Slow and steady might be obnoxious but it works. After a week that was so incredibly draining, I’m frankly glad to see the slow and steady. I wondered if I’d gain just from being so stressed out. A few days, and some deep breaths later, I have lost a bit and it’s nice to see that.

While I might be tempted to attribute most of the loss to the unceremoniously chopping off of my hair, I had lost so much hair because of stress over the previous months and it was so thin that there really wasn’t much of any weight there.

I was shocked at how light it was when I held the bundle in my hand and it wasn’t even worth trying to donate it. It was way too damaged and brittle. While I can’t necessarily say that I like my haircut, I don’t like myself with short hair, I am glad to not be struggling with the brittle, tangled mess anymore.

Aaaaand now I’m waiting for it to grow out again!

That too, is slow and steady. I’m sensing a theme.

Let’s talk goals!

Last Week’s Goals

1. Cool meals ahead – While I didn’t do quite as many as I would have liked when I realized that I was working through lunch and had nothing to eat, I did get some things cooked ahead of time and made plans to cook a whole bunch of other things over the next few days. I’m getting ahead again, which is good because that preparation always pays off well.

2. Drink less coffee – This week I stuck with one cup a day and I think that I’m going to make that a permanent rule. I’d rather not drink it at all unless I’m really tired but I’m still going to continue to ease off for the moment so that I don’t get any side effects from cutting it. I’m noticing that I’m enjoying it less lately and it feels like there’s not much point of consuming something that I don’t really enjoy. It seems silly

3. Get back to the gym – Um… fail. I was SO tired this week that even the idea of working out was completely exhausting. I’ve been struggling to find enough down time to rest. It’s not so much about getting enough sleep. I do. It’s more about the mental exhaustion of busyness. At work I never seem to stop moving because we’re short people and I’ve been helping train the temps and fill-ins. At the end of my work day, I still have things to do. Between therapy, voice training, helping take care of my step-dad, and trying to exercise, I don’t have much time or mental space left.

This Week’s Goals

1. Do an outdoor run – Since I’ve been running during my weight loss, I’ve never actually done an outdoor run. I always run on the treadmill. Considering the fact that I’m going to do a race in about a month that is distinctly outdoor, I need to start running outside. It’s only hard because it’s rainy here and I’m whiny. That and it’s out of my immediate comfort zone, so naturally it terrifies me. I’m going to aim for this weekend but I might end up doing it in the evening instead.

2. Show up at the gym again, twice – This is supposed to be my long term goal but in busyness and tiredness, I lost sight of it. It still remains that I don’t have to work out while I’m there. I can do whatever I want. I just have to show up. I’ll start going again after therapy and then I only have to pick one more day to do it. That’s only one more evening that I don’t get to go straight home and I can deal with that.

3. Figure out a way to de-stress every day – I don’t have the same amount of time every night to come home and wind down so I don’t think it’s wise to set a routine for how to do so, but I need to do something so that I’ll rest better. As I said before, my problem is about mental space much more than it is actual sleep time. I’ve been getting roughly eight hours of sleep each night yet I keep getting more and more tired. Obviously, it’s not that.

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So, there we have it. I’m doing great with food. Right now it’s all about improving energy and activity. What are your goals for this week?

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Emily March 29, 2012, 5:36 am

How about you do a couple of yoga stretches that are targeted towards winding down? If you search youtube, you’ll be able to find ones of varying length.

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Lola March 29, 2012, 2:25 pm

Very interesting…I only run outdoors…and preferably in trails where there is no clear ending or beginning. LOL. I like surprises. :o)

Congrats on the loss.

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