I've been back home for a few days now. It's taking some time to adjust. First of all, jet lag is such a pain! NYC is 7 hours behind Kuwait, so my wake/sleep patterns are quite messed up. I'm slowly readjusting, but the process has not been fun. We've also been celebrating Eid here in Kuwait (marking the end of the month of Ramadan) so there hasn't really been much of a schedule, especially since D has been home. Even though the holiday is over from today, I am still on vacation until the 1st of September so I've been trying to work out a schedule that will see me to until the start of my new semester.
Let's get the big news over and done with. My goal when I left Kuwait at the end of June was to come back from my 6-week vacation 5 lb lighter than when I left. I know that I worked out quite a lot while I was away, but I also ate quite a lot (and not always on plan). So my final result is ... I lost 4.5 lbs. It's not the 5 I was hoping for, but it's better than coming back having gained weight. I'm really regretting eating hummus last night with dinner - should have known better than to eat something that I know bloats me before weighing in! I'm also regretting pretty much sleeping and not getting much movement at all since being back. I'm sure that hasn't helped with my weight. I haven't been completely sedentary though. D and I came back with some awesome Dollamur mats which are perfect for practicing Jiujitsu. We've been training for about 3 hours each day for the past 4 days. As intense as Jiujitsu can be, you really don't work up as much of a sweat or burn as many calories as doing some focused cardio. Anyway.
Today is the start of a new week. For this semester my work week will start on Mondays (not Sundays as they did last semester) so I'm more in sync with most bloggers in terms of their weekend/work week & weigh in day. I hope that will help me keep focused as well.
Even though I'm still on holiday, I'm going to try and get into a proper schedule so that readjusting to my work week won't be too difficult. I really need to take advantage of the extra time I have to get some more work on my Personal Trainer Certification done. Once the semester begins, things will get hectic.
I sat down to try to figure out my schedule -- it was insane. Conceptually I had filled up my 24 hours. Practically, I knew I would need something like 36 hours to complete everything I had to do. For me, finding chunks of time to complete my tasks is difficult. Like I may have 3 hours throughout my day to study, but what I really need is 3 consecutive hours in order to make any real progress.
Instead of an hour-by-hour schedule, I'm back to the checklists that worked so well for me at the beginning of the year. So, I've set up my checklist of things I want to accomplish by the end of the month. I'm also rejoining my 13 in 13 updates. For this month the goal is to get outdoors in August. Ironically this might be the toughest one as the 125 degree F weather (mid-50s C) makes the outdoors so unappealing, but I'll think of something!
I've done my best to read and comment on blogs that are on my reading list over the past few days. It has taken quite some time. I think I got to everyone's blog, but if I didn't get to yours, then I apologize. The oversight was definitely not intentional.
My specific August goals:
1) Weight loss: End the month lighter than what I started
2) Exercise: Complete 30 workouts including at least 4 45-minute long yoga sessions
3) Personal Trainer studies: Complete 4 quizzes
4) Cooking: Try 1 new recipe & Post 1 new recipe
5) Academic: Work on my chapter outline (still, ugh)
6) Burpees: Continue working towards the ultimate goal of 20,130 (boy do I have a long way to go!)
7) Home organization: Reorganize my bookshelf; rearrange my office furniture; fix up jiujitsu room
8) Yoga/Stretching: Do yoga/deep stretching for at least 15 minutes daily
9) Food journaling: Begin food journaling daily
10) Blogging: 5 posts a week + regular reading/commenting
Let's get the big news over and done with. My goal when I left Kuwait at the end of June was to come back from my 6-week vacation 5 lb lighter than when I left. I know that I worked out quite a lot while I was away, but I also ate quite a lot (and not always on plan). So my final result is ... I lost 4.5 lbs. It's not the 5 I was hoping for, but it's better than coming back having gained weight. I'm really regretting eating hummus last night with dinner - should have known better than to eat something that I know bloats me before weighing in! I'm also regretting pretty much sleeping and not getting much movement at all since being back. I'm sure that hasn't helped with my weight. I haven't been completely sedentary though. D and I came back with some awesome Dollamur mats which are perfect for practicing Jiujitsu. We've been training for about 3 hours each day for the past 4 days. As intense as Jiujitsu can be, you really don't work up as much of a sweat or burn as many calories as doing some focused cardio. Anyway.
Today is the start of a new week. For this semester my work week will start on Mondays (not Sundays as they did last semester) so I'm more in sync with most bloggers in terms of their weekend/work week & weigh in day. I hope that will help me keep focused as well.
Even though I'm still on holiday, I'm going to try and get into a proper schedule so that readjusting to my work week won't be too difficult. I really need to take advantage of the extra time I have to get some more work on my Personal Trainer Certification done. Once the semester begins, things will get hectic.
I sat down to try to figure out my schedule -- it was insane. Conceptually I had filled up my 24 hours. Practically, I knew I would need something like 36 hours to complete everything I had to do. For me, finding chunks of time to complete my tasks is difficult. Like I may have 3 hours throughout my day to study, but what I really need is 3 consecutive hours in order to make any real progress.
Instead of an hour-by-hour schedule, I'm back to the checklists that worked so well for me at the beginning of the year. So, I've set up my checklist of things I want to accomplish by the end of the month. I'm also rejoining my 13 in 13 updates. For this month the goal is to get outdoors in August. Ironically this might be the toughest one as the 125 degree F weather (mid-50s C) makes the outdoors so unappealing, but I'll think of something!
I've done my best to read and comment on blogs that are on my reading list over the past few days. It has taken quite some time. I think I got to everyone's blog, but if I didn't get to yours, then I apologize. The oversight was definitely not intentional.
My specific August goals:
1) Weight loss: End the month lighter than what I started
2) Exercise: Complete 30 workouts including at least 4 45-minute long yoga sessions
3) Personal Trainer studies: Complete 4 quizzes
4) Cooking: Try 1 new recipe & Post 1 new recipe
5) Academic: Work on my chapter outline (still, ugh)
6) Burpees: Continue working towards the ultimate goal of 20,130 (boy do I have a long way to go!)
7) Home organization: Reorganize my bookshelf; rearrange my office furniture; fix up jiujitsu room
8) Yoga/Stretching: Do yoga/deep stretching for at least 15 minutes daily
9) Food journaling: Begin food journaling daily
10) Blogging: 5 posts a week + regular reading/commenting
That's it! My goals are down in writing - let's get to work!
Back in Kuwait & Ready for a Routine
Hi Ayesha! You'll get it all organized--you always do. You sure lost a lot of weight since this time last year. Look at the photos side by side. I can't believe how you lost weight during vacation in the U.S. among us Americans and our food. :D
ReplyDelete:-) Marion
Agree with Marion. It is quite an accomplishment to come here for six weeks and eat out and still manage to lose weight. That is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteYour goals look great to me. Ever onward. :)
Hi PlumPetals - I sure wouldn't sweat .5 of a lb. Especially after a month on vacation. You are doing awesome as always:)
ReplyDelete4.5 pounds when on vacation is amazing :) I have also started doing burpees regularly, don't I don't have a fixed challenge but I try to time either 50 or 100 burpees (depending on the rest of my workouts)how long does it take you to do 100 burpees? just wanted to set a bench mark for myself :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I started my blog I thought I would be writing 5 posts a week too but I just can't seem to manage that..if I write a post I don't find time to read and if I read no time to write :D, even I have to work on that
I think anybody who goes on vacation and can maintain or LOSE weight deserves a trophy! That is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI think you need this tank for your workouts.
http://www.dangchicks.com/product/new-arrivals/dang-burpees-black-tank-top/