Week 4 Update - Summer Challenge

I started the day off feeling very stressed. I've just been looking at this week with such anticipation ... it's never a good thing. I had to remind myself, I am in control. I planned as much as I could in advance for today. I am in control. If there is something that is not in my control, then I don't need to worry about it.

Week 4 Update:

Goals:

1. Weight loss goal: To lose 10 lbs by May 8 (loss since the challenge began 4.84 lbs)
Only down 1/2 kg (1 lb.) this week. I feel like I've fallen into the 'slow and steady' weight loss category, which is fine, but I can't deny that I wish I could see the number move faster! Total loss for the challenge - 5.84 lbs. Just over 4 lbs to go in the next two weeks.

2. Non-scale goal: Make it through my list of things to do; prepare for/pass my PhD Viva
I finally made some more headway into my errands. I still have so many to do :( Having to teach the extra 23 students for the whole week really did throw me off in terms of how much prep I did for class etc. Hopefully things will normalize this week as I'm back to teaching just my class. 


I managed to get through chapter 4 of my thesis, but I didn't complete chapter 5 or start my data task. (Feeling so frustrated writing that!)


A bonus NSV -- my size L Nike DryFit capris are now too big :) I slipped on a medium (that I had bought once by mistake) and it fits really well! Super pleased about that!!

3. Exercise goal: I had another great week when it came to making it to the gym.
- Gym 6x/week - Done!
- Weight training 3x/week (4 is possible) - Done! In fact, I did 5 weights sessions this week because of the trail run of Body Pump 81 with our trainer KD.
- Cardio 6 hrs/week (10 if possible) - Done! I managed 9 hours of cardio, so close to 10!! I've mentioned my 10 km November run before. I won't be focusing on any official training until after I return from London. For now, I'm just going to work on my endurance. This week I did 10 km on the cross-trainer in 1 hr. 18 min. I also hit a personal best of running 7 1/2 min straight. I'm getting closer to a sub-8 min kilometer!
- Abs focus 3x/week - Done! I did abs on my own twice and I did 2 abs blast classes (ouch!)

4. Nutrition goal
- Drink 3.5-4 L water daily - Done! In fact, except for Saturday I drank 4 L of water easily!
- Eat at least 1 serving of fruit daily - Do I really have to answer this? Only managed this 4 times this week :( It should be so easy ... but for some reason, I'd rather eat nothing than eat fruit even though I do actually enjoy the taste. I just can't explain it, but I will get this right!
- Greatly reduce wheat/grain based carbs during dinner - Done! I had bread only one night this week and for the rest of the days I just had lentils, veggies, and salad.
- Track food & water intake on a daily basis - Hmmmm My original intention was to write everything down like I was doing before. Have I done that? No. Have I been watching what I eat and monitoring my water intake? Yes. I think that will have to do for now. 

5. Mini-challenge: Pay it forward - You can read about it here :)


Goals for Week 5:
I seem to be doing well on the exercise and nutrition front, but honestly, just those two things take a lot of time! Grocery shopping, preparing the food, cooking, cleaning up ... Getting my workout clothes together, going to the gym, working out, showering, getting ready ... these take so much time. It's totally worth it. In fact, I'd happily give up a lot of other things just to be able to focus on my exercise and nutrition without any distractions. Unfortunately, that's not reality. I'm having such a lot of trouble getting other tasks done. I'm just tired. By the time I'm home at the end of the day, I am tired.

So, I'm modifying some of my goals for this week because I know it will be hectic with the 3-day conference, my in-laws coming, and the new CrossFit training session. I'm just trying to be reasonable and realistic. We'll see how it goes.

1) Weight loss - Same as before. Just keep losing some weight; no pressure on a number as long as it's a bit lower than the previous week and that I'm on my way to losing the 10 lbs by May 8th.
2) Non-scale goal - I only have one major task that I want to accomplish this week and that is to get Survive! I'm not putting any extra pressure on myself to get anything other than doing things that need to be tackled immediately. I'm even putting reading my thesis on the side until I get to the weekend. Sometimes (usually, actually!) I get more things done when I'm under a lot of pressure than when I have some time to play around with.
3) Exercise - Finish NROL4W Stage 6; Get in at least 5 hours of cardio (including 1 10 km stretch); Do 2,000 reps of abs/thighs/butt exercises (of some variation) over the week; Survive my first CrossFit session!
4) Nutrition goal - I clearly have not allocated the time to write everything down. However, I do feel like I have been sensible ... so I'm going to stick to my current goals but modify the last one from 'track' to just be vigilant of everything that I eat and drink and continue to make sensible choices so that I can achieve my goals.

Gosh, looking at all that makes me feel a bit nervous. I'm just hoping that my previous experiences of being more productive when under pressure will come through for me this week!