With the weather turning colder, my body is ready to hibernate. I find myself wanting to eat slightly more than usual and sleep. It takes extra discipline to think about diet and exercise when nature is telling you to store up your winter reserves.

Eating Update
Yesterday, I felt like I hit the wall on my new eating plan. I was sick and tired of cutting up all those vegetables and was so ready to have my husband pick up take out for dinner on his way home. But, I managed to resist temptation and picked out a super-simple dinner of frozen cheese tortellini and some frozen broccoli. Hardly gourmet but it was sustenance!

The eating part of my goals is the hardest for me to sustain. I don’t necessarily mind eating vegetables but I do mind doing all the work to cut them up, cook them and then clean all those dishes afterward! This is the area in my life where I accept “help” in the form of various restaurant take-outs and frozen foods. I know cooking fresh is better for my health but it does have a cost in terms of time. I am still running my numbers but it may have a cost in terms of money as well. Some dishes are cheap to cook but some are at least as expensive as eating out. Also, when we eat out, we are a little more mindful of portions. We don’t order seconds, for example, because it would cost to do so. At home, we don’t hesitate to have seconds because they are “free.”

If I ever was in a financial position where I had to cut back and I had to cook all our meals at home and they all had to be healthy and inexpensive, it would be a tough adjustment! Not impossible, but this 30-day trial is a good taste of how much more energy I would need in my life to do this.

Exercise Progress

I am starting to enjoy my exercise program and actually look forward to my 20 minute workouts now. At first, my muscles hurt so much and I was so exhausted and felt like the workout was beyond my capabilities. After sticking with it for a few days, I started to get a little stronger and a little less sore. Now 10 days in, I am far stronger than when I started and am actually ready to move on to a greater challenge in Level 2.

So far, I notice the difference in my thigh muscles the most. All of Jillian’s squats are paying off. I don’t really want to have a muscled look in my legs but the toning that I am getting has helped me feel so much stronger. From experience, I also know that when I have stronger thigh and calf muscles I reduce the strain on my knees and ankles when doing cardio workouts. I still want to stretch out my muscles a bit more and definitely need to do some heel-cord stretches (the tendon running up the back of the heel and lower leg).

I also think I am starting to get a small exercise high after working out. Rather than feeling tired after working out, I have a huge boost of energy. Interestingly, it is a slightly addictive sort of feeling.

Over the weekend I have a wonderful task to finish! I recently received a review copy of a book by one of organizing’s giants. I am halfway in and loving it so far. I will be sharing my thoughts with you on Tuesday. Hope you will find it as fascinating as I do!

Have a great weekend!