Day 16: Progress

I've finally made it to the latter half of The 30 Day Shred, however it is by no means the home stretch. The past 16 days have helped me find some of the confidence I thought I had lost over the past months while dealing with stress eating, etc. The sense of accomplishment I feel every day for fitting in some sort of exercise has been bleeding into other areas of my life. I've been approaching things differently and thinking more positively. I think it's because I've a newfound respect for myself.

This daily exercise, I should mention, has been anything but easy. On day 11, when I popped in my DVD and started on Level 2 I was convinced I'd have to go back and just continue with Level 1. But I kept on trucking. Though the Level 2 workouts still have me on the floor in a ball of panting, sweaty exhaustion at the end, I'm finding getting through them less of a challenge here on Day 16 as opposed to Day 11. I don't think planks will ever be easy, but they don't hurt anymore. I've been focusing most of my attention on form. Thankfully it's improved, which I can only assume makes the workout that much more effective.

I've been eating well, to boot. Meal planning has been my greatest tool. I pretty much know what I'm going to eat for breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner throughout the week. I've also been plotting out snacks to prevent vending machine regrets and baking on impulse. Is anyone else a stickler for planning? Has it worked for you, too?



Tonight I made some wheat berry and lentil soup that should last me through the rest of the week and thensome. It's a satisfying meal and it tastes good, too. I found the recipe here.

I feel ready to reach my health goals in 2010. How is everyone out there feeling about theirs?

Hello 2010

I woke up this morning with big ideas in my head. After two weeks of using the holidays as an excuse for poor eating habits and sporadic exercising I had the same feeling of renewal that many people get at this time of the year. January is the perfect time for new beginnings and I'm ready to start fresh with the rest of the world. I am not as fit as I can be and I'm determined to make it happen through. The following things are what I want to REALLY focus on not just this month or this year, but forever.

1. Exercise. I plan to continue hitting the gym at least 3-4 times per week, getting in some good solid cardio. In addition, this morning I purchased Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred DVD and am vowing to make time for it every day for the next 29 days so-help-me-god. It's an intense 25-minute workout, but I can make time for it. The week of Christmas was so busy that I could barely get any workouts in and I saw an extreme change in my overall mood. Not only is exercise good for my body, but it's good for my psyche. This is something I need to remember on lazy days. There is always time, you just have to make it.


2. Eating. I love food. Food food food. I think about it all day. I like cooking and baking and dining out. Lately, however, my relationship with food has taken a nosedive. I've found myself mindlessly munching on whatever I can get my hands on in the kitchen cabinets. I've been baking when I'm lonely or stressed and have had one too many test cookies. I haven't been nourishing myself the way that I know that I should. Too much sugar has made its way into my diet again due to the onslaught of Christmas cookies and pies in conjunction with the stress that comes along with this time of year. My body deserves better. More vegetables. More lean proteins. More fiber. Less fat. Less empty carbohydrates. Less sugar. I'm going to pledge to myself not to let cravings win this year, especially not while I'm working so hard at the gym.

3. Loving myself. Acceptance is hard enough, but learning to really love myself is the goal here. Stress-eating and laziness are part of a vicious cycle whose root is self-esteem (or lack thereof). I've worked so hard to be where I am today and I need to stop stressing so much about who I want to be/who I used to be and focus on who I am. There are no excuses. Today is all that matters.

So here's to the beginning of a new decade—one in which I hope to find true inner and outer strength.