Day 4

Ugh ... today was ROUGH. As amazing as yesterday's workouts felt, today's were equally as sucky.

Now I know a little of that can be attributed to a little extra soreness in my muscles - I did work my ass off yesterday. But most of it was bad classes. The first one, NIA, was something I wanted to try: part dance, part martial arts, done barefoot to international music. "Hippie-dippy earth mother dancing," as my own mother described it. I thought it sounded kinda fun, though, so we tried it this morning ... and OW. Apparently, barefoot yoga/stretching is not even on the same page as barefoot cardio.

About 20 minutes into the NIA class, I put my right foot down and it felt like someone had stabbed me in the instep. I broke out of the circle and hobbled out to take a break and look for what felt like a splinter in my foot, but there was no break in the skin. I took a few minutes to get composed and then slipped back into class, but after a few moves ... stab. I ducked out and booked it for the locker room, where I soaked my feet in the hot tub for about 15 minutes instead of finishing out the class. I kinda felt like a wuss, but when I came out into the locker room all the women who had been in NIA with me asked if I'd hurt my feet, and assured me they had a really hard time with it the first few classes as well. That made me feel a bit better, although I'm not sure NIA's right for me ... a bit too airy-fairy for my tastes. Ironically, Mom loved it in spite of her prior criticisms.

Now the next class I wasn't concerned about - it was sculpt, the same type of class I did on Thursday, and while it was a challenging class I left feeling amazing afterwards. However, today was on the opposite side of the world from Thursday's class. Our instructor - I'll call her the Sculpt-Nazi - was HARDCORE. She was doing all the moves in the most advanced way possible without suggesting modifications for newbies like me, running us from move to move without a break, layering on twice as many reps as she should have, and just in general seeming angry to be there. It was contagious - halfway through I was holding my body in plank position and fighting back angry tears because I was so frustrated at being run roughshod like that. I made it through, though, and spent most of the afternoon asleep to recuperate. Oh well. Guess I know what the lousy days are gonna feel like now.

I did make a point of dragging myself back to the LRAC later in the day and forced one more cardio out of myself, then spent like half an hour soaking in the hot tub and reading a book. It was a very nice end to the day; definitely helped to compensate for the lousy morning.

Food's still an improving situation. Breakfast was a little shaky - we'd been refining and refining the quiche recipe to try and make it more palatable, but apparently the problem is the egg substitute and not the recipe. It's not terrible, but it's just not quite egg! And here's the thing - in spite of my big body, my cholestoral and sodium levels are remarkably low. I'd sooner eat one real egg than two of the fake ones. Regardless, we're taking a break from those dishes - my parents are supporting me by eating everything I have to, and Mom's had it with the egg dishes. Lunch was a chef's salad that I all but inhaled after my stressful morning, and dinner was tilapia with cilantro butter. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the tilapia - far less fishiness than the salmon, good flavor, good texture ... it wasn't chicken, but it wasn't half bad either. So now at least I've got a jumping-off point for my foray into fish.

My biggest triumph though? Turns out the V8 Fusion stuff, which is fruit+veggies and not just veggies, is the same amount of calories and only like 2 more grams of sugar and 4 more grams of carbs. I don't have to struggle through V8 anymore - the Fusion is way better and way less consistency-of-human-blood, in my opinion. Thanks to everyone who's been offering me drinking tips, btw ... I had no idea there were so many ways to try V8, and thankfully I've found my way now.

Today's tips: eating to lose weight.

• First off: choose a proper diet! None of this supplement-and-premade-meals BS; they are crazy-expensive and unrealistic, and any weight lost will return once you switch back to eating normally. I'd recommend trying either the South Beach diet, Weight Watchers, or the Abs Power Diet in particular; they're reliable and practical, they're balanced so you get the nutrients and such that you need, and they help change your lifestyle so your weight loss will be sustainable.
  
• Make the time to cook meals! Making time can be the hardest part of a diet, so be sure to make a point of scheduling your day in such a way that you have time to cook and don't end up grabbing something quick and unhealthy to make up for lost time
  
• Only cook enough food for a serving - if you make extra, you're more likely to go back for seconds and throw yourself off. If you make extra for later, make a point of storing the extra in the fridge or whatever BEFORE your meal to get it out of sight and out of mind.
• Spread out your meals. Eating four smaller meals or having small, diet-appropriate snacks throughout the day can take the edge off your hunger and help you function better.
• Don't ignore your cravings, but don't overindulge. Allow yourself one free meal a week (or perhaps a free day, if your weight situation isn't too far-gone). If you ignore cravings, you're more likely to break and seriously deviate from the set meal plan.
  
• It sounds silly, but brush your teeth when you're done with a meal - it takes the food taste out of your mouth and signals your body that you're finished eating for now. Besides, who wants to eat with toothpaste-taste in their mouth? Blech.

Tomorrow should be way more fun - I'm starting the day early with a hike up Pinnacle. I'll try to get a pic of the view for you guys!