Week 7

This has been quite the week.  From trying to get over a cold to climbing Knox Mountain, I feel like a lot has been crammed into this week.

Monday was my first day back to the gym after taking three days off to try and recover from a cold.  I was still sick enough that normally I would have stayed home.  That was before Get it Back.  I decided that I was well enough to go and try to do something.  It wasn't my best workout, but it was more than if I had stayed home.  I had trouble getting enough oxygen into my lungs during the cardio portions of the workout, but I did what I could.  Get it Back is not only helping me get in shape and lose weight, it is helping me get rid of excuses.  I rested when I needed to but I didn't let it totally upset the routine I've established.

The rest of the week was pretty much a repeat of the previous weeks as far as workouts went.  Tuesday included the power sculpt class, and I found out that adding 2lbs to my weights is actually a very big jump.  I was surprised at how much heavier a 10lb weight is over an 8lb one.  Wednesday I ran intervals on the treadmill for 50 minutes.  Thursday was Team Castanet's workout with Stephanie.  She stepped it up another notch for us.  We worked hard and laughed harder.  I am so happy to be part of this team and to be on this journey with such a wonderful group of ladies.  Friday I tried the random program on the treadmill and when the elevation on level two only went to 2.5, I decided to put it up to level 8.  I discovered that climbing those hills uses a different set of muscles than just walking and running.

Saturday was the highlight of the week with some of us meeting up to climb Knox Mountain.  I have not done this hike since high school so I was a little nervous.  It was hard, but I made it and so did everyone else who came.  It was a beautiful day, and I am looking forward to moving more of my workouts outside as the weather improves.

This week I started to really think about what I have been eating.  Up until last Thursday when I didn't lose anything, I thought I had it all figured out.  Then this week after missing two workouts between weigh ins, I lost another 4lbs.  I ate about the same so it didn't make any sense to me.  Stephanie had told me it was possible I wasn't eating enough so in an effort to figure it out, I pulled out an app on my phone called Fitness Pal.  It allowed me to plug in all the food I'd eaten on that day as well as my work out.  I discovered that Stephanie was right.  (Big surprise, right?)  My net calories that day was only around 800!  My calorie intake was fine when I first started out, but the intensity of my workouts has increased.  I am burning more calories now than ever, and I have not changed what I am eating.  This is an incredibly difficult concept for me to get my head around, but if I'm going to continue to lose weight, I have no choice.  This week in addition to trying to increase the intensity of my workouts, I am going to pay closer attention to how much I am eating with the focus being on getting enough good calories in me each day.  I do not want my body to think its going to starve.  I have 5 weeks left with Team Castanet and Stephanie, and I want to do everything I can to make the most progress possible.  In 7 weeks I've lost 22 pounds, and I'm just starting to realize that this battle is fought as much in my mind as it is in the gym.