Ah, Monday. Always a fresh start on Monday, right? I took full advantage of that today.
I had my Kashi GoLean for breakfast and a banana for a morning snack. Lunch turned out to be a HeartThrive bar because I was too busy to make anything else happen. I can't remember what I had for a snack in the afternoon? Maybe nothing but I can't be sure.
Work ran a bit long today and by the time I got to the gym I only had about 45 minutes to work out. I considered how to shorten my workout and in the end decided to sacrifice cardio time. So if I was only going to do a bit of cardio I'd better make it good. I ran a mile at 7.0mph, which took me at about 8 minutes, 40 seconds, then I lowered the speed to 6.0 (mainly because I was going to DIE if I kept running at 7.0) to round out 10 minutes.
After that I was off to weight lifting. I had chest/triceps/core on the agenda. I was seriously rushed so I hurried through, allowing almost no rest between exercises. My heart rate even got up into the 150's, which doesn't normally happen during weight lifting. Almost like more cardio and weight training.
Oh, big news. Not sure if I mentioned this or not but I am officially, 100% back on coffee. I tried the caffeine-free lifestyle and it just isn't for me. Bring on the buzz! I had coffee last Wednesday, then again on Thursday, and there was a notable difference in how much better I felt on the coffee days. So the downsides are money spent on coffee and cream, calories spent on cream. But the upside is feeling better. Totally worth it.
If you can't already tell, today was good. I feel myself coming out of a fog. Work is still crazy busy, and increasingly stressful, but I'm doing what I can there. I'm only one person, with only so many hours in the day; there are limits to what I can achieve, though sometimes I feel like I should be able to do more than I can. But I'm becoming more accepting that I can only do so much. I have to let the rest go.
On the personal life front it's all about change and adjustment. The new normal. I'm finding my footing, each day feeling a bit more balanced and self-assured. It feels good to feel good. Add to that, I had a mothering win. The kids' bedtime has been a bit embattled lately and I realized today it's because I've not been investing enough time in their bedtime routine. They needed more quiet transition before tucking in. So tonight I accepted that it would take nearly an hour to put them to bed, but that hour would result in a peaceful transition with all of us happier in the end. That beats two hours of fighting it out any day.
Speaking of the kids...I'll close with a couple pics from this weekend.
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| My little angel inside a redwood tree. |
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| Marek and his buddy monkeying around in a tree. |
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Love that you are getting back in the groove. I miss you when you are out of your groove and not your normal self in your posts!
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle!
ReplyDeleteI just found your site and read through this post - have you ever researched high intensity interval training (HIIT) for workouts? It sounds almost like that's what you had to do yesterday...
If you like short-duration high-intensity workouts, you might like it. Check it out!
<3 Brooke
Hi Brooke, Yep, I'm familiar with HIIT and do it most of the time. Cuts down on cardio time and just as effective.
Delete'The new normal' - I love that phrase, it's definitely a good one to remember.
ReplyDeleteYep, bring it on, right?!
DeleteAre you using any diet/protein supplements for your active lifestyle?
ReplyDeleteOnly a multi-vitamin and B complex but I might start adding more soon.
DeleteI can relate so much with this post! I'm have a really hard time finding a balance between my new job, school, life, and my desire to lose weight and be healthier. I think I'm finally going to have to kick the Weight Watcher's bucket-- I can't stick to the routine and I keep going off and on every week. I think trying to implement a different approach might work better... I dunno, but "I can only do so much". I'm going to try to let the little things go and focus on what I can accomplish. Thanks for the great post!
ReplyDelete