Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Tough workouts, difficult food choices

Weight today: 198.4

Today my stomach felt like a bottomless pit. It's felt way ever since yesterday, when I worked out all day with friends.

Don't get me wrong, the workouts were a blast! We rode our bike trainers for an hour (I could have went longer - perhaps to 90 minutes.) Watched "South Park" to help combat the boredom.

We ate a healthy lunch -- beef, broccoli and a small side of mashed potatoes -- and headed to the gym to swim and lift weights.

Then it started to get tough.

The friends pushed me through the wringer. I'm used to only doing 1 set of weights, since I squeeze it in on my lunch hour. We also did some weights I wasn't used to. I think we spent about 60 minutes to 90 minutes lifting weights. I was tired. I was getting hungry.

Then we hit the pool for some laps.

So we get back to my friends house, and I'm just FAMISHED. I was so hungry. But had to wait for chicken to cook. I felt rude asking for a snack, so I just waited, and waited, and waited.

The dinner was also healthy -- chicken breast with spinach. But it just wasn't enough. I came home and ate pineapple and a banana.

And that morphed into today.

So I learned today that during hard workouts, it is really important to my long-term diet success to make sure I satisfy my hunger after working so hard.

4 comments:

Trishie said...

damn, that's quite the workout! I find that I'm always really hungry the day of a hard work.... and REALLY REALLY hungry the day after one.

Sue said...

I just left you a BT inspire. Definitely sending hugs your way, hoping your family issues resolve quickly!
As for finding the time to fit workouts in - well, I'm a little radical, but here's some things I've "let go". (not necessarily in any order) 1. Coupons. I was a certified coupon-a-holic. I'd clip coupons for items I hardly ever used. Just because it might happen to go on sale and then I'd get me a bargain. Hah. Hardly ever worked out that way. I'd just throw out massive quantities of coupons every other month. Besides, with the no-sugar challenge coming up, most of the stuff that you get coupons for aren't allowed anyway.
2. Dinner. Well, I still eat, but on weeknights it's "just" a sandwich and some fruit. No cooking a meal and then having to clean up. Luckily, my boyfriend is okay with this as well. Somewhere I read where you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. It's been working for me/us for about a year now.
3. I pay for convenience. Yes, it kills me because I am frugal with a capital "F". I will pay a few more cents per gallon of gas so I can fill up at a station I go right by on my way to and from work. I used to go out of my way to the tune of about an extra 20 minutes once a week. I fill up in the mornings when there's no lines, so I never have to wait for a pump. I do a lot of my clothes shopping online. Yeah, I pay for shipping. It bothers me, but I've made my choice and I have to live with it. I just don't have time to be walking through stores. (not that I spend a lot on clothes anyway, but you get the picture). Grocery shopping is done in the evening, also so that I can avoid the lines. I hate, hate, hate standing in line, waiting. Talk about unproductive time!
4. Workout clothes all in one spot, organized by event. My swim stuff is always in it's own separate duffel bag, ready to go. If I don't have it all packed, it's too easy to excuse myself from going to the pool because it will take too much effort to get packed up. Bike shorts and jerseys all in one drawer, running stuff in another. My work clothes can be in disarray, but as long as I can grab my workout clothes easy enough, I'm happy.
5. I have a totally supportive boyfriend. He has his own workout needs, but he has (finally) agreed to help by taking our dog on at least half of her nightly walks (which usually take about 45 minutes to an hour each night). We're lucky because we don't have kids vying for our time.
6. No TV, no movies (well, maybe a movie if I'm on the bike trainer, but usually I get a better workout if I listen to music). On days when I have an easy bike ride (zone 1 or 2), I call friends and family and chat while I'm riding. (since I'm stuck indoors riding...that won't happen once Spring gets here, though). I wish I could cut out the internet, too, but so far I spend a lot of time on the weekends surfing the 'net and catching up on e-mail.
7. Laundry is dried on a wooden rack. It takes time to drape it, but then I can wear it right off the rack and I don't have to make sure I'm available right when it comes out of the dryer so it doesn't wrinkle. Feeds my frugality, too, since I'm not using the dryer.

I'll probably think of more....hopefully I haven't bored you too much.

Lynn said...

Nice blog! Thanks for sharing your journey.

Karin said...

Good luck with your weightloss, but don't overdo the exercise. I'm proud of you that you didn't go and eat a bunch of food since you were so hungry. You are on the right path.

Karin