Progress and fun

When I got to personal training this morning Leanne asked me what two things would I like to achieve out of today's session. Needless to say, I hadn't thought about it like that so she gave me time to come up with something. I decided I'd like to see what progress I'd made and have fun.

Leanne decided we'd focus on my legs. We started off with sumo squats while tossing a medicine ball. This was a great exercise to measure my progress as last time I'd tried sumo squats I'd felt pain in my left knee almost immediately. My knee is my "early warning system", letting me know when I've worked a little too hard. For months now, Leanne has been giving me exercises to strengthen the tendons around my knee. That's what the one legged squats and the stability work I've been doing were all about. Not only did I feel fine when we did the exercises, this evening there's no tiredness in my knee.

After the squats, Leanne checked out my balance. This involved stepping up onto a bench and lifting my knee through as part of the move, then swapping legs. In the past, this exercise also caused problems. It was half of the exercise that I dubbed the chicken. I was able to do 20 of these with confidence. I also did them quite quickly, which surprised both of us.

We did a few exercises for my glutes and hamstrings and checked out a couple from my program that I wasn't sure I was doing the right way. We finished with some difficult situps that I managed to get through and then did some stretches. I love it when Leanne assists the stretches. Mission accomplished - we got to see progress and we had fun.

Other than that, the only exercise I had today was walking. I had been going to meet up with a friend for a drink after work, so I'd decided to try to hit my net calorie target by managing my food rather than through exercise today. My plans were cancelled which meant that I could get to the gym but I chose to stick with the food plan if I could. I also cooked up a storm this evening, which means I have plenty of healthy food choices for the next week. All that I have to do now is work out how to fit the containers into the freezer.

I bumped into one of the women from the gym on the way to work this morning, which made my bus trip enjoyable. When we were parting company at the security desk (I still don't have building access) she paid me a lovely compliment. I tried to brush it off, but she persisted until she managed to say what she wanted. I won't go into details but in effect she told me that I seemed to show up when she was having a bad day and needed rescuing. I thought it was really kind of her to say so. I know I have an optimistic outlook on life and occasionally hope that I don't drive people too insane by being postive and cheerful. It's good to hear that she appreciates it.

Oh, I've been mentioning the cold weather a bit lately. I find it irresistible to talk about the subzero temperatures I'm encountering here in Canberra, especially when people from warmer climates are complaining. The thing to remember is that it's all relative. Some of your comments sound more impressed by my hardiness than I believe is warranted. The Group Outdoor Fitness Challenge helped me to acclimatise early. From the challenge, I learned that once you get out there, if you're wearing the right clothes, you adjust pretty fast to the temperature. The suggestion of a balaclava is a good one. I think I'll pursue that idea. Now that I can run, maybe I can make a fast getaway!

We did have snow forecast on Wednesday but it all came to nothing. From a forecast of temps between 0 and 5, we ended up with a temperature range from 2 to 10. Mind you, I'd carefully stayed inside. It was actually colder this morning, getting down to -3, but I only had my usual 10 minute walk to and from the gym to face. It takes 6 mins when it's cold or I'm running late for an appointment.

Tomorrow I want to get myself out of the house to exercise without having someone waiting for me. Now that will be a challenge. I've checked the weather and it's going to be frosty and foggy. I'll head to the gym if I manage to drag myself out of my warm bed. Body Balance is on tomorrow night, so that's on the agenda as well.

Just an update on how I'm managing with my eating - it's going really well, although it didn't feel like it yesterday. I had a rest day and so was focussing on keeping my calorie count down. I got stuck in one of those social obligation situations, where someone has gone to the trouble to feed you, so you feel as though you have to eat what they have provided, even though it's not something you would have chosen for yourself. Anyway, I made the choice to eat the offered food, and when I got myself home and worked out the calorie count it hadn't been as bad as I'd thought. My net calorie target is an average across a week, which means I don't have to be perfect every day, and I'm well on track to achieve it.

I've also started to keep a detailed food diary. How long that will last I don't know, but it's a real eye opener. I know that eating when I'm distracted is a bad habit. I just didn't realise how often it happens during the day. I'm also keeping better track of my water intake and I've definitely got that "confuse thirst with hunger" thing going.

My goal is to work on reducing the amount of emotional eating I'm doing. I haven't felt ready to cope with this problem before now. I've recently realised that I have to address it or I'll undo all my good work. There's no way I want that to happen so now is the time!