2011 - Week 6 in Review

Week 6 has been a challenge, what with the lower-protein diet.  I've been meaning to call the doctor to find out if I'll have to make this a permanent  change or if I'll be able to return to a higher-protein diet after my April appointment. 

• Exercise
• Days of Exercise: 6
• The one day off was a planned skip.
• Stayed on target with calories burned.
• Review: I met both my fitness goals for this week.  I played with the intensity on the elliptical at home, increasing it to Level 5.  It wasn't as difficult as I though it would be, but I definitely could feel myself working harder.  My swimming yesterday afternoon was a nice change to the exercise routine and a mental change that I really needed.  I want to keep swimming in the routine as a cardio option, though I'll have to keep in mind that the calorie burn is significantly lower.
• Goals: Looking at next week's schedule, I anticipate getting all 6 workouts in.  I'm going to stick with the increased challenge of Level 5 with the elliptical at home.  I'd like to get another swimming session in at the end of the week.  If the timing works, I'll do a combination of elliptical/stairmill and swimming on Friday afternoon.

• Eating
• Days of Clean Eating: 7
• Review: This week has continued to be tough for me with food.  I've eaten clean and not struggled in that regard.  I've been making my choices without struggle and the food tastes good.  The issue is more the shift in what I'm eating.  I've been getting hungrier more often.  In the morning, I used to be able to exercise before breakfast without difficulty.  Now it's more of a struggle, though I don't really have much of a choice when it's before work.  If I've got the flexibility, I'll have breakfast first and exercise a little later on.  If I didn't, I'd worry that I would have the energy or  resources to get the workout in.  I didn't sleep well on Wednesday or Thursday night and I think hunger may have been a part of this.  I have dinner relatively close to bedtime (10pm with going to bed around midnight), but when dinner's mostly a giant salad it does tend to get digested rather quickly.  I'm back to my strategy of keeping a big glass of water or Crystal Light by the bed.  Each night when I was tossing and turning, I was able to fall asleep almost immediately after drinking half the glass.  Instead of waiting it out next time, I'm going to reach for the drink right away.
• Goals:  There aren't any planned events that would disrupt my eating.  My big goal for this week is to continue with the lower protein meal plan.  I've been working to get a handle on the food preparation.  In the fridge right now, I have 4 giant salads all prepped and ready to go in addition to the components for more.  As my husband put it, the inside of the fridge is a giant wall of salad.  I'm going to work through the veggies I've already got on-hand and then will probably need to re-stock sometime in the middle of the week.  Another goal, tied into the restocking, will be to work on incorporating some other veggies into the salads.

• Overall
• Review:  I can't complain about how things are going, but I'm not really happy with them either.  I'm doing everything by the numbers and I know that continuing to do so will lead to the results I'm seeking.  However, with the changes in my diet, I may be "on plan" but it's not as clearly tied to the results as before.  I'm hungrier than before and would have hoped there would be some "payoff" on the scale, but my weight is actually higher than last week!  I try to no put too much emphasis on the number, but it's hard when you're looking for some motivator to remind you as to why you're doing this.  I do think that the higher weight is partially due to more content in my digestive tract - it's bulky but not calorie-laden.  Without going into TMI-territory, let's just say that I have no concerns about getting enough fiber in my diet.  On top of that, my stomach can feel a little uncomfortable at times due to the quantity of salad and the "by-products" of digesting it.  I just keep reminding myself that it's only been one week, my body's getting used to the changes, and I'm still in the general weight-range I was in last week, so I'm not stressing out about it.  There's always going to be ups and downs and adjustment periods.  And I do love my oatmeal, so that makes me happy.
• Goals:  I really need to focus on self-care this week.  I didn't get around to some basics this past week, which increased my stress a bit.  One think I've already done is schedule an extra massage for next week.  In addition to my Monday night massage, I've scheduled a 90-minute massage for Friday evening.  I know I haven't reached the previously-stated goal of being below 140; however, considering how I've been struggling this week with the lower-protein meal plan, I think it's important to get that self-care in there. 

• Weight
• Starting Weight: 153.8
• Last Week's Weight: 142.2
• Today's Weight: 142.9
• Weight Loss (This Week): -0.7
• Weight Loss (Total 2011): 10.9

Food Log:

• Meal 1
• 2 egg whites with red pepper, onion, and salsa
• 40g oatmeal with cinnamon, vanilla, and a bit of Splenda
• Meal 2
• Apple
• Light string cheese
• 1oz almonds
  
• Meal 3 
• BIG salad
• 4oz chicken
• 40g oatmeal
• Tablespoon of peanut butter

I slept in really late this morning and took a nap this afternoon, so I ate breakfast a couple hours later than I usually would have and I slept through another mealtime.  But I increased the chicken with dinner to compensate.

Exercise:

• Time: 60 minutes
• Level:  Level 1 for 1 minute, Level Cycling for 59 minutes (Level 5 for 2 minutes, Level 4 for 1 minute), Level 1 for 2 minutes
• Calories:  675+
• Distance: 5.5 miles

Today's Weigh-In: 142.9