Not Sure What to Name This One

I'm not quite sure what to report since this week I focused on my two jobs and schoolwork. I suppose I got exercise by walking so much at work. Whitney and I went hiking for our date, so that's good. I have been careful not to overeat, but I haven't kept track of my calories like I was since I was so busy. But no more excuses!!!! I'm going to get serious about only eating 2,000 calories. Especially since the dosage of the medicine I'm on that makes me easily gain weight was recently increased, so I'm afraid I'll gain even more weight. So no more funny business! Regardless of how busy I am, I need to count my calories and meet my goals.

Now that it's getting really nice again and the snow is melting, I want to get back into running. I'm thinking I'll do that next month when my life will be a whole lot less chaotic. It'll still be very busy, but not so bad since I won't be working my first job as much.

In other news, I have three readers from Russia now! Welcome!!!!

Pause Insanity

Well, I have good news and I have less good news (it's not bad news, but it's not great news). I got a job in addition to my current part time job in Salt Lake City. So between the two jobs and travel time I'll be gone at 40-50 hours per week. I'm taking 18 credits at school, so I honestly won't have time to do Insanity every day. Some days I'll be able to, but there will be some days where I'm gone the entire day. Yesterday for instance, I left at 7:20 am and didn't get home until 7:30 pm. One good thing about my work is that I'm on my feet most of the day. At least there's that.

So the best approach to this situation will be to count calories. My goal will be to keep myself to 2000 calories per day. This is going to be hard because my body burns about 2700 per day. Plus the medicine I'm on increases appetite, so even if my body doesn't need food, it makes my mind feel like I desperately need it. Therefore, it will definitely require self-mastery!

Wish me luck!!!!

Week 4ish

Let's just say I didn't do all the Insanity workouts this week. The week started out well, but I got perpetually less motivated throughout the week. Don't judge me. So needless to say I'm going to take two on Week 4 this upcoming week. When you fall off the horse, you get back on (even if you're not a gymnast—a Zoolander reference).

Half the week I did really well being off sugar, but on Friday Whitney made delicious peanut butter cookies. I thought to myself, "I'll have two or three." Like a million cookies later, I am recommitting myself to being more moderate. Maybe I'll just do treats one day of the week. I have a friend who did that and it worked really well for him. But it's hard because you're miserable two or three days after you have treats because you're craving sugar and you're going through withdrawals, so it's a tough call. I'll figure it out. I think the reason I wasn't able to be moderate, however, is because I wasn't consistent in my working out. Like I said earlier, when I'm consistent with exercise my appetite regulates itself much better. So for this week, I'll try to prove my theory right and see if my re-commitment to Insanity helps me be moderate.

Week 3 of Insanity

Week three went well. Unfortunately, since I was quite busy (preparing for and taking the LSAT being the biggest busy-ness), I only did four out of the six workouts. But in spite of this, I did really well. I'm able to last longer and do the intense exercises longer (I should say intenser exercises since they're all crazy). Like I mentioned in my last post, my legs are also getting much more defined. I also don't get sore anymore. It's weird because the workouts are so intense I think the whole time of how sore I'm going to be. Nope. Not at this point.

So now I begin the last week of month one. Next week I have a recovery week. Then I go into the crazy, huge results, push your limits to the max month.

Also, even though I'm not officially off sugar right now, I've pretty much only had sugar on the weekends for the past two weeks. It's seemed to pay off too. I'm more energetic and am able to eat in moderation. As I mentioned before, I think one's body is better able to eat moderately when you regularly exercise. I also feel like my brain regulates my hunger better. When I wasn't working out regularly, I seemed to be hungrier than I am now, even though I was burning a lot less calories. Ironic, ha?

I'm also proud of how well I've been doing sleep schedule-wise. Before I would get up at different times, just according to the day's circumstances. Now, I get up everyday at the same time. I've also started to eat breakfast first thing in the morning EVERY DAY. That's really helped my overall mental, emotional, and physical health. It's surprising how much sleep and breakfast make a difference.

Week 2

Last week went well with Week 2 of Insanity. It's crazy because it still kicks my trash every time, but I can go longer and harder without needing to stop. It's quite encouraging.

I measured my dimensions earlier this week and weighed myself. Although I weigh the same and have basically the same dimensions, I feel confident I am seeing results and will see more drastic ones soon. I think one of the reasons I haven't lost weight is because I'm gaining muscle. I have a lot more definition in my thighs, for instance, and my biceps have grown a quarter inch:)

One of the most obvious differences is my energy level. Plus, when my energy is generally higher, it's easier to initiate my workouts, which I find to be the hardest part. So it's a positive perpetuating cycle.

Wow!

I did it! I did Insanity on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I was a champ. It was tough on Friday and Saturday because my left calf muscle was super tight, but it wasn't bad enough that I was at a high risk of injury so I did it anyway. I'm glad I did. I rolled it out and iced it a bit and after a day off (Sunday), it's feeling a lot better. Thank goodness because tomorrow I jump right back in!

It's crazy how intense these workouts are. By the end, I'm a total sweat monster. It's cool because the workouts I could hardly finish are becoming much easier now. Also, just in the week I've officially done it, my pants are looser and I can tell my face is getting thinner.

On Friday and Saturday I had the sense to use my heart rate monitor. Both workouts were about 42 minutes. In both workouts, my average heart rate was 132. My max was 162 on Friday and 160 on Saturday. I love that feeling when you're heart is beating fast and you're all stretched and warmed up. You're in the zone and feel like you can take on anything.

As far as sugar goes, I've been eating it in moderation. While I'm working out everyday, I don't have a problem with overeating sugar. We'll see how it goes, but for now my plan is to just eat treats sparingly, but as a reward for my hard work:)

Insanity's Finally Arrived!

Well, a few days ago Insanity finally came. The first one I bought had some bad discs so I wasn't able to do the actual program. Then the second one I ordered never charged my card nor shipped. Finally, the third one arrived this week, after about three weeks of shipping!

I did some of the workouts this week, but tomorrow I start the official program! I'm excited. It's going to kick my trash, but I enjoy a good trash-kicking workout. If by the end I'm not freakishly sweaty and the next day I'm not sore in places I didn't know existed, then I know I'm not getting the max out of my workouts. That's the great thing about Insanity. It pushes me. It drives me nuts sometimes. But I always feel great afterward.

Wish me luck!