.  So I'm still trying to figure out the right combination of stuff that makes for an ideal weight loss week - one that doesn't include pain, that is.

Progress

I can't believe I never got around to posting about last week's
weigh-in. It was a shock! I lost 4lbs last week, and considering
that I munched myself silly at the NYE party on the 31st, it's a
miracle. I did try to account for that night of splurging by making
sure I got more activity in, and I guess that did the trick.

This past week wasn't as difficult - I didn't have the major splurge
night like the week before, but I did have a few meals off-menu. I
guess I go less insane about the whole meal plan thing that way if I
try to stick to "the plan" in a loose kind of way. I lost 2.5 lbs
last week, which I'm quite happy with. I think the new treadmill
helps a lot - I've been doing all of my walks on an incline.

Also, in good/bad news, I just bought new pants (good!), but if I keep
this pace for too many more weeks, I'll only get a few wears before
having to drop some more money on clothes again (bad). It's times
like this that I wish it were spring - I'm sure I can get more mileage
out of a skirt, or at least be able to take in a skirt myself. Oh
well - I wanted this. So I've got to deal with the extra expense of
the in-between clothes (since they'd surely frown on my switch from
business casual to sweat pants at work ;-) ).