Struggles and Aligning my Priorities

It didn't snow here today. It iced. All day.  I woke up to about a half inch sheet of solid ice covering everything around me.  This essentially meant it was just me and Sassypants holed up inside for the entire day. Just as well, I also woke up with a killer sinus headache! My little rugrat seems to be getting a little cold as well, so it was a low key morning.

A morning spent curled up on a heating pad to ease my sore abs from yesterday's workout! Its a 'hurts so good' kind of feeling though. This is the first workout I have ever done that I really felt in my core.  I owe that in large part to Shaun T.'s constant reminds to keep my core tight. It is so incredibly easy to forget this one simple fact when you're struggling just to breathe, but it makes a huge difference in the execution of each exercise. Brutal though!

Right!?

In all seriousness though, I took it really easy until about 4pm today when I decided I just HAD to get up and be productive today.  Since my kitchen construction was mostly complete, I decided I could start putting everything back to where it belonged. Mission accomplished and I LOVE the way it looks.  I have a lot more open cabinet space now, and all new appliances to make my life easier, and cooking a lot more fun.

 

Beautiful!

I made a wonderful late lunch/early dinner of Chicken Cordon Bleu and a caesar salad, which I had to literally fight Sassypants off of. At one point she just ditched the fork and was using both hands to stuff my salad in her mouth.  I love that I am setting a healthy example for her with eating better, and that she is open to trying new foods. Chatterbox? Not so much. 

After dinner, it was more Dora and relaxing/stretching.  I signed up on the community boards at Team BeachBody to get in touch with more Insanity addicts like myself, and garner some motivation from others that are pushing through.  I also spent a great deal of time looking at 'Before and After' pictures.  You want to talk motivation? Try that. Seeing the changes that people have achieved with their bodies is AMAZING and so inspiring.  

I particularly loved the ones that were so overweight, like I am. It didn't happen overnight, it was a process. Many of them had posted that it was their 2nd or 3rd time through the program, but it made me really sit up and take note that the body that is in my head is not just a figment of my imagination. It exists, and I can find it if I really work for it. 

And work I did...

Tonight was Cardio Power and Resistance. This was the last workout I did last week before the construction consumed my household. This was also the day that I was completely overloaded with work and exhausted, so I didn't put my full effort into the workout.  Now I really wish I had, because I would have remembered what I was in for tonight. Maybe it is just because yesterday  was so intense, but WOW my arms and abs and quads, and well basically everything were BURNING.  I didn't know shins could sweat!  I was drenched by the end, but as always so thrilled that I had completed it, and given it literally everything I possibly could.  There were a few water breaks in there that I was not even able to pull myself off of the floor for. But just like yesterday, and the day before, I realized that my best was so much better than the best I thought I had.  Every day I'm going a little deeper with my push ups, jumping a little higher, lasting just a little longer before I pass out. Every day is a new achievement. Perhaps that is why this is so addicting?!

I mentioned yesterday that I was  afraid to step back on the scale, so I decided to research a little bit more into that. Queen of Google, I am. It confirmed my fears, and most of what I read related that there would be little to no loss seen on the scale for the first couple of weeks since muscle soreness indicates that they are trying to protect themselves, and therefore retain water before finally releasing it.  I think I will wait until I am a full two weeks into the program until I venture back onto the scale. 

As much as I love the workout though, it does not come without a price. The workouts take time. Even in this first month, they all average 40 minutes or so, plus recoup time afterward, and its only going to increase in duration. In my schedule, with my work, and the kids, time is a very precious commodity. Before, as soon as the rats went to bed would my time with my love, on Skype since he lives in Canada, but together nonetheless.  Now, I'm sacrificing a good two hours of time we would be together to workout, recover, and shower. Combine this with the fact that he has been sick lately and is going to bed earlier, and I have been missing Darling immensely lately.  I have to constantly remind myself that what I am doing is just as much for him and our future together as it is for me.  He deserves a healthier version of me, and that is what I am working for. Thankfully he is very supportive and encouraging, and understands that I need this time to improve myself.  He is terrified I am going to re-injure my foot though, but so far so good!

My biggest struggle at the moment is my calorie intake.  Not that I am eating too much, but that I am not eating ENOUGH.  I've averaged out my daily intake, and I'm only coming up on about 1100 calories a day. One of the biggest stall factors in weight loss is your body entering starvation mode and your metabolism slowing down. Insanity is high intensity, high caloric burn, and I have to fuel my body.  I'm definitely going to focus in on increasing my intake moderately to provide the right amount of nutrition to keep the burn going. 

For now though, I am giving myself my best effort. Your best is all you have to give, and as long as you are doing that, then you will achieve amazing things. Just push yourself to be a little better than you were yesterday.