Day 292: Motivation
"When you're trying to motivate yourself, appreciate the fact that you're even thinking about making a change, and as you move forward, allow yourself to be good enough. ~Alice Domar~
I could have used this quote a long time ago ! Now more than ever I feel like I will reach my goal weight. Getting the first 100 pounds off has shown me that I can do this. The next 50+ pounds may come off slower, but they will come off. I've been motivated from Day 1 but in the first few months I had some ups and down in life that left me feeling a little wobbly. I was sick in January and had heating & plumbing issues, there was uncertainty with my job and I had a lot of starts and stops (and failures) when it came to exercise. Fortunately all of those things have resolved and I feel stronger than ever. I've settled into a good routine when it comes to what I eat and that has allowed me to put some time towards my fitness goals. I'm more consistent with my workouts and I've been pretty good about getting 2 workouts in on days I work from home. I'm also challenging myself with some of the workouts that I dismissed at first, thinking they were beyond my abilities. I'm starting to realize I can do more than I ever thought possible ! I had to have the right mind set when I started Nutrisystem and I think I also needed the right mind set when it comes to exercise. I finally got it together ! Today I also decided to try on a size 14/16 hoodie I bought during the summer. I have the same item in size 18/20 but I bought the smaller one to "shrink" into. It fit perfectly ! I have room in it so it's a good thing I tried it on now. The 18/20 is headed for the washer and then the donate pile ! This is yet another "non-scale victory" !
Breakfast was a 1.6 ounce 150 calorie cinnamon raisin bagel with a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit strawberry cheesecake yogurt and macadamia cookie coffee. Second cup was brown sugar crumble. Morning snack was a 155 calorie chocolate shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 4 ounce 220 calorie barbecue chicken melt with a chef salad, Dressing added 40 calories. Afternoon snack was a 5.3 ounce Light & Fit tiramisu yogurt and a fresh apple (95 calories). Dinner was a 5 ounce 210 calorie broccoli & cheese stuffed chicken breast with steamed brussel sprouts. Evening snack was a 2.2 ounce 140 calorie lemon zest cake with a cup of maple pecan coffee. Total calories are 1170 and today I got 64 ounces of water in !
Since I completed #11 and #12 in the Grand Canyon series yesterday, I tackled #13 before I ate my lunch today. I was a little intimidated as this was 2 minute intervals at 2.6 mph with 1 minute recoveries at about 2.3 mph. Pretty much the entire workout was at max incline (10%) so it was all uphill. I figured I could do the intervals since I did the steady state workouts yesterday, but I knew the incline was going to be a challenge. To my surprise I made it through the entire workout without touching the rails or changing any of the speed or incline settings. I rarely lower the incline or speed and once we got to the cool down phase of this workout I actually increased the speed for the last couple of minutes because they dropped the incline to 8 and then to zero. After work I decided I wasn't ready for another Grand Canyon with max incline today so I did workout #8 from the Lake Tahoe series. This was 33 minutes at a steady 3 mph and had a significant amount of incline ranging from 2 to 10. Since it wasn't a constant max incline I figured I could do this. Well, let me tell you - this one definitely pushed me to my limits ! As I approached the 14 minute mark I was thinking I could not do it because it was on max incline for a while and I was struggling. Right at that moment, like magic, the speed dropped to 1 mph ! I was still at max incline but walking at only 1 mph allowed me to catch my breath. I was thinking there was something wrong with my treadmill or iFit but then I realized it was the way the workout was designed. That saved me and got me past the halfway mark. There was still plenty of max incline to come, at higher speeds, but I finished the entire workout and never touched the rails. I think the work I'm putting in is finally starting to have an effect on my stamina and this makes me even more motivated to get started with some strength training to build some muscle. That is going to be my next challenge !
Tomorrow is an office day so I won't have the luxury of sleeping in ! Considering it rained all afternoon I was glad to be at home today. I do enjoy the office days because it gets me out of the house and I get to talk to real people instead of just my cats ! Next up is a shower and then it's off to bed !
Breakfast was a 1.6 ounce 150 calorie cinnamon raisin bagel with a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit strawberry cheesecake yogurt and macadamia cookie coffee. Second cup was brown sugar crumble. Morning snack was a 155 calorie chocolate shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 4 ounce 220 calorie barbecue chicken melt with a chef salad, Dressing added 40 calories. Afternoon snack was a 5.3 ounce Light & Fit tiramisu yogurt and a fresh apple (95 calories). Dinner was a 5 ounce 210 calorie broccoli & cheese stuffed chicken breast with steamed brussel sprouts. Evening snack was a 2.2 ounce 140 calorie lemon zest cake with a cup of maple pecan coffee. Total calories are 1170 and today I got 64 ounces of water in !
Since I completed #11 and #12 in the Grand Canyon series yesterday, I tackled #13 before I ate my lunch today. I was a little intimidated as this was 2 minute intervals at 2.6 mph with 1 minute recoveries at about 2.3 mph. Pretty much the entire workout was at max incline (10%) so it was all uphill. I figured I could do the intervals since I did the steady state workouts yesterday, but I knew the incline was going to be a challenge. To my surprise I made it through the entire workout without touching the rails or changing any of the speed or incline settings. I rarely lower the incline or speed and once we got to the cool down phase of this workout I actually increased the speed for the last couple of minutes because they dropped the incline to 8 and then to zero. After work I decided I wasn't ready for another Grand Canyon with max incline today so I did workout #8 from the Lake Tahoe series. This was 33 minutes at a steady 3 mph and had a significant amount of incline ranging from 2 to 10. Since it wasn't a constant max incline I figured I could do this. Well, let me tell you - this one definitely pushed me to my limits ! As I approached the 14 minute mark I was thinking I could not do it because it was on max incline for a while and I was struggling. Right at that moment, like magic, the speed dropped to 1 mph ! I was still at max incline but walking at only 1 mph allowed me to catch my breath. I was thinking there was something wrong with my treadmill or iFit but then I realized it was the way the workout was designed. That saved me and got me past the halfway mark. There was still plenty of max incline to come, at higher speeds, but I finished the entire workout and never touched the rails. I think the work I'm putting in is finally starting to have an effect on my stamina and this makes me even more motivated to get started with some strength training to build some muscle. That is going to be my next challenge !
Tomorrow is an office day so I won't have the luxury of sleeping in ! Considering it rained all afternoon I was glad to be at home today. I do enjoy the office days because it gets me out of the house and I get to talk to real people instead of just my cats ! Next up is a shower and then it's off to bed !
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