Day 16

I was super proud of myself today. I actually got up at 8 to go to the gym. I know this seems like a small success, but this is me we're talking about. I don't simply get up that early on my day off. The workout today was very based upon body weight exercises, not a single barbell was lifted in the making of these sore muscles.

Warm-Up:
50 air squats
40 sit-ups
30 wall balls (15# med ball)
20 supermans (back extensions)
10 push-ups (on my knees -- I really just need to take the plunge and do them unassisted, they're getting too easy)
10 Scorpion stretches (felt amaaazing!)
10 Iron cross stretches

MetCon:
16 rounds tabata burpees (I HATE tabata! It's 20 seconds of activity followed by 10 seconds of rest) My record was 5 burpees in one set of 20, my lowest was 2.

Skill:
Pistol Squats -- don't underestimate them, they are hard! We were supposed to do 40 reps total. I ended up doing a lot more but it was because I was trying different modifications. I'm decent at getting them if I have a box to sit down on, but man are they killer.

Midline:
4 sets of 15 toes to bar...I modified them by doing knees to chest. My abs are not going to feel good tomorrow.

So after our workout today, I had a long talk with the trainer. I've been having some reservations about things for the past few days as far as how sustainable my diet is. I'm totally ok with the paleo, giving up carbs hasn't actually been that awful of an experience. It's the shakes. I'm worried that I'm first of all not getting enough calories for my activity level, and secondly I've been thinking about what happens after I'm done with the 30 day supply I have. I don't expect to keep myself on the 2 shake/day plan, because I would probably just lose my mind. So I wanted to get some advice from a real person, instead of getting the differing opinions from people on Google.

We talked for a wicked long time and I gained some new insight. The gym will be having a paleo challenge with another gym from California starting on February 16th. It'll be strict paleo for a month. Thank God it'll be going on during the time period that no good "adult beverage" events will be going on. I more wanted to talk to him to get advice on what kind of results I could actually see from going strictly paleo. I know the whole "no food a caveman" didn't have access to rules, but I wanted real advice on how paleo and weight loss go together. He told me a lot about how paleo affects people differently and how people get used to it differently. Like he had the "no carb hangover" for a good 3 weeks while everyone else didn't, but since then has felt great. He told me it may take awhile before my body truly converts from using carbs for energy to using fats and proteins, which is why I'm not feeling so amazing even after a week. He also mentioned that I may not be ingesting enough calories for someone who's going to the gym more and spending time running around the world. He didn't tell me to absolutely come off the shakes, but just recommended that I add back a little more real food to truly maximize the energy I'm getting for my workouts, which I agree with. I'm definitely feeling some good effects from getting away from the carbs, but I still have what people call the hangover. I'm still kind of in that lethargic phase, not horribly, but a little bit.

I guess the biggest thing I took away from it is that I need more than 3 weeks to truly see what my body does with a diet like paleo, which I should have realized. I'm basically telling it that it needs to learn how to get my energy from a completely different source. I know it'll take awhile before I'm strictly paleo. I still have my slips, and maybe that's what keeping me sane through this whole thing. The biggest thing he stressed is that all the ripped athletes I see at the gym still have their cheat days. One guy even goes so far as to spend one night of his weekend eating an entire pizza! As long I don't let it get the best of me and I only keep to that one cheat, I'll keep my sanity and my body won't reconvert itself.

While I don't plan on making any drastic changes in the next week, I'm definitely taking what he said to heart. I'm even thinking of increasing my membership so I can go more days a week, because I really want to become part of the family. I'm starting to get to know people by going 2-3 times per week, but I want more out of it and I can feel my body wanting more. My recovery period is definitely not nearly as bad as it used to be, and it's not for lack of trying, so I think I'm ready to take that next step. I'm going to finish this challenge off strong and even if I don't get the measurements I want or the weight I want, I'm still feeling great about myself and I know that things are changing even if I can't see them. Feels amazing to have finally found my place!

I listened to this song yesterday and now I'm obsessed. I know rap may not be at the top of everyone's list, but this one is truly inspirational. Once I get all my stuff converted on my new computer, I'll definitely need to work on a "pump it up" playlist.