Whole 30 - Day 5

Hello!

Since starting this blog a lot has happened. I got engaged! Moved back to the U.S., to a new city and got a job and career.

Tbh after returning from Southeast Asia I've been pretty obsessed with eating. Eating everything and anything America had to offer. With so many different cultures and living in a new city this was pretty fun. My two most amazing food experiences were at Barcelona Wine Bar for my birthday and Daily Catch to celebrate Mike's new Job and As.  It is also no secret that I use food as a coping mechanism for stress and sadness.

With my wedding just 7 months away and my weight steady increasing. Last time I checked I weighted 135lbs, more than I ever have before. Not to mention with my new office environment I was also eating more sugar than ever before. I do see the correlation here. Anyways with the start of the new year I decided to embark on Whole 30.

I contemplated it for a little bit and then hearing more and more people around me talk about doing it, I decided to go for it. Now I committed before knowing all the details but understood the gist of it. Don't eat or drink sugar, dairy, legumes, grains or alcohol. Seems pretty simple right?

So today is my 5th day and so far so good.

Here are my thoughts thus far.

Day 1 - This isn't that difficult. I eat pretty healthy already its just a matter of cutting out the junk. But its only day one so we'll see how I feel in a week.

Day 2 - As long as I can have caffeine I can do this. I need to go to the grocery store to stock up.
I went to Whole Foods after work on Wednesday despite the rain. I spent $120 and got some really great stuff.

Day 3 - Tea is a nice alternative to wine. 

Day 4 - I'm getting a little bored with salad. I need to make more exciting meals. Wow so many things have sugar added to them.

Day 5 - I'm seriously craving flavorful food. Can we say steak!
Went to the Public Market and bought a wonderful Skirt Lion and cooked it up. Served with a mushroom sauce and red peppers and zucchini.

Overall I've noticed that I've been in really good spirits. Not about not eating all these foods but I mean overall in general. Maybe its because I just went on a little getaway but its noticeable. Also I've felt particularly in tune with my spiritual side. I haven't missed alcohol as much as I thought either.

It feels good to not to alway indulge and to practice restraint. I went to a bar and ordered tea, that was a new and fun experience. I didn't feel deprived or resentful and I was energized afterwards.

Wake Up With Determination

I set my alarm this morning for 6:20am and was out of bed and on my yoga mat by 6:30. I did a 25 minute yoga practice and it was a wonderful way to start my day. I am going to start getting up early again. I did this briefly and it was very rewarding. I had more energy in the morning and was less dependent on caffeine to get my day going. I'll opening admit, caffeine is my drug of choice. But by waking up and working out for even 15-20 minutes, I start my day with a purpose.

I hate feeling rushed. I feel rushed even when I'm not being rushed. In the morning Mike will be quietly and patiently sitting around while I am getting ready to go. Even though he is uninterested in me and my pace of getting out the door I feel an overwhelming pressure.  So for me to get up extra early at 6:20am and workout, shower and get ready for the day gives me the feeling that I am in control and allows me to start my day at my own pace. The alternative is  waking up with just enough time to move from one task to the next before rushing out of the door.

I have always admired morning people. I attribute being a morning person and especially exercising in the morning with having your sh*t together. I have never been a "morning person", its just not who I am. Its a personality trait that i've owned and worn well. Ive often felt like I was being resurrected from the dead when pulling myself out of bed and unfairly been angry with people who disrupt my sleep and wake me up in the morning. However the tasks of life I have also require that I wake up early.  In college despite the ability to schedule classes to start at 12pm or later I usually elected early 8am classes so I would be able to still work in the afternoons. Over the years I have gotten better and more accustomed to waking up early.  I am also proud of the fact that I have also immensely improved with tardiness and I now consider myself to be a reliable person who can be counted on to arrive on time to work and appointments. I think these two things go hand in hand and are a basic part of being a well balance adult.

For  some time now I have wanted to become a person who gets up early and who works out in the morning. Particularly, I want to continue this trend when I get back to the states to add structure and control to my days. Being home with family with no job will mean that I am pulled in many different directions. Between spending time at my sisters house, my aunt and uncles, friends and helping my aunt at her shop its easy for me to feel like I am being pulled all over the place. This type of lack of structure has always caused me stress and made it difficult for me to be productive. If I am going to want to continue my workout routine and apply to jobs while not neglecting my friend and family I will need to create structure during this transition period. I think waking up early at the same time will help provide that!

Variety & Consistency are Key

Wow! What a luxury it is to workout in a gym. On Friday after traveling to Bangkok and arriving at the hotel, I went straight to the gym. Treadmills, free weights, ellipticals and machines galore. I was in heaven. I ran on the treadmill for 25 minute doing endurance training and them lifted free weights focusing on my arms. It was great! I had a purpose and was motivated. I felt fatigued and fantastic at the end.

Although gyms are great, I also know the importance of developing a workout routine at home that requires little to no equiptment. There are going to be days when you don't feel like working out and it is a lot easier to convince yourself to power up a workout video or do yoga on your living room floor than make yourself look presentable and drive to the gym.  What I've learned since I began this journey is that both variety and consistency are the keys to success. More important than having a killer workout every time is forcing yourself to do something physical, even for just ten minutes when you really really don't feel like working out.

Seeing is Believing

Okay so we have about 6-7 weeks left in Thailand and as of today I have 33 more days to reach my goal of 100 days of fitness. I'll need to get committed and workout at least 5 days a week until we leave to reach 100.  I have to make it happen.

The last few weeks were a pitiful workout here and there. This really set me back. I found that having a change in my schedule where I was staying after school for an hour maybe even an hour and a half to tutor a few students really set me back. By the time I got home I was really tired and didn't feel like working out. Instead of waking up early to ensure I got a workout in I allowed this to derail me. As one of my favorite saying goes "you either make progress or you make excuses".

All in all though, I have been noticing a difference in my body. I look thinner and my legs look much smaller. I still really want to get rid of my otter thigh bulge though. Although it not completely gone yet, my legs are looking much stronger and my arms are less flabby too. Hooray!

38 days to go. Don't give up now!

Don't Give Up

mini goal : 20 days

My goal for the month of February is 20 days of working out. Last month I worked out 15 day including my setback week. February is a shorter month with only 28 days so that means I can only afford to miss 8 days. I've already missed 2 days so far this week. But I can meet my goal as long as I work out today and tomorrow and then miss no more than 2 days each week for the rest of the month. Totally attainable! One day at a time so I just need to work out today! Mike and I are hiking 3 miles tomorrow at Doi Khun Tan so that will get me through this week. I'm feeling a little under the weather and hope I recover quickly.

I have been struggling with what constitutes a workout. As a general rule of thumb if I am really not feeling into working out and I do something even if not an intense workout say a 7 min run and body weight exercises I will count it. However if I just do 5 minutes of yoga stretches before bed to relax I will not count it as a workout. As I progress I suspect I will find my rhythm.

I know that results don't happen over night but I still find myself wanting to see greater progress especially in my thighs and arms. These are two problem areas for me and areas which my body stores fat. I know I am stronger and my body has tightened up some, I just have to remain focused and motivated and keep going no matter how small my progress is. I am excited to think about what my body will look like a year from now and I love the fact that I am making my body healthier.