Good morning!
I did an interesting discovery today, when I weighed in.
I am UP in weight, by 800 grams. That's quite a bit.
Everything went perfect yesterday. I ate within (up to) my RDI of 2500 (I upped it a notch yesterday, remember?), did MORE than plenty of exercise, and generally did good.
So why UP in weight?
Well, going through my statistics, I came to realize that I have been UP in weight on Friday mornings lately - especially after I started focusing on my protein intake.
I think this has to do with me being on my feet literally ALL day. I have a total of sit-down-time of maybe 90 minutes on Thursdays.
I leave for my walk in the morning at about 6 am. I then walk my 5K, and arrive at work at 7 am. I stand up ALL day, except when I have a client in. I haven't had that on Thursdays for a few weeks, so no sit-downs there. I only sit down for lunch and the cake break. at 4:30 PM I leave work, go eat at a restaurant somewhere, and then to work at the gym at 5 PM. I then work there - standing up 90% of the time - until 9 PM when I walk home.
It's a LONG day on my feet, and I always feel it the day after. Today my legs are pretty sore.
Of course there are two other factors that can play in, and surely sometimes they do.
One is Cake day. One is restaurant visits.
Cake Day is pretty much under control. I will often have one piece, or two small pieces, and they will always be evaluated and registered. I don't go over RDI because of them.
Restaurant visits - who knows what they put in the food? Yesterday, I had a HUGE pita bread with beef and lettuce, and chili oil.
It was all calculated, and if I went over my RDI it would be very little. BUT of course - the meat could be saltier than I think, there could be more salt in the bread too. Who knows. This could obviously also be the culprit.
Still, it's just water fluctuations. Annoying fluctuations, but just fluctuations. Nothing to worry about, no big deal. I will just keep doing what I'm already doing.
I'm sure things look different in a day or two.
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Yesterday ended up being VERY active. Fitbit Flex states 90 minutes of VERY ACTIVE minutes. I made my 10,000 step goal TWICE. My Fitbit calorie burn counter claims I burnt 3400 calories. Not bad.
As you can see - me upping my RDI to 2500 on "heavy days", is nowhere near this number. I might need to up it later, but for now I want to see where the 2500 takes me. Of course, I don't burn 3400 every day, but I am usually over 3000. Still, give it time. I will evaluate in two weeks and 6 days, as planned.
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I want to say THANK YOU so much for the compliments on my journal yesterday. I have had a LOT of inbox messages afterwards, not just because of the journal entry, but also because of the
forum post I wrote about my workout routine. You guys have given me even more to ponder upon, and a lot of things I want to try out as I progress. It's been fun reading inbox messages from a few "serious body builders", telling me that what I'm doing is dead on, and getting to answer questions that others are asking about the routines, the system, the gym, etc.
I know I haven't written back to everyone just yet, but I will. It was kinda overwhelming for a day as busy as yesterday. Keep 'em coming, though. I'm always interested in helping out.
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I think I broke my own record today, by the way. The "heaviest workout ever" and the "earliest workout ever". I was at the gym at 5:30 AM, and got going at 5:45 AM. Done 30 minutes later, and at work at 6:30. Not bad. In regards to "heavy", I upped yet another machine, though I might regret that. It's probably a little too heavy, and I was just being cocky about it. :) Still, it went well. I could probably do it better because I worked out in an empty gym and I can moan and groan and scream and yell and throw F-bombs left and right as I see fit. LOL. It does help.
I think that there is some kind of equation to be made. Something like:
For every 50 cuss words uttered out loud in a gym, one hour less is needed with a personal trainer. ;)
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Today is a calm, yet busy day.
I'm at work now. Been here for a little while. I will leave early (as I came in early), and go have lunch with Wife around noon. Then at 3 PM I'm working at the gym until 6 PM. Then home to relax, watch movies and enjoy that Daughter is back home from her school trip to Amsterdam.
I haven't done my walk just yet. I am not sure I will make it for that today, but I will make damn sure that I do make my 10,000 steps goal, and my 8 kilometer goal. I will walk more at work, and if I need more towards the end, I will get on the elliptical at the gym. I can easily knock out 2,000 steps there, in maybe 10-15 minutes. No biggie. Goals are commited to, goals will be reached. It's a principle. Otherwise, what's the point, right?
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It was so hard to motivate myself to go to the gym this morning. I can tell that the mornings are darker now, and it doesn't really help a whole lot. :/
Still, I knew I had to do it, and Wife was sweet and helped me get pushed in the right direction. "If you don't go, you'll regret it the rest of the day". Well, she's wrong. I would regret it the rest of the WEEK, as it's my last workout day this week.
I really appreciate her helping me getting it done.
It's incredible how much better I feel when I have worked out. I feel stronger, happier, more accomplished. It's just amazing. These days, I don't know what was stopping me from doing it before. But of course, I know what stopped me. First of all the weight. Second of all, the mindset.
I think it's essential to have the mindset for it, just like you need to have the mindset to lose weight, to stop smoking, to quit drinking, etc.
You gotta want it. You can't do just because "you really should lose weight" or "you really should work out", or whatever thing it is. If YOU don't want it, then YOU won't do it. We gotta find that motivation.
I definitely found that motivation. I just LOVE the way the workout feels. Not so much during - because it's damn hard work - but afterwards is amazing and worth all the work.
I love seeing the new me. Even if I obviously have noticed the huge change I have gone through, I don't think I fully realized how much muscle I have put on until I took that
picture yesterday.
I can't stop coming back to it. I really like the way I look and feel now.
In a way, I'm fine with everything as it is today. Sure, I am looking forward to having my stomach sliced open again, and it'll look much better afterward, but other than that I don't think I need to change a thing. I just want to keep working out, keep eating right, and keep living life in as fun a way as I can get to. That's my mission.
Doesn't sound like a bad one, does it? :)
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Today, I'm thankful for:
- YOU GUYS!
- Wife, especially for nudging me to the gym when I was tired.
- Early Morning gym!
- Realizing my progress.
- Morning coffee!
- Intermittent fasting. I feel SO MUCH BETTER after I started this, and I have no intention of changing a thing.
Have a great weekend! Life is good!