I was doing quite well with my plank-a-day goal. I even improved my time to over 1m 30s with ease, and hit the 2m mark once. But then..... Then I got sick. With a horrible, racking cough that left me unable to breathe anything but shallowly without breaking into a coughing fit. I was up at night, couldn't stop coughing during the day.... it sucked. I didn't row all last week, and didn't plank either.
I think my cough is better now though. I had every intention of rowing four times this week but my sitter got sick with the same thing I've got, so I've been home with Maraea; and with Aaron working till 5pm every day, I can't make it to a class by the time he gets home. So today I'm going to attempt a plank and see how I do.
Something else worth updating: While I've been keeping track of my caloric intake with My Fitness Pal, I think it's possible that the app is causing me more harm than good. For one thing - it tricked me into thinking that on days when I row (and burn 700-800 calories), that I have 700-800 calories additional to consume. I got into this mindset that I could eat more on my rowing days than on my non-rowing days. This really messed with my appetite though. I would eat all I wanted one day, and then have to keep myself to under 1500 calories the next day. Having stretched out my stomach the day before, this was especially difficult. Previously, when I started rowing and didn't change too much with my diet, I lost weight very quickly and easily. Also, I've been attempting to eat much more healthy - more fruits, more veggies. Buckets of lettuce for lunch, snacking on fruit. I could eat all the fruit and veggies I want and basically keep my caloric consumption to about 300 calories during the day. Well this is all well and good, except that I still needed energy to get through a rowing workout. And that kind of diet just wouldn't sustain me. It would lead me to overeat later on.
So - bye bye My Fitness Pal. I'm going to go back to listening to my body. Making smart choices while eating what I want, when I want. Even when I'm "eating what I want", it's not like I'm eating cheesesteaks and cheese fries every day, because I know that's not healthy. But I do believe that your body knows what it needs. And that when I'm craving salt, my body must need salt. And when I'm light-headed, my sugar must be low. I have never before been so focused on what I eat, and I have never before been so frustrated with my lack of progress despite the effort I'm putting in. So maybe I'm just one of those people that can simply listen to her body and still make progress. After all - carbs are OKAY. Sugar is OKAY. Fat and calories and protein are all FINE. In moderation! I'm quite sure I had a balance before I started paying too much attention to what I was eating.
And let's face it - I will never be a size 9 again. That's not even my goal. My goal is to simply enjoy my life and be healthy and fit while doing so. I know exactly what that means for me. It's not eating cheesesteaks and cheese fries every day - but it's also not eating buckets of lettuce and cucumbers and peppers every day either. It's some balance in between, and my new goal is to find that balance again.
My plans for May are going to be to start the Couch to 5k program. By the time May rolls around, school will be done, my first couple weeks at my new job will be past, and I will have an idea of what I can do physically at home. It will also be lighter later, so running and walking in the evenings will be safer. I'm actually quite excited about adding this to the rest of my fitness routine - it just might be the extra kick I need to get my body back in shape!
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