No Rewards, Just Challenges

Last week brought me the highest highs and the lowest lows. I was ecstatic and thankful for the 13lbs lost from last month and I was thankful that I finally started jogging, but I had some terrible tummy problems that nearly brought me to the verge of giving up and quit this journey.

Biggest problem would be constipation. I didn't know what caused it - if it was because of high fiber or lesser food intake (I never had problems with constipation when I was still eating 1 cup of rice per meal), but while I never had the problems of going to the toilet, it's how I get rid of the dirt that was the problem. In one of my conversations with Pipoy, I was crying - ranting how losing weight is making me "more unhealthy" because bowel movements has been okay with me when I was still eating a lot. I just couldn't understand the point of it all - I wanted to be healthy by exercising and cutting back on food, but it seemed I was getting unhealthy than how I was.

Pipoy has been a great buddy. He let me vent out before he gave his opinion. He still asked me to continue doing what I am doing, because this not-so-good feeling may just be my body's way of adjusting to the lifestyle change. Now that I am calm, I decided to still travel this road. Like what I wrote on my last post, it was a relief to know I wasn't alone in this situation, making me stay and do my best to lose more weight.

Other tummy problem would be from the oatmeal. It's the kind of pain that I used to have a few months ago - like your tummy was punched or like your tummy was empty. This pain will go away in a few days, so exercising will continue this week. ;)


Now that it's settled that I am still on this journey, let me now present my goals from last week. A and icon is added at each goal to indicate if it was a success or not.

• Morning walks everyday, as long as it's not raining. I am very enthusiastic to welcome a new day by going out, see the sunrise and walk.
  
• No canned / processed meat, except canned tuna and sardines. I had some canned sardines, but I successfully stayed away from other canned food and processed meat. I nearly ate one orlian, but I was thankful that I quickly realized my goals for this week.
  
• 1/2 cup of rice for lunch and dinner. This is now a habit, time to take it out of the goals list - that's a great sign.
  
• Coffee is allowed for only three times this week. Just three times this week. Nice!
  
• Do "Hip Hop Abs (Cardio)" from Monday to Saturday, but do alternate the other workouts: "Ab Sculpt" for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; "Hips, Buns, Thighs" for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Sunday will be my rest day, but will do low-impact workout, just to make the day count. Saturday, I was supposed to do my HHA workout, but my tummy was just so painful. I hoped to make up for it come Sunday, but I still wasn't well, so I just took the time off to recover.
  
• Oatmeal every breakfast. This week, I found out my body can't accept oatmeal for every single day. Sucks, but it's okay. I can't have it all.
  
• Pamper myself by giving my legs and feet a good wash and massaging before sleeping. The picture above was from last year, but since weather's fairly cooler now, I really need to pamper my feet and legs more by massaging it and give it a liberal amount of lotion before covering it with socks.
  
• Drink 15 cups of water - at least. There was a day this week when I only had 12 cups of water.
  
• Pork is only allowed for one meal this week. I ate pork last Monday (for lunch) and that was it.

I told myself, I will treat myself for a trip at Sidcor Weekend Market should I get all my goals done. Since I didn't, no rewards for me this week. Anyway, here's my set of goals / challenges for this week (starting today - Monday, 'til Saturday).

• No pork this week (the one I had yesterday - Sunday - will be the last), beef allowed once this week.
• No fried food - including fried rice. Sauteed dishes are okay, after all, most Filipino dishes start with sauteeing.
• Chicken breast only.
  
• Try two new dishes that are healthy, of course.
  
• 15 cups of water at least per day.
• Coffee three times this week, with a dash of cinnamon.
• Do exercises to help tone the arms and thighs.

Taking cue from the last goal, I have now modified my exercises. Since walking/jogging is now part of my every morning routine (as long as it's not raining), starting this week, I will do Hip Hop Abs Cardio and Ab Sculpt every Mondays and Thursdays, and will include exercises for the arms because Ab Sculpt requires dumbbells. For Tuesdays and Fridays, I will do Hip Hop Abs Cardio and Hips, Buns & Thighs as well as exercises for thighs. Wednesdays and Saturdays is still open, but I will go and find a new workout that I can do - just to break the cycle. Sunday is my rest day, but of course, if given the chance, I will still do my walk and jog. I want to keep weekends as open as possible because family might plan to go out, or I might attend an event.

The pressure to lose as much weight this month is quite heavy, but I will just give it my best. As long as I lose weight, I will be happy for whatever amount I will get.

Rewards? If I get to do all of these goals, I will go to the salon and get a haircut. Time to get prettified!