Well, I slept really well last night for the first time in a while. I went to bed when I was tired – at 10:15, instead of staying up all hours watching TV. My hubby came home really late from work last night and was coming down with a cold. I could tell he was bummed I was going to bed 15 minutes after he got home, but no sense in both of us getting sick. If I had stayed up with him until our usual midnight to 1am, I probably would catch whatever he’s got. I woke up at 5:15 on my own, thinking it was 6:15 and feeling refreshed… that was weird. I stayed in bed until 6am and then did my normal routine of drinking 16 oz of water, prepping some food for the day [fruit salad for both of us for snacking, marinating some boneless, skinless chicken breasts for grilling for lunch], had 1/2 of my morning smoothie, did my hour long workout of cardio drills and abs, showered and was ready to start working at 9am [I'm working from home today - work is 75 miles away so I work from home 2 days a week to cut my costs and car mileage]. Normally I just sleep in on my home days to make up for my lack of sleep, I don’t eat enough, don’t bother showering because I don’t have time to workout after sleeping too long… and the day is a waste. No more of that!
I swear after just one day of eating more frequently and consistently I woke up feeling thinner. lol… of course, the scale didn’t reflect those sentiments, but I don’t care. I was able to fit into a really cute skirt I bought months ago that I had no hope of getting over my hips. It’s slightly snug on my waist, but no ‘muffin-top’ and it was loose on my hips. Woo-hoo! Now I need an occasion to wear it. ;)
It feels really good knowing I’ve found my formula for health in eating clean. It really is a lifestyle and not a diet and the food is amazing so there’s no deprivation feelings. We went out for dinner last Friday and I ordered calamari and found I couldn’t eat much of it. I stopped automatically when I’d had enough and I couldn’t fathom over-eating on fried food. I just don’t eat fried food much anymore… it wasn’t nearly as appealing to me as it used to be and I found myself wishing I had just ordered a salad. This is coming from the gal that used to order the extra alfredo sauce at Olive garden to dip the endless breadsticks in! [ewww] LOL
I also noticed my endurance was better in my workout this morning. There are a lot of football-type drills in it that I couldn’t finish the full minute or two of, I’d have to stop before it was time to catch my breath. I finished almost all of them this time and it felt amazing. I’m actually starting to think of myself as an athlete again. I was always very active as a kid and teen until life got in the way. I’m looking forward to taking back all my favorite sports one at a time as I get more and more fit. I think it’s time to set a tennis date with a friend of mine and see what I’m made of. I used to play all the time when I was younger, and was pretty good… my friend’s been playing for 15+ years and still plays once a week so it could be great or it could be incredibly frustrating for him. lol…
Other sports to take back: Biking, running, downhill and xcountry skiing, ice skating… even going sledding in the winter. This past winter would have been amazing for sledding with all the snow we got, but I wasn’t quite there yet… I actually wouldn’t know where to go around here – where I live, everything is FLAT. I do go hiking and occasionally I go swimming. I used to do 100 laps a day at the gym I belonged to – it had a great, olympic sized pool. I’d do my 100 laps freestyle and back stroke, then go do cardio… I always took my fitness for granted until it was completely gone and I found my knees giving out just walking down the stairs. I assumed it was just the price of getting old [yes, I thought this in my mid to late TWENTIES! Duh! lol]. Now I feel as good as, or better than I did when I was 18!
