I took Week 1 progress photos today; definitely not gonna show those here for a month or so. Things do not look pretty!
What can I say about Week 1 so far? Everything is different from the last time I began the journey of clean eating and training in 2012. Last time, I jumped in head first; I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew it was gonna suck (at least in the beginning), and my thought process was that if I was going to suffer, I was going to do everything in my power to milk as many results as I possibly could out of it. I obsessed over diet, I would do 2 hours of cardio a night (and about 15 minutes of weights on a good day...), I would work out sometimes 3 times a day.... It took me months to get it straight. But those first weeks were exhilarating, because it was the first time I felt myself moving mountains and it excited me.
This time around, things are different. Instead of diving in head first, I've had to enter the shallow end of the pool. I'm easing myself into the routine and the lifestyle. I'm setting small goals, and I'm setting deadlines too. Goals for last week were simply to drink three 20-oz glasses of water a day, cut out my afternoon chocolate fix and follow a prescribed workout pattern. Goals this week are the same as last week, plus adjustments to my diet -- nothing too crazy, just having egg whites and spinach for dinner each night, cutting out the crap snacks I was sneaking in and replacing them with fresh fruit, and measuring portions. Little challenges that turn to little victories and get me feeling like I am able to undertake this monster of a journey again.
Another difference is the excitement of it all. I have moments where I am so excited and willing to do whatever it takes in order to have those feelings again like I did 4 or 5 months into my 2012 regime where I'd wake up and want to cry, I was just that happy. Every morning I'd get dressed in front of the mirror and marvel at the results, and I felt so accomplished and empowered and beautiful and it was the best thing, a way I never felt before. I hunger for that feeling everyday. But today at the gym, I felt weary. I knew how long it would take in order to start even seeing results -- in 2012, it wasn't until Week 11 that I really began to see any changes. 11 weeks! that's almost 3 months! Here I was only 2 official days into my routine. I'm willing to go the distance, I just know I will have to draw on faith and courage and inner belief in myself to get me through the beginning days when it feels like so much work is going in, and nothing is coming out. Patience has never been my strong suit, and sometimes, it completely wears me out.
I also fear about my back, and have to be mindful to set limits and actually respect them. I worry how my body will feel on Day 4; It's only day 2 and already my chest and glutes are so sore I can barely move! I normally would have celebrated this, but this time, it is cause for concern. Will this cause my body to lock up? Will my spine start to pop again? Will the pinched nerves returns?
So much is on the line, but I know one thing for certain: It is time. NOW is my time. If I can continue to set small goals on the diet side, and observe the rules I set for myself on the training side, I should be able to whittle my body fat down to at least 17-18% by summer. It won't be my best, but it will be enough for me, for now, given my new reality.
I've decided that come the first week of February, I will fully replace cold cereal for oatmeal in the morning, and I will cease the use of dairy. Next week I will incorporate Quest bars into my diet and do away with the Promax bars which have artificial ingredients. Slowly cleaning up my diet over the course of the next 2 months will serve me my greatest advantage, but easing into it will remain a priority to me.
As far as my training is concerned, this week I will be following this routine:
Monday:
Back and Chest Day
Bench Press & One-armed Rows
Lat Pull-downs
Chest Fly and Posterior Delt Fly
Seated Row & Planks
Cardio
45 minutes on the elliptical
Tuesday:
Legs Day
Prone Hamstring Curl
Glute Machine
Seated Hamstring Curl and Planks
Calf Raises
Incline Leg Press
Cardio
4 mile run
Wednesday:
Biceps, Triceps and Shoulders Day
Bicep Curls
Shoulder Flys
Tricep Extension
Shoulder Press
Dips and Planks
Cardio
45 minutes on the elliptical
Thursday:
Legs day
Prone Hamstring Curl
Glute Machine
Deadlifts
Glute Extensions and Planks
Glute Bridges and Side Planks
Cardio
45 minutes walking on the treadmill at 10% incline
Friday: Day-off
Saturday: Volleyball
Sunday: Yoga and Rest
I've got to gauge and see if my back can handle this much; I might need to shuffle the days around and take Wednesday as my gym day off, bu I'll make that judgement call tomorrow at work.
So, for this week, I am signing off. My only thoughts are that I feel scared that my back may sabotage me... and I fear that fear will keep me from believing that if caution is exercised, all will be fine. So I'm just going to focus on day-to-day, minute-to-minute decisions. Small goals, resting when I feel I need it, and not beating myself up if I need extra rest days to recover. This will be a slower journey than 2012, but I'm prepared to put the Tortoise and the Hare theory to the test.
As for diet, I don't expect to be fully clean and on a completely programmed diet until Week 3 or 4
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