The real title of this post should be "Blah" or "Blech" or something similar that describes how I've felt most of this past week. Another appropriate alternative title is, "What happened to my self-control?" Too much work, not enough exercise, and an abundance of Memorial Day Weekend food are a poor formula for health and fitness, especially when one is trying to reach specific health and fitness goals (like fitting into that little black dress and training for the Steelman triathlon).
I've been frustrated lately about the nearly non-existent amount of return I've seen on my exercise and light eating investment over the past two months, which led me last week to Google some ways to overcome a diet plateau. What I found was extremely generic and wholly unhelpful. I did, however, come across one article that claimed that the best way to break through a weight-loss barrier was to temporarily eat more and exercise less. Given how much I've eaten and how little I've exercised in the past seven days, I apparently took that tip to heart. The result? My pants are even tighter than last week and I feel disgusting. Seems that I need a different strategy.
With that grim ramble as prologue, here's the exercise round-up for last week.
Monday: No exercise, and pizza for dinner. Worked far into the evening.
Tuesday: Seventy-minute bike ride on the W&OD trail. I bypassed Evil Hill 2 in favor of the longer but gentler slope of Hill 1 on the way home. I was breathing heavily at the top, but Hill 1 felt like a casual stroll compared to the lung-bursting climb of Hill 2. I guess I should be happy about that.
Wednesday: Fifty-minute brisk walk in the morning. Later in the day, I got on a plane to visit family for the holiday weekend.
Thursday: Worked an insane amount. Took a break in the evening to do an intense 20-minute work-out with Jillian, using my mom's five-pound hand weights (instead of the three-pounders I usually use). Definitely felt the difference!
Friday: No exercise, lots of work, and then a family taco party at my grandma's house. Oh, how I love Grandma's tacos! I think I had three. Or four. And an ice cream bar for dessert.
Saturday: Again, no exercise. Instead, I did more work and took my niece and nephew to see "Kung Fu Panda 2" in 3D, prefaced by lunch at the movie theater. Attempts at healthy eating struggling to stay above water. I think I left my self-control back in DC.
Sunday: My official day of rest, which is a good thing because I certainly wasn't going to break my sedentary streak just when it was going so well. More work on this wretched project and some entertaining of my niece and nephew involving a rousing game of Simon Says. Simon apparently told me to snitch the Reese's Peanut Butter Chips from my mom's baking cupboard because I was popping them non-stop. I wouldn't want to disobey Simon, after all.
Here's to less blech this week, which isn't off to a stellar start with that Memorial Day barbecue we hosted yesterday. If you find my self-control, please send it over, quickly.
I've been frustrated lately about the nearly non-existent amount of return I've seen on my exercise and light eating investment over the past two months, which led me last week to Google some ways to overcome a diet plateau. What I found was extremely generic and wholly unhelpful. I did, however, come across one article that claimed that the best way to break through a weight-loss barrier was to temporarily eat more and exercise less. Given how much I've eaten and how little I've exercised in the past seven days, I apparently took that tip to heart. The result? My pants are even tighter than last week and I feel disgusting. Seems that I need a different strategy.
With that grim ramble as prologue, here's the exercise round-up for last week.
Monday: No exercise, and pizza for dinner. Worked far into the evening.
Tuesday: Seventy-minute bike ride on the W&OD trail. I bypassed Evil Hill 2 in favor of the longer but gentler slope of Hill 1 on the way home. I was breathing heavily at the top, but Hill 1 felt like a casual stroll compared to the lung-bursting climb of Hill 2. I guess I should be happy about that.
Wednesday: Fifty-minute brisk walk in the morning. Later in the day, I got on a plane to visit family for the holiday weekend.
Thursday: Worked an insane amount. Took a break in the evening to do an intense 20-minute work-out with Jillian, using my mom's five-pound hand weights (instead of the three-pounders I usually use). Definitely felt the difference!
Friday: No exercise, lots of work, and then a family taco party at my grandma's house. Oh, how I love Grandma's tacos! I think I had three. Or four. And an ice cream bar for dessert.
Saturday: Again, no exercise. Instead, I did more work and took my niece and nephew to see "Kung Fu Panda 2" in 3D, prefaced by lunch at the movie theater. Attempts at healthy eating struggling to stay above water. I think I left my self-control back in DC.
Sunday: My official day of rest, which is a good thing because I certainly wasn't going to break my sedentary streak just when it was going so well. More work on this wretched project and some entertaining of my niece and nephew involving a rousing game of Simon Says. Simon apparently told me to snitch the Reese's Peanut Butter Chips from my mom's baking cupboard because I was popping them non-stop. I wouldn't want to disobey Simon, after all.
Here's to less blech this week, which isn't off to a stellar start with that Memorial Day barbecue we hosted yesterday. If you find my self-control, please send it over, quickly.