Focus

So I was all set to blog about my lack of focus after being sick Saturday, splurging on Sunday, and being completely and utterly exhausted yesterday...

And then something clicked.  I don't know exactly what/when/why, but suddenly trying to talk myself into being back on track turned into actually being on track.  Doesn't hurt that I hit a new low weight today, and I'm only a pound-and-a-half away from being down 10 pounds (already)!

I've been pushing the water all day and got in a great workout this evening, which also helps.  One of these days, I'll start a basic strength-training program, but my focus for now has been jump-starting the cardio and starting to build up some endurance.  It's disheartening to see how out of shape I am as compared to I was six months ago even, but I'm confident that I'll continue to bounce back quickly.

Here's a recap of my week:

• Got in 145 fitness minutes and burned almost 700 calories!
• Averaged 80-100 ounces of water 5 out of 7 days!
• Made overall healthy food choices 5 out of 7 days!
• Stayed in my calorie range on 5 out of 7 days!
• Practiced mindful eating every day!
• Got plenty of sleep on Saturday and Sunday.
• Averaged only 6.5 hours of sleep on week nights.

Not bad, considering.  My goals for this week are generally the same, although I'm going to amp up the challenge a bit.  I think I'm ready.

1 -- Perform 150+ minutes of exercise/physical activity.

2 -- Drink 64+ ounces of water every day.

3 -- Stay in my calorie range on at least 5 days.

4 -- Work on getting more sleep, particularly on week nights.

5 -- Continue to journal and self-reflect.

All in all, I'm really starting to feel like a new person.  I would love to elaborate, but if I write much more, I'm going to jeopardize my good night's sleep.  More tomorrow.

★ jenna

Progress is Success

My poor, neglected blog!

I'm trying not to beat myself up too much for not updating sooner.  "Bittersweet" is the only way to describe this past week.  I have accomplished many goals and made myself so incredibly proud, but life has a funny way of balancing itself out.  My uncle-by-choice passed away early yesterday morning after a 9-month battle against leukemia.  I'm processing this loss in other outlets (i.e., my private journal), but in sum, we all know how much death sucks.  I don't think it's hit me yet.

This past week, I met or exceeded most of my goals.  Here's an itemized re-cap of last week:

• Got in 110 fitness minutes!
• Averaged 80-100 ounces of water every day!
• Made overall healthy food choices every day!
• Practiced mindful eating with only one transgression -- Just one little doughnut!
• Re-activated my Spark People account! -- Follow me here:  PALEPHOENIX
• Only journaled once, but that's better than nothing.
• Only got about 6-7 hours of sleep each night.
• Didn't get in much mantra or meditation.

I'm digging the weekly breakdown!  Think I'll stick with it in coming weeks.

I don't think I'm going to force eight goals upon myself this week... in retrospect, that's probably a lot to take on at once.  I have to remember -- baby steps, baby steps.  Here are my goals for this week:

1 -- Perform 100+ minutes of exercise/physical activity.

2 -- Drink 64+ ounces of water every day.

3 -- Stay in my calorie range on at least 5 days.

4 -- Make a genuine effort to get 8 hours of sleep on at least 5 days.

5 -- Continue to journal and work on blog pages.

As always, I'm eager to push myself, but I also need to be cautious of burnout and injury.  Unfortunately, I've been having some problems with my right knee  and both shins--I think these are exercise-related "injuries."  I've self-diagnosed my shin problems as shin splints (thank you, WebMD) but I still need to look into home care for the pain.

I've never been a runner before, and I imagine that I probably have horrible form.  It doesn't help that I'm carrying around so much extra weight, and that I'm a huge klutz anyways.  This weekend I'm going to look into arch support insoles for my running shoes to see if that helps.  I also plan on incorporating a warm up/cool down segment to my workouts.  It's something I should have been doing all along, really.

Most importantly, this week, I'm going to be kind to myself.  If I'm in a lot of pain, I might not get in all of my fitness minutes... or it might be a steady walk instead of a walk/run.  I'm going to be okay with whatever I'm capable of, and know that I continue to make progress in the right direction.

★ jenna

My Dream, My Way

Just a quick note before bed; I wanted to make sure I touched in with the goals I have developed for myself this week.

1 -- Perform 100 minutes of exercise/physical activity.

2 -- Drink 64 ounces of water on at least 5 days.

3 -- Make overall healthy food choices on at least 5 days.

4 -- Practice being aware while eating; no more mindless snacking.

5 -- Create a Spark People account.

6 -- Journal and/or blog on at least 4 days.

7 -- Mediate and/or mantra on at least 3 days.

8 -- Get a full 8 hours of sleep each day.

I understand that these goals are vague.  At this point, I want them to be.  I have a tendency to be too hard on myself.  Historically, one goal violation sends me flying off the bandwagon, and I wind up worse than I was before.  I realize that I have many bad habits that need to be changed, and I'd be setting myself up for failure if I expected perfection.  One breath at a time, one bite at a time, one day at a time.

I went for another walk/jog today.  I pushed myself a little harder this time, doing four or five shorter jogging intervals (about 30-60 seconds each) instead of one longer interval (about 90 seconds).  I didn't experience as much cardiovascular fatigue as I did last time--no burning breaths, no aching teeth.  This time around, my muscles and joint are particularly sore, and especially around the ankle.  It's hard to tell if I'm sore because I'm overweight and pushing my physical limitations or if it's because I have poor running form, but this is something I'll need to look into if I intend to become a more serious "runner."

Time to recharge for tomorrow... I'm off to work on #8!

★ jenna