It’s Going To Be One Of Those Days

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Today is going to be a lazy day after yesterday's intense workout.

I’m too sore to care…kitty gets a free pass today!

I woke up this morning to a cat in the sink. I left him there. Today is a lazy day.

Why? I’m soooo sore. Yesterday’s muscle workout and 5K training wiped me out.

Sure my workout with my trainer was hard, but I didn’t think anything of it. I started feeling sore about 4 hours after. What did she do to me?

I did 3 sets, all starting off with a very fast walk on the treadmill.

Since she learned I hate push-ups, for the last 4 sessions she’s included push-ups, in some form. However, yesterday I discovered an exercise I hate more than push-ups — the Jack Knife!  Wow those kicked my butt.

I thought my arms took the bulk of the punishment. Ha! Just a few hours later my legs, abs and lower back started feeling it — damn you Jack Knife!

About 5 hours after my muscle workout I started my 5K interval training. I ended up repeating my first long run (1 mile) since I thought the app malfunctioned by not tracking my distance. I ended up going over 1.5 miles.

After checking out my Easy 5K app, it turns out my iPhone was the culprit.  The app works perfectly fine. I upgraded my phone’s operating system a day before my first attempt at the long run. The upgrade shut down my GPS function. So the app couldn’t track my distance. Curse you upgrade!

After “fixing” my GPS, I happily started to run.

AAAUGH!!!! My iPhone's upgrade messed up my Easy 5K's GPS tracker. I ended up running close to 2 miles.

AAAUGH!!!! My iPhone’s upgrade messed up my Easy 5K’s GPS tracker. I ended up running close to 2 miles.

Roughly 40 minutes later I realized something was wrong…again. According to the app, I  ran zero miles. AAAUGH! GPS fail…again!

Turns out my iPhone settings didn’t save. Good grief! I started feeling like Charlie Brown and my iPhone was Lucy with that damn football.

I stopped after running close to 2 miles. I had a slight headache and my heart rate was too high. I made the mistake of waiting for the app to tell me to stop instead of listening to my body.

Won’t make that mistake again!

I walked across the street to Starbucks, ordered a green tea, sat down for about 20 minutes and began working on my phone.

Feeling better, I tested the GPS on the walked home and hit the shower.

With my GPS fixed, I plan to attempt my app’s long run training Wednesday afternoon. Should be a piece of cake.

Other than doing 30 minutes of yoga and getting my hair done, today’s gonna be a lazy day.

Kitty can stay in the sink as long as he wants.

 

Keeping A Food Journal: 12-Week Challenge

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Doubling down on food journaling! Today kicks off the start of my 12-Week Tracking Challenge.

Doubling down on food journaling! Today kicks off the start of my 12-Week Tracking Challenge.

Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m horrible at tracking my food. I don’t know why. I seem to go through cycles. Some weeks I am the most awesome tracker in the world. Others, I completely suck at it.

Guess what cycle I’m in now?

I know tracking works. When I track, the pounds fall off. It’s that simple.

Over the last 2 weeks, I went from tracking everything everyday to just a couple of meals a day to no tracking at all.

A part of me just thinks I don’t have to write it down. I can count my points and carbs in my head. Ha! I ended up snacking all last night and lost count sometime between dinner, the jello, the almonds, the wine, and the late night chicken wings.

Tracking Challenge
I decided to create a 12-Week Tracking Challenge using both paper and my iPhone. I want to reinforce a good habit…hence the 12-weeks. I’m tracking:

  • Food (PointsPlus and Net Carb)
  • Water
  • Exercise
  • Goals
  • Weekly Challenges

Paper Journal Vs. Apps
Conventional wisdom says apps make tracking “easier.” But I’m not so sure.

I find with paper, I’m actually thinking about what I’m doing. With the app, it’s more like I log it and think more about improving the app, not myself.

Since I’m tracking both PointsPlus and net carb values, I plan to use Weight Watchers, My Fitness Pal and Carb Master apps during the first phase of the challenge.

Truth is no one app does what I need it to do – calculate PointsPlus and net carbs, and track my activity. My Weight Watchers’ app is my workhorse for tracking, but it doesn’t count carbs (please WW gods add this feature!).  Friends recommended My Fitness Pal and Carb Masters. So I’ll also review the apps during this challenge.

Behold the Fitbook! My paper food journal for the next 12 weeks.

Behold! My paper food journal for the next 12 weeks.

I know paper isn’t a walk in the park either. I don’t know the PointsPlus value or net carb count of everything I eat. Paper is so DOS!

But again, if I write it, I tend to think about what I’m doing. Thinking is key to living healthy.

For the paper tracking, I settled on using Fitlosophy’s Fitbook. It’s a 12-week fitness and nutrition journal. It includes long- (3 months) and short-term (weekly) goals. It’s very clean and allows detailed info. It’s small enough to fit in my purse so I can take it with me.

The challenge starts today and ends December 18.