Week 13 Day 3: Extended

Today was a different day. It’s amazing how much a change in diet can change how you feel. But I expected this, and I knew it was coming.

I woke up feeling alright. In fact, I woke up feeling pretty good, especially because I got so much sleep. I love sleep!

The school day went alright, nothing out of the ordinary. And I actually didn’t have any meetings tonight, so I stayed for about an hour to keep up on the grading, and then went home.

It was once I got home that it started kicking in. I was hungry, but not for any more protein. All I ate all day was protein since I’m on such few carbs. But when I got home, I immediately went for two stalks of celery and filled them with Nuts N More Toffee Peanut Butter which is filled with protein as well as healthy fats. It was so good! But as we neared the time to go to the gym, I knew my body was starting to fade. I knew this was not going to be an easy workout. But I drank a coffee to help and we went on our way.

My husband designed my workout this evening. He had me do shoulders, chest and triceps. I did a lot better than I ever thought I would, even when eating my normal diet, in the beginning. But towards the end, it was almost all I could do to keep going. And I have my body to thank for the continuation of the workout because mentally, I was really weak by that point. In fact, I was at the point of being really grumpy with my husband. But my body just goes on autopilot and it does what it knows it needs to do.

I came out of that workout aching from basically head-to-toe. My body is tired. It’s not used to the low macros. And I simply just went home, ate, and went to bed.

Week 10 Day 2: You Are Capable Of More Than You Realize

Well, this morning was nothing short of a little rushed. My car has not been looked at yet, so my husband had to drop me off at work on his way. This was not a big problem, except he underestimated how much I have to get done in the morning. It was truly my fault we weren’t out the door sooner because I didn’t sleep last night. Honestly, this teaching thing has a way of consuming you. I need to get a grip on this thing!

School went fairly well, but I did notice my shoulders were very tired/sore. I was simply lifting papers out of the huge stack I had graded, and handing them back to the students. They must have gotten a good back workout yesterday (shoulders must have taken a brunt of it).

My students were fairly good today, though they did seem a little more active than normal. Then again, we did a practice for our language arts PAT today (2+ hours of writing), so I guess I can expect the pent-up energy.

After work, I had to wait for my husband to come pick me up, which was totally fine because I was able to get some more things done at work, and when he finally came, I absolutely refused to take work home with me tonight. After taking over my life so much, I needed a night off. This was a phenomenal feeling.

At home, my husband straight-up told me that I had to take a nap before the gym. I chose not to argue, and simply told him I need to eat first, because in the rush of the morning, I had not packed food, and therefore was only able to eat the organic and natural carrot/curry/coconut soup that was in my fridge, as well as two containers of Greek yogurt. I was not running on anything much for fuel.

Strangely enough, this is where it hit me: I was craving healthy food! In fact, with all of the things in our house, I wanted fruit, cottage cheese, and pumpkin spice Nuts n’ More peanut butter. Seriously! I was in love and so happy this is what my body was craving.

My nap turned into a 4-hour sleep. And I felt awful when I woke up. My body ached so badly, my limbs barely functioning to move, and my eyes could barely stay open. But this is when my body hit autopilot, and somehow, I changed my clothes and made it downstairs.

On the way to the gym, I did something I never do, nor do I usually advise doing. I had my usual iced coffee, but also a doughnut. I researched ahead of time, and picked a doughnut that was lower in fat, and mediocre in carbs. The reason for my decision was the simple fact that my body was in need. It needed a carb that would energize me quickly (gym was only 2 minutes away). The truth is, I didn’t even want a doughnut. I try to avoid a lot of sugar like that. I wanted to stop eating it after two bites, but I knew it would help. So yes, I ate a doughnut.

We got to the gym, and I expected to feel worse than yesterday; the mental battle, the lack of ability, but I was totally wrong. Tonight was legs, and I normally hate, no, despise leg workouts. But today, I loved it! I don’t know where the energy and motivation came from, but it was undeniably there. I killed my workouts, things seemed easier, I felt stronger and I was smashing my records. Here are some of the things that were different:

1. I normally struggle with 70 lbs on prone leg curls. It seemed so semi-easy tonight!
2. I was mentally thinking that 90 lbs was the weight I used for seated leg curls last time, curled it, found it easy, only to find that the most I had used was 85 lbs in the past!
3. For the first time ever, I did smith machine lunges. Wow, these killed me, but I could tell were working my legs well.
4. I normally hate barbell walking lunges, and tonight my coach wanted us to drop the back knee twice each time instead of the normal once when walking. I dreaded them before I did them, did them and LOVED them!
5. Normally, I find leg press heavy. I don’t know how else to describe it than that. I completed my regular presses with 120 lbs, thinking that was bigger than normal. But for some reason, I was in a stellar mood and decided to do another set with 180 lbs. I ALMOST got my husband to spot me, in fact I even walked over to him, but then decided I need to do this on my own. Well, let me tell you, I did it! Every single rep, and it was not as hard as I thought. So I decided to do more. And I raised it to 230 lbs. And you know what? I did it for 10 reps! Oh my goodness! I was so happy, so ecstatic. Almost double the weight I’ve been using to train, and yet I am so much more capable. I was SO happy!

And again, we went home, and what did my body crave? Cottage cheese, fruit, raw veggies, and pumpkin spice Nuts’ N More peanut butter. Honestly, what more could I ask for? I crave a healthy diet, I’m growing increasingly stronger, and I feel great. My body may not be losing the fat I want, and as a matter of fact, quite a few of my clothes seem to be fitting tighter, but when I consider the shape my body is taking, the progress I’ve made both mentally and overall personally, I’m so happy! I’m obviously going to keep my fat in check, and will be monitoring it, but this strength is such a boost in self-esteem; I’m loving it!

Turn on Your Autopilot!

Do you know the feeling of having to do something but having no motivation to do it? It could be something as simple as doing the dishes or laundry. You know you have to do it, but you just don’t want to. Or going to the gym. You know you should, it would be better for you. But you’re just so tired, you just can’t.

I get this way sometimes. Especially if I haven’t been sleeping the best, and have had a stressful week. Sometimes when my husband picks me up from school, I’m just so tired and so worn out that I fall asleep as soon as I sit in the car and he starts driving. During this time, he’s very quiet, but he doesn’t take me home like I’ve arranged with him ahead of time not to. He knows to keep driving towards the gym.

When we get there, he wakes me up, and it’s at that moment I’m usually still exhausted, barely know what’s really going on except I’m at the gym. I don’t give myself time to think, I turn on “autopilot”. My body knows to grab my bags, walk towards the door, sign-in, change and go workout. If I had given myself time to think of it, I could easily talk my way out of it. But in order to get what I need to have done, I keep my brain on “autopilot” and my body knows what to do.

There are times that I must look like a zombie to the other people. I can be on a machine or lifting weights and barely feel awake still. I’m sure my constant yawning and droopy eyes are enough to tell anyone how tired I am. But it’s the ability to stop thinking and use my “autopilot” that gets me through it.

If there’s something that you need to get done, do it before you think of it. If you work out in the mornings, put your workout clothes at the bottom of the bed so you don’t have to think about it, you just put the clothes on and you’re already halfway there. Do what it takes so your body knows what it needs to do but you don’t give yourself enough time to think about it and talk yourself out of it. Turn on your autopilot. Your body will know what to do, especially if it’s already done the same thing before. Our brains often limit us in our energy and things that we think we are capable of doing. Sometimes turning off your brain is the only way your body can truly show you what it’s capable of.

One of those days when you’re feeling drained but you know you have a lot to do, turn on your autopilot and get it done! You may just be amazed!

Look Through God-Colored Glasses By John Ortberg

The cover of this book is what first caught my eye. It is a blurry picture of sunflowers and trees in a field. There is a pair of glasses, and only through the lens of the glasses does the park with the trees and flowers become visible. A true symbolism of how cloudy our view of life and the world is, and how clear God’s view is.

The book itself is fairly small. It was a very easy read, and yet very powerful and insightful. The book is divided into mini sections that each have a particular focus. Ortberg has a way of explaining God’s influence in the world using ordinary life examples. His view of God in our real-life is extraordinary and from the short reading that it is, I must have shared on my personal Facebook at least 7 pages of the book. If you like people who are short, sweet, and to the point, this book is your book. This book holds messages you need to hear, and there is no hiding the truth. Ortberg addresses topics such as atheism, the unknown, being on autopilot, and learning how to connect with God in each of our unique ways.

Excellent book. A total must-have!