One day at a time

Today, I am going to start a 90 day XTrain rotation.  I only made it one week last time I tried this rotation as my leg muscles were SO sore I had to stop.  So this time I am going to skip the leg workouts for at least a couple of weeks and slowly build up to them.  I will use my stairmaster instead and add on floor exercises for my legs.  I have logged my foods and made my dinner for work tonight.  I am hoping my new FitBit arrives today so I can wear it at work tonight.  I know I will be constantly checking to make sure it’s still clipped on, as I am very paranoid about losing it again!
Well, I better go workout before it’s too late.

It looks like my FitBit is gone  It’s been 4 days and no one at work has found it.  I decided to go ahead and order another one.  This time I am going to be SO careful with it!  I was going to order the new FitBit Flex, but after doing some research and comparing the FB One with the Flex, it seems like the One is more accurate.  I love the fact that the Flex goes around the wrist as I think I would be less likely to lose it, however if it overestimates my steps and calories burned, it’s not worth it.
I have been working lots lately, and I am enjoying it more than when I first started.  There are still some floors that I don’t particularly like working, but I am better equipped to handle those floors now.  My arm is still tender but I know that I didn’t do any long-term damage to it.  I am very lucky as a lot of my co-workers have been off work for quite awhile due to injuries.  I still haven’t been exercising but I am walking so much during my shifts so I don’t feel too badly.  Still, I know I need to get back to a consistent routine.  I have been eating so much better lately.  I am planning/prepping my meals so I am pretty sure that I have been staying within my daily calorie goal.  I haven’t been logging my foods and I know I should be, so that is something that I am going to make sure that I do this week.

Well, my bad week is continuing  Last night at work I pulled something in my arm, so it is quite sore when I flex or extend my elbow.  I also lost my Fitbit tracker at work last night and I am so upset about it.  I just bought it at the end of April!  I left a note for the day staff, but I highly doubt that they will find it.  So, now I am debating whether I should go ahead and buy another one.  I really liked it and used it consistently, but I am scared that I would just lose it again.  I think if I do get another one I will get the Fitbit Flex as it goes around the wrist so I think I would be less likely to lose it.  Although, I did like that I could clip the FitBit One to my bra, and no one could see it.  It’s my fault that I lost it, as I was in a hurry when I attached it to the clip and I guess I didn’t do a good job of securing it in the holder.  It sucks because they aren’t cheap, and I just bought a heart rate monitor as well, so I really shouldn’t be purchasing another expensive item.
I am going to take today off from working out as I don’t want to do any more damage to my arm.  I am hoping it’s nothing major and that a few days rest will heal whatever I did to it.  I have to work tonight so I need to be careful.
I have been doing well with my diet.  I have been packing salads for dinner at work and drinking lots of water.  I have stayed within my daily calorie goal so I am happy about that.

Well, when I last posted I had planned on just sticking with weight workouts until my cold was gone, however I wasn’t even able to do that as I ended up having a sinus infection.  I had the worst headaches, and my face was swollen around my eyes and cheeks.  I am so glad that I am over that, as it really exhausted me. My youngest son broke his arm when he fell off the monkey bars at school.  He is such a trooper though!

So, here I am back again trying to get back on track.  Once again this past week has taught me that life isn’t always going to go smoothly, and I have to be prepared to handle these setbacks.  After all, fit people get sick and have stresses etc. in their lives, and yet they don’t turn into couch potatoes or run to food for comfort.  I need to start thinking like a fit person, even if I am not one yet.  When I think back to when I was very fit, I know that I was able to handle life’s stresses effectively, so why is it so hard for me now?  If I am honest with myself I know it’s because I feel so bad about myself, so I have this attitude of why bother when I have so far to go. Rationally, I know that is ridiculous because I NEED to do this so I can feel better about myself, but emotionally I just get so down on myself.  I am not willing to just give up, so I need to make myself stay positive and remind myself everyday that I can do this!  No more pity parties!!!

but not 100%.  Thankfully my sore throat is gone, but I am stuffed up and having some sinus pain.  It’s not that bad, but I am a baby, lol.  Anyway, I have decided that I have to workout regardless.  I am going to stick to weight workouts until this darn cold goes away though as I know I can’t handle cardio workouts right now.
I didn’t bother weighing myself on Sunday as I didn’t want to get depressed.  I haven’t been eating that badly, but I haven’t been good either.  When I was first sick I was doing ok with my diet, but then I fell into my old habit of comfort eating.
I have to be able to handle these little setbacks without giving up, so I am logging my foods and tracking my calories regardless of how I feel.

05/28/13 - Tuesday
Calories burned:
Calories in:
Calorie deficit:
Over/under calories:
Exercise:

whenever I first start exercising again I end up getting sick!  My throat is very sore and I always feel awful when I have a sore throat because I find it hard to sleep.  I have had to work the last few nights so that didn’t help with sleep much either.  Thankfully, I have today off but I am scheduled to work tomorrow evening.  I plan on having a bath and getting to bed early, so hopefully I will feel better tomorrow. 
I haven’t been working out, but I have been getting in lots of steps at work.  My leg muscles are not sore anymore so I am very happy about that.  I just hope when I do exercise again they won’t get as sore as last week.  I have been doing well with my calories but I honestly don’t know if I will lose any weight this week.  I will be ok with maintaining though.

After having a too low calorie day on Monday, yesterday I ate way too many calories!  I will have to learn from this and always try to keep my calories at a healthy level.  So, yesterday was not a great day.  I tried to do my workout but my legs were just too sore to continue, so I decided to take a rest day instead.  I didn’t work last night so my steps were on the low end as well.
I have to work tonight and I am debating whether I should try yesterday’s planned workout today, or take another rest day as my legs are still quite sore. I feel like I am using the soreness as an excuse, and yet I know my leg muscles are still very sore and it’s probably best to rest them another day.  I could always do an upper body workout instead.  Either way I am going to modify my rotation so that I have 2 rest days a week instead of just 1, as I know that I won’t be able to do 6 days of tough workouts for the next three months.  So, the rotation will take me longer than planned but that is ok.  One of my rest days will be a light workout day - stretching, or light yoga - so not a complete rest day even.
I am determined to do better with my calorie intake today, and I don’t think it will be a problem as I am working tonight, so I will burn and therefore earn extra calories and I never eat as much when I am working anyways.

05/22/13 - Wednesday: calorie deficit goal is 750
Calories burned:
Calories in:
Calorie deficit:
Over/under calories:
Exercise:

I had a really good workout yesterday, but I had to modify it a little as I am just not in shape enough to complete the workout as is.  I was able to do the moves, but I had to extend the small breaks in between each interval by about 10-20 seconds so that I could complete the next one.  Still, I am glad that I was able to finish the workout, and I know with time I will be able to cut down those breaks.
My legs are so sore right now though!  It’s hard standing up or sitting down, and also going up and down the stairs, as my quads are on fire!  My upper body is still a little sore from Sunday’s weight workout, but it never seems as bad as how sore my leg muscles get.  Today, I am scheduled to do a shorter boxing workout so I hope once I get warmed up the soreness will subside a little. I am going to go buy some Epsom salt and have a nice long bath afterward.

05/21/13 - Tuesday
Weight: 221
Calories burned: 2296 - this includes everything so my TDEE
Calories in: 2405
Calorie deficit: NONE
Calorie deficit goal: 750
Over/Under calories: over by 859
Exercise: None

I am starting to understand how to use the FitBit more and I am really hopeful that this is what is going to really help keep me on track this time.  I know that I have a bad habit of over thinking everything and then I become confused and give-up.  However, with the FitBit I feel like it does the over thinking for me, and I just have to follow along, lol.  I have been the most successful with weight loss when I have counted calories, so this is right up my alley!  I love that I can just sync my FB, log in and see how many calories I have burned for the day and how many I have left for the day, and whether I am on track for reaching my daily deficit goal.
There is a bit of a learning curve as the FB decides on your daily calorie goal by taking into account how active you have been in the previous days/weeks.  This is a little bit tricky for me, as the days that I work I am way more active.  I average about 16,000 steps during a shift, whereas when I am not working I don’t get nearly that many steps in.  The problem is that I never know when I am going to be working so my active minutes will vary every week.  I figure it will all balance out in the end, and I just need to be more careful with my calories on the days that I don’t work.
Well, I am working the evening shift tonight so I am going to go workout now.

05/20/13 - Monday
Weight: 221
Calories burned: 3445 - this includes everything so my TDEE
Calories in: 931
Calorie deficit: 2514
Calorie deficit goal: 750
Over/Under on calories: under 1764
Exercise: CF’s Cardio Leg Blast = 53 mins.

I feel so good right now because I just completed a workout.  I did Cathe Friedrich’s XTrain Chest, Back & Shoulders dvd.  I pushed myself more than I probably should have, considering that I haven’t lifted any weights in over a month, but I felt so energized.  I know that I will be sore tomorrow, but I know that it’s worth it.  I am following the XTrain 90 day undulating rotation, so I am hoping that will help keep me consistent with working out.
I also bought a FitBit awhile ago and although I have been wearing it, I haven’t really paid that much attention to it.  I actually found it to be a bit confusing at first, but this morning I spent a lot of time reading more about it and what it can do, so now I am excited to really use it.  I set up a weight loss plan that is kinda hard - the FitBit’s words not mine, lol - and according to it, if I follow it’s daily calorie recommendation, I should reach 140 pounds by June 6th of next year.   I like that it uses my average activity to give me an estimate of how many calories I should eat to meet my weight goal. It updates throughout the day if I am more or less active than usual. As I log my food during the day, the calories I can still eat will update.  I think this will be a big help to me!

05/19/13 - Sunday
Weight: 222
Calories out: 2241
Calories in: 1586
Calorie deficit: 655
Calorie deficit goal: 750
Over on calories: 95
Exercise: Cathe Friedrich’s XTrain - Disc 1, Chest, Back & Shoulders = 53 mins.