Three weeks into the new training program and I feel volumes better about the exercise that I am doing. I still want to get back into a running routine on non-lifting days but unsure of how my left knee will hold up. Running might just be something I won’t be able to do for any real distance. Still, the exercise portion has been progressing and I love the soreness and feeling as if I am actually doing something in the gym.
Then we have events like the Super Bowl, which I seem to use as an excuse to eat terribly and waste any progress.
Nutrition has always been the weakest link for me. I saw a photo taken of me over the weekend and felt destroyed. I have been on a roller coaster ride, seeing ups and downs, and to see the harsh reality of where I am right now was a hard pill to swallow. It did not help to see photos of a couple of friends who have been making some insane progress in the gym and look fantastic. I know that comparison is not the best route to go, but the feeling I am left with is “why cannot I get my crap together and keep it together?” One of the friends who shared her success had hired a coach and has been working with him, something I want so desperately to do.
Then the stubbornness kicks in.
Why can’t I do this myself?
I at least have to try.
I took the time to zero in on some goals and think through not just my nutrition, but the bad habits that have formed and paved the way to where I am right now. I wrote a plan that I want to start with and plan on doing a little habit stacking.
Week Two
As I write this, I am down two pounds and nearly finished with the second week of the plan. I haven’t had an energy drink this entire time, which might just be the most amazing aspect of all of this. I feel as if I have more energy without having them. Wild, right? Over the past two weeks, there have been plenty of eye-openers and humbling facts I observed:
- I have not been drinking anywhere near enough water. I have never taken the time to track water intake, but have done so this last week with my Garmin and been shocked at how far off my goal I have been, despite feeling like I am drinking a lot.
- My ability to estimate food is off. This isn’t a shock, but tracking food always helps reign these mistakes in. There were days when I would start to make my normal meals with the portions that I am used to, but weighing it and measuring it meant something entirely different. To hit my goals, I can’t eat as much as I was. Seeing what I was doing versus what I am doing now, it doesn’t surprise me to see the weight gain that I have.
- Limiting the caffeine has made me feel better and actually given me more energy. There were days when I would have pre-workout, coffee, and an energy drink later in the day. Yea, that is terrible and I know that. Now, if I have pre-workout, a vice I don’t plan on dropping any time soon, then I don’t have coffee. I cut out energy drinks all together.
- My joints and body don’t hurt nearly as much right now. I am sore, but that is from the workouts that I am doing, not just from carrying extra bodyweight and being unhealthy.
Progress is slow and I remind myself that is more important than anything else. I have to be more focused on building the healthy habits than just merely losing weight.