My Progress

Well, I started this a week ago and in that week, I have already revised my original plan because I have to do what works for me!

Eating:

• I still want to stay within 1500 calories, but I am NOT going to starve myself. I will eat when I'm hungry, but I will reach for the carrot sticks instead of the Gardettos when I want a snack. 
• I can't cut sugar completely. This weekend I had a spoonful of trifle and a piece of carrot cake because I made them and they were there and they were delicious! I think I will go with the "moderation" theory. If I really want a piece of cake, I will take a small piece and only one. I can stick to the no candy because I don't really like candy to begin with, but when it comes to baked goods, they are my vice. The solution, obviously is to not make baked goods. I only make sweet treats when we have family events to attend and I am contributing.
• Eat sustainably (totally a word). I want to eat in a way that will change the way I eat forever. I don't want to diet, I want to change my food choices. I don't want to give up cookies forever, that is completely unrealistic, I love cookies too much. But, maybe, I will only eat one cookie instead 6 like I used to do.
• Eat when I'm hungry. One thing I have noticed about me is that I get the munchies and I just want to eat because my mouth wants to eat, not because I am hungry. Also, I'm a social eater. I eat when other people eat because it is a social thing. But, now, I think that I will eat when I am hungry, not when I just want to eat to have a taste in my mouth. When I feel the munchies coming on, I seriously have to assess myself and ask, "Am I hungry?" 

Exercise:

• 3 days of cardio, on my eliptical. I think this is the same as before, but now my wonderful husband does it with me. We switch off on the eliptical and it is so nice to have a partner to do this with. Although Matt is a lot stronger than me. He does the resistance on the elipitical, but I just use it as is, my body and lungs are not strong enough to do the eliptical with resistance.
• 2 days of weights and yoga. I will do two days of yoga and weights in between my cardio days. I want the yoga to tone areas of my body that I want to focus on.
• 2 days of rest. Last week I realized, after 4 straight days of cardio, that my body needed to rest. I was weak when I was on the eliptical and I couldn't sustain my pace, but then, after one day of rest, when I got back on the eliptical, I felt strong again! The exercise plans all say that you need rest days, but I thought I was above it, that I could push through, and then I after doing one, I realized that it actually makes me stronger! The eliptical was a lot easier after my rest day and I felt like I was improving.

This week's goals:

• Increase my eliptical time from 22 minutes to 30 minutes (still with no resistance).
• Buy a yoga mat because yoga on the carpet is ridiculous and then I don't want to do my yoga.
• Be able to do 24 bicep curls with the 8 pound weights.
• Keep within my 1500 calories at least during the weekdays.