I have been working on losing the 5 lbs I put on over the past year, modifying my workout variables. Now I'm back to tweaking my food. I'm already anticipating the potential arguments I'm going to have with my husband when we go out for meals. I hate being picky about food, but my body isn't cutting me any slack. I'm finally seeing very modest results by cutting out lunch and eating a light dinner. I do snack when I'm hungry (because I can't think when I'm hungry) but it's a few gourmet almonds and a pear, or maybe an apple with peanut butter. My father, who was an exceedingly vain man with a huge wardrobe of nice suits, cut his meals down to just dinner as he got older and less active. I can't blame him, although, at the time, I was concerned he wasn't getting enough nutrition.
I compulsively write my weight and a brief description of my workout each day on a monthly calendar. It's so much easier to spot trends by flipping a few pages than scrolling through the digital version. Digital isn't always the most convenient or efficient! It's a bit disheartening to see that self-sabotaging pattern of making a small gain, then completely blowing it. It's taken me most of September to drop 3 lbs. It sounds trivial, but it makes a big difference when you're a small person with equally small clothes that have no leniency. Another 2-3 lbs and I'll be able to wear my winter clothes comfortably! And winter is definitely coming! The poison ivy vines entwined around most of the trees are now a brilliant deep red.Today is a cardio day, like most days, but I add some shoulder work. I don't need bigger triceps or back, but having delts that are more balanced would be nice. I had planned to climb onto the Step Mill for my final cardio but there're only two machines and it's very popular. However, all the cross-trainers are empty so that's the winner. I start off slow and build up to a racing pace. Well, not quite.
I can feel how much pressure hits the balls of my feet each time I pedal in spite of my NB size 7w sneakers. (Honestly, the Skechers with memory foam are absolutely the best sneakers I've ever worn -- NB isn't nearly as comfortable.) No wonder my toes, especially my pinky toe, go numb after time on this. After 20 minutes, the machine gives me 5 minutes of cool down and I decide to try pedaling backward. It's much harder. But it relieves the pressure at the front of my feet. When I pedal backward on the elliptical, I can feel my hamstrings and leg biceps. Not so with this machine.
I got a bit more sleep last night. I'm also trying out a new sleep aid on my phone after reading some online recommendations. I select Relax Melodies and Insight Timer to check out. The latter has a library of meditations, but I don't have the patience to check that out at bedtime. Hmmm. Maybe I have a problem here? Instead, in Relax Melodies, I can click on various icons to listen to different sounds, from the white noise of a fan to different patterns of rain. It's easy to select or deselect and you can create your own mix of several different sounds. I chose icy snow, peepers and a music piece called Duduk (an ancient Armenian woodwind instrument). There's also a timer setting so it turns itself off. Apparently, 20 minutes wasn't enough as I was awake enough to hear it stop playing. Tonight I'll try something longer.Thursday Shoulders Plus
(5.49 miles)
30 + 5 cd elliptical
Program 3
Miles 2.92
Calories 328
HR 150-198 (81, 93, 85)
Cage Stretch
Elbow Plank 60s
Crunches 60/60
Bicycles 60
Horizontal Scissors 60
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
DB Shoulder Press s/s Front Raises
10 lbs x 12 reps x 3 sets
DB Laterals s/s Rev Incl Flys
20lbs x 12/15reps x 4 sets
20 X-trainer + 5cd backward
Level 1 Manual
Calories 192
Miles 2.57
HR 125-148
Mat Stretch
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