Heading Home

I'm heading home for the weekend. I'm really excited because I haven't seen my family since early December. While most people worry about not getting enough exercise when they're on vacation, I'm happy because I'll have more opportunities than I do here. My mom loves to walk, which is great, and we can go hiking in the woods for hours. Plus I get to go fishing, which I haven't done in years.

Thank You

Thank you to all those who have sacrificed for the freedom of this country. We will never forget.

A Loss!

Increasing the calories has definitely helped. I weighed in at 163 this morning, three pounds lighter than last Saturday, two pounds lighter than Wednesday.

Plateau

I've hit a plateau both physically and mentally. But I have a plan.

Physically: I recently decreased my calorie intake to under 1400. With as much as I'm working out, that is definitely not enough. I'm increasing my calorie intake to 1500-1600 daily, with one day a week where I'm allowed to eat up to 1800. This plan worked before, so I'm going to try it again. If it isn't working after a couple weeks, I'll revise my plan.

Mentally: For the mental roadblock, I'm going to switch up my exercise routine. I dread doing the videos I have and I have a hard time burning calories without them. So I'm looking into new videos. I have Amy Bento's Kickboxing Xtreme right now. I skimmed it this morning and it looks fun, though tough. I'm debating kickboxing class, too. I think if I put the money down for the class, I'll feel really guilty if I don't go. Plus, kickboxing just seems fun.

Reading: Almost done with The Things They Carried. Loving it so far.

Perfect Running Weather

My favorite weather to run in is cold and wet. There's something so peaceful about running in the rain. It's quiet, cool, and most people stay inside. I always feel like I can hold out longer when it's raining. Maybe it's because I don't get as hot; maybe it's all mental. All I know is I felt like I could've done 3.5 today. I was on call and the stupid phone went off, so I had to stop and answer. I'm not sure why I didn't start running again once I got off the call. Next time, I'm going to shoot for 3.5 and see how I do.

Reading: I'm currently reading The Things They Carried. I'd read the first chapter in one of my English classes and really enjoyed it. The rest of the book is holding true to the first chapter. It's a very captivating book. It's one of those stories that draws you in and makes you feel like you're there beside them, experiencing the death, the life, the sadness, and the laughter.

One thing I've learned for in my weight-loss journey

I've never been much of a cook, but since I started my weight-loss journey, I've realized how important it is to make meals from scratch. Not only is it better for you, but most of it is more filling than it's pre-made counterpart. Some recipes I use as-is, but many I've learned to make much healthier.

For example, I made gumbo last weekend. The recipe I had would've been a good 600+ calories per serving. By the time I got done with it, it was less than 400 and super yummy. I also learned to make jambalaya and today I'm trying my hand at homemade chicken stock. Next week, I'm going to take a stab at chicken lasagna.

Quick Update

Just posting a quick update. Nothing exciting has been happening lately, so nothing new to report. I did lose a couple pounds, so I'm down to 165. I also did a total of 105 modified push-ups today, which was cool.

I'm still struggling with motivation to exercise, but I'm realizing that, for me, exercise is always going to be a struggle. I just don't enjoy it. I'm going to try something new, because I'm really disliking the videos I have. I'm thinking belly dancing would be fun, so I'm going to get a video for that. Right now, I'm going to hop on my mini-stepper and try to go until my legs are too gooey to continue.