Saturday, March 23, 2013

Adjusting my expectations

Hello friends. A full week has passed since I came home from Green Mountain. I can say it has been a week of trying to figure it all out and adjusting my expectations. My days at Green Mountain seem so long ago.
Food-wise, I can say that is has been good and bad. I have made my breakfast, lunch, and snacks for work and eaten balanced meals. I skipped a potluck on Thursday and ate the lunch I packed. I allowed myself a small piece of cake and "let it go." Dinner has been difficult because I have found myself not eating dinner until 8:30 or 9pm and then going to bed shortly after. The reason for that is because I have been trying to do cardio and strength training after work, then showering, packing my lunch, and fixing dinner. I know that this is not something I can keep up and I am going to have to brainstorm on different ways to fit it all in so I'm not eating dinner at 9pm. I also walked into the kitchen one evening, I was feeling frustrated, and grabbed ice cream out of the freezer and started eating it out of the carton. As soon as I realized it, I stopped, put the ice cream away and started working on my Green Mountain 911 Emergency Box. I wrote down a bunch of affirmations on pieces of colored paper and took them to work with me. I tape one to my computer and look at it during the day, especially if I am feeling stressed.
Exercise, well, I'm still trying to figure it all out. I did strength training, alternating upper and lower body, every day Monday thru Thursday after work. The Green Mountain upper and lower body strength training DVDs are about an hour long each. I think I a going to have to reduce the amount of time I strength training to about 20 minutes each evening. Cardio was harder to fit in. Even though we learned that "something is better than nothing," I'm so critical of my efforts and think it's just not enough. I took a water aerobics class at a rec center in Alexandria on Thursday after work. I left the class feeling irritated and frustrated because I was being too critical of the workout. I think I am going to have to readjust my expectations and realize that I don't have to be falling down, out of breath, for it to count as cardio. As soon as it is warmer, I'm hoping to get out and get walking, which is my favorite ways to get in cardio after work. I'm also going to invest in a polar heart monitor so I can monitor my heart rate during my exercise. That way I can be reassured that I am reaching my THR and staying there.
I had an unrealistic goal to get up in the morning before work to do the Green Mountain Morning Momentum DVD. I really shouldn't have set this as a goal for myself, knowing my difficulty getting up in the morning for work. It hasn't happened once. I do wish I could do it but I also remember what LynnAnn told us, "If you aren't a morning person, don't force yourself to work out in the morning!"
My goals for the next week:
-Continue figuring out how to fit in cardio and strength training after work without having to eat dinner at 9pm (a goal in progress)
-Get up 15 minutes earlier every morning so I can do a little deep breathing and stretching (thats a huge goal, I hate getting up in the morning). I may start with even just getting up 5 or 10 minutes earlier and work my way up to 15 minutes.
-Talk to my coworkers about establishing a 30 minute lunch break for the 3 of us so we can go to lunch and not eat at our desks. There is no way to eat mindfully if you can't even eat your lunch in one sitting
-Be more patient with myself. You can't change habits overnight. You can't make new habits overnight.
I think that is enough goals for one week. I'm craving warmer weather and hoping spring starts showing it's face soon.

1 comment:

  1. I like your goal about establishing a lunch break for you and your co-workers. When I worked at the exhibition, we always had to have at least a supervisor or a manager on duty, so we would alternate who would go to lunch first. Since there are three of you, working 1.5 hours a day with only 2 is hopefully something that can work for you guys! Good thinking! Let us know how it goes!

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