Day 8 – Making It

This weekend had its ups and downs. First, a goal recap:

1. Drink water all day long.
Um…oops? I need to work on this one. 2. Every trip to the bathroom will include 5-10 “countertop pushups” before I wash my hands. (With about 5-10 trips to the bathroom a day when I’m drinking water like crazy results in a hell of a lot of those.)
Since I didn’t drink water like crazy, I didn’t make trips to the bathroom, hence no pushups. L3. Lunch will be meager, and very calculated. No huge taco salads. No greasy sandwiches. Fresh foods, or vegetable soup ONLY.
Lunch was meager, and careful. A small bowl of soup and fruit. 4. Buy healthy snacks to have along journey – nuts, dried fruit, vegetable juice and other things.
My snacks were relatively healthy, but I could have done better. Much better. 5. Rise early in the morning and take a stroll around the hotel, or go for a swim in the pool to get the heart rate up ever so slightly.
We spent ALL day on Saturday walking, walking, walking. So much so that I was actually sore on Sunday.

The rest of the weekend, though? A bust for fitness. I had plans to run, to go try my 5k run again, to get outside and work. Instead, I tackled dishes and cleaning the bathroom, sweeping up the house, and doing the laundry. Nary a run or workout in sight. Tuesday night was much of the same. Although, I did complete a few sets of squats and side bends while reading for school, and took a 20-minute walk with my Mister and the puppy right after work. Not a superb workout, but I did get myself moving, at the very least.

A friend of mine at work recommended a new strategy, however. A few years ago, she was on a huge weight-loss streak. She lost around 50 pounds with diet and exercise, and one of her secrets was her lunch pattern. At our workplace, they offer high-protein shakes made with fuit, fruit sherbet and skim milk. They’re relatively low-calorie, but high in protein and thus fill you up. So, today I’m trying it out. I have at my right a 12-ounce strawberry/blueberry/raspberry shake made with skim milk and orange sherbet and whey protein. Today, I will see if this fills me up long enough to make it to dinner. I have a banana in my purse to supplement. And, well, if we’re going to be really honest, they’re also a giant container of Panera bagels someone brought in sitting very near my desk. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I’d snuck a half bagel with cream cheese already. But that was a few hours ago, and I don’t feel too guilty about it because, well, it was REALLY good.

So today’s goals:

1. Drink water.
2. After my shake for lunch, don’t eat again until dinner. (The banana is on standby if I get shaky or weak.)
3. Do something active with the kids I’m babysitting tonight – i.e. don’t just sit and watch them play.
4. When I get home, watch an episode of the Tudors or Mythbusters while doing situps, pushups, planks or other exercises. Spend the entire show active. As an alternative, go for a run.
5. Get up at 6:00 tomorrow morning. Sit up and get out of bed. Prove to myself that I CAN get up that early.