Day 77

Ok, I'm pretty much sold on the afternoon/evening workouts now. Way less stressful, as I don't feel the need to rush in the morning. I'm really past the point of needing that early morning fat burn too.

Patrick... I think I got it! Review:

Day 76

DoH! Stayed up all night (til midnight). Gonna go jump rope, then do my workout after work today.

There we go. Workout complete. Today I actually really enjoyed the afternoon workout. On the sit-ups to failure, I went with my gut. Even with my legs raised as Patrick suggested, I didn't have much of a problem. One wonders with my results if I should be asking this but... am I doing them right? I curl my body as far as I can, and my shoulders are off the floor. I was stopping at 50 because of Patrick's earlier email saying don't go past that. It went 50-40-30-30-50. Legs crossed in the air. Maybe I should lift my legs higher next time.

Anyway, good times. I still fail out of the tricep dips and do half sets about halfway through, same with the pull-ups.

My abs feel like a rock when I flex them. I feel my abs and I think they're my ribs.

Day 75 - Indulgence #3

I decided I really need to mentally let loose today. The other item that I've really been craving is a bag of skittles. So I bought a single serving bag from a grocery store before work. I'm hyped up on sugar right now. It was good though. I was pleased to find they don't have HFCS in them. The package was about equivalent to a can of soda sugar wise. 250 calories. Sheesh, that's a lot.

Update: I had my angus burger with sweet potato fries and a burly irish ale last night. All of it was delicious. Despite the fact that I think I ate too much, it didn't hurt my stomach! Also, when it comes down to it, I realized from the first bite I had that my home burgers I make taste almost twice as good.

Day 75

Another half-ass workout day. Why? Because I just worked out 12 hours ago. My body is still sore. My back is achy. I couldn't finish the planks because my lower back was hurting, no matter how much focus I put into my abs. Pro tip: Don't do an evening workout followed by a morning workout.

Indulgence day! So.... I actually skipped the last indulgence. I told myself, make a burger just like the one you're envisioning, you don't need the fries, you'll be happy with this.

But somehow, this angus burger with sweet potato fries has been stuck in my head since then, and has been driving me insane. I spoke with my housemate Will for half an hour last night discussing it, and I determined I was making a big deal out of nothing. I wanted to avoid it, because of the HFCS in the ketchup and honey mustard sauce, and the oil in the fries. I don't really want to imbibe alcohol either, but I'll give myself half a beer. The thing is, I want to make healthy choices, even if it's on an indulgence. But what it comes down to is-- this is an indulgence. My body's not perfect, and thus an imperfect diet won't completely destroy my progress, and will do wonders for my mentality in the coming weeks. So, burger, fries and beer here I come!

Day 74

Update's gonna be a bit late today, I'm going to try an evening workout and see how it goes.

Update: Afternoon workout was rough. Retail legs were not meant for jump roping and pistol squats. Although it's probably the other way around, my legs weren't meant for retail. Soreness in my left shoulder and back limited my shoulder flys and v-sits, something I've never experienced in the morning. So, I think I'll stick with mornings for the time being. Perhaps after the PCP I'll do my workouts in the evening, after I'm not forced to keep a rhythm.

Day 73 - Peanut Butter

There's something you guys should know... I. Love. Peanut Butter.

So this morning I thought I'd spice up my after workout shake with half a spoonful of peanut butter and a dash of chocolate, just to see what would happen.

Suprisingly, it didn't really improve it at all.

But! Afterward, in the shower, I had a taste in my mouth. I realized it was peanut butter, something I haven't had in over 3 months. It occurred to me that I'm going to have a hard time staying away from it. But, I suppose I'll have to.

Doubled the resistance on the lawnmower and pull-down, as well as tricep extension. Went from 5lb to 10lb. I had to take a 15 second rest in the middle of the lawnmower each time, but I think it's worth it to double the resistance. I'm trying to figure out which other exercises I can manage 10lb in.

Day 72

I missed something. Like 2.5 hours of awake time. Rushing through the morning after sleeping 10 hours, my legs couldn't figure out how to jump until partway through set 2. Moving on, I set my workout timer for the "point of no return", where I needed to stop to still have time to cook and get to work. Had to sacrifice sets 1.5-4 of the planks, almost made it in 35 minutes! Barely had time to take pictures and pack my stuff. Okay, so tonight I might go for a quick run and do planks afterward. I've been considering an evening workout, but my legs would be too tired I think, after a full day of retail.

If I keep my curtains open, it's hard getting to sleep. If I leave them closed, it's hard waking up. Maybe I should just keep one open, and one closed? Aghghghhh!