End of the week

Ah, Saturday night... the end of another busy week. It's been incredibly rainy, which is perfect for a night in. Mike is feeding Lacey her night time bottle and I assume that she fell asleep in his arms. They've been in there quietly for some time. It's not often that she falls asleep as we rock her so Mike seems to be enjoying every minute of it. So sweet!

Anyway, it was a great week on "the journey". (My weight loss efforts seem to have turned into the title of a television show... or perhaps that will be the title of the book I'll write some day... though I'm sure it's been used before and it's not entirely original or creative. Scratch the book idea! :) Each week, I add a new focus to my routine. Last week, my focus was getting every work in and making each one really count. This week, I continued with that and I gave extra focus to what I'm eating. I did pretty well in that department last week, but it needed a little tweaking. I want to make sure that I get plenty of protein to help replenish and build those muscles I'm working on, the right amounts of carbohydrates to fuel my running, and the right kinds of fats. Oh, I also focused on taking my supplements every night. A+ all around and I have never felt better! The vitamins and supplements have made a huge difference. I've always been pretty lax about taking vitamins, which Mike has always been bothered by... possibly because all of the bruises I get from the lack of vitamins make it appear as though he beats me. :) Just kidding... he's actually quite concerned with my general health and well-being. Guess he wants me to live for a while or something. Anyway, my point is that they make a difference so if you're not taking them, do it. And the very act of taking them seems to make me even more conscious of my health which feeds into other things that I do. Next week, I'll focus on all of the aforementioned things as well as taking sups twice a day. I'm also going to change things up a bit with my workouts as I have learned some helpful information. Here it is: most women tend to think that when weight-training, higher-reps equals greater results and they often do the same thing every week without changing the amount of weight or the number of reps. Mistake. It is actually better to vary things constantly. Doing lower reps (3-8) at a higher weight will help to build muscle strength. Doing moderate reps (8-15) helps to build muscle mass and high reps (15-25+) helps to build muscle endurance. Each of these things is important to us women so each type of workout should be employed. The calorie burning effect is actually not significantly different from one workout to the next as is commonly thought. The recommendation is to mix it up. For example:
Week 1: Low
Week 2: Medium
Week 3: High
Week 4: Medium
Week 5: Low
Week 6: High
Etc.
It doesn't have to go in exact order from low to high and then repeat... in fact, it's better if it doesn't as it will trick your muscles to constantly mix it up. When you do the exercise, do enough weight that you just can't do any more beyond the planned number of reps. If you could keep going for several more, then you need to increase your weight. Really focus on the contraction of the proper muscle on each exercise. No swinging your arms or swaying your back to get it up... if you're having to do that, you may need to decrease your weight to really utilize the intended muscle. Why work out if you're not going to do it right?
If working out seems too painful or you just don't want to do it, get over it! Seriously. The benefits of exercise far outweight the temporary pain you might experience. And though it may take a while, you actually may grow to enjoy it, especially when you start seeing the transformation in your body. Who wants to just be thin? We're going for healthier bodies here, not just fitting into a certain size.

I watched an episode of Oprah this week where she discussed "falling off the wagon". Kirstie Alley was on it and would you believe that she has gained back every pound that she just lost? I was so sad for her, and for the man who went from 1100 pounds to 193 and ALL THE WAY back to 1100. I realize that this is so common and very easy to do. The problem I see is that people are dieting to lose weight. We all know that there is a beginning and an end to a diet, and that's why weight is regained. Once a certain number or a certain size is reached, people often feel like they've won the battle. The problem is that so many people do things temporarily with no intention of continuing on the same path. That is why Mike and I always emphasize that we are working on a lifestyle. If in your own weight loss efforts you do something that you can't see yourself doing for the rest of your life, then there really isn't much point in doing it... you'll likely just gain the weight back. If, however, you make changes that you can incorporate into your lifestyle, then you will be able to continue on that path for the rest of your life and be healthy, not just thin. I am aware that I won't have to work quite as hard as I'm working now once I've reached my goal weight, but I fully intend on continuing to work out every day and I will eat much the same way that I am now. I'm sure I'll fluctuate here and there and I can't say for certain that I'll never struggle again, especially because I'll continue to have babies, but I am learning as I go here and the goal is to always live what I've learned. The weight has come off slowly at times but that hasn't stopped me because this is our lives, not a diet. Mike and I will enjoy a family dinner or PF Changs every once in a while without the typical and depressing guilt-ridden feeling of crashing a diet (which, you know, often completely kills a diet altogher. Yet another pitfall!). I don't know if any of this is helpful to anyone, but these are things that have made monumental differences in my efforts. Believe me, I have been through it all and felt every painful feeling associated with losing weight. I have refused to feel that way this time and that, I feel, is why I have been successful. So there you go. Take that for what it's worth.

And on an ending note (I may have just written that book in this one entry!), I will part with my end-of-the-week results. I am officially weighing myself at the gym as their scale is supposed to be quite accurate. 162 today!!! That's 5 pounds since I started writing and I am thrilled! Oh, I also got my body fat tested yesterday: 25%. I'm on the low end of the average range and once I reach my goal of 155, I should be right about 20%. Not too shabby! 7 pounds to go!