Patient and Positive - Summer Challenge Week 3

The weekends in Kuwait are on Friday and Saturday, so Sundays are the start of my work week. For some reason, every Sunday morning I seem to be in a rush. I consider myself fairly organized, but somehow or another, I'm rushing ... I wake up super early in the morning to help me avoid this rush, but it hasn't worked. Apparently the extra time just gives me more of a chance to procrastinate.

As I in the middle of all this frantic-ness, a friend of mine who is a yoga instructor in the States (check out his website here, and do take a moment to read his 'about me' page) posted a link to an article he wrote about slowing down and enjoying the present instead of rushing towards the future. It's definitely worth a read so do check it out when you have the time. It's entitled Check Yourself before you Wreck Yourself.

It was just the reminder that I needed -- slow down. You're missing life by rushing around, and all those things you're rushing away from ... well, slow down and confront them. They won't disappear on their own.

So, on to my workout today -- I completed the second round of Workout B in NROL4W. I upped a few more weights and felt really good. This program has definitely taught me not to be afraid of lifting heavier weights - 3 sets of 8 reps ... there's definitely room to challenge yourself. Next week it's going to be 3 sets of 6, so I will continue to push myself.

I only did weights today. I was tempted to go in for another session of cardio, but I know I have a long session planned for tomorrow so I decided not to go overboard and exhaust myself.

Now, for the Summer Challenge update ...

We're heading into week 3 already! Here's a recap of my goals and where I stand so far:

Recap and Progress

I'm lumping my weight loss goal & exercise goal into 1 category:

• Weight loss goal: Lose 10 lbs by May 8
• Exercise goal: gym 6x/week; 3 weight training sessions; 6 hrs of cardio; abs 3x/week
• Mini week 2 fitness goal - try something new

I should be happy that I weighed in 1.7 kg (4 lbs) lighter than last week -- and I am definitely happy that I lost a bit of weight -- but I feel like it's the same 4 lbs that I keep gaining and losing. I've only come down just under 10 lbs since the beginning of February of this year (which is when I restarted keeping proper track of exercise/food/measurements etc.). I just don't have the confidence that next week (and the weeks after) will show significant different changes. I feel stuck.

I know my measurements were good last week and showed signs of progress, but they're not enough. Unless the weight comes off, my BMI won't come down, and that's the truth. This +/- 5 lbs is just not good enough.

The thing is, I feel like this past week represents a really good week for me - my exercise was on point. I hit all my exercise targets (6 days at the gym; 4 days of 1-1.5 hrs of weight lifting; 6.5 hours of cardio; 4 abs sessions). I feel like this is what is realistically possible for me on a weekly basis. There may be some days when I can do more ... but for the most part, this is the standard amount of time/energy that is realistic for me ... and again, while I did lose almost 2 kg, it's the same 2 kg that I gained last week -- what I really need is the NEXT 2 kg to come off ... then maybe some of my confidence will be restored. At the moment, my current weight just represents a 2 lb loss since the start of the challenge. Frustrating :(

I am so tempted to change things up and incorporate some additional strength/conditioning workouts, but I don't know how realistic or sustainable that will be ... plus I really, really want to stick with the plan. I won't know how much the NROL4W program will work unless I complete it ... so I'm going to stick to it. I really do love the program and I HIGHLY recommend the book -- it's just that you have to be patient. I guess that's going to be the case with any workout program that I try. It will take time for the results to show, so I have to be patient and keep trying.

For the new exercise this week, was Wednesday's new boxing routine. Although I have been boxing, it was the first time that I used a full bag -- and believe me, the swing back of the bag added quite a bit of impact to each punch! It was very enjoyable!! :)

Non-scale goal:

I've been making some progress getting through the endless to-do list. Some of it got put on hold again because the mountain of grading I had to do over the past few days. Still, a few things were achieved. I'm still not adding anything to the list until I've gotten them all done. Hopefully I can specify a few more tasks next week.

As for the preparation for my PhD defense ... I had a very encouraging phone conference with my supervisor. I'm making steady process through my thesis and it doesn't look too horrible. Hopefully it'll all go smoothly :)

Finally - my nutrition goal: Drink 3.5-4L of water daily; eat fresh fruit daily; reduce carbs during dinner; track foods on a daily basis ...

My water intake has been great - I've been drinking 3.5 L of water without a problem. I sometimes struggle to get to 4 L, though there were 2 days this past week when I drank 5 L of water -- it's all that cardio!! I'm also super proud that aside from one day I've managed to eat my fruit. I've practically cut out all wheat-based carbs for dinner (save one day) so that's going well. The only place I've been slacking is the accurate tracking of foods on a daily basis. I'm being conscious of what I'm eating, but I haven't been so good at writing it down.

So, all in all -- a good week. I'm very happy with my workouts and quite pleased with my food. Goals for week 3: More of the same; maybe try to fit in at least one yoga/pilates session to incorporate some stretching into my routine.

Overall, it's just about continuing to move forward and stay patient and positive!