Some Changes

The past few days have been a bit chaotic over here. There have been some changes to my routine, and as much as I've been trying to be flexible and just go with the flow, sometimes it really does just throw me off balance and I need a moment (or a few days) to figure out how I'm going to proceed.

So let's start with some big news.

Eating Habits
From September to November of last year I participated in an 8-week challenge called the Whole Life Challenge. I recorded my whole experience here. If you just read the last post of the 8-week phase, you can see that I had great results through the challenge.

The Whole Life Challenge is being run again, and I'll be participating again. It starts soon - February 16th, and I can't wait.

There are many reasons why I'll be doing this challenge again, but you can read about it on my other blog. Actually -- that's something else I'll be changing. This time I'm going to try something new and post a video log on my Whole Life Challenge blog site. We'll see how that goes. I've never done it before, but I thought it would be a nice change.

Exercise Routine
The biggest change is that I'm no longer going to my Taekwondo & Jiujitsu classes. There are several reasons for this ... first of all, I wasn't really interested in learning Taekwondo. I was mainly attending the class because the BJJ class was included with the TKD. The BJJ class was only around 20 minutes long, so it seemed a waste driving a total of 40 minutes for a 20 minute class. I also did not like working out in a Gi at all. It was uncomfortable plus I wasn't learning BJJ to participate in any competitions. Rather I wanted to learn the technique - if you're on the ground, how do you get out of that vulnerable position? In reality if that ever happened, a no-Gi situation is more realistic. There's a bit of other drama going on there too, but I'm going to leave that off my blog and just stick to these reasons.

I'm a bit bummed because I do want to continue with Jiujitsu training so I need to figure out how to go about doing that.

I'm also a bit frantic now because I now have 3 evenings free! Free time?! What in the world do I do with that?! In my mind, actually, it's not 'free time' - rather I see it as missing 3 workouts, and that makes me really anxious!

So, on Sunday I didn't do anything, but on Tuesday (yesterday) I went to RPM class. I'm not sure what I'll do on Thursday. I have to admit it is kinda nice having some time to spare in the evenings because before every single night was taken up by my workouts. I know I workout in the mornings so it's not like I'm not exercising on those days ... but still. I have just been getting so into MMA training that I don't want to give any part of it up.

In any case, I think the next week or so may be filled with some impromptu evening exercises/exercise classes until I can figure out exactly what to do.

Morning cardio & weights workouts are continuing (I'll be starting a new phase of New Rules of Lifting soon since I just finished the break in phase); Cardio kickboxing classes are continuing 3 times a week; I've got Zumba once a week, and Body Balance once a week ... so overall, it's not too bad. It's just about making peace with these changes and moving forward with a plan that will help me reach my goals.

On the Blogging Front
I'm blogging through a new account now, but if everything has been set up right, then my blog posts should still show up on your readers and still read the same ... At least that's what I'm hoping. We'll see how it goes.

Now I've got a proper email linked to this account: plumpetals12@gmail.com -- so you can contact me if you wish :)

Other Stuff
Work: The grading is piling up and it SUCKS!!
Home: I had a bunch of stuff that needs sorting. Instead of having it in different rooms in the apartment, I've put all the stuff that needs sorting in one room. Now that room is such a MESS that I don't even want to go in it, hahaha. The rest of the flat, however, looks terrific!
Academic: Making slow/steady progress here, but I need to sit down and really get some proper writing done
Health: I'm really, really happy with how the acupuncture has been helping with my pain management. It's made such a difference to my day. What a relief!

I didn't do a week in review for last week, nor have I been posting my workouts & food since Friday I think. Everything's been fine. I've just been a bit too distracted to sit down and properly blog.

Although things aren't the way I'd like them to be right now, they're alright.

I'm going to keep workin' it out :)

me muckin' around with my computer's camera - February 12, 2013

Rushing through Monday

My killer workouts on Saturday and Sunday definitely caught up to me today. I could barely get out of bed. I slept in for an extra hour (so I was up at 5:30 instead of 4:30) and that definitely helped. I also decided not to go to the gym this morning (Monday's are scheduled as my optional morning workout day) and instead did 45 minutes of really good yoga and stretching. I bought this book - Ultimate Flexibility - and started doing a few of the exercises in that book. It felt great.

Breakfast was delicious -- my omelet muffins with avocado (recipe coming soon, I promise):

Work was alright.
Acupuncture went well. I've definitely become more comfortable with the process, and I'm really relieved that the dizziness following the session has pretty much completely subsided.


I had a late lunch - 2 tuna burgers (no bun or anything, just the patty -- recipe for this to follow soon too).

After that, I was really tempted to nap, but earlier in the day I had started to do some of my Nutrition Studies reading, so I completed the section, took the quiz, and scored 100% :) Yay!

Rush, rush, rush -- dinner prep, a bit of cleaning, then out the door (cursing through traffic) to kickboxing class where I took out a lot of stress. Man it was a fabulous session. Great pad work plus some dirty elbows - love 'em ;)


Dinner was another new recipe - baked cod with dill & lemon accompanied by some veggies. I felt that the cod was a bit dry so I think the recipe needs some tweaking before I post it. However, the vegetables were yummy!!

Another busy, busy day -- now off to bed feeling satisfyingly sore :)


Today's Workouts
Stretching: 45 minutes of yoga & stretching
MMA training: 1.15 hrs. of cardio kickboxing at ClubFit
Burpees: 20

Today's Food
Breakfast: 3 omelet muffins and half an avocado
Lunch: 2 tuna patties
Dinner: baked cod with vegetables
Snacks: 1/4 cup of mixed raw nuts, 2 dates, 1 oz. of 85% dark chocolate

Doing What Needed to be Done

Here we go - the proper beginning of a new semester and the start of a 7-week stretch in which I hope I can accomplish a lot. Like the beginning of any routine, there were a few teething problems, but overall I had quite a productive day.

It's been a while since I woke up at 4:45 a.m. but I still felt a bit rushed. I may have to make that time 4:30 a.m. in order to get stuff done and not feel frantic. I hate feeling frantic in the morning. Even though I had a lot of things prepared the night before - my gym bag & my work clothes - there were things that I didn't get to. Namely preparing my veggies for my usual egg muffins and also finishing preparing the worksheets and handouts that I needed for class today. I had to forgo making the muffins and just get my work done in order to make it out of the house at 6:15 and head to the gym.

I had a great workout this morning, but again, I need to probably get to the gym 5-10 minutes earlier because I was rushed towards the end of my workout.

I got to the gym at 6:45 a.m. and did:
5 minutes warm-up/dynamic stretching
20 minutes on the cross-trainer
40 minutes weights - New Rules Workout B3
--- here's where it started to get off track
 I completed my burpees and decided to restart the leg extension exercises that my doctor prescribed for me to strengthen my leg muscles (particularly because my left knee cap is slightly dislocated). This took time that I had not planned for. As a result, I had to shorted the 19 minute interval cardio session that I wanted to do after my weights to just 12 minutes. [It's part of the program that I'm following].

The worst part is that I didn't stretch or cool down properly aside from walking for the 3 minutes on the treadmill before jumping off.

I don't want to skip the post-workout stretch. I think I'll save the physio exercises for the days when I'm not doing weights because I have a bit more time on those days. Plus I do have the leg extension equipment at home so I can always just bang out those three sets of 10 reps in the middle of my day or whenever I've got 10 minutes - it doesn't take too long.

In any case, I left the gym at 9:10 a.m. and was at my desk by 9:30 a.m. I'm so glad traffic wasn't a problem!

Work was great. Last week was kind of a wash so I pretty much started fresh from today. Hopefully I set up a positive, motivating tone for the rest of the semester.


I had a LOT to get done this afternoon/evening. Part of it was prep for classes and the other part had to do with my research. I'm starting my first round of interviews for the new project that I'm working on. There was a lot more that needed to be done than I realized ...

Unfortunately as a consequence, I didn't go to taekwondo/BJJ class. Of course I wanted to go, but at the same time I knew I had to get this work done. Also, even though I pushed through and went to class on Thursday, I really wasn't comfortable in class while I had my period. I didn't enjoy it and kinda had a looming sense of dread before, during, and after the class ... why put myself through that again?

To end on a positive note:
The pain from my cramps for the past four months have been bad. They've been excruciating since October - to the point where, aside from the pain, I'm nauseous and extremely dizzy. Within the first 72 hours, I usually take around 20 painkillers ...

This month, I've hardly had any pain. I have needed to take painkillers - I took 6 on Thursday, 2 on Friday, and 2 on Saturday - but that's it. That's it!

Previously on a pain scale of 1-10 I would rank my pain at a 15, no exaggeration. This month, I'd put it at a 7 max.

Could the acupuncture be working? I've only had 2 sessions. Of everything in my life, that's the only thing that's really changed ... could it really be working???

All I know is that I feel really relieved. Not all my health problems have been resolved (I have an appointment with a new doctor on Thursday), but not being in terrible pain has been such a relief. No tears or depression this time. There was some pain and definitely discomfort and bloating etc, but what a difference ... I'm really happy. I've got another acupuncture session tomorrow.

Today's Workout
Cardio: 32 minutes total (mix of cross-trainer and treadmill)
Weights: NROL Workout B3
Stretching: 5 minutes
Burpees: 60 {challenge total: 840/20,130}

Today's Food
Breakfast: 3 dates, 1 banana, 1 apple, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (eaten over a span of 3 hours)
Lunch: curried potatoes and rice (the last of the leftovers - too many carbs!)
Dinner: baked scallops with edamame and sweet potato (new recipe)

Leftovers etc. are finally done, the goodies that D's parents didn't finish from their welcome basket made their way into the house, but they have been put out of sight - I'm totally done with carbs and sugar. I made too many little exceptions last week. Even though I know I kicked ass with my exercise, we've all heard it before - You can't out train a bad diet. So now it's all coming together. *Whew*