Routine Things

It's been around 2 months since I started my fitness journey.  I don't have a destination, the journey itself is my goal and staying on that path.

For the first month and a half, I worked out every day.  With the exception of 4 days scattered about that time where my daughter brought home some presents that consisted of illness where I was too sick to work out.  Those illnesses lasted longer but I only took a day or two off, I worked right through them.  I did take one day off because I had a bit more of an intense ache - could have been a sign of working too hard.  Overall, I had a successful kick start to my journey.

And now?  After that kick start, I went to every other day to ramp up my intensity on those days and have a day of rest.  This is the typical, tried and true way of doing it so I figured it should work for me too.  It didn't.  I felt more tired on my days off and the typical soreness was much more intensified.  Not crippling by no means but enough to feel a clear difference.  I also felt less motivated.  I liked being able to say that I worked out everyday.  It was an ego boost and a strong motivator.  It was an achievement of sorts.  While I can't say I'm the strongest or fittest out there, I don't hear too many people with the dedication to work out everyday.

And with my motivation sliding down, my workouts suffered.  The so called intensity I wanted out of my training days didn't meet my expectations.  I found my daily routine, outside of fitness, started to slide too.  So with all that out of the way, this week I've moved back to every day workouts.  I already feel more motivated and more recharged.  I know I should let my body rest but I'm keeping my focus areas in line with what I should be doing.  Anything that feels like real pain and not soreness, I stop and move to something else.  And it's worked so far so I'll stay with it.

As I go along my times are getting longer.  I figure once it hits a large amount of time, I'll focus more on cardio than weights.  Weights are fun, challenging and a good stress reliever.  I enjoy them more than anything else at this point.

As with anyone working out with weights for extended periods, I've adjusted my diet accordingly.  As Americans, we tend to eat too much and too much of the wrong thing.  I'm typically eating this:

M-F

Breakfast:

1 Boiled Egg

1 Smoothie - typically 8 - 12 oz. wheatgrass blend or something similar (looks like snot but tastes great)

1 water - 12 oz

Lunch:

1 serving of protein (typically skinless chicken breast or equivalent / fresh frozen salmon or tilapia)

2 servings of veggies (green beans, peas, celery, corn, carrots, lima beans, baked potato, salad (no dressing or fat free)

1 water - 12oz

1 grain - pita bread, whole wheat, similar

Dinner:

Typical dinner but something lite and smaller portion

I skip most if not all dairy products, chips, average breads, snacks, cookies, candy whatever.  Any kind of pre-prepared food (if possible - sometimes it happens in business or when you are out and are in a rush).