The new plan...

Whew! What a different schedule I had this week. I had to miss 2 days of exercising and I found out that I need to be eating more calories, which I've been doing the last few days. I weighed in at 172lbs at the Fitness Center on Wednesday morning, so I'm prepared to see a higher number than I want. But, whatever flashes up at me, I'm not going to flip out. I learned so much about how my body works this week, and I can't wait to put that knowledge to work. Okay, Bekah. Suck it up and get on that scale!

So, I stepped up again, and waited those very few seconds (which always seems so much longer!) for the bright red numbers to appear. .......169lbs..... What?!?....Is that right? I'm gonna try this again. You can't lose that much weight in two days! I was told that if I follow my new exercise and calorie plan I should be able to lose a pound a week. Hmmm...169 again, huh? Well, I'll take it!

I was encouraged to see that. And I've been using my new exercise plan for 3 days and love it already! I can see that I really was working myself too hard, and I ended up burning mostly carbs, not stored fat. After my workouts on the treadmill I would be really hungry and a little sore - all signs I've now learned that I was using up all of my body's immediate energy source (carbs) but I wasn't dipping into my fat stores. I can remember days when I would breeze through my cool down time in order to get to the kitchen faster! Sometimes I'd even feel a little nauseous because I was so hungry. The past three days however, I've felt much better. I feel like I'm effectively working my body instead of beating it to death, and I've had a comfortable and normal hunger level.

Like I mentioned, I did find out that I most likely have not been eating enough calories, which my mom has been hinting at for awhile. :-) Okay, I can certainly change that! And this is where "Spirit lead eating" really comes into play for me. I've been told to eat more, but not too much and not junk. This could easily turn into a big flesh-feeding-frenzy if I'm not listening to the Spirit and paying attention to the signs my body gives me. If I'm not hungry, I don't need to eat and if I am hungry, I need to make smart choices. I'm just glad that my smart choices can include a few more calories now. :-)

We're about to enter the major time of year when people put on weight. Halloween is just a few days away, so some of you might have to fight off the craving to buy some chocolate goodies at the store simply because they're on sale. Everything in moderation.....and a bag of chocolate sitting on your counter is not going to help you achieve your goals!
Then, of course, comes Thanksgiving and Christmas where we bake enough food to feed a small army but will feel guilty for throwing any away, so we just keep eating and eating and eating. But, that's a topic for another post. :-)

With eyes turned upward ~Bekah