Week 4 Results & My First Indoor Cycling Class

If it is true that habits take 28 days to make then I should be well on my way to making some. This week marks my 28 days in the 20/20 program. 28 days of getting up in the morning to pack lunch and snacks, 28 days of working out almost every day, 28 days without chocolate, cheesecake or ice cream, 28 days of meal tracking and 28 days of getting up every Saturday at 6 am in the morning to join the early morning stragglers outside the gym door.

The first couple of weeks was actually quite easy. I was excited to go to gym at the crack of dawn. But not this last week. I woke up at 6 am to what looked like a dark and rainy night outside and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. But instead I got up, put on my workout clothes, my shoes, my heart rate monitor, filled my water bottle and drove to Pro Club cutting through the flimsy strands of fog swirling under the yellow traffic lights. Afterwards, I felt pretty good. Not so much for having worked out as for having got up when I didn't want to. I am sure my challenges aren't over yet but for now that feels like a victory.

At the dietician's this week I also had a taste of another victory. I lost 2.4 lbs bringing my total weight loss to date to 7.0 lbs. After last week I really wasn't expecting much so I was pretty much through the roof.

If this week was a celebration of perseverence, it was also a week of firsts in many ways. This is the first week since starting the program that I saw pretty impressive results (for me anyway), without outside influences - that is, I wasn't sick or dehydrated or skipping meals, - my clothes are defintely fitting better, and I attended my first ever indoor cycling class. I actually left work to go attend the class at noon, came back, worked until 6 pm and then went back to the gym for my Pilates session as my instructor is on vacation next week and can't do Monday. I honestly don't remember the last time I changed into my gym clothes twice in one day, not even when I was active.

Workouts

• Sun - Morning walk - 1 mile (2554 steps with step counter)
• Mon - 1 hr Pilates with instructor
• Tue - 40 min bike + weight machines (upper body)
• Wed - 39 min cardio circuit (bike, elliptical, outdoor walk)
• Thu - 40 min bike + weight machines (upper/lower body)
• Fri - 1 hr Indoor Cycling class + 1 hr Pilates with instructor
• Sat - 22 min cardio + weight machines (lower body) + core

The Indoor Cycling class on Friday was brutal. The next morning I couldn't even shift my foot 2 inches from accelerator to brake without wincing in pain. My heart rate during warm up was easily high and my legs felt both solid as steel and limp as noodle at the same time which was weird. Jacque didn't ease up on me on the weight machines still. Thank goodness for trainers. If I was working out on my own I may have slacked off. Which I did on the cardio. We typically do about 15-20 minutes to warm up and then I do another 20-25 minutes on the video bike on my own afterwards to make sure I get at least 40 minutes in. Yesterday I could only do 9 min warmup and another 11 minutes on the video bike before I was beat. I was done. Couldn't do a second more. And yet, I can't wait for my next indoor cycling class! Wonder what that says about me. Maybe I am some kind of a closet masochist. Just never knew it before! Jacque came to the cycling class with me for support and she was laughing. I was literally gasping, unable to get a word out, and every time she asked me how I was doing I yelled, "I LOVE IT!"

Next Week

Julie's back. I really missed not being able to talk to her last week. She laughed when I told her that I specifically drove out to Whole Foods at 11 in the night to buy lemon cake. Granted it was a mini piece and I only had half before throwing the rest away but still. But she said not to worry about it. That it was important to stick to the guidelines but if I did slip what was more important was that I stop myself from going too far and got back on track as soon as possible, which I did.

This week the addition is cheese. I can have caesar salads now. Minus the croutons of course. And cottage cheese with fruit or string cheese for snacks. This should make the weekend easier. I am going to be in Chicago Fri - Sun for my uncle's birthday. Since I am going to miss the dietician appointment Julie went over the following week's changes as well. I can have additional fruits like apples and pears after Thursday which means more options which means greater flexibility while I am away from home 3 days. I just have to figure out how to turn down chocolate cake without upsetting my aunt.