Stumbling Blocks and Some Progress

As much as I had been hoping to get a great start to the month, I have to say that I had quite a few stumbling blocks from the moment I woke up ... though I'm not sure I can even say 'woke up' as I barely got any sleep last night. Please don't tell me the crazy insomnia is going to start again. I thought I was just getting into a stable routine!

Although I was in bed for 5 hours, I must have woken up at least 8 times throughout the night - tossing and turning to get back to sleep. Needless to say, it was not a restful night.

So, I woke up not feeling rested, and also feeling slightly panicked as I had a full day ahead of me and still did not feel prepared enough.

First thing -- weigh in.

I'm up to my plateau weight again!!! *sob* *cry* *wail*

I've gained 1.5 kg over the past 2 weeks (That's 3.3 lbs). I felt absolutely horrible.

Two weeks ago when I finally dipped the 1.5 kg below my plateau weight, I was over the moon! My food habits pretty much stayed the same since then, but what changed is that week I worked in extra cardio, and this week (partly because of my leg, partly because of time constraints) I just spent a 'normal' amount of time at the gym ... apparently, normal just won't cut it for me.

Well, before I get too carried away, let me give you a few numbers. I weigh myself weekly, but I also measure myself on the 1st of every month ... here's what the numbers show:

Since March 1st, I have lost 1/2 an inch on my neck, 1 inch around my bust, 3.5 inches off my abs, and 1.3 inches off my butt!

I have to say, I was so relieved. I knew I had been working out hard. I knew that I felt/could see differences in my body. While the number on the scale did not reflect one that I wanted to see, the body measurements made me feel better. Still, I can't wait for the day when both the number on the scale and the loss of inches reflect the same losses.

Weigh in out of the way I headed to the kitchen to make breakfast ... hmmmm, in yesterday's chaos at the supermarket, I forgot to buy milk. I had just enough to make either a bowl of cereal or a post-workout protein shake. I decided to go for the protein shake since I was lifting weights in the morning ... the next dilemma. What to have for breakfast?

It irritates me that no matter how much I prepare, I still seem to fall short somehow. I wonder if I'm just trying to do too much? Perhaps my small tasks/goals are not small enough and I just haven't realistically understood the amount of time it actually takes me to get through things? I don't know. All I do know is that not getting stuff done is frustrating and really throws my day out of sync.

The stumbling blocks didn't stop there ... I had put out my clothes for work (preparing in advance), so after my workout I was getting dressed ... only to find out that the skirt I brought was too big (that preparation didn't help!). I know, it's definitely a good thing, but also annoying since I didn't have the time to go back home and get another outfit, and trust me, standing in front of a class and trying to teach when having to adjust clothing is super-annoying.

Anyway. These little things throughout the day just made it a bit tedious to get through.

The rest of my day, however, slowly started to fall into place.

In the afternoon I met up with F. I've seen F around the gym many times before - she's amazingly fit and I've always admired the way she works out. I was happy to get a chance to finally sit down and talk to her about how she got into fitness (she just got her personal training certificate). I have to say, after speaking to her, my admiration went up even more -- she told me she used to be overweight -- and she dropped 45 kg (100 lbs) in just 5 months!! She did it herself -- just got into a workout program, watched what she ate, and did it ... I was in total awe! Talk about inspiration!!

About two weeks ago she approached me and told me that she was getting together a few women to try a special training program. It's sort of like timed matrixes of various exercises -- see how many routines you can complete within a set amount of time. I was surprised, but also pleased, that she approached me asking if I'd like to participate. Even though I'm not nearly as fit as she is, I told her I'd give it a go. I'm terrified but also excited to try it out. Hopefully it'll take place this coming Friday!

Today is the end of the first week of the Ready for Summer Challenge.

Progress for week 1:

1) Start NROL4W Stage 6 -- DONE

2) 3 weight sessions; 6 hours of cardio; 3 abs sessions -- I managed 4 weight sessions and 3 abs sessions, but only 5 hours of cardio. I must hit my minimum target this upcoming week.

3) Accomplished most of my tasks but still have a few that I didn't tackle yet or are just half done. My goal for week 2 is to definitely get these tasks done. I don't want to add anything else to the list because obviously I'm having a tough time catching up.

4) I've been eating fruit, but not on a daily basis yet ... as for trying something new - I made a quinoa and black bean chili -- it was delicious. I'll be sure to post the recipe soon!6

Update on NROL4W Stage 6 Workout A coming up in a separate post :)