Shifting the schedual

I was so worn out yesterday that I skipped the gym. Awful I know, but I just couldn't muster up enough energy to hit the treadmil and still stay awake for work.

Instead of letting that totally trash my healthy goals for the week, me and the S.O. decided to go to the gym today, and I'm going to try to get in at least two more workouts this week.

I really felt my workout today, which makes sense since it's been almost a week since I was last at the gym.

It also was a rather wimpy gym session, all I did was a 20 minute HIIT session on the eliptical. No time for strength or a run, but I did push myself on the HIIT.

Hopefully I'll stick to the plan and weights will be tomorrow.

-Meg

Entering the "tough days" of Dieting

It has begun.

The season of challenges, between traveling, holiday parties, availability of tasty treats, and a lack of time and money, the season of "holidays" has started.

It started early for me as my S.O.'s brother was coming in to town with his wife this past weekend. Showing people around NYC, while good for the exercise portion of your life, is not so good for the dieting endeavors. But I did ok, managing to somehow keep myself from ballooning up this weekend.

Between now and New Years is the gauntlet. Halloween next weekend, Thanksgiving in a couple more weeks, then the lead up to Christmas, with its gamut of parties and shopping.

How do you deal with the "holiday eating madness"?
-Meg

Diet breaking day

Today has been one of those days where you suddenly find yourself completely derailed from your diet. All of my food choices today have been comfort driven, which means almost 100% of the time that they are bad for me.

My goal today, now, is to stay around 1500 calories, and to not let today derail me tomorow.

Today is the last day if my work week, so Tomorow I should be able to get a full night sleep, and face the weekend with a healthier viewpoint.

-Meg

Moving forward again

It seems my rededication to watching what I eat has payed off, and my weight-loss has resumed.

I've also figured out a more reasonable eating plan for myself. I eat small meals/snacks if around 200-300 calories every 4 hours or so. This keeps me feeling relatively satisfied throughout my 12 hour work day.

I did a HIIT session today, but I honestly wasn't in to it, I kinda phoned it in. I had a hard time even getting myself to the gym today. I've been having a general lack of energy, and it's catching up to me. I did the HIIT session and a set of 30 Sensei Mark Specials, and hit the showers.

I'll try to make up for it Thursday.

Any ideas on boosting energy?
-Meg

Short update

Life is full and busy right now, resulting in me not having time to devote to much of anything other than what needs to get done,

I managed two workouts last week, suplimented by a ton of walking. I upped the resistance level on the HIIT sessions and I'm felling it still.

I figured out why I'm hitting a weight loss plateau, but even knowing didn't help, I just hope the weight loss resumes soon..,

More later,
-meg

The importance of watching what I eat.

Watching the weight come back has been depressing for two different reasons.

First the obvious, I am not progressing towards my goal, but instead am getting further from it, and all that represents.

Second, since I am still exercising, just not watching what I eat, it make obvious the fact that if I want to maintain my weight loss I will never be able to eat without attention to what I am eating.

The good news is that as soon as I start watching what I eat again, the weight starts coming back off.

I realize that this is a lifelong change, but I think somewhere in me is still this little girl whining that it's not fair. That once I reach my goal weight I should be able to eat anything I want and look fabulous.

-Meg

The monetary value of health

One of the things I've talked about a lot, especially recently, is the impact my job has on my health. Besides the long hours (12 hour shifts) the odd hours (7pm to 7am) , and being constantly surrounded by bad food, I have discovered that I have an inability to call in sick. Besides the fact that as a "temp" (long story) I do not have "sick days" and therefore will not get payed if I call in sick, there is no one to cover my job should I call in sick. And I don't mean that in the way that other people would gt over loaded, I mean that in the way that there is no one else trained that would be available to cover my shift should I call in sick.

This brings up what is to me at least an interesting point. The monetary value of health, and the value to a company of the health of it's employee's. It seems to me lately, especially with the downturn in the U.S. economy, that more and more companies are expecting their employee's to put their health and well-being aside in the interest of maintaining their employment.

I've been debating whether there is a point at which my employment will impact my health so negatively that I am forced to find another job, just to stay reasonably healthy.

How do your jobs treat the subject of employee health?
-Meg

Backslide

It was bound to happen, what with the way I've been living lately. Stress and Lack of motivation have been keeping me from the gym, and between celebration and bad planning, my food choices have been somewhat lacking in the health range.

Still, seeing the numbers on the scale tick upwards instead of steadily down is disheartening.

Today I will head into the gym to make up for a missed session yesterday. After seeing the numbers on the scale, I may push myself a tad harder than normal.

We shall see.
-Meg

The Content of Fitness Magazines.

I work in magazine publishing, sort of, and as such I get to read a ton of magazines. It's a perk, and a downside. I read a lot of good stuff, but I also read a lot of trash that hurts my body image and clogs up my recycling box.

My favorite magazines are the fitness magazines. New workout tips, healthy recipes, information about how my body works. All good things.

Lately however I have noticed that a large chunk of these magazines has started being dedicated to things that I am used to seeing in the pages of Glamour or Allure. Relationship advice, Articles on Beauty products and lifestyle. Not that I'm complaining, mostly because the articles are well written and sometimes helpful, however when I pick up a copy of, oh, say, Woman's Health I expect at least 75% of the content to be fitness related.

I pick up these magazines for motivation and inspiration. I want new workouts, new exercises, not "the top drugstore beauty picks" (although truth be told that was a useful article...I am so buying that.)

Perhaps I'm biased because I do read so many magazines...I expect them all to be nicely compartmentalized with their own specialty.

Or, maybe they've just run out of new ways to do sit ups?

-Meg

Why is it always doughnuts?

Someone brought in doughnuts again last night. I had one, then went back for a second six hours later. Now, I realize I shouldn't be eating two doughnuts, but keep in mind all I had to eat before that was a Fresh Mozzarella basil and tomato sandwich, and a mocha late. So yeah, I was hungry.

Upon picking up the second doughnut, and attempting to abscond with it to my desk, one of my bosses walking by goes, "Don't DOOOOO ittttt....." I'm like 'Huh?' "Ooooonly eaaat haaaaalf!" So I blithely tell him I will be going to the gym tomorrow anyways so I'll just put in an extra ten or something. He gives me this look and says "Everyone says that." See now I'm mad because he's implying that a)I am too fat to eat the doughnuts that everyone else has been chowing down on and b)Yes I am going to the gym thank-you-very-much just like I go EVERY Tuesday.

The worst part was when I told him my workout regimen (he asked) he said "you should do an hour of running after that."

Either this guy is a serious workout-arexic or I need to punch him on principle.
I haven't decided yet.

-Meg

Weekends

I always go into the weekend with high aspirations. Lists of to do's and goals to accomplish before Monday rolls around again. You would think, that since I have a four day weekend, these lists would go like cake. However, Monday always rolls around and that list is still there, collecting dust on the metaphoric desk where I left it.

My problem is two fold. The first problem being a total lack of motivation once the weekend rolls around. Stress and lack of sleep often conspire to leave me exhausted by Thursday, and to be honest, I sleep through most of Thursday.

The second part of the problem is a sense of entitlement. The weekend is for fun, and I worked hard all week and I'm tired. So I end up doing only what has to get done and sleeping/loafing/going out with friends for the rest of the time.

Any motivational tricks out there I can try?
-Meg

Keeping pace

Got myself to the gym just fine yesterday. Did a 15 minute run on the treadmill. I'm keeping the runs short for now, trying to avoid a repeat of the ankle incident. Although I've adjusted the way I run, landing mid foot instead of on my toes, and that seems to have fixed the problem.

I did my strength training and realized I was too tired for the H.I.I.T. session, so I'll just have to go this weekend to make up for it.

There was one of those moments today where you realize something is a total fluke, and will adjust itself later on, but some part of you really hopes that it's somehow not. I stepped on the scale and the numbers blinking up at me? 147.6. Seeing as that would be over a pound drop since yesterday, I know it's most likely going to come back by tomorrow, but still, it'd be nice if it didn't!

This week is all off kilter due mainly to me having to work an extra day this week (yay for giving up my Friday night) to cover someone going on vacation. The extra money in my paycheck will be good, and much needed, but the extra time at work, and the extra stress, is definitely not something I need.

Ah well. I'm off to work. Hopefully the mental wellness will catch up to the physical fitness soon!

-Meg

Small gains

My workout yesterday was again time crunched. I just can't seem to make myself get up early enough to have a relaxing time at the gym on the days I work. I did manage to do a 10 minute run on the treadmill to warm up before doing almost my full compliment of strength exercises. I did do a full 20 minute H.I.I.T. session on the elliptical machine, and I still think that these are keeping me from backsliding all by themselves.

I am noticing with the H.I.I.T. sessions that I'm having to up the resistance on the "go so hard your heart feels like it's going to explode" intervals, and that I recover faster on the "try not to feel like everyone is wondering why someone going so slow is sweating so hard" intervals.

The numbers on the scale continue to say that it's working. Although I've run into the "I don't feel like I'm loosing weight" problem again. Part of the problem is the new Jeans. See, the new Jeans are smaller, and therefore fit more appropriately. However, having gotten used to wearing Jeans that were two sizes too big, the new Jeans feel tight and make me panic about gaining weight.

Stress from work is continuing to be a factor, to the point where I did the most embarrassing thing and broke down and cried last night. Not much, but enough that a coworker noticed and that's bad enough.

I've also come to the conclusion that, stress or not, working the night shift is slowly damaging my health. I'm just not built for it. I end up not getting enough sleep, not getting enough exercise, not getting out enough, and eating like crap. One day this will no longer be an issue, in the meantime I'm trying to find ways to compensate, like multivitamins and Vitamin D Supplements.

Any suggestions on how to deal with the Night Shift?
-Meg